We traveled through the night, stumbling in the dark as exhaustion sapped what energy we had. Daisy’s soft singing occasionally burst to life as she channeled her healing into Alissa. I had laid Lexi down next to the half-orc as we walked. It seemed better to save the cart for those who couldn’t walk. I was bruised, battered, and exhausted, but I could still walk. There were two men and a teen who couldn’t. They were hoisted on the back and lay there as we marched back toward Griffondale.

Lexi woke up as the moon grew to its fullest in the night sky. She flapped her wings a few times before walking over to the side of the cart where I was holding on.

“Nick?” she called me.

A smile instantly spread on my face. “Hey, short-stuff, you’re awake!”

She climbed up on my hand and sat down, cross legged with her elbows on her knees.

“Yeah, sore as Underdown, but awake. Are you okay?”

I gave her a half grin. “Sure. I think I’ve been more tired than this, but it’s hard to remember when. Brie says we’re only a few hours from Griffondale at this rate. The trike really makes a difference,” I told her.

She smiled back, her eyes shining like jewels in the moonlight. Her dark blue skin was contrasted as the moonlight flashed off the glittery bits on the outside of her arm.

“I really thought we’d lost you,” she whispered. “All those orcs rushing us, I... I didn’t know what to do so I just followed Briana. I wasn’t even sure she was going to come back for you, but... I was so scared,” she said dropping her face in her hands.

“Hey,” I said, “it’s okay. You did good. You came back at just the right time. Besides, I can’t imagine anyone who was better suited to help rescue us, than you two! Seriously, Brie can disappear in a noonday sun, and you are so fast, no one would ever see you if you didn’t want them too. I owe you my life Lexi, I won’t forget that. Where I come from, that makes us more than friends.”

“What can you have that’s more than friends?” she asked.

“Foxhole buddies,” I said with a smile.

“What do foxes and holes have to do with it?”

“Ha,” I said with a laugh. “No, it means we’re bound more than just as friends. We fought together, we put our lives in each other’s hands. I’d do it again without hesitation, with all of you.”

“That sounds nice, fox-friends,” she said with a smile. “I’m going to stretch my wings, thanks Nick!” she leaped off my hand like she was diving into a pool. Her little wings kicked in and she zoomed away, taking a tight turn that would squash my brain against the inside of my head if I did it. She was gone before I could correct her, instead I just shrugged. It was the sentiment that mattered anyway.

“Did you mean that?” Brie said from her seat a few feet away. She was handling the trikes reigns, not that it required much. The great beast marched along tirelessly without effort. Because of the harness and the slightly tilted cart, where she sat was a good five feet above.

Deciding that it would be easier to speak to her from beside her instead of down on the ground where either I would, or she would have to shout, I climbed up on the cart. It took more effort than I cared to admit, as tired and sore as I was.

When I was up on the platform, I asked Daisy how Alissa was and the other wounded. The redhead looked up at me with blood shot, exhausted eyes.

“She’s going to make it, that blast was powerful but...”

“But she’s a tough one?” I asked.

She smiled. “Yes, she’s incredibly resilient. Nick... I...”

I leaned in and gave Daisy a hug, not needing her to say the words if they were hard for her. “I promised you I would get you out of there. I’m a a man of my word,” I said to her.

“But... how did you know? You were chained up, the orcs were so much more powerful than you... how?” she asked. Moonlight reflected off the tears in her eyes.

I glanced up at Brie who was busy stoically looking ahead so I decided I could spend a minute speaking to Daisy. I sat down next to her cross-legged. I took a moment to think about what I wanted to tell her.

“Where I’m from, we don’t give up,” I said. The voice of Captain Peter Quincy Taggart of the NSEA Protector popped in my head, so I mimicked him as best I could. “Never give up, never surrender.”

She leaned against my shoulder, her warm skin touching mine sending goosebumps down my arm. I shuffled, putting an arm around her and squeezing.

“That’s just... I get it, you have a never say die attitude, but that doesn’t alter reality,” she said quietly. “Or is that one of your powers?”

I took a deep breath and decided to share something with her that I hadn’t shared with anyone since I came home from the war.

“Back home, I was a soldier, but more than that, I was what we call a combat engineer. My unit would go places, out of the way, build wells, schools, power plants, or repair existing ones, all the while at risk of taking enemy fire.”

