As Fluffy joined the other wolves, a dark form with massive wings flew in, landing at the crest of the hill, higher on the same crag that Scarlett had landed on earlier. It was Lord Klajo. He let out a great cry that could be heard many valleys away. On his back was the ruler of the North, King Jend, who looked about and tried to make sense of what was going on. He'd been expecting three humans, not the aftermath of a battle.

King Jend's loyal creatures saw the landing and their lord levitating off the dragon and in passing they thought it did indeed look awesome, a proper look for the king of their fierce land. But they were busy disarming and tying up the already-vanquished enemies, so only a few were able to turn and give a proper salute.

Princess Wyndyn rushed over to where her father and her honorary uncle had landed. Jend walked toward her and they met on a cliff on the hillside, overlooking the battle site.

Jend said "Wyndy, I saw the lightning strikes and there are a dozen human soldiers down there! Are you all okay?"

"Oh, we are fine. Don't worry.” Wyndy used the same tone of voice she used when explaining why she was late getting home. “The lightning was from me. It powered an electrical field I built over the invading force. Their weapons conducted the electricity, shocking the soldiers if they attempted to hold them. The effect on their metal armor was also interesting, as it heated up and delivered stunning shocks to the soldiers wearing it. It worked even better than I'd planned."

Jend stared at Wyndy as if she'd been speaking a foreign language – one of the weird ones like the Sea Elves spoke for which you needed two pages of text to show every possible form of any particular verb.

"You need to explain more. I don’t understand what happened."

“So, there were like fifty soldiers from Vathary, led by two knights, right?”

Jend nodded.

“And they were invading, chasing after Count Rassler, who was running away, right?”

Jend nodded again.

“And so we spent a bit of time grabbing the invading soldiers that the Histel’s guys knew and liked. To, you know, protect them. And Myla and I were nearby so we came over to help and I decided to lead. And then the invaders were getting close to Grendom, so we ambushed them and we won!” Wyndy raised her hands in a happy motion, then pointed down to the battle site.

Jend looked again at where the prisoners were being gathered and bound. “Wait, I only see a dozen prisoners. Did you, well, incinerate the rest of them?”

"No, father, get a grip! I'm not going around incinerating people. The rest are running away, back to the border. We had decided to let those in the back who ran to get away if they ran fast. We didn't have enough soldiers to watch all the prisoners anyway. Scarlett and some of the buggebears are observing them now to make sure they go quickly and encourage them occasionally. The knights, the wizard and some of the soldiers who were in front we have as prisoners though."

"What? Why?" Jend stuttered as he tried to take it all in, especially the fact that it appeared his little baby girl had just led a war band and defeated a larger force from the Vatharian Royal Army.

"Well, as per your own instruction, Father, I know the importance of good relations with Vathary, as you have always stressed in our lessons. Repeatedly and at length. I thus made the judgment that attempting to stop the invasion with no or minimal deaths was the ‘prudent course of action,’ as you would say. So I went with a plan to frighten and disarm, in order to force retreat and surrender. We did the shocking them thing, the grabbing vines thing, buggebears and orcs springing up with nets, goblins on wolves, and a particularly frightening part in which a sorceress flew in on an angry fire-breathing dragon! It was so cool!"

Jend had now pieced together what had happened, even if it conflicted greatly with his previous understanding of reality and possibilities. This conflict between what had happened and his understanding of reality left him greatly agitated.

Like many males who consider themselves manly men, Jend would not admit he was afraid of any woman, except of course for his wife. He understood in principle that his daughters could be powerful warriors and lead armies, but it wasn’t an idea he thought he'd ever see the practical implementation thereof.

“Listen young lady. I distinctly remember asking you to deliver invitations to a party. Leading a warband of orcs and buggebears while riding a fire-breathing dragon to attack a company of human soldiers led by two Vatharian knights was not part of the assignment!”

“Well, I was not riding a dragon. That was Myla. I was riding a giant wolf.”

