One awkward transition later, Myra was standing outside a large tent, staring at the distant sight of the Barrow, the green slope now darkly stain with the scars of battle. From over the field of battle, Myra could hear the voices of the paladins and rangers, raised in a hearty sea-shanty.

She turned and entered the tent. Sat before the blazing fire, Talon and his lieutenants watched turned their hawk like gazes towards her.

Talon raised a cup. “Ah… Miss Myra. Please, take a seat and help yourself to something to eat.”

Myra politely accepted and allowed the a young warrior to fill her a generous cup of wine. She forced herself to relax, and to let Talon see her relax.

“Now then,” Talon said. “I suppose now is as good a time as ever to discuss your… offer.”

Myra nodded in agreement. Although Talon had treated her with an air of indifference, he would not allow her to discuss the matter until he had a moment away from the goblin-men and other mercenary captains.

“You say, Myra, that you entered the enemy’s… excuse me, the rangers’ camp, and stole Pike’s sword?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I don’t mean to call you a liar, but that sounds like a fairly extraordinary feat.”

Myra shrugged. “You said yourself that I’m good at getting into trouble.”

Talon grinned. “Quite so. And so you’ve hidden it somewhere.”

Myra nodded again, excepting another refill. “Yes. And now I’m here. Once we come to an agreement, I can lead you to where I hid it.”

“And I suppose we should now come to the point. What sort of agreement were you hoping to make?”

“I guess it depends. How badly do you want the sword?”

Talon scratched his chin. “What if I said… that I don’t particularly care for the sword anymore?”

“That’d be a shame,” said Myra, turning her attention to the loaf of bread before her.

After a few moments silence and Talon rapping his fingers on the arm of his chair, he leaned back and sighed. “Calling my bluff, eh? Very well then. What about the same offer as before? Get me that sword, and I’ll do whatever is in my power to keep your friend, Erasmus, safe and sound at the end of all this.”

Myra shook her head. “Tempting. But how am I to know he’s not already dead?”

“Me and my crew haven’t joined the fighting at the ridge yet. But we’ve spied him in the thick of it. An impressive figure he is, wading through the goblin trash with that sword of his.”

“You’re certain that’s him?”

“Fairly certain, yes. I have agreed to take charge of tomorrow’s assault. The rangers are at the breaking point. I can feel it. By tomorrow, we’ll smash through them. And I can guarantee we’ll be able to deliver the paladin to you, safe and sound. Accounting for some bruises along the way. Well, how about that?”

Myra shook her head again. “I know what Erasmus is like. You won’t be able to make abandon his oath. He’ll fight with the Rangers to the very end.”

Talon scowled, but fought back the frustration.“Surely, once we have him in our… custody. You can make him see reason.”

“He already thinks I’m a traitor. I used to think we could have a future together. But now I realise that was just a foolish dream.”

Talon’s lieutenants could barely contain their impatience any longer. “So what are you saying?” snapped Fang. “Do you want us to capture this Erasmus or not?”

“No. I don’t.”

“Then what…” Fang shot to his feet. But Talon silenced the man with a wave of his hand, urging him to sit again. Talon then leaned forward and stared at Myra, resting his jaw in his hands.

“I see my conditions are not acceptable. So be it. I’ve set my starting price, now you set yours, Myra. What do you really want in exchange? Money perhaps? Throw a number at me. Treat yourself.”

“I want…” Myra pressed a finger to her lips and stared upwards like a spoiled merchant’s daughter. She snapped her fingers a smiled broadly. “I want you to rip up your contract with the goblins. And then take your men and leave the rangers alone. That shouldn’t be too expensive, right?”

Talon’s men leapt to their feet in outrage.

“Gentlemen, please,” Talon barked. “Myra, as you can see, that is a pretty extreme condition. Personally, I’d be more than happy to wash my hands of this. But I cannot speak for my men…”

“So you can’t control your men?”

“Of course I can, but as a leader, I have to consider their feelings…”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Myra sighed. “That’s a shame. Oh well… maybe I’d have better luck with the goblins…”

Thorn shot up, a dagger in her hand. “Cut the bullshit! If all you’ve got to give us is words, then you can get nothing but steel Captan! Give me just five minutes with this cow, and she’ll be singing like a bird!”

“Who are you calling a cow?” Myra snapped. “Someone that looks like a stray cat left to rot in the sun shouldn’t be slinging insults.”

“Ladies… please,” Talon interjected. “Myra… please understand, you're driving a hard bargain.”

“Am I?” she asked. “Well… maybe I overestimated how much you want the sword.”

“Surely, if I really, really wanted it. Your personal safety would be jeopardised.”

“Especially if you’re lying…” growled dour-faced Sting. “We don’t even know if you’re telling the truth.”

“True,” Myra agreed. “But if I’m not, then the sword might be lost in the forest forever. But then… I suppose you’ll have time to go looking for it, once the battle is over.”

Myra couldn’t help but notice a twitch in Talon’s expression. She was playing her cards right. You can’t hide it anymore. You want the sword. And you want it now.

“So if I agree to break trust with the goblins… rip up my contract and take all my lads out of here, then what?”

“Well, if you make a solemn promise, I can lead you to the sword. Tomorrow even. After daybreak.”

“Tomorrow?” Talon smoothed his hair back.

“Yep.”

“And all you need is my promise?”

“I’ll accept that, at least.”

“And you’ll bring me the sword?”

Myra shook her head. “No. I said I’ll lead you to it. I only do it if it’s you yourself come.”

