An unimaginable scene unfolded in the camp at the foot of the Snow Mountains.
When the sentry on the watchtower saw a black tide of rats pour out of the snowy forest, he rang the alarm bell. People rushed from their homes, looking as though they had seen a ghost.
"Can someone tell me why the Rat Tide is here?" the disheveled Camp Commander shouted as he ran beneath the watchtower. "What about Breeze City? How did they get past Breeze City?"
No one answered him. Only the young sentry's despairing scream echoed over the camp: "We're finished! They're coming like a flood!"
"Shut up!" the commander barked. He looked around at the dozens of people in the camp and made his decision. "Old man! Take your Lion Griffin to the Snow Mountain Fortress. Get word to them!"
"I'm too old..." The old man shook his head.
"You shut up too! That thing only listens to you!"
The Lion Griffin could carry three people. The commander hauled the young sentry and a boy onto its back and watched it take flight. Just then,
a streak of fluorescent green Fel Energy shot out of the Rat Tide. It traced the Lion Griffin's path, drawing closer and closer.
"Betty... get them to the fortress."
The old man patted the Lion Griffin's back with a reluctant hand. His gaunt figure rose, then threw itself into the Fel Energy pursuing the Lion Griffin's tail. He melted into green liquid.
The commander watched, grief mingling with relief. Then he turned back to the Rat Tide that shook the earth and gripped his weapon in sweat-soaked hands.
The Rat Tide surged over the low Wooden Wall. The commander roared to drown out his fear:
"Attack!"
They charged into the Rat Tide. Their figures vanished in an