Jend thought and said more calmly "Oh, well, in that case I guess it is okay."

Wyndy looked at her father, surprised by his sudden calmness.

“Of course that does not make it okay!” Jend continued, raising his hands as sparks flew off them, his voice getting louder. “What in the hells were you thinking? Shadow is a companion to help keep you safe. You were not meant to ride him into battle as you led an ambush on enemy knights!”

“Well, I mean, he is a giant wolf, father! It doesn't seem so inappropriate to ride a giant wolf or even a dragon into battle when our kingdom is being invaded and all. It isn't like I asked them to invade. They might have reached Grendom if we hadn't stopped them. And if I hadn't taken command, there might have been people killed, which would have caused all the problems you’ve lectured me on, plus the people being dead, right? You should thank me!”

“Wyndy, you need to be careful with yourself. The kingdom depends on you. No more leading war bands or dragon riding for either of you! You are the future of the kingdom!”

“Sure, yes, the kingdom will depend on me to vanquish its enemies. So I think I should be able to vanquish enemies when I want to! I’m sure other princesses get to vanquish enemies.”

Histel and Garaxas had wandered into earshot and had overheard the last part of the exchange. They sort of nodded along in agreement with the bit on vanquishing enemies. They were all for that.

But Wyndy was just getting started. “And, Father, I might add that this human invasion shows our southern defenses to be inadequate. There is no way they should have made it this far. We need to increase Histel’s force. Obviously. Probably also some sort of border keep, like the humans have. Myla and I can’t ride down here to repel invaders every week, now that you are against dragon riding, Father.”

Seeing how things were going, Histel had already disappeared and was back checking on the captives. Garaxas was doing the best he could to sneak away while wearing his full plate armor. He creaked as he sneaked.

Jend realized that Wyndy sounded just like him. Even worse, she was right. He hated that. His anger grew.

He growled at his daughter. She bared her fangs at him and hissed. Then she stared at him, unblinking.

Jend turned to walk away and shook his fists at the heavens as he cried out in rage: "AAAGHRG! DAUGHTERS!" Lightning flashed from his fingers and arced up into the clouds.

He felt that the Sky Father replied to him, with First off, stop that! Secondly, yes, I know. I really really know. All fathers face it. You don’t have to go about attacking innocent clouds.

Jend looked back to Wyndy and pointed his index finger. “Battles are right out. You are not to lead any more military campaigns without my express approval, little miss! And no dragon riding and no attacks with electrical storms. I command it!”

The Sky Father had millennia of experience with both mortals and with daughters. He tried to share his wisdom with Jend, who could sense the Sky Father saying to him Jend, that isn’t going to work. You can’t stop daughters from doing what they want by just ordering them to stop. You need a different approach. Try giving them enough authority and work to keep them busy. I gave my daughter control of the moon and the tides, and now she doesn’t have as much free time to stay out late with her friends. It is a win-win.

Jend didn’t seem to be paying attention, so the Sky Father tried one more time.

Look, it works with kids in general. For example, Thorsin, my youngest son. He wasn’t the most responsible child. I tried to think of what to give him, as most of the good things had already been taken. Then I thought, how about thunder? And he really got into it. Now thunder has increased by fifty-two percent in three of the realms! He is becoming very hard-working. I may give him lightning soon.

Jend was arrogant and continued to ignore the sound advice of his god. It was difficult, being a god. You’d give clear guidelines and instructions, make sure they write it down, but then your followers somehow manage to end up with eight versions of the same guideline, and would fight about which one was slightly better worded. And after all that the gods still had to listen to the wailing of the mortals and them rending their clothes and everything when they disregarded those instructions and blamed the gods for the consequences.

A few of the creatures in the valley below applauded the lightning display, which had admittedly looked pretty cool. The prisoners also took notice and moved more quickly into the rows that the goblins were herding them into. Sir Bowen, now in his undershirt and with his hands bound, had watched and seemed to realize who Jend was, and by implication who the young woman he had spoken with was. He looked to the ground and was glaringly obvious in his attempt to look as innocuous as possible.

