FROM THE JOURNAL OF HANDICE

General Trang came in from the north, down from the mountain, as if on a morning stroll. He surveyed the cave entrance, hands on his hips. Cochran went to meet with him. They spoke briefly.

Cochran came to me after.

“The mission is a go,” he said. “The general is waiting for the other outlanders.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “We are ready.”

“I know we are. What are you doing with this one?” He nodded at the unconscious Rany.

“Hoping to get information out of him. But he hasn’t woken up yet. He’d be dead if Brietta hadn’t Healed him.”

“Waste of her energy if you ask me. You think that army up there might miss him?”

“Rany is not the sort whose presence, or absence, goes unnoticed for long. But nothing we can do about that now.”

“Very well. Be ready. Should not be much longer now.”

Falcon came in on horseback, from the west.

“You made it,” Trang said.

“Couldn’t miss it.”

“Check it out.” Trang tapped the door of the lair. “Going to be a fuckin fight in there in a few minutes. Like the old WOW raids. But much better.”

“What about that army to the south?”

“It’s Alec Braun’s army. He’s being pursued by Queen Kemile’s army. One of his people let it slip on the message boards.”

“What if that’s bullshit? With all those men, he could take every one of us out.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got a surprise or two up our sleeve as well. He’s going to find out soon that if he wants to attack us, it will cost him. Either way, we’ll be inside that lair in…twenty-five minutes.”

“You sound pretty confident.” From the distance came the thunder of approaching horses.

Trang shrugged. “It’s a good plan. Sounds like we’ve got people coming in.” He yelled, “Eight riders coming from the east! They’re with us!”

The riders came in, heavily armed and wearing expensive armor that gleamed in the sun. They brought their horses to a halt and leapt off.

“Hey Trang,” said the one in the lead.

“Hello Hauser.”

“Ready to rock and roll?”

“Damn right. Twenty-two minutes to go.”

Another asked, “What’s the deal with that fucking army up there? They looking for a fight?”

Trang replied, “Falcon and I were just discussing that.”

The riders perked up at the mention of Falcon.

“Yo, Falcon!”

“Falcon’s here! Shit just got real!”

“Hey guys,” Falcon said.

“Four more coming in from the west, on foot,” Trang yelled.

“They’re friendly.”

“Who’s Trang talking to?” someone asked.

“Got some men there in that wooded area. Thought I saw one a minute ago.”

“You didn’t see anyone, you lying sack of shit.”

“Blow me, fuckface.”

“Here comes Vaas.”

“Vaaaas!”

Vaas sprinted in with three others.

“Let’s get this party started! How much time we got?”

“Twenty-one minutes.”

Vaas unsheathed his sword with a flourish. He began to twirl it around and toss it in the air.

FROM THE JOURNAL OF HANDICE

I watched the outlanders with growing disgust. We would die today for these fools.