“There were mages where you are from? I thought you didn’t have magic?”

“Right, well, let’s say we have this thing called a...” I grinned thinking of a fun way to explain it. “A boom-stick. It’s very loud, and deadly, it shoots little balls of metal capable of killing a man from a mile away.”

Her eyes went wide as she looked up at me. “That’s horrible.”

I shrugged. “It is what it is. My unit was in this little place, we called it point Charlie. There was a village of about two hundred people, fifty of them were kids. These people were just trying to live their lives, and here was this big war blasting the hell out of either side. We were there because their well was ruined in a Haji attack—”

“Haji?” she asked.

“Uh, it’s what we called the enemy. They had thrown a... bomb, no, how about, a fireball? They’d thrown one down the well and destroyed it. I had a fifteen man unit and we went in to fix it. My friend, Lamar, was there with a squad of infantry, uh front line soldiers, to defend us while we worked.

The first day went smooth. Everything was great. There was this young woman there, Benesh, she was probably sixteen, she was the only one who spoke my language,” I said, then let out a sigh as I thought about that girl.

“She was really pretty, and smart as a whip. She knew the area so I asked if she would help us and she was happy too. The second day we were there, things weren’t as great. We got word that a Haji patrol was coming. We hid as best we could, but between my engineers and the ten infantry men, well, it wasn’t that big a village.”

“Why not just attack them?” Daisy asked.

“Even though these were their people, if the Haji found out we helped them, they would kill all the men, rape them women, and then either sell them into slavery or kill them.”

The look of horror on her face mimicked my own the first time I found out what the Taliban did to it’s own people.

“What did you do?” she whispered.

“They left, and we thought we got lucky. Turns out they were being crafty. They came back an hour later with a mortar team and a machine gun and started blasting away at the village. We were pinned down by the heavy boom stick, and were getting chewed to pieces. The Haji were on a hill on the north end of town and they had a full field of fire, the entire town was a kill box for them. All they had to do was keep us pinned with the heavy gun and let the mortars do the trick.

Our radio man was the first hit and I couldn’t get to him. So Lamar and I did something stupid. We stopped firing, made sure everyone had a full mag, then had them all open up on the hill at the same time. We call it ‘suppressing fire’. Then Lamar and I charge up to the base of the hill. He took a hit to his shoulder and went down, I kept going. Once I was at the bottom of the hill I tossed a couple of grenades up, waited for them to go off, and ran up the rest of the way. When I got to the top, I killed the three man machine gun team. The rest of the platoon caught up and we killed the mortar guys pretty handily.”

“Wow,” she whispered. “That’s amazing. Did you lose anyone?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“No, my radio guy was medevacked out. Lamar's armor stopped most of the damage,” I said. I couldn’t help the distant look in my face. It was a hard day.

“Then why are you so sad?” she asked.

“Two days after we repaired the well, and said our goodbyes, the Haji came back, killed all the men, raped the women, and then sold them into slavery. Including Benesh. She was just sixteen. I looked for her, even went to the state department to get permission to go in and get her from a camp we suspected was trafficking girls.”

“Did you get her back?”

I shook my head. “I guess the ‘never say die’ attitude doesn’t always work. But it’s better than just giving up, something that just isn’t in me to do.”

She hugged me back, wrapping her arms around me and pressing her face into my chest. “I’m glad you didn’t give up on me. That sounds like a horrible fate,” she said.

I nodded. Choking up. I thought about Benesh often, hoping, that somehow, she made it out of that. One of my life regrets was not going in after anyway.

After a moment she disengaged and went back to tending Alissa, singing softly, her voice full of emotion as her hands glowed lightly as she channeled healing power into the orc.

I heaved myself up to go talk to Brie, climbing up on the bench next to her.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” she said as I sat down.

I shrugged. “There’s no going back... you can never go back,” I whispered.

“True. Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” I said as I settled in next to her. It was a bit cooler this high off the ground, and not having a shirt was starting to be a problem.

She noticed me shivering and extended her cloak over my shoulders leaving us both huddling under it, touching shoulders as we drove in silence.

“For believing in me,” she said. “It’s been a while since anyone has.”