Jend had started a calming breathing exercise that The Second Speaker of the Circle, Jorildyn, had taught him. He noticed the activity of the prisoners and saw the coat-of-arms on the shield of the older of the captured knights, and he came to realize he had a better idea.

"Wyndy, how about you and I walk down and inspect the prisoners?"

Wyndy, surprised by the suddenly calm voice of her father, quickly replied "Yes, yes. We should do that. That is probably an important thing to do. Here, follow me on this path."

As she guided him along the winding and obscured path down the hill, Jend said to her, so that only she could hear, "You know, I am very proud of you. You avoided killing, and you led your men instead of handing over the responsibility and running back to the castle. We need to talk more on how you disarmed your enemy with electric strikes. I did not teach you that, as far as I can remember, so I am very interested in understanding how you came up with the idea."

Jend had not taught her the technique because it was not one he knew, and indeed hadn't even thought possible. Even now, as they walked up to the prisoners together, Jend couldn't figure out how to replicate it. That level of fine control was very difficult. Jend thought that if he had tried it, the most likely outcome would have been half the men dead, plus scorches on the landscape that his wife would have complained about for months.

They passed the three giant wolves, who had gathered around the clothing of the knights. Shadow was sniffing Bowen’s shield. As far as Jend could tell from his limited knowledge of Northern Pointed Canine, they seemed to be barking something about cat-demon hairs. The wolves were always going on about non-existent mythical cat-demons, so Jend didn’t see why it should be different today.

Jend and Wyndy neared Bowen and the other prisoners, so Jend switched to speaking in Common Vatharian and said in a commanding voice, "Now, my daughter, please present to me these Vatharian men you defeated so quickly and so easily."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Jend announced it loudly as they came up to the Vatharians. He assumed his royal persona, the formal face he presented to the public during times when ceremony was called for. Wyndy switched to royal-mode herself.

“Yes, noblest father dear. We found these men, dressed as members of the Vatharian Royal Army, trespassing in our lands. The two at the end of the line claim to be knights, and certainly seemed to be the leaders of the gang.”

They walked in front of the Vatharian soldiers. Jend walked slowly with his hands clasped behind his back, looking each prisoner up and down. Wyndy walked in front, gesturing to the prisoners and occasionally poking one with her rod to get them all standing in a straight line.

“Hmmm... yes, I see. And tell me daughter, how long did it take you to vanquish them?”

“Well father, they did make a good try at fighting us. Their wizard even managed a spell before he went down. The battle lasted almost three minutes. Perhaps a few of the men held out for nearly four minutes before they ran away or surrendered! To be honest, father, my force was disappointed. They had been hoping for a greater challenge, something they could tell their children about this evening.”

Jend smiled. “Well, some modest sport, at least. Still, better than that last lot did against you.”

The “last lot,” had just been training dummies, and the training dummies had actually held out slightly longer, but Wyndy continued to go along with her father’s strutting in front of the captured Vatharians. Especially now that the knights were obviously listening and pretending not to.

“Indeed Father Maximus. But after such training as we’ve had from you, wherever shall we find a worthy opponent on which I can properly exercise the great skills you’ve given us through your long and wise tutelage?”

Jend stroked his chin thoughtfully. “It is truly a problem. One we must think on.”

As they approached the knights at the end of the line of prisoners, Jend continued “But you know, my daughter, I really must give you credit for not incinerating all these men on sight. You showed great restraint. More perhaps than I might have shown. Vathary should know that they are in your debt.”

She smiled.

Wyndy pointed with her rod at the two knights and the wizard at the end of the line of prisoners. She made sure to have her rod sparking with electrical energy, with an occasional bolt arcing to the ground for emphasis.

