The steady thump of my horse's hooves against the path slows as we approach the edge of a concerningly large encampment. There are over two dozen soldiers moving about the camp. That number is low when considering the amount of soldiers likely within the many tents. This kind of gathering of military power is certainly not normal within the kingdom.

  "Miss Hawthorne, was this here when you last visited?"

  "I didn't visit this area during my last meeting with Lord Fredrick, so I can't say."

  Some of the soldiers posted near the entrance of the camp see us coming and raise their spears in a hostile defensive manner. We slow out steeds to a stop, our entourage of guards brandishing their own weapons. I quickly lower my hood before the glaring can escalate to something more.

  "Tell Lord Fredrick that Prince Theobald is here to see him. Official quest business."

  The guards look a bit perplexed by my words. They step back and quit pointing their spears in the direction of our group. Miss Hawthorne takes the chance to speak up as well. The guards seem to recognize her somewhat--which irritates me, since they clearly didn't recognize my face.

  "You can also mention that Rebecca Hawthorne has arrived."

  "Y-Yes, Miss Hawthorne!"

  With that, one of the guards clustered at the camp entrance scurries off to go get their lord. I turn to give Miss Hawthorne a dirty look. She smiles cheekily in my direction, as if she knows exactly why I'm frustrated, and relishes my annoyance. Confounded woman.

  The soldier from before returns, except this time he's with a man wrapped in bandages. The man appears to be his superior. He walks with confidence despite his obvious wounds.

  "Lady Hawthorne, Prince Theobald, we weren't expecting any visitors... Can I convince you to wait for his lordship back in Daywark proper?"

  Miss Hawthorne and I exchange looks of suspicion. I dismount from my horse, standing face to face with the man in charge of these soldiers.

  "First, introduce yourself. I would like to know who you are to represent Lord Fredrick."

  "I am Captain Dirk, of Daywark. I serve directly under Lord Fredrick."

  He pauses, glancing between the camp behind him and my face.

  "I ask again, could you return to Daywark's walls and wait for Lord Fredrick there?"

  "We demand to meet with Lord Fredrick. Not later, not anywhere else, but here. This is an official investigation being conducted by the crown."

  Captain Dirk's jaw clenches, much like his balled up fists. It is clear he is not meant to be allowing anyone within this encampment. Unfortunately for him, the royal family outranks his lord. After all, what is a city lord without his king?

  "Very well. Follow me," He says stiffly.

  Miss Hawthorne dismounts from her horse, and our guards follow us inside. Some of the Daywark soldiers take our horses to a makeshift stable they've set up by the entrance. We walk between rows of tents, the earth beaten beneath our feet by countless trips taken.

  At the center of this encampment is something neither Miss Hawthorne nor I expect to see. There's a large cave mouth dug into the dirt, beyond which light emanates. Several soldiers guard the entrance of this underground area like it is of utmost importance.

  Not long after, we arrive at the command tent. Captain Dirk opens the flap for us so we can enter ahead of him. I offer Miss Hawthorne first entry, seeing as I'm a chivalrous gentleman. She gives me a slightly sour look as she accepts my unspoken generosity.

  Within the tent there's a large table. Upon that table are little wooden models of some sort of structure, corridors and winding stairs going up and down. There's also a map drawn out beside the model of a valley. Looking over the table is Lord Fredrick himself--I only recognize him as such due to his noble garb, much better than the stuff the soldiers wear.

  "Miss Hawthorne... what a pleasure to see you."

  "Your sarcasm is noted. I can tell you didn't want me seeing this place, but fate had other plans."

  Lord Fredrick mumbles something about merchants before regarding me fully for the first time.

  "Who is this?" Lord Fredrick questions, eyebrows raised.

  Captain Dirk bows his head in apology.

  "I'm sorry, Lord Fredrick. I could not refuse the crown's orders."

  "The crown? I understand, Dirk. I take it you're one of the princes?"

  Puffing myself up a bit, I nod, my lips curling into a satisfied smirk. Finally someone is quickly catching on to my status as royalty. It is as if everyone else is blind to it, but not this man.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Indeed. I'm Theobald, the second prince."

  "I see. It is an honor to meet you, Prince Theobald. May I ask what brings you here?"

  "I'm here investigating rumors that something strange is happening here in Daywark. I doubted such rumors at first, but my stance has changed since seeing this concerningly large military encampment. Tell me, Lord Fredrick, what exactly are you doing out in these woods?"

  Lord Fredrick takes a deep breath, as if he's readying himself for a long conversation. The man offers us seating, and only once I've taken my seat does he take his own.

  "Prince Theobald, do you believe in God?"

  What a strange question. I purse my lips, contemplating what he means by asking me this. Of course I have to assume something must have created the world, but I've never given it much thought beyond that. I'm not a pious churchgoer.

  "I do. We had to come from somewhere."

  "Then how would you feel if I told you I think I've found something like a god?"

  The air in the tent grows strangely still as Miss Hawthorne and I process his words. How outlandish! To say something like that, one would have to truly have gone mad. The frightening part is that Lord Fredrick looks quite sane. Deathly serious, too.

  "I'm going to need you to explain yourself, in great detail, Lord Fredrick."

  "Very well... let me start from the beginning of this ordeal."

