Jerik should have known ahead of time that, even with forewarning, the residents of Haven weren’t likely to react well to the sight of an unknown monster landing right in their midst, even if it was being ridden by someone who was an ally. But, his mind still caught up in the exhaustion of the night and the excitement of having succeeded so well at his task, he didn’t think of that. So when Athena pulled out of her dive at the last possible second to land with a powerful thump on the packed earth, he was surprised to immediately find a spell launched at them.

It was a grounding spell, he noticed, but it sailed way over their heads with how fast Athena had dropped to the ground. Still, she let out a growl and turned to face the caster. In a bizarre moment of disconnect, Jerik couldn’t help but notice that she took up a protective stance, rather than an aggressive one almost as if she was trying to dissuade them from harming her passenger. The person who’d released the spell went white with shock and fear and immediately dove for cover.

It was an interesting moment that showed the effect of training when it came to the first few seconds of a battle, even a pointless one. The majority of the residents of Haven, though strong and resilient, were not trained sufficiently for battle, and so relied on base instincts. The players dove for cover, as did most of the monsters. But a few remained in sight, their fight or flight response leaning towards the former. Meanwhile, the entire Smoke Brigade, recognizing their commander, even if the griffon was new, moved forward into a formation, the front squad arranging themselves on either side of Athena, and the others moving to get a clear line of sight at all angles.

Athena’s growl was matched by an even louder one, and, with a flash of movement and light, Vernex leaped over a nearby building to land in front of them. Her wings were flared and her back was arched in a very aggressive stance. The two Raid-Class monsters stared each other down, both sounding an unending challenge from their throat, mere seconds from launching at each other and attacking.

“Athena, wait!” He shouted, and lifted his hands, pointing one palm at Vernex and one at his own platoon. “Smoke Brigade, stand down!”

After a second or two, his soldiers obeyed the order, lowering their weapons, but they remained stiff and alert, very much on guard. They were ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Vernex didn’t attack, but she maintained her hostile stance, her ice-blue eyes burning with a territorial aggression. If he didn’t think of a way to prevent this violence, most of Haven would certainly be destroyed, and he knew right away that he couldn’t stop Athena from killing the dragon.

“Vernex!” Another voice rang out, and that was enough to shock the dragon out of its growl. It looked around just as Max came into view, the tall man vaulting onto her back easily. He had his sword drawn already but paused as he saw who was before them. All hostility drained out of his body at once, and his mouth fell open in surprise. “Jerik?”

Jerik let out a quiet sigh of relief, glad that his helmet hid his face at that moment. He gave a short nod. “Mind telling your friends not to attack Athena?”

“Of course,” Max spun around and shooed the monsters away. “It’s alright, everyone. We’re not in any danger.”

As long as they’re smart. Jerik had to resist the urge to laugh as he saw the message from Athena. He put a comforting hand on her stout neck. “Just wait. They might prove useful.”

She shook her mane angrily at his consoling tone but sat on her haunches all the same. Grateful, he slid off her back as she tucked in her wings, and landed on the ground. Just riding her for a short few minutes had left him very sore and weary. Definitely, something he’d need a lot of time to get accustomed to, he thought. He wobbled unsteadily over to stand between the two monsters. Max had already dismounted and joined him.

“Athena, was it?” Max said, moving until he was only two or three feet away from the griffon. He delivered a light bow in her direction. “You are magnificent. I am honored to make your acquaintance.”

To Jerik’s surprise, Athena gave a short dip of her head. It wasn’t a bow, more of a nod. Max smiled widely in welcome. “Yes, this is our home. No, only the past few months. It’s very new. Correct. We are led by an Elder. Jel-Kenna.”

It became clear that Athena was communicating with Max the same way she’d done with Jerik. He stood awkwardly to one side, wondering what they were saying. No sooner had the thought formed than Athena copied over her questions, and he saw that she was asking about the village.

You are preparing to fight Kan-Menora.

“We are,” Max agreed. He pointed at Jerik. “The plan is to make him the commander of the entire force. We’ll have a raid battalion, almost five hundred strong.”

Jerik tried to look like this was nothing new to him, but inside, he felt his heart skip a beat at the number. There couldn’t be more than a hundred people in Haven, between humans and monsters. And they couldn’t all be combat-ready. Where were the rest of the members going to come from? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind for later reference, and took a step forward, clearing his throat to get Max’s attention.

“Has Nicholas returned yet?” He asked. As if as an afterthought, he scanned the nearby buildings, but there was no sign of the young man.

“Not yet,” Max said, and his face fell slightly. One hand dropped to the hilt of his sword, clearly a sign of worry. “But it’s barely been four hours since he set out. There’s plenty of monsters to choose from, perhaps he’s just being picky.”

