Victor shot up from his seat. “Come on, let’s take a look outside.” Duncan nodded. Without a word, he tossed a few coins to the bartender and then grabbed Victor by the scuff of his cloak. Together they made their way to the entrance. They were barely fifteen feet from it when it burst open and in came a Fildebrand soldier. The man’s helmet had been ripped apart despite being made from pure steel and blood had splattered all over the soldier’s chest plate. “Run! Everybody run!” the soldier screamed. He barely got to say another word when a reptilian beast snatched him in its jaws and ripped his torso apart. The beast was at least eight feet tall when on all four limbs and stood even taller when on its hind legs. Its tail was another five feet in length and its claws looked sharp enough to tear through metal. The beast snarled at the people inside the tavern and then leaped inside. It pounced on an old man right a few feet away from Duncan and started ripping into the man’s guts.

“Victor!” Duncan shouted. Tears began to well in his eyes and he could feel the anger rushing in his chest and cheeks. His whole body warmed up as he felt nothing but rage boil inside him. He then looked up and realized he was just a few feet away from the ogre’s eye. “You’re mine,” Duncan whispered as he climbed up to stand atop his sword. He then reached up and grabbed onto the ogre’s eyelid. The monster retaliated, again attempting to swipe him down. Before the giant hand could strike, Duncan slashed again with his sword and tore through the ogre’s exposed eye. Water and blood exploded all over him and then he felt a heavy impact. The hand had struck and Duncan was thrown down. Fortunately, he crashed into a small cluster of trees that broke his fall. As he landed on the dirt, he felt a few broken ribs and a sprain in his left ankle. He then turned to look for Valerie. “There’s… there’s nothing more for me to do. I can’t move. It’s all up to you now, sister.” Valerie, who st