“It’s strange,” Leanthun explained as he led Orrin and Madi down the stairs, leaving Daniel and Brandt behind. “I would have expected the demons to attack by now. All they’ve done is dig in and fortify, which is not something I’ve ever read about.”

  Orrin noted with some surprise that he was easily keeping up with the swift elf. All his training was paying off. “How many Dark Hordes have you helped fight?”

  Leanthun threw a desperate grin over his shoulder. “This is my first. It’s been a long time since we’ve helped the humans.”

  Orrin exchanged a glance with Madi, who shrugged before she answered. “Demons rarely attack in mass and there hasn’t been a Demon Lord in a millennia. There have been a few demons that attack from time to time but nothing like this. I’ve never seen my father so nervous.”

  Orrin scoffed but kept his mouth shut. He saw no difference in the man’s face.

  “We pressed in on the camp from different directions and found one safe approach from the north. One of the human scouts has [Camouflage] like you. She was able to make it to the edge of the camp and return without being seen. A large group of demons were kneeling in front of a seven-foot-tall demon with red skin and massive horns. She doesn’t have [Identify] but hurried back before she was caught.”

  Orrin followed Leanthun as they ran along the inside of the Outer Wall. “Then you’re not sure it is the Demon Lord?”

  “It’s a calculated guess but demons don’t kneel to others without a huge power differential,” Leanthun said. His curved sword bounced on his hip as he jogged. “Even if it’s not the Demon Lord, you should take him out. Someone that can direct demons will be a high-ranking officer in their army.”

  “It’s a Horde, not an army. We can’t be sure they have a structured hierarchy,” Madi spoke up from behind them. “Orrin should not attack anyone except the Demon Lord. This is not a suicide mission. If you can’t confirm it’s the Demon Lord, get out of there.”

  Orrin didn’t have to answer. He wasn’t stupid. His entire plan was an attempt to short-game the Quest and hopefully end the threat of the Horde before it attacked.

  “I have to disagree,” Leanthun replied, bringing them to a stop in front of a blank section of the Wall. “If you can weaken them in any way before they attack, it will save lives.”

  “This will save lives,” Orrin said, patting the stone beside him. “Now that we’re away from Daniel, I can say this freely. If someone in that camp looks at me funny, I’m getting the fuck out of there. I expect this entire thing will fail and we’ll have to fight from the walkways up above.”

  “What do you mean?” Leanthun asked with a frown. “That’s not what you said—”

  “Daniel is impatient,” Madi started first, surprising Orrin. “Orrin came up with a plan that keeps him waiting but for a reason. Sitting up there with his thoughts and fears about fighting humans was going to end badly for everybody.”

  Orrin laughed. “How long did it take you to figure out?”

  Madi smiled and ran her hand over her braided hair, checking that it was still tied down to her head. “How long did it take me to figure out you were distracting Daniel? About three sentences into your plan.”

  Leanthun’s frown deepened. “We sent people out into danger and you two never planned on following through on this?”

  Orrin waved his hands. “No, no. I’m going to try but I hoped they would attack before you found anything. It would be easier to fight them from afar. If we found out where the Demon Lord was, Madi and I already have a plan on how to go scorched earth on that part of the battlefield.”

  “Scorched earth,” Madi said slowly, tasting the words on her lips. “That’s an apt description of my spell.”

  “Should we return then?” Leanthun asked, uncomfortable with the subterfuge.

  “Yeah, sorry. How much further?” Orrin scratched his neck.

  Leanthun reached up to one of the blocks of stone that made the wall and pressed it. Multiple blocks turned and shifted, cascading away to reveal an archway through the wall. “This is one of multiple inner rooms we built. It’s dark inside.”

  Madi held up her hand and a ball of light appeared. “Will this work?”

  Orrin entered behind them. The wall was hollow here, allowing the three of them to move around. As soon as he entered, the bricks moved themselves back, closing the room into darkness. Madi’s spell kept the shadows away.

  “What is this?” Orrin whispered. Somehow it felt more appropriate.

  “At various points throughout each wall, we’ve made these rooms,” Leanthun explained, walking up to a small lever on the far wall. “This will open a window where a defender can cast spells from below or in your case, crawl out to get where we need to go.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Orrin groaned.

  Leanthun explained their location and where Orrin was to go. Now that he was here, Orrin’s stomach tightened at the prospect of soloing the big bad evil guy.

  “You don’t have to go,” Madi said quietly. “We can wait for them to make the first move.”

  Orrin considered it. It would be easier to return and say the plan wouldn’t work. It wasn’t the Demon Lord. His [Camouflage] didn’t work as well as they’d hoped. Someone attacked Orrin as soon as he got close and he needed to run. There were so many excuses. Daniel wouldn’t need to know, either. He would believe Orrin. They could devise a way to distract Daniel until the demons attacked. His friend’s fear of harming more people wouldn’t matter as much if he was reacting in defense.

  That’s a lie. You know Daniel won’t forgive himself. Orrin closed his eyes and tried to think of another way.

  “Be ready for my signal, Madi. I’ll be back before you know it.” Orrin forced a smile and nodded at Leanthun. “Throw the lever.”

