Kaleen took a sip out of her teacup as the sound of artillery attacks exploded outside.

  “Please, take a rest for a moment. I’m sure your journey here has been perilous. We are currently very low on food, but we do have tea.”

  “Ah, thank you,” Hobbs said before sitting down on a brown couch opposite Kaleen.

  Izick, like the other Scouts besides Hobbs, ignored the tea. There likely wasn’t any poison in it, but now didn’t seem like the best time for tea when the Ogres were waging war outside.

  He took a seat in a simple wooden chair away from everyone else so he could observe Kaleen and the Elf soldier from a distance. What was the deal with this Elf woman?

  She seemed to have noticed the Honor Rod like Foster Braun, despite Izick carefully wrapping it in warding cloth. Foster Braun did say there were limits to its effectiveness, but he didn’t know it would be this bad…

  Hobbs picked up a teacup and sniffed it before taking a sip.

  “This is a beautiful blend of tea, but let’s get back to business. Are the citizens of Damaran safe and alive? The actions of my party depend on your answer,” Hobbs said as an artillery blast made the dimly lit room light up white.

  “Safe? Far from it. Alive? Very much so. We lost many Elves over the last three weeks, but we’ve managed.”

  Adell peered out the window to see the scorched earth and the Ogres getting into position to shoot arrows and spears at the tower above them. Another round of artillery attacks wiped out the Ogres before they could even counter.

  “Are you sure you still need us? You seem to be handling the Ogres just fine.”

  The Elf soldier Labon snorted as he crossed his arms.

  “We never had any issues with these dimwitted Ogres.”

  “Then why are we here?” Bersi said as she shrugged her shoulders and raised her hands. "Don't tell it's for emotional support."

  Labon opened his mouth to retort, but Kaleen raised her hand.

  “That’s enough, Labon. The Ogres are employing solid tactics to take our city, but our methods are far more advanced than they can handle. We repelled every attempt on our city until the Staff Hero abandoned us about two weeks ago. The mercenaries and resources that he sent us were more vital to our survival than we would like to admit. His absence has yielded an opportunity to our true enemy.”

  Izick’s eye twitched from the mention of the Staff Hero, but he tried his best to keep his composure because Kaleen glanced in his direction. Alister was involved with the Misty Alps? This was something he was completely unaware of, even after working under him for three years.

  “True enemy?” Hobbs said while raising a brow at Kaleen.

  “Yes, the Ogres gained great tactical strength after the Death Elf Felssi joined their leadership. Her tactical prowess, coupled with the strength of these Ogres, has crushed many elven territories in the Misty Alps. She was likely the one who sent Ogres to damage the teleportation relay in Marca in order to stop aid from arriving faster. Her objective is to gain territory in Arekia, and the quickest way to do it is to conquer the Misty Alps. The Elves of Damaran are one of the last elven territories here, so we are on her radar. She will likely arrive here by daybreak to wipe us all out.”

  Hobbs stroked his chin as his expression became more troubled.

  “Felssi, you say? That’s a name I’m surprised to hear in these parts of Arekia. You are correct to say that a conflict with this tactician will end badly, but is this not a problem for the whole of Arekia? Why hasn’t the Crown sent aid? Allowing Felssi, a known enemy of Arekia, to take any territory in Arekia would be disastrous for this country.”

  “Aid is supposedly on its way from the Crown, but we would all be dead by then. Additionally, the King of Arekia has bigger problems on hand.” Kaleen said as she placed her teacup down. She turned to Izick briefly before turning to Hobbs.

  “The Staff Hero–no, the Death Emperor, Alister Black, mounted his fourth attack on the King’s estate nine days ago.”

  “What?” Hobbs said as he jumped to his feet in shock.

  Everyone looked at Kaleen with shock as they tried to process what she just revealed. The Honor Rod in Izick's hands suddenly felt heavier. So this was what Alister had been up to after the events of the Death Emperor’s castle.

  “You might need to check your sources because it seems like someone is pulling your leg,” Bersi said as she sniffed a cup of tea before scrunching her face and putting it back down.

