Looking up at the approaching forms of Melissa and Eadric, a thought occurred to me. If everyone present were to head out toward the orcs invading from the east, then only non-combatants would be present at Feldrast Manor. If any number of orcs were to break through to the manor, then Tabitha, Miriam, and Merrick wouldn’t be able to defend themselves at all.
“Father,” I said, quickly. I tried to imbue as much authority into my voice as possible but had little success. “Some of us should stay here to protect Mother and Miriam.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Armond said with a supportive nod. “Melissa, Eadric, you two shall stay here.”
Eadric looked disappointed by this order, though Melissa was relieved.
Something Armond said stuck with me, however. He mentioned that he had planned to leave Melissa and Eadric at the manor, anyway. I was still following the path tread by the original Thale. If I wanted to avoid whatever tragedy Thale tried to warn me about, I would have to jump off this path.
“I apologize profusely, Sir Walter,” I said as I turned my head towards him.
“What do you mean?” Walter asked, confused.
[Observe, Lvl. 7]
Name: Walter Goldshod
Class: Arcane Knight
Level: 45
HP: 589
MP: 180
Fortitude: 24
Strength: 22
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 14
Willpower: 13
Charisma: 9
Talent: [Danger Sense]
Healing Potential: 0
“Level seven…” Walter sputtered in disbelief.
Armond looked over in confusion. After a moment’s consideration, however, he realized what had just happened. “You’ve been practicing in secret, eh?” he said to me, chuckling. “It’s always good to keep some of your cards close to your chest.”
Thinking about the attributes I saw when I used [Observe] on Walter, I was amazed. All his physical attributes were above twenty, and his mental attributes weren’t bad either. That was the first time that I had used [Observe] on a high-level warrior, and I was starting to understand how they were able to keep up with mages.
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To match the reality-warping power of Ferrum’s many pure spellcasters, knights like Walter had to train their bodies to superhuman levels. Twenty was the maximum that a human should be able to theoretically achieve, but Walter surpassed that. Through the use of rare elixirs and magical augmentation, it was possible for a warrior to increase his physical attributes beyond twenty.
In combat, Magic Knights like Walter could further augment their bodies with mana. Depending on his skill with [Battle Aura], Walter could add up to fifteen points to his physical attributes at will. If he wanted to, Walter could focus all his Aura on increasing his strength and do truly cataclysmic damage.
“Father…” I began with the most serious tone I could muster, “could Walter stay here at the manor?”
A look of acute confusion appeared on Armond’s face. He spent a few seconds in deep thought, trying to figure out my line of thought. One good thing about my father was that he quickly accepted my intelligence. He would not dismiss my suggestion without first giving it consideration.
“Why do you suggest this?” Armond asked. “I’m sure that even Sir Eadric would agree that among the two of them, Sir Walter is the superior warrior.”
“The main attack could be a distraction,” I said, not allowing any hesitation to enter my voice. “If this is the case, then we need to have a powerful warrior here to defend Mother and Miriam. Please, Father. If the orcs reach the manor, Eadric and Melissa won’t be able to stop them.”
In all the information I knew about Thale Feldrast, his mother wasn’t mentioned once. A brief line of flavor text mentioned that Armond died when Thale was sixteen years old, but that was only because he was the previous liege of the Realm of Northwind.
I could tell that Armond was a hair away from rejecting my proposal, but the tone of my voice gave him pause. As I spoke, I realized that my voice was desperate. Images of Tabitha’s death flashed through my mind, and I was terrified that these images would soon manifest into reality.
Looking over at Tabitha and Miriam, who had arrived while I was speaking, Armond sighed and said, “You make a good point, Thale. Just know that you owe Sir Walter for taking from him this opportunity for glory.”
Turning to Sir Walter, Armond said, “I charge you, Sir Walter Goldshod, with the protection of my wife and child. Sir Eadric Vanta,” as an afterthought, Armond turned to the younger knight, “you shall accompany us to the front line.”
Walter nodded his head, maintaining a studiously neutral expression. Meanwhile, Eadric stepped forward wearing an expression that spoke of anxious excitement.
“Now, let’s go,” Armond said, calmly rolling back his sleeves as he strode toward the front door.
Our party of four exited the manor. Sir Eadric stood at the front with his gleaming iron sword drawn. Though he did not have the experience of Sir Walter, he was still a knight. I was confident that he would not die instantly if he were to cross blades with an orc. If he were to be fatally injured, I could simply heal him before he died.
Once we left the manor, we were immediately met with a wave of sound emanating from the center of Sableton. We could hear the wailing screams of the townspeople and the guttural screaming of monstrous voices.
Gripping my wand tightly, I followed closely behind Solana. Eadric was in the front, and Armond stood in the back. The two of them must have had some experience when it came to small-scale combat. The middle of the group was the safest, which was why Priests typically stood in the center.
“Eadric,” Armond said in a commanding voice, “bring us to the Guild Hall. We will regroup up with Lord Riomed and Beltane before attacking the larger group of orcs.”
Sir Eadric did as Count Armond commanded, and we soon reached the Guild Hall. The cacophonous sound of fighting became louder as we approached the largest building in town.
We turned a corner, revealing the central square of Sableton. Corpses littered the ground, some orcs and some townspeople. Near the main entrance to the Guild Hall, several people were fighting against the invading orcs.
At the center of the fighting was an avatar of death. Cloaked in amorphous shadow, it waved its staff of dark wood and several orcs fell to the ground, bleeding from wounds with an unknown source. There was only one person this could be: Beltane Ostara.