Being under the cloak with her let me breathe in her delicious scent, how she managed to maintain it was beyond me and it made me a little weak in the knees to be this close to her.

“Hey, actions speak louder than words, right? I’ve only known you for a couple of days, but in that time, you’ve had plenty of opportunity to abandon us and you didn’t. I knew you would be there when we needed you.”

She glanced over at me, her pupils swallowed her eyes in the dark, making her eyes look like giant black orbs.

“I didn’t,” she said. “After the orcs attacked, I wasn’t sure what I could do. I thought about... about just leaving and going after my sister. She needs me... but you...” she sighed. “There is something about you that tells me I can believe when you tell me you’ll help. More than that, though, that you can do it. You really can do it, right?” she asked in a whisper while staring directly into my eyes.

“Stop Kojiman or find your sister?” I asked.

“Both.”

“I’ll be honest, Brie, I... I don’t know. It won’t stop me from trying though,” I said quickly as her face fell a little. “I feel like with you, I can be a little more honest than with other people. A little more realistic. But I promise you this, Briana Bosque, I will help you save your sister, or die trying.”

She leaned in, resting her head against my shoulder. “I needed to hear that,” she said.

I didn’t respond, I really didn’t know what to say at this point. I was feeling exhausted myself. She closed her eyes, as if hearing me tell her the truth, was what she needed from me and she could now relax. Her breathing slowed and in a moment she was snoozing softly. The cart hit a bump and she shifted, falling off my shoulder. She woke up for a second, long enough to reposition herself with her head in my lap using me as a pillow.

It was just like college again. Beautiful woman with her head in my lap, asleep. I gently took the reins from her limp hand, folded the cloak over her, and resumed shivering as I took over control of the triceratops pack animal.

It’s been that kind of week.

Two hours later the sun turned the sky pink, and I spotted the outskirts of Griffindale. The tiny little town nestled in the crook of a river was just waking up. I was glad to return their wayward people, but also having to tell them of the orcs was going to be tough. Was there someone they could send a message to that would help?

“Brie, we’re here,” I said with a gentle shake of her shoulders. The elven woman shot up like a bolt, nearly causing me to fall out of my seat.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I didn’t mean to sleep that long.”

I nodded. “It’s okay, better you sleep and be sharp if we’re attacked.”

A cock crowed nearby, a woman threw water out the back door, and I heard a bell ringing to let a family know breakfast was on. Once we were passed the northern parts of the village we came to a stop in the town proper.

What passed for the militia must not have awoken yet, since we were free to drive our caravan right up to the Mighty Griffin Inn.

The ragtag caravan of slaves broke apart with a chorus of thank you and see you. I couldn’t blame the men for wanting to get back to their farms, who know how long they had spent at the orc encampment.

Briana leaped off the cart, landing with a grace I could never hope to accomplish. Instead, I spun around and crawled into the back. To my surprise, Alissa was awake, resting against the bench with Daisy sleeping in her lap almost mirroring Brie and me.

“Hey, you’re awake,” I said.

She cocked an eyebrow at me. “That seems obvious,” she said.

“Ha. I just meant, I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

She smiled, reaching a hand out to me and resting in on my shoulder.

“Thanks to you, again,” she whispered.

I patted her hand. “Team effort. Come on, let’s get this lazy girl inside and we can get some real—”

“Halt,” a man yelled from the far side of town. I looked over, the sun hadn’t quite risen yet and I was halving trouble making him out in the grey light as he marched toward us.

Of course, I had no problem hearing the sound of heavy mail that stomped along with him.

I jumped down from the cart, awkwardly aware of my bare feet and shirtless appearance. It had rained during the night causing mud to squish between my toes.

Thanks to Daisy’s efforts, none of the wounded had died during the night, and all but two had left for their homes. One of them, being the man I had gone back to save.

“Who in the name of Laurena are you, and what are you doing traveling with her?” asked the man in the shiny chain mail and green tabard. He had the air of a man in charge, with his slick back black hair and knowing eyes. His light brown skin said he was from a sunnier climate than here. That was okay, lots of places weren’t here.

“I travel with who I please, sir. My name is—”

“Unimportant,” he nodded to the man at his right, a lean individual in all black armor with a fencer's mask, carrying two thin swords at his hip. “Arrest them.” There were six guards, six... plus the douchebag in charge, who, judging by his Grand Moff Tarkin attitude was the “Baron” the militia spoke of earlier.

