Loremaster of the Amaranthine lands

“Where does that leave us?” Sophie looked at her companions. “We were supposed to lead the people to Menelrond if the army lost, but this is far worse than we had imagined.”

“Is there a chance that they will just leave us alone?” Khan asked suddenly. “I mean, there are bigger settlements to harass out there.”

“Whatever slight chance we had went down the drains when Valerie almost blasted off Natalie’s head with her whip.”

“I’m not going to apologize for that,” the infernal woman replied. “And besides. I’m pretty sure they think of you as a bigger threat than me after your spider nuked that other archdemon.”

“She has a point,” Osmond agreed. “We knew that your divine Gatling gun would be effective, but holy shit.”

“If the battery wasn’t so low by the time we had to face the archdemon,” Quentin recalled what he had seen. “It might have perished just from being shot so many times.”

“How long would it take you to make another one? Or two.” Fabien inquired while holding Mary’s hand.

“It would take about a day and a half at least, given that I would have to start from scratch, creating the elemental stones and everything.”

“I doubt they will give us enough time to make more of those,” Amanda stated the obvious. “They will likely send their forces after us as soon as possible.”

“I guess we’ll have to stick to the original plan then,” Cruz said. “We get the people out of here and hole up somewhere in Menelrond until Regis can build a bunch of those spiders, then we’ll nuke that new boss bitch out of this plane.”

“We have to secure the mountain pass first,” the paladin remarked. “The stronger our defence over there, the more time we get to evacuate when they come.”

“Alright,” the dark elf agreed. “Let’s get back to the manor so we can send the spare golems over to the mountain entrance.”

“Hold on a second,” Valerie blurted out as everyone turned toward the dark elf. “We have spare golems? As in more than one?”

“Yes,” Regis hummed as they began to walk toward the manor. “But don’t get your hopes up, they’re not as big or powerful as the other six were. They won’t be able to buy us too much time but every minute counts, right?”

The group headed over to the manor, Amanda and Sophie splitting off at the smithy so that they would have time to pack up everything they would be able to bring along during the evacuation. Grego and Tristan also took off to prepare the people of Thornfell and to deal with the panic that was sure to come.

Word seemed to spread fast, the people hurrying about like headless chickens as they rushed home to gather their belongings. As they finally reached the manor, Regis led his friends around toward the park behind the building. He activated the magic seal on the small stone shield on the nearby statue and the hidden stairway opened up.

“Well, shit.” Cruz blurted out baffled by the sight that greeted them.

“Looks like you’ve been busy these past months.” Valerie remarked with her eyes still fixed on the bottom of the stairway.

“So how are we going to get these to the mountain path?” Quentin asked with a heavy tone.

“What do you think, McGonagall?” The dark elf replied with a smirk, a wide grin appearing on Khan’s face after hearing the question aimed at the paladin.

“Let me do it! Let me do it!” The mercenary squealed while practically jumping at the same spot like a caffeine-boosted little kid.

“Khan, what are you...” Quentin tried to ask, but the Mongol youth cut into his words.

“Piertotum locomotor!” Khan said with a heavy voice, his word earning a low rumble from the chamber beneath the park.

“Thornfell is threatened,” Khan spoke. “Head to the mountain path! Man the walls, protect us! Do your duty to our town!”

As his words spread across the park, heavy footsteps could be heard from the bottom of the stairs as fully armed granite-stone knights with a height of around three and a half meters began to walk up in pairs. The group had to stand aside in order to make way for the nearly two dozen golems that marched away with surprisingly good militaristic coordination.

“I always wanted to do that.” The Mongol youth claimed with a shit-eating grin plastered over his face the rest of the group kept switching their baffled gazes between him and Regis.

“Fucking nerds.” Cruz sighed while she walked away, rolling her eyes at the two.

“How strong are they,” Fabien asked the important question. “They’re obviously not as powerful as the big ones, so...”

“I’d say they are about as strong as a peak third-tier warrior or knight,” the dark elf replied. “But they don’t have any special abilities besides being sturdy and strong. The weapons have been enchanted, but otherwise, they are pretty standard stuff.”

“If we add in the ballistas and the barrier, how long do you think the wall will hold?” Quentin asked as the group began to walk over to Landwaker Square.

“That depends on what the enemy plans to throw at us,” Osmond replied. “If it’s only the archdemon then maybe ten or fifteen minutes. If she brings an army with her, well... yeah.”

“She can’t be that powerful if a few dozen tier-three soldiers and a golem managed to take out one before.” Cruz scoffed.

“Except we don’t have the exploding golem or the ‘divine’ Gatling gun to fight it any more.” Her sister reminded the tomboyish wood elf.

“No,” the dark elf stopped for a moment, a light flaring in his eyes. “But we do have a fairly large ‘domain heart’ protecting the mountain pass.”

“I recognise that madman look,” Osmond remarked. “You want to turn the ‘domain heart’ into a bomb, don’t you?”

“The one on the spider golem was to kill Bergaldeen,” the dark elf argued. “Sure he was weakened, but it still got the job done. The one at the mountain pass is several times larger and stronger. If I can rig it to explode as a last resort...”

“It would level the entire pass.” Quentin finished the train of thought.

“Preferably with the archdemon in it.” Valerie added.

“Would that even work?” Mary questioned them. “They already know you have something like that. I doubt they would fall for the same trick again.”

“Perhaps,” Osmond perked up as he thought the idea through. “But it could also work as a deterrent. Since they know that the ‘domain heart’ bomb can take out an archdemon, we could use it as leverage to buy us time.”

