A vilge runner found them shortly after breakfast, his young face serious despite his obvious excitement at the assignment.

  "Elder Thorne requests your presence at the Great Stump immediately," he announced, slightly out of breath. "Said it's urgent."

  Alexander exchanged gnces with his team. They'd been steadily building reputation through resource management and their ethical approach to quota fulfillment. Something had changed.

  "Let's not keep him waiting," Alexander said, gathering his gear out of habit. In the Game, being unprepared was never wise.

  The vilge center buzzed with unusual activity when they arrived. Farmers from the outer fields had gathered, their worried conversations creating a background hum of anxiety. Elder Thorne stood at the base of the massive tree stump, deep in discussion with other vilge leaders.

  He straightened as the team approached, bark-like features settling into a grave expression.

  "Your timing is fortunate," he said without preamble. "The seasonal migration has begun earlier than predicted."

  "Migration?" Alexander prompted.

  Elder Thorne gestured toward the eastern horizon. "Every season, predator packs move through our territory following prey herds. Normally we have another week to prepare defenses."

  "What kind of predators?" Riva asked, immediately assessing tactical implications.

  "Shadow stalkers," Elder Thorne replied. "Panther-like creatures with near-perfect camoufge. They hunt in coordinated groups, primarily at dusk and dawn."

  Alexander had encountered smaller variants on lower floors, but Floor 3's versions would be more dangerous. "You're requesting our assistance," he stated rather than asked.

  Elder Thorne nodded. "The outer farmnds are vulnerable. We need experienced combat units to supplement our hunters. In exchange..." He paused, measuring his next words. "Information about what awaits beyond our vilge. The guardian that blocks passage to Floor 4."

  Alexander's interface pinged with a formal quest notification: [QUEST: MEADOW'S DEFENDERS] [Protect Vilge Center farmnds from shadow stalker migration] [Reward: Guardian information + Vilge Center reputation + Special equipment] [Accept/Decline]

  "Show me the farmnds and current defenses," Alexander said, accepting the quest without hesitation. Guardian information was invaluable—floor transitions were where most pyers died.

  An hour ter, the team stood at the eastern edge of Vilge Center's farmnds. Neat rows of crops stretched across gently rolling hills, with scattered workers hurriedly harvesting what they could before the predators arrived.

  "Three main approach routes," Alexander noted, surveying the terrain. "The shadow stalkers will take paths of least resistance—these low valleys between fields."

  He turned to his team. "Elijah, set up a treatment area here," he indicated a small outbuilding near the central fields. "Farmers caught in the initial wave will need immediate attention. Riva, deploy perimeter alerts along these three approaches. Valeria, coordinate with vilge hunters to establish fallback positions."

  The vilge defenders watched with interest as the team implemented a defense strategy more sophisticated than the usual brute-force approaches most pyers favored.

  "They'll attack in waves," Alexander expined to the gathered hunters. "First wave is scouts—smaller numbers testing defenses. We allow them limited penetration to reveal their patterns, then counter-attack decisively."

  Elder Thorne nodded approval. "Most pyers would simply form a line and attack whatever approaches."

  "Inefficient against pack hunters," Alexander replied. "Better to understand their coordination before committing resources."

  By mid-afternoon, with defenses established and farmers evacuated from the outermost fields, the first signs of the migration appeared—subtle movements in the tall grasses beyond the farmnds, so slight they might be dismissed as wind if you weren't watching carefully.

  "First wave approaching," Valeria reported from her observation position. "Approximately seven creatures, moving in standard hunting formation."

  Alexander gave the signal to hold positions. "Let them commit to their approach."

  The shadow stalkers lived up to their name—dark, sleek forms with excellent camoufge that moved with predatory grace. They paused at the farm perimeter, testing for resistance, then slipped into the outermost fields with frightening speed.

  "Now," Alexander commanded, and the prepared response activated.

  Riva triggered the perimeter alerts—simple mechanical devices that created sudden noise and movement, disrupting the stalkers' coordinated approach. As the creatures broke formation, vilge hunters and team members attacked from predetermined positions, catching the disoriented predators in a crossfire.

  The first wave was eliminated within minutes, but Alexander knew the real test was yet to come.

  "Main force will attack within the hour," he told the defenders. "They'll have observed our response and will adapt their approach."

  He was correct. The second wave came just before dusk—a much rger group of shadow stalkers attacking simultaneously from multiple directions, including unexpected angles from the north and south.

  "They're fnking the perimeter!" a vilge hunter shouted as creatures breached the outer defenses.

  "As expected," Alexander replied calmly. "Secondary positions, now."

  The defenders fell back to the pre-established secondary line, channeling the attacking creatures into prepared kill zones. The battle became intense—shadow stalkers were formidable opponents, fast and deadly in close quarters.

