Faye had slept for a few hours. Nothing close to what she needed. The nerves and worry that something would go wrong if she let herself relax kept waking her. Eventually she decided that she would be more use awake and preparing for their final dash for the Guild than restlessly tossing and turning.

She asked Maggie if she was okay staying on watch while Faye gathered some food together and the young woman nodded, her eyes tight.

Squeezing her friend’s shoulder, Faye tried to convey a sense of support without thinking too hard about what she was promising. She was still only level ten. It was, in some ways, madness to assume that Faye knew what she was doing.

Pushing those thoughts aside, cursing internally again at the effects of the bane, Faye raided the larder of this house. It was an occupied house, and she silently vowed she would repay the people that lived here.

Or the Guild would, she supposed.

Either way, there was enough stocked to make a large pot of porridge for everyone. Cereals like this were excellent on a morning for children, storing the energy for long term release. There were some pieces of fruit in the cupboards that she chopped up to go with each bowl that she would dish out, too.

The dawn had not yet broken. Each shutter was closed firmly against the night air, and the heavy winter curtains were drawn tightly, too, but without the fireplace they would have all had an incredibly frosty night.

As the porridge was bubbling, Faye had ventured outside to get some air. It was a strange sensation, knowing that it was cold enough to freeze water but not cold enough that she would need a thick coat.

Stats are weird, she concluded.

Maggie opened the door and stuck her head out.

“Faye, they’re waking up.”

“Alright, let’s get them ready, then.”

Their party reached the wall with no trouble. It was still dark, but the dawn light was sneaking in. Some of the local birds had a terrible sense of dawn and were already loudly proclaiming their chorus. Faye always wondered why some birds sang so early when others would wait until true daybreak.

The meagre light was enough for Faye to navigate the few turns it took to get to the wall, and with her [Mana Sense] she did not make the children crouch and stay silent. There were no presences around other than her allies.

As they reached the stairs that would take them to the top of the wall, Faye realised that going whilst it was still dark was probably the best idea anyway. Someone would spot them running across the wall.

She paused.

“How did I overlook that?”

“What?” Taveon asked.

“The wall, it’s not guarded from this side. They’ll see us running across it.”

“Yes,” Taveon said, “I thought you… knew that?”

Faye turned an embarrassed look to him and Maggie. “I’m sorry, no, I didn’t think of it ‘til just now. Should we do this?”

“Of course we should,” Maggie said, “it’s our fastest option. We move fast and we might avoid most attention. When they spot us, we throw magic at them and keep moving.”

Faye nodded.

“Remember,” Taveon added, “there will be more Guards and Guilders the further around the town we go. It’s not too far.”

“Far enough,” Faye muttered, to herself, but to the others she nodded. “Of course, let’s go. I’ll lead. Give me a few moments head start. Maggie, you lead the children, Taveon trail them. Make sure we don’t leave any. Hoza has the rear.”

They both nodded, and at a look, Hoza lifted her spear — despite not having heard anything she knew her role already. Faye squared her shoulders.

This is it. We’re making a break for it.

She took the steps up to the top of the wall two at a time. The mad dash had her ascending in moments. A quick look to her left and right showed no one on the wall, and her [Mana Sense] did not indicate anyone unexpected nearby, either.

The pre-dawn darkness across the land was calm, despite the loud caws of the bird life. She turned to the right and started jogging.

The children would not be able to move this fast, but Faye wanted some space between her and Maggie so that if she had to deal with anything dangerous, she could do so without worrying about the children being hit accidentally.

Keeping track of the children with her [Mana Sense] was useful because she could keep her eyes fixed on where she was going.

They made good time. The children were fed, well-rested, and starting to feel confident now that the horrors of the day before were behind them. Faye had heard some of the older ones tell the younger that things were going to be fine as soon as they got to the Guild, because their mam and dad were there…

And Faye had stopped listening.

She did not have the heart to continue to hear their hopes, when the Primalists had been battling the Guild and Guard for at least two days now. Some of those kids were going to lose, or had already lost without realising, at least one parent.