  Lord Fredrick pulls a rather worn looking book from his coat. It looks like a journal of some kind, with fraying pages and weakening binds. He sets in on the table as if to share its contents with both Miss Hawthorne and I.

  "I've been recording my findings about the dungeon in this-"

  His words are cut off by the sudden rattling of the table. The little wooden model shakes, before falling apart. Lord Fredrick and I exchange concerned looks, before I rise from my chair. The ground is shaking.

  "What is this?" I question, trying to keep my balance.

  "I-I've never experienced this, Prince Theobald!"

  My face pales as I stumble out of the tent alongside Miss Hawthorne. The camp is in chaos. The soldiers are running around like headless chickens, and several of the small tents have already collapsed from the quakes.

  I've never felt something like this before. It vaguely reminds me of the thumping a horse's galloping makes when it runs past you, but it is far too intense for that. Our guards are both looking around with worried expressions of their own.

  "Your Grace, we must go! This isn't safe!" My guard insists.

  "Nonsense, I have a quest to complete!"

  The thundering grows more intense, and I hear screams of panic. I turn to look at the source. The guards posted around that cave mouth have all fled with their faces contorted in terror. Behind them, a massive brown furred beast is charging up out of the pit. The beast is some kind of freakish cross between a bison and a carriage. When it crosses the threshold I'm able to see more of the beasts behind it!

  "A-Actually, we had better retreat!"

  I turn and bravely run away. My guards follow me as best they can, their heavier armor slowing them down somewhat. I'm not sure if anyone has been trampled yet. I don't care to look behind me when I can feel the hoofbeats of a veritable stampede coming up.

  It seems Miss Hawthorne had a similar interaction with her own escort, as she is sprinting toward her own horse in a rather unladylike fashion. I'm distracted by her vibrant red hair as I run--this leads to me tripping, my outstretched hand accidentally catching Miss Hawthorne on the shoulder. She's sent to the dirt just as I am.

  "Ugh... That smarts!" I cringe, my perfect face disheveled.

  Miss Hawthorne whirls around to glare at me with a mixture of disappointment and anger. I hold my hands up in surrender, hoping she will believe that was all an accident. Then her face changes. Her complexion pales, and I feel the quaking grow terribly near.

  A leg as thick as a tree trunk with a broad flat hoof for a foot slams down between Miss Hawthorne and I. I'm afraid I lose control of my bladder in the moment, expecting this will be the end of my miserable life.

  Then the beast charges right past us.

  I watch, trembling, as the huge thing smashes the makeshift stable into wooden splinters. The horses bolt, fleeing the stampede of larger animals. Miss Hawthorne looks just as traumatized as I do. We sit there, watching the herd roll past us like a wave crashing onto a sandy shore.

  ~

  That strange rumbling is growing stronger by the second. I turn, my wounds flaring up as I move to Lord Fredrick's side. I offer him support with one of my admittedly still injured arms. He keeps his balance, and he flashes me a smile.

  "Thank you, Dirk. I don't know what I'd do without you."

  "It's my duty, Lord Fredrick. I'll always be your shield."

  Screams erupt from outside. I turn, noticing both Prince Theobald and Miss Hawthorne have left while I was keeping Lord Fredrick from falling over. It sounds like something has gone very wrong, most likely involving the dungeon. I ensure Lord Fredrick is leaning on the table before rushing to look outside.

  The camp is in chaos, and unfamiliar monsters are charging out of the dungeon's maw. I swallow my fear as I watch a soldier nearly get trampled by one of the massive hairy creatures. They're like living carriages with their size, speed, and lethality. I quickly duck back inside to fetch Lord Fredrick.

  "We need to go, now!"

  "Why? What's happening outside, Dirk?"

  "There is no time to explain. We have to move!"

  I don't give Lord Fredrick an option. Normally I would be more careful with someone so important, but this is an emergency. Lord Fredrick stumbles behind me as I drag him by the arm to the tent's entrance. He pulls and struggles, his voice raised and alarmed.

  "Wait, damn it! I've dropped my journal!"

  My eyes catch sight of a wall of brown woolly fur moving straight toward the command tent. We're running out of time, and we can't possibly risk going back for the journal.

  "There isn't time, we have to-"

  Lord Fredrick has slipped from my grasp. My words die in my throat as I see him scrambling to grab his journal from the ground. He can't find good footing due to the thunderous quakes caused by the charging animals.

  "Lord Fredrick!"

  I charge back into the tent, my legs feeling like jelly from the intensity of the ground's shaking. Lord Fredrick scoops the journal off the ground, rising up using the table for support. He gives me a smug grin as he starts to move back to my side of the tent.

  Then the tent comes crashing down.

  There's a sudden crack and crunch of what I pray is wooden beams and the table being smashed apart. I can feel the tent being shifted as heavy hooved beasts charge right over the knocked over tent. My shoulders burn as the wounds reopen, but I ignore the pain. I push and squirm until I finally get the tent off me.

  My eyes widen. The beasts are charging right over me. I'm only intact thanks to pure happenstance, as their hooves have simply impacted the ground around me.

  The stampede passes just as fast as it arrived.

  Sitting up, I grunt from the pain in my body. I quickly push aside the tent, praying Lord Fredrick was just as lucky as I. The coppery scent of blood hits me like a punch to the gut. I lift a portion of the canvas, and nearly lose my lunch.

  Lord Fredrick is dead.