Alta slept beneath a peaceful night and a false sense of safety.
The village had been sealed for days already, its streets still watched by patrols of paladins, inquisitors, and priests who moved in careful rotations through every road and alley.
Torches burned along the roads and across the outer parts of the newly erected palisades, while wards placed beyond the village glowed faintly in the soil.
With such a tight defensive net around them, the guards on the night shift believed they were ready.
They were wrong.
The six thralls moved through the darkness without sound, each approaching from a different direction.
They came as close to the village as they dared without raising the alarm, waiting for the perfect chance to strike.
Tepesh would give the signal.
He crouched in the shadows of the nearest tree, just a few feet away from the palisade, his eyes fixed on the patrolling guards above.