  “Fourth attack? Nonsense! The world would be on fire if the capital of Arekia were attacked even once. Hobbs, Adell, and I are well-connected with people in the capital and in high places. Something like this wouldn't slip past us.”

  “I do not doubt the strength of your connections. However, we believe that Felssi is coordinating with the newly appointed Death Emperor, Alister. He’s trying to make the Kingdom of Arekia focus on him instead of Felssi to allow her to take this territory. Naturally, the Kingdom of Arekia is hiding this whole operation from the public in order to save face and discourage panic.”

  “You claim there was a cover-up, but where is your proof of this?” Hobbs said, sitting back down and crossing his arms.

  “Are you aware of any public events at Arekia’s capital nine days ago? Does it ring any bells?”

  Adell paused for a moment before reaching behind her back and pulling out a Long Book. She flipped through it and landed on a page that made her sigh.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “The rabid dragon attacks that occurred nine days ago. Royal journalists claimed that rabid dragons damaged the west wing walls of the capital, but are you saying that this was simply a misdirection?”

  “Yes, I am. The Crown hid the truth to avoid widespread panic. They only told us because we are allied with Arekia, and they were not going to make it in time to save us. Our predicament could also be attributed to their Summoned Hero betraying us. We do not know why Felssi is working with the former Staff Hero, since he was one of the Heroes responsible for killing her master, the former Death Emperor.”

  Bersi leaned back into the couch with a groan.

  “So Damaran is the last obstacle between Felssi and the Death Emperor from gaining a shiny new Arekian territory, while the capital of Arekia is being secretly terrorized.”

  “Correct, but we are at our limit. We have tried to hold our ground, but staying in Damaran will mean certain death for us.”

  “Then why are all of you still here? Now would be a great time to book it and escape before this Felssi comes to kill you all. You already said that you can't beat her.” Bersi said, throwing her hands up.

  “As you Humins say, we are trapped between a rock and a hard place.” Kaleen rose to her feet and walked over to the window. She looked over the burning city of Damaran as another artillery blast lit up her face.

  “We are not selfless martyrs ready to die for the good of Arekia, but we also know that just handing over this territory would doom our people and cause problems for us later on. With these facts in mind, we have decided to utilize a hidden function within this very tower.”

  “Commander!” Labon said as he stepped forward nervously.

  “It’s fine, we have to work together for this to succeed anyway. This tower was built by my ancestors to protect this city, but also to destroy it,” Kaleen said, pointing to the red carpeted floor. “Inside this tower is a Mana Bomb we plan on detonating when Felssi arrives."

  Hobbs grunted as the rest of the Scouts stared at Kaleen in bewilderment.

  “A Mana Bomb, you say?” Hobbs said with a deep frown.

  “Wait, this tower is a bomb? Wouldn’t setting this thing off kill everyone? Ally and foe?” Kern nervously said as he looked around the room.

  “Yes, everything in a nine-mile radius of this tower will be destroyed, but I plan on using the teleportation function in this tower to move my Mages away after we complete the Recitation needed to activate this Mana Bomb. It is very inaccurate and only works once, but it should get us out of danger. We will get Felssi within a certain range, then let the Mana Bomb kill her and her allies after the allotted time has elapsed. This will give the Crown enough time to reach Damaran in a few days to quell Felssi’s remaining forces and restore order to the Misty Alps,” Kaleen turned to the Scouts and gave a well-practiced smile.

  “Rest assured, this tower won’t explode suddenly while we’re in here. A long and complicated Recitation is required to activate such a function.”

  Kern exhaled deeply while Hobbs took another sip of his tea.

  “I doubt Felssi will stay around while we all take off and run before this tower explodes. She’s known to be a sharp tactician, so she will know something is up when her enemies turn tail and run.” Hobbs said.

  “That is why we hired the Hossa Mercenary Band,” Kaleen said.

  “You want to sacrifice us?” Bersi said as she began to spin her sheathed knife around her finger.

