As Mirio entered the clearing just ahead of the Spurs he saw over a hundred lights gathered on the hill. Each light shone from the hilt of guardsmen pulled from one of the surrounding villages. Mirio glanced at the lights for only a split second before he started scanning the clearing, searching the terrain for anything that might give the men an advantage in the fight to come.

“The field is darker than usual”

Mirio glanced up at the night sky.

“No moon tonight I guess”

“Damn, it what are they thinking, lantern stones at the hilt won’t be enough light for a fight like this”

Mirio leaned back in the saddle and brought Rocky to a stop. He hopped down onto the path and scoured the area for something useful.

“Stones, where are some stones?”

“Ah, here we are!”

He scraped his hands through the dirt and scooped up dozens of small rocks. He held them up to chest height and drew upon one of his stored spells.

“Illuminate!”

The rocks burst with bright light, each one shining many times brighter than a lantern stone.

Mirio hopped back onto Rocky and trotted through the field dropping stones every twenty paces. He worked his way back and forth and wound his way up to the guardsmen atop the hill.

“Good idea,” Dereo said as Mirio arrived at the top of the hill.

“Are the other’s here yet?” Mirio replied.

“And miss this, are you kidding me?”

“How many guards are here do you think?” Mirio asked.

“Hrmm, well, each village has a garrison of twenty four guards. And with four villages that makes about a hundred. Then the guards from Elmvale which is another seventy. And we have some of the clerics over there, which is another dozen, and there are about twenty adventurers out the back, on the other side”

“So over two hundred then” Mirio replied.

“Yeah, about that many”

“Has anyone been briefed?” Mirio asked.

“The runners told us all to bring our shields, as well as bolas and nets. But besides that we are all in the dark on what is going on exactly. The Captain is still off gathering the knights from Elmvale, I don’t know what is taking them so long” Dereo replied.

“So no one knows what is going on yet?”

Mirio turned towards the crowd and trotted out in front of them. He lifted his hand and flashed it with pulses of light.

“Everybody listen up!”

“I’ve just come from Gimly. An enormous monster has broken loose from the monster hunters. It has the power to control the minds of anyone it touches and has rampaged through town converting everyone it could find. It’s ugly squid like face and the enthralled people who didn’t escape are headed this way. If we don’t stop it here, it will continue to rampage and destroy everything in its path including Elmvale”

The men adjusted uncomfortably, and whispered to each other.

“Now, I know a lot of you have bolas or nets on you, and since the people coming this way are actually villagers, I don’t have to remind you that you can’t use your blades. The task here isn’t to kill anyone, but to put them down as fast as you can. Blunt weapons, and shields will be your best bet up close, and since they don’t have any ranged capabilities, stand tight, and shoulder to shoulder in a shield wall. Those with nets and bolas stand in front of the shield wall and drop back behind it after the first volley, then make their way to the flanks to get a better line of sight”

The men nodded, and began organising their gear while still listening.

“I’ve lit up the field ahead, so you guys can see what is happening, they will be rushing up this way in a matter of minutes, so we might not have a lot of time to prepare. This is all in a rush so forgive me for taking my captain’s place in giving you these orders. But with that said, I want you to know two more things. First, if you see one of the three enthralled monster hunters, strike to kill, don’t hesitate to draw your blade and do anything you need if they come your way. Second, here and now you have a choice to make”

“You can look at yourself as a rat, who scurries away from danger. Or you can look at yourself as the eagle who seeks his prey. That might be a bit of a weird analogy, but I am going with it. All you guys need to make a choice here and now which you are going to be in this fight, and it will determine the fate of everyone here. Remember to work with your brothers and sisters to the right and left of you, and prepare yourselves for battle!”

One of the guards called out “What are our positions?”

“Are there any runners here?” Mirio called out.

Six men and two women stepped forwards.

“What do you guys think? A shield wall along the front here, and skirmishers fall back and to the sides?” Mirio asked.

“Yeah, that sounds like the right strategy,” one of them replied.

“And the clerics could stand behind the shield wall, see if we can gather most of the thralls into a tight bundle and cast their sleep spells?” Mirio asked.

“Well, if that is what you are thinking, we should get the front line to take ten steps back as they fight so the formation bends to funnel them in. We’ll also need to reinforce the center, so three men deep rather than just the two on the sides” one of the runners replied.

