The tunnel was narrow and dark, smelling of damp earth and crushed stone. Reidar leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Running wasn't exactly his forte, and his summons weren't there since he had used them to stall the monsters.

Lena and Lysa left. They were the fastest there, and the sneakiest, so roaming around with just them was viable. Jorik and Torren were too large, bulky and heavy to do that.

Reidar turned, only for him to see the two women already missing.

"Lena and Lysa went ahead to scout," Torren grunted without turning around. "Let's rest, shall we?"

Everyone nodded and were soon taken by myriads of thoughts. For Reidar, they were about the situation in Havenwood. Two days passed since he got to the city. He stayed there just one day to rest and left the following one to do the quest. He promised to help in a week's time, but that didn't mean he had to waste it.

The group had entered the quarry that morning, and it was already dark outside.

<This quest is far harder than I thought.>

Of course, Reidar kept silent and didn't use his ace up his sleeve. He didn't want the others to know about it. If he'd used it, he could've cleared everything easily, but as things stood, he realized it wasn't good to show it.

There was a reason he agreed to Lena, Torren and Lysa coming on the quest with him. It wasn't that he feared not being enough, but that this would be a great chance to get some information.

Lena and the others were the ones who were taking care of the settlement creator token's quest, and they were also the strongest inside the settlement.

<They know something more than the others do, and that Martin is willing to share.>

Reidar didn't forget the reason he had come here. It was true that he got asked for a favor from Martin, but things were too weird, and the more he saw Lena and the others fight, and the more the thought solidified.

While he found an explanation for one of his questions — the one about the summoners, which was Morv'axil's fault — there were still others he wanted to learn. For example, why were the monsters attacking Havenwood?

Why was Martin so desperate for his help? Why were Lena and the others so strong? Why didn't they got the token already, and why did they come here with him?

There might have been multiple explanations for these two, but Reidar didn't think it was because they were taking the settlement token's quest. With their strength, which he saw quite a lot during these days, he was sure only quests dealing with level 60 monsters could stop them.

So why?

"Why?" Reidar finally asked. "Why are the monsters attacking Havenwood?" He paused. "It's not just random. That many monsters, working together like that… it feels like a siege to me, and I only saw this once. Anyone could've figured that out in the same time I used, and I'm certainly not stupid. Just tell me what's going on."

Jorik and Torren exchanged a quick glance. Reidar noticed they were reluctant to speak.

"It's a dangerous world," Jorik said. "Monsters are drawn to places where other creatures are, and it just so happen humans are creatures too. It's natural."

Torren nodded. "Yeah, based on what we understood of the monsters. You know, one can never be sure."

"No," Reidar said, his voice flat and slightly annoyed. He leaned forward. "That wasn't natural. You know it." His eyes narrowed, moving between the two men. "I saw it on the faces of everyone back at the wall." He paused.

"Does it have something to do with other people? Other humans?"

The two men fell silent again. Torren shifted his weight. Jorik let out a long, resigned sigh, the sound of a man letting go of a heavy burden.

In truth, while they were reluctant to talk, it was also true that Torren and Jorik had fought with Reidar quite a lot during this and the past day.

Only two days passed, that was true, but there was hardly something stronger than trust built on a battlefield. So they felt they could trust Reidar. Besides, if he knew, he might be able to help more, and they knew how much they needed help.

"We're not sure…" Jorik said. "Not about whom specifically. But yes. It's humans leading them. Pushing them toward us."

<Ah… shit… I knew I had to leave…>

Things already started. The war between humans. Somehow, Reidar expected it. The confirmation, though, gave him something else to think.

"And the quests?" Reidar said. "Martin sending you out for the Settlement Token… was that even real? Or was it just a cover to get you all strong enough to fight this… whoever they are?"

Torren turned his head slightly. "He did send us for the token, but we couldn't complete them all."

That explained why the quest wasn't complete yet.

Reidar absorbed the information, the pieces clicking into place. All of this explained why Lena and the others were so strong. It was true they were sent to do hard quests, and likely got resources from the others, but the reason was that they were being powered up and sent to fight these people, not just to get the token.

"Do you have any idea who it is?" Reidar asked, his voice tight. "Who has that kind of power?"

Torren's massive shoulders lifted in a shrug. "They don't wear uniforms. They hit, then vanish. They use the monsters as weapons, herding them toward us."

"We've seen them a few times," Jorik added. "From a distance. They never engage directly. Just… direct the horde and disappear. Martin thinks they're scouts for a larger group. Someone who wants the dam, or just wants us gone."

"And Lena wasn't able to follow them?"

"No." He paused. "She tried, but it was all futile."

<What the fuck?> Lena was fast. Her not being able to trail these guys was weird.

"And the quarry?" Reidar asked. "Is the stone even for the wall? Or is this another one of Martin's training exercises?"

Jorik looked away, but Torren met Reidar's gaze, his own surprisingly direct. "The stone is real. We need it. But I would be lying if I said that Martin didn't choose this quest because he knew what was here, and what completing this quest did." He paused.

"This is one of the quests to get the settlement creator token. One of those we failed to complete."

<That makes sense. Martin sent these guys with me to make sure that, this time, the quest would be completed for good. A second reason would have been he wanted to know how strong I am.>

"And I presume it was also to see if I was one of these guys?" Reidar said, which prompted a nod from Jorik.

"You can't blame him, though… right?"

"But what if I really am one of them?"

Jorik's eyes then went cold.

"Well… you know…"

<I was right not to do that…> Reidar's ace. His trait. He never used it in front of these people, but if he did, he wouldn't just have 29 monsters with him, but an army.

"Luckily I'm not…" Reidar said.

"You aren't," Jorik said, his voice flat and cold. His usual warmth was gone; his broad face went still and hard, eyes narrowing as they fixed on Reidar.

The humor that usually lit his expression had vanished, replaced by a grim line. He looked like a man who'd seen too much betrayal and was ready for more. His enormous frame tensed up, and the surrounding air suddenly felt heavy.

Reidar sighed.

"Regardless, do you have any idea who they might be?"

"The Church of Unbinding," Torren said, the name dripping with contempt. "Caleb's lot, and others like him."

"Caleb's? Why would one of your citizens do something like this?"

"We don't know. That was what we were trying to find out." He paused. "You know, religion… It can make people do crazy stuff."

"They are not likely alone in this."

"Yeah… I figured. Someone so strong as to be able to hear the monsters? It's just impossible for the average survivor. Someone is pulling the strings."

"What's worse," Jorik said. "Is that this person is not just some fanatic with a grudge. The monsters… they aren't stupid. They avoid danger, and Havenwood represents a big one."

"But this one... Whoever is behind this… He is not just strong enough to fight them," Jorik said, his voice dropping to a low tone.

"He's powerful enough to make the monsters flee in terror, to turn their primal instincts against them and drive them like cattle toward a single destination."

His expression remained rigid and somber; the simple gleam in his eyes vanished. Havenwood was the destination he was talking about.

Torren nodded. "That's our theory, at least, but its nothing we are sure about."

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