Imminent Storm.
Klutz can hear voices outside as he pulls open the creaky door. He joins Eyran out front as he addresses a large group of villagers.
"This means our best option, for a chance at safety, is to join the Guardian and seek refuge behind the walls of the Last City." Eyran struggles to get the words out, but he stays composed in front of the congregation.
All manner of questions and concerns are quickly voiced by the unsettled crowd.
"We must abandon our homes!?" an elderly woman shouts.
"Are you sure those things are coming here? What do they want from us?" asks a younger woman with a baby swaddled around her front.
"We should stay and fight the beasts! We need to defend our home!" Shouts a headstrong young man.
"You can't trust the City!" cries an old man near the front of the group.
Eyran tries to address their concerns calmly, but the gathering soon spirals into shouts of anger and confusion. Realizing he is losing the attention of his people, Eyran raises his hand to draw attention and raises his voice even higher. "Listen! Listen to me!"
Most of the arguing stops. Many are surprised to see their elder yell.
"We truly do not have a choice… I too would rather stay and face the devils… but if we went down that route, I fear few of us would survive. I know many of you do not trust the Guardian. I have my own reservations… But without this Lightborn, we may have no chance…"
The group is mostly quiet. Only the sound of nervous whispers passed around.
"Where is Marin? She will protect us, won't she?" Shahid, the young huntsman asks. He looks at the elder and then to the Guardian.
Klutz moves to answer, but Eyran speaks first.
"Marin is still healing, but we will look out for her just as we will look out for your father," the village's sole Awoken explains.
"She has killed Fallen before!" a middle aged woman points out. "I heard she has killed dozens of them!"
"Remember when she scared off those poachers from hunting on our land a few summers ago?" another woman asks excitedly.
"She spent time with that rough group, years ago. I heard they hunted packs of Fallen for months!"
"Marin must know how to keep us safe! She has always been the one to look out for us, long before this Guardian showed up!"
Disorder breaks out among the people again. The shaky, wishful belief that the village's wounded protector will save them from whatever comes next speads amongst them.
Eyran desperately attempts to calm the group down. His pleas and explanations are largely ignored as some of the villagers announce their intentions to return to their homes and prepare to defend themselves from the coming storm.
Klutz feels his heart rate skyrocket. He knows the village has no shot at survival if the Fallen send even a small organized force. He knows that even if Marin were in better shape, the best chance they would have would be behind the City's walls. He knows they are losing time.
He doesn't know how right he is.
A terrible red glow tears across the sunny sky in the distance. It stretches and warblers out a loud hum that does not fail to catch anyone's attention. Long waves of pulsing purple light scream out of the hole in the sky, forming into a vague shape of a flaming hourglass. Suddenly, all the light collapses in on itself and blasts out a massive pressure wave in all directions. The wave is strong enough to rattle the buildings of the village with a violent tremor. Most of the villagers need to find their footing as they look up in horror at what comes next. An enormous Fallen ship races out from the sky-bound anomaly. The Fallen Ketch blocks the sun as it speeds across the sky, casting a huge shadow over the small village. It is flanked by dozens of Skiffs, armed for battle.
"What the hell is happening!?" Marin asks as she swings the door open.
The woman arrives just in time to witness two other tears rip the sky open further away. Their bright glow falling in on themselves in much the same way to reveal another pair of Ketchs and the smaller ships escorting them.
"Holy shit," she says softly as she watches the alien spacecraft fly above.
Most of the villagers are too stunned to panic. A child cries as she runs to grab her fathers leg. One man begins screaming, a mostly incomprehensible mess of words related to his doubts about anyone's survival.
"We're too late…" Klutz says, almost at a loss for words.
Eyran looks at the Guardian, shocked. "If we start moving now, will we have a chance?!" He darts his vision toward Marin.
"The hike will take over an hour… even if we rush," Marin answers, somberly and sits down on the old wooden steps. She sets down a small leather bag she had slung over her shoulder and holds her cane over her lap.
"No, no! This can't be!" Eyran exclames in frustration. "Guardian, please, there must be something you can do!"
Klutz spots a number of distant Skiffs dip down from the sky and move in the direction of the village. He sees the people around him choked by fear and despair. He does not know how to help them. He then feels a strange heat near his hip. He looks down for a moment to see what is causing the warmth. A split second of confusion passes over him before he realizes it is a message from Spark. He quickly paws at the pouch on his waist and his eyes light up. "The Armory!" he shouts.
"What armory?" the Awoken asks. "If we had a real armory, we would be much better prepared for whatever peril will befall us now."
"In the cellar! I can get us through the door!"
Marin looks up in surprise.
Eyran raises an eyebrow. "How do you know about this door?" He waves his hand and shakes off his annoyance. "Ahh, no matter. Do you believe we will be safe there? Is there space for us all?"
"I entered a similar door a while back. Behind it was a large, secure facility that will be a hell of a lot safer than out here!"
"I see! Help me gather our people and we will put this safe haven to the test," Eyran says with a new found hope. "If what you say is true, we may yet live to see tomorrow!"
The villagers are panicked and spread apart. Some have left to spend what they believe to be their final moment with loved ones and others are still crippled by fear. A handful of brave folks have grabbed weapons and hunting equipment, ready to fight for their home.
Marin stands, with the help of her cane, and slings her bag back over her shoulder. "Hey! Everyone!" Virtually everyone within earshot turns to listen when they hear the woman's voice bellow. "The Guardian is gonna keep us safe! But I need y'all to gather anyone who ain't already here and bring them down to the cellar in the community hall!" Her voice carries far across the troubled village. "We'll hold out underground as long as we can while the City kicks the bugs back across the system!"
Faces in the crowd begin to fill with hope.
"Y'all know I'd rather fight the bastards as well. It'd be good to spill some of their blood for a change!" Her words are met with a few hoots and encouraging shouts. "But the truth is, they've got the numbers… so the best we can do is wait 'em out for now… Though you can be sure that when they're running scared from whatever beat down the City's got waiting for them, we'll kick 'em in the ass on the way out!"
The crowd ignites into cheers and quickly mobilizes to gather anyone that is absent.
"I've often said you have the spirit for leadership, my dear girl," Eyran says proudly.
"Yeah, yeah," she says with a hint of embarrassment. She faces Klutz with a serious look in her eyes and says, "You go make sure everybody gets over here quick. I'll lead them down to the cellar and try to keep things calm. Once we've got everyone, you pop that door open and we'll all try and take cover inside." She takes a deep breath and appears optimistic. "If all goes well, we all might just make it through this."