Chippering of birds and a cool breeze were the first things that welcomed Horn into the Nexus. As the afterimage of the teleportation cleared, he saw his clan, or rather what was left of it. His dwarves were resting on the grass, most still bloodied from the hours of combat. A few groups talked, but most were just quietly recovering. All but his three champions, who seemed to be arguing in some distance. At least they had the decency to walk away a bit.
Before heading to them, Horn took a moment to survey the area. Crates and chests of the clan’s supplies were scattered around, two wagons somehow were transported with them, but one was missing a wheel. A herd of his livestock was grazing to the side, and a group of his dwarves was looking over a sleeping hatch of Gryphons. The creatures were miniature compared to their mother, and he could easily fit two in his arms. They were covered in white fluff that was neither a fur nor feathers he saw earlier on. Right now, they were asleep, with a dozen of his workers just keeping watch around.
He tried counting his forces but stopped quickly. The numbers seemed bleak. There weren’t more than fifty, maybe sixty of them remaining. Again he lost half of his clan. That started to be a repeating thing. There were some newcomers in the mix. A half dozen late Yellowrock students were sitting in their own circle, Herrak and his party cooked something over a small fire, half a dozen unknown dwarves were sipping something from a barrel discussing it lively. Then there were another four heavily armored dwarves, taking care of the Warboars. And a dozen or so humans, an elf and either a gnome or a halfling sitting at the side.
Taking in his clan, he observed the area. They were in the middle of mostly flat plains, green grass, and small copses of trees and streams covered the area. In the far, he could see an extensive mountain range, at a side the beginning of a large forest. More importantly, he saw beacons, a lot of beacons. One seemed to be very close, maybe a mile or so away. He could even see the tops of the dark arch in the distance. However, the beacon was white, which was already out of the picture. He saw two greens and a blue in the forest but dismissed them as well, as it didn’t suit his race.
Taking a look at the mountains, he saw several greens and a few blues that way. There was one more out there, but he couldn’t tell as the sun was behind it. It was either white or a gold one. He hoped for the latter. However, before that, he had to solve the heating argument. His champions’ voices were raised. Despite their recent evolutions, they looked exactly like when they entered the tower for the first time. Ingrid was in her working garb with the trusty pitchfork in hand. Goran in his chainmail, with a shield on his back, and Sigrid in her scholar’s robes covering her.
“Meathead, I told you! We have to wait. Pumpkin is somewhere out there.” Ingrid yelled.
“It's Chieftain, and we have to prepare to move out. We’re in the open out here. Someone or something will take notice.” Goran argued,
“The logic dictates to send out scouts,” Sigrid added,
“Who asked you, scum? Don’t think that I didn’t notice the Brotherhood brand on your arm? I’m sure that pumpkin will want to know about that. I have no idea how you convinced him to give you the stone.”
“I didn’t! Horn gave it to me on his own, and I’m done with them.”
“Yea, spun your web however you want, but you won’t fool me. Try anything, and you’ll learn why I’m called Sharptong.”
“Lady Ingrid, I’m with the clan, and my loyalty is with Horn. However, I see you’ve made your mind. What about your Dawn Riders? The forbidden order? Are you going to explain it to him?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Dawn riders? Are you one of them? The traitors? It all makes sense now. That’s why you were so against me from the beginning. Anarchist!” Goran budged in, pointing a finger.
“ENOUGH!” Horn shouted, grabbing their attention. This started to become an everyday thing, stopping his champions from jumping each other throats.
“Pumpkin!”, “Chieftain!”, “Horn!” A choir of voices welcomed him, they opened their mouth to continue, but a hard wave of his hand silenced them.
“There’ll be time for talking. I just wanted to congratulate you on your new classes. You were essential in the clan’s survival. Maybe besides leaving it to its own! Did any of you think what could have happened? You are the CHAMPIONS of this clan, and each of you left it behind. This is unacceptable!”
Horn waited a few seconds for this to sink, then continued, “However, that’s in the past. We have work to do. You’ll listen now, and we’ll talk one on one later on. We’ll have time to do so in the journey.” He stopped to look at them. Goran had a smug smile on his lips while Ingrid just nodded. Sigrid had the most surprising reaction. She dropped her head while clenching fists.
“Ingrid, take raiders and the pathfinder and start scouting around us. I want to know everything in at least a mile in every direction. I saw you have some new friends. Take them with you.” Horn saw Ingrid nodding, then she turned away and left.
