The region message was simple. Get away. Go back to the green zone. Move as fast as you can. Escape.

  Without the Maestro’s eloquent assistance, it did come out a little panicked, but in Cass’s defense, it was sent with as much immediacy as he could manage. The more people who were out there, and the longer they remained, the better the odds that they wouldn’t get back in time.

  Maybe a slight panic was a good thing for them; it’d give their legs energy. But the effect on the people currently in the Guildhall was pandemonium. A small part of Cass knew he’d made an error, but it was one he could live with.

  When he sent it, he tried not to think about Adya. He’d sent her with Jamie to the north, thinking it would be the safer area. She didn’t need to know that, but he knew when he’d written the Quest that it was the reason why.

  As he exited the Atrium, people seemed to be running every which way without cause. Jimmy was right, there were no vellums to be found. He’d searched the room desperately, but no luck.

  What they needed right now were directions. Quests, or orders, if he must. But he was plum out. A check of his daily quota said that he still had over a hundred he could assign. It was a shame. With changelings likely roaming the area, Quests were a surefire way to ensure people were going where they were supposed to.

  Then, just as he was starting to organize his thoughts, a series of Quest failures came in. Though his System Reputation was degrading, it was a payoff for his Questor’s survival.

  He wasn’t about to complain about that.

  “To be expected,” He mumbled under his breath. Cass was about to take a step forward when he was cut off. Raising an eyebrow, he watched as a hefty man ran past, their lungs bellowing to keep up with the heavy movement.

  He won’t last long like that. Shaking his head, he moved on, rolling up his sleeves with a plan to dive into the organizational Chaos.

  That’s how he found Moore standing in a clear area only a few hundred feet from the Entrance Hall. The Maestro gave him a loaded eyeroll, while his mouth never stopped moving as he tried to find some kind of order amongst the chaos. After a moment of listening in to catch up on what he wanted, Cass joined with him, grabbing shoulders and hands, giving soft words but backed by an authoritative tone as he slipped into his Guild Master role. He was calm and collected as he spoke to people with more anxiety than sense, smiling when he could.

  He might not have any Vellums, but he could still get things done.

  Jimmy walked over, two large boxes on his shoulders that he slipped down between Cass and the Maestro. Moore immediately understood what it was for as he stepped up and began speaking louder, drawing new attention to the area. Cass leaped upon the other, his enhanced reflexes making it feel like a mere twitch as it easily bore his weight.

  Settling, he began to call out beside him.

  “No, we’re not out of food. Get the rations from storage, and make sure there’s plenty of feed for the animals. Yes, you can leave my horse here.” Bella sent him a happy feeling. She’d been following him from one spot to another, and he’d grown used to it at one point.

  A question came his way.

  “Um…there’s a well behind the Atrium. It’s enclosed for the area and should give us enough to hold out for some time. Unless they poison the groundwater…no, you’re right. Grab four others and see if you can find some containers from the Foundry. Fill them up to the brim with fresh water and make sure they seal before you do.”

  “You, fellow!” He said to the heavy man running past him for a second time. The man turned to him, a confused look on his face. “You need to sit down before you have a heart attack.”

  The man waved him off with a grumbled ‘dumb kid’ that Cass’s improved hearing picked up. Then went back to puffing away.

  Though this was a terrifying moment and it shouldn’t have happened, a slight giggle burst up from his throat. The ever-present Moore heard it and looked at him.

  “Enjoying yourself?”

  “I don’t know why, Mr. Moore, but I am.” Cass giggled a little more, “Monsters are rushing our way, and people are fighting for their lives, but to that fat man who is about to keel over, I’m just some dumb kid.”

  “Gerald would say you have hysteria.”

  Cass shrugged, “Gerald is locked up in a tower. So Liora gets a hysterical Guild Master right now.”

  Moore stopped what he was going to say, then tilted his head, “What’s wrong?”

  Cass took a beat, then held up his bag, opening it to show only the single, solitary vellum within. “No more Quests.”

