“I just got a call from the guards at the mountain pass,” Quentin spoke through the far-caller. “That motion-tracking enchantment you hid further down the path that leads to the gates sent a signal.”

“So we have unwanted guests coming toward us. Again.”

“What should we do? They’re supposed to be at least another twenty kilometres away. It should take them a short while to get to the pass.”

“Call together the band. I highly doubt this will be another ‘friendly’ visitor.”

“Got it.” The short answer resounded as the dark elf hurried back to his room, putting on his armour before rushing toward Landwaker Square.

“How bad is it?” Cruz asked as soon as he got close enough to the pavilion that housed the gateway.

“I know about as much as you do,” the loremaster replied while deactivating the barrier. “Is everyone ready?”

“Yes.” They said as one and the runes of the gateway lit up, teleporting them to the secret room behind the small outpost.

The outlander team quickly joined up with the guards manning the battlements of the wall, Grego and the rest of the soldiers soon arriving on horseback. Regis looked toward the steadily darkening forest path that led toward the giant stone wall and gate, the sight of distant torches catching his attention.

“There they are.” He remarked as the guards atop the battlement readied the enchanted ballistas with the glowing crystal-tipped bolts.

“How many of them do you think are there,” Osmond asked as he watched the small army marching closer by the minute. “Five hundred?”

“No,” Grego shook his head. “There seems to be slightly less than that. Maybe around four hundred or so.”

“That’s still a lot of soldiers showing up on our doorstep.” Amanda gulped as she watched the heavily armoured riders and footsoldiers stop just outside of arrow range.

A trio of horsemen split from the small army, riding forward, only to stop in front of the large gates. The leader of the trio was a man who seemed to be in his mid-thirties. His armour was of fine quality with engravings adorning it. He looked up at the people atop the battlements, speaking with a surprisingly deep and authoritative voice.

“Call for your lord at once and tell him that I, Lord Graham of house Avellanet want him to present himself.”

“I’m already here,” Regis spoke up as he looked down at the man. “And I must admit that I wasn’t expecting you or your army to march up to my doorstep without an invitation.”

“That is because I do not need an invitation,” the man stated firmly. “I am here to demand that you hand over Cornelia Verhen.”

“Demand?” the dark elf repeated the word questioningly before pointing toward the path Graham came from. “First of all, the kingdom's border which would give you any right to say such words is miles from here in that direction. This is a neutral territory and as such, you have no right to demand anything of me. Second of all, even if you would have the right, I don’t have what you seek.”

“Outrageous,” the knight on Graham’s left scoffed. You dare to deny that you shelter a fallen noble of the kingdom despite our scouts reporting that she was seen headed here?”

“I never said she didn’t come here,” Regis stated. “Only that I do not have her. She came with a group of refugees from Hunor. I allowed said refugees to enter my domain to repay a favour I owed to a priest who helped me while I was staying at Hunor. However, I refused to allow her entry because I knew the kind of trouble she would bring along.”

“Then where is she? Our people did not see her ride back on the path toward Rust-well Keep.”

“Do I look like her stagecoach?” The loremaster asked indignantly.

“No, but...”

“Then how the hell would I know where she went from here? I refused her entry, she huffed and puffed about the indignity of her situation, and then she left. End of the story. It’s not my problem if you can’t find her. Besides, the royal family punished only her father from what I know, thus she is free to leave, even if she is a fallen noble.”

“He’s obviously lying,” the mage on Graham’s other side spoke up. “She must be inside Thorn Vale somewhere.”

“I agree,” the knight added. “We must bring her back as ordered or...”

“I know,” Graham harrumphed. “You claimed that she’s not here, but I’m sure you understand that we can’t take your word for it. We must make sure of that ourselves.”

“Of course they want to,” Valerie hummed quietly. “Do they really think we’re stupid enough to let them in?”

“I agree with her,” Osmond remarked. “This is clearly just an excuse to get inside. That mage definitely has a gateway talisman. Once he gets close enough to our gateway, they’ll have clear access to the place. We both know that your barrier can’t keep them locked in forever.”

“Lord Regis,” Graham called out to him unfazed by the turn of events. “If you speak the truth regarding Lady Caroline, then allow my men to see it for themselves.”

“I might be young,” the dark elf sighed. But I’m not an idiot. Do you really think that I would allow entry for your people under the pretence of making sure she’s not here?”

“You…”

“If you only wanted to arrest that chick, you would have moved with a group of fifty at best,” Fabien cut into the enemy knight commander’s words. “The fact that you showed up with an army at our border speaks quite clearly of your intentions.”

“Aim a ballista at the mage and the other two in front of the army.” Regis quietly commanded his soldiers while watching Lord Graham’s expression change.

“Such accusations…”

“Accusations?” the loremaster asked back. “Why don’t you send your soldiers away and enter my domain with your commander? I’ll allow for the two of you to look for Lady Caroline.”

“Outrageous,” the mage argued. “You think us foolish enough to let his lordship be lured into such an obvious trap?”

“You’re smart enough to think that this invitation is a trap but think me to be dumb enough to not see the true reason you’re here? You showed up with an army of hundreds, armed to the teeth and you dare say that we’re accusing you falsely?”

“You…”

“Fire at the mage!” Regis ordered with his voice turning cold, his companions tensing up as they looked at him surprised.

The taut arms of the ballista snapped forward, its hefty bowstring pulling along the arcane bolt that flew out at a breakneck speed. The enemy barely had time to respond, the mage instantly shaping a barrier around himself as the red crystal tip of the bolt struck him. A small but powerful explosion tore apart the barrier, turning the man into a blood mist along with its horse.