“These men were the leaders, Father. They say their names are Sir Bowen and Sir Hargest. They are accompanied by this man, Siarl Mostyn, whom they claim is a War Wizard in the Vatharian Royal Army.”

Mostyn was bound, gagged, blindfolded, and tied to a tree, with his every move watched closely by a goblin. Bowen and Hargest had been stripped of their weapons and armor, their hands bound behind them. They straightened up and stood tall as Jend and Wyndy approached.

Jend walked up to Bowen and stood just a foot away.

“So, you are Sir Bowen of Maelor.,” Jend said as he looked down at the human knight as if he were something a wolf had coughed up. “And, Sir Bowen, do you know how our lives are intertwined?”

“I do, Jend.”

“You do, what?” Jend glared at Bowen, his eyes flaring ever so slightly.

“I do, King Jend, Your Majesty,” said Bowen, as he considered his position more carefully.

“So how is your father Sir Eagor doing?”

“I am sad to report that he died two years ago, Your Majesty.”

“How unfortunate. My condolences. I am sorry for your loss and that I did not get to kill him myself.”

Jend felt legitimately sad, but wasn't sure himself as to which part he was sad about.

“Thank you, um, Your Majesty," replied Bowen, "but, know that he never held anything against you personally. You know he was just following the orders of honored King Drace. When you won, he was happy for Vathary to trade with you."

"So first you invade my kingdom, and then you lie right to my face? In front of my impressionable young daughter, who is not accustomed to the deceit of Vatharians?"

"Your Majesty, I am an honorable man, and I speak the truth."

“Your father was a friend to Lothar, and the person most responsible for the Vatharians providing aid to that evil wizard. His estates personally provided weapons and food to Lothar’s armies. Armies that killed a third of my tribe. Whole convoys of ships left Vathary’s cities bound for Black Rocks with supplies that kept that tyrant’s forces on the field of battle.”

“That is not how my father said it happened.”

“And yet that is how it happened. Sometimes parents lie to their children, you know.”

Wyndy nodded.

Jend reached down and clasped Bowen’s shoulder. “But it gets late, and we must get you and your men out of the middle of this forest. Be assured that you will not be mistreated in my kingdom. I will not take revenge on you for the crimes of your father. Nor I have any wish to get involved in Vathary's latest intrigues. We will take you and your men back to our capital, probably just for a few days. We will return you in exchange for a modest ransom and reparations, which, as you know, is customary in these cases. And that will be the end of that.”

Jend started to walk away, but had a further flash of an idea, and turned back around. “Until your ransom is paid, you are our guests, if you behave as such. I hope it will be a pleasant visit. It is an auspicious time, and I would not have it disturbed by this recent unpleasantness. There is a national celebration in four days, the Equinox, the start of our new year. Today we are giving out invitations, and to you two I officially extend invitations to the celebration. Wyndyn, might you have one of the invitations to give to our guests here?”

Wyndy did indeed still have the satchel at her side. She reached in and took out two of the invitations and handed them to her father. Jend presented the two slightly rumpled scrolls to Sirs Bowen and Hargest. She looked satisfied in discharging at least a part of her original duty of the day. Jend knew both that she faced a busy day tomorrow and that she would work however many hours it took to complete her mission.

“You know, why don't we just take care of the ransom message now, as I am very busy here ruling Pelsa, so we should get this underway. Of the soldiers here, is there one you can suggest as a messenger?” Jend indicated the Vatharian Royal Army soldiers, who were standing with their hands bound, ready for the march to Grendom. Their horses were tied to trees nearby.

Bowen indicated one of the men – an older man with short black thinning hair and a large scar running down the side of his face. “That man, Sergeant Humphreys, is a good choice. Dependable, no nonsense, good rider.”

“Right, done. Now for the ransom. How about ten gold sovereigns per soldier, plus fifty for the wizard, plus two hundred for each of you?”

Jend spotted a look of surprise and a slight upturn in Bowen’s lip upon hearing the ransom amount. He suspected he had just set the ransom much too low. But he was too proud to correct himself, and thought it maybe for the best anyway.

