“It might be, at that.” I said as I finished off my ale and rose from the table. “I want to thank you again, Imprid. It means a great deal to me.” He nodded. “But I need to go find Rithers now. He deserves some thanks as well, and I need to speak with Lord Tarin. Have a good rest of the night. And get some sleep, Thilos, for all our sakes.”

Imprid and Thilos rose as well, as had Vone and the guards. “Rithers should be at the campaign room with Lord Tarin.” Thilos said.

“Even now, at this hour?” I asked. When Thilos nodded I started for the door. “Then that’s where we’re headed next. Come on, Vone.”

By the time we made it to the double doors to the campaign room I was pretty tired and looking forward to trying out my new bed back at the office. Four guards stood at attention outside. “Lord S’Vig needs to speak with Secretary Rithers. Is he within?” Delik Slin asked.

The oldest guard nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll fetch him for you.” He eased open one of the doors and called for Rithers, who appeared momentarily. He was looking a little tired himself, although when he smiled at seeing it was me it made him look a little better. “Lord S’Vig. It is so good to see you. You have my condolences over your recent losses.”

Losses? Oh, he meant my mother, too. It had been awhile since we had seen each other. “Thanks, Rithers. And thank you for helping transform my office. It was a very pleasant surprise. I was dreading returning there.”

His smile grew. “It was my pleasure, my lord. I think Imprid enjoyed the opportunity to create something more to your liking. She seems to care for you a great deal.”

“She is an amazing woman. Thilos is very lucky. Have you met my friend Vone? He’s obviously a priest of Kefnak and he brought us fifty other Kefnakian priests to help us fight the drants, and the Kathaldi.”

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Rithers bowed his head slightly. “I was introduced to Vone upon his presentation to Lord Tarin but did not have the opportunity to speak with him. Thank you for coming to our assistance.”

Vone laughed. “I live here, too. And I am always happy to have drants to fight. The Kathaldi are a tougher breed, but I serve Kefnak and that means hunting down every last one of those creatures.”

“That’s great, buddy.” I said, trying to slap him on the shoulder the way he always did to me. I forgot about his stupid chainmail, so I hurt my hand instead of him. “Anyway, Rithers, I would also like to speak with Lord Tarin, if I may.” I just ignored my throbbing hand, and Vone’s grin.

“I think he would welcome that, Lord S’Vig, but let me check.” He said, then bowed his head slightly and returned inside the campaign room. We just stood there, waiting, until the door opened again, and five or six people came out, followed by Rithers. One was General Murock so I nodded politely at him.

He nodded back. “It is good to see you back on your feet, Lord S’Vig. I hear you and your men were very helpful down at the riverbank. Good work.”

“Thank you, sir. We did what we could.” Rithers waved me in so I gave the general a final nod and entered the campaign room. I looked at the map of Ansdron covering the two tables in the middle of the room. There were a lot more wooden blocks now, and a bunch of them were along the river where the drants had attacked.

“They will not catch us unawares again.” Lord Tarin said as he approached me. “Rithers tells me you and your guards were there from close to the beginning. Did you have some idea it was coming?”

“No, my lord. I just happened to be moping in my house which is only a couple of blocks from the northern guard tower. When we heard the noise, we went to help.”

“You saved our asses, from what I understand. Any idea how the drants got there without us having any warning?”

I shook my head. “I’ve been rather focused on the Kathaldi, sir.”

“Yes, I got your report. Excellent work. I hope all of them left.”

“I imagine there are still a few who stayed behind to keep an eye on us and report back to their leaders. At least now we know where their headquarters is.”

His eyebrows raised in surprise. “We do? I have not heard anything about that.”