Shyla started to glance over at Bernard, but the sight before them drew her attention fully again before she could look at the man by her side. “It’s worse than we thought,” she whispered, keeping her voice low, though she knew there was no chance of being overheard due the noise the multitude below was making.

Bernard flinched at the sound of her voice. When he didn’t answer, she finally looked at him, repeating her words. His pale green eyes wide with horror. He only nodded.

“What do we do?” she asked.

He shrugged.

Shyla gripped her yew longbow tightly with both hands. “We need to do something.”

Finally, her partner pulled his gaze from the spectacle before them. Yet, as he spoke, his glance kept darting back to the nightmare image down in the ravine below them.

“Just what are we ” – one of his hands released its death-grip on his own longbow to flutter between them, taking in both himself and her – “two archers who are out of arrows, supposed to do against an army of goblins? Huh? Tell me! What are we to do?”

Turning her gaze back to the enemy massed below them, she whispered, “I don’t know. But you know as well as I what they’re doing. If they finish the Summoning, we’re dead.”

Bernard gave a hysterical little laugh before saying, “Once they finish the Summoning, every human everywhere will be dead!”

Shyla nodded. “Exactly. So what do we do to stop it? We know the particulars of the spell they’re using to summon Vibbic. All we have to do it to toss a single live goblin into the Well of Discord while the Summoning is being performed and, not only will the spell be disrupted, but no goblin would ever again be able to summon the demon.”

Bernard looked at her, eyes wide. He was shaking visibly. “You are not suggesting that we go down there and try that?”

Shyla locked her gaze with his. “What other choice is there? We run back to our camp and live until Vibbic rises and sweeps over the world, wiping out humanity as per the goblins’ request. Or we can go down there and at least try to stop it. Either way, you and I are doomed, my friend. The only question is this – do we give up our lives in an attempt to stop this and save the rest of humanity from not only losing this war with the goblins but from being wiped out to last man, woman and child, or do we hide until the demon runs us to ground and kills us along with everyone else?”