Markus had his head in his hands. “Eighty dead.” That was the sum total of casualties when Kairos counted all the funerals requested by the five gangs. The Burning Steel gang, with the best equipment in town, suffered only eight losses. The Secret Waves and the Circling Ravens suffered much worse, each losing two dozen. Either of their losses were as much as the Cruel Rose’s and Blood Claw’s combined. “It could have been worse.” Max mentioned. “At least our trainees survived. They might have lost a few limbs, but they’re all alive.” “They’re saying it’s our fault.” Markus said grimly. “Since I was the coordinator.” “Hey, I remember you giving orders. The only ones who followed them were us, the Legion. Everybody else didn’t, and the Wilds broke through their stations, not ours.” Remian groaned and shifted on the bed. They were sitting at his bedside, in one of the rooms of the Open Frontier Inn. For lack of a better place to be, the Iron Legion had ended up staying the night at

“Mindy…!” Mandy gasped. “No… this…” “It’s fine. I’ll take full responsibility for it.” Remian told her, stepping forward. He crouched down and put both arms around Mindy. He hugged her tightly. “Let go, Mindy. Let it go.” “Isabelle… Jamie… Siti… Juni… Loh… Karen…” Mindy didn’t let go of the knife. She shivered uncontrollably. “Gary… Tamera… everyone… everyone…!” “Let go.” Remian pulled at her hands, trying to wrest them from the knife. Then, Mindy froze. Her shaking stopped. She stared at her hands, at the knife. “I… I killed…” “Let go.” Remian tugged her away. Her hands were still stuck on the knife; the knife came away from the body; Simmons’ corpse tilted over and collapsed in a heap on the floor. “I killed him…!” Mindy whispered, her voice suddenly turning to horror. She dropped the knife. “I killed him!” “No! He’s still alive!” George was there suddenly. He grabbed the knife, and stabbed it into Simmons’ body viciously. “T

It began with fire. Cruel Rose was enjoying herself at the time. Her closest enemies were destroyed. The north side was hers, at last. Madam Sara, the leader of the Ravens was bound to a pillar in the middle of the dining hall, gagged with both legs broken. Wrapped around her broken legs was the dead body of the Ravens’ Slayer, Donny. Unable to fight, unable to flee, unable even to curse, taunted by Rose and her lieutenants on every side, all Madam Sara could do was glare at them through reddened eyes. But all of a sudden, shouts interrupted the revelry. “Fire! We’re on fire!!” Who dared disturb the festivities?! The boss and her top lackeys were in the middle of celebrating the destruction of the Circling Ravens and the complete domination of the north side! A man burst in. “Boss! We’re on fire!” “Did someone mess around with the book again?!” Rose demanded crossly, irked at being disturbed in her moment of gloat-worthy triumph. “Where is it?

Carrie arrived with no less than twenty wolfcats; eight Tier 3 adults, five Tier 2 half-grown wolfcats, and seven Tier 1 cubs. To be clear, these wolfcats were not joining the Guild; they were willing to dig and guard in exchange for cooked food, but they were not willing to join forces with humans or help defend the town when the Beast Wave came. They were there to watch Carrie or something. Remian wasn’t too clear on that, and Carrie didn’t elaborate, but basically they would be willing to work for her, but not for him. Also, they wanted a territory where they could live in peace. “Fine! We’ll take whatever we can get.” Remian looked about. “Maybe we can build them some kennels or something on George’s Farm.” [Or we can hunt the nearby Chief Blood Rabbit and take his burrow.] Carrie added. “Or that.” Remian agreed. “That sounds like a better idea. I’m actually quite impressed that so many of them are willing to follow you. I thought Wilds hated humans in ge

“Legionnaires!” Markus barked at the assembled trainees the next day after a morning of training and a quick lunch. “The Adventurers Guild say they are going to build a size 4 Evemont Guard Tower to Phase 2 by the next Beast Wave! What does that tell you?” Twenty trainees, a quartermaster, a drill sergeant and a new agent all stood there in assembly without saying a word. A few of them exchanged puzzled glances. What was that supposed to tell them? “It tells me that they don’t believe in us! They don’t believe that the Legion can protect the town on our own, and that we will not be able to keep them safe!” Markus roared. Again, the exchange of glances. It was obvious that the Legion really couldn’t… “Well, I say we prove them wrong!” Markus exclaimed. “I say we challenge them stroke for stroke! They want to build a Guard Tower? We will build one too! We’ll match them size for size… and we’ll do it better!” Fortifications! Everyone lit up. Now