Cheese descended the polished stone steps, each one sending a muted clink up through his armored boots. His legs felt strange encased in greaves—bracers for his shins—that he wasn’t used to wearing, though they fit snugly enough. A purple long-sleeved shirt peeked out from beneath the breastplate that weighed down his shoulders. It was finely made, too fine for a lumberjack from Timberbrook, and it rubbed oddly against his skin. His bracers and metal gloves, gauntlets the baron’s steward had called them, completed the ensemble. He felt more like a child playing dress-up than a man ready to lead.

Still, the weight of the armor was oddly reassuring. The pain in his knee and leg was dulled, the bath having worked wonders, and he moved far more smoothly than he had the night before. Though the stiffness lingered, each step was easier than the last.

At the bottom of the stairs, a figure stood waiting, his broad shoulders sagging slightly under the weight of something unseen. Torv. His left arm ended just below the elbow, the bandaged stump cradled against his chest.

Cheese offered a small smile. "Morning, Torv."

Torv straightened at the sound of his voice, his weary expression softening. "Morning, Bladesman." A pause, then, "Cheese. I... wanted to thank you."

Cheese frowned. "For what?"

"For saving me," Torv said, glancing down at his arm—or what was left of it. "You pulled me out of that mess when you didn’t have to. If you hadn’t, I’d be dead for sure."

Cheese shifted uncomfortably, the metal of his gauntlets creaking as he rubbed his neck. "We were all just trying to make it through."

Torv nodded, his jaw tightening. "Still. Thank you."

The man took a deep breath, straightened further, and met Cheese’s gaze. "I... don’t have anywhere to go now. Nothing to do. My unit’s gone, Bladesman. All of them. When I told the nurse that, she said you might need a bannerman."

"A bannerman?" Cheese repeated, blinking.

Torv gestured with his good arm, his voice gaining strength. "I’m only missing a hand. I can still hold a banner. I know I can. I once knew a one-armed spearman who could fight like hell itself. If he could do that, I can hold a bloody banner."

Cheese studied him. Torv’s face was drawn, lined with exhaustion and grief, but his eyes held fire—a determination that refused to be snuffed out.

"You’re sure about this?" Cheese asked.

"Dead sure," Torv said. "I need something to do. Something worth what time I’ve got left."

Cheese hesitated, then nodded slowly. "All right. You’re my bannerman, Torv. But I expect you to prove you can handle it."

A grin split Torv’s face, a genuine smile that made him look younger, as though some of the weight had been lifted. "You won’t regret it, Bladesman. I’ll hold that banner higher than anyone ever could."

Cheese allowed himself a small smile in return. "Good. Now go find yourself some clothes that match mine. Purple’s the color, apparently."

Torv saluted with his good hand, the motion crisp and full of purpose. "Yes, Bladesman." He turned and strode off down the hall, his steps steady despite his injuries.

Cheese adjusted the straps of his breastplate and continued down the corridor, the coolness of the stone floor seeping through his boots. His limp was more of a shuffle now, the armor’s weight oddly comforting.

As he neared the war room, he passed the old throne, a relic of a time when Timberbrook’s rulers were more than barons. He paused for a moment, inclining his head in a simple gesture of respect. It felt strange, acknowledging a seat of power he had never aspired to, but something about it felt right.

Straightening, Cheese squared his shoulders and made his way toward the heavy doors of the war room. There was work to be done, and he was ready to face it.

Cheese pushed open the heavy oak doors, the hinges creaking faintly as he stepped into the Baron’s war room. The air inside was thick with the scent of wax candles and ink, mingled with the faint tang of metal from the armor of the gathered men.

At the far end of the long room stood the Baron, his stark white hair a striking contrast to his deep green tunic and breastplate. Despite the chaos of the past days, he looked fresh and composed, his voice carrying clear and steady as he addressed the gathered officers.

Cheese paused near the doorway, taking in the sight. The officers were an interesting mix—many were men Cheese recognized from Timberbrook, their rugged faces familiar from years of shared toil in the mill and the militia. Each of them wore the same shade of purple that now adorned Cheese, or a bright pink that stood out starkly against the room's subdued tones.

Beside each of them stood a man clad in the Baron’s deep green, their armor polished to a sheen that seemed almost ceremonial. The juxtaposition was stark: local men of Timberbrook paired with the seasoned warriors of the kingdom.

