Something shook Faye awake. She sat up, momentarily disoriented, and cast around looking for whoever had woken her.

Then the subtle shaking started again, this time she realised it was the bed itself.

“What the?” she muttered.

Sounds in the hallway outside drew her to her feet and she poked a head outside the door.

Guilders of all stripes were rushing up and down the corridor, some of them carrying papers, others escorting townsfolk. Some were even wearing aprons and held cleaning supplies.

She caught the look of one passing with a sheaf of papers.

“What was that?”

“Not sure, but it came from outside. Energy of some kind. Sorry, not a mage.”

The assistant gave a brief smile and nodded before ploughing on. Faye frowned. Energy of some kind?

She turned on [Mana Sense], which for a moment overwhelmed her still-groggy senses. But, after a few seconds she realised she could tune out some of the brightness of the Guild’s magic around her because she was so immersed in it.

Then, she saw the crimson glow that seemed to bubble outside of the Guild. It was close. It came closer with each passing moment.

“Okay, not great,” she muttered.

She had, once again, slept in her clothes. It was grim, and she longed for a decent shower or a bath to soak in. Her hair was gross, greasy, and covered in all sorts of grim and unknown liquids that she did not even want to think about. But she made sure it was all tied back, using a thin piece of leather she had found to tie around her head like a headband to stop the stray hair from flying in her face.

Picking up her scabbard, she attached it to her belt and was ready to go.

It was when she hit the lobby that she could hear the booming sounds, rather than feel the slight rattle of the building and floor under her feet.

The lobby was packed with people. Worse than before if that was possible. It seemed that some of the townsfolk had come in the night to take refuge here.

Don’t even know what time it is. Where are the clocks around here?

A roar, deep and rumbling, vibrated in her chest for the longest few seconds of Faye’s life. Everyone in the lobby had paused, shocked into stillness at the same time.

When the rumbling assault stopped, a few people cursed, and it broke the tension in the room.

Faye looked around the room for the Administrator, but she wasn’t there. The older woman might have tried to get some sleep soon after she had ordered Faye to bed, but somehow, she doubted that.

“Faye!”

She turned to watch as Maggie approached at a swift walk.

“Hey Mags, you doing okay?”

“I was, until I heard whatever that was. It’s outside. I’m not sure if we should go look at it or not.”

Faye looked to the windows. It was still dark.

“What time is it?”

“Not even close to dawn, around fifth bell.”

“You had any rest yet?” She looked at her friend with concern. “You’re marching back to bed if you haven’t.”

The other woman nodded, “I’ve slept.”

Faye narrowed her eyes. “For how long?”

“An hour… or two. But I can’t sleep now. Come on, I’m going to look.”

Faye shook her head. Fatigue was a real problem. Some people were able to sleep with something like the attacks looming over them, but there were plenty of people that struggled. She assumed Maggie was one that struggled.

Faye had had too much practice to worry about it.

Either way, she made sure her jian was loose in its scabbard for a quicker draw and followed her friend into the dark outside.

Despite the braziers located at even intervals along the edges and throughout the square, there were still huge patches of darkness. Each one looked sinister in the middle of the night. Clouds had rolled in, so there was no moonlight, not even basic starlight. Everything from a few feet upwards was pitch black.

Of course, with [Mana Sense], Faye was able to see so much more. It was like looking at the world with a filter on, lines of mana flowed according to no laws of physics she knew. And a few streets away, a crimson glow bathed the sky in light.

“There’s something, or someone, out there,” she said. “It’s not one of ours.”

Maggie looked at her with concern. “Really?”

“Crimson. Primalist magic has been crimson or vibrantly green. Seems like a good bet.”

The square before the Guild was not empty, even at this time of night, and Faye watched as militia raced back and forth, men and women carrying crates of supplies moved from one place to another in a dance of logistics that Faye did not even want to try and comprehend.

But that stopped as something emerged from the darkness between the barriers at the opposite end of the square.

It was a tall figure, draped in robes and cloth that hung loosely from their frame. Their hood was adorned with antlers, these some of the most elaborate that Faye had seen yet. Backlit by some braziers, the Primalist was basically just a silhouette.

“Non-combatants, inside!” called a voice. A moment later, the man who had shouted started pushing people toward the Guild’s doors.

Maggie and Faye shook themselves and moved forward, gesturing for the nearest people to move inside.

“Come on, inside now, quick as you can. That’s right.”

Faye kept one eye on the approaching Primalist, who seemed content to let the square slowly drain of its human occupants. Five long minutes later, the non-combatants were inside the hall. Maggie had retreated to stand on the steps behind Faye, but she was staring across the square with a fear-tinged curiosity that Faye appreciated.

She, too, was curious who this was.

When the square was finally empty of those who did not, or could not, fight, the Primalist stepped forward again. Three steps later, Faye saw with a shock that she recognised the woman. It was the Primalist that she had seen when she and Taveon had been at the courtyard.

