"My Lord! Come quickly! Someone's here to see you!"
Rain and the others were taken aback by the sudden call.
"Who is it?" Rain asked the messenger.
The messenger was trembling, looking as if he had seen a ghost. "My lord, I think you should come see for yourself."
Rain, Chi, Hana, and Druger hurried outside to investigate the unexpected visitors.
At the gates, the Hobgoblin soldiers were struggling to maintain order as the villagers clamored around the newcomers. From a distance, Rain spotted a tall figure with green skin. She looked familiar.
"Isn't that . . ." Rain muttered as he rushed to the entrance, the crowd parting to make way for him.
Standing at the gates, Rain's suspicions were confirmed. "General Helliana!" he exclaimed in surprise.
General Helliana wasn't clad in her usual armor, and Rain breathed a sigh of relief. He had feared that the Orc General might come to wage war. But that would be a bad idea especially since they had just recovered from the last conflict.
"Rain, I'm glad to see you're doing well," Helliana greeted, her sharp gaze fixed on the Hobgoblin soldiers nearby.
The Hobgoblins eyed the Orc General warily, and Rain knew it would take years for the two races to forget their enmity, if they would forget at all.
"Wait . . . what are you doing here?" Rain asked, puzzled. "Shouldn't you be busy with matters back at your clan? And how did you arrive here so fast?"
Ever since they had saved her, Helliana had been their ally. They had even rested at her clan village before heading back home.
Helliana explained, "As for how I arrived so quickly, we rode the Cockatrice."
Only then did Rain notice the leash in Helliana's hand, connected to a large, ostrich-like creature. Its feathers were brown, and it had big eyes and a sharp beak. Its long, thick legs were armored, and a saddle was strapped to its back.
The creature was massive, towering over the humans, and it appeared to be a formidable mode of transportation in wasteland.
"It's true, I'm overwhelmed with responsibilities now that my father is gone, and with the death of our clan's protective pillars," Helliana said, her voice heavy with concern. "I wish I wasn't here delivering such dire news, especially after everything we've just endured. But there's an even more urgent crisis unfolding that we can't ignore."
Rain felt a knot of unease form in his stomach at the seriousness in Helliana's expression. "C-crisis?"
Instead of answering, Helliana stepped aside, revealing a figure cloaked in dark robes.
"This is Santi," Helliana introduced.
The figure named Santi lowered her hood, and whispers rippled through the crowd as her appearance was unveiled.
Rain's eyes widened; it was the first time he had ever seen an elf with dark skin, white hair, and amber eyes. She was undoubtedly beautiful, but her face remained emotionless, like a porcelain doll.
"Some of them escaped and sought refuge into our home. Of course, given our long-standing friendship with the Gnomes as they supplied us with minerals and ores, we agreed to help them.
"However, this dark entity is so powerful that he has taken our elders."
"This dark entity . . . what is he?" Rain asked.
Santi was silent for a moment before she answered gravely. "His name is Gorm the Obliterator. He was sealed underground, and the Gnomes accidentally released him. He came from the underworld, and he's so powerful that he commands his own minions."
"Gorm . . ." Hana muttered.
". . . the Obliterator," Rain finished with a worried face.
Druger then interjected. "Sorry, but . . . if I may, are you here to ask for our help?"
Santi looked over at Helliana first, and the latter said, "I know that this isn't your fight. I don't want to bother you either since we just came from a war. However . . ."
"However . . . ?" Rain urged.
Santi continued, "We've discovered that Gorm's true intention is to open a gateway to the underworld by sacrificing our elders. Our leaders hold immense magical power, and if he succeeds, chaos will spill into the Spirit Realm, threatening not just our lands, but yours as well. No place will be safe.
"This isn't about your race or mine anymore. This is about stopping Gorm and preventing the abomination he intends to unleash."
Rain was silent. He had just come from a war and thought everything would be alright now that the Hobgoblin threat had been purged. But now, here was another threat in the form of a demonic entity, and this might mean another war. It meant that he had to march his troops into the Dust Plains, which could result in more of his soldiers dying.
"I understand your hesitation," Santi said. "But I believe you don't have a choice in the matter. Everyone in the Barren Wasteland is in danger if we don't stop Gorm."
Silence hung in the air, thick and heavy.
"I understand," Rain finally broke the silence. "But I can't decide this by myself. Can you wait for my decision? I need to inform and discuss this with the others."
Druger nodded, while Hana's dread grew. It meant that Rain and the others might march to battle again if they decided to help. Chi, on the other hand, remained silent, her thoughts unreadable.
"You can stay here for the time being," Rain said, forcing a smile. "Everything is still in chaos at the moment, so please excuse the dust, debris, and noise."
Santi shook her head. "It's fine. I hope you make a decision soon. Sorry, but every moment counts. We don't know when Gorm will complete his ritual and sacrifice our elders. We have to stop him as soon as possible before he could complete his ritual."
Rain nodded. "Got it."
As Santi and Helliana settled in, Rain gathered his core for a private discussion. The weight of their situation pressed on him, but he knew they needed to act quickly and wisely.
According to Santi, Gorm was currently regaining his strength after centuries of slumber, slowly but surely opening up the underground.
The process was lengthy, but she was certain that with each passing day, Gorm's magic and power grew stronger. This meant he could accelerate the ritual at any moment.
Time was of the essence.