The warlord’s army is at the gates. We activated the defensive array — the air barriers are holding. Arrows bounce off. Cavalry charges break against invisible walls.
But it won’t last forever. The machines need power, and the power source is a crystalline core deep in the kingdom. It’s draining fast.
I found the warlord’s general in the mineshaft. Not fighting — waiting. He knew we’d activate the defenses. He knew we’d come to the core. And he knew the core would drain.
The general offered terms. Leave the kingdom to the warlord, and Thornwall lives. Refuse, and when the barriers fall, the village burns.
I refused. The kingdom isn’t a weapon to be controlled. It’s a library. A civilization’s entire history, compressed into machines and books. If the warlord gets it, he’ll use the weapons and burn the rest.
We have one chance. The kingdom has a final defense — a self-destruct mechanism. It’ll bury the warlord’s scouts and seal the entrance forever. The books, the schematics, the machines — all gone.
Aldric thinks it’s the right choice. I pulled the lever.
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