The next day, as the first light of dawn began to creep through the dense canopy of the forest, Gareth the Grey ventured out of his dilapidated cabin to gather firewood. The forest was eerily silent, save for the occasional rustling of leaves and the distant calls of waking birds. Gareth, lost in his thoughts, walked with the practiced ease of someone who had spent countless years traversing these woods.

His breath fogged the cool morning air as he bent down to collect a few fallen branches, intending to chop them into manageable pieces later. As he straightened up, an unsettling feeling washed over him. It was a prickling sensation at the back of his neck, an instinct honed from years of battle and survival. Slowly, he turned his head, his eyes scanning the shadows between the trees.

There, leaning casually against a sturdy oak, was Ash. He wore a relaxed expression, as if he had been waiting there for hours, completely at ease in the dim morning light. Ash's yawn seemed to mock the tension that gripped Gareth's body. Gareth’s heart skipped a beat as he instinctively tightened his grip on the axe he carried, his knuckles whitening under the pressure.

"Who are you?" Gareth demanded, his voice a low growl. "How did you get so close without me noticing? Are you an assassin sent to take my life?"

Ash chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "An assassin? No, no, you've got it all wrong, old man. I'm here to recruit you, not kill you. Must be getting on in the years if you’ve forgotten about yesterday."

Gareth's eyes narrowed in suspicion. He took a step forward, the axe still held defensively. "Recruit me? Do you take me for a fool? I’ll ask again who are you? No normal person could get this close to me without me noticing."

Ash shrugged nonchalantly, unfazed by Gareth's hostility. "Believe what you want, old man. It doesn’t matter to me. I’ve already stated my purpose." He pointed to a pile of firewood nearby, stacked neatly and ready to be taken back to the cabin. "But you might want to hurry and bring that back before it starts raining."

Gareth followed Ash's gaze, looking up at the sky. Dark, heavy clouds had begun to gather, casting an ominous grey blanket over the forest. The scent of impending rain was unmistakable, and Gareth knew he needed to return to his cabin before the heavens opened up.

Gareth hesitated, torn between confronting this mysterious intruder and securing his firewood. The practical side of him won out. He couldn't afford to waste time, especially with the storm closing in. Keeping a wary eye on Ash, he began to collect the firewood, bundling it together with practiced efficiency.

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Ash watched him silently, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. As Gareth hoisted the bundle onto his shoulder, he shot Ash a piercing look. "You have two minutes to explain yourself. Start talking."

Ash pushed off from the tree, his demeanor still relaxed but his eyes serious. "I meant what I said, Gareth. The group we want you to train is looking to change things, to fight against the corruption that's rotting this kingdom from the inside out. Your skills, your knowledge, they’re invaluable. They need someone like you to train them and turn them from a ragtag group into knights for the people."

Gareth snorted, adjusting the weight of the firewood on his shoulder. "And why should I care? I left that life behind for a reason. No amount of pretty words will change my mind."

Ash took a step closer, his gaze unwavering. "Because you know as well as I do that the kingdom is falling apart. You’ve seen it firsthand. This is your chance to do something about it, to leave a legacy that matters. We're not asking you to fight our battles for us. We’re asking you to fight for the future that you yourself once believed in. Besides, if you weren’t the least bit interested we wouldn’t be talking now would we."

Gareth was silent for a long moment, his eyes searching Ash’s face for any sign of deceit. Finding none, he turned and began walking back to his cabin, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts. Ash fell into step beside him, not pressing further but allowing Gareth to mull over his words.

As they reached the cabin, Gareth finally spoke, his voice gruff but less hostile. "You have a lot of nerve, showing up here and asking for my help. But I'll consider it. Just don’t expect me to make any promises."

Ash nodded, a small victory in his eyes. "That's all we ask, Gareth. Just consider it. We’ll come back tomorrow to get your decision."

After leaving Gareth’s cabin Ash returned to where Casandra was waiting, he found her seated on a log, deep in thought. She looked up as he approached and raised an eyebrow. "How did it go?"

Ash plopped down beside her, stretching his arms. "I said all the mushy words you wanted me to. The old man softened up a bit at the end. No promises yet, but it's a start."

Casandra smiled, a hint of relief in her eyes. "That's good. It means there's hope."

She then stood up and summoned a few spirits, instructing them to chase away any nearby animals. As the spirits flitted about, she sat back down, closing her eyes. "This human disguise really limits the amount of time I can remain active. I find myself tired so often."

Ash nodded, understanding her predicament. "Rest well, Casandra. We’ll need all our strength for tomorrow. If the man refuses just have a spirit possess him and let’s head back. I know you want the guy to join of his own free will but we don’t have time so if it comes to it let’s just force it."

The reason for all this was simply because Ash’s hypnotic suggestion would prove to be helpful here. Surprisingly older minds were hard to bend to his will or even alter due to being set in their ways. So no matter what if Gareth truly did not wish to train anyone then not even Ash could force it. So he asked Casandra to look for the deceased spirit of a knight. If worse came to worse she would have it possess Gareth. This was not ideal because the spirit lack the sanity to train Ashby’s group in the traditional sense. It would turn into one of those things where the group would have to fight the spirit in Gareth’s body and try to pick up whatever skills they could on their own.

Wanting to avoid that Casandra nodded before she drifted off to sleep, Ash kept watch, his thoughts drifting to the task ahead. They still had much to do, but for the first time in days, things were starting to look up a little and head in the direction they wanted.