“Thank you for coming to our aid.” Zola nodded with a relieved smile.

“That’s what allies are for.” Quentin stated while giving a nod to old Desimir before the team turned around and headed back to the gateway.

“Do you think it’s going to be all right now?” Amanda asked her companions.

“I doubt it, but there’s not much we can do about it. We have Thornfell to look after and Zola knows that as well.”

“I for one could use a drink right now,” the infernal sighed as they stepped onto the rune-carved stone platform. “All this stress is going to make my hair turn grey.”

The runes of the gateway lit up, swallowing the group and then spitting them back out in Thornfell. Once they got their bearings, Regis lowered the barrier so that they could leave.

“Give us a call if anything changes.” Amanda said as she and Sophie headed toward the smithy.

“About that drink, you were talking about...” Cruz smirked while looking at Fabien.

“You get one mug.” The infernal rolled his eyes and the two left as well.

“I must admit this went better than I expected it would,” the paladin sighed. “Although I’m not sure how long her luck is going to hold.”

“I long since stopped relying on luck,” the dark elf remarked. “Magic and alchemy tend to yield better results.”

“Such as?”

“Landmines.”

“Landmines?” Quentin looked at him puzzled.

“Landmines.” The loremaster confirmed.

“You crazy son of a bitch,” the paladin blurted out while shaking his head as a slight smirk formed on his lips. “No wonder you’ve been hoarding all that dragon powder for yourself. So how many of them do you have and how strong are they?”

“I’ve made about a hundred so far and have enough material for another twenty to twenty-five. As for their strength, I’d say they are as strong as their current era Earth variants.”

“Over a hundred, huh? That could do some serious damage if we place them at the right strategic points.”

“That’s the plan.”

“Alright. Just give me a call if anything happens. And get some rest. You look pretty worn out.”

“Sure.” Regis nodded before activating his far-caller to inform the rest of the group.

“The battle at Mistfield had ended without any casualties,” he stated as he walked over to the Landwaker tree. “The enemy forces have retreated after losing their leader and according to Zola, they are doubtful to return any time soon.”

“Finally, some good news.” He heard Osmond’s voice from the earpiece.

“What happened?” Valerie asked, backed up by Mary.

“Long story short, Lord Arlo decided to conquer Mistfield. He showed up with his entire army and began to give a speech about how he didn’t want to kill anyone but was willing to do it if needed. Then he got shot in the chest by a couple of exploding arrows. The result was as you’d expect.”

“Damn,” Valerie hissed through the arcane device. “Must have been an eye-opener for the enemy.”

“And a good enough deterrent as well,” the loremaster added. “Anyway, Zola decided to play it safe and scared the rest of the army into surrendering and retreating before we left.”

“Regis,” he heard Letty’s slightly shaky voice. “Do you have time to visit me in the greenhouse?”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Here reassured the young woman before turning off the far-caller.

After a short walk, he left the village gates behind, the sight of the nearby greenhouses coming into view. When he finally reached it, he found Letty there, attending to the herbs and flowers that were growing in the different planters and pots.

“I see you’re busy as always,” the loremaster remarked as he walked in, the wood elf turning around only to hug him tightly. “Okay, that was already worth the trip. So did you need something or...”

“No,” she shook her head slightly. “I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. You left so suddenly I got worried.”

“Come on, let’s sit down,” the loremaster led her to a nearby bench he created weeks ago, the two sitting down before he laid his head on the young woman’s lap. “This is better.”

“Are you alright?” Letty asked with a sombre tone from him, her eyes staring deep into his own.

“Of course, I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Regis,” she huffed, stroking his blue hair. “I can tell when you’re not alright. What’s bothering you?”

“What would you like me to say? That I’m tired? Worried? Slightly hungry?”

Letty flicked his forehead with her right index finger, the dark elf flinching.

“Be serious, please!”

