Everyone was up bright and early the following morning. The light smell of smoke from the small fires they used to cook filled the crisp air. Golden rays of sunlight flittered through the leaves of the trees that surrounded us, creating small areas of warmth that Kala and Holdrem flocked to like moths. It was a pleasant morning, all things considered. The only thing that made it slightly awkward was the company.

My group was still not sure about spending time with the Thrainian rebels. Despite their clear attempts to establish some friendly relations with us, it was bizarre to suddenly be on the same side as those who have been considered the enemy for so long. A bit of reassurance to everyone was the Ulgor who seemed to be a part of their company. He talked and interacted with the Thrainians on a very familiar level, laughing, joking, and giving maybe a too hard slap on the back that sent them into coughing fits.

Seeing it was strange, but also oddly inspiring. It was living proof that the two sides could still get along, work together even, all it took was just a little bit of time to get to know one another. The Ulgor in question turned towards our little insular group and started making his way over to us, obviously intending to start a conversation of some kind.

He came up to us with a rather jovial expression, clearly trying to alleviate our tension. “No need to be so nervous. I know it’s kind of strange at first, but they are genuine in their mission and are a good bunch of people.”

“Never known a Thrainian to match that description.” Holdrem said with a little bitterness in his voice.

The Ulgor’s expression became rather flat as he looked at Holdrem. There seemed to be a mixture of understanding and pity in his eyes. “I cannot claim to know your history, but it is clear that you have had dark days in your past. It took me some time to learn this, but they aren’t all cut from the same cloth. Many do not share the same views as those who would exploit us as a resource to use and throw away. They simply cannot defy Alathos or the nobles without risking their own families in the process. Everyone here has already lost someone that they cared deeply about and want to fight to prevent others from going through that same fate.”

Holdrem became a little more thoughtful, but still had a look of distaste underneath it. I took the moment to try and smooth things over a little. “We’re just a bit nervous is all. Some of us haven’t exactly had the best interactions with Thrainians, and others have been fighting them for a long time. Suddenly finding ourselves in a situation where we are working together is quite the hurdle to overcome.”

He nodded at my words. “I suppose it was a little unreasonable of me to expect you to accept them so quickly. I mean, it took me a few months to become comfortable around them as well. Maybe I just wanted to help you get over your initial wariness of them faster than myself.” He then looked at me a little questioningly. “You do not speak like you consider yourself to be a Thrainian, why is that?”

I decided not to open the can of worms that would be the explanation about me being from another world, and instead went for a slight twist of my history. “You’re right, I don’t consider myself to be one of them. After all the shit I was forced to endure at the hands of Alathos, it makes me feel sick to even be considered the same species.”

He dipped his head a little. “I apologize then if my question made you uncomfortable, but these men are not like Alathos in the slightest. The comparison of their character would be that of night and day.”

“Well, you have made it clear that you trust them, which is pretty good for a statement of character,” I offered in consolation.

“That I do. They saved me and many others from slavery and intended to release us back to our own lands. However, my family was already dead, and I had no reason to return, so I decided that I would help them rescue more slaves, save more lives, and I haven’t regretted my decision yet.”

I considered that maybe we were giving them an unjustified cold shoulder. They did shoot me, and I might have been a little peeved about that, but they weren’t evil, at least in any way I could see. Maybe I should give them a chance.

With my mind made up, I stood from my seat and made my way over to a small group sitting around the fire. While initially surprised at my sudden appearance, they quickly welcomed the opportunity to talk with me and offered me a seat around the fire. Taking my approach to them as an open invitation, they started asking me a lot of questions about my involvement with the coalition and the little group I was travelling with.

I decided on a summary explanation with a few parts missing from the whole truth. The story went that I came into possession of a magical entity that Alathos wanted but I could not give, so he tortured me for it, but I escaped and made my way to coalition territory, renouncing myself as a Thrainian. There was a brief explanation of the rocky start to my relationship with the coalition that was smoothed out over time to a more amiable level.

As I talked, I noticed Kala started moving in our direction as well. She came around and sat next to me, giving a slightly shy greeting to everyone as she did. Her arrival spurred the group of rebels into another round of questions and introductions. They didn’t ask her so much about her history as a slave or the situation that brought her to the coalition as they wanted to know about the lifestyle of a Trelnval.

