The chaotic rush of bodies on the street grew worse the deeper she and Rolfun went into Thorn’s Reach. Around them, cries of terror and shouted demands filled the air, mingling with the distant howls of the Storm Wolves. People from all walks of life surged forward, desperate to escape the beasts that were even now making their way deeper into the settlement. Even so, for all the rushing and the press of the mob, the waves of people broke around Alesin and Rolfun. At a settlement like this, far out on the edge of claimed territory on an Imperial Frontier World, they were easily the highest-leveled beings inside Thorn’s Reach. Perhaps the local ruler was stronger, but that was not a guarantee either.

No the issue with the pressing crowds wasn’t a lack of power. It was the fact it was easy, too easy, to hurt innocents if they did not keep control over their actions. Combined with instructions from their superiors in House Blacksword to keep a low profile, it meant they had to do what they could to avoid attracting attention to themselves. That didn’t mean Alesin had to be happy about it. Every person in the crowd who pressed too close to her was greeted with a snarl that would have caused the Alpha in the Storm Wolf pack attacking the city to flee back into the deepest part of the forest, tail tucked so far between its legs that it disappeared altogether.

She might have lashed out at people, too, had Rolfun’s steadying presence not been so close. Her massive husband moved as quickly as he could through the crowd without inadvertently stepping on anyone. He even would pause to help people knocked over here and there, as he could. The latest that he helped, an old dwarven matron, gestured back in the direction they had come in fear. Alesin couldn’t hear his reply, but she could see him tense up when he glanced back in her direction.

“Alesin!” Rolfun practically shouted over the chaotic rush of people. “Where is Klarion!?”

She glanced behind herself, back in the direction they had come from. The rage she had been feeling at the crowd’s pressing abruptly shifted to gut-churning worry. Klarion was no longer behind her.

“Blood and Ash!!” She cast her gaze around, but there was no sign of their charge anywhere nearby. She growled under her breath, the palpable anger emanating from her enough to get the nearby crowd to push to get away from her. Not that she noticed.

Klarion had probably gotten separately back down the street a ways, and she hadn’t noticed because of how distracted she had been by the fact she hates crowds. This was not good. The likelihood of him coming under attack by a Storm Wolf would, hopefully, be low, but if there was one thing she was starting to form a suspicion about, it was that Klarion was going to be a magnet for trouble. No, they needed to find him as quickly as they could. There was no telling what he would get himself into otherwise.

“We have to go back!” she responded in another shout. “We can’t have left him too far behind!”

Without a word, Rolfun turned and began making his way back to the direction they had come from. Their progress was, thankfully, a bit faster since the vast majority of the panicking people were still headed deeper into Thorn’s Reach. When he came even with her, Alesin stepped behind his imposing form so she wouldn’t have to forge he own way forward. She caught a smile on his face as he passed her, likely in amusement at how much her anger about the crowds was showing. Luckily for him, he made no comment. Had he done so, she would have made sure he regretted it later.

The mob of pressing people finally began to thin out as they made it a full two intersections further back along the route they had taken. With fewer people around them, Alesin felt the tension between her shoulders start to loosen.

“Halt in the name of the Watch!”

And the tension was back.

Alesin stopped moving, her husband doing the same, as the few people near to them gave a wider berth. If she had any doubt as to who was the target of that command, it all ended upon catching sight of the wood elf in a Watch Lieutenant uniform leading a squad of the Watch in their direction, eyes fixed on her. The haughty, superior expression on his face immediately filled her with distaste. Rolfun, the Seven bless him, could tell immediately this would be trouble, so rather than let her take the lead, he moved to interpose himself.

“Is there something the Watch needs?”

“Yes,” the Lieutenant replied in that same haughty voice. “I can tell at a glance that you both are a cut above the usual adventurer riffraff in this settlement. You are hereby drafted into the Watch for the duration of this emergency. Get in line, we are headed to the wall to reinforce the effort to turn back the Storm Wolves.” When Rolfun made to respond, the Lieutenant cut him off. “Resisting this lawful order will mean both a fine and time in prison. Now, come along.”

