Mora was running alone about six miles west of the Temple of Fate with her light gem only just bright enough to illuminate her path.
“Someone, someone, come! I can’t escape on my own! ” Mora yelled with her power of mountain echo. She honestly wasn’t very confident in her acting ability. But she was satisfied with this line. She was sure it would convince the fiends that she really was in trouble.
About three hundred and fifty fiends surrounded her, but only a handful were actually attacking her. They formed multiple rings around her to prevent her escape. Blocking their endless attacks with her gauntlets, Mora dashed toward her destination.
She was in a basin that connected three mountains. A great cliff soared upward to the north, while to the east was an easy slope downward. To the south and west were plains, where Mora’s powers of clairvoyance wouldn’t work.
Dotted the landscape were moss-covered stone buildings. A millennium ago, this had been a populated town. Now, all the buildings were red with the Evil God’s toxin. The structures were in various states of disrepair: Some had collapsed over the many centuries, while others still stood. With so much time having passed since the town had lost its residents, it was in total ruin. The place was thick with trees and grass sprouting up through the flagstones. Most of the city had been swallowed by the forest.
“Adlet! Dozzu! That way is blocked by fiends! Circle around from the east! ” Mora yelled again with her mountain echo.
“Run north! Stave off the fiends’ attacks there! We’ll break through their ranks right away and catch up!” Mora saw Adlet yell with her clairvoyance. Just as he’d told her, she ran for the sheer cliff to the north.
A few minutes earlier, the Braves had approached the fiends’ command center in an attempt to investigate but had been discovered and forced to retreat. It was then that Mora had inadvertently gotten isolated, and now she was running frantically, unable to convene with the rest of the group—or so it seemed to the enemy. But it was all an act. The real goal was to gather a large number of fiends in this one location, and Mora was just a decoy to that end.
“Ngh!” Mora ran up to the side of the cliff, breaking away from the fiends. But more caught up to her, closing in to attack. Mora guarded too late, and her leg was injured. The wound was shallow, but she dramatically dragged it behind her. She then “failed” to block the following attacks and fell.
“This isn’t good!” Mora pulled a stake out from under her robes and thrust it into the ground. It threw up a no-entry barrier with a range of about fifty-five yards around her. Many of the fiends stopped at the barrier. But the ones closer to her paid it no mind and went for her. It was difficult for her to fend off their strikes while feigning an injury.
That was when Goldof cried, “Mora!”
Mora willed for Goldof alone to be let in while still keeping out the fiends. Goldof slipped through and swept toward her like a gale. “I made it…in time.” He beat back the fiends that attacked her. Once again, Mora was impressed with how he handled his spear.
“Is your wound…light?” Goldof asked.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve been badly hurt. I’ll heal it now, but it will be some time before I’m able to run,” Mora said, loud enough for the fiends to hear. One of them yelled something in code to a messenger hovering overhead.
“You…focus on…your healing. Once you’re ready…we escape. In the meantime…I’ll protect you,” Goldof asserted, fighting off the fiends that had made it inside the barrier.
Crouching near the stake, Mora pretended to continue mending her leg as she observed the situation around them with her clairvoyance. Five fiends were inside with her. Goldof could handle them. About a hundred more were glued around the barrier, attacking it continuously. Farther back, nearly two hundred and fifty enemies encircled the area. They must have seen this as a prime opportunity to eliminate Mora for good.
“Mora…they’re breaking…through the barrier,” said Goldof. A united attack broke through a section of the wall of light, and a few dozen fiends attempted to surge in all at once. Pouring her power into the stake, Mora repaired the defense. She prevented its total collapse but had let in about ten foes. Goldof didn’t even have time to take a breath before facing his new opponents.
“The bärrier—will break! Don’t stöp—attacking!” one of the fiends surrounding them yelled, apparently the leader. Mora pretended to be shaken.
Everything was going according to Adlet’s plan. About half the army was completely engaged with Mora and Goldof.
The area around the mass of fiends was covered in trees. There was a moderate wind blowing from the north, and the air was dry. These were perfect conditions for a conflagration. Now they just had to hold on until the preparations for the fire were complete.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Youfilthylousestayawayfrommeyou’relessthanpigshittrashI’llkillyouI’llkillyouI’llkillyoudeadandmakeyoubegforforgivenessinhell!”
