Val and I left Corminar, Zoi and—most importantly—Arzak to welcoming the orcish army to the fray and integrating them into their battle plans. Arzak and Corminar were far more well-versed in military strategy than either Val or I was anyway. As we were about to follow Lore, I realised that he’d asked for more portals, and my mana reserves were running low. I looked back to Corminar to request more potions, but he was already in the midst of planning with the rest of the command team and the orcish leaders. I didn’t want to disturb that.

  But instead I caught sight of Ted, still milling around at their side.

  ‘Enchanter,’ I called out to him.

  He blinked back at me, caught my eyes, then looked over his shoulder like I was talking to someone else.

  ‘He means you, Ted,’ Val clarified.

  Ted pointed to his chest, then mouthed the word, ‘Me?’

  ‘I need mana,’ I said. ‘Can you do that? Is that within the realms of your gifts as an enchanter?’ I struggled to bite back the mocking sarcasm.

  Ted didn’t seem offended, so either I’d been successful in keeping my tone sincere, or he was so arrogant that it didn’t even occur to him that I’d be being sarcastic. ‘I have blueberry bonbons of manaflood,’ he said.

  ‘Does all your enchantment have to come in sweet form?’

  The man shrugged. ‘It’s my trademark. I suppose could imbue you with the effect directly if I wanted to, but then I’d just be another enchanter. You gotta think about marketing prospects with these things.’

  ‘You really don’t.’ I put out a hand, palm up. ‘Can I have them?’

  ‘He means, “Can I have them, please?”’ Val added on my behalf.

  Ted flicked his eyes to my wife, and his gaze softened. ‘Only because she asked.’

  ‘We’re literally about to fight—’ I started, but Val kicked me, and I realised Ted really wasn’t worth it. I took the sweets from Ted and placed one straight into my mouth. ‘Tasty.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  With that, the three of us followed Lore through the crowd of orcs and over to the distant portals. Though the Coldharbour portal remained entirely unused, there were now soldiers pouring through the Lenktra one. And I mean… soldiers. Not volunteers, farmers, shopkeeper and so on. Actual, real soldiers, wearing the armour of the nations of the Tundras. I could see now why Lore was so frantic; the Gentle Tundra had finally answered our call.

  Governor Yua stood by the portal, seemingly having been the first to step through. Though not a fighter, this was a woman who understood the value of leading from the front. She had put her life on the line for the cause.

  ‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ Val shouted to me. ‘More portals!’

  I opened another distant portal to Lenktra.

  Yua shouted through the portal, ‘Stand back! More portals incoming!’ She wasn’t to know that I could not open a portal through living flesh, though I appreciated her concern for the safety of her army.

  And I opened another, then another, then another. Soon there were nine open portals to Lenktra—the tenth still open to Coldharbour, in case they changed their minds. Val, Lore, Ted and I had to take steps back when we started to realise the size of the Tundran army.

  Governor Yua had been busy. These weren’t just soldiers wearing the sigils and colours of Lenktra; there were soldiers from all around the Tundras, including Fenrock, Tanar, Ironview… the list went on. The four of us were speechless.

  The governor approached us, her eyes on Val. ‘I bring nearly five thousand soldiers to the cause. In the end, I was able to reason with them. I reminded them of the work you did last year, during Niamh terrible reign.’

  ‘And that was enough?’ Val asked.

  ‘No. I spent the last of my fortune on well-placed bribes,’ Yua answered with a sad smile. ‘Yet that is a small price to pay to secure our world a future.’

  Val nodded to the older woman, and the governor nodded back.

  Five thousand soldiers. It was a huge number; more so even than the orcish army. Yet, all told, we still had only around ten thousand soldiers. Arzak had calculated that we would need thirty thousand for success. We were still far, far short.

  I kept this thought to myself.

  ‘Err, Styk?’ Lore said. ‘Remember how I said there were two things?’

  I looked over at him, and saw that his attention was focused on the parting crowd. A familiar face rode through, wearing a fine red velvet dress that complimented her skin, and ornate jewellery that suggested we hadn’t left her penniless and devoid of prospects only a few months earlier.

  ‘Hello, beautiful,’ Raelas said, her gaze on Val.

  ‘Hello yourself,’ my wife replied with a smile that rivaled the tiefling’s. Were they actually happy to see each other?

  ‘I will never understand women,’ I mumbled under my breath.

  ‘Preach,’ Ted muttered. I looked at him, he looked at me, and at the same moment we realised we’d just agreed with one another. Disgust crossed both our faces.

  The tiefling dropped gracefully from a saddle on a horse that—against all odds—also had some jewellery threaded into its mane. ‘I heard you two got married. I bought you a wedding gift,’ Raelas said.

  Val’s smile broadened further. ‘I… appreciate the thought, but is now really the time?’ She gestured in the vague direction of Auricia, across the Meadows.

