The main room was madness, although after that first startled blink, Wolf started to see that it was organized chaos. Darren's wife had stepped up, it appeared, and she was even now directing people to different parts of the inn, making sure that the right information went into the proper hands. Wolf stopped in front of her and waited to get her attention before asking, "Hyun Woo?"

She turned and pointed to the far back left corner. "There."

"My thanks."

Rune moved ahead of him, acting as trail blazer to the back corner. It took a little shoving, and a great deal of patience, but they finally made it. A large, rectangular table was shoved catawampus into the corner with two benches on either side of it. Hyun Woo and Ryu Jin Ho both stood next to it, neither of them inclined to sit, and they looked up as the Wynngaardians approached.

"Rune-xian, Wolfinsky-gui," Hyun Woo greeted with a strained smile. The man had every hair in place but the dark circles under his eyes were a clear indication he had not slept well the night before, if at all. "You made good time. Come and sit."

After being on his feet the majority of the day, Wolf was glad to sit, even if only for a few minutes. "You called for us?" he asked, slinging his legs over the bench.

"Indeed so. This is a perfect opportunity to teach you how to defend a city."

So even here, the lessons didn't stop? Wolf couldn't help but grin, delighted by that.

"Also, we are strangers to this city," Ryu Jin Ho added pragmatically. "You both know it better than we do. What problems have you noted?"

"The walls are not sound," Rune answered promptly. He sank onto the bench next to Wolf, more slumping than sitting. Then again, he had been doing most of the legwork on the northern side. "We have multiple holes in the wall."

Both strategists frowned hearing this, not one bit pleased with the news. "How big are these breaches?"

"Depends which one you're talking about." Rune leaned forward, tapping a finger against the city map laid out across the table, explaining and pointing. "There's two here that aren't much bigger than a watermelon. There's another here barely large enough for a small man to crawl through. There's one long one here where multiple people could get through, but you'd have to belly crawl ta manage it."

"It's the same story on the southern side," Wolf added morosely. "Over the years, the section built near the beaches has eroded out at the base, leaving gaping holes that a determined force can use to enter the city with. I've got six of them altogether, ranging in size from a narrow path a man could barely squeeze through to something large enough a wagon could fit in."

"Where?" Ryu Jin Ho asked.

Going off memory, Wolf grabbed a pencil laying nearby and marked them. "Here, here, here, here, and two here. The largest one is here."

Ryu Jin Ho didn't say a word, but Wolf was laying odds the man was swearing up a storm in his head. "We don't have time to fix all of those."

"No, we do not," Hyun Woo agreed. But the man didn't sound dismayed, but instead thoughtful. "Alright, my students, what are your thoughts?"

"I don't think we should worry about the ones a man can't even get a weapon through," Rune said slowly.

"Wise," Hyun Woo approved. "We are not builders, after all. Let the city repair its own walls. What else?"

"It'd be nice if we can somehow turn the biggest breach into a trap." Wolf rubbed a hand along his chin, trying to think quickly. "I'm not sure how to do it, though."

"It is good you see the possibility." Hyun Woo's expression was befitting of a hungry wolf in that moment.

Wolf and Rune shared a suspicious glance between the two of them before they accused their master in near unison, "You know how."

"I have a notion," Hyun Woo responded modestly.

Rune cocked his head. "Wait a minute, didn't ya tell me that no plan survives enemy contact, and that the best thing a good fighter could do was ta plan how ta start the fight and then adapt quickly after that?"

"If it is a small scale fight," Ryu Jin Ho corrected.

"If it is a large scale battle, like this, then you make as many plans as possible." Hyun Woo added almost casually, "And then you make even further plans for when your original plans go wrong."

Wolf filed that information away for future reference. "So the largest breach, what do you want to do about it?"

Hyun Woo rubbed his hands together, as calculating as a fox. "Something devious."

They spent more than three hours at that table, planning and then making even more contingency plans. At the end, they all had their specific tasks to carry out. Rune was sent back to the northern section to inform people what to do. The first task, of course, was to do something about the breaches in the wall. Some of the people in the city would be assigned to those holes and ordered to fill them with anything they could find.

All but one, that was.

