As the hours ticked by, whispers grew into shouts, and soon the air was thick with talk of Mylecent, The Betrayer. Her name was spoken in hushed tones, a boogeyman come to life, ready to unleash the dreaded Macabre Horde upon the unsuspecting populace.
"Have you heard?" a merchant whispered to his neighbor as he hastily shuttered his shop. "Mylecent is in the city! They say she rides with the undead, ready to rain death upon us all!"
Such rumors needed no encouragement from Minos and his companions. The very movement of the local forces, their hurried preparations and grim-faced patrols, served as all the confirmation the populace needed. The approach of the Macabre Horde was accepted as fact, and the citizens' imaginations filled in the horrifying details.