In the evening of that same day, the northern region of Torisval declared an official state of emergency. Residents were not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. Going outside in the evening and leaving the residential districts were also strictly banned. Residents of smaller villages and hamlets were ordered to take refuge in larger towns with ramparts to ward off magical beasts. Such designated safe zones—including the royal capital—were to keep their gates half open to accept fleeing residents in the case of a stampede.
The royal capital of Tris, which boasted especially reinforced walls, set comparatively lower security standards, but nonetheless it prohibited the serving of alcohol at its restaurants and drinking establishments while also banning balls and social events during the state of emergency. Many businesses—including theaters, bars, and brothels—ceased their operations entirely.
With the summer solstice festival just around the corner, some were unhappy that such measures were being taken. However, many of the citizens had seen the various signs of a potential stampede earlier in the day, and understood that there was little else that could be done to ensure Tris’s safety.
Still, none knew when the state of emergency would be lifted, and so the faces of travelers looking for inns as well as those heading home were etched with worry.
There was a strange air around Tris as Shiori and Alec headed home to prepare for the journey to the north. Rurii and Violid had stayed at the Guild; with nothing to prepare, they elected to meet with the Guild’s other familiars to exchange information.
“Keep your food and recovery potions separate from your camping gear,” said Alec. “Bring as many portable foods and recovery potions as you can carry.”
“Got it.”
Shiori didn’t think there’d be much time to cook anyway. When they launched their attack on the dragon, she did not expect that they’d be able to rest until it was all over. They would be battling against time too. The most they might be able to spare was just enough time to munch on a ration and drink some warm water.
Shiori pulled a small knapsack from the shelf and filled it with rations, recovery potions, and cold-weather gear. Given that they were heading to the Dima Frozen Lake, which was perennially in a state of winter, cold-weather gear was essential.
“We’ll nap at the Guild,” said Alec. “That way we can rest just a little longer.”
“Okay.”
Zack would leave for Dima with the main forces at ten in the evening. The remaining adventurers were set to leave at three the following morning. Shiori and Alec were part of the first group, so they hurriedly prepared everything they needed, and left their apartment at a run.
A dim light still hung in the air at ten in the evening, as adventurers piled into two wagons and left by the city’s northern gates. The wagons flew the flag of the Guild—two crossed swords—and proceeded past the capital’s defensive forces, which were stationed at the northern ramparts. As the wagons rode past, the soldiers at the edge of the city offered a salute, knowing that the adventurers were heading to the front lines and the heart of the battle. Among the knights was Nicholas Neumann—he of the infamous ringworm—and Solne, one of Rurii’s slimekin who had found its soulmate in a knight at the gates. But it was not just those few knights; many of them had talked to the adventurers and gotten to know them on their journeys in and out of the city. They were friends of a sort, even though they had never been formally introduced.
All of them, in their salutes, offered well-wishes.
Good luck out there.
May we both live so that we meet again.
No words were spoken, but the messages came through in the bearing and the gazes of the knights as the wagons continued northward. Night never fell in its entirety here during the season of the summer solstice, and so the dim light that permeated the evening sky gave the journey the feel of the fantastical, and layered it with vague anxiety. Soon after the ramparts disappeared from view, the scent of iron began to drift on the air.
It was the scent of blood.
Recently killed magical beast corpses dotted the roadside: smaller stampedes that had been handled by the knight corps’ suppression squads. Alec and Clemens gazed at the sight, their brows furrowing.
“There’s a lot of them,” said Clemens.
“Yep. Glad we can leave the stampedes to the knights,” said Alec.
Shortly before leaving, the Guild had received word from the margrave himself letting them know that the smaller-scale stampedes on the way to the dragon could be left to the knight corps to handle. It was their job to head directly to Dima. As he had slain a dragon once before, Zack’s presence on-site was a necessity. The margrave did not want anything impeding his arrival.
Outside of the wagon, Shiori spotted lights occasionally dotting the plains. They belonged to the suppression squads. Every so often, magic lit up areas in the distance as battles were waged.
