. A pair of burly looking guards stood outside of the fancy looking shop, stopping Regis from entering.

“No scroungers allowed.” The one with a shaggy dark hair said as he gripped his sword.

“Sorry to bother you fellows, it’s just that I’m not familiar with that signboard. What kind of a shop is this?”

“It’s called Redmond's wonders and it’s an enchanter’s workshop.”

“An enchanter’s workshop,” Regis repeated the intriguing words. “I didn’t think that there would be any enchanters among the refugees. I wonder how much I could get my equipment enchanted for. ”

“Humph,” the other guard scoffed. “Sir Redmond is the 2nd best enchanter of Hunor after the city lord’s own advisor. You could hardly afford his services. Even the most ordinary of the shop’s wares would cost you a silver thaler, yet alone the ones that are truly powerful.”

“It costs silver thalers? Do you still trade with coins when everyone else here is fighting over food and water?”

“Of course we do,” the shaggy haired guard laughed. “Sir Redmond is a reputable and powerful alchemic enchanter. He doesn’t need to fight for scraps like these vagrants. Coins are valuable wherever you go. Even if we head back inland, coins will still be the basis of everything.”

“Not when people are starving and couldn’t care less about a piece of metal.” Regis shrugged as he looked at the man.

“It doesn’t matter what you think. If you want to trade here, you’ll need to bring coins with you. Now move along if you don’t have the money. We have other customers wanting to get in.”

Regis turned around to see several armed men, whom he thought to be mercenaries, standing in a line behind him. ‘No wonder Amanda was so angst about her hammer getting enchanted. There’s actually an alchemist here who’s able to get it done, but it appears to be expensive as fuck.’ He thought, but he found it better to just leave, since he didn’t have the money to employ the man’s services anyways. Thinking back about it; he’s been emptying his fallen foes’ pouches at every given chance, but he never actually counted them.

Since he left the bulging pouch back at the sewers, he found it better to head back towards the meeting point where the pair of young women was already waiting for him. The tall one was fully clad in leather armour that was fitted with small bronze plates in some places and she held her two-handed hammer with great pride. The young elven girl held a bow, dressed in a form fitting leather armour as well.

“You’ve said that you’ll be waiting over here,” Amanda called out to him. “So where the hell were you?”

“I went to check out a shop that turned out to be an enchanter’s place.”

“Oh,” Sophie mumbled. “It’s okay; we’ve been there once too. Those people are really rude though. We only wanted to know what they sold, and then they gave us this stupid speech about their master and how all of his enchantments are super powerful and worth the silver. Since we didn’t have any money, they shooed us away.”

“Same here,” he admitted. “Anyway, are you ready? It’s going to be a long night.”

“We’ll be fine,” Amanda scoffed again. “Let’s go.”

She grabbed Sophie’s hand, dragging the meek girl along. As the light of the sun was fading from the cloudy sky, more people headed towards the city gates to join the defenders. They stood in line in front of the recruiters like everyone else, patiently waiting for their turn. While waiting, Regis recognized a familiar face amongst the guards marching on the right side of the gate.

“Norma!” He called out to the guardswoman.

His voice seemed to be just loud enough to reach her ears, but as she turned around, she couldn’t see any familiar faces who might have called for her. Regis waved at her calling her by her name again and she walked over with a questioning gaze.

“Do I know you, stranger?” She asked while Regis took off his helmet.

“Know would be a strong word, but we did fight together last night.”

“Regis,” the woman stuttered. “What in Flonus’ name has happened to you?”

“I outgrew my fledgling status. Still, at least you recognized me.”

“Well, I’ve only let one dark elf join our troop last night, so there weren’t many names that could have come into mind. But damn, you’ve grown tall! You’re taller than me now, and your voice got a bit manlier as well. Although I have to say; you still have a childish face.” She teased the elven youth while pinching his cheek.

“I’m just charming,” Regis said. “It’s a racial trait or something. Anyway, I wanted to know if you still had place for the three of us.”

“The three,” she looked at the young women just a step behind him. “Aren’t you the girls from the smithy?”

