“Three… two… one!”  Five men lobbed napalm grenades down to splash on the humans below.  Allistor sent down a column of fire with Flame Strike, igniting the flammable mixture of chemicals.  The people started screaming and running about or rolling on the ground trying to put out the flames.  Sam and the others began firing into the crowd.

Allistor focused instead on the one red dot that stood separately.  He was a shadow about fifty yards out, standing alone in the dark.  Allistor cast Night Vision on himself, and the shadow became a man.

A man who was pointing a rifle up at the wall.

Allistor saw the muzzle flash and heard a grunt to his left.  Michael was falling backward, a hole in his chest.  Allistor cast a heal on him and shouted for Ramon to look after him.

Turning back to the fight, he canceled his night vision and cast a light globe so that it hovered right in front of Justin’s face.  The surprised man ducked down and blinked several times, temporarily blinded by the light.    Allistor switched out his shotgun for a hunting rifle and raised it to his shoulder.  It took him two seconds to sight in on Justin as the man’s eyes adjusted to the light.  He was just raising his own rifle again when Allistor pulled the trigger.

Blood bloomed on the man’s chest as he fell backward.  Allistor chambered another round and waited for him to stop moving, then put a hole in Justin’s head.   Experience flashed across his screen.

The gunfire had ceased, and Allistor leaned over to look below.  All of the attackers were dead or dying.  Only 3 of the red dots were still showing on the map, and even as he watched one of them blinked out.

He turned to check on Michael, finding him sitting up with his back against the parapet.  Ramon cast another heal on him, and he was looking healthy enough.

When the last red dot disappeared, there was a ringing of chimes, and everyone in the Warren got experience for a successful defense of the Stronghold.  Several of them leveled up.

Michael looked at Allistor.  “I’m sorry, Allistor.  They seemed like good guys.  I-”

Allistor cut him off.  “Don’t sweat it.  We knew something like this would happen eventually.  It’s not your fault. But we gotta talk about this later.  I need to get back to the Citadel!”  Allistor told Sam and George, who were standing next to him watching Michael get healed.  “A dragon attacked the place just as I was leaving to come help you here.”

Sam nodded, “Go!  I’d offer to go with you, but there might be more of those fellas out there.  Just be sure you come back in the morning for the funeral.”

“Funeral?”  Allistor’s gut clenched.  “Whose funeral.”

Sam lowered his head.  “Shit.  We didn’t have time to tell you.”