Rory didn’t sleep well that night. He tossed and turned, unable to prevent his mind from turning over every possibility it could come up with. There was no helping it. All the variables he was playing with meant the number of permutations was staggering.

Of course, his stupid head focused only on the negative ones. Maybe the Homeworlder leaders back at their base would reject Rory’s idea and not keep up their end of the plan. Maybe the Otherworlders wouldn’t go along with Arelland’s instructions, then annihilate the monsters and the Homeworlders too easily for the rebels to even consider coming into play. Maybe the rebels would be brutally killed by the Otherworlders when they interfered.

Rory swallowed down the growing lump in his throat. There was little he could do to stop his mind from focusing on what was going to happen on the next day.

Viv noticed his restlessness, and as much as she tried to distract him, it didn’t help. She was worried too, as was basically everyone else in the palace. Failure meant that, at best, they’d be evicted from the life they had built up so far.

At worst, they’d all be condemned to tremendous suffering and eventually, death.

Deciding that sleep was a foregone conclusion for him, Rory and Viv finally decided to keep watch. That was better than simply wasting their time.

“Here.” Viv handed him a packet of chips. “All that worrying needs energy.”

Rory laughed wryly. “I thought we had moved on from chips and other cheap breakfast.”

“Well, this was all I could gather up in short notice. You want something better, you’re going to have to cook it yourself, dear.”

“I’d do so, but I’m not sure my head’s in one piece enough to cook.”

Viv grunted.

They had some light food as they stared out over the gathering dawn from their perch on the right tower. Jerome had taken up a permanent position on the left tower, so they had left it to him so he could have some privacy.

Rory appreciated the view. There was something calming about the blush from the eastern horizon slowly growing brighter as the sun climbed into view. The morning light began chasing away the mist covering the woods around the palace, though the shimmering boundary of the Safe Zone wasn’t affected.

He wondered how it would stand up against the Invigilator. It had held up so far against monsters, but what about something beyond those?

“We’re going to make it through this,” Viv promised. She gripped his hand. “I know we will. We’ve got you, dear.”

Rory smiled. “No, we’re making it out of this because of you. After all, you’re the lynchpin of the backup plan.”

She sighed. “I don’t like it.”

Rory squeezed her hand. “I know, and I appreciate that you’re going through with it despite that. You’re our main hope, after all.

“Sure, sure, pile everything on me, why don’t you.”

“I wouldn’t trust it to anyone else.”

They cuddled as the sun climbed higher. Rory wondered if he would get to enjoy this closeness again after today. There was a very real chance he wouldn’t make it past the day, after all. He didn’t mention his worries, though. Viv was stressed enough. They all had to believe they could survive. That was all there was to it, from a mentality point of view.

After another hour or so, the others started to rise. Rory could feel the buzz of tension in the air rising with the awakening member of his party. So much was riding on the events of toady.

Before Rory could meet them, however, the Wraiths had arrived.

This time, he didn’t need Trish or Ned or anyone else rushing up to inform him of their arrival. He and Viv had spotted them from their lookout post. Viv even used her Omnipresent Thunderclaw to blast out a crimson bolt of lightning, teleporting herself and Rory all the way from the top of the tower to the gate.

“Hello,” Rory greeted the coming Wraiths. He would have smiled if he could, but his heart was hammering too loudly for it. “What news do you bring?”

It was interesting that the Wraith Lord always sent his minions in pairs. Both Wraiths took a second to stare at each other, and Rory wondered what sort of non-verbal communication was passing between the two. They couldn’t have picked up telepathy through the Sigil of Learning. That seemed like an impossible thing to learn.

But then, with the power of Sigils, almost anything was possible.

“We bring dire news,” the Wraith on the left said.

“The Homeworlders are beginning preparations to attack,” said the second Wraith. “As the monstrous army has begun their march against the Otherworlder base, they are beginning to get ready to capitalize as soon as the creatures disperse.”

“So, it’s started,” Viv muttered.

“Yeah.” Rory focused on the Wraiths. “I need you to perform another task for me.”

“Do you have the Sigil that you said you had prepared?”

“Actually, I do.” Rory pulled out the Sigil of Homeworlder Obfuscation and handed it to the Wraith. He made sure to place it on the monster’s palm. For some reason, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t like coming into contact with the Wraith’s skin. “Happy?”