Apparently quite a few of them grew up not knowing much about the other races of the continent other than what they heard from rumors. Rescued slaves weren’t very chatty or eager to interact with them, so they relished the opportunity to learn firsthand about how the other races lived. Kala, while a little flustered about having the full attention of several Thrainians, talked about her people’s way of life.

As her conversation went on, I noticed that more of my group started to cautiously make their way over. Eventually, the group of people gathered around the fire grew exponentially until almost the whole camp was listening in on the conversation being had. Holdrem had remained mostly silent, apparently finding it enough of a gesture to just be there. Jorn and Otar, however, talked with the group, answering questions in a slightly more formal and awkward manner than their usual rowdy selves.

It was a nice scene all things considered, but it had to come to an end eventually. Norwick marched up to the group and spoke in a commanding voice to everyone present. “Alright, that’s enough talking. Pack up the camp and let's move people!”

That was enough for everyone to forget their personal curiosity and start moving with purpose. Tents were brought down and packed up, fires extinguished, and supplies organized for transport. I moved over to Norwik who was overseeing the movement and giving the occasional command.

“You’re moving the whole camp?” I asked.

“We move every few days to prevent any search parties from catching up to us. Besides, the ambush site for the convoy is a few hours away. It wouldn’t be efficient marching back and forth that distance.”

“Anything we can do to help?”

He smiled a little at me. “I appreciate it, and I was going to ask if you wouldn’t mind allowing my men to pack their things into your cart. I’m sure they would be grateful not having to carry everything themselves for once.”

I nodded my head and gave a friendly smile of my own. “Sounds reasonable. I’m certain we have enough space for most of your things.”

With confirmation now achieved, Norwik started directing the men who were already fully packed to make their way to where the cart was hidden and start loading up. A few stragglers were picking up what was left of their things, and I noticed one rebel who had a bow strung across his back was complaining about missing food, accusing a few others of stealing it. They denied having stolen anything, which started a small argument that Norwik eventually had to break up and usher them to get moving again.

With some bitter looks, they obeyed, and the camp was now cleared out. The rebels had packed the cart full of their supplies, leaving little room for anyone to ride in the back. I figured that I would have to walk alongside it with whomever else was going to follow the cart, but it seemed my assumption was proven wrong as Norwik gestured for me to ride in the passenger side.

“It’s your cart sir, I think it’s only fair you use it.” Norwik explained.

“Uhm, well, it’s not exactly my cart, plus I think I'd feel bad riding while everyone else was walking.”

Norwik chuckled and shook his head. “You’re a good man, but I'm afraid I must insist. Frankly, you are the best dressed person here. No one else could pass for the owner of this cart and I would very much like to avoid being questioned on the road. Most of us will be taking a more direct route to the ambush site, but a small group will escort you there acting as an armed guard for your goods. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, makes sense. Doesn’t mean I still won't feel awkward about it.” That received another round of chuckling from Norwik, but he just patted me on the shoulder, silently saying that there was no other option for this as he walked off towards his men again. With a sigh, I went over and hopped up into the passenger side of the cart again.

Norwik gave a brief rundown of the divide between traveling teams. We couldn’t have more than thirty people following one cart down the road, so it was decided that six of them plus the other members of my group would be following the cart. The driver ended up being one of the rebels. I might have been reading too much into it, but I got the feeling that it was a bit of an assurance that we wouldn’t try to run off with everything.

As I expected, I felt extremely awkward being the only one who was riding in the cart. The driver didn’t really count in my eyes. He was performing a task after all, while I was just sitting there. I would just have to suck it up for the next few hours before we reached our destination.

Everyone didn’t seem to mind the fact that they were walking. I suppose the rebels were just used to it; my own group seemed to be as well. I guess it wasn’t all that uncommon to have to walk everywhere. A lot of slaves probably aren’t allowed to ride in the carts, and soldiers march everywhere as part of the job. I knew I was rationalizing things in order to make myself feel better, and I would still prefer it if they could ride along as well.

The trip finally came to an end when we pulled off the small road we had been traveling on and tucked everything away into the surrounding foliage. Well, at least I thought it came to an end. It turned out we still had another half hour of walking left. The terrain we had to traverse off the road made it all the more difficult to move, and with the others already feeling winded from the road, it was slow going.

At last, we were intercepted by the lookouts from the other team who directed us back to the main group. We found them crouching or sitting down around some trees, a few of them staring beyond them deeper into the foliage while the others appeared to be resting. After getting closer, I found they weren’t just staring off into the woods but at another road that was just barely visible from where they were squatting.

