“You’re Mally? Mally Inkish?” Kiva stammered, almost too stunned to believe it.

“Sure am,” Mally said nonchalantly, slightly flicking his wrist and sending the boulder-sized head flying off into the stratosphere behind himself. He turned around, hoisting the monster's oblong body onto his back and dragging it further into the village, axe in hand. “Walk with me, would you? This things got some good meat. It’ll make a fine dinner for tonight if I can get it to the mess hall.”

The moment he confirmed his identity, Millie practically exploded with awe, jumping up at him as he started to walk, “Are the stories true? Are you really as strong as they say? How tall are you? How many people have you killed? What’s your power? How-”

“I appreciate the enthusiasm, lass, but you’ll need to slow it down if you want answers. My mind isn’t quite as fast as it used to be,” Mally laughed.

“Yes, you are very old,” Avardis said, stating aloud what everyone was thinking.

“Am I? And here I thought I looked pretty good for my age,” Mally said.

“That depends. How old are you?” Maria asked.

“Let’s see…” Mally considered the question, clearly counting off years in his head. “I should be 122 or so in March.”

“Really? You don’t look a day over 65,” Karfice said.

“Must be my good genes, but I digress. You seem capable fighters, but it’s rare to see travelers. What’re you doing wandering alone all the way out here?” Mally asked.

“It’s a long story,” Trenton sighed, doing his best to ignore the crowd of excited villagers crowding around them.

“And one I’d be glad to hear. I’m an old man living in the countryside. There isn’t much else to do besides tell stories. Tell you what, you tell me your story, and I can give you one of my own, call it a trade,” Mally said, leading them up a small path in between the trees to a sizable building just beside the waterfall atop the cliff.

He set the creature down, calling out to a man and requesting it to be prepared for a feast later that night. The man, along with a small crew, quickly set to chopping up the beast, lugging it inside piece at a time. Mally nodded his head, inviting them inside.

It wasn’t a massive structure by any means, but compared to the rest of the village it was quite impressive and remarkably cosy. Tables were strewn all about the creaky wooden floor, pillars at odd intervals holding up the wooden support beams lining the slanted ceiling. On one side, a great hearth blazed with fire. At the far end, beneath an overhead catwalk accessible by a staircase lining the walls, a long bar front sat, a little door behind the bar presumably leading to the kitchen. Behind them, people started to pile into the hall, taking seats with their friends and family and calling out in boisterous pleasure.

Mally led them up the catwalk, grabbing a handful of chairs as he went, settling at a lone table overlooking the establishment. They all followed it tow, seating themselves comfortably with the man, waiting patiently for his somber gaze to leave the citizens below and return to them.

Well, more or less waiting patiently. Millie had to be held down by Trenton, Karfice was zoning out, Leo looked a little uncomfortable with all the noise of the environment, and Avardis simply got up and walked away, ignoring Kiva’s demands as to where he was headed.

“Do you think it’s okay to just let him wander?” Trenton overheard Maria whisper to Karfice, who still had his mask off despite the fact they were in civilization again, a testament to his bravery.

Karfice shrugged, “Probably not.”

“Are you going to do anything about it?”

“Nah, not worth the effort.”

Maria sighed and stood, but Kiva put her hand on her shoulder, gently pressing her back into her seat, “Let him wander. If there’s trouble, we’ll know.”

“Yeah…I suppose,” Maria crossed her arms, brow furrowed and foot tapping angrily against the ground.

“I wish I could agree,” Mally mumbled, eyes still looking over the railing. “I’m not much one for the adventuring game, if you could believe it. The moment I had the chance, I retired, left the fighting behind to settle here. It’s much nicer out here than you’d think, beautiful scenery, fresh game, but the fact of the matter remains that it’s dangerous. I thought I could protect them, keep them safe, but the last couple months monsters have been running rampant, rampaging at anything that moves regardless of the threat to their life. We’ve already lost a couple children who wandered into the forest, and I fear more will follow if nothing changes.”

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“But I thought you were super strong. Can’t you kill the monsters?” Millie asked, somewhat crassly.

“I thought the same thing, but I guess not strong enough. It’s a tough lesson to learn, but strength alone isn’t everything. I’m one man. No matter how strong I may be,” Mally’s eyes faded, light leaving him for a moment, “I can’t protect everyone.”

“But…” Millie looked down, eyes shifting back and forth across the table.

Trenton pulled her over onto his lap, pressing her head against his chest and rocking her gently, “We do what we can. We’re only human.”

