Syrin looked intrigued and it was a look that always looked strange on him. He was sitting on a log beside a tree, just outside of the stone walls that surrounded Melior. Kaetar wasn't sure if it was a look he should be worried about since he wasn't even sure if Syrin was worried. Kaetar was certainly worried – it was just too strange to be able to reach the gates, linger there as wagons were hidden and dealt with and everybody geared up and got ready. This included Kaetar dropping his necklace into his quiver, pondering on its lack of activity as he so.

The whole situation was just unnerving. He expected something more, something more from Arkit at least, but all he got was a strange encounter with Liam with a lot less blood than usual. If something didn't happen on the road, it had to happen inside Melior.

Yet, Syrin didn't seem to be worried. "You just want everybody to walk in? It seems rather simple coming from you," Ranulf muttered. The conversation didn't stop when Kaetar slid himself onto the log that Syrin was on. Syrin only moved over slightly.

"I needed to come with more complex plans when we were shorthanded in the Mad King's war and when we were fighting against Begnion of all countries while keeping up with ridiculous laguz requirements," Syrin muttered with a wave of his hand. "Entering Melior doesn't need a complicated plan. I'm not interested in making a bunch of people, including children, try to follow a complex plan. It was a nightmare getting a bunch of kids here, let alone trying to make them do something big."

Ranulf nodded thoughtfully. "True. I'm surprised we didn't lose anybody on the way. Are you sure it's not a trap though?"

"It's crossed my mind but Reyson said it felt chaotic here, which is not indicative of an organized attempt at a trap. It could be that Chibuike and Saira are distracting the soldiers since they've been gone for so long," Syrin said with a shrug. "All that is left is the matter of my arm and assuring that Micaiah and Adrien are ready for Phase Two at a moment's notice."

As if on cue, Micaiah was already walking up to them. She was wearing a red coloured tunic with black tights and knee high leather boots. She had a light tome tied to her waist as well.

"I was just about to ask what you wanted done with the Daein army," Micaiah said. "The whole army is prepared to fight, I just wanted to discuss what exactly you want done for the second phase."

"I don't care what you do, so long as the sand creatures don't go anywhere near the civilians. You are capable of tactics, so I trust that you can do direct everybody as needed on your own. I need you to wait here until the second phase, since I may need Daein's help if the Crimeans refuse to cooperate. I'll send one of the bird laguz down to inform you if we're moving to the palace or if are needed in Melior."

Micaiah nodded but she smiled. Syrin blinked.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing really," she answered. "You should go to Reyson though. He's with the other bird laguz."

"What do you need Reyson for?" Kaetar asked. He wasn't sure what Reyson could really do for him but he couldn't say he had a lot of experiences with Reyson. They didn't interact a lot. Kaetar was usually excited to interact with anybody from Syrin's past but he felt a little uncomfortable around somebody who could read peoples' hearts. Reyson also seemed so pure and fragile, and Kaetar felt like he couldn't compare with that.

"After he used the galdr on me, my arm felt a lot better for a time," Syrin muttered as he got to his feet. "It's by no means a permanent fix but I should be able to arm myself with a tome. Show me where he is."

They walked away tomorrow. Ranulf glanced at Kaetar with a raised eyebrow.

"You alright?"

"Why would I be?" Kaetar answered.

"You looked a little spacey, there," Ranulf muttered, waving his hand in front of Kaetar's face. Kaetar shook his head.

"No, I'm fine. I guess I was just thinking." It wasn't a lie. Ranulf didn't looked too convinced but he didn't press the issue further. He put a hand out and he grabbed it. Ranulf pulled him to his feet.

"Then we should get going, no?"

Melior was more crowded than Kaetar last remembered. He knew it was a big city and he saw that the last time he was there but on the other hand, it already seemed as though somebody beat them there. There was already an angry crowd that the soldiers, even while on horseback, struggled to contain as the crowd let their discontent be known. It was quite easy for their civilians to blend in with the angry crowd that was already there.

It made their job a lot easier.

Syrin's eyes were locked onto a rooftop and when Kaetar followed his line of vision, he could see a group of people on the rooftops. Two people, though they were too far away for Kaetar to identify anything about them, immediately darted back and down, effectively withdrawing. However, the other ones drew closer, scampering to a closer rooftop. They were all shrouded in cloaks, but he could tell that one was an archer like he was since they had a quiver on his back and one of them had an axe in hand, supporting it on their shoulder when they finally made it the rooftop. He couldn't tell what the other two used, maybe a sword since that could be concealed under their cloaks.

