“What do you want, invader?” Second Smasher’s barely contained fury was obvious the moment Stan opened the door to the room that also acted as his prison cell. Surprisingly, this was more cordial than the usual reception any of them got when trying to talk to the former. The last time Stan had opened the door, he had been hit in the face with a tray of food.
“Hello, Second Smasher. It’s great to see you again as well. How’s your day been? Are we treating you well?” Stan asked sarcastically. It wasn’t the best approach, but it wasn’t like anything had been working.
“I ask you again, what do you want? I know that you have already drafted my brother in arms in some foolhardy task. Have you come to attempt to force the same on me?” Second’s anger was flaring, and Stan knew he had to de-escalate this as soon as possible before he ended up wrestling the squirrel to the ground again.
“Hey, new idea. Instead of us fighting each other and getting nowhere, I’ve got a one-time offer for you. I’m willing to answer any question you have entirely honestly. As a show of good faith, here’s why I’m here. The Gryalth are on the move, and we need to stop them. I need your help to defend the grove while my friends and I take more direct action against them. I do not expect you to help us; we just want to protect and keep your fellow squirrels.” Third’s tail settled down as Stan made the offer. The tension that had been visible in the squirrel’s shoulders slowly disappeared as Stan continued to talk.
“Where has my brother been taken?” The question came with less anger.
“He’s with my son. They are attempting to find a world spirit deep within the planet. Cal brought him in hopes of showing him the world beyond what your empire was like and working towards the realization that what your former emperor was doing was horrible.” Stan answered as best he could. In truth, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure why Cal had decided that taking Third Smasher was so important.
“Why are you here? Not why are you here talking to me right now, but why are you here at our home at all?” Second Smasher slumped down onto his bed as he asked this next question.
“That one is a bit harder to answer, but to sum it up as best I can, we’ve found ourselves at war with the Grylath, the ones who are invading the surface. We did not realize they were already here when we came. We actually traveled here in search of mana sources in order to better fight them on our home planet. Which is the same planet you originate from, but now that we’ve found them here, we are going to fight them as best we can to determine what we will have to do when our final push against them comes.” Stan purposely left out the part about being in a time-loop. While the squirrel likely already knew something due to the mental abilities of their former boss, he figured it was best not to clue him in even more yet.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“What are the Gryalth, and why are they attacking our homes?” This question came without any sound of anger in Second Smasher’s voice. Stan wondered if a simple Q&A session might have been the trick all along.
“Well, as far as I know about them, and it is a lot less than some of my family knows, they are creatures from another universe who invade parallel worlds that are less developed in their magical abilities in order to harvest as many resources as they can while enslaving the populations to fuel their ever-growing war of conquest. We just have the bad luck of being their current target,” Stan wished Ralth, one of his other children, had been here for this conversation. He was much more of an expert on their motives.
“So then both our worlds are in danger? And you are here to propose a truce?” Second Smasher turned his head and made direct eye contact with Stan.
“If you are asking if this is an enemy of our enemy situation, not exactly. I don’t want us to be enemies, and I think we’ve already made great inroads with the rest of the groves, but if that is the only way you can view this relationship right now, I am also willing to accept that. Your help in protecting the groves will be instrumental in our war against the Gryalth.” Stan hoped he had finally sold Second Smasher on their mutual danger and potential benefits.
“Stan, what do you call your blade?” This was the first time Second Smasher had ever used his name.
“This is Excalibur, and I believe he has been resting here on your world as long as your people have been here…” Stan was cut off as Excalibur began to speak.
“Yes, I have been. I remember the day Arthur was laid to rest in what be the first grove. This was a world untouched by life and rich in mana. Merlin believed that leaving me here would allow my power to grow as I rested and waited to find a new master. I suspect your people were brought along to seed an eventual magical race as well. I consider it an honor to meet someone such as yourself who has come so far on their own in the path of magic,” As Excalibur spoke, Stan noticed that Second Smasher listened with rapt attention.
Second Smasher stood up and then dropped to a knee in front of the sword and spoke. “I do not trust the offworlders, and while I was willing to work with them as far as the removal of the surface invaders, I do trust you. You are as much one of this world as I am. I pledge myself and my skills, as little as they are, to your service.”
“Thank you, Second Smasher; I believe this makes you the first pledged knight in this new age of magic,” Excalibur said.