Wolf paused and looked out over the southern edge of the city, toward the flat plains and the sandy beach. He still didn't know if the two strategists had concocted the best plan. Oh, it would no doubt work, but how well was the question. From the grimaces on their face, it wasn't one they would actually choose to employ, but in only three days, there was a limit to how many preparations they could make. This strategy was radical but could be implemented in the time they had. It had certainly made Darrens and Siobhan nervous.

Rune hadn't been able to stay on task, as his skills as Pathmaker were still needed to get the last of the refugees out. He had instead explained everything to Markl, who had then taken over. Markl hadn't been trained as thoroughly as they were on strategy, but the man had a mind that could be taught anything, and he'd gotten the hang of it quickly enough. It left Wolf in charge of the southern side with Fei, and Markl and Tran in charge of the northern section.

Tarik came to join him at his side. "What are they doing?"

Hmm? Following the man's pointing finger, his eyes fell on a group of a hundred men that were running at full speed toward the city from the shoreline. Tran was in the lead, his long legs effortlessly devouring the ground, with everyone else gamely trying to keep up with him.

"Oh, that. They're working out the timing."

"Of?" Tarik prompted impatiently, giving him an exasperated look.

"You know how we're sending a group of five hundred around by ship to the southern shore, just in case the army comes around to this side?" Wolf waited for a confirming nod before continuing, "The timing of that has to be precise. We need to know exactly how long it will take for them to get here. So Tran volunteered to run practice runs with them all day until they had it down to the minute."

With a grunt, Tarik took this in, eyes narrowing as he tried to see over the distance. From here, people looked to be about as tall as Wolf's pinky. "Isn't that tiring?"

"Not for a Teheranian." Wolf chuckled, noticing that no one else was quite able to match Tran's pace. They lagged behind severely now. "I think he'd best stop soon, though, otherwise it'll just be him fighting the army off when they get here."

"I'll say." Tarik turned and pointed to a group of archers that were standing on the inner side of the wall. "And what are they shooting at?"

"Oh, them? They're practicing and figuring out the best vantage points."

"For what?" Tarik responded in confusion, scratching at the back of his head. "I heard we were going to take advantage of that huge hole in the wall on this side, but no one explained to me how."

"It's not that complicated. In a nutshell, it's-"

From a distance, near the head of the stairs that led up to this section of the wall, Rune called out, "WOLF!"

Was the kid back already? Wolf clapped Tarik on the shoulder and said, "Go ask Fei, he'll explain it to you."

"Will do."

Moving off, Wolf quickened his step so that he went to Rune swiftly. "You're back already?"

"Grae is getting the last of the refugees out now," Rune responded, a tired but satisfied smile on his face. The way his shoulders sagged ever so slightly, and the circles under his eyes said he hadn't gotten enough sleep in the past several days. But then, none of them had. "What do I need ta do?"

Excellent question. But Wolf wasn't in charge of anything but this one section of the wall, so he didn't know. "Track down either Ryu Jin Ho or Hyun Woo and ask them. They might need you somewhere. I only know about this part of the city."

Rune stopped and really looked around him, taking in the sight of all of the weapons leaning up against the stone walls, the people that were rushing up and down the stairs, and the preparations being made. "Are ya ready, then?"

"The walls are. Our special surprise isn't. It'll take another day at least."

He followed Wolf's gesture toward the breach in the wall and studied it with raised eyebrows. "That looks...interesting. Like a nasty surprise for them."

Of course Rune would understand what he was looking at, as he had helped plan it. Wolf grinned at him, the expression dark and without humor. "Indeed it will be."

"I've been popping in and out of the city, so I haven't seen much of what ya've done, but do ya think that we're ready to fight them off?" Rune seemed nervous asking this question.

Wolf just snorted. "They don't stand a chance of taking us."

Siobhan watched the last of the non-combatants leave with Grae and heaved a bone-weary sigh. Mercy, was she ever so glad that that chore was done. Early this morning, when she had been faced with a sea of people, it didn't seem like they would ever be able to shift everyone over to Winziane, even with five Pathmakers working nonstop!

How she'd gotten stuck organizing the whole evacuation was what she'd like to know. Sure, Darrens had requested that she help with it, which only made sense as she was the guildmaster to two Pathmakers. But how had she become the head cook of the whole kitchen? Before she could turn her head, everyone was coming to her and asking questions, most of which she hadn't a clue how to answer. Desperate, she'd drafted Sylvie and Cha Ji An to help her.