"Like our friends, Arkit?" the archer asked, their voice filled with confidence. He sounded male, Kaetar decided.

"That explains a lot. I wonder if this was started on their own and Chibuike and Saira joined or if those two started it here," Syrin muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Kaetar to hear. He had to tune out what the Crimeans and the cloaked people began arguing about just to focus everything on Syrin's quiet voice. "But of course, there is no way they are informed of our plans. They've caused a ruckus just to keep the soldiers distracted but that is not going to get any of them on our side."

"Shouldn't you take control then?" Ema mumbled. "How much chaos are you aiming for?"

"It's fine to let this go on for a little longer, at least until I have a better idea of what they want and what they think their part is in all of this. I'm positive that they are on our side if they gathered this crowd but I don't know why they would put themselves at so much risk," Syrin mumbled.

"They have a reason, believe me."

Kaetar knew that voice. He turned around and found Chibuike just behind him, stroking his beard.

"Just the basics, Chibuike. You must have a lot to say, considering how long you've been gone for," Syrin muttered.

"Loiya is alive and on the mend, Saira is somewhere around here, maybe she went back to Adrien, and those guys are up there are the Greil Mercenaries." Kaetar's elation at the news was short lived due to the angry look on Syrin's face. He could be excited later, he supposed since Syrin's anger may teeter to the dangerous side. He felt lighter though, more relaxed. That was one big worry gone.

"And why do they suppose that? There's hardly any reason to pick up the name of a dead mercenary company, especially when it will get you killed nowadays," he asked, unable to keep the angry out of his voice. Chibuike looked highly amused with his reaction.

"You'll have to figure that one out," he answered with a wide grin. "The leader is a woman named Brielle, or Bri as she likes to be called. You should talk to her. We've been keeping the rebellion on people's minds, we didn't let them forget – a talk is all she wants. C'mon, you have to be at least a little bit curious."

Kaetar looked up at them again, as they rallied the crowd around them. He thought back to the little tour he had inside the old, decrepit base that at one point, the Greil Mercenaries called home. Although Syrin didn't react much on the outside, Kaetar could remember how he touched surfaces that must have been familiar to him, that map he might have used before. He hoped for the sake of the people up there, they had a good reason to adopt the name because Syrin seemed prepared to defend it.

"Maybe you should go join them," Ranulf muttered suddenly. "You and the new Greil Mercenaries working side by side sounds like a happy story to me. You could go show everybody why the Greil Mercenaries were so good at what they did."

"This crowd needs a spark of some sort," Kaetar added. The crowd might have been riled up but so far, Arkit was able to keep his Crimeans calm. They had no reason to think they should switch, they didn't know that this rally was going to be different.

Syrin merely nodded. Kaetar could see that calculating look in his eyes but he also seemed nervous and uncertain. He seemed to know he had to go and say something to everybody, if it was obvious to Kaetar then certainly Syrin knew it, but he was hesitant. He understood how he felt though – Kaetar wasn't much of a speaker prior to running away from Daein but he had to learn to get over whatever shyness he had. It was unfitting for a prince or king to be unable to address his people. Syrin was a man in the shadows though. He never had to speak in front of a crowd and it was never expected of a tactician to speak.

Ranulf patted his good shoulder but Syrin shrugged him off. "Just think about the sort of things Ike used to say. He was great at winging speeches."

"I have a different idea," Syrin mumbled suddenly and pushed his way to the front of the crowd, confronting Arkit himself. The crowd went silent instantly. Kaetar followed him to the front of the crowd, just to back up Syrin if necessary. If there was some sort of physical fight, Kaetar didn't think he could stand up to Arkit, but he did have his words. All of the speeches he did to recruit the civilians made him realize more than ever just his words could do. Syrin probably didn't need it but his title might mean something.

He glanced back to the people on the roof and he realized that they were one person short. The rest were crouched down, and the archer had his bow drawn and aimed, though there wasn't an arrow in sight. Kaetar didn't think that it was necessary though. Arkit was strong and stubborn but he wasn't without honour – he wouldn't just attack Syrin. He would hear him out first.

"So you are here," Arkit muttered, steering his horse closer to Syrin, while Syrin stood his ground, glaring at Arkit. His fingers curled around the tome that he held at his side.

"I plan on finishing this today," Syrin answered simply.

