Maeve was the first to scream. Her piercing cry broke through like an arrow through glass, drawing eyes as she scrambled backwards. Like the world moved in slow motion, heads turned to where she was pointing, and heartbeats seemed to last hours.

Then the world caught up.

There was a deafening roar as a giant stone soldier crashed through the bushes, a serrated pike in one hand, the other outstretched toward King Adelaide, a red gem that glowed was inlaid into the left palm. A bolt of fire shot out, striking the king in the chest, and as she fell backwards, more of these stone giants crashed into the clearing. Trace pushed Flora behind him, and reached up, yanking the tie off of his neck, the illusion falling away. A gladius was in his left hand, but his right hand began to glow with blue magic as he readied himself to defend the love of his life. The three dozen Basitin soldiers who were there pushed those without weapons backwards, forming a phalanx of pikes. Dagger flew out from the sleeves of Zen's suit, and a white beam of magic fired from Natani's right palm, her hair flowing as though gravity forgot to pull down. Richard drew his sword, rushing forward to clash with one of the Sentinels, his face turned into a wild snarl. Keiren leapt forward as well, from under his cloak he pulled his sword and shield, which somehow no one noticed him carrying. Keith rushed over to King Adelaide, standing between her and the fifteen soldiers, scowling as he drew his longsword. It would have been a strange sight as he barely was taller, even though she was doubled over in pain, though at the moment no one cared.

A dagger flew from the second floor of the estate, and Madelyn leapt from the balcony, rolling as she hit the ground. From her side, another dagger was drawn as she ran toward the fight. The soldiers flattened any bush in their way, and their pikes spun, threatening to take the heads off of anyone within reach. Fire bolts shot from the other hands, wounding the Basitin ranks, but they closed in around their injured squad-mates, pressing forward. Trace's gladius bounced almost harmlessly off of the stone, but he drew the attention of four of the Sentinels as he backed up, making sure he was always in front of Flora, who snarled behind him, forgetting where she was, her mind only on fighting for her life.

There was a loud crack as Richard was thrown backwards with a heavy blow to his left arm, hurling him through a nearby bush. The soldier that knocked him down turned to Zen next, but a hole suddenly blasted through it's chest, as Richard hoisted himself up. "It takes a lot more than that to bring me d-" He was cut off as another soldier bore down it's full weight on him. Despite the four hundred pounds of hardened clay, he remained mostly upright, his strength bolstered by sheer adrenaline.

"Get back!" Trace shouted, pushing Flora away, letting her get swallowed by the mass of Basitin soldiers. The four bore down on him, pikes outstretched, but the did not move to strike him. His sword swung, knocking away one of the pikes, only for the others to jab at him in unison, as though they had one mind, shared between all of the Sentinels. As he doubled over in pain, he reached in, and called forth his magic, and unleashed a storm of missiles. Though his aim was true, the magical arrows did little against them, chipping and scratching the stonework, but not destroying any of them.

Beside him, Zen was in distress, as two soldiers reached for him, he parried away, backing up to stay out of their reach. Natani was likewise occupied, as three soldiers focused on her. Keith dueled with just one, and though it was just one, it was more than a match for him. The last three moved through the battlefield with ease, as all of those who could fight were already occupied. The Basitin soldiers closed ranks, Keiren standing in front of them, his face twisted into a vicious scowl, but they did not seem to care. Their eyes went past the defenders, and fell on Maeve, then on Kathrine, and lastly on Flora, whom they all shifted to face more clearly. Raising their arms, the gemstones glowed once again, but Keiren rushed forward, the phalanx behind him, pressing the Sentinels to defend themselves.

Keith was battered, but managed to duck under the pike as it swung widely, rolling between the legs of the Sentinel, only to realize far too late that they had stone tails too. As he tried to leap away, it swung around, the heavy tail hitting him in the head, throwing him aside. The giant hoisted the pike over it's head to strike him down, but suddenly stopped. Hands reached around it's waist, and though it's tail swung wildly, whatever was holding it did not let go, but instead lifted the entire Sentinel into the air! With a deafening roar, King Adelaide grappled the waist of the Sentinel, and was lifting it over her head, hoisting it up and over her, before flipping the beast over, and slamming it down onto the stone pavement, shattering it's head entirely with enough force to break the cobblestone pavement as well. As she rolled over, she stood up, growling.

