The earth felt wet and warm. His blood formed a small pool on the ground, mixing with the grass to give off a perverted variation of morning's dew. The twin stars had set and only the faint light of early evening illuminated the ground, turning the blood a deep brown. Nadier tried to reach for his dagger but a shot of pain ran through his right shoulder. He touched the point that burned and found the bullet hole in it. It did not feel like the ammunition went through and it was probably still stuck inside his body. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to stand on his one good arm. His back gave a loud and painful crack, but aside from a wince, the shock of bones setting itself back into position after the fall from his horse was bearable.

Nora rode in behind, getting off her steed once she was close. “It's funny isn't it?”

Gripping his shoulder, he turned to face her. The two dozen snipers from The Long Arm stood in line behind her atop the rolling hill. And he alone stood between the platoon of snipers, the lady assassin, and the town of Ra'Kalen behind.

To her question, he asked, “What is?”

“You.” She walked towards him, her feet snaking around the front leg, setting themselves before each other in a perfectly straight, practised line. “You've never gotten yourself involved in large events before. That's why Akaras made Lord before you did. You never had a vision. Yet here you are, frantically searching for answers in what may be the greatest turning point in the history of the country.”

“Well, my brother has never died before.”

“That is true.” She stopped just within kicking distance of him. “I suppose something like that must bring perspective to life.”

He warily eyed her deadly boots. When he was sure she had no intention of attacking at the moment, he looked her in the eyes and asked, “Why are you doing this? Why target me?”

“I don't understand what you mean,” she replied with a genuine, but playful smile. “If you're asking me why I'm hunting you down, it is simply because of orders. Why you, specifically, however? Well, don't flatter yourself. The Lord Light keeps a close tab on all the Epitaph holders in the world, even me. We are great assets, but most of us are also powerful and unpredictable.”

Nadier took the moment of calm to remove his scarf. “You speak as if we are merely pieces on a board.” With the cloth, he tied a makeshift bandage around his wound with a grunt.

Nora took a moment of thought to consider his statement before answering, “I suppose we are. But so long as our movements and actions does not obstruct the path Lord Light has deemed, I see no issues in being used.” She turned to look back at the snipers, all of whom had their barrels trained on Nadier. She turned back to him and said with a sigh, “Truth be told, I don't wish to kill you. Despite your lack of combat strength, I know how terrifying a trained assassin like yourself can be to enemies. And I do hope that terror of yours could be on our side.”

“You want me to join you? I don't even know what you're trying to do,” Nadier admitted to his lack of information. “The dark elves want to attack Everwind. You're building a portal to another universe, and you're hunting The Watcher, Demon Eyes, and now me. None of that makes a lick of sense to me.”

Like a salesperson, Nora merely grinned and answered, “Join us, and you'll find out.”

He could see no down side to the offer. If the dark elves were truly about to start a war with Everwind, allying himself on the side of The Forum would guarantee a chance to settle his vengeance against those who gave the orders that led Akaras to his death. It would also keep Nora and The Long Arm off his tail, and he would be in a better position to negotiate for Adelle's safety. He had no obligation to The Watcher either, and he would gain answers to all the questions he sought. There was only one logical response.

“No,” he replied. “I sell my service, not my loyalty.”

The heel of the boot raised to the level of his chin in a blink of an eye. Having expected the attack, Nadier jumped back, drawing a single dagger out in a reverse grip with his left hand. His wound throbbed as adrenaline pumped blood through his body. He brought his right hand up to put pressure on his injury while settling his weapon arm towards Nora.

Despite the situation, or because of it, Nora's smile twisted into that of excitement, though her temptress looks hid most of the malice. “Too bad,” she said to him. “I still won't kill you... yet. I need as many hostages as I can to lure out The Watcher.”

“Hah!” Nadier got into fighting position, left leg forward, right leg back. “Aren't you getting a bit too full of yourself? I'm not strong, but you're not great a fighter either.”

“Oh, I think you're mistaken, Wanderer,” she replied with a further sly grin. She pointed a finger gun at the base of his feet. “I'm not fighting you. They are.” She pinched her thumb.

Almost immediately, a bullet clacked off the dirt at the base of his foot. Wide-eyed, Nadier stared at the bullet mark left on the ground before looking up to The Long Arm he had forgotten about. Smoke rose from the barrel of a rifle from the far left, a far enough distance away that the shooter was just a line on the horizon. With that aim and him being stationary, they could have cleanly killed him off if they wanted to.

Nora asked, “So, what's it going to be?”

He shot her a dirty glare.

***

The Watcher, Kathleen, and Lucinda Baerrinska made it into town just after the complete cover of night had taken them.

Kathleen noted, “Why aren't there any lights on?”

Ra'Kalen was bathed in darkness, with only the faint flickers of missed candles and the lights of the stars to shine the way. To the north, away from the Valley of Titans, the light from The Tower of Everwind radiated like a beacon in the dark.

Luce explained, “It's harder to shoot in the dark. Someone must have realized that and got the townsfolk to snuff out as much light as they could.”

The trio turned into the streets, careful to avoid the openings between the buildings that led into direct line of sight for the snipers.

“Luce,” The Watcher started. “You've got a gun, can't you just, I don't know, provide some covering fire?”

“They are too far out of range, even for me. I'm guessing they are using longer barrelled rifles.”

They continued their journey, heading towards the centre of town. Kathleen said, “Where is everybody?”