Such was the arrogance of the wood elf that he didn’t even bother to wait to see if they followed his command. He simply continued in the direction of the wall, barking for his human Sergeant to take them in hand.

“Sorry about that, but you will need to come with us,” the Sergeant said, stepping out of the group as the rest of the Watch followed after the Lieutenant. “Hopefully, this will be over quickly and you can go back to what you were doing. With the settlement’s thanks, of course.”

While the Sergeant motioned for them both to follow after the rest of the squad, Alesin was already shaking her head. They did not have time for this right now. She was about to let the man have it, while Rolfun intervened again.

“You have our apologies as well, Sergeant,” Rolfun said, pulling the Sergeant up short. “But we are not able to join you. Our charge has been lost somewhere between here and the wall, and our duty is first, last, and only to find and protect him.”

“Your charge?” the man asked. He looked closer at Rolfun and Alesin, for the first time noticing the quality of their gear. “Who is your charge?”

“Alesin?” Rolfun referred the question to her.

“Blood and Ash,” she swore again. She had been doing a lot of that lately. Her mind examined all the options. Things weren’t looking good. With Klarion no where to be found, and the emergency going on in Thorn’s Reach, there really wasn’t a point in continuing as they had been. Better that some of the truth about what they were doing get out than to try to play along, only to loss Klarion. They truly didn’t have time to waste. “Scion Klarion. We are charged by the Archducal House Blacksword to escort him from Thorn’s Reach to the Waypoint that he might head to join the incoming year of the Imperial Academy. As bondsmen of House Blacksword, we are authorized to use any and all means necessary in pursuit of our mission, but,” she said as the Sergeant’s face went the color of curdled milk, “we have also been directed to be discreet to the extent possible.”

“Which is why we cannot go with you and your squad,” Rolfun added, clearly glad that everything was now out in the open. “So we will be on our way.”

“The Lieutenant will not like that, especially if you don’t have any proof,” the Sergeant said, but if possible, he went even more pale at the look Alesin shot him at his words.

“Then he can take it up with the Seven,” she growled, a brief flicker of fire coming from her eyes, but she still pulled out the same document she had shown the Watch Captain at the gate. “Here. Everything is in order.”

The Sergeant hesitated but ultimately took the document. Opening it, he read through it quickly, his face becoming more horrified as he went. She could almost see the gears turning in his head. That the sun elf and half-ogre his commanding officer had just tried to draft were truly bondsmen of Archducal House Blacksword. That they had been charged to safely escort the youngest scion of that same imperial high noble house to Imperial Academy in their sector. And that, should their mission be interfered with in any way, whoever had the gall to do so would be censored by one of the most powerful noble families in this corner of the Empire itself.

Needless to say, after the Sergeant carefully handed her the letter back, he tore off in a sprint after his Lieutenant.

“I think that means we are ok to continue,” she said with some grim satisfaction.

“Don’t lie,” Rolfun admonished her, “you have been wanting to do something like that since you received our charge from House Blacksword, and,” he cut off her response, “the Watch Captain did not react with quite the same… urgency as the Sergeant just now.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I think you mean bone-shaking terror,” Alesin said, finally smiling. “I will admit, it felt good to throw the weight of House Blacksword around a little.”

“Well hold on to that feeling,” Rolfun said, sighing again at seeing the Lieutenant had called a halt and was rushing back in their direction, the harried-looking Sergeant trailing along behind him.

“Let me see that document,” the Lieutenant all but demanded, completely ignoring the frantically talking Sergeant behind him.

Without a word, Alesin handed it back over. Unlike the Sergeant, however, the Lieutenant only got more and more angry the further he read. Snarling, he shoved it back into Alesin’s hands, completely unaware of how close he was coming to her setting him on fire.

“So you are dogs of the falling House Blacksword,” the Lieutenant growled, “that doesn’t matter in the face of this emergency. You will still be joining my squad and we will find your spoiled noble scion as soon—”

Alesin, worried over the potential failure of her mission, and even more about the potential threats that, even at this moment, might be able to end the life of the first noble scion she actually liked, reacted exactly as one might have expected.

