Runt called it the Nightfall Protocol because killing someone's eyes was the same as killing their light.
The operation started on Day 350, twelve days before the army would march. Thyrak's border intelligence network — such as it was — consisted of seven Beastmen runners who traveled set routes between the border villages and The Stamp, carrying information about movement, trade, and anything unusual. They ran weekly. They followed the same trails. They carried no weapons beyond a hunting knife.
It was the laziest intelligence apparatus Runt had ever seen. And he'd been doing this for six months.
The Shadowfang Scouts had grown to twelve. The original team — Fang, Creel, Pip — plus eight new recruits who'd been trained in Runt's specific brand of silent, methodical observation. Four Gnolls, three Kobolds, one Human — a former poacher named Wren who moved through forest like she'd been born in one, which she had.