  “You can make the one.”

  “I can, but for some reason I’ve held off. That’s been sitting in my bag for a long time. I think I haven’t used it because…I don’t know. It’s the one that got Skreel blood on it the day I found Johnny.”

  Moore tapped his lip, his eye trailing to a few people as he obviously wanted to tell them what to do. Instead, his vision traveled back to Cass, “One is better than none, QuestWright. Even if it’s dirty, it still has a purpose. It matters.”

  Instinctively, Cass pulled it out, turning the vellum over in his hands. The dried blood hadn’t faded much; there was still a shimmer there, the sun’s light reflecting off the silver in an almost beautiful way. As he held it in his lightly shaking hands, he finally understood.

  He’d carried it for all this time, placed deep in his bag, for a single reason that had no practicality to it. It was a memento of his failure.

  A mistake that became a turning point in his life.

  A memory, literally buried at his side for months.

  “I know it matters,” he said, the giggles having left him. He squeezed the palehide skin just a little, as if that made it more real, somehow. “I just didn’t want this to be the one that mattered.”

  Moore’s face softened, but he was right back to yelling at people in a moment as things grew hectic without their guidance. Cass knew the Maestro could handle it, so he sat down on the box and opened his map across the Guildhall’s grass.

  There were many Quests that could be completed. He could have them reinforce the walls or organize a testing train. He could write up an order for Vex to defend the green zone, or for someone to ensure everyone who could fight had weapons.

  There were as many options as stars in the sky. But this is the one that matters, right?

  He continued to ignore the dozens of failed Quests that streamed into his notifications and took stock of the situation. The sights and sounds around him disappeared and fell away as all that mattered was him, the last Vellum in his hand, and potentially, the final Quest he would ever write.

  Logic and hope were his guiding principles all this time. So, he drafted a multi-person Quest with one priority.

  Gather all of the children in the green zone and bring them to the Foundry. It was the most protected location in Liora at the moment, and if a last stand had to be held, that’s where they would do it. There were a lot of kids, and it would take a lot of time, but it was work worth doing.

  He smiled to himself, then, without thinking further on it, hit the draft button.

  Every bit of his fear in using the Vellum seemed for naught as the Silver glow began like normal. Starting at the edges, it gently moved its way toward the center as his instructions became engraved in the world.

  Only, as the silver continued to brighten, something changed. The blood on the page began to burn as the draft struck it, shifting the glow from silver to red as his eyes widened. Even the Vellum itself took on the color, bleeding into his vision as his screen went haywire.

  Writing and numbers flashed across his screen as the System he’d grown to rely upon found something it didn’t seem to understand. He dropped it to the ground in shock, then took two steps back, bumping into Moore in his haste.

  “What’s wro-,” The Maestro’s eyes caught onto the red vellum sitting in the green grass. “What is that?”

  “I’m not entirely sure?” Cass said, looking over the settled text on his screen and reading it back to the Maestro.

  [SYSTEM NOTICE]

  Anomalous material detected…

  -Skreel ichor identified.

  -Quest integrity compromised

  Original Classification: Message

  New Classification: Unknown (Corrupted)

  Assigning System Quest to Cassio Vale of Liora…

  Failed…

  Cassio Vale has the unique Survivor Path.

  Attempting the second assigned System Quest to Cassio Vale of Liora…

  Failed…

  Cassio Vale has the unique Survivor Path.

  Attempting the third…

  the fourth…

  the fifth…

  …

  System Quest assignment has failed.

  Searching for secondary QuestWright…

  Priority: High

  No additional QuestWrights attached to region code LIA have the ability to fix the localized corruption:

  Gerald Hollis: Incapacitated

  Amelia Rodriguez: Quest type not unlocked

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Warning: Corrupted vellum will become increasingly unstable over time. Unknown events may occur in the local area.

  Corruption, unknown events. Like what? Cass looked at the red paper lying on the grass. If I leave this here, will Monsters pop up out of the ground like daisies? Will a dungeon form? I can’t just leave it-

  Moore held him back by the shoulder. He hadn’t even realized he was stepping forth to pick it up.