“Yep,” Amanda nodded. “We’ve decided to band together for tonight, just to see if we make a good team or not. Everyone says that more undead will come than yesterday, so an extra set of eyes and hands is more than welcome.”

“I see,” Norma agreed. “I’m sure the captain won’t mind it. Come on, scratch your name up on the list and I’ll take you to the others. We have quite a few recruits this time.”

Regis did as she said and scribbled his name on the nightly recruit list with the damp charcoal. They followed the woman through the west gate and along the wooden ramparts. Captain Grego and the rest of the 9th guard troops were already there, checking their weapons and armour one last time.

“Captain,” Norma called out to the man. “Regis brought a pair of lassies to fight. They seem to be capable enough to me, so I’ve brought them along.”

“That’s fine,” the man nodded. “We’ll need all the help we can… Flonus’ iron clad balls! Is that really you lad?”

The captain couldn’t believe his eyes as he stared at the now grown dark elf that stood there gripping the bronze staff. Regis walked closer, raising his hand for a shake.

“I hope you’ll still let me tag along, even if I take up a bit more space.”

“It really is you,” Grego laughed. “So this is what you look like as a grown man. Well, as long as your eyes and weapon work as well as last night, I’ll get over how much of a freak of nature you are.”

“Hey,” Regis said indignant. “I had to get rid of my status or I’d be screwed.”

“I know lad,” the captain patted him on the shoulder. “You’re not the first elf that had to grow up this way, especially during wartime. I just hope that you’ll make the most of it. I’ve heard it from the scouts that tonight will be bad, but tomorrow is when the real trouble will begin. Try to do what you can, but remember, we need everyone alive.”

“No one wants me to stay alive as much as I do. And besides; they’re not paying enough for me to die for this shit.” He joke it away as he looked at the fast approaching darkness.

“I know,” the captain nodded as he turned towards the other two. “And who are these lasses?”

“I’m Amanda and this is Sophie. I hit hard and she’s good at shooting things.” She gave the short introduction while patting her great hammer.

“So we now have an extra half giantess warrior and an elven archer,” Grego summarized. “Did you fight any undead before?”

“Yesterday I shot down nineteen of them,” Sophie spoke up finally. “And she killed somewhere around twenty-eight. We can handle them if they come in small numbers.”

“That’s fine. Since you’re an archer, just climb up on the ramparts and try to kill any undead that gets within your range. As for you lass, just take a swing at anything that gets through the first line defenders.”

“You don’t have to patronize them,” Regis said. “We all need to get stronger and they will only get mad if you try to keep them back.”

“Are you sure?” Grego looked back at him surprised.

“We’re sure.” Amanda answered as she let her hammer smack the ground.

“Very well,” the man raised his hands as he relented. “But I don’t want any pointless heroics. We’ve lost more than fifty people last night and I don’t want you three to add to the body count tonight. The same goes for the rest of you recruits. Am I clear?”

“Yes, sir!” The answer came from the group of refugees that stood behind the guards.

The sky slowly darkened as the defenders took up their positions along the ramparts. Regis stood in line with those who would fight at melee range, looking at the anxious faces on both sides. He noticed a black shape moving in the far distance as the last rays of sunlight broke through the clouds and he knew what the distant figure was. The bronze staff felt a bit light in his hands, but it was reassuring. Another quarter hour trickled by and the land became dark as night has fallen.

Next, the archers of the ramparts fired a few burning arrows into the night, turning them into small torches that glowed faintly along the battleground. The unnatural dark fog that crept beyond the battlefield still stopped at the invisible wall, reassuring Regis that whatever kept it there was still working. Soon, one of the burning arrows on the ground went out, then another one and the next.

When the arrows that were barely twenty meters away from the defence line died out, Regis focused his gaze towards the ragged figure that shambled towards them. He stabbed his bladestaff into the ground, raising his left hand towards it while his fingers turned into a handgun shape.

“Here they come!” He said as a drop of colourless liquid formed from his quartz catalyst, hardening into a shard that blasted forward.