Luce replied, “They've probably evacuated the town.”

“Then we should leave too,” Kathleen suggested. “I'll go to the inn to grab our bags.”

The Watcher said, “Okay, but be careful. We'll meet up at the western side.”

Kathleen gave a smiling thumbs up before separating from them. The Watcher felt his heart warmed a little at the sight of her gaining her independence, capable of acting in the face of the unknown was a far way away from the girl he first met on the highway. Even though it had only been a few days, she had really gotten into playing the role of an adventurer.

Once Kathleen was out of earshot, Luce asked, “What about you?”

“I need to find out what's going on, and what happened to Nadier. Either the town's mayor or that Grandmaster Enhancer should have the information I need.”

“Wait!” she stopped him in his tracks with a halting wave. “Do you hear that?”

His raised his ears to the wind, the nightly music of crickets were the first noise he picked up. He was quite surprised that aside from horses, there were other types of faunas that the worlds shared. Then, he heard the soft grumble and chattering distinct to huddled refugees. It was a sound he was all too familiar with from a time long past.

Luce pointed, “Over there!” She began leading the way through another maze of alley.

He followed her through the winding town, her confidence in the road likely stemmed from having oversaw the town from her high perch. A right turn into a small alley. A left on the main streets. Past the open square of the town centre. Another right.

The pair stepped out into a football field-sized park. Hundreds of townsfolk huddled under blankets, trees, and around dimly lit candles. Adults sat nervously within families and groups, while the older children gathered solemnly and the younger ones emitted quiet sobs. Individuals wearing poor fitting, cracking leather armour and holding rusted spears sheepishly patrolled the area, no doubt the town militia, though the negligible numbers did not incite hope of a counter attack.

“Like I've told you, Mayor Geraldine, I cannot interfere in combat,” came Miguel's voice.

The pair turned to see three figures walking towards them. In the middle was the Grandmaster Enhancer in a full navy blue cloak. To his left, still in her work clothes, Hidergard stood vigilant, a sabre sheathed at her side. Following behind them was a short and slightly round woman. She wore a plain brown dress that was just a step slicker than the dressing of the rest of the town. Her black hair tied into a large bun, The Watcher immediately wondered if a potato could walk and talk, would it look like the woman before them.

The mayor continued her plea, “But Grandmaster, surely a man of your abilities would be able to save us from such an assault?”

With a tone of annoyance The Watcher had not heard from the learned man, Miguel replied, “It is not a question of my capabilities, Miss Mayor. I am here on behalf of the king. If I so much as flick a toothpick in the direction of Everwind and its soldiers, it can be taken as an act of aggression and be used as a signal for war. Without any probable cause, I cannot interfere in a country's internal strife.” He turned back to focus on the road ahead and saw the pair. “Ah, Watcher, just who I was looking for.”

The mayor turned to The Watcher and scrunched, “Watcher?” She stepped around Miguel and Hildergard, making a beeline for the time traveller. With a finger stabbing into his chest, she accused, “You! You're the reason this is happening! You troublemaker, turn yourself into the custody of The Forum immediately or I will summon the militia!”

“What?” The Watcher stepped away from the mad woman. He looked towards the approaching Enhancers, “What's going on here? And why hasn't the town been evacuated.”

Miguel calmly walked to them, explaining, “They came for you. They want us to hand you over before midnight or they'll attack the town.” He looked around at the scared townsfolk. “They are putting the town under siege, and the female spy asked me to tell you they have The Wanderer as a hostage as well. I assume you know the elf?”

“He is my companion,” The Watcher admitted. But something more serious weighed on his mind. “Why is everyone gathered this far in? If they are not attacking before midnight, shouldn't you try to evacuate everyone?”

Hildergard stepped forward, pushing the mayor unceremoniously out of the way. “Anyone who steps out of the perimeter of the town is shot. A farmer tried running for the field and he got a bullet through the knee for it.”

Miguel continued, “There's not enough steeds either. If we did, riding out would be our best bet, since it seems they can't shoot riders as accurately. We could try to get everyone up the mountain but there–”

“Wait,” The Watcher cut him off with a raised hand. To Hildergard, he asked, “Did you say the perimeter? How far out is that?”

She answered, “Any building within the outer streets is a danger zone. Why?”

Luce let out, “Oh no...” Her being the first to catch onto the implied trouble. “The inn is on the outskirts, isn't it?”

A volley of gunfire rang out through the night, echoing a second time off the ridge face of the mountain as if there was an entire army of riflemen firing instead of the few dozens. The group turned to the north, the bright Tower shining in the distance. But the light felt dim, dark, as if the world had frozen cold. The Watcher felt the familiar creeping touch of forebode and regret creeping up his spine.

He shouted, “Kathleen!”

Without another word, he dashed away from the park and towards the inn. The buildings of the town flashed by him, the footsteps of his companions pattering rapidly behind as they raced to catch up.

Luce shouted, “Left!”

He rocketed out of the alleyway and made a hard skidding turn left on the main streets. Luce continued shouting directions to him as they navigated the town. He remembered looking in from the plains and thinking the town was small. Now, it felt as if he was attempting the travel across the globe while riding a snail.

Dashing straight across the final stretch, he could see the outline of the inn in the distance. He could also see the body that laid in the middle of the streets.

“Kathleen!” he yelled for her.

She did not respond. Not a twitched. Not a groan. Just a lump of meat lying on the ground.