"I doubt you could persuade me to change sides but you are welcomed to try, Syrin. I will at least give you time of day to do so." Arkit put his sword away, tucking it back into a sheath at his side. The throwing axe, the one that may have killed Duma, was latched onto the side his horse. "Why are you so confident today?"

"I didn't spend all our time apart twiddling my thumb, Arkit. I've amassed civilians from the west of Crimea, not that you see them in the crowd already conjured, and I have a good portion of the Daein army here with the king leading them. It won't be difficult for them to push through whatever troops you still have around here. I'd like to keep Daein in the fight as little as possible but if you intend to stand in our way, then we have no choice."

Arkit gave him a strange look, like he wanted to believe in Syrin but he was still uncertain. Kaetar felt somebody else push through the crowd, and he found that member from the Greil Mercenaries get close. It was a woman, perhaps Bri herself. She had a look of amazement in her eyes and she was staring directly at Syrin.

"Arkit, you gave an oath to protect King Ramon, correct?"

His head shot up. "What about King Ramon?"

"He's not on the throne. You're protecting his usurper."

"You can't prove anything!" Arkit shouted. "What if we joined you and you're wrong? It's not just our honour that we have to protect but our families-"

"You're protecting your family by defending an usurper who is not afraid to use executions as a way to maintain control. He knows he can keep people quiet if he kills the loudest and he already proved that it works," Syrin said dryly. "You're fine with destroying other families, so long as your family goes unharmed. For what? Honour? I'm surprised that this is a Crimea you'd fight for. Then again, you already ruined one family. "

"I'm not-"

"Fine with how Crimea is currently run? Your actions speak otherwise. Maybe you haven't executed a civilian personally but by doing nothing about it, you stand by it. Your inaction is answer enough. I suppose you only need to look like a morally upright man, somebody who was dragged into this against their will." There was an anger in Syrin's words that Kaetar didn't expect. "You have one chance to redeem but yourself in the eyes of these people. You could be the one who decided to give a damn about your country and your people. You don't want Daein to get all the glory, do you?"

Arkit looked truly lost. He lost most of his colour and he seemed to be shaking. His horse also looked incredibly uncomfortable. Arkit took a deep breath, and gritted his teeth. Syrin was breathing deeply too, his fists clenched tight enough for his knuckles to turn white. Finally, Arkit looked up again, his face pained as he turned to the soldiers behind him. They looked equally lost and it was clear that nobody there wanted to act. Kaetar was sure that they needed just a little prodding, somebody to direct them, but there was only one person who could that. Kaetar bit his lips. It would be nice if they could just work together but he knew not to bank on that.

"Crimeans... it's time to right our wrongs! This isn't the Crimea I swore to protect and this is not the Crimea I want to raise my family in. We can do better than this!"

There was a deafening cheer. Syrin covered his ears with his hands before Ranulf practically tackled him into a hug. Stefan managed to extract Syrin but he didn't miss the chance to ruffle Syrin's hair. He hissed at both of them. Arkit jumped off of his horse and approached them. There was a short conversation between them, then he turned to the audience.

"Zara! Let Adrien know we're moving to the second phase!"

Phase two was quickly underway. With Father and Micaiah on Revvi, it was easy for them to coordinate the positions of all of the soldiers. Syrin stayed on the ground, observing the main entrance into the castle. The gates were located on the other side of the fence and seemed to be made of a lustrous metal. On the other side of the gates, there was a large garden that was cut into squares with cobblestone paths, with path leading to a fountain. The gardens contained white and orange flowers, surrounding statues. Past the fountain, there were three staircases that lead up a foyer, which further lead to a higher foyer and more staircases. He wasn't sure what was used as the entrance though.

"There's nothing here?" Vaughn asked with a frown.

"No... there are a lot of spirits here all of sudden," Nicholas mumbled from behind them. "They feel aggressive-"

The ground shook a bit, followed by the sound of something that sounded to Kaetar like running water, but it was off, somehow. The doors on the highest level flew wide open and sand exploded out. It poured down the stairs, covering the middle level before spilling over the gardens and speeding towards them. Syrin mumbled something under his breath and threw his arms forward, creating a powerful gale that not only shielded them but also slowed the pace of the sand down. The amount of sand was unbelievable. He had no idea how they managed to amass so much sand, let alone gather it in one single place for it to explode out like it did.

"All of this with a simple wind spell," Nicholas called out over the wind. While Syrin's spell did shield them, it was also kicking sand up everywhere. "You never cease to amaze me, Syrin!"

