As night falls, Glyn sits in his bedroom as Eliana and Aoife sit around. He looks over a series of papers with Aoife, checking the papers herself.

  “Pns for the isnd's defenses?” She asks.

  “I have to worry about this pce and some other isnd before I leave. I don’t want some idiots to run over and hurt these guys after I leave.”

  Eliana nods. “Brother is very smart. The ideal assistant.”

  He smirks. “Thanks, Eli.”

  She runs to his side and grabs his hand. “We’ll leave this pce and then we’ll go protect the fief together.”

  “Of course. Who else can do it besides us?”

  “No one. We’ll be the perfect team!”

  Aoife ughs. “But Glyn…. Are you sure you want to leave like this?”

  “I already told you I don’t want to be king. I’d hate to sit on some dumb throne all day and decide stuff. I should sit in the background and watch the mess unfold from a safe distance.”

  Eliana nods. “Right.”

  “But what about your friends?”

  “They’re not friends!? They're just useful people, right, Glyn?”

  He pauses for a moment. “I don’t know if I’m close enough to them to say we’re friends. But at the very least, I want them to ride out this damned war safely.”

  “That’s so like you. But wouldn’t it be better for you to watch them yourself?”

  “There’s no way I can do that. I’d just be worrying you, Eli, and everyone else.”

  “Yes, we’d be worried but….”

  The door swings open as Mi rushes inside. “Glyn!”

  “What is it?”

  “A monster attack. It’s another Stamped!”

  “What? How is that possible?”

  Mi takes in a breath, and Glyn moves to her side. “No idea. But a swarm of monsters is headed this way as we speak.”

  “How long?”

  “Tan spotted them far out. We have maybe thirty minutes before they get here.”

  “Then we have to move fast. Where is everyone?”

  “Brother is organizing everyone in the courtyard. Tisha went off to prepare traps and barricades. Zanrit is making sure the vilge guard was alerted, and then he’s making his way back here.”

  “Good. They're coming for us for some reason, this can’t be natural, so we have to be prepared for anything.” Glyn turns to his family. “Mom, Eli, you two stay in here. It’s the second most defensible position in this pce.”

  “What’s the first?” Eli asks.

  “The old torture basement where ghosts used to spring out.”

  Eli pauses and moves towards Aoife.

  “I was thinking of turning it into a storage shelter. But that’ll have to wait till ter.”

  Aoife nods. “Stay safe.”

  “This isn’t my first Stampede. I’ll have you know.”

  As Glyn leaves, Aoife looks to Eli as she shakes. “Don’t worry, I’m sure the two of us will be safe.”

  “I… I want to help but…”

  “Let’s do what we can do from here. Remember what I thought of you?”

  “About magic? You told me not to use it yet.”

  “Well, now’s a good time to show off what you’ve learned. What do you say?”

  Eliana’s eyes go wide and she nods. “I’m going to help Glyn and prove I’m his best partner.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  Down in the courtyard, the Pawns gather as Miller gives instructions. Tan nds, finishing a scouting run as Glyn and Mi arrive. Miller turns to Glyn, who turns away, looking towards the distance.

  “Is that where they're coming from?”

  “Yeah? Tisha took those Glyphs you were working on and went in that direction.

  Tan nods. “I saw her, but she was getting close to that mass of monsters. She might be fighting them now.”

  “So, what do we do? Why are they aiming at the manor?” Rufus asks, shaking.

  Glyn nods. “That’s the golden question. This certainly can’t be anything natural.”

  “You think someone made this Stampede?” Miller asks.

  “Oh, sure. It’s not an uncommon tactic to send in a swarm of monsters to distract your opponents at the start of a battle.” Glyn smirks. “So, let’s keep on our toes and prepare for their real attack.”

  “Real attack?” Miller asks.

  Glyn opens his book and pulls out a piece of paper. He hands the paper to Mi, who stares at it cautiously.

  “Channel your Mana through this and it’ll produce a spell.”

  “But what about the other Glyphs?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure Tisha’s finished pcing them by now. So, let’s put our faith in her.”

  Mi nods. “Okay.” She holds up her hand as her Mana cycles through her body rapidly. She sms her hand down onto the paper as the glyph glows a bright red.

  Out in the forest, fmes erupt from papers scattered about the forest. Bursts of fmes erupt out of the papers, filling the forest with a wave of fmes. As monsters march through the forest, the fmes envelop them, forming a pilr of fmes.

  More monsters march through the fmes, marching towards the manor as Miller and the others stand at the gates. He holds out his sword and the Pawns rush ahead, charging at the beast. Sam and Fiona descend from the side of the hill, smashing into the horde of monsters and knocking the first set of monsters back.

  Miller turns as Glyn holds out his book, chanting as storm clouds gather overhead. The group tries corralling the monsters into a single group as rain falls, putting out the fires as bolts of lightning strike the monsters. The monsters burn to ashes as four figures run ahead, breaking through the horde of monsters.

  “Here they come,” Glyn says.

  A bst of energy flies out towards Glyn only for Mi to leap ahead, swinging her tails and knocking the bst away.

  “I expected this sooner, Lika,” Glyn says with a smirk on his face.

  Lika floats in the air, her poofy dress ripped and cut open as she holds out her stick. She stares down at Glyn with hatred in her eyes.

  “You bastard.”

  “Call me what you want. But I had to make sure I cleaned up my mess before leaving and thankfully you came just in time.”

  “Glyn?” Mi asks.

  “Lika and Jenna weren’t reported to have returned to the mainnd. So, I figured they’d be here pnning some asinine revenge scheme against me.” He looks up with a smug expression on his face. “Am I right?”

  “You….”

  “Calm down Lika.” Jenna appears fnked by three rge monsters. “He’s trying to get in your head.”

  “I know that, but…. I….”

  “Listen. Nothing you do can bring back Fenwick. If you surrender now, we can ignore all this and I’ll make sure you can at the very least live comfortably for the rest of your lives.”

  Jenna ughs. “You think we can put our faiths in filth like you!?”

  “Fenwick was destined to be king. He’d surpass his father and become the king who’d unite the nd. And you ruined it!”

  “I had to keep the creep away from my sister and my family,” Glyn says.

  Jenna ughs. “Come now. Fenwick thought of you as a brother. And honestly, the two of you are likely….”

  Miller rushes in, swinging his sword at Jenna, who dodges the attack.

  “Leave your mess off our isnd!” He yells.

  She shakes her head. “Uppity Pawn, are you?”

  “Miller, that spell burned through two of my charges. So, take these two out before I have to do something about them.”

  “Fine!”

  Mi stands by Glyn as fmes erupt from her tails. “I won’t let you hurt Glyn or anyone else.”

  Lika gres at her. “Fine, I’ll kill you first, then I’ll smash that Half-Elf into the dirt.”

  “I’m going to finally put this mess with Fenwick to bed if it’s the st thing I do!” Glyn yells at the top of his lungs.