Keith took a second to observe the battlefield. The soldiers seemed bent on fighting the Keidrans and Trace more than anyone else, even Richard, who had already destroyed one. With a split second decision, he rushed over to Natani, who's shield spell was being battered. Leaping up, he swung hard, and lodged his sword deep into the neck of one of the Sentinels, and as he ripped the blade back out, it turned, only to crack and crumble without half of the neck there, before tilting and falling down. Seizing the temporary distraction, Natani lashed out with magic, a beam of light blasting from her outstretched hand, piercing another on of the soldiers, it's chest cavity crumbling from within. The third one backed away from her, suddenly on the defensive, only to be outflanked by Keith, who drove his blade through the back of it's knee, causing it to stumble, before pulling the sword out, and cleaving down onto it's head, smashing the back to pieces.

Batting away the two pikes, Zen looked for an opening. The long reach of their weapons made it very difficult to approach, as he could easily be cut to pieces. The dagger was a poor choice of weapon, but it was better than his bare hands, so he made due. He took a step toward one, but then howled in pain as a pike was pressed into his left shoulder. The other Sentinel had caught him, and began shoving him hard against a tree behind him, pinning him to it, while the other reached out as though to grab him. Fear and pain dominated his thoughts, and though he tried to call upon his magic, he could not focus through the agony as he was lifted off the ground entirely. Darkness overtook him, and his body fell limp.

Richard's blade sank deep into the knee of the soldier he faced, causing it to stumble down enough for him to bring his blade all the way around, spinning in a wide arc, before lopping off the head of the stone beast. As it fell sideways, he saw Zen's limp body hoisted onto the shoulder of one of the soldiers, and it turned as though to leave. "No!" he shouted, causing the two soldiers to stop and turn to him as he sprinted forward. The one not carrying Zen turned fully, pike pointed forward, and it took a single step toward him, only to immediately take a step back as Richard's hand glowed bright red. A blast of fire shot out, and obliterated the top half of the soldier with relative ease, but the other did not stop. Dropping the pike, it held Zen in it's right hand, and pointed at Richard with it's left. Fire shot toward him, hitting Richard in the chest, just like with King Adelaide, but he did not stop. He barely even slowed down, the thrill of battle lighting a fire in him as he rushed toward the soldier of stone. With a shout, his blade swung down hard, cleaving the hand off of the soldier, and with the next swing he cut through the waist of the beast, only for his sword to break halfway through. Though it still stood, the beast stumbled back, and collapsed sideways, it's body crushing the stone shell. Richard reached for Zen, but barely missed, and watched in horror as Zen was crushed under the rubble.

Trace parried blow after blow, being forced to back up as he did so. The phalanx rushed forward, leaving the crumbled ruins of the three soldiers behind them, reinforcing him in his fight. One of the soldiers suddenly cracked in the chest, and there was a wild shout, as King Adelaide punched clean through the soldier's back, and ripped her arm out through the neck. Madelyn leapt from the side where she had been throwing daggers, flying onto the back of one of the soldiers, pulling it's head backwards. Trace lashed out, catching it in the chest with his blade, and pushing forward. A dozen pikes suddenly rushed forward, chipping, slicing, and finally cracking the hardened clay shell, breaking the soldier under an assault of deadly blows. Behind him, Keiren swung his sword so hard he shattered the pike of the last soldier there, before following up with a second, equally strong blow across the Sentinel's chest, causing it to crumble to ruins.

Panting, the garden fell to silence. "Zen!" Natani shouted, rushing over to where Richard was struggling to pull pieces off of him. King Adelaide walked over, and with ease lifted the heaviest pieces off, revealing a pool of blood under him, where his shoulder bled. "Zen…"

Keith pressed his ear against Zen's chest, and sighed. "He's alive, though I don't know how."

"What were those things?" Richard asked, leaning back, holding his left arm. Trace and Flora looked around, their eyes wide.

"They're… they're Sentinels!" Keith said, sitting up and suddenly realizing where he had seen them before. "Barret told us about them! We fought one! It's from Mount Tanji!"

"What are they doing here?" Trace asked, leaning down next to Natani, who clutched Zen in her arms. He was bleeding very, very badly, and a piece of the pike was lodged into the shoulder, apparently having broken during the fight.

"I don't know, but what concerns me most is who they chased after." Keiren said, still holding his sword and shield.

"They looked at me again. Why do they want me?" Flora cried, tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't know." Trace walked over to her, pulling her close. "But they won't hurt you, I promise."

"Mount Tanji is a three week walk from here." Eric said, coming out from behind the Basitin phalanx, who was still at the ready. "I've read about them before, but never have seen them, or heard any records of them moving in coordinated attacks like this. There are records of lone soldiers of stone wandering around, everywhere from the eastern shores to the northern wastes, and even on the far side of Valinos, but this? This is concerning."

"May I recommend we take this inside?" King Adelaide said, scowling at the still glowing gem that lay at her feet. "It would be safer for everyone."