Being a guard was about the best job I could ask for. Sure it doesn’t pay the best, but accepting a few bribes and confiscating items from people would net enough cash to make up for it. But that wasn’t the real reason why I love this job.

It was, to me at least, the perfect mix of power and safety. A guardsman had a certain amount of authority, but he wasn’t important enough to be dangerous to anyone. Everything was fine as long as guys like me didn’t stick our necks out and made sure to ingratiate ourselves to anyone influential enough to make us suffer.

Plus, this was Aigai, the capital city of Macedor. Anybody who could make trouble at where I had to deal with it would be rich or powerful enough that I would be turning a blind eye anyways. This was about the cushiest job I could have gotten. My current goal had been to get the same kind of paunch the captain has.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing just enough to cool off anyone outside. There wasn’t too much traffic, so Jaga and I were slouched by the gates. We kept an eye out for anyone important enough to receive with decent posture, but otherwise, we relaxed.

The road was built to give us a clear view of anyone coming for a fair distance off. It had to be; anyone moronic enough to build fortifications without clear sightlines was just asking for trouble. It only mattered in wars though, since any smugglers would find it simpler just to include the gate guards in any bribes they made.

Either way, the influx was sporadic enough that we had time to watch people appear from behind the patch of trees of in the distance. Jaga and I made a game of identifying as much as we could while they were far off. I squinted at an approaching man’s mount.

“Donkey.”

“Naw, that’s gotta be a pack mule.”

“Bet on it?”

“Pfft, you wish. It’s a while till payday, and I’m not going to let you lure me into this again. Every time we start actually betting money I end up needing to choose between dealing with the missus being mad or asking the bursar for an early paycheck and having him act like a horse’s rear for another week.”

I snickered at that and we traded jabs for a bit. Eventually, the man got close enough for us to tell that neither of us were right. He was riding the oddest looking horse we had ever seen. We waved him through after a quick check. Jaga watched him ride his horse through the gate and muttered in mild wonder.

“I mean, that wasn’t a mule or a donkey, but was it really a horse?”

I shrugged. I wasn’t any more sure than he was. Rather than think too much about it, I leaned back against the wall and stared off into the distance. Another silhouette appeared and the two of us squinted at it once more. It looked similar enough to the previous person’s mount to make me pause.

“Another one?”

“I don’t know anymore. I doubt it though.”

“...Bet on it? We can use any confiscated items we get today if you don’t want to use cash.”

“Only if we make doubly sure the captain has first pick. I don’t want to get executed for ‘rebellious actions against the state’ because he thinks he didn’t get his cut.”

I nodded and turned away from Jaga. We both squinted to take in the person and their mount when those two suddenly panicked. Jaga turned to ask me a question when a massive creature burst free from the trees and stepped onto the road.

It was huge. I couldn’t… How could it be so big?

It looked like the bugs in his parent’s garden; the ones that wobbled about and snagged butterflies and other insects out of the air. I remember one had caught a hummingbird. The poor thing had twitched in its grip as the bug literally ate its brains. I hadn’t gone in the garden for a week after seeing that.

This thing was so big... What would it eat?

Jaga and I scrambled inside the guard room. Once we were inside Jaga went for the alarm while I ran to give the leaders the message of the attack. The moron obviously wasn’t thinking straight. He could stay if he wanted. I wasn’t going to hang around here. My only wish was that I had a horse to get away faster.

The clanging of the alarm sounded out over the mumble of the people around me. Their expressions went from curiosity to concern as they realized why I was running. I pumped my legs as quickly as I could, heading straight up the road. The smarter ones followed suit.

“Sssshhhhhkkreeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!”

I nearly fell flat on my face. That horrible noise… My body locked up in sheer terror and I felt sick. It was like a thousand swords scraping against each other. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I tried to block it out and cover my ears, but it was too loud. Even worse, it echoed inside my ears and head. It was like I would never stop hearing it.

No one was running anymore. I didn’t blame them, my leg muscles shivered and twitched. They wouldn’t hold my weight properly. The crowd fell silent. Then we heard it. It was muffled by the wall, but the beat of heavy feet running echoed out.

It wasn’t...

“No, no no nonononono…”

That’s impossible!