After a pause, Bowen responded. “It is really not my place to comment, Your Majesty. I do not seem to be in a position to argue with you.”

Jend smiled again. Perhaps the day was turning out to be satisfactory. He turned to Wyndy and asked, “So, what are the plans with your prisoners now, my daughter?”

“We can send the messenger you suggested with the ransom demand back to Vathary, on his horse. The rest of the prisoners are to be marched to Grendom, and then put on wagons to transport them to Lagar’s Haven. They should arrive by late-evening, and we can hold them partially in the dungeon, and partially in the town jail, I think.”

“That is a good plan, Daughter. Make it happen. These two knights though, we will have them stay in the rooms at the armory. Keep them under guard, but they can move about the city. The rest of their men can have one hour per day in the city – under guard of course.” Jend turned back to Bowen and Hargest. “And I will see you two at the celebration. I will send guides for you tomorrow, to show you about our fair land. I trust you will behave as honorable guests as we await the payment of the ransom?”

Bowen started to say something, but Hargest spoke more quickly. “Yes, Your Majesty. We will. And we thank you and the princess for your mercy.”

“Good, done. Then I will see you again at the celebration.”

The messenger was sent, and the men led away with the other prisoners for the walk to Grendom. The horses were roped together and taken ahead by two of the goblins, a couple of the wolves helping to herd. Shadow walked directly behind Bowen, sniffing at him, curious about his smell. Kirko and Addie flew ahead to warn the town and have them start preparing the wagons.

Seeing that the preparations were well in hand, Jend looked around for Klajo, who seemed to have gone in search of his own daughter. In the sky to the south, Jend could see the two dragons flying near each other. They had turned back to the site of the battle, so Jend expected their arrival soon. He was looking forward to getting back to his capital.

It was then that Count Rassler rode up, accompanied by two other humans and the buggebear guard guiding them. Jend took one look at the handsome young human male and realized that his day maybe wasn't that great after all.

The count seemed to spark Queen Aida's interest, and she finished up on the tending of the wounded and came to join her husband and elder daughter. The count stopped near him, and he and his two men dismounted and bowed before the royal family.

"I am Count Rassler of the March of Flai Drary. I am at your service, King Jend, as are my men Vastien and Greymil. We thank you and your family for your protection from the Vatharian soldiers."

Jend took a brief look at the count and said, “So, this is the noble that the Vatharian army was chasing? Excellent, since we have him we can just send him back to bring this whole event to a conclusion. Right. A tidy end!”

Wyndy stood shocked for a moment, and then quickly recovered and moved between the two men.

“No, Father, please. We need to keep him here, to keep him safe! If he is sent back to Vathary they will just execute him.”

“Well, there could be sound reasons for which they want to execute him. He may well deserve it. Let’s have him bound!” Jend felt that Rassler's crime of being a handsome young male within one hundred yards of his daughters was certainly a crime serious enough to justify detention, perhaps execution.

Jend eyed Rassler’s squire Greymil and wondered if he should also have that young man detained for the same crime. Vastien he gave a pass, on the basis of being older and not handsome. He could live.

Wyndy came to the conclusion that her father wasn't just showing off, but really meant it. “No, Father, no! You can't! I mean, please, consider…"

Aida intervened "Jend, honeybear. If I might speak with you in private for a minute."

The petite elven queen guided her large king a short distance away from the group and spoke to him quietly.

"You remember of course that your own mother fled to this land, a land she and your father later named Pelsa, fleeing threats of execution for sorcery. Your wise and noble father helped her flight and took her in. Would you now turn your back on this Count Rassler, being deprived of his rightful lands and position due to similar machinations in our cruel and uncivilized neighboring land? Your loyal creatures know you as a wise king who stands up for what is right and provides justice for all!"

Again, thought Jend. That elf gets her way, again.