Norwik greeted us silently with a raised hand. I went over close to him while everyone else dropped down to catch their breath. “What’s it looking like thus far?” I asked.

“Nothing yet, but the convoy should make its way through here sometime in the next hour unless they got delayed. Oh, and before I forget...” He reached over and tossed what appeared to be fabric at me, I identified it as clothing a second later. “Get changed; your clothes are a little too noticeable, plus we wouldn’t want your disguise ruined.”

I nodded and went over behind a tree to get changed out of my current attire and into the more earthy and rugged colors of the clothes provided. They were rather loose on me, but they would serve their purpose while I needed them. I folded my other clothes and placed them over a branch where I could find them later.

I came back to sit with my group just as someone came around and offered weapons to everyone. Jorn, Otar, and Holdrem accepted the weapons readily, apparently feeling a lot more confident now that they were armed. Kala was a little more indecisive than they were, but settled on a spear, a simple and easy weapon to use. I ended up taking a sword, not my own, but I figured that the blade was distinct enough that it could be recognized by a discerning eye. This new blade lacked elegance and a perfected weight distribution, but it was sharp and solid, all you really needed to do damage.

A concern rose in my mind as I held the blade, and I went to Norwik for some confirmation. “How are we going to handle the guards?”

Norwik gave me an appraising look for a second. “Not used to killing I take it?”

“I would prefer not to, yes.” That was putting it simply. I still wasn’t completely over the first time I had to take a life in this world, and while I had come to accept that it happened and that I did so to save myself and Kala, it still wasn’t easy to forget.

Norwik sighed a little. “I don’t want to kill them anymore than you do, but these are soldiers. If you can disarm them without killing them, then good, but don’t take the risk just because you are hesitant to make the hard decisions; that’s how you end up dead.”

I could understand that. Hesitation would lead to death in a fight with lives on the line. I could only hope that whatever soldiers were tasked with guarding the cart were few enough in number that the sight of us would make them surrender.

For now, it was a waiting game. I sat down under a tree and started to become more introspective. I didn’t want to kill anyone, but it seems like this world is hell bent on killing me for my weakness in that regard. Once again, I found myself cursing the bitch of a goddess for the impossible situation she dumped me in.

I looked at my hands, feeling the warm, writhing magical power that was implanted into me. Closing my eyes and searching the flow, I tried to locate the serpent inside me again. I just needed something, I didn’t know what it was, but there had to be a solution hidden with the damn snake, because of course things could never be clearly explained and simple to do.

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The damn thing was still eluding me though. Every time I thought I felt even the briefest hint of a consciousness within the stream of magic, it slipped away into the flow once again. It was frustrating. The damn thing didn’t do anything but perpetuate my torment and make me a healer, hardly useful for winning a war, if that was what I was supposed to be doing. I hate this; I hate not knowing anything.

My frustration was interrupted by a hand on my shoulder. My eyes snapped open to see Kala standing in front of me. “Are you okay? You were making a face.” She asked with concern etched into her voice.

I took a sharp breath to calm myself. “Yeah, I'm fine, just trying to figure something out and getting frustrated that it wasn’t working.”

She hummed a little before crouching down to sit right next to me. With a slight thud she landed and leaned a little closer to me until our shoulders were touching. “I think any problem can be solved with enough effort. I’m sure if you keep at it, you’ll find the solution you're looking for.”

Fuck I want to kiss her right now. She really was the best thing in my life, and not being able to show her that through physical means was agonizing. Words would have to suffice for now. “Thanks Kala, I cannot even begin to describe how much your support means to me.”

She smiled at me, and we just sat together in silence for a little while longer. The silence and calm were penetrated by a simple report coming from one of the rebels. “Movement down the road!”

Immediately everyone was alert and awake, moving amongst the trees and getting into position for the ambush. Nervousness began to seep into me, not for myself, but for everyone else. I spoke to Kala in a low voice. “Kala, please stay in the back lines if you can.”

She looked at me in a slightly annoyed way. “I’m not afraid of a fight; I know what I signed up for.”

I sighed. “I know, you’re far too brave to be afraid of something like that, but I'm afraid. I don’t want you getting hurt, so please, just support us from the back.”

