The day seems like any other day. Max wakes up and goes through his routine. Walking the town and checking what needs to be repaired before heading off to the smithy. The gnolls’ damage to the town only adds to that from the previous fights.

  This town will not survive. The gnolls are too strong, and they seem to have greater numbers. From what I have heard, they always manage to kill several gnolls at the cost of a few villagers. When they return, they bring the same number they had attacked with previously. If they bring their full force, this town will be overrun and will fall in a single night.

  No, they don’t have to take such a risk, bringing such a large force at once, though. All they have to do is continue to chip away at these people's strength and add to the damage from the previous attack. The villages struggle to repair and fortify with ever-dwindling hands while the workload increases.

  With lessened defenses, defenders, and the exhaustion of the town, the gnolls will win in a few more fights. At this point, it would probably be for the best to just abandon this village and move somewhere else.

  With the dreary thoughts he has had all morning, Max doesn’t move nearly as quickly through the village on his noon break to check on Elijah. Stopping to chat with a few of the people on the way, he notices that they seem to be sharing his attitude after yet another attack.

  Once he enters the Medicus's house, he tries to put on a smile as he checks on Elijah. He isn't awake. That is for the best; it is hard to stay positive while talking with him.

  The worst of it seems to have passed, and his wound doesn’t seem to be nearly as bad as it was when we first arrived. The Medicus said that it will take moons before he can travel again, and privately told me that he thinks the elf might not ever be able to fight as he once had.

  It was sad to hear, and trying to keep it from Elijah kills me, but I agree that, for now at least, it is better to stay positive and watch him heal rather than smother his hopes of one day returning to the battlefield.

  After staying beside Elijah for a while, Max cannot take it anymore, especially with the current mood he is in, and bids farewell to the Medicus. He walks through the town once more, trying to figure out what he should do next.

  I haven’t heard word from the Brayes. If I stay here, it is as good as signing my own death certificate. I want to help this place, but I cannot do it alone.

  With the east side of the town surveyed, he moves towards the west half when he hears a commotion ahead. Damn, are they back so soon? Drawing the sword, he took from the fallen gnoll. Max jogs head toward the gate where the commotion is coming from.

  A group of soldiers seems to have arrived. Max sheaths his sword, shaking his head. God, this place has me too worked up.

  He tries to shake off the gloom he has been feeling and makes his way back to the smithy. I just need to work the metal. I’ll figure out the rest later. Right now, this is what is needed.

  ? ? ?

  Lady Rosalee and her escorts arrive at Winsbrook. She stays silent and in the middle of the small group of soldiers, just looking like a squire for the knight riding in the lead.

  As discussed with her father, she wears full armor and a spectacle helm that has a partial aventail down to her shoulders. It would be hard for someone who knew her to even recognize her.

  Sir Clara Darvill dismounts her horse once she reaches roughly the center of the town. “Squires with me, the rest of you take a break. If this place has any food for sale, see it is bought.”

  She walks up the path to the lord’s manor with her usual squire on one side of her and Lady Rosalee on the other. “I hope you and your father know what you are doing. Do not reveal who you are to the Lord.”

  “If the boy is present, we shall tell him we are here to retrieve him on Baron Braye’s orders. Once we are someplace private, you can reveal yourself to him then.”

  “Yes, Sir Darvill.” Lady Rosalee tries to keep her voice down and obediently obeys the knight.

  After knocking heavily on the manor’s door, the steward quickly appears. “Yes? What is it I can do for you?”

  Extending a letter to the steward, the knight gets straight to the point. “I am here on behalf of Baron Braye to retrieve the boy Sir Elijah D’Aboville was escorting.”

  “One moment, please.” The steward takes the letter and closes the door. He quickly makes his way to where the lord is lounging. “My lord, you have guests; it seems that Baron Braye’s envoy has arrived.”

  “Hmmm?” The lord finishes eating the berry he was bringing to his mouth before taking the letter and opening it. After giving it a read, he stands.

