Matáo knew the area surrounding Echo better than anyone. He spent his entire childhood roaming the woods and various other areas around his beloved home. He, alone, went in search of where the prisoners were being held. Since the fateful night many months before, he had only returned home once to gather the armor of the men he and Jonah had slain the night of the attack.

  When he first arrived at the first Sentinel Tree that he ever learned about, he found a hidden ladder made of rope that Wilhelm had told him about. He used the ladder that was inside the tree to climb high into the branches of the tree. Wilhelm had built for himself a hidden watchtower that overlooked the valley below the waterfall. Wilhelm told Matáo that he often used it to check on things in the village without having to go himself.

  It was hard for him to see much of anything in the valley until he found a spyglass that Wilhelm had left behind. He could see a watchtower had been built not far from the bottom of the cliffs leading to the village. Further inward, he saw what looked like two more towers had been built, and he saw that many other buildings had been built inside the village.

  He left the safety of the tree and made his way to the cliffs. There was a cluster of trees that blocked the view of the tower. He made his way to the base and from there he started a long circle around the entire valley. It was mid afternoon and the day was cold. He knew that he needed to stay hidden away from the guards in the village until nightfall where it would be easier to go unnoticed.

  As he crept around the valley in which Echo sits, he scolded and berated himself for not looking around before. If he had, these people could have been freed months ago. While he was busy kicking himself for not learning all of this beforehand, he stumbled across another lookout tower that had been built near the clearing where they held J?kob's party.

  He crouched behind a tree and spotted two guards in the tower. He backed away slowly, ducking behind trees so he was unseen by the guards. Once he was out of sight of the tower, he continued to walk the perimeter of the valley. He found four more towers that had been built that he hadn't seen from the tree. He used the many secret paths that he knew that led through certain areas of the village.

  They weren't hidden paths, but simple and easier ways of getting around without being seen. He used a path that he and Jonah would often use to get to Jonah's house before they got in trouble by his mother when they were trying to sneak home too late. The house was gone, but he could see his own house from it. There was smoke coming from the chimney, and it was nearing nightfall. He made his way to his home for the first time in months.

  He worked his way through the woods that separated their house, like he had done hundreds of times before. He crouched behind a stack of wood where he could see in through a window on the side of the house. He couldn't see any guards inside the house, only a woman who appeared to be cooking. When it became dark, he crawled closer to the window and peaked inside.

  Mrs. Kiltzka was standing by the stove. She was sweating from the heat inside. He smiled when he recognized her. He looked around the house, and found that everything was different. The chairs they used to sit in were gone along with everything else that they owned. There were several tables set up inside. Matáo heard footsteps and then men talking behind him.

  He turned to see several men in crimson walking the path to his home. He quickly backed away from the window and made his way back to the pile of wood. He watched the group of men open the door and go inside. "Roast pig again!" exclaimed one of the men, disgusted. "Bring me something other than pigs to cook, and I will see what I can do," retorted Mrs. Kiltzka.

  The other men laughed at the sass displayed by her. They sat at the table and began eating. After a while, more men entered the house. Matáo watched for several hours. He had to move twice as one of the men kindly carried in wood for her. He had seen forty-eight men come and go from the house. After the last three had left, he made his way back to the window.

  Mrs. Kiltzka was cleaning up the mess that was left behind by the men. When he saw that the house was otherwise empty, he went to the front door and opened it. "What did you forget, Quint? You and your men have drunk everything I had." She turned to see Matáo close the door behind him. A joyful smile filled her face and she ran to him.

  She wrapped him in a hug and began kissing his face like a loving aunt. She had always felt like an aunt to him, and he was glad to see her too. When she finished, she was reminded of where and when she was. The joy flushed away from her cheeks and said, " You shouldn't be here. There will be more coming soon."

  She pushed him towards the door and said, "Come back after the next group. There will be about forty more. I need to hurry and get everything ready for them before they arrive." Matáo tried to speak but she hushed him by saying, "After the next group we will have a lot more time to catch up." She pushed him out of the door before closing it behind him.

  Matáo went back to the wood pile and carried some wood to the front stoop for her, so the men would not come to his hiding spot at the pile of wood and accidentally see him. He then hid behind the wood just as a group of men began to approach. He waited until the last of them had come and gone, and he waited until Mrs. Kiltzka came to collect more wood before he made his presence known to her again. Then the two went inside the house. She sat him down and brought him a plate of food that she had set aside for him.

  He hadn't realized how hungry he was. He was about to tell her everything, but after his first bite, his mind was flooded by happy memories from his childhood. He finished everything on his plate before he began to speak with her. "Thank you. I needed that." She smiled at him and then asked, "How did you get away?"

  Matáo wiped his mouth and then told her everything that had happened to them the day of the attack. "My children are alive?" she asked, joyfully. "Yes, and your husband too," he replied. Her eyes watered with tears of joy. She tried not to cry, but was overjoyed and unable to control herself. "Thank the Creator!" she exclaimed joyously.

  Matáo told her everything that had been happening all across the realm and what they had been doing. Once he had made it to the end of his story, he said, "That's why I am here." "It's lucky that you stumbled by here," she said. "How many guards are here?" asked Matáo. "Only the Creator knows that. I lost count. Nearly five hundred, I’d wager. They take shifts watching the people and after all these months I can’t remember all their names,” she replied.

