Daniel and Brandt stood at the forefront of the Outer Wall when Orrin and Madi arrived. The elven leader, Leanthun, was close by, talking with Madi’s father, Silas Catanzano. Men and women lined the Outer Wall every fifteen feet or so for as far as Orrin could see. He knew the choke points would have more clustered troops but this was the first defense and they’d spread thin in an attempt to keep watch over the entire entrance to the Pass.

  Over the edge of the stone wall, far in the distance, Orrin could see the Demon Lord and his troops had set up camp. Tents were erected and defenses of their own were built. They were far away still but Orrin could just make out a palisade of angled wood sticks around the front of the encampment. Bonfires roared high at spaced intervals and a larger group of clustered tents sat in toward the back.

  “What did we miss?” Orrin asked. They’d [Teleported] in nearby, been pointed in the right direction, and climbed the circular stairwell to the commanders’ location.

  Daniel’s drawn face brightened for a moment at hearing Orrin’s voice. He stepped in Orrin’s direction but Brandt grabbed Daniel’s arm and shook his head.

  “I’m not having this discussion again, Brandt,” Daniel snapped and pulled his arm away roughly. “He’ll see it himself soon enough.”

  Orrin felt a pit form in his stomach. “Find out what?”

  Silas wheeled himself over to the group, with Leanthun trailing behind him. “Daniel, we’ve been over this. It does not matter what—”

  “Orrin, what do you think a demon looks like?” Daniel interrupted the man. Silas frowned but stayed silent.

  Orrin blinked at the unexpected question. “I don’t know for sure. I remember Tony told me about them once.” Orrin tried to pull the memory but only remembered pieces. “Some have horns but not all of them, I think. Maybe different color skin?”

  Daniel shook his head. “There are thousands of troops out there and with [Telescope], I can see them all. Orrin, they’re almost all humans. There are a few elves in there and a group of orcs, too. For every person with red skin or small goat horns on their head, there are a hundred that look like someone we’d pass on the street. I was told these were monsters coming to invade and kill. The Quest lied.”

  Orrin pulled the Quest box up and read. He shook his head. “No, Daniel. The Quest said a dark army was assembled. This is a Dark Horde, not a demon Horde.”

  Daniel turned and punched the stone wall behind him. “I can’t kill regular people again.”

  Orrin glanced around and saw that everyone else had backed away from the raging [Hero]. A few people down below had stopped in place, holding supplies or weapons. The fear in the air was palpable and Orrin didn’t know what to do. Daniel knew when Orrin cast [Calm Mind] on him. He was on edge about something and the last thing anyone needed was an unhinged [Hero].

  “D. Does it matter? They’re here to attack us. We know nothing about these people other than that. They came here.” Orrin moved closer and sighed. “It sucks what you went through and it sucks that this world keeps kicking us when we’re down but those are the bad guys out there.”

  Daniel’s fists clenched and went slack. His voice was a faint whisper when he spoke. “Orrin, you weren’t there outside the elven forest. It was tough getting used to killing monsters but those are people out there. I… I’m not sure I can keep killing people.”

  Orrin moved in front of his best friend and peered out across the razed ground separating the Outer Wall and the Demon Lord’s camp. “If you can’t, we might die.”

  Daniel stiffened behind him.

  “I wish I could tell you that I’ll figure something out but I’ve already thrown everything I’ve got at this problem, D.” Orrin pushed his sleeves up to his elbows to cool his arm. The sun continued its slow crawl into the sky above, beating down with relentless fury. “If I thought all the people behind us would follow me or Madi or even Silas, I would tell you to get back to Dey and wait… They won’t do that, though. You are the [Hero]. You are the one that the elves, Dey, and even Odrana rally around. At some point, you are going to have to fight.”

  “Maybe we could convince them to leave?” Daniel said in a hopeful tone. “We could go out under a white flag and try to negotiate with them. Nobody knows why they always attack Dey. We could make a treaty or something.”

  Orrin paused. “Daniel, do you remember the first time Mark Lenoti pushed me on the playground? Your parents talked with his parents and he stayed away from me for a few weeks?”

  Daniel didn’t answer, so Orrin continued.

  “When Mark started tripping me in the lunchroom, you told him to stop. He said sorry and a few days later, he did it again. We tried every way we could think of to get him off my back but he kept coming at me,” Orrin said, remembering the weeks of torment. “He kept doing it until you tackled him, sat on his chest, and told him that if you ever saw him near me again, you wouldn’t hesitate to beat him up. Mark was still a dick and never stopped being mean to me but he never touched me again after that.”

  “This isn’t a bully, Orrin. We can’t threaten them or hit them a few times to make them run away. There are thousands of people down there and behind us who will die,” Daniel said softly, shrinking into himself. “I’m not stupid. I know they’re coming to kill everyone but… I’m scared, man. It’s too easy to kill people and I don’t want to lose myself. There has to be another way.”

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  Orrin glanced back at the group around them. A space had formed where they’d backed away, giving room for him to talk with the [Hero]. Orrin could see the frustration on Brandt’s face. Brandt was a knight who had dedicated his life to protecting others. Silas sat watching intently, probably thinking of ways to use the panicking [Hero] and make things go the way he wanted. Leanthun whispered to another elf but took the time to check in every few seconds on what was going on.

  Madi appeared torn, constantly shifting her feet. She wanted to join this conversation but was giving them space. Orrin had to give her credit. She was working hard on boundaries with them and trying not to be demanding.

  “Madi, come here please.” Orrin waved his hand and she practically jumped the few feet distancing them.

