-Callia-

  Seeing the enemy soldiers scattering, Sir Fullart and Sir Portten gathered what remained of those healthy enough to fight. They didn’t rush us, but it was clear neither thought the crisis had truly ended.

  “The battle is won, and our enemy lacks the means to face us directly, but that doesn’t mean scattering our enemy won’t have consequences. Most urgent is the risk of the fleeing soldiers raiding Portten as they flee for the stronghold of the city.” Sir Fullart paused, and Sir Portten took over.

  “I brought most of my guard and left one knight behind in case this happened. I only ask for support in driving these men past my town.”

  A contemplative silence fell on the group before Sir Ella spoke up.

  “I get it that your town is the biggest risk, but my town is left with nobody, and Sir Walder and I need to return for much the same reason.” Everyone just nodded in acceptance as the knights left to speak with their men before Ella ran off towards the town and Walder waited with the men, intending to escort them back. With the Woodsiders gone, attention shifted back to the Knights of Port Town. Callen took the lead this time, but with how often he acted for the mayor, he was likely the voice with the most authority among us except for Sir Fullart, who had considerable prestige as a former knight commander.

  “It’s unlikely, but we will also need to send someone back to our town and someone to escort the injured. However, if you left one knight behind with your two here and Sir Fullart, we would hold a solid advantage. I won’t force our people in pursuit. We've lost a lot of good people recently and are strained as is, but I won’t stop anyone who volunteers.”

  The expression on Portten’s face is a bit mixed but understanding. When the enemy had broken everyone who hadn’t been captured was scattered, and the enemy knights could show up anywhere. Still, a fire that I had smothered at the end of the battle sparked back to life. All I sent Callen was a look, and he knew I wasn’t done with this.

  Despite Callen’s reservations there were still a good number of volunteers, and with the surviving guards of Portten we formed a force that should be able to rival any bands that would have formed among the fleeing forces.

  I took the lead of the scouts and, as my first priority, tried to trace the directions of the fleeing knights. The baron’s aide was undetectable among all the fleeing tracks, but mage Rorin had briefly pursued the man as he fled down the road. The berserker who fought Ella had fled north along the river, and the man with the maul had blended among the scattering troops.

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  We quickly moved down the road towards Portten, but another issue came up. Some among the civilians who were used to sweep for traps hadn’t died but instead had been abandoned. We needed speed to catch any fleeing soldiers, but many felt it would be wrong to abandon these people to their fate. A detachment of soldiers ended up staying behind, focusing on rescue and recovery of the trapped civilians.

  Sir Fullart insisted that while I could manage and advise the scouts, it was best if I moved with the core forces. I think he had taken to treating me like a squire in a lot of our interactions. He seemed to take every opportunity to give guidance on how to balance personal growth with leadership roles. His reason for stopping me was mainly that the enemies wouldn’t be able to escape me, and that would make them desperate to eliminate or capture me as a prize.

  On the road we didn’t manage to run down any of the enemy knights, but large forces of hastily assembled forces did contest us on multiple occasions. I thought fighting would help calm down the anger burning in my heart, but it seemed to only exacerbate it more as I watched more people die around me. The scouts I had made friends with and the civilians who had taken up arms to help us even after their town was spared from the crisis.

  I felt like something inside me might break, but I pushed it down until finally we arrived at Portten. The wall was unblemished, and the people cheered, celebrating the return of their leader. My anger had nowhere to go but left a numb hole in me. I smiled and waved to the people who cheered from the sides, and Sir Portten even organized a big event to name heroes and accomplishments.

  It should’ve been exciting. I should have been thrilled, but it all felt so numb. When Sir Portten finally got to me, speaking on my role as the messenger and guide for the escape tunnel and later my pivotal role in the battle against a knight. I stood on the platform before the cheers and only managed a hollow smile. The man then patted my shoulder and declared.

  “Callia of Port Town, as a knight and master of this city, I hereby declare you. Sir Callia the Ascendant Archer common-knight, and savior of Portten. Should you ever call upon my aid, I swear I shall do all in my power to repay you and your brother.”

  I didn’t know how to react. What even was a common-knight? The hollow feeling eased as a strange excitement settled in. Dad, can you see this? Your little girl is already catching up!

  Ralf the Snatcher

  For all of Ralf’s life he's been told what to do and when. For years he’s wandered about grabin’ cripples and bringing them back to the guild. However, for the first time, he got to experience more! The thrilling pumping of blood when he broke down that wall. When he fought the axe bitch. It was so much better than cripples and animals. Sadly, he could also see when the fun had to end.

  His boss, the fatty, wasn’t all that strong, and everyone else was screaming and runnin’ for their lives. He didn’t plan on being left behind, but he also didn’t want to go back just yet. Instead of resigning to the boring life from before, he would do what the fatso did! Once he was clear of the panic, he began bringing together the sorry sacks of shit that ran. Promisin’ all kinds of loot since the town was so tough, the goods coming in and out were probably worth something too.

  He didn’t want to listen to anyone anymore, and when he said that, it seemed to get a lot of the weaklings excited. The lads started running about gathering the others, and soon their group started shaping into quite the pack. They even got to have their first looting! The townspeople left a small group of people to fix all the weaklings, so his gang smashed the fighters and abducted all the rest!

  After that the smart one suggested they go make a camp somewhere further away. They went into the forest and found a big cave, and the boys started making the weaklings fix it up. Ralf just sat back and sometimes threw rocks, enjoying the panic and screams with his new friends. Ralf was certain this was the best decision he had ever made!