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  "How many people are here now?" he asked. "Too many. They had to build several new places to house everyone they brought her. There are five of the original houses that they converted into places like this to feed everyone because they were the only stoves left. Food is getting scarce, and with winter knocking on our door, I’m not certain that we can keep feeding everyone. We can barely keep the guards fed, let alone the thousands they are guarding. We cook all day and through the night. Another wave of guards will be here just after sunrise," rambled Mrs. Kiltzka.

  Matáo told her of the men that he had and what he was planning. "Do you have something to write with?" he asked her. She retrieved some paper that she used for making lists to give to the guards. She handed it to him and he began writing down everything he needed for her to do before he and his men arrived the following day.

  Before he left, she told him where the guards slept and how often they changed their watch. She hugged him one last time before he left and said, "The men here that are guarding us have no families to threaten and no homes to return to. Claremont keeps them loyal with the promises of land and lordships.” He hugged her one last time before he left through the door and made his way to the cliff and back to the tree.

  Master Kranthem was to open the portal for him at sunrise. He still had several hours before then, so he crawled into the tree and slept. He was awoken by Master Kranthem when he arrived and the two of them returned to Oaken Meadow where he gathered his men. There were hundreds of prisoners that were eager to help. Their families were there and they wanted to help, and this worked well for his plan.

  At midday, he and five hundred of his men with another five hundred of his prisoners made their way to the Sentinel Tree. Fifty of the prisoners wore their crimson armor that Matáo had a made a modest change to. He placed a small mark on the chest of each one of them. It was a simple ruin that he knew, but it defined for them which of the men were friend and which ones were enemies. They went through the tree and walked to the cliff and down into the valley.

  With twenty-five pretend soldiers in front and another twenty-five in the rear, Matáo and his men acted as prisoners of war as they approached the first of the watchtowers. "Halt!" came an order from about. They waited for one of the guards to come down. "What is the meaning of this?" asked the guard standing in front of them.

  "Claremont sent you some more mouths to feed," replied one of Matáo's fake soldiers. "Did he at least send food with them?" asked the guard. "We left it at the top. We didn't want them running off while we tried to bring it down," said Matáo's guard. The guard nodded his head and said, "Let's get them squared away and show how we do things around here." He turned and waved to the man in the tower, and as he waved his reply, an arrow sprouted from the chest of the man in he tower.

  The guard turned around and found Matáo's dagger in his gut. The makeshift regiment of Matáo's men made their way to the center of the village. Hopefully Mrs. Kiltzka had been able to do everything he had asked her. If all went well, she would have all of the people at the lake doing a wash or in the clearing harvesting the fall crops, or anywhere else besides in the village.

  In the village, Matáo saw hundreds of guards walking around. He estimated around fifty guards just patrolling the village while others sat around doing nothing. Several of them saw Matáo's group marching down the road and came to see what was going on. Before a word was spoken, Matáo's guards began attacking the village guards. Twenty men fell to the ground as a bell began to ring out from the village center.

  Guards from every direction came running at the sound. A battle ensued. Matáo lifted a sword from one of the fallen guards and others did the same. Every time a guard fell in battle, one of Matáo's men were there to pick it up. Matáo hacked and slashed at everyone he met. He counted seventeen men that had fallen to his sword before another group of three-hundred men entered the village center.

  The battle raged harder. Matáo lost count of the men that he faced. He saw several of his men fall to the ground. He slashed at a man in red and spun around to face even more. He ordered his men to spread out and circle the enemy. His men were stacked three men deep as they closed the circle. Matáo stepped over many dead men as they pushed their way forward and made the circle smaller.

  The enemy guards at the very center began to throw down their weapons, only to be slain by one of their own. As the circle shrank the bodies began to climb higher and higher and it became harder for the men fighting to stand up right. Matáo slipped on the bodies and tumbled into the middle of the fight. He blocked blow after blow that were destined for his skull. He caught a sword in the arm before he was able to regain his feet and began attacking again.

  They fought until every enemy guard was slain or surrendered. Matáo stood in the center with blood dripping from his sword and arm. Blood from many foes had splattered all over him. A cheer roared out among the men as the women began to approach when the fighting had stopped. Men who spotted their wives and children dropped their weapons and ran to them. Matáo watched as hundreds of families were reunited, including Mr. and Mrs. Kiltzka, but he couldn't help but weep for the women who lost their husbands in the victory.

  They spent the remainder of the day moving the bodies into the center watchtower. Matáo's men that fell in battle were buried with the dead of Echo and would be remembered as heroes to the ones that came after. After the last body was placed in the tower, Matáo set it on fire. They watched as the fire climbed the tower. The night was cool and calm, but it started to remind him of the day he was forced from his home.

  Once the fire began to settle, the group turned and left the valley. They climbed the cliffs and met Master Kranthem at the Sentinel Tree. He opened the portal to the Sanctum. Matáo watched as everyone crawled through the opening of the tree. He was relieved that the battle was over, but there was still one more battle to fight. It was the eve of the solstice and he knew that he needed to go to the palace to help.