She called the hottest flames she could in a split second, and swung her fist as hard and as fast as she could at the face of that ignorant, piece of shit Lieutenant. She could practically feel her flaming knuckles popping the skull of the wood elf fool. With his death, they could finally get back to what they were supposed to be doing. Protecting Klarion.

Rolfun’s hand, covered in frost, darted in from the side to take the blow inches from the idiot’s face.

A burst of steam hissed into the air around them as her husband’s frost put out her flame. The Sergeant cursed and stepped back out of range, while the Lieutenant simply doubled-down in the face of his averted death.

“What the hell was that! I’ll have you know that attempting to assault a lawful officer of the Watch means—”

“Absolutely. Nothing.” Rolfun growled, abruptly stepping into the Lieutenant’s personal space. Alesin smiled at the way he casually dominated that space. Oh, he was angry now. “By insisting on following your asinine, worthless commands, you are delaying two legitimate bondsmen of, despite the rumors, one of the most powerful imperial high noble houses in this part of the Empire from going about their duties.” He cut off the angry Lieutenant before he could respond. “If you continue to do so, I’ll let Alesin have you!” The massive half-ogre completely ignored the stuttering Lieutenant to look at the Sergeant behind him. “Sergeant! Get this fool out of our way, or I won’t be responsible for his death!”

Rolfun strode off, continuing in the direction they had been heading until they were interrupted by the Watch. For his part, the Sergeant called over the whole squad of the Watch and was clearly attempting to reason with his Lieutenant. Though Alesin could tell he was having little luck, it didn’t matter. Within the next minute, she and Rolfun were fully out of their line of sight. They began to pick up there pace, going closer to the speed their stats allowed them to move at. Their feet practically flew over the ground.

“After we find Klarion and safely get him to the Waypoint, you are going to get a nice room in a fancy hotel tonight,” she couldn’t resist saying over the wind of their movement, despite her renewed focus on searching for Klarion as they hurried along.

“Alesin, I lost my temper.”

“And it was so hot,” she responded before focusing back on the mission. “But that will come later. First, we need to find Klarion.”

As they came closer to the area they might have lost Klarion, she heard the sounds of shouting and howls. Given the rapidly emptying streets the closer they got to the wall, the sounds of panic died away to be replaced by fighting somewhere up ahead. Without another word, they surged ahead, only to hear a primal, thunderous roar, vibrating with sheer fury and defiance. One they both had heard before.

Klarion.

As one, they tried to pick up their pace, but another scattered group of fleeing civilians came running around the corner just as they were reaching the intersection. For the briefest of moments, she considered just rushing bodily through the group, but at the last moment, she saw a gap. Rolfun, rather than try to forge a way through, used his superior strength to throw himself bodily over several people to land on the other side. The crowd behind them now, all Alesin could focus on was each step bringing them closer to the sound of fighting ahead.

Finally coming around the corner, their momentum nearly caused them to run into the back of another squad of the Watch. They stood in frozen shock, hands slack on their spears not even noticing their arrival. Instead, they stared further down the street where a single man bravely held off two Storm Wolves. For a group so concerned about protecting Thorn’s Reach, a large number of them sure liked standing around while others fought.

Like Klarion was fighting now.

Her eyes widened as she saw him, greatsword first swinging around to cut into a charging Storm Wolf’s paw, only to then use the momentum to bring his blade up in an arc to then descend once more straight into the skull of the beast, sending to directly to the ground with a crack of breaking bone that echoed down the street.

Her feet froze and her heart surged to her throat as she saw Klarion then batted away by the second Storm Wolf to land on the ground near the civilians he was clearly trying to save. Even though he was little better than a non-combatant himself.

Clearly trying to tap into his training with her husband, he sought to turn the fall into a roll, but as young as the Storm Wolf was, it still had speed beyond what the your lord was capable of.

A second clawed paw hit out, slamming Klarion to the ground in a cry of agony. Blood sprayed into the air as the claws of the Storm Wolf cut into him. With the human’s back turned, the beast lunged forward, jaws wide to seize his neck from behind.

The Watch collectively cried out in fear, knowing they could do nothing.

Rolfun yelled in rage, knowing his strength was useless this far away.