  “Don’t touch it! It’s a good thing you dropped it, or who knows what would’ve happened.”

  Cass’s eyes stayed on the vellum as his screen put up a simple notifier for him.

  ??!!?? - DANGEROUS ITEM

  He called over to a passing man and woman in armor, “You two, come here immediately.” Pointing a finger at the blood red page on the ground, he ordered, “Stand guard around that and make certain absolutely nobody touches it. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir!” They yelled together, taking up posts around it without getting too close.

  Moore turned Cass away from it forcibly, as he was having trouble understanding what exactly he had made. “I think they could use you in the green zone, Guild Master. Even if you can’t hand out any Quests, people need to see you standing strong.”

  Cass tried to look back at the page, as he felt he was just starting to understand what it may be, but Moore was insistent. Shaking the strange thoughts that began to fire in his mind, he agreed, “You’re right. I’ll be on my way.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  He was back to shouting by the time Cass had taken three steps away. But even as his eyes moved over the Guildhall, Jimmy and Bella following along behind him, his mind kept going back to the bloody vellum.

  Why did drafting it do that? Why did the Skreel blood burn?

  As he walked, he saw Janine wave at him, two blocks of iron on the ground beside her. Several company men and women moved past, while stout Liorans pushed past him, long, thick pieces of sharpened wood on their shared shoulders.

  He’d had a few things prepared in case they had to retreat to the Guildhall. Like one of Gerald’s books said, no plan survives contact with the enemy. But no matter how he’d planned, there wasn’t enough time to get everything done.

  The city was a ruin on a ruin.

  Though the Dark Guilds had moved far faster than expected, he’d done that in his haste to protect them, creating murder alleys and what one old veteran he’d spoken to called a kill box. It was a city designed to kill those who approached. That would be his legacy if they made it through this. The Guild Master who destroyed his own city to protect his people.

  But again, his thoughts spiraled back to the bloody Vellum. Even when his eyes closed for a moment, all he saw was red on the green, green grass.

  Jimmy caught up to him and moved in front once he understood what they were doing. Cass absently noted he was a good companion. He knew his job and always did his best to perform it well.

  Meanwhile, Bella nudged him in the back, her intent clear as she nickered at him. Nodding slowly and a little dazed at what was about to happen, Cass climbed upon her back.

  Together, the three of them passed through the entrance hall and into Liora proper, where screaming, crying, and faces of fear filled the scene like a painting with angry brush strokes. None of the books his parents had in their house had shown situations like this. It was all the glory of won battles.

  Good vanquishing the bad. From what he could see, Good had taken on a bloody lip. But he could still help.

  Not everything needed a silver glow to matter, he thought to himself, firmly pushing the red page out of his mind so he could focus on the here and now.

  Cass, Bella, and Jimmy moved to help. Between the three of them, they easily did the work of five as stakes were placed into the ground at pre-set intervals. It was a rushed job, but soon enough, a great series of outwardly facing death was struck into the Earth with sharpened precision.

  The Earthmolders had been a great help in moving and aligning the defenses. They’d also dug up the areas just beyond the frontlines, leaving narrow paths for those still returning as they moved.

  He’d made sure of that, knowing many people, including his linked partner, were still out there.

  Then came the engineers, placing pre-designed traps that had been worked on with help from the remaining Hunters in the city. Bit by bit, they turned the edges of the green zone into a death trap that was constructed fast to the naked eye.

  It was amazing what a determined group of people with abilities could do when they set their minds to things. Though every face was cast in a grim reflection of his own, they’d done Liora proud.

  Stragglers and survivors from the gates came through, mostly whole and just a bit winded, but a few were bloody, signs that they’d held there a little longer than expected. When the stream of runners began to thin, Cass tried sending a message to Vex, but there was no response. The Silver should’ve been back by now.

