Axeton and Sigyn found themselves at the last door they hadn’t yet checked in Baron Estes’ large manor house. The paladin touched the doorknob, then stopped, a shadow forming over his face.

“What’s wrong?” Sigyn asked, the candle she was holding made shadows dance along the door and nearby. “Are you sleepy?”

He shook his head. “The man behind this door was the one who betrayed me and my family. He led enemies right to our homes, and they slaughtered us all.”

Axeton looked up at Sigyn. “I don’t know what I’ll do, but I can feel my anger rising. I have to keep it under control, so I may need your help to maintain myself so I can question him.”

“I’ll do what I can”, the firbolg replied.

Axeton turned the knob, surprising him since Mo told him the Baron was locked in. He swung open the door, revealing a lavish bedroom of bookcases, statuettes, an ornate washbasin, and a canopy bed. A putrid smell cut into their noses as the door opened.

Sigyn almost ran to the window, opening the blinds, then the window itself to let in light and fresh air. She gagged, sticking her head out.

“No…no no no no no!” Axeton groaned, approaching the bed. With a flash of his arms he pulled back the canopy to reveal the corpse of Fial Estes. He laid in his bed as if just asleep, but the pallor of his skin was a stark contrast to his dark blue bed sheets. His jaw was unhinged and open, with residual specks of foam that at one point had trickled from his mouth, down the sides of his face.

Axeton slammed himself down into the bedside chair, his hands gripping his hair in frustration.

NOW I DON’T GET A CHANCE TO KILL HIM, the angry voice bemoaned.

Working with a man like Dorian isn’t worth the risk, the quiet one replied.

Sigyn came over to the side of the bed next to Axeton, putting her giant hand on his shoulder. She looked around for a moment, before her eyes set on a box of chocolates.

“I wouldn’t eat those,” Axeton said, not lifting his face up. “Estes had a notorious sweet tooth, Dorian probably wanted to tie off loose ends, since this operation was closing up. That candy is poisoned.”

Sigyn whined, barely audible as she picked up a piece and sniffed it before putting it back down. The face she made indicated that Axeton was correct.

“There’s a letter here,” she told Axeton, picking up a piece of parchment and holding it in front of him. “It looks like it came with the candy.”

With the fingers of his right hand still rubbing his forehead in irritation, he took the paper and tilted his head up slightly to read it. It was difficult as the sun had set outside, but Sigyn brought her candle closer, allowing him to make out the words.

Dearest friend,

The Knights and I are so grateful for your cooperation at Avandale and the facility at your home.

My stationed men there have said your compliance to the cause has been first-rate.

Please enjoy these rare and exotic chocolates as a gift for a job well done.

-BD

Axeton sighed. “So this was all for nothing,” he groaned, the paper trembling in his hands. “More bloodshed, more death, and I still don’t know where the Bell is.”

“That may be true,” Sigyn replied. “But we saved the entire caravan, and the people in the underground forge. And now, Ostiphas will go back to normal. Plus, we know that he’s in Grenfield.”

The paladin looked back, perturbed at the positivity when he just wanted to envelop himself in self-loathing for a moment. “There was a high chance he would be there anyway, the problem is getting to him when he controls the whole campus!”

He stopped, noticing Sigyn staring at him.

“And you saved me, too. I would have died with the rest of them if you didn’t come along.”

Axeton chewed his lip, his eyes clearing up before he was able to manage a little smile.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Yeah…” he said with levity. “I would have missed out on some really good garlic sauce.”

Sigyn punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Shut up,” she laughed as she motioned to the door.

Axeton crumpled up the letter, throwing it onto the bed before they left the room, the clicking of the fancy door lock sounded as they closed the door behind them.

The caravan ended up staying at the manor for a few days, as the ex-prisoners needed more time to recover before Jerald would allow them to travel. They healed quickly, between the doctor’s rest orders, adequate food and water, and Axeton’s healing Gift he used to purge the poison from their bodies.

Axeton ended up burying Fial Estes in an unmarked grave, away from the manor house. When asked where the previous caravan guards’ bodies were, the recovering prisoners informed Axeton, Sigyn, and Demitri that they had been stripped, dismembered, and thrown into the furnaces once the gold smelting had been completed. The troupe held a memorial service in their honor, burying the discarded gear in a shaded spot off the property; no one could bring themselves to use the gear, let alone keep it around.

The trip back to Ostiphas was uneventful, the spring day had commenced like it always had in the town as the caravan pulled into the courtyard in front of town hall. The Estes house guards and Mari had their hands tied, and were all bound to each other in a line between two of the wagons so they wouldn’t escape.

Dimitri approached one of the uniformed town hall guards after the caravan had come to a stop.

“Could you tell the mayor that the excursion to the Estes estate is complete, and that we’ve returned?” he asked proudly.

The guard eyed him. “Returned…?” he asked suspiciously.

Axeton and Sigyn had heard this, along with the rest of the hired hands near the front most wagon. A dozen sets of hands were ready to grab their weapons.