She pushed fire into her legs, knowing even her enhanced speed would not be enough.

Then the greatsword emerged from the skull of the descending Storm Wolf.

Alesin froze, the fire around her disappearing all at once. Shock and awe both washed over her. She had known Klarion had been excelling in the training she and her husband had been subjecting him to, but that was all theory and sparring at most. While his resolve as they had escorted him to Thorn’s Reach had been formidable, it had not yet come up against a true life-and-death battle with only himself to rely on. And rather than wait, like all common sense said he should have, he sought out such a fight himself. And he survived it. It was then, in that moment, that she knew it without a shadow of a doubt.

Klarion was special.

And she was so angry at him.

Alesin did not so much walk as stalk towards Klarion, her husband at her side. Coming behind them, a bit more hesitantly, were the useless squad of the Watch. She did not know why they looked so nervous. At least one of them should have had a sensing skill. Alesin’s was telling her that there were no other threats nearby.

Rolfun was saying something to her, but she couldn’t hear it through her anger. That brave, but so incredibly stupid young lord had just put himself at risk for no good purpose.

“What in the Nine Hells were you thinking!” Alesin shouted at the young man, practically still a boy, who had pulled himself free of the corpse to lie beside an injured human woman, his hand holding tightly to a makeshift tourniquet around her leg. She did not remember teaching him how to make one, so that must be something he had learned back on his home planet. Two girls, little older than toddlers, were crying quietly next to them.

At a glance, she could tell the woman was in need of healing soon if she was to survive, but that was secondary to the fact that Klarion himself was bleeding heavily from his back.

“What in the Nine Hells were you thinking!” she shouted again when he did not immediately respond.

“Alesin, I think you—”

“No!” She shouted, shaking her husband off. All she could feel was the fear, even though she knew Klarion would be alright. The young lord needed to know just how close he had come to his own death. “I want an answer!”

Klarion’s expression hardened, eyes flaring as he met her furious gaze. For a moment, she felt like she was staring at a young scion, fresh to the System but something else.

“What was I thinking?” Klarion snapped, voice tight. “I was thinking about how vicious Storm Wolves are. I was thinking about a mother and her daughters being in their path.” He practically growled out the last words. “I was thinking about how, if I did nothing, they’d be dead.”

She was about to interrupt him, to tell him that was not yet his choice to make, that he was not yet strong enough to take a risk like that, but Klarion plowed on, not giving her a chance to interrupt.

“You think I wanted to be on the ground here, tasting blood, feeling my back shredded to ribbons? You think I wanted to risk my own life?” His voice steel-hard and edged with emotion. “No, Alesin, I did not want to risk it. I had to risk it, because they couldn’t protect themselves.”

“Bu—”

“No!” Klarion was shouting now as well. “You know what it means to stand between death and the innocent! You have been teaching me for days about what graduating from the Imperial Academy will mean! Of the service to others, to the Empire!” He slammed a bloody fist to his chest. “After hearing all of that, all of that, how could you possibly expect me to turn away from those in need!!”

“K—Lord Klar—” she tried to talk, the fear turning to shame in her chest, but he cut her off again.

“No, I need to say this.” Klarion extended one bloody finger, pointing it up in the air. “I know what I risked. And I know what it could have cost me. But if I am the only thing standing between a monster and an innocent, I’m going to put myself in harm’s way. Every. Single. Time.” He turned his exhausted gaze to the two young girls, still crying over their unconscious mother, largely oblivious to the argument happening right next to them. He spoke once more, softly. “I had to protect them, Alesin. I couldn’t…I couldn’t just let them die.”

For a long moment, Alesin stared down at Klarion. Yes, he was still barely more than a boy, and still so new to the System, let alone the role he would be asked to play in the Empire as a member of House Blacksword. But for him to have not only figured out the most important role of nobility, but to have embraced it like so many others did not… Yes. She was glad that they would be able to get him to the Imperial Academy before another day outside it relative safety put him at greater risk. The odds were long, how long neither she nor Rolfun would tell him, but even with House Blacksword’s current weakness, Klarion still had a chance to become special.