“I don’t know what to say. Thornvale is outside of Ecragurne’s borders, but I doubt that means anything right now. I can’t stop thinking about what else could we do to increase our safety, but nothing comes to mind. We have reinforced walls, ballistas, landmines...”

“Landmines?” The young woman asked back surprised.

“Yep. Landmines. Why did you think I asked for all that dragon powder?”

“Oh, right. I thought you needed it for some spare muskets or something. Maybe a canon.”

“Those would take far too long to reload. Landmines could do a lot more damage.”

“Sounds like you really don’t believe we can solve things peacefully.”

“I highly doubt we have such options left,” he sighed. “It might not have reached us yet, but make no mistake. This is war. We might get left out if the first prince wins, but the second one is said to be set on conquest. If that guy wins, he’s going to come for us. That is if he didn’t already offer our territory to one of the nobles as he did with Zola’s.”

“Then we just have to hope that the first prince wins and that we can deter whoever comes here the same way as Zola did.” Letty said with a smile, reassuring the loremaster.

“I guess you’re right. Will you come over for dinner?”

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“I’m sure my sister and Osmond wouldn’t mind having the house for themselves tonight.”

“Then I will ask Dana to cook something you like. Where’s Willow by the way? I haven’t seen her around in these past few days.”

“She’s roaming the forest, trying to get accustomed to the place.”

“At least she’s not trying to seduce the farm hands again.”

“Ugh,” Letty groaned as she tried to bury herself ten feet beneath the ground in her mind. “Please don’t remind me of that again. It took me days to make her stop doing that.”

“It’s kind of her nature so of course it would be hard to make her stop.”

“True. On the other hand, she’s incredibly useful when it comes to tending to the greenhouse.”

“I’m glad to hear that. We could definitely use more potion materials.”

“You mean more dragon powder material for your landmines.”

“I can neither deny nor confirm those accusations.” The dark elf replied, earning a chuckle from the young woman.

“Alright, get going. I still have to finish today’s work and you’re too distracting.”

“Fine,” Regis sighed. “Have it your way. See you at dinner then?”

“See you later.” Letty nodded before heading back inside the greenhouse.

Regis got up from the bench and walked back toward the town. Back at the manor, he continued crafting arcane landmines until he ran out of dragon powder. After that, he switched to making exploding arrows and ballista bolts. Several hours later a gentle knock could be heard on the workshop’s door as Euric called out to him.

“Milord, dinner is about to be served.”

“Thank you, Euric. I’ll be there in a minute.” He replied, packing away the already finished arrows and bolts.

Over at the dining room, he found Letty chatting with the younger Dana about some arcane matter as usual.

“Evening ladies. I didn’t hear you two come home.”

“I’ve met Dana along the way here and decided not to disturb you after Euric told me that you were working.”

“I was just using the rest of the materials we had in stock to make more ammo.”

“Figures,” Letty sighed. “Did you manage to finish it?”

“I guess I did. Now all that is left is to...”

“No,” the wood elf protested. “No more work for today. What you need is a warm meal, a hot bath and a good sleep. You look like a washed drag.”

“Thanks for the compliment, love. You look lovely too.” The loremaster replied with a smirk as young Dana watched the two lovebirds go on with their shenanigans.

“Lord Regis,” the young apprentice spoke up finally. “Master Salvador asked me to tell you that he deposited the copies of the tomes you brought over a few days ago.”

“Good to know. He was quite happy when I mentioned giving him a copy of those. Probably read them over a couple of times already.”

“My apologies for taking so long,” the older Dana’s voice resounded from the kitchen as she pushed out the small cart with the steaming food on it. “It took a bit longer for the pheasants to cook properly.”

“Judging by the smell, it was all worth it.” The dark elf remarked as the food was served.

The rest of the dinner went by in a surprisingly pleasant mood, everyone doing their best not to bring up anything related to the situation outside Thornvale. After dinner and a hot bath, Regis was dragged to the bed by Letty, the relentless wood elf trying to make sure he wouldn’t sneak back into his workshop to pull another all-nighter. Days went by slowly, the strained atmosphere lessening with each one passing by. A week later however an unexpected change occurred in the lives of Thornfell’s people.

