Night had fallen over Alarna by the time all guards were informed about what transpired earlier that day. Grym’s usual grimace deepened, kneeling in a row of other guards in front of Eissen. All those who had openly supported the usurpers in the past or who refused to denounce them were brought to the backyard of an old, secluded farm that wasn’t currently in use. Lamps illuminated the area and the several rows of rounded up guards.

“By order of the king, I’m taking command over the town’s Fighters again,” Eissen proclaimed. “I am to inform you that nobody will be blamed for believing Tomar Remor’s lies, and that anybody who continues to do their duty under this leadership will be pardoned for any transgressions they might have committed during this transitioning period.”

Kneeling next to Grym were Bren and Brie, the latter rolling her eyes at Eissen’s words. The Fighter situation in town was so dire that the Rulers couldn’t afford to lose a single one for no good reason. Patrolling the entire town alone in an efficient manner—including its walls and farm fields on the outside—required several dozens of guards. Then you had those who guarded outside Workers, Rulers, and even some higher ranked citizens. There were also Fighters who were on standby in case they ever needed more men at a moment’s notice. And all of this was done in shifts to cover every hour of every day. Grym and the others were lucky. Had there been more Fighters in town, they would’ve possibly all been executed for treason on the spot.

Among the kneeling guards were those who went as far as to actively fight the new uprising of the Rulers, but their numbers were low. Many had been hesitant to start an all out war among the Fighters, finding themselves in the same predicament the king was in now, unwilling to risk the town’s future. And the few who remained were simply not strong enough to stand against half of the Fighter force, who appeared convinced that it had been a mistake to swear loyalty to Lilly and Tomar. Unsure about what the right answer was, Tomar’s supporters were overrun in a well coordinated attack.

Eissen walked up and down in front of the group of about fifty guards, miffed and self-important. “Truth be told, this was not my decision, and I strongly believe it to be a mistake. I informed the king of my opinion, but his wishes are my command. As such, all of you have two options. Either stick to your misguided loyalty to a dead girl and a murderer, or go back to do your honorable duty.”

Brie’s eye twitched. “Excuse me, ‘Captain’ Eissen,” she said with some sarcasm in her voice. “Is there any evidence for these murder accusations?”

“Unfortunately we have no irrefutable evidence, no.” Eissen turned towards her, starting to reiterate on points he brought up before. “However, if the disappearance of Lilly and multiple eyewitnesses coming forward who have seen Mister Remor with her body aren’t enough, I have to wonder what would convince you. If you’re that far gone, you might not have a future in this town after all.”

Brie wanted to jump up and tell everyone what really happened. It was unlikely to accomplish anything, and she would break the promise not to share the information about who Lilly currently was, but at this point it didn’t matter anymore, and she wanted everyone to know the truth, even if they chose not to believe it. The moment she readied herself to move though, Bren grabbed her, holding her back. She looked down at his arm and followed it to his shoulder and his head, slowly shaking at her. Gritting her teeth, she stayed on the ground as Eissen continued.

“Was that it? Very well. Let us continue then. We will make this quick and easy. Those who are ready to swear loyalty to the one true king of Alarna once more stay on their knees where they belong. If you’re not ready to do so, stand up.”

Bren’s grip on Brie’s arm tightened. I know. I know... she thought.

Both their eyes widened when, after a moment had passed, Eissen said, “Five, hm?”

Everybody raised their heads, searching for the people who had decided not to play along. Five Fighters stood defiantly, their eyes directed straight ahead.

“I don’t recognize you,” Eissen said. “Were you agents before?”

At this prompt, Brie realized she knew two of them. She had seen them together with Reurig before.

“That’s right,” one of them confirmed. “We request to join Tomar Remor and his group in exile.”

“I understand. Step forward,” Eissen said.

Eh? Wait, is that an option? Brie thought in surprise. She glanced at Bren and his father, but they didn’t seem to think so, wearing sad frowns.

Their hands and feet bound, it wasn’t easy for the five to move quickly, but they eventually weaved their way through the others to stand in between them and Eissen.