Faye’s hands were clenched hard. She tried to let her anxiety drain away with some deep, calming breaths.

It did not work.

Five minutes later, a turn in the wall let Faye see the western gate. It was the first hiccup in their mad dash to the northern end of the town. Maggie and the others had assumed that Primalists would be covering the gates.

They were not wrong.

Faye crouched and held up a hand behind her. The others slowed to a stop.

She scurried forward, extending [Mana Sense] as much as she could.

There were thorn walls spread out across the three main routes to the gate. Each barrier held the mana auras of multiple lesser briars. They were positively infested. Anyone that attempted to vault the low barriers would find themselves swarmed quickly.

Faye was pleased. So far, so good. Lesser briars would not stop them.

Concentrating, she sensed something… bigger. But it was approaching the gate from the outside.

Darting to the edge of the wall, she stuck her head out over the crenellations to try and see what it was. The mana was thick out there, and something was surely moving through it, but it was not clear who or what it was from this distance.

With a start, however, Faye sensed the briars shifting from their resting states. The aura moved in from the outside, barrelling through the waiting briars like they were nothing more than leaves. The aura moved into the town, and soon passed from Faye’s senses.

The briars followed in a tide.

Standing, Faye turned and frantically waved for the others to catch up.

Maggie and Taveon chivvied the kids into a run. Waiting for them to get close, Faye started jogging when Maggie, at the front of the train, met her.

“What’s happened?” the other woman asked.

Faye pointed into town. “Someone came into town, drew the briars away. Bless our lucky stars, but there’s nothing worth worrying about at the gate now.”

They made a mad dash for the battlements over the gate, which were less battlements and more a slightly thicker section of wall that rose by two steps higher than the wall itself.

Not daring to stop for fear of getting stuck behind the slower children, Faye had to content herself with quick glances into the road that led away from the gate and into the heart of the town.

From here, she could see quite far into the town. The presence that had entered through the gate was nowhere to be seen, but the lesser briars were all spreading out along the road, she saw them entering the side streets too.

Thank you, stranger.

The rest of the sprint across the top of the wall took around half an hour. Faye had sped ahead a few times to scout the way but would always need to stop and double back to make sure the children were okay.

Maggie, Taveon, and Hoza were doing their best to encourage the kids, but there was only so long you could get a child to run for before they needed to slow down for a spell.

Faye chafed at the time they were spending up on the wall, but the dim morning light was not revealing them to anyone, which Faye thanked the stars for, again.

It was when the northern gate came into view and she saw figures standing guard atop the wall that her heart stopped, because she thought their luck had deserted them.

Fortunately, it quickly became apparent that the people she saw were the town Guards, because they instantly sent someone forward to speak to her.

“Ho there, it’s not safe up here!” the guard called.

“Better than taking the streets,” she retorted. “I’ve got precious cargo.” She thumbed over her shoulder, and with a look the guard’s eyes widened.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry. We didn’t see them, quickly now, to the gate!”

Faye nodded. She turned and waited for Maggie and the others to catch up, then accompanied them to the gate and the steps there.

The Guard had secured the gate soon after Faye and the other adventurers had breached the walls when returning from their mission in the foothills north of Lóthaven. The sergeant, a woman Faye did not recognise, gave them an escort of two guards to take them through their patrolled streets to the Guild itself.

It was not far. The children were subdued, but being children were recovering from the run quickly. The guards spoke with favour with Maggie and the others, but Faye kept herself out of the conversation a little.

Part of her could not believe that they were safe. Not yet.

Like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She kept her [Mana Sense] focused on the streets around them, barely paying attention to where she was walking. This way, she was focusing on the mana of the surroundings when the Guild’s hall came into range of her skill.

She let out an involuntary gasp.

It was amazing. Like a bonfire of magical motes of light and energy, swirling around in a vortex and swaying through the air on invisible currents.

