Alesin was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of hurried running behind her. Though clearly not those of another Storm Wolf, both she and Rolfun were immediately on guard, pivoting away from Klarion to face the potential threat.
The Watch Sergeant was rushing over, his squad in ragged ranks behind him. They were clearly trying their best to present a front of professionalism, but the way every single one of them was darting worried looks at the surrounding area, likely in search of more Storm Wolves, showed exactly what condition they were in.
The Watch Sergeant came to a halt in front of her, his eyes darting to her looming husband, then to Klarion and the civilians still on the ground. A look of concern flashed across his face. Or was that anger she saw?
“Is that one,” the Watch Sergeant thrust out with his spear in the direction of Klarion, “with you?”
“Yes,” she responded politely, pushing down the remaining anger she had been feeling. No matter what city you went to in the Empire, it was always better to start off politely with the Watch. If need be, she had the strength and the noble backing to throw her weight around later. Which she would not hesitate to do if this conversation went the way she was expecting. “Was there something you needed, Watch Sergeant….?”
“Bale, Watch Sergeant Bale,” he clarified before gesturing for two of his subordinates to move over to Klarion. Rolfun immediately stepped in their way, arms crossed and face set in a deep frown.
The two members of the Watch stopped moving abruptly to face the large half-ogre, and turned to shoot almost helpless looks at their leader. Frowning, the Watch Sergeant gestured for them to wait, clearly not wanting to get into anything with Rolfun.
“I will need you to release him into my care,” Watch Sergeant Bale continued, again directing this to her. “That young man disobeyed a direct order from the Watch to stay back from the Storm Wolves. Doing so put us all at risk.”
Alesin gently arched an eyebrow, staring at the Watch Sergeant. Slowly, she shifted her gaze, going from Klarion to each Storm Wolf, clearly dead, and finally coming back to the Watch Sergeant.
“I see,” she said, her voice carrying a hint of contempt. And she did see. It looked like the Watch Sergeant was trying to make Klarion a scapegoat to cover for his own lack of action against the Storm Wolves. She hated those supposed protectors who did nothing but get in the way.
Her thoughts must have shown on her face because the Watch Sergeant’s eyes were flat with anger. The spear in his hand creaked, and the members of the Watch behind him shifted uneasily. “Will we have to take you both in as well?”
“Unfortunately,” Alesin started, a half-grin forming slowly on her face as she stretched out the word. “As both myself and Rolfun are sworn bondsmen of the Imperial Archducal House Blacksword, we are above your petty authority while in the pursuit of our duty.”
While the Watch Sergeant had opened his mouth after she said that first word, his face going red as a furnace, as soon as she stated that they were in service to high-ranking imperial nobility, he slammed his teeth shut with an audible snap. The way his red face immediately transitioned into an ugly, pasty white was so satisfying after having to sneak around for so long.
“Y-y-you,” he stammered, looking at her. Watch Sergeant Bale’s eyes got even wider when he finally realized what that would make Klarion. “That w-would…H-h-he is—?!”
“Klarion von Sturmwacht,” Alesin said with no small amount of relish, “a scion of the Imperial Archducal House Blacksword.”
With just those few words, the Watch Sergeant completely changed his attitude, the fear almost radiating from him. Immediately, she began to feel a little guilty. Alesin knew from personal experience how so many nobles in the Empire punished their social inferiors for a fraction of the treatment Watch Sergeant Bale had been about to insist upon. Luckily for the terrified man, Klarion was not the type to react to his slight. If he even recognized it as a slight.
Watch Sergeant Bale swallowed hard and shifted his stance from angry defiance to an almost wary subservience. “Lord Klarion,” he said, bowing his head to Klarion. “My apologies for not recognizing your status… I hadn’t realized. I’d never have presumed to issue you an order otherwise. Is there anything we can do for you, my lord?”
For Klarion’s part, he remained focused on the injured woman next to him.
“There is no need for apologies to me, Sergeant,” he dismissed the man’s apology while giving the tourniquet a slight tug to keep it tight. “Could you have your healer take a look at this woman?”
Watch Sergeant Bale straightened, still visibly tense but clearly reassured by the lack of reproach in Klarion’s voice. Alesin realized that his approach to others showing subservience like this would become another thing that would set Klarion apart from the other high imperial nobility.
“Of course, Lord Klarion. Most wouldn’t… I mean… thank you.” The Watch Sergeant clearly struggled to find the right words, but with no lashing out by the young scion, Bale focused on his one request. “Hurst, get over here and heal their wounds!”
A young woman in the ranks of the Watch stepped forward from where she had been leaning against a comrade. Pale in the face, and with her hands slightly shaking, she nervously looked between those she had been ordered to heal and her Watch Sergeant.