It struck the creature in the chest just as it reached the edge of the spell’s base distance. He scoffed at his bad aim that ended up hitting its chest rather than its head. The creature stumbled back for a moment before steadying itself. When it wanted to move forward again, a 2nd shot drilled itself through its skull.

“Head shot!”

“Already?” Grego asked surprized. “Try to keep your use of magic to a minimum. It’s going to be a long night and we might need your healing spells later.”

“Fine,” Regis nodded. “Then I guess I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.”

He grabbed the bladestaff, staring at the shambling corpses that were walking towards them in great numbers. Grego looked at the defenders once more before he gave the order in tandem with the other captains.

“Charge!” They’ve yelled and the recruits attacked the enemy as one.

Regis watched as Amanda ran forward with heavy steps, swinging her hammer at the head of a shambling undead. The creature fell on the ground, half of its head smashed into a rotting mush. Whistling at her savage kill, he spun the bladestaff around, slashing at the neck of a short blade wielding zombie. The heavy slash skill burned through his stamina as a red glint ran across the hefty bronze blade, cutting deep into the undead’s neck. It almost managed to cut through, but then it got stuck at the last inch. He kicked the creature in the guts, yanking out the bladestaff before finishing it with another strike. ‘Well, that was a pointless waste of energy.’ He admitted to himself as he looked forward.

The night barely started and he already killed his 2nd opponent. This however didn’t stop the rest of the fallen ones to march forward. After smashing the head of another swordsman apart and stabbing another through the eyes, he was getting short on breath. His wide swings and the weight of his bronze infused weapon took out more of him than he thought and not even 10 minutes had passed since the fight began. It also didn’t help that out of the four kills, none of them seemed to have anything of actual value on them once searched. The next wave of abominations arrived a good 15 minutes later and Regis was unlucky enough to catch the burning eyes of a strange looking fallen.

The abomination wore a torn robe and held what seemed to be a mace with a twinkling stone in it. ‘Is that another fallen priest?’ He pondered, but a sense of danger forced him to move when his enemy raised its hand towards him. A 4 feet tall stone spike broke through the ground in a steep angle, almost stabbing him in the guts. It scraped by his side with the speed of an ordinary blade attack, but soon another spike followed it.

“Son of a…” Regis tried to curse between two attacks as he zigzagged around the undead.

He ran towards the abomination and smashed the blunt end of his staff into his enemy’s skull. It stumbled back for a moment, but another stone spike burst from the ground as it regained its footing. The spike brushed by his left thigh, leaving a bloody mark on his leg as its tip cut his pants and his skin beside the armour’s bindings. Enraged by the pain, Regis jumped at the undead, tackling it on the ground before smashing its head several times in a row with his staff, ending its miserable existence.

“Damn.” He wheezed while pressing his left hand on the wound to use lesser healing on it.

After taking care of the wound he looked at the corpse and the small crystal that appeared above it. It was glowing with a brownish yellow light. His lips curled to a smirk as he reached for the stone, a pleasant description showing itself to him.

{Earthen seed}

{Spell crystal}

{Item rarity: uncommon}

{The earth beneath your feet is more than just dirt and pebbles. By absorbing this earthen seed you will be able to form a connection with the land and unlock the basics of earth magic.}

{Requirement: 12 mind and spirit.}

{Do you wish to absorb it?}

“Yes!” Regis said as he grabbed the spell gem.

It crumbled away in his hands, only to be absorbed through his skin. For a moment, he felt a dry earthy taste in his mouth as familiar warmth washed over him. This time however it was different compared to the ember or wind seeds he absorbed before. Memories of an arcane chant flowed through his awareness as a spell engraved itself into his mind. Golden letters burned through the air a second later as he let out a stale breath.

{You have absorbed an earthen seed and unlocked the ‘Earth affinity’ feat. You have gained the ‘Earth to stone’ spell.}

‘Earth to stone? Shouldn’t I get the stone spike spell or something?’ He scoffed indignantly as he willed the spell’s description to flicker into his view. Before he could search the corpse for anything useful a large blade cut through the air a couple of inches away from his head.