Brie wasn’t the only one to watch on with uncertainty, wondering whether they should stand up as well. Few were truly surprised at Eissen’s next words, however.

“You have been found guilty of colluding with known criminals, and you appear unwilling to see the error in your ways. In the name of the king, I hereby sentence you to death.”

Eissen threw one glance behind himself, at the three squads awaiting his command behind him. Four of the guards stepped up, positioning themselves at his side. They all simultaneously drew their swords and stabbed through the agents’ chests without any further warning. The defiant ones dropped back to their knees, where Eissen and his men briefly held them to slit their throats, guaranteeing their death. They fell forward, their blood soaking into the earth below, painting it red.

The scene of fellow Fighters lying on the ground, struck by other Fighters, was a stark reminder that the time of understanding leaders was over. Those who didn’t agree with the king and his men would be mercilessly removed. However, even though this had been a matter of course in the past, the people’s eyes had been opened to new ways. Nobody was prepared to do something at that moment, but a fire was burning in some of them.

Brie glanced at Bren next to her and their gazes met. He nodded in understanding. This wouldn’t be the end.

***

By the time we arrived at a familiar clearing in the woods south of Alarna, it was already late into the evening. Berla’s magic leg had given out hours ago, but since we hadn’t been this far away from town for a while, I wanted to preserve mana and asked Hati to carry her. She was joined by Hayla, who clearly wasn’t used to this amount of exercise and had failed to keep up. The three of them were leading the way, Hati being able to see through the darkness.

I was filled with nostalgia when we finally found ourselves at one of our old resting locations—a large clearing with some fallen trees and an old campfire in its center, illuminated by the moon. It was a nice place to take a break.

“This is it. We’ll rest here tonight,” I said.

At my signal, Hati laid down carefully and the two women climbed off his back. Hayla looked around curiously, while Berla went over to the remains of our campfire and dropped down to sit. She was joined by Reurig, who laid down Riala next to her and then started to prepare a fire to roast two rabbits we had managed to catch on the way. It wasn’t much for six people and a beast, but we could do better in daylight the next day.

As I watched them, Aelene walked up to me. “Is it really safe out here?” she asked.

We had spent the majority of the afternoon bringing everyone up to speed, talking about the Rulers, Arax, and other topics. I mentioned multiple times that we shouldn’t have to fear anything, but ever since the sun set, and we had to traverse a dark forest, she was a little worried.

“Like I said, we have never encountered a normal beast out here without going looking for it. Now that I think about it, I’ve actually seen more beasts in and around Alarna than I have out here... We’re safe.”

“Yet you want us to save our mana...”

“Yes, but that’s only for the absolute worst case scenario.” I did my best to reassure her. “Trust me, I wouldn’t have brought you out here if I thought it’s dangerous.”

“Alright,” she said. She was still unsure, but she did go and joined the others around the campfire afterwards.

That left me and Hati, who watched everyone gather around Reurig, who carefully placed some tinder and branches, proceeding to hit stones against each other to light a fire. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of sparks falling on the dry wood and flames sizzling into existence.

“Is Riala going to be okay?” Hati suddenly asked. He wore his usual, carefree-seeming expression, but he sounded uncharacteristically concerned.

“I’m sure that she will be. Her mana looks normal. It does take a little while to wake up after using up all of it. Give her a few more hours.”

“Hm, okay,” he said, his eyes fixed on the little girl.

I did wonder why I wasn’t still unconscious and how my arm became whole again. My only theory was that Shadi healed me, but I hadn’t seen her nearby back in Alarna. It was weird.

While watching Riala sleep, I noticed that Berla next to her was staring at me pointedly. I didn’t know what to make of it. Walking over, I was about to ask what was wrong when she addressed me instead.

“Miles, I need to talk to you alone.” She sounded rather serious.

“Sure,” I said.

I held out a hand to help her up and we walked away far enough from the others that they couldn’t hear us any longer—except for maybe Hati. Berla hopped next to me, holding onto my shoulder, but she was essentially the one leading the way, and I came to a stop when she did. Switching support from me to a tree, she turned to face me.