  “It is about time that they arrived. That boy is a hassle to keep track of, and I will be glad to be rid of him.” He follows his steward back to the door and lets him open it for him, and forces a smile.

  “Ah, Hello. I am Lord Kennell Sloan, the overseer of this quaint little village. I see that you are here for the boy. He is currently not in the manor but working down at the smithy. If you would like to come in, I can send for him while a feast is prepared in your honor.”

  “None of that will be necessary. If the boy is at the smithy, we shall just retrieve him from there. We do not plan to stay long; we are due elsewhere.” Sir Darvill takes the letter back from the lord and turns back the way she came with the squires following her.

  Lord Sloan's face drops at her attitude, and a sneer is seen on his face as he slams the door. The knight and squires make their way back to the center of town before heading off in the direction of the smithy.

  Lady Rosalee has a spring in her step as she is finally going to see Max again. When they near the smithy, they see a shirtless boy wearing only an apron on his upper half hammering something as though it had offended him.

  He puts whatever it is back into the forge and doesn’t take any notice of them as they approach. Once they are within normal speaking distance, the knight clears her throat. “Excuse me, are you Max McIver?

  Max turns to his visitors. He had been engrossed in his work and hadn’t even noticed someone approaching. He looks them over, trying to figure out what they might want and how they know his name.

  The lady who spoke to him stands in front, she wears what appears to be chain and leather segmented armor. It looks almost like the pictures of a Roman legionnaire he had seen. The only real difference is that it appears to be completely made of chain and leather, with the same type of armor pants under the leather skirt. She wears no surcoat, but behind her appear to be two squires.

  One of the squires looks to be wearing almost exactly as Ganis wore, a chain shirt with surcoat and everything else leather. The other squire has far better armor. The boots have metal plates and shin guards; there appear to be padded cuisses over the leather pants.

  A surcoat tries to hide the plate chest that is worn over the chain shirt, and instead of just leather gloves, they also wear metal vambraces. The final piece is a weird helmet that has a half mask and chainmail hanging from the back.

  Next, Max looks at their weapons. The leather-wearer has a two-handed axe hanging on her shoulder, somehow, while the squires both have swords. The better armored one’s sword is a bit longer and thinner than the other one’s more regular sword, and the better armored squire also has a small shield on their back.

  “Yes, Sir knight, I am.” Max pulls the metal out of the forge and places it on the anvil before moving over and leaning on the railing to talk to them.

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  The knight steps forward and hands Max the letter she had previously given to the lord. “I am on orders from Baron Braye. I spoke to Lord Sloan and have informed him you will be coming with us.”

  Max opens the letter and skims the contents. Baron Braye requests that I join Sir Clara Darvill’s party and head to The Terrace for a meeting with Duke Grey. I am to report on the Summit Oak incident to the Duke and follow Sir Darvill’s instructions.

  They no longer want me to go to Ashbury? I guess I won’t be able to see Rosalee again. At least they are taking the Eschaton situation seriously. I half expected them to just write it off completely.

  Max folds the letter and taps it against the palm of his other hand, thinking for a moment. “Sir Darvill, I presume? If I might ask, I have three questions for you.”

  Sir Clara Darvill is slightly taken aback by the request. That letter is directly from the Baron. What could he possibly need to ask about? “Go ahead and ask.”

  “Well, I can guess the answer to this, but Sir Elijah, what shall happen to him? I do not believe he will be accompanying us to The Terrace, will he?” Max doesn’t like the idea of just leaving Elijah here.

  “Sir Elijah will stay here at Winsbrook until he is well enough to travel. Forcing him to come along with us will only slow us down and endanger him.” She puts her hand on her hip as she replies. They didn’t know each other long, so what does it matter to him what happens to the elf?

  “How dangerous would you say the trip to The Terrace would be? I was told his dukedom was safer, and I had the pleasure to experience the lawlessness of this one myself. Will the journey there be any different?”

  She doesn’t care at all about Elijah. I guess the knights around here aren’t that close. Holding the letter between his hands, he stares at her, waiting for her to reply.

