"You sure about this?" I mutter to the mysterious woman as both of us mount Loaner, "The militia is spreading out throughout the town, plus there's all the gendarme from the convoy."

"Just follow my instructions." the woman dismisses my concerns as she gets comfortable right behind me, "I know Southmarsh better than you."

"We should cool our heels." I dispute as the town swallows up the convoy, their siege guns lagging behind, "Wait until everything settles down before making our move. The Dasar manor is not going anywhere."

"The Dasar manor is exactly the reason why I'm in a hurry," the woman frowns behind her veil as both of us look at the phallic tower looming over the invading army, "Those siege guns aren't just for show. We need to reach the manor before its encircled."

"Good point." I reluctantly agree and spur Loaner forward, keeping a healthy distance away from the convoy's stragglers, "Why would the gendarme need siege guns anyway? Henrik and Christina could level the Dasar manor by themselves."

"You've really not done anything other than small time assignments battling bottom tier monsters, haven't you?" the woman sighs with consternation and I can just imagine her rubbing her temples. 

"Please stop patronizing me." an edge enters my voice, "We're both from House Robeur."

"Fine. Then do you know about the counter frequency phenomenon?" the woman asks in challenge. 

"Of course I do." I snort, "Its part of the introductory course as the Academy. When magical objects decay, they gradually release a disruptive wave of energy. The so called counter frequency."

"Bravo." the woman answers flatly, "The counter frequency causes any incoming magic to break apart. So you should be able to work out why the siege guns are needed."

"Uh ..." I begin to sputter, drawing a blank. I didn't notice any stockpiles of magical items in the Dasar manor that could be deployed in this way. 

"Never fought a war against another knightly house?" the woman pipes up again, "Not even against the Order?"

"Just tell me." I grumble in an irritated voice, "All my assignments were in the Beyond, alright?"

"Then listen up." the woman's tone becomes businesslike, "When fortifying a building against magic knights, the first thing you do is create an empty space between the walls. Then that space is packed with condensed slabs of inert magical energy."

"Like what you can directly nab from the Beyond?" I quiz, recalling the giant extraction devices Mills used to tap the vein back at the dig site. 

"Not precisely," the woman demurs as she directs me to skirt round the town's perimeter, "The raw energy is extracted, then compressed down to a solid shape. Additives are added during the compression process to render it inert."

"Never knew this." I muse as Loaner picks up the pace now that we're safely out of sight and hearing of the convoy.

"Meh, this is more a civil mage field." the woman shrugs, "I picked up the basics while stationed at one of the processing centers."

"So the raw magic becomes solid blocks." I urge her to continue, "That you can place in between walls?"

"That's right." my companion confirms, "When under attack, you inject an alchemical agent into the wall. It counteracts the additive in the compressed blocks, slowly reversing the process."

"And releasing the counter frequency." I conclude, "But wouldn't that neuter the magic knights on your own side? The Dasars have plenty of mages in their own retinue."

"Double layers." the woman explains as we gallop toward a ramshackle palisade, a relic of the earlier conflicts the Dasars had with the Farmer, "You place two separate layers of compressed blocks in the wall. The outer layer is set to decay while the inner lining is kept intact."

"Letting the inert blocks neutralize any counter frequency waves coming your way." I nod with understanding, "Pretty clever."

"More like pretty standard." the woman slaps my shoulder in discontent, "You've not been keeping up with continuing professional education, haven't you Nair?"

"I'm too old for school!" I scoff in protest, rolling my eyes. 

My companion merely clicks her tongue in disapproval as Loaner reaches the termite eaten palisade, as it tilts drunkenly to the side. There's a wet, earthy smell coming from the decaying structure and just beyond it is a completely barren field. The battle against the Farmer had hit this part of the town incredibly hard. The ground is sandy, with not a single piece of vegetation adorning it. Several craters had been blasted into the landscape, with bits and pieces of brick and wood lying scattered about. The sad remnants of the neighborhood that once stood on this very spot. 

Loaner begins skirting round the wrecked palisade, working its way towards the lantern light flickering just across the dead zone. The townsfolk had stayed away from this area, steadfastly refusing to resettle the neighborhood. There was an invisible, but universally accepted, border cutting the battlefield away from the town itself.  

"Stop." the woman abruptly instructs. 

"I don't see any other routes we can use to approach the manor." I point out, peering through the darkness for confirmation. 

"Get your horse to gallop into the palisade." my companion answers. 

"What?" my mouth hangs wide at this unreasonable order. 

"Do it, quickly." the woman hisses, "You need to trust me on this."

Pursing my lips, I kick Loaner's side, telling my horse to get on with it. Loaner snorts in objection, but positions itself accordingly, ready to charge. Loaner's entire body tenses, ready for action and I'm about to ask my companion whether she really is sure about this. Running headfirst into a pile of rotting timber wasn't my idea of stealth by any measure. 