The sandmen began emerging from the sand. They had no weapons or armour, and barely resembled a beorc. Their backs were hunched and they lumbered forward, walking over the sand even as it poured out. Luckily, the sand stopped shortly after, so Syrin could let the wind spell go, aiming it at the first sandman that got too close. It was amazing to watch Syrin exert such control over wind magic – he was the Syrin that Kaetar had always hoped to see. He looked so comfortable, sending another wind spell at a sandman before Nicholas and Aletta managed to reach their tomes and follow suit.

However, there seemed to be a mage, or maybe several, hiding somewhere as the dark magic that brought them back before skirted across the sand.

"How are we supposed to get up there?" Joel shouted, just as Rylar began moving towards the stairs. With the sand pooled around the gardens or on the ground, the steps were somewhat visible, just poking out of the sand. It also seemed thinner on the middle platform, so they could probably get solid footing there. If they could get out to the stairs, they would be good to go. Rylar was surprisingly good at stepping through the sand, though he did live in a desert and may have been benefiting from his cat heritage. Ema transformed and bounded through the sand and up the stairs, all the way to the top. The bird laguz hung back though, looking for orders from Syrin.

"Allow me," Syrin muttered, chanting yet again. The wind spell went down the middle and around the fountain, and expanded outwards, clearing a small path through the middle. It wasn't large by any means, but as Mike went on to prove, it was all that was needed. He made it to the middle level and was able to get the stairs leading to the top level. Kaetar decided to follow him, with Vaughn at his side. The mages were the last ones to make up on the stairs, as they were fending off the sandmen and Syrin was maintaining the wind spell that let them through.

"It's too bad Meagan's not here," Gus mumbled as Nasir and Stefan closed the door behind them, lowering the latch into place. The interior was covered in sand too, creating a fine layer over most of the surfaces. There were two big staircase on either side of the middle that led to a raised platform, and a pathway that seemed to lead somewhere in the middle but underneath the stairs.

Syrin was panting. "She could be here if you wanted to try again," he mumbled. Arum looked away, finding the floor a lot more interesting all of a sudden. "Everybody remembers their groups, right? Chibuike, you are free to join whatever group you'd like," he added, just as Chibuike opened his mouth to say something.

"I still don't like it," Joel muttered as he went with Mike and Nicholas. Chibuike silently joined Arum and Elli as they separated themselves from the rest.

"Hey, the faster we get this done, the faster you'll be with Kaetar again," Mike pointed out. "It's not like you're the only who doesn't get to be with their friend." Joel gave him a strange look. It was certainly an odd comment from Mike.

"If you're done, regroup here and go to the throne room together," Syrin muttered, his breathing still deep. "Don't interrupt me unless Nasir thinks it's necessary."

"Are you going to alright?" Stefan asked. "You're capable of putting on a show with your wind magic but you're clearly not used to it."

Syrin scoffed at him. "I'm fine," he stated simply, flexing the fingers on his left hand – Reyson's magic was still helping but Kaetar had the feeling that it wasn't going to be the case for much longer. "I can still perform. We should get going though. We promised the Crimeans that we would finish this."

Everybody nodded.

"Nasir, come with me," Syrin muttered, motioning with his hand. When Syrin left, heading up the staircase in the middle, the rest of them divided up too.

"The basement is probably going to be the busiest," Vaughn said eagerly. "That's why I picked it."

That's exactly what Vaughn did. He offered to go into the basement and the other two groups, Elli, Arum, and Chibuike, and Darius, Ema, and Misha didn't disagree. Maybe they had the same feelings and figured that Vaughn was insane enough to do it. They wouldn't be wrong either. Vaughn was both strong enough to take care of it and insane enough to be proud of it.

If Vaughn was more comfortable with his brand, Kaetar would make him one of his riders too, but he probably wanted to pretend that he was aging. Micaiah disappeared, with her son taking over suddenly and no mention of her death ever made and Vaughn would probably disappear too by the time Kaetar took over. Well, Saira shouldn't be that old by the time he was made king so maybe she would the one that he would keep from his father's time. He never gave too much thought about his possible riders – Joel and Loiya were definitely going to be two of his riders but if he wanted to be traditional, he had to look for two people.

"I kind of expected more..." Vaughn mumbled quietly. Kaetar looked up from his thoughts. The basement was dark, the halls barely lit up with torches. It was musty too, and there were spots of mold that were growing on the walls in the darker places, just out of reach the torch. It was a creepy sort of place but it also made him curious about the secrets that were kept down there. The basements in Daein were always interesting, at least until he had his fill of it and there wasn't anything new for him to discover. They turned the corner and Vaughn immediately tensed, suddenly acutely aware of something. "Get back!" he called out, pushing Kaetar into the corner.