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The explosion threw Lord Graham and his knight commander off their horses with slight injuries and heavily damaged armour. Graham groaned in pain while the army of hundreds was about to move, but a pair of exploding bolts struck the ground in front of them, killing the mages at their front line in a second. The rest of the army froze in fear, realising that the ballista could eradicate them in great numbers before they could even reach the gates.

“Regis,” the paladin hissed. “What are you doing? Now they have a clear reason to attack us.”

“They never needed a reason,” he responded. “I’m just making a pre-emptive strike. Come with me!”

Saying that the spell weaver cast ‘feather fall’ on himself and the paladin before jumping off the battlement. He floated down and walked over the still disoriented Graham. Before the knight could protect his liege, the tip of the blade staff pierced his head through the eye hole of his helmet.

“You...” Graham tried to speak in his injured state as the spell weaver bent down, casting ordinary healing on the man.

Quentin arrived at that moment, instinctively summoning his truth seeker domain while drawing his sword, staring at the small army that was slowly inching closer to them.

“Why are you really here?” The paladin asked after receiving a nod from the dark elf.

“The seco...” The man tried to answer, but a thick black smoke wafted out of his mouth.

“Our conflict is with your lord,” Regis spoke loudly as he raised his staff toward the still-approaching army. “Do not throw your lives away needlessly. If he answers our questions and decides to leave, then you may return to your family unharmed. You have my word!”

This made the soldiers stop immediately as hushed murmurs spread among their ranks.

“Why are you really here?” The paladin asked again more forcefully and loudly.

“The sec... the third prince ordered us to come here.” Graham was sweating bullets as he practically yelled out the answer.

“The third prince,” Regis repeated the words. “Wasn’t he supposed to be some exiled wastrel?”

“Why did the third prince send you here?” Quentin asked his second true question.

“He wants Thorn Vale for himself.” Lord Graham stated with great difficulties.

“He already has a territory of his own, so why would he want to change it for this one so out of the way?”

“He’s probably afraid that the winner of the succession battle will want to get him out of the way as well.” The paladin explained his thoughts.

“That doesn’t make any sense. If they wanted to get rid of him that badly, they would follow him here as well. It would be just delaying the inevitable.”

“True,” his companion agreed. “Why would you follow the third prince’s orders even though he has been disowned by the royal family?”

“Because… because she ordered us to help him.”

“Who ordered?”

“I…” As Graham tried to answer, a runic circle appeared around his neck.

Regis looked at the crimson runes with a frightful realization as he summoned an arcane shield with his left hand while stabbing forward with his right. His blade staff pierced through Lord Graham’s head just a moment before his body exploded into a shroud of blood with shrapnels of metal and bone flying everywhere.

{Your act of vanquishing a hidden demonic collaborator did not go unnoticed. Your deed has been recorded and you have received 500 renown points.}

{Renown necessary towards caste elevation: 4160}

“Are you alright?” Quentin asked between two coughs as he looked at the bloody remains of the former nobleman.

“A fucking demonic collaborator,” Regis growled as his purple eyes turned red from anger as he raised his voice, turning toward the slack-jawed soldiers not far from here. “Is that what you all are? Is this how low the people of Ecragurne sank? Collaborating with demons?”

As he looked at the soldiers, he began walking toward them with slow and heavy steps.

“Was the Landwaker War and its horrors not enough for you? Have you all sold your souls to those wretched monsters for the promise of wealth and power? If so, I will end every fucking one of you for the sake of the Heart!”

His words earned a wave of clanking sounds as the army in front of him dropped their weapons and lowered themselves into a half-kneeling position.

“Believe us, your lordship,” one of the shaking soldiers spoke up in the front line. “We had no idea that... the late lord had colluded with demons. We simply followed his orders as any soldier would do.”

“Are you ready to swear on your life? To line up and get questioned by a paladin of the Seven to prove that you are not one of the traitors of this world?”

“Yes!” The soldiers yelled as one, forgetting all their intentions to march into war now that such a threat reared its head in front of them.

“Sort yourselves into groups of ten and form a line,” Regis continued with an authoritative tone. “Sir Quentin will use his ‘truth seeker’ domain to find out if anyone among you is a demon’s puppet, even if unknowingly. If there’s even one among you… you know what must be done.”

“Yes, sir!” The soldiers of the late Lord Graham acknowledged as they formed groups.

The paladin watched his companion order the once hostile soldiers with a slight awe, quietly whispering to him.

“I can’t believe you managed to pull this off.”

“Neither can I,” Regis admitted. “I hoped that their fear and hatred towards demons was greater than their sense of loss regarding their lord, but I never imagined it would turn out like this. You know what to do, right?”

“This isn’t my first interrogation you know.”

“Sure. If you do find a demon puppet, try to find out who their master is.”

“Should I do that before or after they turn into suicide bombers?”

“Just trust in your domain. You would be surprised how powerful it can be.” The dark elf tried to encourage his friend as the others showed up from behind the gate, Letty hurrying over to check up on him.“Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine, besides being a bit shocked.”

“Gee,” Cruz scoffed. “I wonder why? Could it be because you managed to survive a demon curse bomb despite your suicidal tendencies?”

“Wha…”

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to find out,” Valerie cut into his words. “What the hell were you two thinking, jumping down?”

“We had to find out what was going on.”

“And couldn’t you just have sent the guards out to drag that guy inside?” Fabien argued.

“If we did that, his soldiers would have immediately attacked. This was the best option.”

“No,” Osmond shook his head. “The best option would have been to order your golems to capture Graham.”

“If I did that, the soldiers would have attacked and any survivor would have spread the word about our oversized gate guards.”

“You just love to have the final word, don’t you?” Amanda chuckled.

“Only when I believe I’m right.”

“Which is a constant thing.” Cruz remarked and the dark elf unceremoniously flipped the bird in her direction.