  “What’s up?” she asked. She’d even started using some of their phrases. “Are we attacking?”

  “Daniel didn’t know the demon Horde was made up of regular people,” Orrin explained. “He doesn’t want to kill more innocents. How many people died when those two demons attacked Dey?”

  Daniel’s head snapped up. When Madi answered, he looked away again.

  “Is that all you need me for?” Madi asked. “Did you tell him about my idea?”

  “Not yet,” Orrin answered. “He’s got his head up his butt and is scared to fight.”

  Daniel was in his face so fast that Orrin almost used [Gust] to launch him off the wall. “I’m scared to fight? Of course, I am. I’ve never wanted to fight but I’ve been fighting every day since we got here, Orrin. I’ve killed people. I’m good at it, even when I don’t want to be. I know that there are some actual demons down there. I can feel it. There’s a pull in my chest to go out there and slaughter everyone. I’m not scared for my safety; I’m scared of how badly I want to do it. I’m scared that I won’t be able to stop myself until after everyone is bleeding under my sword.”

  Madi pushed her way between the two men, holding a hand on Daniel’s chest but also keeping one on Orrin. He was surprised to find he was pushing into her palm, ready to push Daniel back.

  “You two are friends. Stop right now,” she ordered, looking back and forth. “Orrin, apologize. That was uncalled for.”

  “What?” Orrin sputtered. “There is an army right there and he’s saying he doesn’t wan—”

  “Apologize to Daniel. Of course, he’s scared. We all are,” she turned to glare at him and Orrin stepped back. “You aren’t listening to him.”

  “I am listening,” Orrin countered. “He wants to go parley with the demons and—”

  Madi didn’t say a word but the lightning that flickered in her eyes gave him pause. He cleared his throat and mumbled. “I’m sorry, Daniel.”

  “Now, you. Apologize,” Madi said and gave Daniel a push in his center mass. He barely moved an inch.

  “I’m sorry I got in your face,” Daniel muttered. “You don’t have to be an as—”

  “Finish that sentence and so help me, I will send you both back to Dey. You two are our best hope of getting through this alive. Not one of you. Both of you. Daniel, I know you are worried you’ll go off on your own. We’ve talked about this. Brandt is not leaving your side.” Madi dropped her hands to her hips. “Talk to us. What are you worried about?”

  Daniel deflated again. He turned back to look over the expansive barren field separating the enemy camp from the Outer Wall. He took so long to respond that Orrin was sure he wasn’t going to answer at all.

  “I’ve been ignoring the fact that I’m a murderer for a long time. I hoped that this enemy would look different enough that I could ignore it. I’d built it up and justified it all in my head,” Daniel explained, still not looking at them. “When I saw all the humans down there, I saw the group outside the forest again. I heard the screams and the blood. Then I felt the call of a demon.”

  Daniel’s hand reached up to touch Gertrude on his back. A comforting habit that he’d picked up along the way. His security sword. “I wanted to jump down there and rush the Horde… it’s more than that. I needed to attack that demon. I thought about how powerful I would feel taking them out and how weak the obstacles in the way would be.”

  He sunk to the ground and turned to put his back to the battlements. Daniel’s head hung between his knees. “Obstacles. That’s all those people are to me now. Weak speedbumps on my way to kill a demon. Something is wrong with me.”

  Madi moved before Orrin, sitting down on his right side. She put her arm over him and hugged him awkwardly as his giant sword got in the way. He waved a hand and it disappeared, gone into his own dimensional space.

  Orrin watched them silently. He knew that Daniel was dealing with the trauma of killing people. He’d struggled with it more than Orrin had. It wasn’t something that he thought about much because he was scared of the answers he’d find. A vague handwave at [Mind Bastion] worked in the past but Orrin was better at controlling the skill now. He rationalized his own kills while not under its mind-cooling effects.

  Orrin remembered the way Daniel had abandoned them after their first dungeon run to attack a rumored demon. He had to rescue his friend that time. Tony confirmed that a [Hero] would have a natural urge to hunt down demons but Orrin thought it was controlled. Now that Daniel knew about it, it would be easy for him to ignore the instinct. Right?

  He brought up the Quest.

  “Defeat the Demon Lord…” Orrin muttered. “That’s it! Daniel, can you see the demons?”

  Daniel’s dark eyes blinked back tears. “I can feel them, Orrin. They stand out like fires on a snowy field.”

  “Can you tell which is the Demon Lord?” Orrin stood and narrowed his eyes, trying to see the large tents in the back of the camp. “Maybe toward the back, there?”

  “They’re all too far away to [Identify], O.” Daniel wiped his arm across his face, expertly dislodging himself from Madi’s hug in the same motion. He recognized Orrin was on to something. “What is it?”

  “We don’t have to defeat the entire Horde. The Quest says we have to defeat the Demon Lord. Madi, I’m sorry but I don’t think you’ll need to burn everyone to the ground. We might be able to take out the Demon Lord with a precision strike,” Orrin spoke faster as the idea formed in his mind. “Leanthun. Silas. How many scouts are out there and do we have eyes on the Demon Lord?”

  The two leaders moved closer as Orrin asked his questions. Both sent runners to track down anyone who might have answers. Madi’s hand briefly rested on Orrin’s shoulder and squeezed. He smiled and went back to giving orders.

  “If this works, the Horde might retreat,” Daniel said slowly. The life in his eyes returned as hope sparked. “They might leave and not attack.”

  Orrin doubted the plan would work. Something always went wrong. He kept his mouth shut anyway.

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