Vaughn was thrown back with dark magic, just barely managing to stay on his feet as he skidded back and barely avoided the wall behind him.

"You're the one who ruined everything last time," Elymas hissed. There was the sound of shuffling to the left of them, where the hallway turned. Kaetar moved forward just enough so his hand didn't touch the wall when he drew the bowstring back, but he shot wide. Elymas was lurking in the darkness, just out of the range of the torch. He could only vaguely see the shadows shift when Elymas moved but by the time he could see the shadows, it was already too late for him to aim and shoot. He was already on the move.

Vaughn looked up and to his surprise, Vaughn jumped and knocked the closest torch to the ground, snuffing the flame out when the torch clattered to the ground. He ran past him, and Kaetar could see a little bit of light as Vaughn activated the magic in his axe and destroyed the two sandmen that came up beside them. As soon as the light went out though, Kaetar panicked a little when he realized just how dark the hallway was.

He couldn't see in the dark. What if he got hit with dark magic? What did that do to people anyway? However, Vaughn joined him, and he could even feel his breath on his cheek.

"Kaetar, trust me. Aim to slightly to the left and a little lower."

Kaetar swallowed hard and did as he told. He could only faintly see the torches in the background but they were out of range to be of any use to him. When he fired, he heard a grunt. Vaughn pulled on his wrist, dragging him to the left. He felt the power of dark magic hit the wall behind him. He didn't like it but he could see what Vaughn was doing – he could probably still see with the small amount of light that was still available thanks to his brand, so he made it so he was the only one who could effective see. He wasn't sure what the sandmen needed but he heard the crackle of lightning magic, and he could also feel sand pooling at his feet.

Vaughn grabbed his hand and threw him towards the hallway where the sandmen came from. He practically tripped over the sand and then kicked the discard armour they must have had but he managed to regain his balance to run to the range of the closest torch. However, as soon as he got there, he found another sandmen.

Elymas must have been focused on the ones down there because they certainly almost looked like a beorc, and practically moved likethem too. However, this one didn't attack him. It looked like it was staring at him, with the two red dots of lights were eyes would be. It had a lance but it made no move to attack him. They simply stared at each other.

"Meh... 'ai...? No... 'ild..."

Kaetar's eyes widen. It could talk? Its speech was broken and hardly recognizable, its voice closer to a low hum than a real voice. It was unmistakable though, that it tried to communicate with him.

Another sandman approached behind that one with strangled speech, and it turned around quickly to stab its lance into the other sandman. Kaetar backed up.

He could remember the discussion about the nature of spirits – a spirit could possibly be a person who lived before, if they right were about Elymas' spirit but it was just speculation. This spirit seemed to recognize him from somewhere and it was now trying to protect him? He knew he should be thankful but he was also frightened. How far away was Eero from into completing his goal? Then again, the spirit who was fighting with the sandman seemed to keep some resemblance of free will – even if Eero's plan worked, at least Ike may not listen.

Unless Eero had some sort of advantage over him.

He shook his head, trying to return his focus to the battle that was occurring before him.

"Kaetar!" Vaughn shouted. Kaetar looked from the sandman to the general area where Vaughn was. The sandman turned its head.

"Go."

He did. He turned, hugging the wall this time for more balance as he traversed the darkness and past the sand and armour that he tripped over earlier.

He could hear a struggle that went silent by the time Kaetar approached. "Vaughn?"

"I'm here, don't worry," Vaughn said happily. "I just knocked him out." Kaetar could hear Vaughn tearing something apart, probably Elymas' robes if Kaetar had to guess. He still couldn't see very well, but he assumed that Vaughn was probably using Elymas' own clothing to bind and gag him. He was surprised that Vaughn was sparing him at all, but he was glad. He wanted Daevala, wherever she was, to get a chance to fix him and that wasn't happening if he was dead.

"Mages need to speak and do things with their hands, right?"

"To cast a spell? That's correct," he answered.

"That should be good then! He isn't getting out this, but we should try to take him with us wherever we go," Vaughn muttered. "Also, what was going on your end? I thought I heard fighting."

"You did," Kaetar mumbled. "One of the sandman turned on another one. It... kind of recognized me, I think. I don't know who it thought I was but it was trying to protect me. I don't know why."