  Several farmers who'd stayed to protect their fields were caught in the initial surge. Elijah's healing station quickly filled with the injured, his hands moving with practiced efficiency as he applied poultices and bandages.

  "Never seen healing work that fast," murmured an elderly farmer as his deep cw wounds closed under Elijah's treatment. "You've got the touch, boy."

  Elijah focused on his work, but the whispers that had been his constant companions since entering Floor 3 seemed to intensify around the wounded vilgers, becoming almost coherent—fragments of guidance that somehow made his healing techniques more effective.

  The defense continued through dusk and into early evening, with three more waves of predators testing the vilge defenses. Each time, Alexander adjusted their tactics to counter the creatures' adaptive strategies, minimizing casualties while maintaining protection of the critical farmnds.

  By nightfall, the migration had passed, leaving the defenders exhausted but successful. Most of the farmnds remained intact, and casualties had been minimal thanks to Elijah's swift treatment of the injured.

  "Your strategy saved many lives today," Elder Thorne acknowledged as the team gathered at the vilge center for the formal quest completion. "And preserved our food supply for the coming season."

  Alexander nodded his acceptance of the praise, but kept focus on the promised reward. "The guardian information?"

  Elder Thorne gestured for them to follow him to the Elder's Council House—a structure distinguished by intricate wood carvings depicting vilge history. Inside, he unrolled a detailed map showing the areas beyond Vilge Center.

  "The Meadow Colossus awaits at the far northern field," he expined, pointing to a marked location. "A giant composed of interwoven grass and wildflowers with crystal eyes that fire sor beams."

  He detailed the guardian's attack patterns—how it alternated between ranged beam attacks and massive melee swipes, how it could create confusion effects through pollen clouds.

  "Its weakness lies in water," Elder Thorne concluded. "Targeted water attacks make it sluggish, creating openings for significant damage."

  Alexander committed every detail to memory, already formuting strategies for the coming confrontation.

  As Elder Thorne finished his briefing, three elderly vilgers who had been watching from the corner approached. They had been among those who had shown particur interest in Elijah since the team's arrival.

  "You did well with the wounded," said the oldest, a woman with silver hair and eyes that seemed to see through rather than at people. "The meadow speaks to you, doesn't it, young healer?"

  Elijah tensed. He'd been careful not to mention the whispers to anyone outside the team. "I don't know what you mean," he said carefully.

  The old woman smiled gently. "No need for caution here. Some have always heard the meadow's voice—the whispers, as you might call them. Knowledge passed between pces and times."

  "You... hear them too?" Elijah asked, his voice barely audible.

  "Not as you do," said the second elder, a man with hands gnarled from decades of farming. "Your connection is unusually strong. It guides your healing, yes?"

  Elijah nodded cautiously, feeling both relief and unease. Relief that he wasn't imagining things, unease that these strangers recognized something in him he barely understood himself.

  "The whispers have purpose," the third elder said enigmatically. "They're not random. Not meaningless. Remember that as you ascend."

  Before Elijah could ask more questions, Elder Thorne called the group's attention back to the quest conclusion. "As promised, your reward," he said, gesturing to a vilge craftsman who presented them with specialized equipment—a set of four waterskins made from a unique material.

  "Compression waterskins," Elder Thorne expined. "They hold three times the volume their size suggests. Useful against the Meadow Colossus... and beyond."

  Alexander accepted the items, noting their excellent craftsmanship. "Thank you for the opportunity to assist Vilge Center," he said formally, completing the quest protocol.

  Their reputation indicators shifted significantly, moving from "Neutral" to "Trusted" with a single quest completion—unusual and indicative of how valuable their assistance had been.

  As they left the Council House, Elijah gnced back at the vilge elders, who watched him with knowing expressions. They had offered validation but not expnation, confirmation but not crity.

  "They know something about the whispers," he said quietly to Alexander once they were alone. "Said I have a 'strong connection' and that the whispers have purpose."

  Alexander nodded thoughtfully. "First external confirmation of what you're experiencing. File it away for now—we'll make sense of it eventually."

  Elijah wasn't entirely satisfied with that response, but he understood the priorities. They had guardian information now, critical intelligence for floor progression. The mystery of the whispers would need to wait.

  That night, as they prepared for the coming guardian challenge, Elijah found the whispers clearer than before—still not fully intelligible, but with patterns he was beginning to recognize. The vilge elders' acknowledgment had somehow strengthened his connection, as if their recognition had validated something that needed belief to grow stronger.

  Whatever the whispers represented, he was no longer alone in hearing them. That knowledge itself was a peculiar comfort as they prepared to face the Meadow Colossus and whatever y beyond.