The Baron’s voice was calm but commanding as he continued. "You will operate in pairs," he said, gesturing to the room. "Each of you, new to this role, will follow the lead of an experienced officer. I expect you to give their counsel every regard, even if they seem to be of fewer years than you. This is how we will ensure the future of House Timberbrook and whatever house “Cheese” decided to create”. Through discipline, through trust, and through the training of the next corps of officers and elites." He smiled wryly.

A faint chuckle rippled through the room, but it was good-natured, and when the Baron glanced in Cheese’s direction, it was with a nod of acknowledgment.

Cheese felt a flush creep up his neck but managed a nod in return, stepping further into the room. He spotted Elder Tompson standing near the side, his wrinkled face impassive as always. Beside him was Ibron, wearing the simple tan of the Timberbrook militia. Ibron caught Cheese’s eye and gave him a brief nod, the corners of his mouth quirking up in a reassuring smile. Cheese eyes returned to elder Tompson, and he swore the man had the face of someone in his 60s, he truly was getting younger like the gods had said.

At the center of the room, a rider stepped forward, his travel-worn clothes still damp with dew. He saluted crisply before speaking.

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"My lord," the rider began, "we circled the goblin camp under cover of darkness. Harried them as best we could while maintaining distance. Based on our observations, their numbers are approximately four thousand, a mix of goblins, orcs, and trolls. The trolls arrived an hour ago."

"Trolls," the Baron repeated, his tone sharpening.

"Yes, my lord. Ten feet tall, grey-skinned brutes," the rider confirmed.

Cheese felt his stomach twist at the description. His mind conjured up images of the hill giants he and his brothers had fought—their hulking forms, the sheer power behind their blows. These trolls sounded no less formidable.

The Baron nodded, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Thank you, rider. You’ve done well. Ensure your men rest while they can. We’ll need them fresh for what’s to come."

The rider saluted again and withdrew, leaving the room silent for a moment. The Baron swept his gaze over the assembled men. "You have your orders. Retire until your watch. Dismissed."

The officers and their green-clad counterparts filed out in pairs, their boots echoing off the stone floor. When the last of them had gone, only the Baron, Cheese, Elder Tompson, Ibron, and a handful of young boys—squires or pages, Cheese guessed—remained.

The Baron turned his full attention to Cheese, his sharp blue eyes studying him for a moment. "Bladesman," he said, his tone neutral but edged with something unreadable. "You’re just in time. We’ve much to discuss."

Cheese squared his shoulders and stepped forward, feeling the weight of his armor with each movement. He nodded toward Ibron and Elder Tompson, who gave him nods of acknowledgment in return. Whatever was to come, Cheese knew he wasn’t facing it alone. The baron turned and said "Squires, bring us something hearty, eggs and meat. Bring five chairs, and call in the lady" he looked at cheese and asked "Got a house name yet?"

"No baron" came the response and the baron simply said "Bring us the Bladesmans mother."

In twenty minutes they were sitting and eating breakfast, soon after they started Cheese` mother arrived. She wore a simply grey dress. thankfully Cheese saw she had taken the time to remove the bloody apron and change.

"Baron" she said with a small curtsy. Nold pulled back her seat and she sat next to her son with a smile in his direction.

"Well" said the baron calmly as he drank his wine. "I have given it some thought. Firstly, we will take the city." He paused and read cheeses exp[ression. He gave no indication that he was surprised at this, yet internally Cheese was screaming. Take the city? That was madness.

"Do you know what a city is cheese? Why Fairhaven is important? It is in ruins, yet the order persists, we must take it. These goblins know as well, there is power there, and we do not need to take the whole city, we simply need to take the power." the baron held up a scroll that unfurled, as he did he revealed a drawing, it was of a gem. The gem had sharp angels, and was obviously expensive.

"Power. That is why Fairhaven is important. Similar gems exist in every major city. They are the seed for our magical professionals. We believe that whoever is doing this wants the gems. You see the gem of the capital sat on the crown of the king. Its gone now, but we know that the gem of Fairhaven was inside of the keep that the giants destroyed."

As he said this he leveled a look at Cheese. "The young King will be here the day the quest expires. He wished to be here earlier, but with this situation and these delays I have been forced to send word for them to stall. He must live Cheese, so it is on you and me to do whatever damage we can and ensure that we get access to one of these tablets from the orcs. if their goal is the gems, we will get them back one way or another. Until then we have scouts watching the rubble of the keep so now or later, we wil ltake back Fairhaven."