  “I wouldn’t go so far as to say we are experiencing lawlessness.” The knight huffs, and her face flushes with anger. Who the hell does this kid think he is talking about Duke McEwain’s land like that? “We will have around twenty soldiers traveling with us. You will be plenty safe.”

  Her answer makes Max shake his head. Twenty soldiers? On a mission to speak with a Duke in the middle of his dukedom and give a report. You are expecting trouble. The question is, bandits or Eschaton? “Winsbrook, what will be done for them?”

  “What do you mean?” She tilts her head and glances around the town.

  Figures, they don’t plan on doing anything. “This town is beset by gnolls. Having experienced a raid firsthand, I can assure you if nothing is done, this town will fall, and these people will die.”

  “Baron Braye knows of their plight; I know not what, if anything, he plans to do. Now, can we go?” She is getting more impatient the longer this goes on. What does this town have anything to do with you? You have been ordered to go to The Terrace. Why are you worrying about these trivial things?

  “Two days.” Max stands, tossing the letter onto a workbench nearby, and turns, picking a new piece of metal up and putting it in the forge.

  “What? Did you not hear me? Let’s go, we’ve been ordered to The Terrace.” She walks forward, but Lady Rosalee grabs her hand. She looks down at Rosalee, then quickly looks around to see if anyone other than Max is around. She leans down to listen when Lady Rosalee speaks.

  “There is a guard on the side of the house; other than that, there is no one. I will speak to Max inside the house while you distract the guard. He is stubborn, and pushing him, like you were about to, would only make him fight more.” Lady Rosalee speaks softly so no one can hear her voice.

  The knight considers it for a second before nodding. She takes her squire and moves off to talk to the guard about the damaged section of wall and the state of the town. Lady Rosalee approaches the house attached to the smithy. She catches his attention and motions for him to follow her.

  What nonsense is this? What could the squire possibly have to say to me? It is strange that they were able to stop the knight, and they are dressed far better than the other squire. Something isn’t right here.

  Max pulls the metal back out, putting it on the anvil, and follows the squire with his hammer in hand just in case. Once they are inside, the squire looks around the destroyed house before taking her helmet off. “Rosalee?”

  “Keep your voice down; it cannot be known that I am here.” Lady Rosalee approaches him, motioning with her hands to lower his voice.

  “Then why are you here? What's this business with The Terrace? There is no way they send more than twenty people during a war to just deliver a report.” The hammer finds its way to his belt, and Max relaxes a bit.

  “We couldn’t risk sending less people. The people you ran into in Summit Oak might be looking for the two of us. No, don’t say their name. I am to travel as a squire, so no one knows I have left Ashbury.”

  “We need to meet with the Duke to see what he knows about all the events regarding what we’ve both been through. Dallying here will only endanger us further, so we need you to get your things and come with us.”

  Max shakes his head. “We cannot go as we are. If it involves them, you are not aware of the latest tactics. I need at least two days to forge new weapons in case we are set upon by them. If you could convince the knight, it would be a great help.”

  Lady Rosalee tilts her head and moves closer, whispering. “Latest Tactic? What are you talking about?”

  “When we faced them in Summit Oak, they had simply sent goblins after the town once the mage destroyed the gate. If it were only that, we could have defended easily, but the goblins turned into the large indigo monsters that couldn’t be slain.”

  “If you cut them, they instantly healed; if you removed a limb, they would grow a stronger one. It took some effort to put them down, and you had to leave a weapon in their skulls to keep them from rising again. After that, I ended up losing my weapons and have only been fighting with things I have taken off those we killed.”

  “If they do attack, I will need weapons I am comfortable with and some spare knives in case they make more monsters.” Whispering as well, Max tells her his concern.

  “We heard that they twisted them and made them hard to kill, but this…” Lady Rosalee trails off and tries to think if this will hinder their plans.

  “Look, I wasn’t lying about this town. If we leave without doing anything, the gnolls will wipe them out.”

