A Circle 9 Mage clutched his magic staff, his voice shaking with disbelief. "They're elves! But… how can there be so many?!"
"I heard the entire Forest only had about a thousand elves… no… even less than a thousand. But this… this is way more than that! There must be at least ten thousand of them!"
"And the scariest part? Every single one of them looks like is a warrior or mage!"
A heavy silence fell over the group.
"We should retreat."
"Retreat?!"
"If the elves realize we were after the unicorns, they'll kill us without hesitation!"
But one of the mercenaries hesitated. "Hold on. If the elves and the Dark Wolves fight to the death, we might get a chance to capture a unicorn. Even one is enough to make us fucking filthy rich!"
Another mercenary nodded. "Exactly. Leaving now would be stupid."
The Circle 9 Mage made a swift decision. With a flick of his staff, he cast Mirror Image, a mid-Circle illusion spell that cloaked all the mercenaries in a shimmering veil.
