Two days have passed since Hartwell has returned, without anything new happening in the camp. Until …

“Hazelmere, wake up!”

“Whaaat … what do you want?” Hazelmere shifted in her makeshift bed, rubbing her eyes.

“They’re here!”

“Who’s here?”

“The demons! They’re crossing the portal!”

That woke her up instantly. She looked at Mizette, hoping it’s some kind of a sick joke, but the horror in her friend’s eyes told her everything she needed to know. She jumped up, put her dress on in a hurry, without adjusting it properly, and rushed outside.

As soon as she got out, she saw the soldiers running everywhere. They yelled and screamed way too much for Hazelmere’s comfort.

“Do they know?” Hazelmere asked as she and Mizette dashed towards the stones.

“Yes, I screamed as loud as I could to wake everyone up.”

“Good call!”

“Also, that drumming noise we used to hear before, it isn’t passing anymore. Now you can hear it constantly.”

“Oh yes, I can hear it.”

“And when you are listening through the stone, it sounds much more like the mounts galloping than the drums. But it’s really weird. It sounds as if something is galloping up in the sky. And it always comes from the same direction. You would expect the galloping mounts to move, but it sounds as if they don’t.”

“So, I take it that Heartwell has done a good job?”

“I don’t know how far he took it, but you can hear it as if it is right in front of you. You can even sense the vibrations in your bones.”

Running as fast as they could, they reached the two stones used for observation, one for magescope and the other for the sound catcher. Hazelmere put each hand on a different stone, closing her eyes.

She saw them right away. People-like creatures stood near the portal. Their figures were identical to those of Timkiks, but she couldn’t say the same for their bodies, which were completely covered in the strangest furs she ever saw. It was puffy like a regular fur, but there was no hair on it.

For a moment, she wondered if that fur was an integral part of their bodies, but she quickly realized that’s not the case. The upper part of it was dyed bright red, while the lower part could only be described as the color of the forest. It wasn’t a single color but a combination of several colors commonly found in the forests. Those colors shifted in a chaotic pattern all over the lower part of the furs.

“I see no horns on them, but I don’t think they can be anything but the demons,” Mizette said, grabbing the other side of the stones.

“Their faces are completely black, and I see no eyes on them, so yes, those are definitely the demons. I also see no ears or tails on them.”

“Those are probably hidden beneath the furs, but I would expect the horns to poke out.”

“What were they doing before you came to me?”

“I have no idea. I ran as soon as I saw them.”

“It doesn’t look like they are trying to cross. And there are too few of them for an invasion.”

“Scouts, perhaps?” A male voice spoke.

Opening her eyes, Hazelmere saw Vukasin standing next to her.

“Heartwell made me the commander until he recovers.”

“Those could be scouts,” Hazelmere responded, “but the noise is what is worrying me. It is the same noise as before but now, when I can hear it closer, it does sound as if something is galloping in the sky.”

“As if something is galloping above the portal itself,” Mizette added.

Cybil joined them, breathing heavily.

“What’s going on? Are we under attack?”

“Not yet, but we will be any time now.”

---

“Aarrrgggghh!”

Startled, the archmages looked at Hazelmere, seeing her trying to pull her hair out. All of them gathered near the stones, taking turns, expecting the demons to pour through the portal.

That was some time ago, and now the anticipation has started affecting some of them.

“What’s wrong? Are they coming?” Mizette asked, readying for action.

“No! Those dumbasses are still doing nothing! They are just standing there, looking around, pointing fingers!”

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Cybil asked, her hands still on the stones, “And that galloping noise is gone. Maybe that means they won’t be crossing the portal today?”

“It would make sense for them to study the portal. After all, as far as they are concerned, the portal appeared out of nowhere. They know nothing about it, so it makes sense for them to be cautious,” Natle pointed out.

“That is exactly what worries me,” there was an ominous tone in Cybil’s voice.

“What?”

“I have never seen a demon before, but everyone told me they are more like the beasts than the people, even though some of them do have a people-like appearance. Even though they do have some intelligence, I was told that they act on instinct, like the beasts do. They are supposed to be led by instinct and unchained emotions. And yet, here we see them being suspicious. They are looking at the portal, analyzing it. They aren’t just charging at it as you would expect the demons to do. They are acting … academic about it.”