  Looking through the crowd as he patted Bella’s back, he spotted Jamie walking through with an exhausted look on his face. Cass moved over quickly, Bella slowing just before running into the Scout.

  “You alright?”

  The man tried to stand up straight, but he was too winded. He settled in a half-crouch, looking up with his hands on his knees, “Monsters…coming. Too many.”

  “We know,” Cass confirmed, then asked the real question on his mind. “Where’s Adya?”

  The Scout Leader pointed behind himself, where, just in the distance, Cass could make out a red and black form. Bella jumped as she didn’t expect his heels to dig into her ribs, but she understood the intent as they leaped forward, people parting as they rushed through.

  He didn’t pause. He didn’t think. She needed him.

  Though Adya was well beyond the defenses, they got there fast as he nimbly leaped down, putting a hand out to help her. In all the confusion, from the red page to the incoming rush of monsters and seeing Adya hurt, he didn’t consider the fact that her emotions were nowhere to be found.

  His body reacted before he understood what was happening.

  As the knife came plunging toward his throat, he tilted his head back, leaning his body with it in a reactionary understanding that not to move was death. As time seemed to slow, the look on her face shifted from one of pain to a feral grin he never thought he’d see.

  Instead of stabbing him in the throat, the blade missed, aiming higher and slashing along the corner of his eye.

  A new type of scream clawed its way out of him.

  The right side of the world winked out as an unbelievable pain erupted, closing his mind to the fact that his Linked partner had just given him a mortal wound. Survivor kicked into high gear, the burn settling in alongside its painful companion as Cass staggered back two steps. Holding a hand up to his wounded eye, he barely had the wherewithal to kick the changeling in the face.

  Bella took it a step further.

  The draft horse charged forward, stomping the changeling into the ground. The weight of her hooves crushing bone made a sickening crunch. The fake Adya’s body convulsed underneath her, but that only seemed to enrage the draft horse even more as she stomped out her fury on the one who had hurt her bond.

  Cass’s Battlefield Memory wouldn’t let him forget that he likely left a changeling behind him. Even as his right hand trembled and his fingers felt his lifeblood was leaking out, he turned and looked with his one good eye back the way they had come.

  He needn’t have worried, as Jimmy was jogging over to them, a body slung over his shoulder.

  They knew seeing Adya like that would make me stop thinking and rush out here, he thought as his guard got closer, the look on his face grim enough to turn anyone who saw it to stone. They knew I would let my emotions and connection to her get the best of me.

  Jimmy dropped the body down beside the other one, Bella stomping it a few times just to be sure, then asked to look at his eye. Cass pulled his hand away, blood-slicked fingers resting along the side of his robe.

  “No poison that I can see,” Jimmy said, looking at it closely, “I think. But I’m no good with healing, boss. You should’ve waited for me.”

  Stalwart continued to push back against the wound, but Cass knew it wouldn’t heal his vision. The ability said it increased his natural regeneration, not that it would fix broken body parts. Lose a leg, you’d have a stub; take a knife to the right eye, and everything was left for now on.

  “You’re not wrong,” Cass said out loud, but internally, his thoughts went another direction. I’d still do it again. If she’s ever really hurt, and I hold back, that indecision could take her from me. An eye for a life isn’t a bad trade.

  Jimmy sucked air through his teeth, “Well, not much we can do about it now. Why don’t you hop on your little horsey there, and let’s get back behind the defenses, see if we can’t find a healer. A lot of bad is coming this way soon, and I’d soon about not be out here.”

  Cass agreed and did just that. They took it a little slow, as the pain in his eye ratcheted up a notch, but then he heard it.

  It was a distant rumble, at first. Like thunder beneath the earth, but far too steady to be natural. It pulsed, like a living thing. Feet stomping, screaming, growls, howls, and screeches. Some high and sharp, others low, with the occasional chirping.

  Then came the rest.

  Like a heavy storm, pressure descended on the weary defenders. The weight of it rolled across the ground, an approaching tide of horror. A breathing mass bent on destroying everything they cared about.