“These smaller-scale stampedes are a precursor to something bigger,” Alec explained. “Oftentimes, full-scale stampedes are started by smaller stampedes merging. By dealing with them now, the knights can slow them down or even stop them from getting bigger. Still, stampedes will be breaking out all over the place, so they’ll have to keep watch over set areas and be ready to deal with whatever comes up.”
“Wow...” uttered Shiori.
However, because the stampedes occurred over a wide area and at a near-constant rate, stopping them felt like an endless battle, which wore down the body and soul. Alec explained that if the knights weren’t efficient, they could rapidly find themselves completely overwhelmed.
“But word among the knights is that they’ve just instituted a brand-new weapon of sorts,” said Zack. “If it works out like they’re hoping it will, their job will be a whole lot easier.”
“An all-new weapon?” asked Shiori.
“Search magic. Just like you taught them.”
“Oh...”
Shiori had taught the spell as part of her housekeeping magic lecture. But she hadn’t expected to see it being put to use in a situation like this one.
“I’ve heard that they’ve still got work to do in terms of range and accuracy, but they’ve at least got it to a point where they can use it out in the field,” commented Alec.
“It’s a huge advantage to have an idea of what you’re dealing with and where it’s coming from before it reaches you,” said Zack. “And it saves you from wasting time searching where there’s nothing to be found. Beasts are far less likely to slip through the search net, to boot.”
It had been an hour since they’d left. They had come a considerable way, but had yet to see a single magical beast alive. The suppression squads were making good use of the spell Shiori had taught them.
“I see,” she said. “I’m just happy to hear that it’s coming in handy.”
Alec pulled her in close, and Rurii poked her proudly. Violid, lying along the floor, snorted: “Go you.”
The knights were doing everything they could to contain the smaller stampedes, which often came together to form larger ones. Thanks to their efforts, the adventurers only encountered magical beasts twice on their journey, just as they were nearing the border.
“We’re not going to outrun these guys...” muttered Alec, drawing his sword.
Just as the wagons were approaching the site nearest the danger zone, they found their path blocked by basilisks. The pack of beasts ordinarily lived deep in the forest, in swampy areas out of the reach of the sun, but they were here now, and in an instant they had the wagons surrounded. Their hissing cries pierced the ears, sounding not unlike rusty doors in need of oiling, while their black scales glittered ominously by the light of the wagons’ magical lanterns.
“Just like we agreed,” said Zack, issuing his orders. “Alec, Nadia, your groups are up.”
The adventurers had been assigned groups prior to leaving, and they now leapt from the wagons. Ludger flashed a message to the wagon behind by blinking a lantern: a call for it to come to a stop while they handled the beasts. A return message arrived in moments, and the wagon slowed to a halt as the basilisks looked to intimidate and assault them.
The attacks proved futile, however; someone had already cast a barrier spell, blocking the magical beasts from getting too close. With their way forward barred, the poisonous lizards bared their fangs and let out hisses of frustration. The adventurers waited for the basilisks to open their mouths as they prepared for another attack, then moved, slamming the beasts with spells and leaving them flailing in agony on the ground before slicing off their heads. The basilisk pack would have been considered A-rank, but they were up against the Guild’s finest, and in no more than five minutes they were drowning in a sea of their own blood.
“Nice work,” said Shiori.
“Thanks,” replied Alec.
Rurii plucked a chunk of basilisk flesh from Violid’s teeth while Shiori wiped some stray blood from Alec’s cheek with antiseptic gauze.
“Those other monster corpses—they’re the type you don’t often see near towns and villages too,” said Shiori.
“Yeah. More and more of them are flooding in from the forests.”
So far, there still wasn’t anything on the scale of a major stampede, but the dragon that was the source of it all was still at large. Until it was slain, the threat of a large-scale stampede still remained. Time was of the essence. Just as Shiori thought this, a low roar echoed from afar, trembling through the air.
GROOOOOOOOOOOAR...
The sound was like the reverberations one heard after fireworks, and it seemed to echo in the pit of the adventurers’ stomachs. It was the roar of a gigantic magical beast. Everyone stood in silence, forgetting to even blink as the sound drifted through the air and dissipated.
It was two in the morning, and the dimly lit sky began to slowly whiten as dawn approached. It should have been a refreshing early-summer sight, yet looming over it was a heavy sense of dread.