“… maybe they aren’t demons? I mean, I couldn’t see any horns,” Mizette’s voice betrayed her uncertainty.

Cybil opened her eyes to fix Mizette with a stare: “They have been standing there since the morning, completely unaffected by the frost. There is no way anything besides the beasts and the demons can survive such cold. The peasant-commander didn’t get anywhere near the portal, and yet, his blood turned to ice.”

“Horns aren’t … necessarily … the sign of a … demon …” Moana’s voice was as low as ever, “… cubus demons … for example … can be … people-like … and some people … can also have … horns …”

“Indeed. Ovces have horns, and yet, they are nice, gentle, meek people,” Hazelmere said.

“The sheep-people?” Vukasin asked.

“Yes, them. Their horns are huge, but they are extremely peaceful. So peaceful that the only reason they aren’t extinct yet is that no one is interested in climbing the barren, rocky mountains they live in. Even the dwarves have abandoned those mountains, there is nothing to mine out there.”

“Then, how do they live there if they have nothing to trade?”

“They eat grass.”

“…”

“They have such a lack of ambition, they don’t need anything more than that.”

“Oh, oh, oh, it looks like the demons are doing something!” Cybil’s excited words stopped the casual conversation.

Hazelmere grabbed the stones instantly, closing her eyes to feel them better.

“Wait, are they … what are they doing?”

“It looks like they are grabbing the ice with their bare hands and throwing it through the portal.”

“How can they even do that? We couldn’t break that ice with a spear, so how can they do it with their bare hands?”

Everyone held their breath as Hazelmere and Cybil commented on what’s going at the portal. The stones simply weren’t big enough to be handled by more than two people simultaneously.

“Wait, wait,” Cybil said, “I don’t think they are shattering the ice. It looks much more like that half-ice we saw before. Remember the soldier who grabbed it and then shaped it into a ball with his hands?”

“Yes.”

“I think they are doing the same. See? They grab it, compress it with their hands, and then throw it through the portal.”

“Ah, yes, I see. However, when we were near the portal, there was thick ice everywhere! Where would they find that half-ice?”

”I think Yesis’s storm is responsible for that unshatterable ice,” Cybil stated, “his storm probably didn’t reach the other side of the portal. In fact, when you get a closer look at it, close to the portal, see how the ice changes? Do you see how the ice is smooth up to a point where it stops reflecting Sun’s rays?”

“But why are they throwing the ice through the portal? Why would they do that? What is the point?”

“… maybe … they are … spreading … the … demonic corruption …” Moana offered an explanation.

As soon as she said that, both Hazelmere and Cybil opened their eyes, looking directly at her. The sudden attention made Moana squirm in place.

“… it could be that … they … can’t leave their world … unless ours is … corrupted enough … if the ice is … carrying corruption … maybe … they are trying … to speed up … its spread … maybe that is … what protects them … from Sun …”

“Hmpf … could be …” The sour look on Hazelmere’s face made Moana cover.

“But, if that is the case, I would expect more of them to be out there. There are only a few of them. There is no way they will spread the corruption any time soon,” Cybil pointed out.

“Maybe they are just testing the portal, trying to see what happens to whatever tries to cross it?” Natle said.

“That makes more sense,” Mizette nodded her head, “I am not saying their corruption isn’t spreading through the ice but, if that is what they are trying to do, I would expect them to send an entire army to speed up the process.”

“… umm … maybe … those scouts … are only testing if … it can be done … and … the army … will come … later …”

Hearing that, Mizette’s face soured too: “That, may be the case …”

Vukasin took a deep breath: “Well, there’s no way for us to know for sure. The best thing we can do is prepare to both fight and flee, depending on how the situation develops. If a few of them try crossing the portal, we fight. If an entire army shows up, we flee. Anyway, I’ll go to and report the situation to Heartwell. And I’ll also arrange for a courier to deliver the message to the palace, saying that we’ve finally encountered the demons on the other side.”

“Yes, please do that,” Hazelmere agreed.