“We have about twenty guards with javelins. What should we do with them?” asked another of the runners.

“We’ll need them to attack the Queen I guess, try to keep her at bay from the rest of the fight, because if she gets in close, the fight is over. It has six tentacles coming out from where its neck would be if it had one, and each one stretches out about thirty to forty feet” Mirio replied.

“Shit, Javelins alone might not hold it off, but what about a mobile squad on horseback to keep it distracted. Then javelins off from the side”

“I’m not so sure this thing gets distracted, but it is a better idea than nothing,” Mirio replied.

“Are you willing to lead that group?” one of them asked Mirio.

“Sure, but who comes with me?” he replied.

“All us runners have horses, but we should stay back to command the lines, how about we get a few who can ride to go with you?”

“Sounds good”

A few adventurers stepped forward, “Excuse me, what should we do?”

Mirio looked over the twenty or so ragtag mix, “E and D grade wait for any areas of the line that need to be reinforced and then jump in, F grades should hang back and protect the clerics and their assistants, make sure no stragglers hassle them”.

With a firm nod everyone went off to their positions. The runners called out to each of their men and had them form the main line. Eight more men hopped up onto horseback and came over to Mirio and waited next to him for orders.

“Guys, keep well clear of its tentacles, so stay about fifty feet from it at all times. You won’t do anyone any good if you get enthralled”

“What does it mean if you get enthralled? I mean do you go back to normal after a while or what?” one of the men asked.

“I really don’t know, but let’s not find out the hard way, yeah?” Mirio replied.

Dereo called out from the side. “Hey, you guys forgot the monster hunters, shouldn’t there be a team for that too?”

“You are right, but there is no way to predict where they will be or when”

“Well, what if the Tower, Carlsen, and I all keep an eye out,” Dereo replied.

“That is fine so long as you start at the side of the formation” Mirio replied.

Tad worked his way over and lifted his chin with pride, “I’ll stick with them”

“Just... Be careful please, and no matter what don’t try to fight any of them alone. Always at least two on one” Mirio replied. He then grabbed the axe off his back he had taken from Beran and tossed it to Tad. “That weapon has a rune stone in it, so it should cut through their armor easier”

The axe landed in his hands with a satisfying thunk, and glowed with a red mist.

Dereo did a double take and stared at Mirio “Where the hell did you get that?”.

“I fought their leader before the Queen got loose”

“Wait, what? You mean you took down a monster hunter solo?”

“We don’t have time for me to explain,” Mirio replied. “The three that remain are a half orc with an axe, an elf with twin blades, and a woman with a spear and a crossbow”

The tower chuckled as he made his way over, “Dereo can fight the girl, but leave the others to me”

"Oh ho! Low blow! Low blow! Tell ya what though if you do take two of them down the drinks are on me after"

“Good luck guys,” Mirio replied.

With a tug of the reins Mirio trotted off on Rocky into the field with Ezee and the other eight horsemen following along behind.

“Alright guys, just harass it as best you can, let’s try to hold it off. Oh and if you have anything to block your ears, put it in. The creature is psionic so if you don’t want it sapping your strength work that out”

Mirio drew swabs of wool from his side pouch and began rolling them into ear plugs from himself while he handed the rest out.

EAAAAAAAAK!

The Sawtooth Queen screeched from a couple hundred yards beyond the clearing. Preceding a rumble of footsteps as hundreds of thralls swarmed amid the trees.

“Huah!” Mirio grunted as he set Rocky into a gallop off to the side of the clearing. He lifted his hand and set off a few quick flashes of his hand to let everyone know this was the signal to begin.

Men at the front lines began swinging their Bolas back and forth like a pendulum. Essentially three stones at the end of three strings attached to each other at the center, they could be thrown in a whipping motion to catch around the target’s legs. While those with nets, swirled them above their heads.

The rumble of footsteps over the grass grew louder and louder, until the treeline lit up with hundreds glowing violet eyes.

RAAARG!

The thralls flooded into the clearing like hunters chasing prey. Weaving their heads side to side as they snarled and snapped their jaws like wild animals. What were once women, children, woodsmen, and farmers were now entirely under the command of the Queen, and her task was simple, to consume everyone.