The Lieutenant led them across the battlefield at a quick march. The broken bodies of human and Bulvine littered the ground as they passed, some still twitching. Sobs of pain and even screams came from a few but the Lieutenant ignored it all and kept them moving.

Within a few minutes, they had joined up with the Elite Infantry Battalion concealed behind a fold in the land off to the side of the battle and Lieutenant Bligh went to report. From the people bustling around him, Major Lukan appeared to have the command over this section. A defensive perimeter had been formed and the Bulvine showed no signs of approaching. Argon gave Niall a nod as he approached, then turned back to look at battle. Niall was surprised at how pleased he was that the solid Squad Leader had survived and was going to be with him for the next attack.

Around two hundred light cavalry had already gathered with them and over the next ten minutes another hundred or so trickled in along with the same number of light infantry. Niall took the time to rest, eat and drink while checking on what remained of his Patrol. The sun was high and Niall was shocked to realise they had fought for most of the day and were now well into the afternoon. All concept of time had been lost while he fought.

In the sky the Champions were gaining the upper hand but still, tens of Bulvine, and their griffins, swooped and soared for the Champions to deal with. Similarly, the Sage and the Stone Golem slugged it out to one side of the battle field. While it seemed that the Golem was getting the worst of it, Niall did not know enough to be certain. All that mattered was that the Sage was keeping the Golem occupied for now.

The main battle was less clear cut, indeed the Gwillish troops looked to still be on the back foot. The Bulvine had managed to get themselves organised again and were attacking with violence and precision. Even as Niall looked, a deployment of around fifty mounted Bulvine charged into the Gwillish troops. Instead of horses they were mounted on the owl-bear creatures Niall had seen before. These beasts attacked with their own beaks and claws to add their damage to those of the long two-handed swords wielded by their riders. When they eventually turned and galloped away, they left tens of bodies in their wake with only a couple of them having been taken down in turn.

Lieutenant Bligh turned to them again. “All of you. On your feet. We are going in two minutes. The Bulvine have tied up the Champions and Sage so we need to win this on our own. If we delay there will no one left for them to save. When we advance, stay together. If you get separated from the rest of us your chances of survival plummet. We stand or fall together.”

There was little else to be said. In silence they stood and waited.

“Niall has to promise he will say no.” Pobble’s voice came urgently and unexpectedly into his mind.

“What are you talking about, Pobble?”

“Pobble is not allowed to say anything more, but Niall cannot trust him. Whatever he promises Niall has to refuse.” Niall felt the weight of Pobble’s voice in his head. It was as if he was screaming at him.

Then Pobble was gone. Not just silent, but absent.

In the same instant, without warning, everything went still.

Niall looked around him. Bulvine and Gwillish fighters were frozen in place, their limbs at impossible angles. Even the clouds were still in the sky. Yet Niall could still move. There was no sound beyond his own breathing and even the smell of battle had gone.

A flicker of movement caught Niall’s eye. A Bulvine with grey hair and dressed in green robes richly embroidered with gold thread, appeared in the pass behind the Bulvine camp. He walked towards Niall with unhurried steps as, with a nimbleness that belied the grey hair, he ducked between the frozen fighters, using a staff to steady his footing. Besides that slim staff, he appeared to be entirely unarmed and without armour.

Without the energy to come up with a better idea Niall simply stood where he was and watched him approach.

In less time than Niall would have expected, the robed Bulvine stood in front of him. Rather unexpectedly, he had a pair of glasses on a chain hanging around his neck. He raised them up to perch on his nose as he peered at Niall and gave a grandfatherly look of affection as he noticed Niall staring at them.

“Oh these? Rather marvellous, aren’t they? Patrick told me all about them. Apparently, they’re very common in your world. Even with access to excellent healing, eventually time catches up with you. I use these for near work.” The Bulvine spoke Gwillish without an accent.

“Patrick?”

“Ah yes, I’m so sorry. Too thrilled to be here. Start from the beginning, that’s the way. My name is Leon. The survivor from the scout troop you massacred reported you were at the front, but I didn’t believe it and I simply had to see for myself. And, look, here you are. So very pleased to meet you.” The Bulvine beamed at Niall and held out a massive hand.