  “I don’t feel right just leaving Elijah here when he cannot defend himself. I heard it is only a two-day hard ride to Barksdale. If the knight sends a couple soldiers with him, they can get him there quickly enough.”

  “It will give me time to make my weapons and some extras just in case any unkillable monsters make an appearance. I can give details of our encounter to the knight as well, so she can make use of the time to come up with ways to deal with them.”

  “If you are trying to keep a low profile while doing this and feel like it would be suspicious for us to stay here, have the soldiers help fortify the town and complete the repairs. If anyone is watching, they will think you are taking Elijah someplace safer than here and waiting for the men to return before setting off.”

  “While waiting, you helped the town out of kindness and to show them the Baron has not forgotten them,” Max explains the situation in full and gives a suggestion on how he would handle it.

  “I will speak with Sir Darvill. Make your weapons as quickly as you can. The show of goodwill shall only last until they return from transporting Elijah.” Lady Rosalee puts her helmet back on and starts to leave before Max holds his hand out to stop her.

  “Thank you. It is nice to see you again. Let me get Darvill; it will be less suspicious.” Leaving without saying anything else, Max walks over to the guard who is explaining things to the knight and her squire. “John, I need a favor. Run up to the manor and let the lord know he will have an extra guest tonight at dinner, and to prepare a room for Sir Darvill.”

  The guard hesitates while the knight glares at Max, wanting to refute him, but holds her tongue. “I-I am not supposed to leave your side. What if the gnolls...”

  “Do you think a knight will be unable to protect me? Go, the lord will not be pleased if he doesn’t have enough time to properly prepare.” Folding his arms, Max cuts the guard off.

  After hearing what he said, the guard no longer hesitates and quickly makes for the manor. Once he is far enough away, before the knight can begin to argue, Max addresses her softly. “The situation has been sorted out. I believe your squire needs you in the house.”

  As her mouth hangs open, Max returns to the forge and starts working on making new tomahawks.

  ? ? ?

  The next days pass by very quickly. Max had spent as much time as possible at the forge. He no longer focused on making tools for the repair of the town and made two tomahawks completely out of metal this time. He improved upon the previous design after having seen ways he could make them better when he had been using them.

  Once they had been finished, he made bigger, longer nails, closer to a railroad spike, with the rest of the time he had. The knight took Max’s advice and had the soldiers help repair the wall around the town, as well as set up some more fortifications to help them fight off the gnolls should they return. Luck was with them, and the soldiers returned safely, and the gnolls didn’t attack.

  “The men have returned; it is time.” Sir Clara Darvill stands with her arms crossed, expecting Max to argue. To her surprise, he lowers the hammer and smothers the flames in the forge. Max dons his vest and jacket without complaint. Then, picking up his pack and another bag, he approaches her.

  “I’ve been ready, we can go whenever. Here,” holding out a spike for her to take Max continues. “This is the fastest, simplest thing I could come up with. Use a hammer or whatever and drive it into any corrupt or possibly corruptible thing’s head.”

  “They shouldn’t get back up from it unless they have changed how they made them. I made a few of them that can be distributed to your men.”

  Sir Darvill doesn’t know what to say, so she takes the spike and turns it over in her hands, examining it. “Is it just a large nail?”

  “That is the basic concept. I felt a nail was too small, but we needed something with a very similar purpose. We can’t just use our daggers or knives; we will run out too fast. These are simple and quicker to make as well.” He holds out the bag that contains the spikes, and she takes them.

  “Thank you, I will pass them out.” Together, they make their way to the center of the town.

  A couple of the villagers have gathered around and say their goodbyes to Max. It strikes all the people from Ashbury as weird the way the town seems to care for the boy who hadn’t been there long. Once all the goodbyes are said, Max mounts the horse they brought for him, and the party rides out of the town.

  Heading back down the same road that Max and Elijah had come down, they will have to pass through Summit Oak before the roads turn to The Terrace. Sir Clara Darvill rides lead while Max, the squire, and Lady Rosalee, pretending to be a squire, stay in the middle of the group.