As they flee from the Village of Marrel, Jacin Lancir comes across a team of wounded soldiers whose reports echo a dreaded rumor:
"Something has awoken in Orrassin's Wood."
Jacin might hold the highest martial Rank in the kingdom, the esteemed title of "Hora," but despite a stellar career of working within the famous "Pillars Of The Kingdom" team, he alone is left to inspire the defenses of Marrel against a vastly-overgrown Mandrake, a monster which neutralizes his primary weapon of Earth-based magic. Though he has other tools at his disposal, how can he hope to win when he is bereft of his usual allies?
Enjoy a break from our own chaotic reality with this short story by Jesse Pohlman, set six years after the Kingdom of Emor survived its own era of chaos, with cover-art by returning illustrator Cecelia Ivy-Marie Price!