Niall did not take it. “What do you want?”

The Bulvine looked at him with what could only be described as faint embarrassment as he slowly lowered his hand. “Oh, straight to it? Direct. Quite right. Well, it’s like this. Your rather excitable and voluble Fae shard has been over stepping the rules somewhat. A little hint here, a little nudge there, and bit of extra advice every so often. Did the two of you think there wouldn’t be any consequences?”

“What is all this? What are you talking about?”

The bespectacled Bulvine held up his big hands. “Oh I’m sure little Pobble was well intentioned but there are rules you see. For example, I could, very easily just kill you now where you stand.” Niall could see the glint in the Bulvine’s eyes as he spoke. “However, because I will abide by the rules, I won’t do that. No, I will keep working through the proxies I am allowed to use. Although between you and me they’ve been pretty useless so far haven’t they? Who would have thought you could have survived a Bloodaxe, eh?”

“You were behind all of that?”

“Well yes. You didn’t think that was all an unplanned coincidence did you?” He wriggles his large fingers. “I have these fingers in plenty of pies you know. Not actual ones you understand, that would be unhygienic. Metaphorical pies. I do love a good metaphor.”

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“If you’ve not come to kill me, then why are you here?”

“Oh well, that, yes. Your shard’s actions have opened up a rather unexpected opportunity for me to intervene directly. So, I want to make you an offer.”

“What?”

“You know: a deal, a proposal, a proposition.”

“I know what an offer is. But what offer and why?”

The grandfatherly Bulvine looked rather embarrassed. “Well, I want to keep you guarded and locked away for the rest of your life.” The Bulvine held up his hand. “Put like that I appreciate that it doesn’t sound like a very attractive option but hear me out. We will give you whatever you need, property, food, drink, servants to see to your every whim, and we can even find other humans to come and stay with you - voluntarily of course.”

“And in return?”

“Well in return we will withdraw from this battle, in fact from this entire war. No need to carry on attacking if we know where you are. And, for the avoidance of any doubt, we will stop trying to kill you directly.” Leon paused. “Actually, after we didn’t manage it before you got that Fae shard that was the end of that option until you decided to hand yourself to us here. So, mostly, the offer is a life of luxury and lots of lives saved. Think of this as the carrot to the rather unpleasant stick we definitely, in no way, would even dream of using ever again. What do you say?”

“Why? Why me?”

Leon sighed and shook his shaggy head before he answered. Niall thought he looked older than before. “Because it will mean that for the course of your life a generation on both sides will grow up without this stupid war. That will be a generation that does not have to fight but can instead can grow up and live their lives in peace. A generation of time to allow us to try to make an end to this insanity so that none of your people ever have to come here again. Is that not worth living in a gilded cage for?”

“That’s not an answer to my question.”

“I know. There are promises that are being kept in letter, but not spirit. Lines that cannot be crossed, but that are being nudged at. I have said what I can.”

Niall stalled for time to think. “So you’re responsible for all of this?” Leon nodded. “If you can do this then you could just take me? If I say no, you’re going to kill me anyway.”

“I will not kill you, at least not directly. I’ve already said I can, but I won’t. There. Are. Rules” The old Bulvine was starting to look annoyed at Niall’s questions.

“If I say yes, what about my family?”

Leon’s face grew grave. “You cannot continue to try to find your way home. That is part of the price you will have to pay. It’s not that I don’t want you to go home, nothing would give me greater pleasure. But I cannot allow you to complete the actions that are required to get you home. I am sorry.”

Niall persisted. “But what will happen to my parents and my sister.”

Leon sighed. “The threat The Deathless One makes is always the same, but I have no insight into your world so I don’t know what he has done there. He is capable of much, but I don’t know what his response will be if you come with me. If nothing else Niall Vendra, take from this that it would have been easy for me to lie to you to say they will be fine, but I was honest with you.” Leon glanced around before continuing, “Our time here draws to a close. No more questions. I need an answer.”

Niall did not know what to do. This was too much to absorb in one go and he had dozens of questions he wanted answering. Despite everything he wanted to trust the old Bulvine. Even though he was clearly not telling the whole truth, there was something in him that inspired it. However, this was a Bulvine, a powerful one at that who had admitted to sending assassins after him. How much of what he was saying could he believe? He came to a decision.