The guard's eyes became glassy as he bit his lip. “So, it’s over then. We don’t have to send any more to die?” he asked, his voice breaking.

Dimitri nodded. “Yes, no more. Go get the mayor, we’ll explain.” he ordered gently.

The guard, who was a young man with short, blond hair, saluted and ran inside. After a few moments, the haggard mayor appeared before Dimitri.

“Redmond tells me that you shut it down,” Mayor Louis said, in a cautious mixture of hope and wariness. “That the town is safe now?”

Dimitri bowed, before pointing to Axeton and Sigyn. “Indeed. These two here thought that something was amiss, and dispatched Mo and Mari while the rest of us subdued the house guards. We also freed the prisoners.”

“Prisoners?” the old man balked. “I thought everyone was dead…”

Axeton walked up, bowing as well before addressing the mayor. “Unfortunately, they did indeed kill everyone each trip, minus a few, to work the forges and melt down the gold. Mo is dead, but Mari…”

Sigyn yanked the man from his spot in the lineup, bringing several others with him as she dragged him to stand in front of the mayor. Louis closed his eyes, muttering a prayer before opening them with righteous indignation.

“Well, mister Mari,” he began, with a vigor Axeton had not expected. “Not in a position to threaten the lives of me, and everyone else here now, are you?”

Louis turned to Dimitri, Axeton, and Sigyn. “Did you find out who was behind this?” he asked hopefully.

“No,” Sigyn answered quickly. “It seems like Mo and Mari were doing it for themselves.”

Axeton grimaced. They had gone over this part during the stay at the estate and the journey back. If anyone was sent after Dorian, especially the king’s forces due to him messing with taxes, it would just make him go somewhere and hide. Axeton needed his old master to be comfortable in the hubris of never even considering the thought of being caught. Dimitri was apprised of the situation, and agreed. He was just happy to get his brother back, and promised that this matter would end.

“Hmmm,” Mayor Louis grunted. “Well, it seems like too big of an operation for those two, but who knows what they’re capable of. I can’t thank you enough for putting a stop to their thefts and murders. My town, our town - thanks you.”

Dimitri smiled, before gesturing to the wagons. “Here is the tax gold that Mo and Mari tried to smuggle out. It’s all there, minus our promised pay, of course.”

The mayor beamed. “Fantastic, men of honor like yourselves will always be welcome in my heart.” he said earnestly. “I can finally end that tax and get some trade and industry back, before it leaves Ostiphas forever.”

Louis stopped, then went to the front wagon. He looked at the contents for a moment, a wooden barrel stuffed with gold Rads, before placing his hand on it reverently.

“So many dead,” he muttered. “They would want us to live. And we will, thanks to all of you.”

He whistled, which summoned what appeared to be his secretary. A short woman with tied-back black hair and a modest blue dress, holding a book and pen in her arms. She took up a position next to the mayor, opened the book, and held the pen at the ready.

“Sir,” she said automatically, giving him a glance before her eyes rested on the book.

“First order of business, Steph,” the mayor began without preamble. “Corporal Mari, who was never even given a rank by me in the first place, will be jailed along with his cohorts from the Estes estate, effective immediately. Their trial will begin immediately afterwards.”

Steph scratched the details, then stopped. “After…what?”

“Second order of business,” he continued, as if ignoring her question. “With our blessed new windfall and security, we’ll be taking a portion of it and throwing a party to celebrate the ones who gave them both back to us.”

The secretary smiled slightly, writing down the words with haste.

“Buy out every food vendor, put a halt on all the new taxes those two evil men shackled us with. A week of festivities, thanking these men and women, and the gods who led them.”

The caravan erupted in cheers as the town guards approached and began carrying away the barrels of gold. Sigyn grinned from pointy blue ear to pointy blue ear as she hugged Axeton, who wheezed from the crushing strength of the hug. She apologized, and set him back down.

Dimitri coughed loudly, gaining the attention of the caravan and the mayor’s party.

“There is still one more matter,” he began, as if about to announce some grim task.

The man walked to the front wagon, reached inside, and pulled out a large burlap sack, making a show of it to everyone watching.

“Axeton and Sigyn saved all of us, and returned my precious brother to me. As a token of my thanks…”

He paused, looking over the smiling hired hands as they all stared back.

“All of our thanks, we each gave a portion of our pay to them, and hope that wherever they go, they’ll find good food, friends, and success.”

Whoops and hollers exploded from around the wagons, as Sigyn dumbfoundedly took the bag from Dimitri. He leaned towards Axeton.

“I gave you all of my share. But I didn’t want to boast. Buy some armor, dumbass,” he said jokingly with a toothy grin, punching the paladin in the shoulder.

“I will,” Axeton replied gratefully. “And thank you.”

Dimitri took a few steps backward and pointed back to Axeton with a finger, before putting his other arm around his brother and dissolving into the crowd.