“Goran, I want to know all about the people you brought in. We need to be sure if they’re with us or not. I’ll want to talk with them, but later on. For now, get everyone capable of chopping and working wood and get to that forest over there. Use any remaining animals we have to get there fast. We need to rebuild our wagons. Our destination lies in that mountains, and that’s a long trek. Grab hunters and gatherers and get them foraging.”
The champion saluted with his fist before saying, “As you wish, Chieftain. It’s good to have you back.”
“Glad to be back, now let’s get moving.” Horn replied, then turning to his ‘scholar’ added, “Sigrid, you’re with me.”
He started walking away from the rest of the clan, and she quickly followed. As they walked a bit further to avoid any eavesdropping, he just said, “Now’s the perfect time to explain.”
For a few moments, she remained quiet but then said, “Chief - Horn. I’ve never lied to you. I am a scholar, but I wasn’t one always. My past is complicated, but as you saw, I was an Assassin. That was a lifetime ago, I am a Scholar, or rather I was taught to be one. After the killing you saw and my capture, they – “ She paused for a breath, “ they hurt me. They crippled me to make an example. Death would be too merciful. I turned against them. I’ve killed one of the Elders. They made sure I couldn’t die, I was always watched, but I endured, and then, when the End came, I thought it was it.”
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Taking another pause, she continued, “Appearing here after your summon was a surprise. When I’ve learned you’ve summoned me to be your Scholar, I was both disappointed and elated. I was healed, I could live again, and my enemies were long gone. But then, you started to challenge me, and I never turned down a challenge, the rest, you know. I’ll find a way to repay you for your kindness. Say a word, and I’ll leave. You’ll never see me again.”
Horn saw her clenched fists and tight lips as she awaited his answer. Despite everything she said, he wasn’t sure she didn’t play him. It just fitted the picture so nicely. On the other hand, he liked her. After a while in the silence, he opened his mouth, “As I’ve already told you, I’ll take a dozen. However, lately, I was told about taking an oath. I won’t force you, but you’ll have to take one to me. I cannot have such skilled Assassin at my back without one.”
That gave her a pause, she met his eyes looking for deceit, but finding none, she replied, “Before I take it, tell me why?” Seeing his disorientation, she added, “Why do you want to give me a chance? You’ve seen what I’m capable of. The murders that Goldstein told about were all true.”
“So what? We’ve just slaughtered a whole clan of goblins, then a dozen or so evil elves. I’m not naïve to think there won’t be times when a single death will save dozens. I’ve told you, you’re capable and I like it. You didn’t wrong me, and the past is the past. Serve me well, and we’ll build what you’ve dreamed of – a Kingdom worthy of its name.”
Nodding, she dropped on one knee and said, “Chieftain Horn Skysmith of the Lightforge clan, I Sigrid Longhood in trust swear to you: To protect your people, land, and home, To never wish you harm. Guide my hammer, use my axe. I stand with you now, and until the end of time, as long as you keep your faith in me, I’ll return the favor. By the gods almighty, so I swear.”
Whisps of energy surrounded her frame, and they spun faster and faster as she spoke the words. Then as she finished, a small explosion of light enveloped her. Horn was worried for a second, but then he received a notification.
Sigrid Longhood wants to swear fealty to you. You can reject the oath or accept it in one of two ways. Choose wisely!
I accept your oath made in good faith. Raise!
I accept your oath made in good faith in the same manner it was given. My home is your home; your grievances are my grievances. As long as I live, you’ll be under my protection. Raise!
He immediately chose the second option. It was more restrictive but also more sincere. As he said the words, he felt a rush of energy enveloping him. A moment later, a flash of light erupted from both of them, and the oath was sealed.
Horn took a step towards Sigrid and extended his arm, “Raise my dear Spymaster.”
She took his hand with a smile, “Thank you, Horn.”
Returning the smile, he said, “Now that we have that behind us, let’s head back. We have a lot to do.”
“Of course, Chief, but I believe we need to establish one thing.”
“Let’s stop with that Chief thing. You’re one of my champions. Call me Horn. So what do you need?”
“I should remain your Scholar in the eyes of the clan, and it’ll make me more useful.”
“That’s a good point, but don’t they already know? And what about your new class? Won’t anyone with appropriate skill demask you?”