“I cannot say. It will depend on my master.”

“Of course. Anyway, the task. It’s important. I need at least one of you to be present near the base of the Otherworlders and continuously inform me of what’s happening there.”

Both Wraiths exchanged glances again. “How do you propose we perform a task such as that?”

Rory took a deep breath. He had been mulling the idea over last night, and he was simply glad that it wasn’t as crazy as the idea they were about to observe. Unlike most people he had been talking with the last few days, the Wraiths blessedly showed no disbelieving reactions. Of course, they didn’t physically react to any of it at all.

“We will do as you say,” the first Wraith said. “Will you provide us with another means of staying in touch with you, or must we take the device you granted the Wraith Lord?”

“No, I’ve got stuff for you too, don’t worry.”

Rory nodded at Viv, who brought in another walky-talky. He spent a couple of minutes showing the Wraiths how it worked, then spent some more time letting them practice until they could demonstrate that they knew how to use it reliably.

“They do have a limited range,” Rory said. “Even after improving their Tiers. That’s why some of us are going to go with you up to the point where we can stay in touch. Not all the way to the edge of the Otherworlders’ territory. Should be close enough.”

“Then let us proceed.”

They prepared to get going. Since Rory and Viv were the only ones who were properly up, they decided to take the fixed-up jeep and head out. Arie had cornered them just before they had set off, so they had pulled her in along as well. Just before setting out, they had told Dez to keep up the watch and call immediately if he spotted anything untoward.

For all he knew, the Invigilator could drop in at any moment, though he was hoping it would be much later.

Nevertheless, they got going with the Wraiths in the lead. The undead duo led the jeep through a warren of deserted streets and abandoned buildings until they had reached the junction of streets that was Rory’s destination. The left road would lead them to the main market of Hillhard, where the Imps had supposedly made their base. The road straight ahead led to the Otherworlders.

“Will you be stopping here?” the first Wraith asked.

Rory nodded. “We will. We’re depending on you to give us a blow-by-blow account of what goes on at the Otherworlders’ base. Try not to get caught, please.”

“We will attempt our best and keep you informed.”

“Farewell,” the second Wraith said before following after his companion.

Rory watched them go. His heart was starting to pump heavily again. The silence around them didn’t help. The empty streets, the broken buildings, they all needed to stop holding their breaths at what was to come next. Rory was doing more than enough of it for everyone.

“I wish we could have reached a vantage point or something,” Viv said. “Somewhere we could watch it all directly.”

Arie was staring out the window. “Or a camera.”

“I don’t think we ever found a camera from all the discarded electronics,” Rory said.

They decided to spend the time until the Wraiths got into position by calling the palace. Dez reported that they were all doing fine, and that they hadn’t seen any sign of the Invigilator yet. He promised he’d call immediately upon doing so.

They didn’t have to worry about the fact that the Wraiths could have called while their walky-talky was busy. There was still the older Sigil of Calling on the jeep’s dashboard. That had improved enough that it was within range of where the Wraiths said they’d be

It was a good thing they didn’t have to wait long, though. Less than ten minutes after they had cut off the call to the palace, the Sigil of Calling on the walky-talky started blinking. Interesting to note that, of the two Sigils that were present in the vehicle, it was the one in Rory’s hand that got picked up by the Wraiths’ call. He supposed that was because the one Warded into the walky-talky was stronger.

“Here we go,” Rory said, swallowing a little before picking up the call. “Hello? Are you guys in position?”

“We are,” the Wraith said. “Would you like our report now?”

“Yes, of course. Tell me everything you’re seeing.”

“Wait,” Viv said. “Where exactly are you two?”

“We are on top of an old tower made of intertwining metal bars. It is red and white. I am uncertain—”

“The cell tower.” Viv paused. She tapped her head with one finger of her lone hand. “It has to be the one near Tanner’s Brewery.”

“Right.” Rory recalled the place. He’d actually taken Viv during a date long ago. They had roughly figured out where exactly the Otherworlders’ base was, but only with this kind of live details could they make a more accurate mental map. “Go on with your report.”

The Wraiths did so.