She groaned a little, clearly upset but not wanting to make a fight out of it right now. “Fine.” Once more silence reigned as everyone waited with bated breath for the convoy to come into sight. About two minutes later, the sound of a horse drawn cart slowly rose in volume. A few moments after that, the source of the sound came into view.

The cart itself was pretty standard, though there was more than one. Three carts, each with two horses pulling at the wooden transport laden with boxes, heavy ones if the grooves it left in the ground were any indication. What wasn’t standard was the twenty soldiers that were following along behind it. What the fuck is this? A parade? Granted we had a bit of a numbers advantage at a little over thirty, but the soldiers were wearing armor, some padded leather, others a bit of chainmail could be seen, and then there were two with metal chest pieces who were riding on horses. The ones wearing metal armor were particularly worrying because of the coats they had on over it. Even from this distance I could recognize the rune words inscribed upon them, probably a simple thing to ward off the elements using the wearer's stores of energy.

Seeing the danger in the probable mages being here, I quietly made my way to Norwik and whispered to him. “The two on the horses might be mages.”

He nodded. “Aye, I noticed that too. We’ll try to take them out first, but here’s hoping their just spoiled rich kids.” Norwik moved towards a pair of his men, one with a bow and the other with a satchel and proceeded to speak with them quickly. They nodded before getting into their positions.

The tension in the air was palpable, my heart was beating a million miles an hour, and I found it an odd sensation to be on the opposite side of this so soon after having been subjected to it. The convoy was now passing directly in front of our ambush zone. I looked over and saw Norwik with his hand raised in preparation. Everything was hanging on a simple motion of a hand before it all descended into chaos, and like an executioner's axe, it fell with deathly intent.

There was a familiar twang sound that pierced the air as an arrow was loosed from its hidden position. The projectile flew and struck its target, one of the horsemen, on the neck. The victim clamped down on the wound, but it was obvious he was now choking. Everyone started charging towards the cart, and I was surprised when the earth started shifting underneath the convoy until the ground underneath the lead cart caved in, dropping it into a hole and rendering it unable to move.

My surprise was momentary before I realized that Norwik had an earth mage in his company. Another twang sound was heard as an arrow whistled over my head towards the second horse rider. This one unfortunately collided with the armor and didn’t penetrate. The initial shock of our attack wore off, and the training that these soldiers went through kicked in.

Their weapons were drawn, they organized themselves into a wall, and the rider was now pissed. He threw his hand out in the direction of our charge, and I watched with mild horror as the air in front of it started to shimmer and distort. Suddenly a flame ignited in front of him which continued to grow until he released it hurtling into the trees. It crashed through the foliage leaving a blazing path of destruction in its wake. Eventually it hit a tree and the flame was dispersed over an area. I heard some yelling and cries of pain from that area. At least pain meant they were still alive, and hopefully they would be able to hold out until after this.

Our archer shot another arrow at the mage, this time hitting him in the exposed arm and distracting him long enough for the rest of us to get out of the forest and start our attack. There weren’t enough spears on the Thrainian soldiers to form a completely effective spear wall, but they still had a good defensive position to absorb our charge.

Bodies collided and tangled with one another, and the fight took on more of an appearance of a struggle. People grappled, shoved, punched and kicked at one another, occasionally getting the opportunity to swing their weapons. The sounds of madness filled everyone's throats as they roared at their enemies in a true display of animalistic nature.

Another fireball shot overhead from approximately where the archer was. Even if it didn’t hit, it still meant we could no longer count on support from them while the flames consumed the area. I was attempting to find a way through the lines to shut down that mage when a fight found me.

One of the Thrainians in chainmail came at me swinging a sword in a horizontal slash. I brought my own blade up to receive the blow, and as the sound of metal striking itself rang out, I found myself oddly perplexed by the lack of crushing pressure in the blow that I was used to. I had parried blows from the rebel's spears before, but this was the first time I blocked one head on, and it felt weak, like it was half-assed and not intended to kill. It was then I recognized the strength disparity between an Ulgor and a Thrainian to its fullest extent, and while I shouldn’t underestimate the damage a sharp blade can cause, blocking a blow from a Thrainian was almost nothing.

I pushed back against the blade and brough myself within grappling distance. There I grabbed his sword arm with my free hand and started to pull him off balance. He tried to resist, but inevitably I tugged him to the side and tripped him with my foot. From a position of leverage, I twisted his arm in an unnatural way, cringing as I felt and heard the bones break. He yelled in pain, and when his grip on the sword loosened, I removed it and threw it well clear of the fight.

