Sterling watched his mother fight off hordes of monsters all alone. Her usual happy demeanor had been replaced with a new seriousness he hadn't seen since Dad had died. Several villagers watched, transfixed, as she skillfully dispatched slimes, skeletons, and all the terrors from the mines. Maple had wandered over to Abigail, still visibly shaken.
"Look out!" Mom's voice rang out, shaking Sterling from his state of casual observation. He quickly jumped to avid an attack from a void spirit. Sterling turned to see Alex, brandishing a baseball bat at a dust sprite. Abigail, with Maple on her back, was wielding a sword against a ghost. Penny squashed a bug into the pavement with her frying pan. Haley was holding a curling iron threateningly at a rock crab. The townspeople were helping in the fight. Even George was tossing food from the tables at the onslaught. Sterling looked around for something to use to help. He came up short. Then he heard a new voice, this one sounding masculine and grizzled, although a bit nervous.
"Everyone take a weapon! This is a crisis!" Marlon began tossing things to the people. A sword with a cat face for a handle fell down near Sterling. He grabbed it and swung it at a slime. It was heavy and required both hands, but it was very effective. Suddenly he saw Maple, backed into a corner by a skeleton. He ran towards the monster, brandishing his cat sword. But he was too late. The skeleton swiped at Maple, and she fell to the ground. Suddenly, a void spirit emerged from the sewers. Sterling wasn't afraid. He had met this one before. They were another friend of his mother. Still, this startled him into dropping his sword. He scrambled to pick it back up.
"Krobus! What are you doing here?" he said.
"There was a ruckus outside and I thought I'd- WHAT IN THE NAME OF YOBA IS GOING ON?!" Krobus took in the scene before him and retreated back into the depths a bit.
"A witch appeared and killed the wizard and monsters came out of the mines and started fighting everyone." Sterling explained.
"Oh, I see Skellord got a hit in on your sister. It'll leave a scar, but she should be fine." Krobus popped out of the sewers and grabbed Maple, who was lying on the ground, unconscious. "Almost all beings classified under the genus Muenstero can't tolerate light in the slightest. So they should all retreat back to the mines when morning comes."
"I don't know if we'll make it to the morning. Look!" Sterling gestured back to the battle. The people were losing badly. A golem had grabbed Haley's iron and snapped it in half. Alex's bat was on fire. Abigail's sword had been knocked from her hand, and she was surrounded on all sides. And Mom was on the ground, badly bruised and bleeding, and completely surrounded on all sides by shadow brutes and shamans. The witch suddenly flew down from her closed circle in the sky, seemingly intent on finishing the job. She dismounted from her broom and held up a wand, which turned into a dagger.
"Goodnight, forest child!" the witch said with a cackle. And then she stabbed Starla, heir to Snowyfox Farm, right through the heart.
"NOOOOOOOO!"