The only way they'd found that worked was dividing Converse into sections and just clearing out one section at a time. Convincing people to not pack everything hadn't been an easy job either, and she must have repeated herself a thousand times over. Only personal belongings, nothing larger than a pack and whatever weapons you had. Mothers especially wanted to argue this point, as it took a lot to take care of children, and it was Cha Ji An who calmly assured them that supplies and clothing were waiting for them in Winziane. It was not necessary to take everything.

More like, it was impossible to take everything. Siobhan had escorted many a caravan in her time and knew how to adjust to transport one via path. If, that was, she had ample time to prepare and plan ahead. Amidst this chaos, she couldn't begin to sort it out well enough for people to pack wagons for transportation. It was hard enough just to find enough wagons to load up people!

But now they were gone. The streets seemed very empty and forlorn without them. In fact, it was eerily quiet. This was the first time in two days that Siobhan could hear herself think. She slowly turned on the balls of her feet, rotating to look around her. The buildings were still intact, although there was debris randomly strewn in the streets from the hurried leave-taking of the people, and at first glance nothing seemed wrong. So why did it feel like she was in a haunted city? It even smelled abandoned, somehow.

The wind whistled off of the sea and sang its way through the empty streets in an eerie whine before ruffling her hair, whipping it about her face for a moment before passing on. An errant chill raced up her spine at the sensation even though she wasn't the slightest bit cold.

"Siobhan."

She turned and tried to force a smile. "Denney. Are we sure everyone is out?"

"I just got the last report in. They're all gone." Denney puffed out a breath, looking as tired as Siobhan felt. Normally, the girl took care to look presentable at least (especially so after developing a crush on Rune) but right now her hair was thrown up in a messy knot at the back of her head and it looked like she dressed in the dark; with one hand behind her back. "Now what?"

Now what, indeed. Siobhan's guild had been scattered all over the city with different tasks assigned to them. Wolf, Tran, Markl, and Fei were specifically over preparing the defense of the walls. Beirly was with the blacksmiths forging weapons and specialty items of war that Hyun Woo wanted-like caltrops. Conli of course was setting up a clinic in preparation for the battle ahead. She, Sylvie, and Denney had been working with Grae and Rune until they could clear Converse of its citizens. But now that that was done, what should they do?

Making a snap decision, she told Denney, "Go find Sylvie. See if the two of you can help Conli. He'll probably need every helping hand he can get." And those two were used to helping him. They'd know instinctively how he wanted things done. "I'm going to Darrens, see if he needs help with anything else."

Nodding, Denney acknowledged this before moving off at a tired half-trot.

Taking in a deep breath, Siobhan tried to tap into an inner energy well, somewhere, only to find herself running dry. How long had it been since she'd eaten? Last night? The last thing she remembered putting in her mouth was some sweet bread Wolf had shoved at her. It was-she turned her head upwards and squinted at the sun-two o'clock in the afternoon now? Mercy, no wonder she was running low on energy.

Change of plans. Food first, then Darrens.

In this city that prepared for war, finding a place that had ready-made food available was some trick. Siobhan stumbled across a street vendor that had apparently chosen to stay and make a killing selling food to starving people. She paid an outrageous price for a leg of some sort of roasted fowl and two pieces of flat bread. It all seemed worth it when she took her first bite of the meat. The man might be a thief in disguise, but he knew how to cook.

She walked and ate, juggling the bread and meat as she bobbed and weaved her way around the people. Most of the city might be deserted now, but the sections close to the walls and the inn that housed Darrens were filled to the brink. It took considerable skill to not drop anything.

Finished with the meat, she gave the bone to a dog that she passed on the street, swallowed the last of the bread, and then braved the inn door.

It was like wading into a sea of people. With the tide going against her. One man even pushed against her so hard that she was knocked out of the doorway, staggering out back into the street.

Huffing a breath, she blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Seriously?" Setting her jaw in a determined line, she put her hands together like a diver would before jumping into water and used her hands to shove people aside, forcibly carving a path forward. This worked all the way until the middle of the room when she abruptly realized that she had no idea where Darrens was in this crowded room. Her frustration rose another notch. Raising her face to the ceiling, she yelled as loudly as she could, "DARRENS!"

"Back right corner!" he responded, deep voice easily overshadowing everyone else.

