“… 61, 62, 63. Hey, the second bell rang like a minutes ago. Where is that last person?” grumbled Meslocicas.

Frehotreha replied, “Hm? But I counted 64 people though.”

“Here, let me count again. See look there is one, two, three…” Meslocicas continues to count. “… and 63! I told you that someone hasn’t arrived yet.”

“And you don’t count as a person? Are you that high and mighty and think you are above us mere mortals?” questioned Paprufreci.

“Huh? Ahhh… well, I just forgot to count myself. I truly don’t think that, okay?” Meslocicas replied, flustered.

“You know, I sometimes wonder why you are the leader of our party. Well, anyways, I think you should start leading the rest of these adventurers to the dungeon entrance, now that you are sure everyone is accounted for.”

“Alright.” Meslocicas then yelled, “Fellow adventurers, follow me to the entrance of Frielute, where we can get free loot, expand our achievements, and bask in the glory of conquering another dungeon! The plan is to camp for three days, the last day being in front of the dungeon gates. Then in the morning, my party will go through the front and the rest of you follow behind. If there are forks in the path, we split up. Remember, while our party gets first dibs on the loot, there is plenty enough to go around, so no need to backstab each other. Now, without further ado, let us depart!”

“””Aye!”””

“Sir Yetal! Our scouts have reported a suspicious group of about sixty surface dwellers camped out about half a mile away from the broken gate! What should we do, chief?”

“Hmmmm…. Contact the direwolf squad and ask them to confirm if the scent of that suspicious group contains that of the invaders from a week before. If it does not, then we try to hide all entrances and be on high alert until they leave. If it does, well, tell me, and I’ll make some plans.”

“Yes sir!”

Yetal watched as his subordinate left his office, while thinking, “A group of sixty, eh? Based on usual trends, those wandering robbers rarely group together in more than ten unless they are trying to invade. Still, if those people that blew away our front door aren’t present, we might be able to hide all our entrances and hope that they assume that the information they received was faulty. If they are present though, then a preemptive strike may be the best way to reduce casualties. I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”

After about an hour, a direwolf burst into Yetal’s office and shouted, “Sir, the scent on the crime scene indeed matches the suspicious group! We must avenge our comrades. Please give the order to attack!”

“Very well then. I’ll call an emergency meeting and draft up a plan to assault them. Help me spread the word and ask everyone to meet in meeting room number two. I’ll be making some calls in the meantime.”

“Yes sir!”

And thus, the Lugomaleca police force gathered into the room with feelings of anticipation. After getting detailed reports of the area that the adventures were camping at and with an estimate of their strength, Yetal and his police force created an assault plan sixty minutes later.

Yetal exclaimed to the gathered force, “Fellow police force members, let us commence this operation, in order to avenge our citizens, but most importantly to protect our home from further invasion, for they will not stop until they have pillaged everything in sight. Now, let’s sally!”

“”“Aye!”””