“Miles, what are we doing here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we can’t leave Alarna, so why did you bring us here?”

“We didn’t have much of a choice but to leave. Where should we have gone instead?” I asked, confused.

Berla seemed to become angry. “It’s not about where we are, but why! The town’s resources are dwindling, the moderators are on their way, and Gallas said you need to protect Shadi! You didn’t even attempt to stop and check on Zara as we walked past her! And what about the people who helped us? What will become of them? I don’t understand this plan, so please tell me what it’s about!”

A sad sigh escaped my lips. “We could’ve fought the Rulers right away, but I just needed a break. It was easier to get out of there for now. It’s nice being out here again, isn’t it?” I said, looking up at the tree tops.

“Easier?” she hissed. “Don’t tell me we just abandoned everyone!”

“What were we supposed to do?” I focused on her, somewhat irritated. “Kill guards and Rulers until they yield?”

“Of course not!” she shot back.

“Then what!?”

“I don’t know! You’re the one with the plans! But it seems like you just gave up today!”

“Maybe I did! That town clearly wasn’t working out for us!”

We were getting increasingly angry with each other, but I didn’t quite understand the reason, or what she was expecting of me. At me confirming that I was ready to potentially give up on Alarna, she grew quiet.

“You mean... we literally just left? There is no plan to take it back?”

“There are plans... There are always plans in this fucking head of mine... But I was barely able to concentrate even before they came for us. I needed to take a step back and reevaluate our position.”

Her eyes were full of disappointment. “What about the people in town?” she asked.

“Arax is dead, so she’s not a concern anymore, and the mana barrier appears intact, so the citizens will be safe, including Shadi. We weren’t in a position to check on Zara, but she was breathing and she was emitting a normal amount of mana. If anything’s wrong with her, the doctors and Shadi will take care of her, just like everybody else. The ones who helped us might have a hard time right about now, but the Rulers can’t afford to lose Fighters, so I highly doubt that they’re receiving more than a slap on the wrist. And about the resources... Well, they would have to go to Cerus, but the road leading there is protected as well. They can do it if they want.”

I was failing to interpret her expression at that moment. She was very clearly unhappy about the direction I decided to take, but why? If she didn’t have a better idea for what we could’ve done, why was she angry with me?

“What’s going on with you?” she asked, grimacing. “You usually fight until you win. And now you want to give up?”

“Give up? Berla, we still have the moderators to deal with, I don’t know what’s going on with the gods yet, I have to think about Hayla and Aelene, and they wanted to kill me and Ria. I’m hardly giving up. For now I just wanted to get out of there and have a moment of peace and quiet to collect myself. I’m not yet sure what to do about Alarna, but they’re better off than they were before. Can you blame me for considering leaving for good? We have accomplished our original goal, it’s highly unlikely that they’re going to pursue us anymore. What... Why are you attacking me like this?”

“I guess I expected something else from you... I don’t know. Forget about it. Let me know what you decide.”

She let go of the tree and made to leave.

“Wait, I’ll help you,” I said, hurrying to lend her a hand, but she shook me off.

“It’s fine, leave me.”

Branches cracked and crunched under her foot as she went from tree to tree and left me behind. She wasn’t going back to the others either, but in a slightly different direction, deeper into the woods. If I had known that she was going off on her own, I would’ve filled her leg up after all.

What I told Aelene was still true though, we should be safe. I decided not to worry, though I was a little startled when a voice suddenly came from behind me. “I think it was the right decision.” My gaze fell on Hayla as I turned around, stepping out of a tree’s shadow. It was somewhat impressive that she got this close without us noticing at all.

“You listened?”

“I did. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

She approached me and we watched Berla disappear into the darkness together.

“I’ll forgive you if you can tell me why she’s mad at me,” I jokingly said.

“I might have a rough idea,” came her immediate and unexpected response. “But before that, how about we talk about where to go from here?”

Hayla had plans. This part was not unexpected.