Vreek and Dirk were making their way toward us after the tree Turk had shot exploded. They were moving at a good pace, but I sensed that they would not make it before Turk showed off what he had been waiting to show me.

The smile that crept across Turk's face reminded me of a time he had solved a problem in one of the games and had made his brother, and I watch as he completed Dark Souls without dying. It was that same look now, only I could tell he was way more excited this time.

His feet glowed for a moment with a bright light under them, and a breath later, he was dashing across the field at least three times faster than he had ever gone before. He was creating a path through the area as he ran, knocking down stalks of grain with both his body and the wind he was creating as he ran.

He turned just as quickly and darted towards another end of the field. Wishing I had a stopwatch and some lines drawn out on the ground, I realized he was easily running a hundred-yard dash in about four seconds. He was faster than anyone from our world by a lot, and I could only imagine a few things being as fast as he was right now.

"What in a dragon's tit is that?!" Durk shouted as they drew closer to me. I saw the look on his face and knew he was just as excited as Turk must be. "He is like the flash!"

Vreek's face was confused at the reference, but I knew he understood that Dirk must be talking about someone fast from our world. Both of them arrived just a few seconds before Turk made a beeline toward us. As he got closer, I saw him still smiling until he tried to stop. His face contorted as it looked like just ending the magic in his feet was not the right answer.

He tumbled face first along the field and stopped about ten feet or so from us, laying on back, panting and laughing.

"You break anything?" Vreek called out as we jogged up to him.

Turk just kept laughing and held up a dirty hand and arm and gave us a thumbs up.

"He is fine," laughed Dirk as he bent down and extended a hand to his brother. "What the hell was that?"

Turk took the hand up and laughed.

"Obviously, not what I had planned on, but I think I will have it down in a few more attempts."

Dirk laughed, grabbed Turk by the head, pulled it down, and gave him a noogie while they laughed.

"You still there, Brar?" I asked as I stood there smiling while looking at the both of them.

"Yes! What did he do?"

I laughed again and motioned to the two boys to head back towards the area we were set up at and then started telling Brar everything I had seen.

Brar and I talked for a little while and after I had answered all of his questions, he told me to go enjoy my boys and said to contact him before we attempted to enter the dwarven town. He would try to get any intel they might have on it to relay before we went inside.

"They were a bit concerned about the tree explosion and the noise it made when it fell, but I let them know I would take care of it," Turk informed me after he returned from the shed the family and their slaves were staying in. "We can get Vreek to cut it up while he is training and haul some of it off. Dirk and I will take care of the stuff that he can't."

Dirk groaned at the news he had volunteered to help with that, but both knew they would have a day at least with nothing to do while Vreek slept.

Vreek had trained for almost half a day before he did pass out. Thankfully he did not get hurt too badly when it happened.

Vreek was dueling with Dirk and as he swung a wooden stick he was using as a sword, Dirk had countered and was going for a strike. Just then, Vreek had stumbled and taken it to the face. After that, he was out cold. From exhaustion and training or a blow to the head, we were not sure but we put him in the house and let him sleep it off either way.

Most of the tree had been moved except the twenty-foot-plus section that was too wide for Vreek to cut. He had already gotten most of the branches and other parts of the tree moved so both boys and I set to work on it. I used my sword to hack the trunk in a few strikes, and they would carry the pieces I created off to the pile Vreek had started.

All three of us had taken off our tops and were sweating in no time as we worked. Laughter and joking filled the air and reminded me of those days we did yard work. Mom had always demanded the yard be kept clean and manicured. It was one thing all three of us had made sure stayed the same.

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"So what are you trying to be?" Turk asked as he and Dirk picked up a three-foot section and carried it over their heads. "I mean you are an assassin and I know you are using poisons but what else do you want?"

Dirk huffed as he walked behind Turk. I could tell Turk was using magic to help him carry these things as they walked off with the chunk of wood. As such, Turk was not struggling as much as Dirk was. Both were still carrying more weight than their entire soccer team could have as a group.

"I'm not sure," he declared as they dumped the piece on the ground next to the rest. After wiping his arm across his forehead, he grinned. "I have been working on something I learned in the village, but as of yet, I cannot get it to work."