Maggie had heard Faye’s gasp and had dropped back a step to ask her what was wrong.

“Oh, nothing, I’m just looking at the Guild hall with new eyes…” Faye muttered.

Truly, it was like looking at something with a clarity that had never been possible. A new lens to look at the world through.

“Did you get [Mana Sense]?” Maggie asked, quietly.

“Yes, how’d you know?”

“It’s well documented,” came the reply. “Many mages that like to work visually get something like it.”

“I’m not exactly a mage,” Faye said.

“No,” Maggie said, “but you’re a spellcaster. Congratulations. I think I was out of it when we talked. You have done something utterly amazing. Cresting is a big deal and you’ve achieved it.”

Faye grinned. She had deactivated [Mana Sense] as Maggie talked. She wanted to see what her friend was saying, rather than only listening. The grin on Maggie’s face told her she was genuinely happy for her, which made Faye’s chest warm.

“Thank you, Mags, I appreciate that.”

“We will have to celebrate, you know, when this is all over.”

“I have this awful feeling that it’s not over,” Faye said, quietly. “I can’t help it.”

“Me too,” her friend confided. “I’m not a fighter, at all. I just want to curl up in a ball and let the others do it… people like you,” she said, prodding Faye in the arm.

“You did great,” Faye protested, “you don’t need anyone else to—”

“Need and want are two very different things,” Maggie retorted. She grinned. “I’m not a fan of all this adrenaline and rushing around, flirting with danger. I’ll happily sit and listen to your stories as you tell me of your adventures, but I’m not cut out for it.”

“That’s fair,” Faye said. “It’s a shame, really. I think it would be fun to go off exploring together, you know?”

Maggie smiled. “That would be fun, until the first time we came across some enraged beast that you wanted to put down… or a bandit stronghold… or… or… a dozen other things that might happen with an adventurer around!”

They laughed. It felt good to be able to laugh. Taveon looked over and smiled, too.

No, that other shoe was going to fall, Faye knew, but right now she was content. She had done what the Administrator had asked; almost. There was still a black spot in her heart at the lost soul of the boy. But she pushed onward. There was more to do. The Primalists and their briar spawn still had the town in their grip.

Time to speak to the others.

The square in front of the Guild hall was teeming with people. Guild assistants practically swarmed them the moment they appeared. Two or three took charge of the children. One came over with a crate of waterskins for each person to take and slake their thirst. Another came with pieces of fruit.

It tasted delicious, and Faye tried to lick every bit of juice that dribbled out of the succulent flesh.

She should not have been surprised that the guild was this active at the literal break of dawn, but it seemed clear that they had been going throughout the night. The signs of fatigue were there. Some of the assistants were dragging their feet. Others were wide-eyed with determined energy that would see them crash soon enough.

Their little party were guided through the square and into the open double doors of the hall itself. Inside, the same furiously determined activity was apparent as assistants and even some civilians marched back and forth.

At one end of the lobby, a group of people surrounded the Administrator as she gave out orders and received missives written on pieces of paper. The guild board, behind her, had been stripped of the haphazard job notices that had been plastered across it last time. Now, it seemed to be divided into sections that had pieces of paper arranged in squares. These were moved and transferred from space to space with each new order or piece of information that reached them.

“The Administrator will want to see you,” the assistant who had guided them in said, in a voice that rose above the clamour. “Sit here whilst you wait, I’ll go and inform her you’re here.”

The assistant practically pressed them all into seats that had been clustered near one of the hall’s lit braziers. They made for comfortably warm seats that seeped through the slight chill that had taken hold of Faye since waking earlier that morning.

They were not made to wait long. The Administrator herself hurried over the moment the assistant told her they were here.

Faye stood when she approached.

“You’re back,” the Administrator said, with an appraising eye. She looked over them all equally intently, then broke out into a smile. “Welcome back. Militiawoman, please find an assistant to take you to one of the sleeping rooms.”

Hoza nodded, jerkily. She smiled at them, then followed the assistant who had stepped forward to lead her away.