  “You have to go through fast. We don’t know if they have spotters out watching us.”

  Orrin cast his spell. Madi blinked and rubbed her eyes, staring at the ground. Leanthun activated the switch and a small opening appeared. Before he could doubt himself again, Orrin jumped through.

  Running north along the Outer Wall, Orrin considered his life choices.

  “I’m running. Into danger. Again.” He muttered to himself. “I’m an idiot.”

  The idiot who kept running toward the edge of the mountain line for his friend’s mental health. As much of a longshot as this plan was, if he could take out the Demon Lord, there was a chance that Daniel wouldn’t have to kill all the people to his left.

  With his increased dexterity, Orrin made the mile run in only a few minutes. Running that fast would have set records at his high school but now, he barely noticed. He was looking for the clump of bushes that would hide his contact. It took him a full minute before he felt his eyes slip past a certain part of the mountain for the tenth time.

  He approached slowly and whispered the code phrase that Leanthun had given him. “No rest until sunrise.”

  “Breakfast will be late,” the countersign came from the brush that Orrin would not have called bushes in his most forgiving mood. “Are you Orrin? The [Hero]’s party member?”

  A slight woman with darker skin and a shaved head climbed out of the ground, breaking rock and dirt as she straightened up. At least, that’s what Orrin saw. When he blinked, the ground was level again.

  “That’s a cool trick. I’m Orrin. How’d you do that?” He crouched and touched the ground. The grass was uniform.

  “[Earth Mage] trick of the trade,” she answered with a slight smile tugging at one side of her mouth before her eyes darted around. “I’m Valerie. I was told to point you in the direction I went and then get back over to safety. You have a plan, right? The [Hero] is going to stop the demons?”

  She stooped low and kept looking around, her hands pushing into the pockets of the overalls she wore. Orrin saw no weapons but wondered more at the jitteriness of the scout. This was who they were sending out to check the Horde’s defenses. She looked like someone’s mom.

  “We’re all going to do our best,” Orrin spoke in his most soothing voice. He decided not to cast [Calm Mind] on the person he just met. “Tell me where to go and get yourself back over the wall.”

  Valerie nodded and showed Orrin the path she’d taken. Every few steps, she cast a spell that left a divot in the ground. It was small enough that unless you were looking for it, the small clumps of dirt would look like large ant hills. “I left a hole right by the fence line they put up. You can’t miss the demons. They have a tent set up almost near the front. The Demon Lord is huge. He has a two-handed sword that is as long as he is tall. It scratches the ground when he walks sometimes. I counted six more demons with him. Three were kneeling when I got to the fence but I got out of there. This is crazy. I shouldn’t be out here. I search for good farmland in the wilderness. I’m not a soldier.”

  “Valerie, you did great.” Orrin rested his hand on her shoulder to calm her and stop her talking. “I’ll take it from here. Go.”

  She squeaked and nodded. Orrin tried to watch her mana but the quickness of her spell in combination with her reactivating [Camouflage] kept him from figuring out what she did. He watched the trail on the ground as she left.

  It looks like a gopher is digging under the ground but she’s actually walking… isn’t she? Orrin put the issue out of his mind. He could ask her later if he survived.

  Shut up. Of course, I’m going to survive.

  Making sure to keep his wards up, his stats buffed, and his [Camouflage] running, Orrin began to make his way toward the Horde.

  As soon as I get close and someone sees me, I’ll use [Gust] to rush in. I’ll use [Identify] to find the Demon Lord and take him down. Quick little adventure. In and out in ten minutes. What could go wrong?

  Finding Valerie’s trail was harder than he thought until he started trying to find the mana signature left behind. The ground lit up like a Christmas tree and Orrin mentally noted to have a talk with whoever trained the mages of Dey. They were criminally undertrained compared to the students of the Sanerris School. Anybody with the least amount of training would be able to see someone had come this way. He did his best to step on each mound of dirt, crushing the magic underfoot.

  The camp looked even more slipshod the closer he got. The posts were uneven and the fence was made of a dozen different materials. Some portions were wide enough for a carriage to go through but twenty feet away, the wooden posts had been driven into the ground at knee height and touching for several yards. There were several people standing around, arguing. A raised area closer to the Wall served as a watchtower, even though it was only three feet off the ground. Nobody noticed Orrin as he crept in.

  He found Valerie’s hole marker and kicked some dirt into it, smothering the last bit of mana she’d left behind. Orrin couldn’t see any demons. Humans outnumbered everyone else but he saw two elves pulling a tent up together. A group of orcs walked. One held a small calf over his shoulders. Figures moved everywhere but no demons were about.

  I’m going to need to get deeper into the camp. Orrin grimaced and slipped between two posts. He ducked behind one tent, then another. Slinking through the camp reminded him of playing assassin games. If he messed up here, he couldn’t hide in a clump of hay and wait for people to stop looking for him, though. He would have one chance.

  Orrin waited as two men wrestled a cauldron down the dirt path between the patches of tents. Once they’d moved away a bit, he stepped out, moving quickly across to the next area. Maybe there would be demons over here.

  “Hey, give us a hand, would you?” One of the men turned and looked directly at Orrin. “Wait, who are you?”

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