“If I come with you, I stop trying to get home. I can’t do that. I can’t put my family at risk. Even if I wanted to, I can’t. The answer is no.”

“You can, but you choose not to. The lies, they run deep. Does the good of the one, or even the good of your family, outweigh the good of the many? One chance to change your mind. One more chance than I should give, but I give you the chance anyway. Will you come with me?”

Niall shook his head and gripped his spear tightly in preparation for a surprise attack..

The old Bulvine smiled at him sadly. “Then the path is set, Niall Vendra. I very much fear we will see each other again.”

In the same breath Leon disappeared and the sound, sights and smells of the battle resumed.

“Regiment, advance” Lieutenant Bligh echoed the call that came down from the Major

Niall had time to register that Pobble had reappeared and was running through his memories. He registered a feeling of relief from Pobble but had no chance to think further on what had just happened even though his mind was spinning.

The foot troops started to march forward. In front of them the cavalry formed up. With a yell that came from hundreds of throats they charged at the enemy. The Bulvine on the left side were about to overwhelm an infantry troop. They looked up as the cavalry crested the rise. There was shouting in their Bulvine ranks and an attempt to form a defence that was partially in place when the Gwillish cavalry crashed into them.

Men, women, Bulvine and horses tangled in a mass of steel, leather and horns.

Niall swallowed. It was time for the foot troops. A shouted order from the Major echoed by the Lieutenant and they broke into a run. Taking advantage of the gap the cavalry had created, they charged into the Bulvine flank. The infantry troop they had relieved were invigorated and fought fiercely in next to them. Then Niall lost any sense of the bigger picture and simply battled on.

Once more Niall was lost in Flow to the rhythm of war. Stab, slash, duck. Enemy engaged. As one fell another took its place.

Once more time lost its meaning. Shadows started to lengthen. Enemy and ally fell.

Once more the fighting came to a halt as reverberations from an almost unimaginably powerful blow staggered everyone on the battlefield.

The ground beneath Niall’s feet shook as something immense hit the ground. The towering figure of the Stone Golem and the Sage had disappeared into a cloud of dust that hung in the air where their duel had been fought. Out of that cloud the Sage staggered out using his war hammer to support his weight as he went.

Niall looked up. In the sky above them the remaining few griffins were flying away, pursued by the golden warrior on his flying horse.

In the battle in front of him, orders were bellowed out by what remained of the Bulvine commanders and the remaining Bulvine started to carry out a fighting retreat. A roar echoed out from thousands of hoarse voices across the battlefield. Niall realised that one of the voices was his. The tattered remnants of the light cavalry swept in front of him once more and pressed the advantage on the retreating enemy.

Niall stumbled forward to join them and then stopped. He was not needed. With the surviving air support harried from the skies by one of their number, the remaining champions joined the fight. A storm of arrows from a single rider fell among the retreating Bulvine, each one, unerringly, hitting its mark. A barely visible blizzard of blades tore through their ranks leaving only shredded bodies in her wake.

At some point the woman who had, a lifetime ago, turned the walls of the Bulvine camp to crumbling wood had also joined the fight. With a gesture, torrents of water rose and fell at her command across the battle field sweeping away tens of the enemy and draining away before rising up once more. In the middle of the battlefield, literal piles of corpses surrounded the figure of Aketeon who leapt over them to chase after the retreating Bulvine.

Nonetheless, the organised retreat did not turn into a stampede. Despite the onslaught of the Champions and the superior numbers of the Gwillish army they still did not flee the field.

A horn sounded from the depths of the pass. Except for the very front lines, the Bulvine started to stream back into the pass. It was only the rapidly thinning Bulvine rearguard the avoided this turning into a rout.

The retreat was faster than Niall expected, and within ten minutes the last Bulvine on the front lines were cut down. Their sacrifice was not it vain as the last of their comrades retreated into the pass.

The calvary swept after them on weary horses, but the horns blew to order the infantry to cease fighting.

A wave of weariness swept over Niall and he fell to his knees.

Victory was theirs, but instead of jubilation he had the uneasy feeling of someone staring him. He looked around to see Killip glaring toward him from across the battlefield.