She concentrated her [Mana Sense] on the Primalist now, and she swallowed thickly when she saw that this woman was the source of the crimson glow. Now, though, she saw that closer to the woman’s body and accoutrements, she practically shone with the vibrant green of the Primalist’s nature magic.

The doors behind Faye quietly opened and closed again.

She did not turn to look, but she heard a calm voice.

“Assistant Maggie, I encourage you to return indoors.”

“I– Yes, Administrator.”

Faye looked back then to see Maggie smile, despite her fear, before she turned and disappeared inside; she closed the door with a firm snap.

The Administrator joined Faye at the bottom of the steps to the Guild’s doors.

“I was afraid of this,” the woman said, quietly.

The militia and other Guilders dotted around the square were more than far enough away not to hear, unless there were skills that enhanced hearing—

Of course there are, Faye, don’t forget you can throw magic around!

—but she also figured that the Administrator simply was not used to admitting she was afraid.

“You know who it is?” Faye asked.

“No, but I can guess. With that power… we’re looking at someone with the strength to kill us all and be done with it.”

Faye swallowed. It was as much as she had figured already, but it was sobering to hear a similar judgement passed from the Administrator herself.

“What can we do?”

“Nothing. I’m sorry, Adventurer Faye.”

She turned fully, watching the Administrator’s eyes as she admitted the truth. The woman’s own gaze was locked on the Primalist — who had, once more, stopped moving. Faye was not sure what the Primalist was waiting for.

I can’t accept that, she thought. There was no way that she could accept that there was nothing to be done.

Her hand drifted to the handle of her sword. Before she could do anything, the Administrator reached out and placed her fingertips gently on Faye’s hand.

The touch was shocking in its intimacy from a woman who Faye had spoken to only a handful of times.

“Faye, believe me when I say there is nothing you nor I can do against that woman. Do not make a move to suggest otherwise.”

Faye frowned. “But we can’t just stand here and let her murder us.”

Whatever response the Administrator might have had was drowned out as another blast of energy roared out into the night. It had originated on the Primalist, though Faye had not seen her move an inch. Faye and the others in the square staggered. Some of the militia even collapsed.

“People of civilisation. Enemies of the Forest. Those who are blind to Her truths!”

Faye blinked.

She’s giving a speech?

“Your blight on the world is sundered, overgrown with the light of the Goddess. Lay down your arms and I will spare you. Tear down your walls and barriers and you will not feel the lash of thorns. Give us what we have called for and find your new masters pleased.”

Faye grimaced.

“Is she really suggesting what I think she is suggesting?” she whispered.

The Administrator had gone white as a sheet. She slowly nodded. “Yes, I think she is.”

A few of the militia members closer to the Primalist were shuffling backward awkwardly. None of them wanted to be close to her, especially with talk of the lash and of new masters. Faye even saw a few look over at the Administrator. They were waiting for her word.

“They’re waiting on you.”

“I— I can’t,” the Administrator said. “It sends them to their deaths. I’ve failed them already.”

The woman’s words were a whisper. The look on her face so different to anything Faye had seen from her that she was concerned that something odd was happening.

[Mana Sense] did not tell her much, only that the Primalist’s magic was blanketing the whole square already. With a start, Faye realised that the Primalist had probably cast a spell. How else was the mana encompassing the whole area? She had not seen that in anyone else, even if they were levels above her.

She turned surreptitiously towards the Administrator, taking a grip of the woman’s arm just above the elbow.

“You are under the effect of a spell, Administrator. It is making you feel this way. You have not failed. Not yet!”

But nothing she said would get through to the woman.

Faye turned to the Primalist instead. She squared her shoulders and stalked forward.

This is a terrible idea.

But terrible idea or not, she had to do something. There was no way she could watch the Primalist’s leader trample her allies underfoot. Not with talk of masters. She shuddered as she walked.

“Oh, what’s this? A gift? Tribute to the Goddess?”

The words caused eyes around the square to shift, fixate on Faye’s face as she came forward. For strength, she gripped the leather wrap of the sword’s hilt. In her mind’s eye, she tried to imagine what would happen if she had to fight the Primalist but kept coming back to, “don’t do that.”

There was a small semi-circle of empty space before the Primalist, and Faye took a calculated single step into that space.

“I am here to negotiate on the behalf of the people of Lóthaven,” she called out. She had no concerns that the Primalist could not hear her, but she wanted the others to hear as well. Fortunately, it was dark enough that she was, mostly, certain that no one could see how shaky she was. “They do not deserve whatever fate you have in mind.”

The Primalist cackled. “No? This is curious, little one. I wonder if—”

But the Primalist was interrupted by a high-pitched whistling sound that grew louder and louder, until a heartbeat later a long spear slammed into the ground beside the Primalist.

If she had not stepped to the side, it would have impaled her from above and behind.

Faye was not sure how the Primalist had avoided the attack. But she was already throwing her hands through the air in some kind of spell casting stance. Sliding backward, Faye was unsure what she was supposed to do now.

A figure landed near the spear out of the absolute darkness from above. If Faye had blinked, she would have missed him landing. She had seen him before, but never really spoken a word. It was the Guild Leader.