“No, Chi- Horn. I have some skills that will allow me to remain undetected, or rather my new class, not to show at all. I am still a tenth-level scholar. The few people that know or might suspect it.” She paused, “I will handle them.”
Horn frowned, “No killing our people. Not at any reason.”
“I wouldn’t do that, not without your direct order.” She said, adding the last part slowly.
For a moment, Horn wondered if he had made the right choice. However, he was sure that the time might come when such means would be needed. He only nodded, walking towards the camp.
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Upon arriving at the camp, Horn jumped on one of the wagons. He stood on top of its cargo and waited for a moment. The chatting began dying down as the clan focused on him. The newcomers were the last to come, but as they assembled, he spoke, “Lightforge! And our new friends. Welcome back to the Nexus.”
He waited as a small cheer went through gathered, before continuing, “These last days were hard for all of us, but we’ve made through with sweat and blood. We’ve lost good friends. Their sacrifice allowed the rest of us to carry on. They will not be forgotten! Tonight we’ll add names to the book of Heros. During this challenging time, we also gained new allies, maybe soon clanmates. Tonight we’ll celebrate both of these, but our journey is just beginning. Some of us already left ahead to start preparing for the journey to establish our new city. As I promised you a few days ago, whatever happens, we’ll face it together. Today I extend that promise to the newcomers. Join us, join the Lightforge clan and face the challenges ahead of us with your heads raised.” Seeing some skeptical looks, he added, “I won’t force you to join. You are free to leave at any time, you can also continue traveling with us, and you’ll be treated fairly.”
“We will head out in an hour, our first destination, the nearby forest, to resupply and rest tonight. If you have any questions, you can address them to Sigrid, our Scholar.” Horn finished, jumping down the crates. He smiled, hearing some shouts for the Lightforge. The crowd quickly dispersed. Some returned to their previous spots, and some began hauling some goods and trying to stack them on the wagons. He threw himself in the middle of organizing the crowd. Essential goods were prepared for the journey, while others were just dumped.
He saw Sigrid milling around the ex-slaves and the summoned groups that weren’t part of his clan. He was sure she’d give him an update on them soon. But until then, the time was running. Seven days as the past week showed him that it wasn’t a lot. He didn’t have time to loiter around, but there was one thing he couldn’t miss.
Hungry squeaks welcomed him to a small corral made out of sticks holding the baby Gryphons. The creatures were fluffy and cheerful, jumping awkwardly around, fighting for scraps of meat that his dwarves were throwing in. The hatchlings were adorable, careless, and curious about their surroundings. Seeing them was a reward on its own. They were very similar, but Horn’s attention was bought by a single one that was a bit different. One of them didn’t participate in the chasing around. It sat at the side, observing the dwarves around. Every time one took a piece of meat out of the bag, Gryphon’s eyes locked on it. The animal repositioned itself to be in the best spot to catch the tasty morsel. Then just as the dwarf was about to throw the snack, it shrieked, gathering the attention of its sibling, giving it just an additional second of a head start.
Horn watched fascinated as the creature devoured the slice of meat. That one seemed smarter than the rest. It even noticed Horn staring and locked its eyes with him. They watched each other for a moment before the Gryphon noticed another snack being prepared. Its attention immediately refocused, and Horn once again saw the show. It didn’t work out every time, but the success rate was astonishing. The little one would grow fast with such a diet.
Horn approached the little bugger, grabbing him into his arms. The creature was curious, calmly allowing him to pick it up. As he raised him to his face, the little bugger pecked straight into his nose. With a scream of surprise and pain, Horn dropped the Gryphon, who immediately scattered to a nearby bag containing meat slices. As Horn recovered, he was welcomed by a salvo of laughter from his dwarves who saw the exchange. The proud Gryphon was sitting on top of the bag, pecking into it to grab another morsel. As Horn locked his eyes with the creature, it raised its beak and screeched in triumph. Horn just joined into laughter, and as it died down, he said, “I call this one Puck, after the god of mischief. May you rule over your brothers and sisters for a long time!”
“Hear, hear!”
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They left an hour later. Two wagons filled to the brim with supplies, less than fifty dwarves and a few others. Each was carrying sacks and crates as not everything fit on wheels. There weren’t any fanfares nor cheers. Almost no one witnessed the beginning of the new journey. Noone but a single crow sitting on a nearby boulder. It cocked his head and released a loud caw, wishing the dwarves all the luck as they would need it.