Orrin kept Daniel from walking out of the room. “There are a few things we need to chat about.”

  Daniel rolled his eyes dramatically. “Orrin, this is terrible timing. We should get up there and see what Silas learned from the demons.”

  Daniel tried to brush by Orrin but he used [Way of the Water] to turn the [Hero]’s arm and gently shove him back.

  “You are not leaving until we figure this out. You’re stewing on things. Talk with me. I know you’re worried about the horde, that’s a given. We all are. I know you’re worried about losing it and letting your need to go kill the demons control you. We’ve got you, man. Brandt is watching over you literally all the time. You’re pissed at me for doing dangerous shit. That’s nothing new. I wish I could stay back and not do anything but like you said, this is a war. There’s something else bothering you. Talk to me, D.”

  Daniel rubbed his wrist where Orrin had twisted his arm and scowled again. “Orrin, you don’t do dangerous shit, you do stupid shit. You constantly rush in without thinking and expect everyone to pull you to safety. I’m used to that. I don’t like having a babysitter follow me around but I accept it because I feel the pressure building inside to confront the demons. It’s like a tic. If I let my guard down for a second, I start thinking of ways to get over the Wall. It’s exhausting. But I’m handling it.”

  “Then why are you in such a rush to get into a fight with the demons?”

  Daniel cursed and made gestures with his hand before a blue box appeared in front of Orrin.

  “Every time I look at this Quest, I worry. Do I have to defeat the Demon Lord or the Dark Horde? If the horde attacks with the boss, do I fail the Quest? Am I already too late because the horde is right there or do I just need to hold them back from Dey? I know you think of everything like a video game, O. You know what I do when I get stuck at some hard boss fight? I look it up on the internet. I don’t like spending hours and multiple saves trying to figure it out myself. This is real and we don’t have extra lives. What if I fuck it up again?”

  Orrin focused in on one part of his friend’s little speech. “Again? When did you fuck up?”

  “Let me count the ways,” Daniel said savagely, holding up his fingers one at a time as he counted off. “I left you all behind to kill some demons and got my ass handed to me by our own side. I got myself kidnapped and had to get rescued. I failed to protect you and almost lost you… twice. I killed people I could have saved… I know Madi told you about it. All of that together and the way everyone looks at me to help with this. I’ll do what I can but I’m not a leader, Orrin. Part of me wants to kill demons but a bigger part of me, the part of me I think is the real me, is scared I’m going to get someone killed. I’m terrified that I won’t make the right decision and me or you will die before we get home.”

  “Shit. Now I don’t know what to say,” Orrin admitted freely as Daniel finally opened up a little. “I’m scared of that too, Daniel. Every person on this Wall is worried they won’t make it through this. There’s nothing we can do but try our best. But you have not failed once. We got sucked into this world and didn’t have a choice. We’ve been up against monsters and people stronger than us since the moment we woke up. We’ve killed people and made the best decision we could in the moment. It’s easy to look back and think of all the ways we could do better but that won’t help us moving forward.”

  Orrin looked over his shoulder at the exit. Brandt and Madi were standing awkwardly far enough away to give some privacy. “Look at those two. They’d be dead without you. Remember when you made us save them on the road right after we got here? You acted and did what you thought was right. There’s a reason you’re the [Hero], Daniel. You are the kind of person who finds a way to save people but this is bigger than a few thieves or monsters. Some of the people on this Wall are not going to live through the week. Don’t isolate yourself from us because of that. Use it to push harder. Let it help you control that rage inside because if you rush off to kill demons and we have to come save you, people will die. We got lucky with the Dragoon team. Having said all of that, I am not worried about you.”

  The light hit Daniel’s hopeful face as he turned toward Orrin. “Why not?”

  Orrin punched him in the shoulder. “You’re Daniel Kayson. You don’t lose. It’s super fucking annoying.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Daniel huffed in feigned annoyance as he rubbed his arm. “It doesn’t feel like I’m winning, Orrin. Their levels are too high and I don’t have the [Demon Seal]. I’m not sure I have to have it to beat him, but having a [Hero]-specific skill sure makes it seem that way.”

  “One step at a time,” Orrin said. “I have an idea about that but I’m hoping we can avoid it. I’m worried it would have consequences.”

  Daniel’s eyes flared. “Tell me.”

  Orrin and Daniel joined Madi and Brandt as they moved to an open-sided tent where the various leaders defending Dey gathered. Silas and Lady Timpe were talking with the third leader of Dey, Lord Tarris, near a large wooden table covered in maps and small figurines. The generals of Dey talked with the leaders of Odrana’s supplied forces. The actual leadership of Odrana was dealing with their own problems and hadn’t bothered coming themselves to defend the Pass. Except Finley Madvarr.