Dirk moved back to where a shadow was cast from the wood pile. It was morning now and the sun was sending shadows all over the fields from the treetops. In a few hours when it got higher, it would only cast a shadow down from everything.

As his fingers entered the shadow, it seemed to absorb him. It was as if his skin and body became part of it. Turk could see the faint outline of his brother's hand now that he had put the whole thing in the shadow.

"I was told that if I could master becoming one with the shadows, I would also be able to teleport between shadows near me."

Dirk stood up and pointed to the treeline they had just come from.

"Imagine being able to step into a shadow here and appear in a shadow over there," he said with a grin. "I know it would not be something I could do all the time but the way the instructor had talked about it back in Brar's camp a long time ago a Shadowblade as they called it had that power. A few times a day, they could leap like that, even from a shadow underneath a person."

Turk let out a long whistle and nodded.

"That would be pretty cool, for sure! I could see that being a little overpowered, though."

Dirk laughed and pointed at the base of the tree they were hauling wood from.

"More overpowered than shooting lasers from a bow?"

Turk grinned and shrugged.

"Ok, maybe not that overpowered," Turk conceded as he stretched an arm and rotated his shoulder. "I guess when you finally evolve you will be able to do it?"

Dirk shrugged and started to walk back towards the pile of wood chunks they needed to finish moving and rubbed the stubble on his chin.

"I think I'm getting closer. I need another good heart, at least. I just don't know when we will find one, and I am scared to take one in the labyrinth." Dirk stopped talking momentarily, and a shudder crossed his whole body. "Imagine if we were in the labyrinth, and I ended up sleeping for three days. That would put all of you at risk from monsters and from the dwarves."

Turk nodded and elbowed Dirk playfully as they walked back.

"Maybe we can find you someone strong enough to help you get over that hump before then."

"Maybe," Dirk replied with a grin.

It was getting close to night time, and I knew that we still had till around morning till Vreek would wake up. Turk and I were finishing cooking up a third cow. They were down to four now, and I knew we had cost them a fortune.

"I need your help, son. I want to make it right by these people."

Turk pulled the meat he was cooking out and looked at it briefly before sticking it back on the makeshift grill we had designed.

"Like how so?" Turk asked. "We ruined at least a third of their farm and have eaten a huge portion of their livestock. What can we do to help them?"

I pulled out the pouch I had put those rings and other jewelry in. I knew there must be some way we could pay for the damage we caused.

"I know we talked about the urges we have," I stated as I tossed the pouch up and down in my hand. "Sometimes I am lost and enjoy the destruction and death. I find myself taking joy in the blood and carnage. All I can think about is eating another heart."

Turk was smirking and nodding at me. I knew he understood what I was saying.

"But here, knowing there is an innocent family and knowing what it must be like for them, I know we cannot kill them. They did nothing wrong. They have not tried to escape." I paused and looked at the farm and the destruction we had done.

Huge divots where we had plowed the field over and over by dragging logs across it covered the ground. A good three or four acres were destroyed by those divots. Another section of a field had a twenty-foot-deep crater that was at least forty feet wide from where Turk had unleashed magic into it all night. There was the other side of the field, flattened by the tree and its branches and the path we had dragged and moved the wood through.

"I need you to come and talk with them. Tell them... no convince them we mean them no harm. Try to convince them that we want to find peace with the other races."

I sighed and looked back at Turk and I saw he was smiling.

"What is it, son?"

"I'm glad you feel that way," Turk declared as he came up and put his hand on my shoulder. "I know there will be times when we must sow a field with blood but I also know someday we will make it so that we don't." Turk put his other hand on my other shoulder and smiled. "You are a good dad. You always have been and I know you are trying to make sure we are strong enough to help with what is coming. Dirk and I are thankful Bob put all of us here. I doubt the two of us could have come this far without you."

I smiled and brought Turk in for an embrace. Standing there in that moment, I knew it would not always be easy but I was also thankful Bob had let us all be together.

Breaking the hug, I nodded toward the fire.

"Let's get their food before we burn it and have to start all over," I teased.

Turk laughed and went back to the food.

"It is a good thing Dirk isn't cooking or I doubt I could convince anyone we mean them no harm."

I laughed and nodded. As I headed towards the well to draw some water, I prayed these elves would see reason.