Ashera is not really sure if she is dreaming of if this is real when the ring from her mother start to shimmer and an old elven lady appears in her room.

The old lady introduces herself as Lorregale, First Mother. She warns Ashera that the Darkness has send an army to conquer the mountain and that they will arrive shortly. She also warns Ashera not to return to the glade she visited with the portal. And that she needs to complete her education as Goth-ob Bartom with the Khwallildrin. Or who Ashera knows as the Griffonriders.

Ashera then gets time to asks some questions. She finds out who Lorregale is and that she recently received her mother’s communication ring and that the whereabouts of her mother are unknown, even the fact if she is still alive. Lorregale gives Ashera permission to contact her is she is in need. And just when she is about to leave the house is rocked by an explosion. Smoke begins to obscure her vision and Timor demands that they leave the house at once. Picking up Holand and her pack they escape a now burning house.

Just before the explosions Dagar wakes from his disturbing dream. Witnessing the impact of the projectile on the roof of the inn from his window. He dons his armor and runs towards the bathroom to wake Cyra. Who is still dizzy and sick from her night of drinking with Harrol. Picking her up he carries her downstairs and directs her towards Mitch’s house.

Maxwell is immediately ready when he hears the first explosion. Still in his armor he makes sure his father and mother are save and tells them to go to Mitch’s house. Then he runs off, ready to implement Ashera’s plan if the need arrise.

Mitch dons his armor at the first sound of explosions. Through his window he sees that the roof of the inn is on fire. Villagers run around scared. Downstairs he opens the trapdoor and asks Kat to go down the stairs. Then he opens the front door and the way to escape for the villagers.

When she is outside Ashera sets her plan to work. Putting the horn of Kronor to her lips, she gives a blast and signals the others to start the evacuation of the villagers. When she gets at the west gate the town militia warn her that there are many soldiers outside of the gate. She orders then to use the tables from the festival to barricade the gate. When the soldiers run off she surreptitiously casts a spell. A thick cloud of fog appears obscuring the gate from the eyes of the soldiers. Then she and Holand head towards Mitch.

At the inn soldiers, the Grand Duke, his son Harrol and Chamberlain Pascale are stumbling through the door into fresh air. Baraskur tries to setup a waterline but gets ordered by Ashera to head to Mitch’s house and leave the fire. Captain Stompen in the meantime orders his men to the horses and escort the Grand Duke out of the village. Mitch and Maxwell hear this and try hard to persuade the captain not to go forward with his plan. But Stompen doesn’t listen. Ashera with Dagar at her heels shouts that they can’t go out. He orders his soldiers to open the gate. In a last attempt to save them Ashera cast another fog spell. But this doesn’t stop the first riders from exiting the gate. Then a thunder of noise erupts and the sounds of falling horses and men crying in pain follows. Ashera commands the prince to stop and step from his horse. Dagar runs over and refrains the horse from moving. Ashera keeps demanding that the price steps off his horse when he finally does. Mitch steps up and escorts him towards the house. Then Dagar and Maxwell run outside the gate searching for the Duke and captain Stompen. But the fog makes it difficult to see far. Finally Dagar finds the Duke. But a new hail of musket fire wounds the Duke severely. Dagar and Mitch drag him inside of the gate. Meanwhile Ashera keeps commanding the villagers to get into Mitch house. She spots Pascale in the line. But at that moment a young boy runs over with a message from men at the west gate. That the fog has hold the soldiers for a while but that they are advancing again. She tells the boy to tell the men to retreat to Mitch house. Kat warns Mitch that the cellar is full of people. Seeing the flaw in the plan Mitch runs into his house and climbs into the cellar where he opens the portal and orders the food he and Kat stored to be taken with them.

The gate gets smashed open and the first enemy soldiers enter the village. They charge when they see Ashera, Maxwell and Dagar and a few soldiers. Who run inside and barricade the door. The house gets surrounded and the windows smashed. One by one they try to climb in while the rest are waiting for the last villagers to climb down. Ashera and Maxwell fight them off while Dagar commands the remaining soldiers to hurry and climb down. When the door is about to be smashed open Dagar takes over the mind of a soldier who he orders to protect the door. Having a little respite they quickly climb down into the cellar before they get over run. In the cellar Mitch makes sure the villagers keep moving. When he spots Pascale he orders him out of his cellar. Pascale refuses and commands his bodyguards to bring Mitch down. If Pascale notices the other soldiers in the cellar he commands them also to clear the way. Dagar shouts the soldiers down while he and Maxwell move towards Pascale. If Pascale tries to get the soldiers back under his command Dagar slugs him. Not going down at once Maxwell pummels him some more and the Chamberlain is out. Meanwhile Ashera is fighting off enemy soldiers who try to climb down. Dagar and Maxwell pick up Pascale and drag him through the portal.

With the cellar almost empty Ashera gets help from Mitch. Together they hold off the soldiers while the trapdoor is slowly closing.

In the Mountain Dagar and Maxwell drag the unconscious Pascale straight to the prison leaving villagers baffled and in a state of dispear. When Ashera and Mitch step through the portal Mitch immediately makes sure that all the villagers are save and out of the way. Ashera goes to see the Grand Duke who is still barely alive. Using one of her better potions she revives the Grand Duke. When he is feeling better again the prince asks if they can have a meeting with the others. Ashera promises to inform the others. When Dagar and Maxwell return from the prison a few villagers ask if they can help. Mitch sorts them into groups and escort them to the halls where they can be of most use. Ashera hurries to the Crowsnest to find out what happened with the village. Turning on the mirror she sees that not all villagers are brought into safety. Corbyn and his daughter are still back in the village. Dagar and Cyra set up the meeting with the prince. When the prince finds about the portal to Rosecourt and the army that is on its way towards the mountain he promises to help them.

 

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