Ozlo awake to the sound of a sharp horn rattling his skull. Crawling out of his bedroll he followed the crowd to the middle of the camp and stood in the crowd while the noble from before addressed them. "Hello good people, it's nice to see you all. I hope camp life has been treating you well." A smattering of groans followed that but were soon silenced. "Yes, I'm sure times have been a bit trying as of late. But the time is soon coming for the battle. Ready yourselves, for the battle shall commence tomorrow." The crowd applauded before dispersing as the noble left the stage and headed towards his opulent tent.
After Ozlo returned to his tent, he found Boyd had beat him there. "I like him you know. Better than some of those older nobles. Sure they would have said the same thing, but it would have taken them half an hour to do it." Ozlo pondered Boyd's words as he took care of his morning necessities.
***
"So that's it, we're just going to be fighting goblins tomorrow?" John spoke out loud as their party had gathered. Elizabeth, the healer girl spoke up as well. "Surely they wouldn't want us on the front lines, right?" Her question hung in the air for a few moments until Boyd cleared his throat. "Ahem, of course not. I'll make sure that you will be towards the back with the rest of the conscripts. I'll do my best to keep an eye on you from my position."
And then it clicked. His position. HIS position. Ozlo was the first to put things together. "Wait. You're not going to be with us?" He asked worriedly. Boyd started speaking quickly. "Of course I'll be with you. In spirit of course, I'll be more towards the front. All of the higher skilled cardholders were ordered to the front with the nobles to lead the charge. Though I'm sure you'll all be fine in the rear... Probably."
The youths all just stared at their captain, not particularly feeling put at ease. Sensing this, Boyd did his best to placate them. "Look, you've trained for this. Stay towards the middle of the formation, be alert, and don't be a hero. You can do this, I know you can. That being said of course... If you have any spare shards you should probably be forming them into a card."
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Setting their teeth, they all set out on their own paths for the day. John and Andrew went hunting, Elizabeth went to help the healers, and Ozlo headed towards Manny.
"Aye, lad. Excited for the hunt? It's not every day you get to kill some goblins you know. Easy prey if you have the skills and cards for the job." Ozlo pondered the question. "Am I excited? I mean, it will be exciting but. The Monstorium said not underestimate these things." Manny slapped Ozlo on his back, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Alright lad, I was going to sell this but instead I'll trade you. How many shards do you have in your pouch?" Ozlo pulled out his pouch and counted out nine shards in front of Manny. "Hmm, good enough." Manny tapped his chin and slowly pulled out a card from a pouch that he kept hanging around his neck. "Hmm, hmm... Ah, here. How about this?"
Pierce: Rank common, active/skill.
Activating this card deals light piercing damage to one foe based on the level of the card.
Current Level: 1
Required Soul Shards to level 0/10
Ozlo gently took the card in his hands. "That ought to be a nice little ace in the hole eh boy? Something to pull out of your a- Ahem, behind when things get a little finicky. Course how effectively you can use it is up to you."
Unsure of what to say, Ozlo just stood there dumbfounded. "Ah, geez lad, you're making me all teary eyed. After today I doubt we'll be seeing each other much, if at all, so I figured I would reward you for all your hard work. And if down the line you want to return the favor then..." Manny waggled his eyebrows suggestively and gave the boy a firm pat on his back before Ozlo wandered back to his tent.
"Huh, I never really thought of it that way. This COULD be the last time I see Manny, and even Jorgen." Having lived in an orphanage his whole life Ozlo was no stranger to feelings of melancholy but this pain cut him deeper than usual.