Edmund got out of the back of the truck; around him, soldiers were patrolling, others talking to the locals. It took him some time before he got here because of some things he needed to do in the capital of the duchy but being back in the town that is close to the dungeon brings him memories of testing the rail cannon, which made him smile, but he had no time for that.

The town was different from before, of course larger but the houses were rebuilt from the ground up to look more like the ones in the capital of the duchy. As he walked in the direction of the mayor’s home, Edmund saw a kid playing with a soldier, but as he walked by and heard the little Shafran hug the soldier and call him dad,.

Edmund honestly couldn’t imagine why someone with a kid and wife like him would want to go on such a dangerous mission; that soldier wasn’t the only one; a lot of the soldiers had families. He was wondering if the link with Ariadne had something to do with it, but that could only stay in his mind as there was no proof of it.

He nodded to the soldiers at the entrance of the mayor’s home and walked in; he just followed a female Chatzi with a head set on, and as she entered a room, Edmund followed, and there was Ariadne, Alon, and each of the platoon leaders surrounding a table with a larger version of the map he had drawn.

‘Right, the peasant is here; let’s begin, but before that, let me remind you all that this mission is voluntary and for those that die inside of that dungeon, your families will be taken care of by me.’ She looked at everyone and smiled.

Their reaction was to just salute her and as their eyes opened, they looked at one another and gave it a nod.

‘Everyone here is thankful for your kindness; by your name we will conquer this dungeon.’ Alon spoke with a firm tone.

‘You can begin now, captain.’ She nodded to Alon.

‘He is the plan.’ He pointed at the map.

He started to explain how things are going to be using the information Edmund provided and the feedback from the captains and the platoon leaders. In the hallway, he is just going to get a squad act as scouts and possibly clear the hallway so they can have access to the city inside of the dungeon.

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‘Egor squad is going to be the scouts.’ Bartel raised his hand.

‘Good.’ Alon nodded at him.

Alon continued, now pointed directly at the city part of the map; he putted four pieces of wood along the side of the map.

‘Each infantry platoon will take a part of the frontline and be responsible to push; assume they are intelligent and they will try to exploit gaps in our formations.’ Alon pointed at the gaps between the wood pieces.

‘I said it to Alon but i’m going to say here to everyone: if you kill one, another will replace him in time.’ Edmund crossed his arm.

‘Yes, because of that, we will have Nortis here of the Mortar platoon at the back proving support and if their ammunition is depleted, serve as reserves in case we need to reinforce the frontlines.’ Alon pointed at Blue Eye Shafran.

‘Count on my platoon, sir.’ Nortis nodded at Alon.

Alon nodded back at Nortis and continued to move the wood pieces until it passed the center of the map, where there is the drawing of a larger structure. He looks at everyone for a moment and puts a red piece of wood right on top of it.

‘Right here is where the real battle begins; this is where the mortar platoon will use what they have left at my command so that her highness and Edmund can fight a weaker form of the dungeon guardian.’ Alon taps the piece at the center.

‘What if we don’t kill the guardian and we have no more mortars left?’ Calb looked at Alon puzzled.

‘We start dying to buy our precious savior time.’ The gray-furred Shafran spoke in a calm and cold manner while looking into the brown eyes of the young Chatzi.

That took him back and he looked to the other platoon leaders and they had mixed reactions but none were of fear; he himself wasn’t afraid but he cared for his man so this made him sad for a moment but he took a deep breath and for a moment he noticed how Ariadne was looking at them with sadded eyes; it looked like she was almost tearing up. Not just him but everyone took notice of her and the state they were in became one of pure resolve.

‘Zaken, thank you for reminding me of our job.’ Calb smiled at the gray-furred Shafran

Ariadne saw Zaken nod at Calb as they continued to talk about the plans; she was overwhelmed with emotions; her face didn’t show anything but inside; the fact that these people would die for her made her almost bust into tears; the contection she had with them amplified what she was feeling in a way that cut deep.

But she found it strange that those tears she wanted to put out of happiness, as she was feeling how important she was for them, an overwhelming gratitude towards her and all of a sudden.

‘Thank you everyone. This is not just for me, but for everyone. Everyone now has a land to call their own and this would guarantee that stays true, I hope everyone lends me their strength.’ She looks around at everyone at the table.

‘Even me? I knew one day things would come around duchess.’ Edmund smiled at her.

‘What are you talking about, peasant? You are not lending me anything; you are mine.’ She looks at him with cold eyes.

‘Well, it was worth the try.’ Edmund shrugs his shoulder

Alon let out a short laugh and every other platoon leader followed. Ariadne was confused by the situation; she noticed that even Edmund had a smile on his face so she just sighed, not understanding what had happened.