“The Otherworlders are already in battle,” the second monster said. “I do not know if you can hear the din at your distance, but the fighting is vicious. Several Otherworlders have fallen. However, the monsters have invaded in great numbers. They are hurrying to overrun the entire base, but the Otherworlders are holding their ground well.”

“Can you spare any more details?” Rory asked.

Both Wraiths talked together, one after the other, as they fleshed out their overview. Apparently, the elvish contingent of the Otherworlder forces were acting as the rear guard as they engaged the front line of the monstrous army and kept them at bay while the rest of them retreated. The dwarves were providing support by firing their strange projectiles from a distance.

Almost all the kobolds had fled already, and more giants had fallen than any other Coalition member, so the remaining ones had been some of the first to fall back.

Apart from that, many of the elves had died too. It hurt Rory to hear the accounts of all the dead. All those people killed, all because of him and his plan. Sure, Arelland had acceded to it, and the rest of the Otherworlders must have agreed to it as well, but it still hurt to hear about the death toll rising and rising.

For it had been Rory’s idea that Arelland should lead the rising monstrous army straight to the Otherworlders’ base.

“They are surviving,” the first Wraith reported. “The Otherworlders are regrouping and fighting back, mustering their fledgling defences to strike back at the monsters.”

“Have the monsters spread out?” Viv asked. She was staring at the walky-talky with such intensity, it was as though she could bore a hole through it and watch the battle directly on the other side of the call.

“They have.”

She nodded. “Good. That means they can’t overwhelm the Otherworlders as they must have done at the beginning of the battle. Now, if they’re canny, they can take out the monsters in small groups, one by one.”

“That is what is happening,” the second Wraith said. “The Otherworlders are indeed attempting to corral the monsters into groups they can defeat more easily. It is proving surprisingly effective.”

Rory could imagine that it was. The monsters weren’t exactly a coordinated force. Whatever drove them to gather together into huge numbers before assaulting any certain area must have been something primal and intrinsic, or a force that didn’t care for much beyond large numbers.

Eventually, the battle fully turned back to the Otherworlders’ favour. They were slaughtering the monsters with great ease, the losses they had been suffering now almost non-existent.

Of course, that was when the Homeworlders chose to appear.

“They are here,” the first Wraith said with about as much feeling as he might have when mentioning his breakfast yesterday. “And now they charge right into the mass of the Otherworlders with their powers blaring. They are also screaming a lot.”

Rory would have almost laughed at that last comment. However, his heart was pounding hard enough that he worried it would jump out if his chest constricted in the throes of laughter. For now, all he did was wait anxiously.

The Wraith’s report didn’t help ease his feelings. Apparently, the Homeworlder’s sudden appearance had taken the Otherworlders by surprise, enough to the point that they were once again retreating. Even more of them had died at the very beginning of the second round of the battle, though they had disengaged and fallen back before things got too bad.

All according to plan. All according to Rory’s plan.

He swallowed. If he closed his eyes and tuned out the Wraiths’ droning commentary, he was sure he could make out the faintest hint of the distant battle. Those Homeworlders had really struck in with everything they had. Rory wondered if Sylvia was a part of the assault, if the survivors of those who had attacked Rory’s group—Linus, Aaron, and Allie—had all joined in.

He felt much as Viv had before everything had started. If only they’d been able to observe the goings-on directly. Maybe they could have, but it just wasn’t safe. Not when they might need to return to the palace at top speed at any moment.

“They are being routed,” the second Wraith said after a while. “Their defences are crumbling, and they are falling back even further and—it would seem it was a trap all along.”

Rory blinked at the dreariness in the Wraith’s words. He wondered if the monster was actually getting bored of proceedings. Any other commentator would have been breaking their lungs at the excitement of it all, but the Wraiths couldn’t seem to hold it together.

The Wraiths reported that the battle was once again switching its tables. What progress the Homeworlders had made was being quickly counteracted. The Otherworlders had lured the Homeworlders into a narrow channel, and then had proceeded to use their Sigils in a devastating way to wreak havoc in the Homeworlders’ ranks. The humans were the ones quickly dying and retreating now.

Thankfully, the Wraiths finally indicated when the last stage of Rory’s plan came into play.

“It has begun,” the second Wraith said. “The rebel Otherworlders have finally arrived.”