  Jimmy heard it too, and Cass spotted the color drain from his face. “They’re gonna be here soon.”

  Cass gripped Bella’s reins tight, slicking his blood across the leather, “Then we'd better run.”

  The draft horse needed no urging, as they leaped forward, head leaned, hooves pelting across the ground. Cass reached down and grabbed Jimmy’s hand, pulling the man across the back of Bella’s rump in a move that should’ve failed, but miraculously worked.

  They galloped behind the lines as the defenders cleared a space for them. The Earthmolders moved forward after they passed, destroying the road in the distance before collapsing back in obvious exhaustion.

  Cass put Jimmy down, his hand wandering back up to his injured eye, then, he felt something. Somewhere in the not-too-far distance. Jumping down from Bella, he moved toward the feelings of pain that so mirrored his own.

  Leaning against the Guild wall was Adya. Her clothing was torn in several places, and her trademark spear was missing, but she was whole, even as her emotions told him how much pain she was in.

  She seemed to take a shuddering breath before looking like she was struck by lightning. Her head lifted quickly, and as she spotted him, they rushed to hold each other.

  The feel of her around him felt like home. That was, of course, when the System took notice of them.

  [SYSTEM NOTICE]

  Reserve experience: 1448: Required experience transferred per Contract requirement to Adya Korring

  Requirement reset: 3 days remain until your next required contact.

  He didn’t care.

  “What happened to your eye?” She gently pushed away from him and took hold of the hand covering it. “I can feel how much pain you’re in. Let me see, maybe it’s not too-” He let her move it.

  The sharp intake of breath he heard was enough to know how bad it was.

  “Cass,” He felt her emotions leaping back and forth between joy at seeing him and fear. “Maybe we can fix it, you know. Maybe,” She leaned close to whisper, “Maybe your special path will fix it.”

  “It only increases natural regeneration,” He held in the wince as just thinking too much on it brought back just how much agony he was in. “It’ll probably never heal all the way.”

  “You don’t know that,” Adya said, and he felt how firm her stance was on it. “We might be able to find someone who can eventually heal it.”

  “Maybe, but it’s not really the time to be thinking about it. Are you okay? Where’s Jamie?”

  The pain he’d felt before replaced the heavy worry that had taken over, “Gone. The Driftclaw got him. He was right next to me. If we’d just been a little faster-”

  The roaring sound of imminent death could now be heard from every avenue in front of and behind them, even beyond the walls.

  Cass squeezed her arm, “How many did you spot in the north?”

  She blinked, scrubbing a hand against the wetness under her eyes, “Hundreds, thousands, maybe more. I don’t know how they’re gathering them like this.”

  “This is just a theory, but I think there’s a QuestWright out there.” Cass looked toward the west, where he and Jimmy had first heard the sound. The clamoring stampede grew so close and loud that he was forced to yell over it, “Come on, they’ll need us on the line!”

  “You can’t, you’re wounded!” She yelled out, trying to slow him down.

  “Then you and Jimmy better protect me!”

  Bella felt his need and came close. Pulling out his oversized hatchet and the re-sizing buckler he was still getting used to, he hopped up and sat on her back, then patted her side.

  To her credit, the horse knew what was happening, and though he felt a great deal of fear coming from her, she didn’t falter when he pushed toward the frontlines.

  To the west was a rolling wall of bodies cresting around corners and down avenues. It was a flood of limbs and claws, spilling over broken streets and shattered buildings that had only a week ago heard the sounds of laughter and commerce.

  What had happened to his city and his people was a travesty. A mark of shame on the world. And as monsters of all shapes and sizes approached. As the people of Liora stood still, at the ready, bravely tilting their chins in defiance at those who would see them fail and fade into a forgotten history, Jimmy broke the silence of the defenders.

  Just as the wave of monsters came, a growing swell of roars met them at the start of dusk.

  “Liorans, prevail!”

  “Liorans, prevail!”

  “Liorans, prevail!”