"Hey!" I bark in alarm as Loaner abruptly rears up, nearly throwing the woman and myself off. As my legs clamp down firmly on the horse and I wrestle with the reins, I can sense the sheer terror radiating off Loaner's body. And what's worse, there's also an encroaching fear burrowing its way into my heart. It was imperceptible at first, but I'm feeling cold sweats and goose bumps forming all over my body. Biting my lips, I also distantly note that my heart had also begun to beat substantially faster. 

"The longer we stay here, the worse it'll become." my companion says, her voice beginning to waver, "Hurry and charge into the palisade! Before someone notices your horse going out of control!"

"Oh, fuck this." I curse, snapping the reins hard and ordering Loaner forward. My horse clumsily lurches onward, but its powerful muscles nevertheless providing substantial momentum. Just as we're about to slam face first into the broken palisade, I quickly close the Eyes of Ea, strained nerves already close to breaking. 

My stomach does a flip and bile begins to unpleasantly gather at the base of my throat. There's an accompanying sense of vertigo and I blink my eyes open, amazed that plowing into the palisade didn't hurt. At all. 

"Uh, where are we?" I hesitantly whisper, confronting the tableau in front of us. 

Where there was once a barren wasteland, now the neighborhood has sprung back into existence. Except that everything is wrong. 

Several buildings are on fire, but the flames don't flicker. One home is in the middle of being exploded, except indefinitely paused. Pieces of masonry are suspended in the air, alongside the unmoving cloud of dust. Its like a still life portrait. 

But the worst part are the people. 

Oh yes, there are people hanging about the destruction, probably the residents. Except each and every one of them are simply wrong. Some might have been trying to run away, others pleading for their lives, a good number also lying crushed underneath timbers and piles of brick. They all share one thing in common though. 

Everyone is caught in a T pose. Like fleshy scarecrows.

Loaner cautiously begins to move forward again, keeping a wary eye on the surroundings. And the eyes, the eyes of the T posing people begin to move. 

Tracking us. 

"Don't tarry here." the woman whispers, "Focus and listen. Do you hear music in the distance?"

"Yeah. Its faint, but there." I confirm, picking up snatches of a song being played somewhere in the darkness. 

"Head in that direction." my companion orders, "Don't pay attention to the people here."

"OK. Got it." I murmur, kicking Loaner's side again. The T posing people watch us in silence as Loaner weaves its way through the carnage on pause. My horse is smart enough to stay away from the human scarecrows, but our route inevitably forces us to pass by one of them, a woman T posing in mid air, caught amid the still life exploding house. The woman's lips quiver with titanic effort. 

"Help .." a soft voice drifts toward us. One of her outstretched fingers twitches, vainly reaching out. 

"Ignore her." the woman commands, "Nothing we can do."

"I don't feel too good." my stomach begins to churn again as the human scarecrows silently judge us. 

"Like you had eaten stale bread?" the woman grits out, "I feel it too. That's our organs hardening. We're becoming one of them."

"WHAT!" I burst out in alarm. 

"Shouting won't help." the woman slaps my shoulder again, but much more weakly this time, "Keep heading toward the music. Its the only way we can survive."

"You heard her." I say to Loaner and my horse lowers its head, doggedly marching forward. 

The music is surprisingly dramatic, it wouldn't be out of place in the middle of a battle. But the tune is also surprisingly short with whomever performing the piece repeating it ad nauseam. The still life streets bend at impossible angles, making my eyes tear up but I keep urging Loaner to follow the music nevertheless. The noise keeps growing louder, so we must be making progress. At least I hope so. 

Then out of nowhere, lights flash across my face. 

"Huh?" I stutter, my mouth barely able to move. 

The streets abruptly straighten out, leading us to a clearing with a stage right at the center. The music thunders, but I can't see anyone actually performing. Its like there's an invisible orchestra lurking about. The stage is the highlight though, surrounded by blazing torches and playing host to a bizarre trio. 

Three people, fully costumed as a alligator, dog and cat respectively, gambol across the stage, awkwardly jiving in tune to the music. Their costumes are worn and cheap, the dancing outright amateurish, but the trio are the most amazing sight ever in this nightmare world. 

They can actually move. 

The moment Loaner steps into the torchlight, the stiffness assaulting our bodies immediately disappears and my horse neighs with relief. My passenger dismounts, her joints popping loudly as she staggers about, not yet fully recovered. 

"We did it." I sigh, before wincing as my jaw cracks from the accumulated pressure being released, "We survived."

"Yes." the woman agrees, "Welcome Nair, to Southmarsh."

"The real Southmarsh."