  Finley was the son of one of those missing rulers. His family’s land bordered Veskar to the south, a country made up of multiple city-states, kingdoms, and despots working in a loose formation. The Madvarr family kept the borders of Odrana safe and Finley had been raised to be a fighter amongst fighters. Orrin met him at the Sanerris School of Spells, a higher education place of learning for more advanced fighting and magic uses in Odrana. Despite Orrin’s predicament at the time, he’d made friends with Finley. Ultimately, Finley helped in his escape from imprisonment under the former Lady Sanerris.

  Although she’s probably playing all this chaos up to get herself reinstated somehow. Orrin thought bitterly. After Orrin and Daniel exposed the Sanerris family for their treachery, they’d been assured Lady Sanerris would be imprisoned, if not executed. Instead, she’d been freed to return to the self-named school. One problem at a time.

  Finley stood behind the Odranan generals but stretched over one of the shorter men to speak up from time to time. He noticed Orrin nearing the tent and waved, leaving the group to intercept them. “Casimir… Sorry, Orrin. How did your trip into the enemy camp go? There is some room for improvement with communication around here.”

  Leanthun was speaking quietly in turn with a row of elves that Orrin didn’t know, sending each off one by one. He looked over his shoulder and shook his head at Finley’s comment. “There’s a reason we were called together here, Lord Madvarr. Patience would suit you well.”

  “Hey Leanthun,” Orrin said, waving at the elf. He reached out and clasped hands with Finley. “The demon camp was weird but at least they haven’t attacked yet. What did the treaty delegation say? Have they told us yet?”

  Lord Catanzano rolled his wheelchair away from the other leaders of Dey and closed in on Orrin. “We were waiting for the [Hero] to arrive.”

  “I’m here now,” Daniel spoke up, turning heads. Most everyone in the tent knew him at this point but the myth of a [Hero] was still strong with even generals and elves.

  “Then we shouldn’t delay.” Silas nodded at one of his men. Sheets rolled down the covered top, enclosing the open-aired tent. Magical lanterns lit up the inside. “To the table please.”

  Everyone jostled for a spot and Orrin ended up with Finley to one side and Madi at the other. Brandt stood behind Madi, peeking from over her head. Daniel was positioned near Silas.

  The new parchment showed a rough drawing of the Pass. A few of the new Walls throughout the length of the windy crevice between the mountains were depicted on the map but Orrin immediately realized a quite a few were missing. Some of the markings were outright wrong. His brow furrowed.

  “Segmented knowledge sharing in case of infiltration,” Madi whispered.

  Orrin raised an eyebrow.

  Madi sighed. “Spies have to work twice as hard to find actionable intelligence.”

  “Not just spies,” Finley muttered. “Keeping information from your own allies can have dire consequences.”

  “Yes, Lord Madvarr. We recognize your concerns,” Silas started from the other side of the table. “Lord Tarris, if you will?”

  Lord Tarris wore a dark green robe and a bad comb-over. The stress of his job was getting to him and his thinning hair was now partially balding. He pushed his glasses up his nose before putting his hands out palms down over the map. He clapped and put his fingers on the corners of the map. Electricity ran from his fingertips along the parchment, staining it in deep reds and blues. He nodded to himself and stepped back, gesturing for Silas to continue.

  “Thank you, Lord Tarris. Those in this tent are the first and only members of our unified forces to see this map. The red lines highlight the multiple ruses and false markings we have put on every copy of our maps. The blue lines are the hidden camps, fallback points, Walls, traps, and force deployments that are never to be written down. Memorize quickly, for once we open the tent up again, I will burn this map.”

  Orrin smiled to himself. He knew his own [Map] wasn’t wrong. He pulled it up and noticed that some of the Walls were filled in on his [Map] as he studied the one on the table. Some of those hadn’t been completed when he’d last run through the Pass.

  “As you all know, I met with a delegation under truce a few minutes ago. Lady Timpe joined me, as well as Leanthun of the elven kingdom. The Demon Lord did not join but sent a message. The other demons had nothing of substance to say beyond they delivery of these words.”

  “One of the demons said we brought this on ourselves,” Leanthun cut in. “I think that is worth noting.”

  Silas waved his hand in the air. “That statement does not help explain the Demon Lord’s message.”

  “What did the message say?” Daniel said, his voice calm but carrying a menace that nobody in the tent missed.

  Silas pulled a scroll of paper from his inner pocket and rolled it out on the table before he read it aloud. “To the sequestered peoples of Asmea. We have forgiven your persistent navigation of the Pass, including forays into lands forbidden from you, for too long. Your attempt at summoning a [Hero] in your domain has not gone unnoticed and forced our hand. Surrender the [Hero] to our camp and raze every structure within the Pass within two days or we will crush your rebellion.”

  Silas looked up. “It’s signed Demon Lord Niko.”

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