“But if you’re really strong, you can do anything. That’s what Rema always said.”

“Well, she’s not entirely wrong. Think of the Conqueror, big bull man with the armor. He’s stronger than anyone and just look at what he’s accomplished. And look at us, things have been rocky, but we’re all still alive, aren’t we? Strength isn’t infallible, but in the right hands, it’s the most marvelous thing in the world.”

“...yeah, I guess so.”

“You said a couple months ago. Could you be more specific?” Leo asked while Trenton soothed Millie.

Mally considered for a moment, “Mid-August or so, if I had to put a day to it.”

Leo looked over at Trenton, unsaid words passing between them.

“Wait, hold on. What happened mid-August?” Kiva asked, leaning forward to catch Leo and Trenton’s attention.

“The fall of Aria, if I had to guess,” Karfice said, leaning back in his chair.

Mally blinked, almost disbelieving, “The fall of Aria? You don’t mean to tell me…”

“Oh yeah, I guess you wouldn’t have heard all the way out here,” Kiva said.

Over the course of the next couple hours as daylight dwindled to sparks, tavern lights blaring to life, and the sweet scent of the meat simmering in the kitchen wafted through the air, Trenton recounted his journey, ending at the confrontation in the ruins of Ruvalth. Some time towards the latter end of the story, Avardis returned to his seat, a single bird feather atop his head the only indication of what he’d been doing.

Mally sat and listened patiently, asking questions at key points, but otherwise keeping his thoughts to himself. When Trenton was finished, he leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin.

“Unbelievable…to think this has been going on all this time and I hadn’t the slightest idea. That you’ve survived this long is incredible. This is the type of conflict defining entire era’s of human existence. I’ve never even heard of so many big players all riled up at the same time, especially the gods. They’re not exactly known for hasty action. I wish I could say I can help, but I’ve got my hands full enough here. Without me, these people wouldn’t last the day,” Mally said.

“The academy is well defended,” Avardis stated.

“Do you mean they should evacuate? Like refugees?” Kiva asked, Karfice almost falling backwards in his chair.

“Correct. Times are tumultuous.”

“He makes a good point,” Trenton said. “The academy’s close and pretty safe. Why don’t you take them there?”

“I’ve considered it, but there’s a lot of logistical issues. They’re farmers, and frankly,” Mally leaned in, “dumb as bricks. The academy isn’t a great place for them to settle, even if they could make it. And with everything going on, I’m not sure the acedemy’ll be a safe place to remain for very long. By the sounds of it, the war is expanding across the continent. No, there’s only one place we could go, but getting there is easier said than done.”

“The cloud isles,” Kiva said.

Mally nodded, “But I’ve no way of finding the ambassador. If I left, the villagers wouldn’t last the day, and dragging so many people blindly around the continent is begging to get picked off. I’m at a standstill.”

“Well…how about a deal?” Leo leaned forward.

“Go on,” Mally sat back in his chair, watching Leo with interest.

“Once we leave the academy, we’re heading to the cloud isles to find refuge ourselves. If we find the ambassador and send him your way, would you be willing to help us?” Leo said, mustering up all the confidence he possibly could.

“Without hesitation. These people mean far more to me than personal reservation. Many of them are good friends, and some more like family. If it meant their safety, I’d gladly help you fight your war. Things have been a little slow in retirement, anyway. I could use the exercise,” Mally said.

Waiters wearing dirty looking leather aprons approached their table, holding large platters of different cuts of meats and fruits, several large bowls filled to the brim with some sort of vegetable stew. It was simple, but nice, just what they needed to soothe the soul.

“Hey, you promised a story,” Millie pouted.

“Oh, that’s right. I’ll give you a couple actually, free of charge. Take your pick,” Mally chuckled.

Over the next couple hours as the sun faded from the horizon, they dined lavishly, laughter and music filling the air, tales of Mally’s exploits engrossing their little band of adventurers. At some point, Kiva turned to Trenton, an awkward smile on her face.

“Say, Trenton, where’s Garrote? I just realized he’s not with us,” Kiva asked.

Trenton looked around, counting them off one by one. Sure enough, Garrote wasn’t among them. It was shocking to believe that Trenton could’ve missed the presence of an entire person, but he hadn’t really been given much time alone to think that day.

Trenton shrugged, “I don’t know. I’m sure he’s probably fine.”

***

Garrote looked to the left, trees. Garrote looked to the right, more trees. Where the hell was he?