“Ah, Sergeant. I don’t have enough reserves to heal both yet.”
“Then prioritze Lord Klarion.”
“Rolfun,” Klarion interjected, “do you have any more of those minor healing potions?”
“Of course, lord. Though this one should be the last for a while since you have been using so many in your training.” Rolfun leaned down to pull out one of the potions from his storage ring. Her husband handed it to Klarion, but the young lord refused to take it.
“A second one?” Klarion asked.
“Lord?”
“I wasn’t the only one injured,” he gestured at the woman lying beside him.
Watch Sergeant Bale cleared his throat, glancing between Klarion and the injured woman. “My lord, if I may… even if you wish to use the potion, our healer can still tend to the woman’s injuries,” he offered, his voice deferential as he gestured the healer, Hurst, forward.
“No,” Klarion held up a hand, halting her before she could get to the woman. “Save your strength. We have extra potions, and if you come across more Storm Wolves, your healing will be needed then.”
The healer hesitated, eyes darting to Sergeant Bale for confirmation. Slowly, the squad’s leader nodded. For Alesin, it was clear to see that both were confused. Nobility in the Empire just did not hand out healing potions, even those as relatively inexpensive as the minor ones Rolfun carried, without demanding something in return. But Klarion hadn’t done that. Instead, he was simply insisting that Hurst save her healing for if the squad of the Watch came across another Storm Wolf.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
With no interruption, Rolfun handed over another minor healing potion. After drinking his own, Klarion took the second and gave it to the injured woman. Apart from a groan, she did not otherwise stir while the hole in her leg sealed. As her breathing eased, her daughters pressed in close, clearly relieved that their mother was going to be alright.
“We’re in your debt, Lord Klarion. Most nobility wouldn’t… I mean… thank you.” Watch Sergeant Bale visibly struggled to find the right words, eyes darting to his men, who looked on with a mix of awe and confusion. It wasn’t every day they found themselves in the presence of the high imperial nobility. Even rarer to see one who put their life on the line to protect innocent civilians like Klarion had done. That Alesin herself could attest to, given her past experiences.
Klarion waved off the thanks, “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing really. I’m simply glad I was able to help in some small way before we head to the Waypoint.”
Watch Sergeant Bale’s posture softened, as did his grip on his spear. His eyes fixed on Klarion’s blood-soaked back. “Are you sure you’ll make it to the waypoint? My squad and I can escort you.”
Alesin snorted in contempt. Like those of the Watch on the frontier of a border world on the edge of the Empire would be able to do anything should Rolfun and herself be overpowered. She almost said as much, before a sharp look from Rolfun caused her to shut her mouth.
“I appreciate the offer, Watch Sergeant. But your people need you, and my companions are strong enough to escort me there,” Klarion gently declined. “But I would appreciate it if you could do something for this mother and her daughters.”
“We will make sure they get somewhere safe before we continue towards the wall.”
“Then we leave them in your capable hands,” Alesin said. She leaned over and pulled Klarion to his feet. As he stood, he winced. Apparently, the minor healing potion hadn’t been enough to fix everything.
Before they could step away, both little girls stepped over and grabbed Klarion around the legs. Mumbled thanks were spoken, to which Klarion was not sure how to respond. He decided on patting them gently on their heads and whispered back reassurances. Upon his standing to his full height, the Watch Sergeant and his squad banged fists to chests in salute. She looked away with a smile as Klarion clearly struggled to mimic the salute back. Another thing he would have to get used to, especially if he continued engaging in these heroics.
That thought brought a bit of her anger back, and when they finally were far enough away, she confronted Klarion again.
“I can’t believe you put yourself at risk like that. You don’t even have a class yet!” She growled at him as they broke into a jog, Rolfun leading the way again. “Please tell me you at least spent the stat points you earned from your level-up.”
“Ummm, well…No.” Klarion responded, increasing his pace to keep up. “I, ah, figured it would be smarter to use them when I have time to train, that I might get used to the changes.”
While his admission of not having used the free stat points he had received on leveling up, Alesin had to admit that his reasoning at least made a little sense. A few stat points added would have made a minimal difference, even this low in level, but if he had dropped all thirty into a single stat, all at once… He probably would have had his combat ability through completely off-kilter.
“You have to admit that he has sound reasoning, Alesin,” Rolfun said from in front of them.
“Alright,” she reluctantly agreed. “But make sure to use those stats the next opportunity you get. You are too low a level, and too weak right now to keep your stats in reserve.”
While she wanted to say more to Klarion, she held her tongue as reinforcements in the uniform of the City Watch came sprinting in their direction from deeper in the settlement. Not wanting to deal with any more interruptions to their efforts to get Klarion to the Waypoint, both she and her husband formed up on either side of Klarion to guide him to the side of the street. It looked like the Watch Sergeant leading the squad was about to step over to them for a moment, but several howls from nearby caused him to call for his men to increase their speed. Even after they disappeared out of sight, the howls and sounds of combat continued. In fact, it seemed to be coming closer.