  Raelas returned the smile in kind. ‘Oh, I think you’ll like this one. I took you at your word, see. When I left you all, I started on a mission to make up for all the stuff I’d done. I told everyone of what your team had been doing this past couple of years. I told everyone about all the evil acts of Players. And slowly but surely, people joined me in fighting them. The more people I had on my side, the more convincing I was. Then word reached me of this handsome one’s presence in Coldharbour.’

  Val’s eye twitched slightly, but the smile remained.

  ‘So I went to see him, but found he’d already left. No big deal, it happens. I had a good number of people on my side at that point, and we picked up the work that you and the big guy left unfinished. How are you, Lore, by the way? I think you’ll this too.’

  The ground began to rumble.

  Raelas raised her hand at her side, her red-pink eyes sparkling. ‘I wanted to be here for the reveal, so I rode ahead. Val, Styk… I present to you, your wedding present.’

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  The army of Coldharbour arrived. In the end, when it had mattered, the world had answered our call. Alterra was going to war.

  * * *

  There were echoes of earlier as Geron, one of Coldharbour’s most esteemed councillors, sought out Lore.

  ‘The saviour of Coldharbour,’ Geron said, clasping Lore’s forearm with his hand, barely managing to wrap his fingers around it. ‘We meet again.’

  Lore returned the gesture, having a lot less trouble wrapping his own hand around the tiefling’s arm. ‘I’m glad you came. Thank you.’

  ‘I would be slower to give credit. Though I am glad we are here, there are some councillors who are not.’ Geron’s eyes flicked over to Raelas. ‘Fortunately, someone didn’t give us much of a choice.’

  The tiefling worldbender winked, and blew a kiss in Geron’s direction. Amazingly, the councillor blushed.

  Geron shook his head and turned back to Lore. ‘I am glad you are here. The council met the day before we rode, and we came to an agreement. Our military leaders were on the frontlines in the defence of our city against the corruption; few of them survived. Though, who better to lead our forces than the saviour of Coldharbour himself?

  ‘Lore Thunder, it is an honour to name you General Thunder.’ Geron finally released my friend’s forearm.

  ‘Gods damn that’s a cool name,’ Ted muttered.

  ‘Are you still here?’ I whispered to him.

  The enchanter scowled.

  As Arzak had assumed responsibility for the orcish forces, Lore took command of the army of Coldharbour. I couldn’t have thought of people better suited to the task ahead than Slayers—because only us Slayers knew what Players were really capable of.

  Lore led the Coldharbour councillors to join the rest of the commanders. If we’d still had a command tent, it would have been far too small by now to fit all of us. Instead, we all stood around the ornate table carved into a map of Auricia—the Slayers, Zoi, Turell, the orcish generals, Governor Yua, and the councillors from Coldharbour. I couldn’t help but think that this was a momentous occasion; when before had the world come together like this? It was just a shame that it very likely still wouldn’t be enough.

  It took me a moment to realise that the commanders were silent because they were waiting for me to talk. The new armies deferred to their allies among the slayers—Yua to Val, the councillors of Coldharbour to Lore, and Gelik and the rest of the orcish generals to Arzak. And, in turn, the rest of the Slayers deferred to me. How far I’d come from petty theft.

  I chose my next words carefully, putting on an air of authority that I knew, deep down, wasn’t natural to me. ‘It’s an honour to fight with you all,’ I said. ‘Soon, the towers will have drawn enough power for the ritual to begin. We will have to—’

  A cry rang out from the armies behind me.

  ‘Oh gods damn it, what now?’ I asked, secretly hoping that there was another army coming to join us. After all, the elves still hadn’t arrived, though perhaps they never would.

  I turned to see soldiers parting to make room for someone, or something, approaching. As the last of them hurried out the way, I expected monster—bogspawn or elderbeest or something of that ilk. What I hadn’t expected was a small mouse-like creature with large black eyes. Those black eyes found Lore.

  Even before the barbarian spoke, I realised the truth. This creature was a depth-raider, and not just any depth-raider. It was the one that Lore had carried while we’d pursued Niamh, intending the creature as payment to the Red Thorn. It had never got to them, of course, because Lore had freed it.

  ‘I will see you before the world is born,’ Lore said.

  I looked to him, brow furrowed, before placing those words. That had been the final message the depth-raider had given him before they’d parted ways. Now, that premonition had come true.

  Lore scooped up the tiny creature, placing it on his shoulder, the rest of the commanders’ eyes upon it. Magicks began to crackle behind those dark eyes. In an army of this size, containing enormous combined power, the fearsome strength of the depth-raider was sure to come into effect. It would adopt our combined power. It would use our abilities.

  It was a hell of a relief to have it—presumably—on our side.

  But its presence meant something else, too. A creature with limited ability to see the future had not arrived tomorrow, but now. It meant it was time. It meant that the battle must very soon begin.

  There was only one thing left for me to say. ‘Put out the word: we march at dawn.’