The rest of the day proceeded relatively smoothly.

Fanilly was quite distressed over forgetting about her cousin's arrival. She apologized profusely, and introduced Lyrie to the knights and tried to help her get settled in.

Bethany, for the most part, remained relatively quiet, deeply focused on her research. She left only when it was very late, taking a few volumes with her after discussing it with the librarian.

The night was uneventful. Certainly, it did not herald what the next day brought.

[hr]

The morning and midday were as normal. Nothing, in particular, seemed to be amiss.

It was about evening when the herald came, however.

Fanilly quickly met them, and was greeted with a horrifying message.

"It's an orc raid, they brought trolls and... and... we don't even know how they got there!" the herald cried frantically. "We've sent a guards, but... but we need you, we need the Iron Roses. Please, help!"

There wasn't really any time to try and figure out how the orcs had managed to show up at a village so near to the capital. Not if the raid was in progress. Brennan was nearby, and named for, the Brennan forest. Perhaps they had used the forest as cover and snuck through there. But regardless of how it had happened, there was absolutely no more time to waste.

"Iron Roses, we must move quickly!" Fanilly declared, as she swiftly moved to the armory. "We must go in force and destroy these orc raiders, the defenders can only hold out so long!"