"How" asked cheese. "The keep is inside of the city, how are they able to watch that from afar and be sure no one enters it."

The baron smiled replying "My men are skilled, though normally this would be impossible you are correct, but those goblins blew the city sky high. And they have set up camp out in the open field. No, all we have to do is occasionally send out raids and slip the horsemen into the city in passes. I doubt they will even try to be honest. The giants swept that keep to smithereens. Did you happen to search their corpses after you killed them?"

Cheese shook his head and said "No, we weren't there"

The baron gave him an incredulous look and Cheese explained that they had fled, he told the man of the fight, and their last-ditch surprise plan. As Cheese said this the baron listened intently, finally as cheese finished, he asked, "May I see this Axe?"

Cheese summoned it, and as he did the baron jumped in surprise. He searched for something in Cheeses eyes and said slowly "So there is magic to you, I had begun to think that the gods were off their rockers."

He inspected the axe slowly, commenting on the workmanship. "Susine wood?" he asked as his hand neared the Haft. Cheese nodded and the Baron continued "Hummmmm this explains it, you have an axe that has a haft made of Susine, and a head of Black Steel. Thats a vicious combination."

"Black steel?" asked cheese with a frown.

"yes boy, black steel. Your father must have paid a fortune for it. Black steel is a living metal, or at least when its worked like this it is. It is self-sharpening, and hard as all hell. In time your mana and its will mix, which appears to have already happened. That allows you to cast around it, but no others. Watch" as he said this the baron lifted his arm and spoke out a number of words. Nothing happened. "I just cast a spell, but holding this I can't even feel the mana around me." The baron had a strange look on his face as he said this, finally he smiled and asked "Cheese, do you want to sell this to me?"

The young man jumped to his feet and shouted "Never"

The baron smiled and said "Welp, cant blame me for asking. I would pay handsomely, but no price is worth selling that boy. Its worth more than anything I own save my own blade." The baron smiled as he pulled out his own black sword. it had a sinister gleam to it, and cheese could almost feel the sharpness with his eyes.

"Now" said the baron returning his sword to its scabbard and tossing Cheese his axe. "To important matters. Your house, Have you thought of a name"

Cheese looked at his mother who said "Yes, We shall be the house of Rook." Cheese nodded at her words and the baron clapped saying "Yes, House Rook, it fits. You have a house color, and a house name. I hear you have a standard, which will in turn give you a crest. I can trust you to handle this mistress rook?"

Cheeses mother nodded, and said "I will handle the family affairs. However, my son is without funds, can he rely on you?"

The baron nodded turning to Elder Tompson and Cheese as he said "yes, I will take you both under my employ. Bladesman, Tompson, I offer you both position in my court. If you accept I will see o it that the king grants you both the title of baronet. Do you accept?"

Cheese looked to his mother who nodded. Saying simply "If you wish to help the people this is the way forward"

Cheese nodded, and after a time the older Tompson did as well. When they did the baron let out another clap saying "Well that makes us three. Ibron, can I trust you to attend to their affairs with the lady Rook?"

Ibron jumped at being addressed by the charismatic man and said "y-yes my lord. It will be so."

Then their discussion turned to matters of politics. Cheese swam at the barons words, not grasping much of it. Yet he understood a few points. Firstly the king planned to move his full court here. Not much of the capital had survived, and after the goblins began assaulting them the king had fled. His wagon train had been beset by all manners of beasts and monsters, and eventually the prince had left it with a small guard. he had sent word to the Baron to ride south. As it stood the country was in turmoil, and the King had asked all able men to rally here. There was word from Kongsraveth that they had recovered the county capital, but the population was in shambles. Other counts and the kingdoms only duke had reported heavy losses. It looked like they would recover in time, but for now things looked rough.

"So" said the baron as he stood. Well over an hour had passed while they spoke "for now that is all, we must turn to other matters. Bladesman, you lack a formal education, how is your education in war?"

Cheese shrugged and said "The same, I have a high skill, and I can swing my axe better than most, but for formal education I have little experience. Only what my mother taught me and the Milita"

The baron nodded and said "Well, let's go out to the pitch and see, shall we?" he began walking away, and Cheese had to struggle to rise and hustle after him as the baron walked quickly out of the building, and into a square that had been staked out by the men. Inside of that square stood some 30 men in various colors who strained agianst one another with blades.

"Well Fuck me" Said Cheese with a smile as he realized what the baron had in mind.