  “No! Not in the slightest,” Kaleen said with disgust in her voice. “We would never live down the shame of abasing ourselves before you and then asking you to die for us as we run away.”

  Kaleen somberly looked down at the carpeted floor.

  “Hiddel has volunteered himself to be the one who will lead Felssi to this very tower and keep her here until the Mana Bomb is detonated.”

  “He is going to sacrifice himself? He didn’t mention this when Barson and I talked with him…” Hobbs said.

  “That detail was likely out of scope for the initial negotiations. We only need the Hossa Mercenary Band to help us break through the Western entrance of Damaran and help our civilians escape before Felssi arrives. All of our forces have been occupied with holding off the Ogres, giving us no opportunity to escape. Make a path for both of our groups to flee. That is all we ask of your party. We will handle the Mana Bomb and keep Felssi in place.”

  Hobbs nodded his head.

  “That’s what we agreed to do. I’ll write to Barson that we’re going ahead with the plan. We need to avoid facing Felssi if possible. Her strength as an individual is known to be average, but her tactics and forces are not to be trifled with. Now, back to the topic of the civilians, where are they right now? I still need to confirm their status. This building seems too small to hold the inhabitants of a city.”

  Kaleen preemptively raised her hand at Labon before he could even speak.

  “They’re not here. We have kept them hidden from the Ogres for the time being, using a Mysteria Skill. Even Felssi would struggle to find our civilians since we are using a tactic that is not well known in elven circles. Ice, Dark, Death, and High elves like us share similar techniques, no matter our race, so we took great care in our method of securing the safety of our people. Please come with me. You will soon understand our plight if you see it yourself.”

  “Ah, before that. Would you mind if I brought the rest of my team here? We have some minor injuries, and I would like to move them to a safer location.”

  “Of course, bring them here. You have one of those Long Books, correct? I’ll wait downstairs for you to finish contacting your team. Labon here will alert my team of their arrival so we can avoid near-fatal misunderstandings like last time.” Kaleen said as she turned to Labon, who nervously stiffened up before awkwardly saluting and rushing out the door.

  Hobbs, Adell, and Bersi conversed with each other as they reviewed the valuable information they gathered from Kaleen. Adell handed Kern her Long Book and ordered him to write a message to the other Scout about the current situation of Damaran’s Elves.

  Kaleen walked towards the exit and then locked eyes with Izick, who sat near it. Izick began to feel pressure from her heavy gaze, which only got worse when she placed an armored hand on his shoulder and leaned towards his ear.

  “Do not be afraid, Staff Hero. I am not your enemy,” Kaleen said in a low voice.

  “Wha-How?”

  “A Druid’s cheap warding rags are not strong enough to hide Pure Mana from a Sage like me. We will talk very soon.”

  Kaleen left the room, leaving Izick in a state of panic. Her sensing Pure Mana was one thing, but calling him the Staff Hero was another. Did she know about the Blessing? What about the Honor Rod? Could she remove the Malevolence?

  He had a million questions, but his mind drifted back to the main problem. He didn't realize it until this conversation with Kaleen, but he had walked right into one of Alister's deadly schemes.

  Did Alister expect him to be here, or was this a simple coincidence? Questions without answers swirled inside Izick’s mind until he realized that the four other Scouts were standing around him.

  “We finished contacting the others and will be joining Kaleen downstairs. Kern will stay here and wait for everyone to get here. I need you to come with us,” Adell said while pointing to the exit.

  “Y-yeah, I’m going.”

  “Are you unwell? Your mind seems to be drifting,” Hobbs said as he studied Izick for anything unusual.

  “I’m fine. Just some intrusive thoughts.” Izick said as he stood to his feet and walked out of the room. He had to focus. There was no time for distractions for a Scout when he was on a mission. They had a village of citizens to extract and an escape route to secure. Everything started with how well the Scouts did their job, and he didn’t plan on failing.

  Hopefully, he could get some answers from Kaleen before this Mana Bomb detonated, leaving him and everything in Damaran in smoke and ruins.