Spraying curses and invectives, Rolonia attacked the fiends just over half a mile to the south of Mora’s location. Her light gem, fitted into her armor, illuminated the area.
“You’re drawing too much attention, Rolonia! And you’re pushing in too far alone!” Adlet yelled. But she wasn’t listening as she frantically swung her whip.
Rolonia was battling the three hundred and fifty fiends that surrounded Mora and Goldof, but they were fending her off to prevent her from charging in to save Mora. The circle of fiends was so tight, an ant could hardly crawl through. Rolonia and Adlet couldn’t get near the center, and Goldof and Mora couldn’t escape rejoin their allies.
“Rolonia! It’s no use charging them head-on! Pull back for now, please!” Nashetania rushed up to Rolonia, defending her from the enemies about to move in from either side.
“But…w-we have to save Lady Mora. Without her, it’s all over!” With another yell, Rolonia charged in. “DieDIEmoveyourasses! Lady Mora! Youbastardsmaggotsit’syourturntodie!”
“Calm down, please, Rolonia!”
Rolonia ignored Nashetania’s attempt to stop her and continued her assault. She tried breaking through the line of fiends with a body blow, but they flung her away and sent her rolling along the ground. The net of fiends around Mora and Goldof didn’t budge an inch.
This was Rolonia’s task from Adlet.
He had told her to rush in headlong in an attempt to save Mora—but not successfully. She should deliberately fail in the attack, then retreat, circle around to another spot, and attack again. Once she failed there, she should attack from another angle again. Rinse and repeat. She would frantically scramble around the half-mile range circling Mora and draw the fiends’ attention.
“This is bad, Rolonia! At this rate, we’ll be surrounded!” Nashetania yelled as she guarded Rolonia’s back. From the south side, they could hear the heavy footfalls of dozens of fiends.
“Th-then we’re running! Please follow me, Nashetania!” Rolonia dashed off westward. Dimming their light gems to avoid detection, they slipped through the lines of trees and hid in the shadows of the smattering of ancient structures.
“Follow them! Kïll Rolonia! Kïll Nashetania!” They heard the cries of fiends at their backs.
With the ruins and the forest swallowing it, the topography was very complex. There were many places to hide and no shortage of escape routes. It didn’t take long for Rolonia and Nashetania behind her to shake off their pursuers.
Once they arrived on the western side of the encirclement, Rolonia screamed loudly. She lit up the area with her light gem again, drawing attention with her shout. “Lady Mora! Goldof! I’ll save you now! YAGHyoufiendstheBravesaregonnasplatteryourgutsandyourcoresandstompon
themjustfuckingdie!” Again, Rolonia recklessly charged into the horde of fiends. Guarding her back, Nashetania ran after her.
Rolonia’s job was to keep the enemy’s eyes on her. While she was fighting the fiends, Nashetania was to make preparations for the fire. The plan was for Nashetania to scatter the incendiary leaves Adlet had entrusted to her around the forest. The role was a heavy responsibility. If the fiends spotted her at her task, Tgurneu was sure to quickly recognize their intent. If that happened, then the operation would fall apart.
Rolonia’s charge failed to break through the enemy ranks, so she retreated again from the fiends pursuing her. As she ran, she glanced behind her. Was the preparation for the fire going well?
Nashetania noticed Rolonia’s glance, and her cheeks twitched up in a smile—a silent Don’t worry .
With her one arm, Nashetania deftly pulled out a single dry leaf from the bag on her shoulder. Sword still in hand, she held it between her pinkie and ring fingers. And then, when she swung her sword, the leaf disappeared from her hand. Rolonia didn’t even know where she’d dropped it. This was partly because the light was dim, making it hard to see—but more because of Nashetania’s swift dexterity. It left Rolonia in awe.
Everything was going according to plan. Once again, Rolonia was confident that trusting Adlet was the right choice. He really was the strongest man in the world. No matter what trouble they were in, Addy was sure to find a way.
They heard Mora crying out from inside her barrier. “Adlet! Fremy! While the enemy’s forces are occupied with us, go for Tgurneu! It’s not what we planned, but we’re left with no choice!”
Mora’s call was part of Adlet’s plan, too. Rolonia and Nashetania gave each other a small nod.
You can do it, Addy. Your revenge is almost done , Rolonia told herself, and she charged the enemy again.