The guards started to move when I heard Brie’s bowstring stretch back. “The next man who takes a step forward won’t be a man by the second step,” she said with a surprising amount of menace.

I glanced up and she was using the trike as cover while pulling her bow all the way back and preventing them from using the crossbows they carried on her.

Baron Von Douchebag seemed genuinely stunned.

“How dare you threaten my men, that’s a hanging offense in my land!”

“Chill,” I said stepping forward between Brie and the armed men, fully aware that I was blocking her shot. As much as I appreciated her willingness to stand up for Alissa, I needed this situation not to escalate. “Sir, it’s been a really long night, before this erupts into violence and the elf with the magic bow kills all of you, can we talk about this?” I asked as calmly as I could, holding my hands up at chest level.

The man in the black armor took one step back, his eyes never leaving Briana. I got the feeling that this was a very, very dangerous individual.

“I’m listening, but I doubt anything you say will convince me to let an orc free in Griffindale.” At least he was just trying to protect his people, maybe I jumped the gun. “Not when I could just sell her back to her people,” he finished.

And douchebag.

I did my best to smile. “First of all, her name is Alissa, not orc. And second, she’s a half-orc, and the daughter of Ragnar, the previous chief, the one who wasn’t interested in war with your people.”

Alissa leaped down to stand behind me with a thump. Her decorative leather boots sinking a good inch into the mud from her mass.

Daisy crawled to the back of the cart, turned on her belly, and slid off with a squeak as her feet dangled over the air for a second before she hit. She stumbled backward, but managed to keep from falling.

Now, if I just knew where Lexi had gotten off to...

“Ragnar was good people,” the man in black said from behind his mask. “My condolences.”

“Y—you knew my father?” Alissa asked him.

The man pulled his mask off, revealing his black skin and pointy ears along with violet eyes that practically glowed in the morning light. If the white goatee wasn’t a dead give away of his dark heritage, everything else was.

“Aye, I did.”

I reached my hand out to him. “Nick Spencer,” I said.

“Avanthar,” he said grasping my hand with a firm shake. "Baron of these lands."

I raised an eyebrow, looking at the man in silver chain who had spoken, then back to the real baron.

“Uh, pleasure to meet you. This is Alissa, the blonde with the bow is Briana, and Daisy is our healer,” I said with a nod to each of the girls. “We’ve got one more but she’s still catching up.”

He gave me a nod and turned to the fake-baron. “Release the men, I think we’re safe for the moment.”

The man, who I thought was the baron, gave the real baron a half bow before turning to the five guards and signaling them.

“Wait, you’re the baron?” I asked, my mind was still catching up and boy was I tired.

“No one ever believes a drow could be a baron, it’s a clever trick I use to ‘feel’ out new situations.”

I let go of his hand, smiling all the while. “Clever indeed. Well, uh Baron Avanthar?” I stumbled over the title.

“Technically, it’s Baron de Lion of the Five-towns,” he said with a flourish as he took a single step back and bowed to us. “However, it’s a mouth full. My friends call me Evan, which I think shall suffice here. Perhaps we can go inside, have Camilla make us a meal and you can tell me how you rescued my people from the orcs?”

I liked him more and more and thought it an excellent plan. Though, I was starting to worry about Lexi.

“Nick, I’m going to take Alissa and Brie to my wagon and change clothes,” Daisy said pointing to her slave uniform that was barely covering her.

In the excitement of meeting the baron I had forgotten I was only clad in my pants, and was back to no money, or anything but my sword.

“Right,” I said with a sigh, pressing my palm against my forehead to rub my temples. “Meet us inside when you’re done.”

“I’ll catch up,” Brie said to the departing girls. “I’m going to look after our new friend,” she said gesturing to the three-ton animal.

I still couldn’t get over having a trike as a pack animal.

“Perhaps you would like some clothes as well, my new friend Nick?” Evan asked.

I sighed again. “Yes, but I also have more clothes than money at the moment.”

“Considering your accomplishments for the night, a slight reward is the least I can do. Come, let’s go in while I have someone fetch you some clothes.”

He clasped me on the shoulder and led us both toward the inn’s front door.