“Stay down and you won't die!” I yelled at him before releasing his arm, which he began to cradle as more pained sounds escaped him.

I assessed the situation again. The Thrainian soldiers were losing ground very slowly, their equipment and training making it an uphill battle for the rebels. I spied a few rebels who appeared to be out of the fight due to injuries but were still alive. The Thrainian soldiers were down two, one courtesy of myself. Something needed to happen fast, else we would see casualties on our side.

I saw that Jorn and Otar were fighting side by side, the brothers displaying an excellent level of teamwork as they struck their enemies and covered the other’s retreat afterward. I noticed the Thrianians were fighting the pair differently than they had been with me. They favored dodging and a special form of parrying that was conducive to blocking stronger opponents, and their attacks were quick jabs or slashes instead of anything that might leave them stuck in a struggle. I guess when you are fighting an opponent that is stronger than you by a significant margin you have to adjust your style to compensate. My appearance must have been confusing for my level of strength, I had been unknowingly baiting my opponents into a situation that favored me.

Just then Otar managed to smack aside the weapon of their target and Jorn took the opportunity to thrust out with his sword and impaled the soldier. Death appeared to have been quick as the body dropped to the ground and remained motionless. At the other end of the fighting, Kala and Holdrem were supporting the rebels as best they could with jabs of their weapons at distracted opponents. I was thinking Kala was getting a little too close to her targets for comfort, and unfortunately, I was right.

One of the soldiers managed to deflect a thrust of her spear and get within her area of attack. I felt panic rise within me as I started to rush towards her, then she did something I didn’t expect. As the soldier drew closer to her, she abandoned her weapon and went to grab his sword arm. Once she had a firm grip, she moved the arm over her shoulder and then put her whole body weight into a twisting throw motion. The soldier’s feet lifted from the ground as he rolled over her shoulder and landed flat on the ground. Kala then dropped to his level, extending her legs across the soldier's chest and around the arm she had control of before she exploded her body straight out.

The soldier cried out in pain as his arm was wrenched outwards, probably being removed from its socket. I had to admit that I was impressed at the compentent execution of that move, but my admiration of her was cut short by another fireball flying over the battle line and into the trees. The rebels that were cut off after the first fireball scrambled yet again as the second one kept them separated from the fighting.

The mage needed to go down. The only problem was that he was behind the enemy line and I couldn’t get there quickly without risking a brief dance with death. I needed a way behind them before the mage started to turn his attention to the rest of us. The only probable reason why he hadn’t already was because we were too close to his own soldiers.

Then I got an idea, though I would need help to pull it off. I looked over and saw that Jorn was in between fights. Taking the opportunity, I yelled out to him, hoping he would understand my intent. “Jorn! Give me a boost!”

He looked at me and I saw the confusion on his face as I started sprinting at him. Luckily, something clicked for him, and he recognized my plan, dropping into a squat with his hands at the ready. I stepped up onto his offered platform and felt him heave, which sent my world into freefall.

I flew through the air, a little surprised by just how high I was thrown. My flight session was filled with flailing as I careened over the battle lines towards my intended target, the mage. His surprise was evident; I don’t think anyone expects someone to just come flying in at random towards them. I was a little off target, but close enough to grab hold and drag him off the horse as we both came crashing down to the ground.

We rolled around as I had the wind knocked out of me. I lost my grip on my weapon somewhere in that landing and didn’t have time to locate it again as I was beset upon by the mage I had dragged down with me. He had landed close by, and apparently softer than I had because he had enough wits about him to punch me in the face. I saw stars for a moment before a sweltering heat immediately snapped me into focus again.

The mage had grabbed onto my arm, and his hand was becoming progressively hotter. He was planning on immolating me at close range, and I had nothing I could use in order to stop him. Actually, there was one thing I had. He wasn’t the only one with magic, so in a desperate last bid I grabbed onto him and started casting my own spell.

Thrainians basically had a human body, and the human body for all its wonders had its fair share of weaknesses. I was specifically aiming for a nerve in the neck called the vagus. If subjected to sudden aggressive stimulation, the nerve can cause the body to ‘malfunction,’ which usually leads to unconsciousness.