“Either way, we’ll have to reinforce the mountain pass, before anything else.” Regis stated.

“What about the people?” Valerie spoke as she looked at the worried faces they’d seen along the way. “Don’t you think it’s time we told them what’s going on here?”

“I guess you're right. Tristan must have filled them in on the basics, but it’s best if they hear it for me.”

The dark elf then activated his far-caller to reach out to his steward.

“Tristan, how are things on your end?”

“The evacuation preparations are halfway complete.”

“Good,” Regis sighed. “Send word to the people that we’re meeting in Landwaker Square.”

“Understood.” The short reply came before the connection fizzed out.

The group made their way to Landwaker Square, finding a baffled crowd that was still staring toward the path that led outside of the small town.

“Looks like the marching golems surprised even them.” One of Khan’s mercenary companions remarked.

“Well, it was kind of impressive.” Celine agreed.

“Is everyone here?” Regis asked loudly, Tristan giving him a nod.

“Other than the guards from the mountain pass, everyone is here.”

“Good. Listen up people,” the loremaster called out to the townsfolk. “Tristan might have told you some of what’s going on, but it’s only fair if you hear it from me as well. Earlier today a few of the guards and two of my companions accompanied me to the battle camp of the united church and noble forces. We brought over the six great guardian golems of our town to add them to their forces in hopes of increasing their chance of victory against the Exiled Court and its cultists and demons.”

A deep silence filled the square as he stopped for a moment to gather his thoughts. The people looked at him and then back at each other before looking at him once again but no one dared to say a word.

“We were forced to engage in the battle as well, facing thousands of demons. Although the allied forces suffered significant losses, we came out victorious. Or at least we thought we did.”

The people were about to cheer up after hearing the news of victory, but they were quickly dragged back into reality by the way the darker finished his sentence.

“As it turned down, we were used by a hidden enemy to take down their adversary before they appeared on the battlefield. The remaining soldiers had to flee so that they could regroup and heal their wounded. However, even if the enemy lost almost all of their soldiers, the creature that came to this world after we defeated the archdemon is just as strong.”

A hushed murmur spread through the crowd his fear was evident in their voices and their facial expressions. Regis couldn't blame them for being afraid. Archdemons were old stories used to frighten children, yet they now had to prepare themselves for running from one such being.

“The allied forces are likely planning to ask for help from Menelrond, but we don't know how long it will take for reinforcements to come or if they will answer at all. Because of that, we plan to go forward with the evacuation we prepared as a last resort should the enemy come for us as well.”

This time the reaction was a lot more volatile. The people were upset that they had to leave their new homes behind but most argued that they could rebuild anywhere as long as they were alive. After a good minute, the crowd settled down as they turned their attention back to the dark elf.

“I’m sure most of you have noticed the strange gate I built in the barracks before leaving for the battle camp. Its purpose is to allow the mass migration of people and goods if needed. I have built another gate at the mountain path between Ecragurne and Menelrond. When the time comes we will use it to leave. Tristan should have already told you to begin packing your belongings and supplies for the journey.”

“I did,” the steward spoke from the side. “It should be done in a few hours.”

“Good,” the loremaster nodded. “The golems you have seen marching toward the mountain pass are meant to increase its defences and to buy us time if needed. For now, I want you all to return to your homes and continue your preparations for the evacuation. Be ready to leave the moment the word is given.”

“Forgive me, my lord,” Durnan the dwarf spoke up loudly. “How long do we have?”

"I wish I could give you an answer to that question," Regis sighed. "The battle happened a bit over an hour ago and we believe that the archdemon will need some time to regain its full strength. Even then, we have a day or two at best. However, that doesn't mean they couldn't decide to speed things up."

“I see,” the dwarf nodded. “If I may ask another question. Where will we go? I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that Menelrond might be a kingdom as strong as Ecragurne, but I doubt they would be welcoming us with open arms.”

“They won’t have much of a choice,” the loremaster answered sternly. “The archdemon is everyone’s problem. They might have refused to act when Princess Helena asked for their help before, but now that they don’t have the means to stop the archdemon, Menelrond will be next if Ulgrath decides to go on a conquest.”

“We should wrap things up,” Quentin remarked from his left side. “There’s a lot to do.”

“I guess this is everything, for now,” Regis said while giving an agreeing nod to the paladin. “Tristan and Quentin will help you with any issues during the preparations. May the Seven watch over us.”

Finishing what he wanted to say, the dark elf unlocked the barrier protecting the gazebo and used the gateway to teleport over to the mountain pass.

“My Lord!” The guards saluted the moment he left the secret room.

“At ease,” he said while walking toward the tower that housed the domain heart core. “Have you heard about what happened yet?”

“Yes,” one of them replied. “Captain Grego informed everyone as soon as you returned.”

“Good. Hopefully, we’ll have a day or two before the enemy decides to turn their attention toward us, but be ready for anything. Also, don’t get surprised but a group of golems are coming from the direction of the town. Let them line up outside in front of the gates.”

“Understood, sir.” The soldiers responded as one while the loremaster entered the tower.

Regis made his way up to the core, temporarily shutting it down so that he could begin his work. During the following two or so hours he added several runic diagrams to the already existing ones, creating a backdoor which allowed the core to overload and explode. It could do so if he activated a small wand which he crafted on the spot for that singular purpose.

By the time he was done, the golems had already lined up on the other side of the stone wall. Regis felt tired after the events of the day, his mind dulled and his body aching. He returned to the manor and after eating some smoked ham sandwiches, he took a quick bath before falling into his bed, not working up until the next morning.