“Assistant Maggie,” the Administrator continued, “you’re going to need more recovery time. The healers will be able to look you over before midday. Do you wish to lie down?”

“Not yet, ma’am.”

“Very well. Schoolmaster, thank you for bringing your charges to the Guild.” The Administrator bowed her head. “I’m sorry for the loss.”

Taveon bowed his head as well. “As am I, Administrator. Were it not for Faye, we would have lost more. The plan needs changing.”

“There are a great many things about that plan which need to change, Schoolmaster, believe me,” she replied.

Faye heard the exhaustion and frustration in the woman’s voice as she spoke.

“I’ll be happy to help with that,” Taveon said, “whenever you may need me.”

“I am grateful. And,” the Administrator said, turning to Faye, “I wish to be the next to congratulate you, Faye. You are Lóthaven’s newest crested adventurer, it seems.”

Faye nodded. “Thank you. Could have come sooner if I’m honest. Would have helped a bit more.”

The Administrator blinked and laughed. “I am not sure I’ve heard someone crest so quickly before in my life, and yet complain that they should have done so sooner.” Her smile was kindly, as if she was laughing with Faye, rather than at her. “I am curious if our previous arrangement still holds water, however…”

Taveon looked over at her, his eyebrow raised.

“I don’t see why not,” Faye replied. “Though, Maggie had not heard of the class before. That seems to me to be worth a little more.”

Taveon’s mouth dropped open.

“You took an alternate class?” he asked. “Why did you not say?”

Faye gave him a look. “Because we were keeping those kids safe?”

He paused, then nodded. “Fair enough.”

“I’m a Spellsword,” she told him, and the others nearby who could hear. She heard a few murmurs, but nothing overt.

“Never heard of it,” Taveon said, promptly. “It’s not modified, which is honestly what I was expecting you to get, not a whole new base class. Name seems obvious.” Here, he looked to the Administrator. “In the records?”

The Administrator did not need to check, she simply looked at Faye and said, “No.”

Taveon nodded. “Rare enough that those that have it are carefully guarding its secrets, then. I’m confident something as obvious as combining magic with the sword has been done before…”

Faye held up a hand. “Before we carry on… can we have a nap?”

Taveon ground to a halt, and reluctantly nodded. “Er, yes. Nap. Sleep on it. Yes. No need to discuss it straight away. Not important, really.”

Faye smiled. “I’m sorry, old man, but I slept barely a couple of hours in the night.”

The Administrator interrupted. “You can all sleep as much as you need to. The Guild is the safest place right now, perhaps other than the Guard’s main barracks… anyway, send someone to me when you have awoken. Is there anything critical to tell me, now?”

Faye thought about what they had learned.

“I assume the others told you that these are the same foe we encountered on Steader Bann’s land?”

“Yes,” the Administrator confirmed, “they informed me at the earliest opportunity. Irrelevant for now, more useful later. Anything else?”

“One of the Primalists we encountered was very strong, they disappeared before we had to face them… something, uh, big… roared?”

The Administrator nodded, sombre. “Yes, the Guild Leader left to deal with that issue. As for the Primalist, that could have been their leader. Thank you.”

“Oh,” Faye said, “and we killed some Black Rose assassin types.”

The Administrator stared directly at Faye, her face paling.

“What?”

“Oh, uh, have you heard of them?”

The Administrator collected herself. “A mercenary group, for hire to the highest bidder. They are here? You are certain?”

“As certain my name is Faye,” she replied. “System told me itself. Black Rose rogues and a mage. Injured another, but her and some friends scarpered across the wall this morning.”

The Administrator still seemed shocked, but it was turning to anger as she looked about at her assistants. “Very well. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. There is something larger at stake indeed. Now, go, all of you, get some rest. I still need you for what is to come!”

The Administrator had not needed to tell them another time. Faye and the others followed the closest assistant to the nearest beds and promptly fell asleep, fully clothed.