The margrave wasn’t in his garden, but an attendant led me to the dining hall where I had given him his sword. Drab stone walls and limited lighting. No meal sat on the long table down the center of the room, but there was a decanter of wine and a set of pewter cups on the far end.

Godwod was already in discussion with a fiercely bearded man in a burgundy tunic, and Otto was slouching several steps behind the seated lord. His eyes trained on me as I entered and the servant announced my presence.

Our last encounter had been less than friendly, but it wasn’t the sort of thing he would bring up.

The bearded man glanced toward me as my name rang in the hall, then immediately dismissed me as unimportant and continued his discussion.

“What you ask is too much,” the bearded man said. “I will not risk my men while others remain behind.”

“It is no more than you promised when you became my vassal,” Godwod said, sounding like the lord he was supposed to be.

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

The bearded man shot me a harsh look, but his mouth dropped open slightly when our gazes met, and his overbearing attitude took a hit. Godwod looked pleased.

“Ah, Baron Smith, how good of you to make an appearance!” He stood. “Let me introduce you to Count Duku, one of my most illustrious and loyal servants.” The bearded man frowned so deeply at this description that I thought he was on the verge of breaking his face.

“Count Duku, this is my friend and stalwart retainer, Master William Smith.”

“What a ridiculous name,” the count declared, recovering. “Smiths do not become barons. But I suppose you are the would-be templar? You fought a demon?”

Well, the name was ridiculous, but not for the reasons he thought. “That's about right," I said. "Nice to meet you. So what’s the problem?”

“It’s none of your concern,” Duku said. He was two categories above me as far as nobility went, just one degree below Godwod, which meant he was one of my liege’s most influential vassals.

“I thought I might help.”

“Unlikely. Will you be sending lillits to the battlefront?"

Godwod snorted. “I asked Count Duku to take his men to the field and test the Dark Lord’s advance.”

“Then you got my letters."

"I did indeed," Godwod waved me in and poured a cup for me himself. The servant who had announced me, a young man in white livery, seemed ready to lunge forward and do it for him, but thought better of it. "This is most serious. Despite what I said to you about serving as a first line of defense for the kingdom, I have been preparing for this moment since you returned from the Wastes. The lillits have many appreciable qualities, but soldiers, they are not."

There was an empty chair beside the Count, so I took it and accepted the cup. The wine was dark and dry. It probably wasn't possible for me to get properly drunk. My Purifier achievement had granted me immunity to most poisons, and alcohol definitely fell into that list. I was a little sad about that. The flavor really wasn't worth it if it didn't come with the hope of a buzz.

“I took a trip closer to the border to see them," I said. "The Dargothians were still on the mountain when I left, but we can't have long. I'm not sure how many there were, but I saw a lot of fires." My relationship with the harpies wasn't something I wanted to bring up with company, so I wouldn't go into more detail unless it was necessary.

Godwod sat back in his seat and spent a moment in contemplation of his cup, and the Count shifted to address me.

"How close did you come to them?"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Not close. But the last time, their force was split between men and monsters."

"Dargothians are men, like any other," the Count's lips turned down. "The talk of monsters is more legend than truth."

"I was there," I pointed at my eyes, "there were monsters. And a demon."

He seemed inclined to disagree, but turned away from me instead. Novelty contacts didn't exist in this world, so he couldn't argue that something hadn't happened to me.

"We will go together," Godwod said at last. "The three of us, and whatever men we can muster. I want to see what we face for myself. It has been too long since I left these halls."

"Margrave," the Count's voice pitched low, "what do you expect us to do? My retainers number in the dozens, not the hundreds."

Godwod waved the concern away. "We won't take them head on, I assure you. But as brave Will has done before us, we will see what there is to see. Messengers are already running across the march, and I will remain in communication with the other barons. If anything, I believe it will inspire them to follow my example. Their liege seeking fate on his own. How could anyone who calls themselves a knight resist the urge to join me?"

I could think of a few different ways that could go, none of them positive. Otto had remained silent since my arrival, and I thought he should look worried, given that he was certainly a man Godwod would take along for the ride. Instead, he was smirking. I didn't like that. Was there some kind of joke going on here I wasn't catching on to? Godwod's manner was a tad dramatic, but his eccentricity made him hard to read.

Count Duku excused himself, claiming he needed to prepare, and Godwod gestured for me to take more wine. Reluctantly, I did so, barely tasting it.

“There's no need for you to rally the little folk,” he said. “As amusing as that would be, we might as well be arming children. But I am interested to see what a man like you can accomplish, given your experience."

"It was mostly luck before," I said. While I didn't agree with his opinion of the lillits, I wasn't opposed to letting them stay home. Kevin had some kind of fixation on them, and the farther they stayed from the front, the better.

“Fortune is a rare thing. A man who can defy it, rarer still. It has occurred to me that this attack would not be happening if not for your miracle, bringing those villagers out of the Wastes. Dargoth has been quiet for so long, and the Dark Lord might have been satisfied with his playthings.”

“It was only a start,” I said. "He would have come back."

"I agree," Godwod sighed, and adjusted the silver circlet that rested atop his head, "but not everyone is of the same mind. Regardless, the enemy has arrived, and even King Egard will have to take notice. It will do me good to have a reason to raise that wonderful sword you made for me, even if it never draws blood. This keep has felt confining. My daughter has been making a nuisance of herself of late."

"Johanna?" I looked around as if the girl was to be found peeking around a doorway, but there was no one in the hall with us but Otto and the servant.

"Yes. She caught wind of Gastard's part in your little adventure when the lillits were staying in the city. Johanna seems to think he is a hero and deserves to be welcomed back into my service. It was, however, his choice to leave."

Why was he telling me this?

“I had dared to dream that he was gone forever. The fears of my father and grandfather, dead and gone." For a moment, I thought he was talking about Gastard, but then I realized he meant Kevin. "They talked about this, you know, that when the trade stopped, he would come again with his armies. But it never happened, and I thought for sure he must have been dead.” His eyes dropped to my hand around the cup, and the elder sign.

“That Count of yours,” I said, changing the subject, “he seems like a handful.”

Godwod shrugged. “It is the nature of our relationship. The dukes think I am a handful, and the king thinks the same of the dukes. Everyone bristles at the boot, while pressing their own on the backs below. Despite all that you are capable of, I find myself less concerned about your motives than I am of a number of my other vassals.

“I want peace,” I said. “I don’t have time to jockey for position.”

“Ah, yes, the baroness is with child, is she not?”

"She is." I had not told him that.

“Congratulations, the joy of it dulls with time, but there are bright moments to be had between now and then, yes?” He lifted his cup again, saw that it was empty, and set it down. “After this is done with, you can go back to your family, your lillits, and perhaps you can make me another sword.”

There was something he wasn’t telling me, but I chalked it up to the stress of the invasion. “How long until we go?” I asked.

“Tomorrow.” Godwod’s eyes were glassy. He had been drinking long before he invited me to join him. The carafe was as empty as his cup, and he threw it at the nearest doorway. It shattered on the stone tiles of the floor, the sound ringing through the empty hall. Otto didn't flinch.

“Are you okay?” He was always strange, but I had never seen him genuinely upset before.

“Yes.”

"Tomorrow, as in the morning?"

"Yes." The margrave always placed himself beneath the light of a window, and that light was fading against his blonde hair. He looked up. “Ah, you never stay in the city at night, do you? One of the many mysteries of Will Smith.”

"Shall I meet you at the gate in the morning?" When had he noticed that? I hadn't ever told him I couldn't sleep at the keep, and I had never had a reason to before.

"So be it."