Earlin, the patrol officer of Eär Village, ran along a forest path. Her breaths came in desperate gasps. She could feel a paralyzing toxin spreading rapidly from the venomous dart embedded in her thigh, but she couldn't afford to stop running.0

Zing!0

Another dart whizzed past her, narrowly grazing her cheek. But she clenched her jaw and pushed herself forward.0

I must warn the village… and… request reinforcements from Galad, Earlin thought.0

She already knew that human pirates were chasing her; they were vile people who terrorized the southern seas. Earlin pictured the ships approaching the Great Forest.0

The waters south of the forest were traditionally naga territory. Normally, the nagas would have attacked the pirates without hesitation. But this time, they'd opened the sea to the pirates, and there could only be one explanation for that.0

The nagas have made some kind of pact with the pirates, Earlin thought grimly.0

She knew that the elves would be horrified to learn such a thing. She'd tried to communicate the information to her village through the spirits, but for some reason, the spirits hadn't responded.0

There had been no time to dwell on her confusion, though. The pirates had somehow discovered her presence and began pursuing her without delay.0

"The poison will spread soon enough!" one of them shouted.0

"The boss said we could do whatever we wanted...1