Given how much fighting was still going on in Thorn’s Reach, Alesin was beginning to suspect something more dangerous was happening here. The attack had been going on too long for it to simply be an aggressive pack of Storm Wolves. Given the numbers needed to penetrate this far into the settlement, a worrying possibility came to her.
The Storm Wolves might be the leading edge of a Beast Wave.
On worlds like Verdant VI, which were still predominantly wild, monstrous beasts were common and multiplied quickly. The settlement, and gradual taming, of these worlds would gradually put these creatures at risk. The dumber ones would quickly be culled. The smarter, more dangerous species, however, would begin to cooperate. They would gradually begin to probe for weaknesses and, if they find any, would work to wipe out the threats that settlements pose. With enough monstrous species involved, a Beast Wave would result. Those that gained too much momentum could wipe a world clean of all civilization. Perhaps she would ask Rolfun if they should come back to help once they saw Klarion safely through the Waypoint.
With no more reinforcements in their way, Rolfun took off in the lead again. The next few streets were empty. The sounds of fighting were barely discernable this deep into Thorn’s Reach, but it was still loud enough that anyone who would normally be outside had already sought shelter. With no prying ears nearby, Alesin tried one last time to impress on Klarion the need not to put himself at such risk as he did today.
“Rolfun, Klarion, hold on for a moment.”
They both came to a stop, though only Klarion turned to look at her. Rolfun kept his eyes roving over the street, looking for any potential threats. She could guess he already knew what she wanted to say to the young lord. Since he kept focused on their surroundings, her husband agreed that she needed to talk to Klarion about his recent foolishness.
“Klarion, we are almost to the Waypoint but there are a few things we need to talk about yet.”
“Like what?”
“First, how foolish it was to put yourself at risk back there,” she held up a hand to cut off his response. “It was not wrong to head off the fight, and that mother and her daughters owe everything to you. But it was still foolish. ”
“Bu—”
“No,” she firmly cut him off. “As well as you have been doing, you are still not fully trained. Nor do you have any bodyguards to watch your back. Until you have that, at the minimum, any intervention in a fight like that one will be nothing but foolish.”
For a long minute, Klarion was silent, staring down at the ground. When he finally looked back up at her, his jaw was set in a firm line.
“I thought we had been over this, Alesin.”
“Not enough, we haven’t,” Alesin said. “I will keep going over this with you until it finally sinks in. You. Were. Foolish. Don’t do—”
“The strong should protect those who can’t protect themselves,” he interrupted her.
“But you are NOT STRONG YET!” Her even response turned into shouting by the end.
“I will be!”
“BUT YOU ARE NOT YET!” Her cloak of flame began to manifest itself about her shoulders. How could he really not get what she was trying to tell him? She didn’t want him to stop protecting others; she just wanted him not to go about it foolishly. Like he clearly insisted on doing right now!
“Klarion,” Rolfun interjected, stepping in between her and the young lord.
She almost shouted at him, but the look in his eye and a slight shake of his head brought her up short. She took a long, shaking breath, then released it.
“What Alesin is saying, Klarion,” Rolfun continued, eyes focused on him. “Is to keep that focus on protecting others. Throw yourself into all the training you can while at the Imperial Academy. Just don’t be foolish about it.” He held up heavy fists to cut off Klarion. “I mean, don’t forget to put the same level of effort into gaining allies that you can trust. And at least a few bodyguards.”
“But wha—”
“Klarion, you can’t help anyone if you die heroically,” Rolfun said firmly. “And everything I have seen in training you to this point tells me you will have a massive capacity to help others. Don’t waste it because you are impatient to help.”
“Even if it means sacrificing people now?” Klarion’s jaw unclenched, and his voice got low. “Even if it means children would die?”
“Even then,” Rolfun nodded grimly. “As hard as it is to say, the reality of life in an Empire constantly under siege from all directions, your potential is far too valuable, for far too many, to exchange it for even a place like Thorn’s Reach. Perhaps not for the whole of Verdant VI, if you work hard enough. So. Can we trust you not only to protect others but also to protect yourself?”
Slowly, reluctantly, Klarion nods his head.
“Good, now let us get you to the Waypoint.”
They set off again. It was times like these that Alesin was truly appreciative of her husband. Without his intervention, she would likely have kept yelling at Klarion, firm in the belief that shouting would eventually get the words to penetrate his thick skull. Thankfully, Rolfun had intervened. She would have to thank him later. Her thoughts were cut off as they finally came within sight of their destination. Their mission was practically completed.
The Waypoint was just ahead.