*Boooom!!*

The massive gate, along with the entire section of that wall, shook from the hit. Cracks covered it, but it didn’t break. It couldn’t break, could it? That was solid stone. Bits of broken stone fell from the cracks. ...Well, it was solid stone.

*booom!*

A second impact shook the ground and shattered the wall. The gate collapsed, throwing up a massive cloud of dust. We all stared at the destruction. Then someone screamed. That set off a chain reaction of panic and fear. I ran up the road as fast as my feet could carry me while the crowd scattered like rodents. A second hissing screech shattered the air, but this time no one paused. It just made us run faster.

I chanced a look backwards and saw that foreign mercenary, Moon-something, by the titanic bug’s feet. Then the towering insect swung a claw into a building, smashing away a huge chunk of its roof.

I never knew I could run so fast. The noise coming from behind me gave me wings. Nothing mattered but the need to get as far away as possible. The burning in my lungs didn’t matter, the ache in my legs and the blood in my mouth from biting my tongue didn’t matter. Only escaping mattered.

The horrible noises kept coming. It felt like they were just steps behind me, no matter how fast I ran. I needed to reach the palace. That was my only hope.

I pushed myself even faster, and the horrible screeching and smashing noises faded into the distance. I didn’t slow down though.

“Halt.”

I nearly kept running. However, when I raised my eyes and saw the source of the voice I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was Laomedon and Axios. I tried to stop so fast that I tripped and tumbled across the cobblestones. Ignoring the pain, I scrambled to my feet and gave them a bow.

“Revered Guardians!”

Axios raised an eyebrow at me as Laomedon demanded an explanation.

“We’re being attacked by a giant mutant beast and that mercenary!”

Axios glared at me with an odd expression.

“You are mistaken. We never hired a mercenary.”

I flinched. I’d forgotten the official story in my panic.

“Yes, my mistake.”

“What’s your name?”

“Jaga.”

I lied smoothly. They would just tell the ‘peace-keepers’ my name and when I had been working. People as important as the honored guardians wouldn’t bother to confirm that the nobody being tortured and executed was the right one. Too bad for Jaga, but he’d do the same in my shoes.

“A-anyway, it shattered the gate and is heading this way…”

A look of concern flashed across their faces before they gave me appropriately condescending looks. One of them signaled a royal guard I hadn’t seen earlier and the man nodded and ran off.

“No matter, We will destroy these interlopers soon enough. They will learn to regret disrespecting the sanctity of Aigai.”

...

The ‘sanctity’ of the city aside, they still waited for one of the Honored Guardians to act as back up. That was the right choice. They couldn’t… Against that thing…

It just made sense. No human could fight that. Not alone.

I was shanghaied into acting as a witness for them while the royal guard went to report on the situation. There was no way I would stay nearby, but I was mostly willing to watch from a distance. Getting dragged into their fight or drawing that beast’s attention was the last thing on my mind. Either way, I managed to do my job and watch the fights.

The fights were… horrible.

That insect could change its size and was faster than I could believe. The mercenary was no better. He smashed through brick walls like they weren’t even there and moved like a storm of blades. The way he handled the honored guardian's arrow… It gave me chills. That was when I noticed the elves. It was them. They were behind this.

I ran again. I had to.

I made it to the palace this time. I wheezed out an explanation and the guards let me in. I don’t know what my expression looked like, but they flinched when they saw my face. I pushed past them and ran all the way to the throne room. A pair of crossed halberds prevented me from getting further, but the king and the remaining two honored guardians were here.

I threw myself into a kneeling position and gulped air for a moment before speaking.

“Your majesty! The revered guardians… They are dead!”

The king’s face paled. The white color and sweatiness of his skin made him look like gross and doughy. He squealed before turning to one of the armored guardians.

“That can’t be true! You’re lying! He’s lying! Execute him for lying!”

I felt the blood drain from my face as well, but I didn’t move. My only chance for survival was avoiding drawing any more attention to myself and hoping the others would focus more on the current crisis. Mitron glared at me and squeezed the shaft of his spear.

“What. Happened.”

I explained as best I could, ignoring the king’s mutterings and the way Peithon and Mitron glared at me. When I finished they gave each other an inscrutable look. Peithon waved his hands oddly as if dismissing me.

I barely made it out of the throne room when a series of gossamer threads wrapped themselves around me. There was a moment where I felt them tighten, then everything was pain.