"Really? That's kind of awesome," Vaughn said. "Let's get going though."

When they approached the light, Kaetar could see what Vaughn had managed to do. He was correct in assuming that Vaughn had torn Elymas' clothing and used it to bound him. There was a gag around his mouth and his hands were tied not only back but high too, with Vaughn using extra fabric around his chest to hold them there. He had taken Elymas' sleeves and Elymas' knees were exposed too.

He could also see that the sandmen were still engaged in combat – they were using their lances, which Kaetar thought was odd. Couldn't one touch the other and destroy it? Maybe it just not in their capacity to use that ability against each other. As far as their creators were probably concerned, they weren't meant to fight each other. Vaughn put Elymas down gently and with one swoop, took down the enemy sandman. He looked up at Kaetar's protector. Vaughn pointed at Kaetar. "I'm with him."

It seemed satisfied with his answer.

It actually followed them around. It seem to recognize that Vaughn was the only one who could destroy the other sandman, so it dropped its lance and carried Elymas instead, over its shoulder much like Vaughn carried him. With Elymas secured, it was easy for Vaughn to tear through any sand creature they came across. He must have been the only down there, as nobody was bringing them back. Kaetar continued to be amazed by the actions of the one who stuck with them – not only did it join them, but it no longer seemed to recognize Elymas as its master. It followed whatever Kaetar did or said. It was the strangest thing, really.

He felt like he could actually bond with the thing and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Who was this person in life? They might have been a Daein soldier but why was it protecting him? It wasn't like it would know that Kaetar was the current prince. It didn't even seem to really know who Kaetar was yet it followed him.

The rest of the west wing was most empty until they turned to one of the last rooms. Vaughn immediately seemed disgusted with the smell of the room, so it was definitely worth investigating. When they entered, it looked clean enough, or it did until Kaetar saw a naked body on a slab of stone, with magical runes drawn on the dead woman's chest. The writing was in blood, with the way it dried and cracked. He looked away quickly – he felt both awkward about the state of the body, mostly on the fact that the body was completely exposed, but he also felt that the person had a horrible death. He had seen dead people, and killed people, but nobody had been treated so terribly.

"I didn't think they were experimenting on people," Kaetar mumbled with a crack in his voice, making a point to keep his eyes off of the poor woman. He noticed that on the other side of the room, there was a large pile of sand, set in the corner, but it wasn't a lot of sand. He assumed that the room was Elymas' working space, with how close he was to it, but it surprised him that Elymas didn't seem to be actively working on the sandmen.

"For some reason, I'm not all that surprised that he left a body here. It's Elymas we're talking about," Vaughn with a shrug. He was hard to faze, apparently.

"I guess... but this is a new low, even from people like Elymas. How long did they think they could get away with this for? Don't people notice other people going missing? How many people did he kill for something that probably didn't or wouldn't even work? This is fucked up!" He didn't notice he was shaking until Vaughn patted him on the shoulders.

"It stops here, either way. We'll leave her here for now but we'll make sure she gets a proper burial when we win." Kaetar could only nod.

There was also a desk, which was completely covered with papers. Kaetar approached this one slowly. He couldn't understand what most of the pages were talking about, since he never delved deeply into magic and it seemed to be all about magical theory. He decided to just collect all of the pages and make sure they got to somebody who could understand it.

"C'mon, let's go," Vaughn muttered.

As soon as they got outside into the hallway, it was suddenly already swarming with sandmen again. Kaetar stepped back into the room.

"Where did they all come from?"

"A mage must have caught up with us. Stay in the room!" Vaughn called out as he began to slice through the sandmen. Kaetar did as he was told. If there was another mage about, probably one with the ability to revive the sand creatures, then that meant they were stuck. The sandman who ended up following them dropped its lance a while back and Kaetar couldn't kill them. If Vaughn wanted to protect him, he would have to block the doorway.

They would need somebody to come from behind but would anybody think to come down when they were down with their own sections? Would the people in the east wing of the basement come around to the west?

Kaetar took a deep breath and aimed with his bow. He knew it wasn't going to help much, and he was going to run out of arrows eventually. However, he wasn't just going to sit around and wait. He would fight for as long as he could.

This is probably a bad place to leave off but I want to do a little section for all of the groups.

In other words, it would be a monster of a chapter and the cut-off has to be somewhere. It's also been a while since I've last updated.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! There will probably be one more chapter for the battle and another chapter after that and we might be done! I don't know, I'm bad at planning stories.