King Jend was proud of the society they had put together over the last twenty years in the lands of Pelsa. He had, though, made the basic first-time monarch mistake of believing his own public relations, and valued the ideas they had written all over the public buildings of the land. Values of Justice, Freedom, Tolerance and Letting People Get On With Their Lives Without Freaking Out About What They Did in Private.

Jend looked into the wise, loving eyes of his wife and glanced over to the pleading eyes of his daughter. They knew that he was incapable of knowingly disappointing either of them. For a basically good man the attempt to live up to the expectations of the women he loved was more binding than any chain.

“Fine. Whatever. You two win. As you always do. He is our guest until I decide what to do with him."

Jend and Aida returned to where Rassler, Wyndy and the others were waiting. Jend walked straight up to Rassler and grasped his hand, much more strongly than was really required. Rassler crouched and looked like he wasn’t sure if he were being welcomed or assaulted.

Jend said in a cheery tone, "I have changed my mind. Count Rassler, I welcome you to our Kingdom of Pelsa. You are our honored guest. And just in time for our national celebration!"

Jend looked over to Wyndy and then looked down at her satchel, clearly signaling something. Wyndy was somewhat stunned by the sudden change in her father, but quickly recovered and silently handed Rassler an invitation she took from the satchel.

Rassler held the invitation in his hands for a moment, as Wyndy and Aida looked on expectantly, and Jend impatiently. Rassler finally realized that he was supposed to unseal and open the scroll, so did, and saw that The Royal Family of Pelsa was inviting him to a party at the Royal Castle in three days' time.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I am honored. I will certainly attend…”

Jend cut Rassler off. “You can bring your men too. Since we are having humans this year, we might as well have a bunch, do it properly.”

Vastien bowed and Greymil followed his lead. Both looked worried.

“I will now go and survey the retreating soldiers from my noble dragon,” Jend exclaimed, back in his trying-to-impress-the-public mode. “Princess Wyndyn, please escort these men back to Lagar’s Haven, where they can stay in the guest rooms of the castle. Lower floor. Please also supervise the prisoners’ transportation. Your sister should help.”

Jend walked away, leaving the crowd behind, and headed up the path on the crag to signal his dragon friend.

He met his daughters later as the wagons with their prisoners arrived in Lagar’s Haven. The newly instituted “Feast of the Big Game” was still going on. The members of The Circle declared that their god’s declaration of the Feast must surely have been a portent of their country’s stunning victory over the invaders.

- - - -

Sergeant Cloyd and his men were resting at the side of the road just over the border as the fleeing Royal Army soldiers reached them. The city guardsmen had left shortly after they’d seen the lightning storm. Cloyd and Kemble had arranged with the buggebears to be lightly bound, taken through the cave, and then left near a campsite while their captor cooked. The group managed to "sneak" out and recover their weapons which had conveniently been left nearby.

Mirko had appeared as arranged on the path and guided them south via a deer path parallel to the main road. Mirko wanted to get back to his job and fellow goblins working in Keley, so thought that "escaping" with the Keley city guardsmen was the most innocuous way. He got them to the border, and then headed off when he saw the Royal Army men approaching.

It was a group of retreating soldiers that had been gathered by Sergeant Humphreys. There were about twenty of them, many with their weapons, and a few still with their horses.

When the Royal Army soldiers were within earshot, Cloyd called out, "Good to see you made it. We were looking for you. We had a right hard fight getting away from the buggies. We made it though. How did you guys do?"

Sergeant Humphreys rode closer and spoke softly so that only Cloyd and a few of his guardsmen could hear.

"Oh, better than I expected this adventure to go. We are all still alive, at least."

"What happened to Bowen and his little buddy?"

"The nobs? Yeah, the two nobs and the rest were taken prisoner. They were being treated all right. Or were when they let me go to deliver the ransom message."

The two groups of Vatharian soldiers traveled together to Karthmere Hold, the keep on the border, where a man was waiting to hear their report.