100 A Required Help.

"Do you want something with your tea? Maybe something from the Synnada Empire?" Two men were facing each other in a room lighted only by a dim light. If one didn't know where they were, they could think that they were inside the City Hall. This very room was not any less prestigious or sumptuous than the place where the council was held.The walls were well decorated, for the paintings that were displayed, even the Mayor could either recognize their creators or their provenance. But unfortunately, he was not her to appreciate art or how good was the tea.

"I have made a transaction with one of your men, but even when I uphold my part of the deal, he didn't. Concerning the current threat against my city, Archet, I wanted information, precise information. He didn't even manage to give me a third of the real number that the undead army had. I want something in compensation."

Even while he was saying such harsh words, the voice of the Mayor was calm, not even with an ounce of anger. Knowing that he was dealing with something far more dangerous than himself, he could only complain. And because the reputation of the White Hand was to always honor their engagements, he could also try to gain something that could protect even a tiny bit Archet. He had already lost too much time just to end up in this room, and even his impassive mask was beginning to crumble under the worry behind it.

"Oh, I heard about it. But you know that there is rarely a good end for those that oppose us." The white-haired man in front of the Mayor was neither quick or slow while picking up his own cup of tea. He was only appreciating the brewage while making the other party have to endure patiently without saying any other words. Even if it seemed that they were only two, only a fool will believe that no one was securing the outskirts.

The shadows of the Black Gauntlet were in charge of protecting all the higher-ups of the Organization, and even the Mayor knew that the elder was not just a nobody. It was not his usual contact, and the first time he ever saw him, but the security was pretty tight around him. He knew that he had been asleep for four hours, making it impossible for him to deduce where he was exactly inside Archet. His clothes were replaced, substitute by something workers inside the City Hall would wear. It wouldn't surprise the Mayor if he was touched everywhere while asleep, to make sure nothing could threaten the white-haired cadre.

"Did you talk about us with the two newly arrived adventurers?" An innocent question, that required an honest answer. Leaving the other interlocutor slightly baffled, since only 3 people should know about that, otherwise he wouldn't have the courage to speak so freely.

"Yes, they are an important part of the defenses. They are currently the strongest group of adventurers, based on the saying of the Guild Master. To deepen the bond between Archet and them, I tried to be a bit friendlier." The Mayor couldn't just say that because the criminals had let him down and lied to his very face, he decided to repay that. Or at least, he couldn't say that to the man in front of him.

"Good reason, wrong cause. But you were honest, so I will overlook that slight discrepancy in your tale. Human emotions could make even a saint fall into darkness. But the White Hand has already decided that Archet was an important asset for the future. The city will not fall under our watch. You can go now; your question has been answered."

Lifting with his left hand the cup of tea, he finished drinking it elegantly, like someone that knew the etiquettes of the nobility. The second cup was completely untouched, however, making the entire ordeal unsightly. Frowning seeing this, the old man could only look at the Mayor, signaling him that it was time for him to leave.

Looking at the door that was opening on nothing and the two silhouettes that were appearing nearby, the leader of Archet could only feel his back sweating. He had lost so many hours, only to be dismissed barely after a few minutes. And he only had a vague answer, not even a precise one, or when the help will arrive. But that was way above his current power, so he only bowed to the man in charge, before falling into a deep slumber.He was totally unharmed during the entire process, but he will not be able to wake up before the sun will be rising in the sky.

Looking at the dead weight that was carried away, the cadre of the White Hand discretely switched the two cups and enjoyed more the tea. Of course, that was seen by everyone around, since they were all experts, but everyone pretended that they saw nothing. It had already been three days since he arrived inside Archet, and everything he heard was pretty bad. Even the communication from his colleague on the other side of the mountains reported more and more problems with that wild zone.

He was sent here to find about the disappearance of the team supposed to meet the trolls and also to decided what to do with the two strangers. Only a few were above him inside the entire Organization, and the fact that he was here proved that everyone took the new threat seriously. Reports of the arrival of Dark Gods were flooding inside the Massalia Kingdom, especially after the incident at their Academy of Magic.

Even without them selling the news to the other nations, they had already realized something wrong, only not knowing the exact nature of it. They had enjoyed a global peace for far too long, and the usual skirmishes between the human nations were already creating a few issues for the criminal empire. They were extremely reluctant to face something as terrible as monsters that could threaten nations by themselves. All they could pinpoint was that this city and Ronta inside the Massalia Kingdom were the two closest towns to the potential base of those dark invaders.