“Not one of my men?”

“You can bring whoever you want. But I only trust them if you are with me.”

“But I am to lead the assault tomorrow.”

“I know…”

Talon laid back in his chair, and laughed. “I knew you were a sly one. I hope you’d be willing to stay on with us once all this over us.”

“Do we have a deal then?”

“Of course. I sincerely promise to break my contract Hobb and the goblin-clan, walk out on this war with all the men under my command, and leave the rangers in peace. And that’s final,” he added, glancing sharply at his warriors, shutting off their protests.

Myra nodded in satisfaction. “You’re a reasonable man, Talon. We’ll get started before sunrise tomorrow. If you want to keep this business… private, of course.”

“Sounds like a plan. But one more thing. Once I have the sword in my hands, there’s only one way to make sure that it is the genuine article.”

“And what is that?”

Talon grinned. “It has to be used, of course, on a living being. A sacrifice… if you will.”

Myra frowned. “Where are you going with this?”

“Nothing you need to worry about. I have a prisoner… you see. I’m thinking that I should bring him along. He won’t be missed. Especially, not by you…”

Myra’s eyes widened. “Do you mean… do you really have him?”

“I knew I kept Pike alive for a reason. Ending his life on that sword would be a poetic touch… that sword that slew your lover… did it not?”

Myra clenched her hands. “That’s right…”

“Well… any objections?”

“No… of course not. I swore I’d get even with him. A long time ago…” There’s was long pause. Myra suddenly drained the last of her wine. “If it’s not too late, I have one more condition to add.”

Talon raised an eyebrow.

Half an hour later, Myra was following the warrior named Nail through Talon’s camp. She was led to a small, shabby tent tucked away amongst the ramshackle pilings of equipment. Bored guards were sat about it playing dice. Nodding to the guards, Nail threw open the tent flap and showed Myra inside.

“He’s in a bad shape, but he’s a tough bastard. Whatever you do to him, we should be able to patch him up and keep him breathing for another day yet. So long as he can walk, the boss said.”

Myra shook her head. “Don’t worry. I’m not… very cruel.”

Nail let go of the flap. Myra, lamp in hand, was alone in the tent, looking down at the pathetic figure strung up between two poles. Myra set the lamp down and walked over.

“Pike… are you awake?”

Slowly, the man stirred, and stared at Myra from a face caked in blood.

“Bloody hell…” she breathed, “what have they done to you?”

Pike managed a sarcastic grin. “Don’t get your hopes up. It’s not as bad as it looks…” he rasped through parched throat.

Myra reached for her belt and took out a flask. Holding it to his mouth, Pike let her pour the water down his throat. He didn’t protest, but once he was done, he stared up at her. “What do you want? If you’re here to kill me… well, don’t let me stop you… But that wouldn’t really satisfy you. Would it?”

Myra shook her head. “Talon plans to kill you tomorrow.”

Pike chuckled. “Finally. What’s the special occasion?”

“I’m going to give him the sword. Your sword.”

Pike’s weak grin vanished. “No… oh damn it. What have you done? You bloody fool.”

“I made him swear in front of his men that he’ll turn his back on the goblins and leave the rangers alone.”

“What bloody good will that do? Even if he doesn’t stab you in the back.”

Myra shrugged. “I can’t do anything more for Erasmus and Erda. They’re determined to see this through to the bitter end. I can only get in the way of that. But I can at least make good on my promise to Ruadh, to protect their secrets from Talon.”

Pike sighed. “And giving him a magical sword is supposed to help that?”

“We’ll see. I don’t want him to have it. If you got it back though…”

“Aren’t I supposed to die tomorrow?”

“That’s the plan. Talon wants use the sword on you. But really, that is for fate to decide.”

“And what about you? Don’t you want to be the to kill me?”

Myra turned away from him. “Not really… not anymore.”

Pike chuckled. “So you're turning your back on Garth now?”

“No. I’ll always carry him in my heart. But… I guess I’m just sick of the anger. Holding on to that kind of hate… has been like carrying a rock on your stomach. I just… want to be free… and to be loved. Don’t you feel the same?”

“Maybe once… but not anymore.”

“Do you not have any hope that Erda will live?”

Pike shook his head. “She’s too good for this world. But now that I’ve seen something like that… I don’t think I care to live in a world without her.”

Myra knelt before Pike and cupped his face in her hands. Pike glared at her, but there was only sadness in her eyes. Pike’s frown fell.

“You’re a warrior, Pike,” Myra muttered. “And so am I. If we both have to die, then we can at least down out fighting, like Garth did. Like Wudu did.”

“What for?”

“What do you want… most in the world right.”

To Myra’s shock, she saw the beginnings of a tear in the corner of Pike’s eye.

“To see her… one last time…”

“What would you say to her?”

“I’m sorry… Myra…”

Myra rested her forehead against Pike’s. For a long moment, the two just shared in the silence.

“Pike…” she said at last. “Whatever happens tomorrow… don’t give up on getting back to her.”

Pike breathed in heavily. “You just can’t help but be a sucker for romance? Huh?”

“Naturally.”

“Very well. But… I suppose you didn’t tell Talon you wanted to see me to have a deep and meaningful.”

Myra shook her head. “Talon told me I could do anything short of killing you.”

“Then if you still got any anger issues… might as well take them out now, if we’re to make it till tomorrow.”

Myra clenched her fists, but a look of hesitation crossed her face.

“Don’t be a pussy. I can take it,” Pike cackled. “Just try to leave me with one eye not swollen.”