I forced my magic into him, a draining process as I wasn’t able to grab onto a good area for this. My power snaked its way through his body until I reached the sought after nerve. His face betrayed that he could feel I was doing something, but it was too late for him to do anything about it. I attacked the nerve and his body convulsed for a second before falling still as he slumped over unconscious.

Breathing heavily, I got up off the ground, wincing as my arm was slightly singed by the mage. If he had held on any longer, I probably would have burst into flame, one of my least favorite ways to die. I found my sword in the mud and got up again, surveying the situation now that the fireballs weren’t flying everywhere.

With the mage out of commission, the rebels who were cut off in the forest were free to join the fight. The reinforcements maneuvered to surround the remaining soldiers, and from there it was downhill for them. Several died quickly to a variety of cutting and stabbing wounds as their formation was swallowed up. A few more received crippling wounds and could no longer fight. Before I even knew it, only six healthy fighters remained, and seeing the hopelessness of continuing to fight against the odds, they surrendered shortly after that.

Those soldiers still alive were rounded up and bound, the mage being blindfolded, gagged and restrained for extra safety. I couldn’t rest easy just yet, however. Norwik shouted for my assistance in treating some of the wounded rebels, and I rushed over to meet up with him.

They had already found the crate of crystals, all of them the size of baseballs or softballs, perfect for anything. The rebels were in pretty bad shape, many had deep wounds or intense burns and probably wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t been there. As it was though, I quickly got to work with some of the ones who looked like they were in the most danger of losing their lives.

It felt like I was moving far too slowly for the ugency of the situation, but Velshi had taught me better than to rush things, so I made sure I did it right. One by one I made my way through the injured, though it was regrettable that I found two of them had already died, probably before I even started healing the first person.

Eventually the rebels who were still alive were no longer in danger of dying, though would still need some rest to fully recover. The two who were dead were respectfully laid out on the side of the road for now. One of them looked to be middle aged, the other much too young for death. There was a slightly melancholy mood that hung over the group now as I imagined that these two had made their fair share of friends with the other rebels.

Norwik came up beside me, looking down at the bodies of his fellows in mourning. “You knew them well?” I asked.

Norwik solemnly nodded. “Yes, I know everything about those who choose to follow me, and while it makes the pain of losing any one of them more severe, I would prefer to remember them as their truest selves.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” I offered what felt like shallow sympathies, but Norwik gave me a slight smile.

“Thank you. We all knew what we were getting into, and we will live and die by those decisions. So long as they remain our own, then we can pass on knowing that we lived true to ourselves.” Norwik closed his eyes and brought his hand up to make a circular gesture over the bodies. I could not find it in me to be annoyed at it right now. That would truly make me an asshole if I was.

After Norwik’s brief prayer over the bodies of his fallen companions, he went back to organize the looting of the convoy. They seemed to focus on collecting medical supplies, food, better weapons, and ammunition. Of course, the crystals were part of the supplies taken from the carts, but everything else was put to the torch.

The Thrainian soldiers were tied up on the side of the road, basic medical treatment being given to those who had serious injuries to at the very least prevent them from dying. The forest was on fire thanks to that mage, but there wasn’t much we could do about that, so we could only hope that it didn’t cause too much damage as we bade a hasty retreat from the area lest the smoke draw unwanted attention. I made sure to grab my clothes that I had stored away on the way back as well, wouldn’t want to lose those.

We trekked back through the forest carrying everything that we could. It was somewhat tiring, but we made it back to the cart where the rebels began to grab their supplies out of the back while we loaded in our newly acquired crystals. The rebels sorted through their supplies both new and old, packing them into bags and rucksacks for transport. I got changed again, and we handed our borrowed weapons back to them.

There was nothing left for us to do here, so as everyone climbed back into the cart, I looked towards Norwik to give some parting words. “This was unexpected, but a fruitful encounter, nonetheless. Thank you Norwik, your assistance both now and in the future will be immensely helpful.”

“Think nothing of it. I simply wish to apologize that you had to be shot before we came to the realization that we are on the same side.” He gave a slight bow with the apology.

“The fog of war is thick sometimes,” I offered in a surprisingly sagely manner.

“That it is. Best of luck to you on your mission.”

“And to you as well. Stay safe out there, Norwik.” With that, Holdrem directed the horses out onto the path and towards our original goal. Everyone seemed to be in a daze as we got back on the road, clearly thinking that this had been an insane day, and I agreed. Hopefully we will encounter no more strange or dangerous delays on the road.