The rest of the week passed without incident, minus the occasional insult in passing from a bandaged Rufel. Warren kept close to ensure things didn’t escate beyond that until tensions cooled so Janine could focus on the rest of the tests she and her fellow trainees underwent. Captain Galen had been pulled away from the training grounds by other important matters, and his assistants refrained from assigning Janine any ‘adjusted’ evaluations to account for my presence. The trainees climbed ropes, chopped wood, identified pnts—mundane but useful skills when patrolling far from the city walls in search of dangers or stranded travelers.

  The recruits were told to expect results of their evaluations after a week, giving them time to rex in the interim. Everyone was surprised when the citadel bells rang to summon the Passguards the next day, instead.

  Overshadowing every other structure in Quinn’s Peak, architects designed the Passguard citadel to shelter the whole town in an emergency. Blue banners covered the drab stone walls inside and out, trying to liven up a building where function dominated form. It’s a shame that Quinn’s Peak deemed this boxy monstrosity necessary, as it took something away from the town’s charm, I thought. But an ugly citadel was better than nothing.

  Janine found a sea of deep blue tabards gathered in the main atrium, the Passguards’ chatter echoing up to the vaulted ceiling. She snaked through the crowd of guardians, asking if anyone knew the reason behind the summons, but everyone shrugged in response.

  When Captain Galen walked onto the ptform at the back, a hush fell over the crowd. He waited for his assistants to hoist a giant canvas along the wall behind him, revealing a detailed map of the Berin Mountains with a red line deviating from the main road by a significant margin. A red X marked a location within a forested region considered too dangerous and isoted for casual exploration.

  “My fellow guardians.” Captain Galen’s eyes swept the crowd before taking a step back to the wall, pointing to the mark on the canvas. “Let’s get straight to the point: we have found the Py’riel’s nest.”

  The sea of Passguards hummed to life with excited murmurs before the captain held his hand up, the silence returning in an instant.

  “My scouts have been tracking Py’riel movements since early spring, and they all converge on one location—the remains of an Auldilvan temple hidden deep in the Folen Woods. It’s a five-day walk east from Quinn’s Peak, weather permitting. We’ve spotted at least twenty Py’riel in the area, likely more within the temple itself.”

  I looked around at a crowd enthralled by the details of the scouting report. Everyone knew where this was heading. They hung on Galen’s every word, some attracted to the the prospect of vanquishing a threat that pgued the mountains for decades while others seemed eager for the fight itself.

  The captain paced along the raised stage with an energy in each step, hints of a ferocity that he normally contained so well oozing into his words. “The towns in these mountains brought me in to lead the Berin Passguards because they knew I wouldn’t let the Py’riel problem fester. We’ve become hunters, and now we have a chance to become conquerors. Seizing these opportunities are how legends are made, my friends. And because I need every one of you to py a part in the rgest operation in this organization’s history in order to eliminate the Py’riel, as of this instant, all trainees are promoted to full Passguard status.”

  It was like a dream come true! The Passguards cheered and appuded, patting Janine and the other jubint recruits on the shoulders in congratution. I was eted, myself—my hour of vindication was fast approaching, Janine and I would finally get our chance to make a difference in the fight against the Py’riel!

  The captain moved on to expin details of the assault, assigning names to three separate divisions that would take slightly different trajectories through the forest. Janine waited for her name to be called, her smile faltering slightly with each passing moment. By the time the captain finished his assignments, a select few names, including Janine’s, hadn’t been called.

  “Any questions?”

  Warren raised a hand, as his name had been omitted as well. “Sir, you missed a few names just now. Everyone pys a part, yes?”

  “Everyone does indeed. The mayor requested a small presence of Passguards to remain in town to respond to any incidents while the rest of us are away, so I selected four to stay behind. Yourself, Robinson, Mazarel... and Denholm.” His gaze pierced a stunned Janine for a brief moment. “The rest of you, we leave tomorrow morning. Dismissed.”