He pulled the spear from amongst the cobblestone and paved stones of the square.

“Not whilst I’m here, you crazy backwoods fucker.”

The Primalist screeched in anger, or pain, or… Faye gave up, the high sound hurt her head and ears, so she backed away much further.

A second later, the Guild Leader had levelled his spear, the head of which had a wide half-moon blade creating a wider base and launched himself toward the woman. She threw out her hands and cast something. But Faye could not keep up with them.

The pair practically vanished into the night air a moment later.

Booms of sound and the occasional flash of light burst into being above them.

That was enough for the Administrator to shake herself awake.

“Oh, gods, that was…”

“An all-round shit sandwich,” Faye finished. “I know. Let’s get these people moving. They can’t be standing around when she comes back.”

Faye rounded up a couple of the nearby militia, but rather than sending them inside, she encouraged them to go around the square and nudge their fellows.

Using [Mana Sense], she was able to keep track of the pair fighting. They were not flying, per se, but they were moving with incredible speed and used strange jumping motions regularly. Part of her was filled with a wonder at seeing higher-levelled people unleash their power.

That was quashed under the firm boot heel of fear when small lines of what looked to be decaying vines floated down from the dark sky.

At first, no one noticed its appearance because it was dark and could not be easily seen.

But the moment it touched someone’s skin they all realised something horrible was happening. Their screams echoed in the square with horrific clarity.

More screams joined in as other strands of the strange vine landed on others.

“Gods! Faye, burn it out of the sky!” the Administrator called. She gestured to one side of the square. “Then get over there and pull those men back!”

Faye nodded and drew her jian. With a thought, she engulfed the blade with mana and let it ignite. A second later, she wove a lattice of [Blades of Flame] across the square, focusing on the areas above the grouped militia and Guilders.

The system had no notifications for her, but she could see with [Mana Sense] that her spells were impacting the drifting vines.

Moving steadily across the square whilst carefully targeting strands of the vine that would land anywhere near people, Faye reached the first few men that had been hit by the vines.

They were kneeling on the ground. One held a severed hand, screaming as he looked at it. The other shook and screamed as part of his face sloughed off.

Faye tried not to vomit, but the skin around the areas that had touched the vines were blackened and rotting, as if they had been decaying for days already.

More of the same mana was floating downward, and she did not have time to wait for the men to come to their senses. She flicked her gaze across the quickest path back to the safety of the Guild and threw out a few arcs of her spell.

Sheathing her sword with a smooth motion, she then grabbed each man under the armpits and dragged them to their feet. Taking each by the upper arm, ensuring that she did not come close to touching either of their decaying flesh, Faye frog marched them back to the guild steps.

Waiting to receive them were a team of two healing assistants and none other than Gavan himself.

He gave Faye a grim nod when she approached but said nothing as he took the two men under his care. A flash of magic sprang from his hand and leaped across the men’s wounds, reducing their screams of pain.

Then Faye turned and went out to do the same again.

Only fifteen minutes had passed, at her best estimate, but Faye was starting to shake. She was not sure what it was, at first. She carried on, pulling men and women into the safety of the Guild despite their grievous wounds, until when she went to take a step back into the open, her leg shuddered and gave way.

She stumbled to her knees.

The Administrator put her hand on her shoulder.

“Adventurer, you are shaken. Rest.”

“There are—”

“Others can do the same job, look,” the Administrator pointed. Faye looked up and saw that Guilders were moving out amongst the people and crates still in the square, teams of two moved in sequence, one holding a large round shield above the other as they went. “They are quite well versed in strange situations.”

Faye closed her eyes. The shaking wasn’t weakness. She hated that it made her look tired or scared and afraid like a little girl.

She had not been that little girl in years. Hiding beside the bed, covering her ears, drowning out the sounds and sights with music.

Her hands shook as she lifted them to her face.

Fuck, I hate this. I thought I was done with this.

She was not sure how long it was until a hand dropped to her shoulder, but she looked up in surprise.

“Well, look at you, sitting on the job,” Ailith said, a wide grin across her face. “Don’t think I’d’ve expected that outta you, Faye.”

She did not have anything to say, so she just shrugged.

“I need your help,” her tall, Guardian friend said, “I’m trying to get this blasted crate inside and it’s too awkward to carry on my own. Lend a hand?”

Faye looked at the crate Ailith was pointing to. It was covered in dirt and a few marks from the vines, but was otherwise a long, narrow wooden crate that had been nailed shut. She had no doubt that the woman before her could carry two of them and complain that her hands were empty.

“Sure,” she whispered. “I’ll help you with that.”

“Good, ‘cause I was getting sick of carrying it meself, and I could do with a hot cup of stew. Have you tried it? It’s delicious. And the bread, oh gods, you haven’t tasted bread like this in your life, trust me!”

Ailith carried on with her talk of food, drink, and everything and anything. It did not quite banish the darkness that had settled on Faye’s mind, but it pushed back briefly. Which was enough. For now.