“Only four hours?”

“He took his time setting out,” Max explained. “He wanted time to settle your troops down. They’ve set up a campsite just outside the village border.”

“Ah.” Jerik, finally deciding that the tense situation had been resolved, disable his helmet and took a deep breath of the fresh air. “Well, I’m sure he’s fine. He’s a stubborn bastard, after all.”

A smile touched the corner of Max’s mouth. “Indeed. In the meantime, we have some news. It’s time we start planning.”

“Planning for the raid?” Jerik asked, and his new ally nodded. “Alright. Lead the way.”

I am joining this meeting. Athena’s message flashed across his field of vision. Judging by the expression on his face, he knew Max had received the same message. The man nodded at once, beckoning both of them to follow. He led them to the large stone building that was situated at the center of the village. Jerik didn’t see how Athena could possibly fit through the door. Vernex, who had moved in unison with Max, definitely didn’t attempt it. But then Max led them around the building itself, revealing a small yard in the back, where Jel-Kenna had already set out a pile of papers and some tea.

“A surprising welcome,” Jerik said under his breath. Max turned with a raised eyebrow, but he waved the unspoken question aside. “Just thinking to myself.”

Jel-Kenna glanced up from the paper she was reading when the four came into view, and she rose to her feet at once. Her mouth was open, but in admiration, not fear. “Jerik? What a wonderful companion you have found.”

He glanced over his shoulder to see Athena studying the old woman. There was something like recognition in her eyes as she stared at the Menoran. Then, after a second or two, she dipped her head in an unmistakable bow. I never thought to see another Kenna. I thought you were wiped out in the war.

“Not all of us,” Jel-Kenna said with a surprisingly deep laugh. “But I could say the same for you, Athena. I thought your family had been killed by the Betrayer.”

Not all of us.

“Wait,” Jerik said, his brain lagging a few seconds behind the conversation. He looked between the elder and Athena. “Do you know each other?”

“Only by word of mouth,” Jel-Kenna said. “I’ve never had the honor, but I’ve heard stories of Athena’s power in battle. She was the first to turn against the Betrayer and lost her family as a result. She had a beautiful cub. It was a tragic loss.”

Athena was completely silent as they turned to her for a reply. After a few seconds of an awkward pause, Jerik cleared his throat. He didn’t want to get stuck in the moment, tragic as it was. “So, Max said you had news to share. I understand that we’re ready?”

“Nearly,” The Elder replied. “We’ve sent out messengers to gather our force, and our craftsmen are preparing equipment. By the end of the month, we will be ready to march on Kan-Menora. But there are things to be done before we can begin the main campaign, and this is where you come in.”

“Alright,” he said uncertainly, taking a seat without invitation. “So what’s the plan?”

“As you know,” she said, re-arranging some of the papers to display a map of the continent. “Kan-Menora has four general. They need to be defeated in order to challenge him.”

Jerik nodded his understanding. It was a well-known fact among all the people summoned to Menora. Each of the ‘generals’, hand-picked elite monsters, held one piece of the key to Menora’s lair. It was impossible to challenge him without defeating them first. “The first one lives, or rather lived, in these mountains. I assume you defeated him?”

“We did,” Max said. He fished in the neck of his robe and retrieved a small bronze key, holding it up for him to inspect. “We just need the other three.”

“Do we know where they are? I mean, each time a new General is selected, he finds a new zone to occupy, right?”

Max looked to Jel-Kenna to supply the answer. She took a long sip of her tea, then said, “We do. One of them is in the same zone as Kan-Menora himself. He’s the strongest of the lot. The second, which we will take on the way, is in the Western Mountains. The third is in hiding, but we know where his den is located. In fact, our force should be clearing that out any day now.”

Jerik was impressed in spite of himself. Having only learned of the effort that the Menoran people were leading so recently, he didn’t understand how they’d been able to keep it a secret. Moving more than a hundred people was difficult, and it certainly made noise. This was the reason that every member of each platoon in the world was known, and recorded in the feeds. You couldn’t keep something that size a secret for long. Yet, if Jel-Kenna was to be believed, they’d done just that.

“How have you made all these preparations without anyone finding out?”

“Very carefully,” she said smoothly. Setting her tea cup down, she pulled her chair in a little closer to the table. “But the important fact is that we’re ready. All that’s left is to train our forces.”

“That’s where I come in,” Jerik guessed.

“Yes,” It was Max who spoke now, almost as if by some pre-arranged plan. “We’ll supply the materials needed. But you’re a military man. I can help where I can, but they need to get used to operating under one leader. We don’t have time to train them slowly. They’ll have to learn while they fight. You’ve done this with the Smoke Brigade, and now we want you to do it with the Menoran Army.”