"How much time before they arrived?" A shadow approached the old man and began to murmur a few sentences in his ears, making him nod his head a bit. "They will only have to survive to dawn then. However, those ghouls, did they strike again?" The same shadow only moved his fingers a bit, but the message was sent. Only the elder could see it, part of the code that was enforced inside the Organization. Between those that know, and those that shouldn't know.

"This will be an issue then. Exterminate them, make the liches expand their mana but just enough to make the line stand. Let the proud and honorable knights gain all the merits once more, hehe." The small laugh in the end was his true sentiments about the one they asked for help. Not that he felt they were neither honorable or proud, just that they were always in the open while he stayed in the dark.

By the end of his orders, the shadow that was previously kneeling immediately left and exited the underground maze that was leading to the exquisite room. Arriving at a specific location that was also hidden, he saw three ratmen and a man playing cards while waiting. Not taking another step forward, the shadow only looked above, to see a female elf pointing at him with a bow. She was behind a fake wooden wall, only letting the very tip of the arrow visible. If someone tried to barge in, he would automatically be shot, and none of those that were supposedly playing cards were truly relaxed.

"You have disappointed the Hand of Avenio. Five vermin incapable of even gathering basic information. Even someone as weak as the mayor of this city dares to slander us because of you. You have a rare chance of making up for your past mistakes. Kill the ghouls, injure the liches. Don't come back until you have finished."

None of the hardened killers dared to even retort something. When they heard who was in charge, the only thing that went through their minds was that they were quite lucky. The four that were responsible for the collect of information still didn't understand when did the army suddenly gained so many additional skeletons. But after checking once more on the undead, they couldn't help but acknowledge the fact that they were deeply wrong.

If it had been someone from the Black Gauntlet, it wouldn't have ended with everyone getting a free pass. At least one would have been executed for such incompetency. But because they wouldn't change anything about their future, they could only wait until the judgment was pronounced. Looking at the dark silhouette fading in the opening, they finally breathed normally. The tense atmosphere was lifted and everyone began their preparations for the incoming battle.

"Kreek, those ghouls were normal or did you notice something out of the ordinary?" The only female asked one of the ratman about their targets. He was the most experienced of the fives, especially since he was often sent in the South, inside the fallen Kingdom of Pankow.

"Su-superior ones. No ssstiff movements, agile and ni-nimble. We need to ssstrike hard, in a re-real fight, we will mossst likely loose." The weird speech of the ratman didn't prevent everyone to clearly heard everything.Even if they were trained as assassins, it wasn't to the point where they were defenseless in the open. Against armored targets or skilled fighters, they were obviously at a disadvantage, but a local guard wouldn't be able to even inflict a single injury on them.

"Like we always do, like we always do." The man could have been recognized, if the Mayor was present since he was the only one that could be contacted inside Archet. While gathering their weapons and equipment, they could only let nearly half of them on the ground. Various poisoned darts and other smoke pouches were rendered useless by the nature of their enemy. It will only slow them down if they picked it up.

Unfortunately for Seron, he had no idea that help was coming. And he was slowly beginning to lose confidence about being able to defend Archet. The numerous assaults of the ghouls were creating more and more issues, and he couldn't prevent it. They had free reign on where and when they will strike, and on the few times where they faced a strong team of adventurers, the undead only retreated inside the sea of skeletons. It was also at this moment that they noticed the same adventurers falling sick, poisoned by something on the claws of the ghouls.

This was not deadly but forced them to retreat to heal themselves. Without those strong group to help relieve the pressure on the guards, many points on the frontline were on the brink of breaking. The only good news was the fact that both Meridiana and Davion were single-handedly saving the northern part of the city, allowing him to take many men from that place to support the rest. Looking above at the nearly imperceptible moon shrouded by clouds, he could only keep fighting while hearing the reports of casualties growing bigger and bigger.

Even at that time, he still hadn't seen a single trace of any of the two liches. Fighting undead armies were the most frustrating thing for any human commanders. As for the fact that the Mayor promised him reinforcements, he had totally forgotten about it. It had already been more than six hours since the beginning, and dawn was still a few hours away. While thinking this, he began to hear the shouts of those surrounding him.

"Ghouls! STAY IN FORMATION!"

"We're getting overrun!"

"HELP! HELP!"

"By Oslo, will someone stop those monsters!" While praying internally all the gods he knew, Seron began to charge toward the disorganized frontline, hoping to reduce the number of death even just by one.