“Milord,” Euric’s voice interrupted the loremaster as he was trying to recreate the gateway talisman’s enchantment. “Sir Grego is here. He says that Sir Khan and his group showed up outside of the mountain pass.”

“Khan,” the dark elf put down the crystal amulet on the table. “Why didn’t he tell me through the far-caller?”

“He said that he called Sir Quentin first due to his divine domain and was told to come for you personally.”

“Shit,” Regis cussed as he stood up from his seat. “That never bodes well.”

A minute later he was already at the door, the guard captain looking at him with a grim expression.

“What happened?”

“Khan has returned with the others. According to them, all hell broke loose in Ecragurne.”

“You could have just called me through the far-caller.”

“I wanted to but Quentin told me to come personally.”

“Why?” The loremaster asked while walking and Grego looked around warily before answering.

“They brought some people along with them.”

“People?”

“You’ll see when we get there.”

“It’s that bad, huh?” Regis looked at the man before letting out a sigh.

They used the gateway at Landwaker Square to get over to the mountain pass, leaving the secret room post haste. Once outside, the sight of a small caravan made the dark elf stop in his tracks, staring down at them from the battlements. The caravan was anything but ordinary, a well-crafted carriage bearing no noble’s crest and two wagons guarded by well-equipped soldiers waited on the other side of the gates. ‘This looks bad. Really bad.’ Regis thought to himself as he walked down the stairs and through the gate, joining Quentin and Khan in front of the caravan.

“Why do I feel afraid to ask what’s going on here?” He said as he shook hands with Khan.

“Probably because you’re too paranoid for your own good,” Khan replied. “Although it’s kind of reasonable this time around.”

“So...”

“It’s Father Steon and some people from Hunor,” Quentin stated with a conflicted expression. “Along with Verhen’s daughter.”

“The fuck?” Regis snapped toward the fancy-looking carriage. “What the hell is she doing here of all people?”

“After his father got jailed,” Khan began to explain. “Hunor was up for grabs and with the succession war turning into a territory war...”

“Someone took over.” The loremaster connected the dots.

“They had someone teleport her over to East Fork and from then on, they were riding all the way here with the caravan. We met them at Rust-well Keep and decided to tag along after hearing that they wanted to come here.”

“And she expects me to open the gate for her just like that? We’re not even allies for fuck’s sake.”

“Young Cornelia expects nothing of you,” Father Steon’s aged voice resounded as he walked closer to them. “But I sincerely hope that you can find enough compassion in your heart to allow her to stay here.”

“Compassion has nothing to do with it, Father. It’s outright stupid to allow entry for a landless noble and their soldiers into our territory. Not to mention that if people found out that I’m harbouring the daughter of a fallen noble, that could give ground to accusations and a reason to attack my territory under the pretence that I refused to hand her over to Ecragurne. Fallen noble or not, she’s still a political tool in their eyes.”

“I understand your concerns but...”

“If you understand, them then you should know why I can’t let her in. It’s not just about me or my companions any more. This could endanger the entire population of Thornvale. I’m not going to risk their life for someone I’ve only met once. I’m sorry.”

“We should at least talk this over,” Quentin spoke up. “Explain it to the others and the townspeople. Let them decide whether they want to risk it or not.”

“This isn’t up for debate.” The loremaster stated.

“You just said that you didn’t want to endanger the people, but you always ask for their opinion on almost every matter that involves them. Why change now?”

“Because they wouldn’t understand the complications and the shitstorm that could hit us.”

“Then explain it to them. You don’t have to shoulder this decision alone. The people aren’t stupid. They won’t agree to it if they think it’s too much of a risk.”

“Fine,” he said after a good minute of strained silence. “But if they say no or sit on the fence about it…”

“We’ll send her away immediately.” Quentin nodded, understanding the graveness of the situation.