Shadows at the Gate

The keep's main hall felt colder than usual. The heavy stone walls, still scarred from old attacks, seemed to close in as Talon, Garrett, Janzo, Tony, and the Vanguard leaders gathered around the long wooden table. A single oil lamp flickered in the center, its light making their shadows twist and merge on the walls like restless ghosts.

The mysterious leader from the Vanguard removed his gloves slowly, eyes sweeping across every face. When his gaze settled on Talon, it felt like a blade being drawn.

"I am Jax," he said simply, his voice deep and deliberate. "We don't come as conquerors. We come as allies, or at least… as partners in survival."

Garrett's arms were crossed, every muscle in his jaw tight. "Allies? Or scavengers looking for shelter after stirring up the hornet's nest?"

Jax's lip curled slightly, but he stayed composed. "We held our ground longer than any other settlement in the east. But Kael's army crushed everything. We lost hundreds. Now, if we fall here, he'll march straight through these lands next."

Janzo shifted from foot to foot, clutching a small vial as if it might protect him. "How do we know you aren't just running to save your own hides — and bringing death right to our doorstep?"

Jax turned to Janzo, studying him curiously. "Because if we were only running, we wouldn't have come with a plan," he said. He reached into his cloak and spread a crude but detailed map across the table.

Talon leaned forward, her eyes scanning the lines and notations. Red marks crisscrossed valleys and mountain passes; arrows pointed to choke points and hidden supply lines.

Tony whistled low. "You've been watching him this closely?"

Jax nodded once. "Kael is methodical. He cuts supply lines, poisons water sources, surrounds before striking. But he's not invincible. He's fast, but he's reckless. If we combine forces, we can lure him into a trap."

Garrett snorted. "A trap? You want us to gamble what little we have left on a single strike?"

Talon raised a hand, silencing them. "Let him finish."

Jax met her eyes, and for a heartbeat, something almost like respect flashed there. "We set bait — a caravan, loaded with what he wants most: supplies, weapons, captives he can parade as trophies. We lure him into the forest east of here. Ambush him from both sides. If it fails… we lose everything. But if it works, we cut his force in half."

Janzo's face paled. "You're mad… or brilliant. Maybe both."

Tony leaned over the map, his brow furrowed. "How many people would you need? Who would lead the bait group?"

Jax's gaze shifted to Tony, eyes narrowing. "Someone fast, clever, and reckless enough to draw Kael's attention. Someone like you."

Tony recoiled, nearly tipping over the lamp. "Me?! Stars above, I just started healing from the last fight!"

A thin smile tugged at Jax's mouth. "Exactly. You're unpredictable. He'll focus on you rather than suspecting a trap."

Silence swallowed the room.

Garrett looked to Talon, his expression taut. "This is suicide, Talon. You know it."

Talon didn't answer right away. She stared at the flickering flame, her thoughts moving like storm clouds. Finally, she spoke, voice low but certain. "If we do nothing, we die slower. If we try, at least we choose how we face our end — or our beginning."

Tony wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "I suppose I didn't like sleeping peacefully anyway…"

Janzo gave a strangled laugh, half in fear, half in resigned amusement. "That's it, then? We're really doing this?"

Garrett shook his head but placed a hand on Talon's arm. "If you lead, I'll follow."

She met his eyes, the weight of old wounds and shared fires between them. Then she turned to Jax, squaring her shoulders. "We'll join you. But understand this: betray us even once, and there won't be a place in these lands far enough for you to hide."

Jax inclined his head, the faintest flicker of approval lighting his cold gaze. "Understood."

Outside, the wind howled against the walls like a distant battle cry. The Outpost's fate now hinged on a plan so fragile it felt like glass — a single slip, and everything would shatter.

Talon reached for her sword, gripping it tight.

"Prepare everyone," she ordered. "We move at dawn."

As Jax began explaining finer details to Garrett and Janzo, Tony slumped into a chair, eyes wide and haunted.

Somewhere deep in the yard, the first torches were lit, casting long lines of light like veins of fire.

Above them, the stars blinked in and out behind drifting clouds, as though they too held their breath for the battle to come.

Outside, the first horns sounded in the courtyard as guards hurried to prepare. Blades were sharpened, arrows counted, horses saddled in hushed urgency.

Talon gripped the edge of the table, staring at the map as if she could see the future traced in its lines.

Jax leaned closer, voice dropping to a low growl. "There's one more thing you need to know before we move."

Talon's eyes snapped up, her fingers curling tighter.

Garrett and Janzo paused mid-conversation, and Tony looked up from where he sat, pale and tense.

Jax's gaze swept across them all, and his lips twitched into something between a smirk and a warning.

"Kael… he isn't coming alone," Jax said, his tone chilling. "He rides with someone none of you have faced before. A warlock from the northern wastes. Someone who bends shadows themselves to his will."

The room went deathly still.Talon felt her stomach twist, a dark weight sinking into her spine.Jax leaned back, voice almost a whisper now.

"If we fail… he won't just destroy this place. He'll erase it from memory."

A cold gust slipped through the cracks in the wall, snuffing out the lamp with a sharp hiss.

The room plunged into darkness.

And in that black silence, only one thought echoed in every mind:

Tomorrow would not just be a battle.

It would be the reckoning.