Back right corner, sure thing...wait, which direction was she facing? Disoriented for a moment, she did a slow spin until she figured out where the front door was. Finding her bearings, she struck off in the general direction of his voice. Halfway there, a pair of gnarled hands reached through two men and grabbed her shoulder before hauling her abruptly closer.

Bouncing off a rock-hard chest, she blinked and looked up. Hyun Woo met her eyes with a benign and amused smile on his face. "Need help, Siobhan-jia?" he asked kindly.

"Bless you," she responded in heartfelt gratitude.

"Come, I will escort you." So saying, he put an arm around her shoulders and acted as trail blazer and protector, shielding her from the worst of it, until she came to the table that Darrens had commandeered.

Siobhan put both hands over her stomach and gave Hyun Woo a proper bow of thanks, which he waved away, still smiling. Then she turned to Darrens. Her guildmaster had looked better. If he'd managed even an hour's sleep the night before, it didn't show. His dark circles were prominent enough to show across the room. Sweat dewed his temples and forehead, and the clothes he had on showed signs of being worn for the past two days at least. Siobhan would swear that he had aged two decades since she'd seen him last.

He greeted her with, "Give me good news."

"The civilians are all evacuated," she reported promptly. "Grae is taking the last of them out now."

Darrens sank into his hands, rubbing at his face with both palms, and letting out the longest sigh she'd ever heard from him. "Thank all mercy for that. Anything else?"

"I've sent anyone in my guild with free hands to help at Conli's clinic. But I'm now available to help if you need me."

His face lit up in a brief but genuine smile. "I always need you, Siobhan. In fact, I'm convinced that I'd be lost without you, if you ever decide to take your guild to a different city. You won't believe how much I regret not taking your advice more seriously before. Even if I couldn't imagine a war, I should have still listened. You've never given me bad counsel."

This was the most direct apology she had ever heard from Darrens. Taken slightly aback, Siobhan fumbled for a moment, not sure how to respond. Finally she just ducked her head and gave him a sorry smile. "I would have been glad to have been wrong."

"I know," he said in a troubled, sad tone. "I know." Taking a deep breath, he sat back and regarded her more frankly. "At this moment, however, I'm not sure what I can ask you to do. The majority of the tasks have been delegated."

Hyun Woo cleared his throat and offered, "Perhaps we can ask Siobhan-jia to lend her formidable leadership skills to the blacksmiths?"

For a split second, Darrens clearly didn't know what the other man meant. Then it hit him and his eyes lit up. "Of course! Siobhan, we do have something of a situation. The blacksmiths are apparently enthralled with making caltrops. That's all they want to focus on. But we need more arrows and spearheads. Can you go speak with them, and with the men in charge of the walls, and get a good idea of how much is needed? Coordinate between the two of them. I sent someone already, but he didn't get the message across."

Since it was four of her men in charge of the walls, and Beirly in charge of the smithies, this order made perfect sense to her. "I will. I'll head to the walls first."

From outside the inn, an alarm sounded, like metal banging against metal. Then a cry, and another, until someone from the doorway shouted, "THEY'RE HERE!"

That cold chill she'd felt earlier shot up her spine again. Siobhan swallowed hard, seeing her unease reflected in Darren's eyes.

Only Hyun Woo didn't share this emotion. Instead, a fierce smile overtook his face. "Finally, they are here."

Fei, perched up on top of the watchtower, let out a cry: "WOLF! THEY'RE COMING!"

Everyone had been waiting for this moment for a full two days, so none of them could claim to be surprised. Wolf slung the shield from his back around and onto his left arm with a practiced move before taking his iron right hand and banging it loudly against the metal, using the shield like an alarm. It made quite the racket, the sound echoing and carrying for a fair distance.

His people, well drilled as they were, recognized the sound instantly and scrambled up to their positions on the wall. Wolf had to duck closer to the outer edge and suck in his gut to let them have enough room to pass him, and even then he was jostled around a bit.

Within minutes, they were ready, weapons in hand, eyes peeled intently toward the eastern horizon.

Fei's eyesight was once again proven to be as sharp as a hawk's as it took several minutes more before Wolf could finally see the army approaching. Narrowing his eyes, he strained to pick out individuals, trying to get a headcount. Then he shook his head in disgust. A useless gesture, his eyes weren't good enough for that. Giving up, he raised his voice and called to Fei, "How many?"

Staying on his perch, Fei didn't look away from the army's approach as he called back, "Not sure! About three thousand!"