And right at the moment when that huge bandit was going to kill the guard who had fallen down, someone else ran towards the bandit and tackled him with full force! And that man was also a guard! And he was huge too!

Maisy couldn't hide her happiness as she saw the two huge men wrestle with each other, which gave enough time for the fallen guard to get up and pick up his sword. She couldn't help but cheer in support of him, and soon Elsie joined her as well. And before long, their younger brothers also started cheering for the guards.

The huge bandit - who was even bigger than the guard who had arrived, somehow threw over the guard, and quickly stood back up. But this time, there were two guards standing ready in front of him - and both of them had their swords in their hands now!

Slowly, the two guards walked around to both sides of the bandit, and then they started fighting again! Their swords were flashing this way and that way - making ringing sounds again and again, but she couldn't really understand what was happening in that fight - especially in the darkness, with only the moon's faint light there. But then, one of them cried out with pain, and stumbled a few steps back, and she saw that it was the huge bandit, who was holding his left arm while looking really angry.

In that moment when they had stopped fighting, she also saw that the other guard was still fighting with the second bandit some distance ahead.

Soon, the two guards and the huge bandit started fighting again and their swords started making clanging sounds - but that bandit was still not defeated! How?

And then she heard someone howl in pain, and when they stepped back away from each other, she saw that it was the earlier guard this time and he was holding his thigh with pain! Oh no! But the huge bandit was still outnumbered. That should mean they would win, right?

At that moment their younger brothers started to cheer for the guards again, but a single glare from the huge bandit was enough to make them all shut up.

Then she saw that the bandit lunged forward towards that injured guard. However, the bigger guard managed to slash his sword away, but instead of attacking again, that huge bandit looked around him for a moment, and after saying some things she really shouldn't repeat, he ran away towards a nearby alley!

"I'll go after him," the huge guard said to the other one, "you go and help him." And then he ran towards that alley, and soon he was out of their sights. And only now did she recognize who that huge guard was. He was the one who had helped her and Timmy to get to the children's line, when they were going to get the free meal for the first time.

Slowly, the injured guard - who was still clutching his thigh in pain - looked towards them for a moment, and slowly ran towards the other guard who was still fighting with the second bandit.

"Ahh... What happened here?" She heard someone's tired voice from behind him, and looking there, she saw that Mr Kigeir was awake!

His wife started explaining everything to him, while Leif was still standing in front of them protectively. Mr Kigeir slowly stood up, and after looking towards the guards who were fighting some distance away, he walked towards them with heavy steps. "Are you all okay?" he asked them.

Elsie just nodded, while Maisy replied, "We are. Are you okay too?"

Mr Kigeir smiled, and before he said something, Timmy shouted, "Look! The guards are going to win!"

But as Maisy turned her head towards the guards - seeing that the bandit had fallen down on the ground - and one of the guards had his sword held high in the air, Mr Kigeir put his hands on her and Elsie's eyes to cover them. He told Leif to do the same for their younger brothers, and said, "This isn't something you children should see yet."

Maisy was still curious about the guards, and she really wanted to see them win! But she also didn't want to go against Mr Kigeir's orders. So she kept listening carefully, and then she heard someone cry out in pain from that direction.

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Then Mr Kigeir removed his hands, and she saw that one of the guards was jogging towards them. He looked really tired and exhausted now, and when he reached here, he said, "You all should go to your home now. It is still not safe outside." Then he looked at Mr Kigeir and asked, "Can you walk?" Seeing his nod, he added, "Good! Now I have to go to find the other bandits. Keep your home locked for the night."

And then without waiting for any reply, that injured guard jogged towards the other guard, and both of them ran into a nearby alley.

After Mr Kigeir thanked the guard and the Goddess - even though neither of them could really hear him, right? - he and his wife held the hands of all the children and started walking towards their home, while Leif walked ahead of them.

So they had won, after all! She looked at Elsie for a moment, but she still looked lost in thoughts and wasn't saying anything - quite unlike her - so she also didn't say anything to her for now. However, their younger brothers seemed really excited now. But weren't they crying just a while ago? How did children even change their mood so quickly!

As they all walked towards their home while feeling tired, exhausted, and yet with a full belly - even though the feast seemed to have happened a lifetime ago - nearly all of them were quiet, lost in their thoughts, except for the two younger boys.

"Did you see that last move by the bigger guard?" Timmy asked. "Wasn't he amazing?"

"He was!" Elsie's younger brother replied with enthusiasm. "But the other guard was better! He rolled out so quickly from under the sword of the bandit! I wish I could do that too!"

"Yeah, me too!" Timmy added. "But I want to be like that huge guard! He was better!"

"No he wasn't! The other guard was better! He was very brave!"

Maisy tuned them out after that. How were the kids so excited after they all barely survived? Couldn't they be a little more mature? She scoffed. Children!

*******

~ Kivamus ~

~ Baron's manor ~

It was quite late in the night now, but Kivamus was sitting in the manor hall again along with the others - all of whom had a smile on their faces.

Just a few minutes ago when he was still on the roof, a servant had come running towards the manor house, and told him that the guards had killed most of the bandits. He also said that Hudan was already back at the gates organizing the guards there, and he would be coming to talk to him soon.

Once that servant had returned, Lucem and the archers at the top of the roof had given a whoop of joy, and he and Gorsazo hadn't been able to hide their happiness either. That sound had led to the door to the stairs opening, and Syryne had asked them about what had happened. But before he replied anything, Lucem quickly started explaining it to her, and he had left the siblings alone after that.

After that, he had sent all the archers to meet with Feroy or Hudan to take new orders from them. They all knew that the servant had said that the guards had killed most of the bandits - but not all of them. That meant the other bandits might still be out there, so they still had to stay vigilant. The archers had nodded, and quickly jogged to the stairs and then to outside of the manor house, while the rest of them had returned to the manor hall.

Since then, he had been waiting for the guard captain to arrive. Madam Helga had left for the kitchen a while ago to cook up something quick for them - since Lucem had been saying that he had gotten hungry by now. Kivamus couldn't deny that it had been a while since he had to stay awake till so late, so he had also added his name to those who wanted a late night bite to eat. Syryne and Clarisa had followed Madam Helga to the kitchen as well to help her, along with Lucem - who just wanted to be closer to the kitchen so he would be the first to get something to eat when the food was ready.

And now, it was just him along with Gorsazo and Duvas in the manor hall.

Soon, the outer door of the manor hall opened, and Hudan walked inside. In the light of the fireplace - which was still burning brightly - Kivamus saw that his clothes were muddied, his leather armor looked torn in some places, and exhaustion was easily visible on the guard captain's face.

Taking a place on an empty armchair near the fire, Hudan picked up the waiting jug of water and drank directly from it for a while. Once he was done, he exhaled loudly.

"Madam Helga is making a quick meal for us," Kivamus said, "and I gave yours and Feroy's name as well, since I knew you both would be hungry."

Hudan gave a grateful nod. "Now that you have mentioned it, I really am feeling hungry. I don't know when Feroy will be back, but thank you for that, milord."

Kivamus gave a smile in response. "So how did it go?" he asked the guard captain. "A servant told me that most of the bandits were dead, but not all of them. What did he mean by that?"

Hudan sighed for a moment, and then he began to explain.