Less than a week later, we arrived at the northern border of Brennan. Here, I let my horse free as per the tacit agreement I made with it back at the True-Bloods’ base. Maybe it will go and look for the other horses I released in the end.

  Flora also decided to let her horse go. It was not nearly as willing to leave and I told her that she could keep it, but she said it would be for the better if it was free. I don’t know how free it will really be in the outlands, but I also didn’t care enough for the horses to argue further. At the northern border was a massive stone wall. Traveling alongside the wall, we eventually reached a portcullis. On top of the wall around here were parapets with crossbowmen. Behind the portcullis were two guards wearing chainmail. I don’t know how I would have gone about proving that we were not the kind of people to be screened out from entering, but the passage actually went rather smoothly. To most people, we probably did look like a rather harmless group if you look past our weapons, and thankfully, people knew enough about the outlands to do just that.

  Beyond the wall, which I later found out stretched out from one mountain range to the other, were a series of forts. The portcullis we entered led into one of these many forts that stretched across the north. I also learned that it was much the same on the southern border as well. With a mountain range on both the east and west, Brennan seemed to be a very defensive-minded kingdom. Past the forts were large stretches of farmland and many small towns. Obviously, we did not go around visiting all of them as the priority was getting to the capital. As we neared the capital, we also passed by a few small rivers that originated from the mountains. I heard from some townspeople that there were also some rather beautiful lakes by the mountains as well.

  Finally, we arrived at the capital. It was, by far, the largest city in Midgard I have seen thus far. Rows upon rows of stone houses spanned across the city, divided by scores of winding cobblestone streets. We stayed by the larger main roads to avoid getting lost and after passing by hundreds of people milling about, we eventually arrived just outside the center of the city. In the very center of Brenna’s capital of Ironshield was the walled-off palace of the king. Encircling this was a massive plaza filled with tons of businesses and finer-looking residences. Perhaps it was because we arrived early in the afternoon, but the plaza was nearly overflowing with people, which made me quite glad that we didn’t bring the horses with us.

  After an hour of slowly navigating our way through the throngs of people, we eventually reached a much less crowded area. This area had a simple fountain and several shops with boarded-up windows. Either the owners were out of town or they were out of business. Looking around the rest of the area, I saw shoppers hurriedly making their way past, perhaps fearing they had come to the wrong part of the city. In fact, other than the three of us, the only other people not actively trying to leave were two people seated on the ground next to the fountain. When I got closer, I found that one of those people was a passed out man, an empty bottle tightly clutched in one hand. I looked up to see the sun still fairly high in the sky. The other person appeared to be a woman. She wore a cap titled low to cover her face. Her long hair flowed down just past her shoulders and she held a loot in her hands. There was a small clay bowl right in front of her. When I was just a few steps away from her, she spoke to me.

  “Hello there,” she said in a rather monotone voice.

  “Uh, hello.”

  “Pleasant day we are having, isn’t it?” Her voice remained expressionless.

  “I guess so.” I’m not sure if I’ve brought it up before, but I’m not a fan of small talk, especially when it seems like the other person would rather be doing anything else other than chat. I figured this to be the case, but when I was about to walk away from the strange woman, she started speaking again, still devoid of emotion.

  “Would you like to hear a song?” Upon hearing that question, I looked at the clay bowl and noticed that it was empty. I then looked back at Tasha and Flora, who, at the very least, seemed to be more curious about her than I. I sighed internally.

  “Sure.” She shifted her loot around a bit and began to play something. She played for about ten seconds before singing with the music. In contrast to her monotone voice earlier, her singing was full of emotion to such a degree that I found myself quickly becoming entranced. Her song was a ballad about a lone hero from a faraway land on a journey of self-discovery. Or, at least I think it was. A lot of metaphors were used, some of which I was not sure of the meaning of and as she seemed to be nearing the end of singing about the beginning of the hero’s journey, she abruptly stopped. She stopped singing and playing and it took a moment before I even realized it. As I regained my wits, I scanned around the area again, remembering the last time I was so distracted by a woman. Nothing seemed out of place and the minstrel was still seated by the fountain. While I was scanning, I also saw Tasha and Flora also shaking their heads a bit, perhaps trying to straighten themselves out as well.

  “Did you like it?” the minstrel asked in her monotone voice.

  “The song? Oh, right, yes, it was quite good. Um, is there another part to it? It ended…kind of suddenly.” It didn’t seem it was even close to reaching the climax of the story.

  “I don’t know,” she replied, slightly shrugging her shoulders. That kind of response annoyed me, but I wouldn’t let it get to me. This song wasn’t important, anyways.

  “I see.” I took out a copper coin and placed it into her bowl. “Well, do you know where I might be able to find some merchants?” This was the real reason I was here, after all.

  “The merchants’ guild house is just past the smithies.” Without getting up, she pointed past the fountain. “Just keep going that way.”

  “Thank you.” I put a second copper coin into her bowl. She was a bit of a strange one, but not in any kind of a bad way. The three of us left this deserted area and continued onwards. Just a minute later, the plaza was bustling with people again and another few minutes after that, we arrived at what was probably the smithies. There were over a dozen buildings with smoke billowing out of their chimneys. Most of these buildings also had storefronts with several types of weapons on display alongside sellers with well-worn leather smocks. There were quite a few people in this area, but most seemed uninterested in the wares. In fact, there only seemed to be one person actively perusing the various goods shown on display. However, that wasn’t the most striking thing to note. This single shopper wore a full set of plate armour. It came with a helmet that completely covered their face, but strangely, I did not see any weapons or even a shield on their person.

  Regardless of this somewhat unusual sight, I had still planned to simply keep on walking. I was headed for the merchants’ guild house past this area and I did not need any new weapons. I did not account for Tasha, though. She excitedly rushed over to the nearest shop that had anything on display. Well, I guess a few minutes couldn’t hurt. Just as I walked over to Tasha, she moved onto the next store. When I caught up to her again, she then moved on again. When this happened for the third time, I was starting to get a bad feeling. Was she just not interested in what those stores were selling, or did she just not want me nearby while she looked around? Uncertain, and wondering if I had recently done something wrong, I stayed back with Flora as Tasha proceeded to the store with the plate armour shopper.

  “Tasha sure seems excited,” Flora commented.

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Um, is she always like that around weapon shops?”

  “I don’t know, maybe,” I responded, not really paying attention.

  “Oh, um, okay. So…are you looking to buy anything here?”

  “I don’t know, maybe.” Just what could it be? Tasha is still over there, but if I go over there, too, will she move again? I should just test it, right? Wait, she’s already been there longer than all the other shops, so this might not prove anything. Maybe that shop does just have more interesting items on display?

  “So, um, that person over there…seems interesting? Do you think they might be a soldier?”

  “I don’t know, maybe.” I looked back at the past displays. Is there something in common about them that I’m missing here? What is it about that shop? What are they selling? I saw the person wearing plate armour examining a sword. They lightly swung it a bit, and then turned around, perhaps checking its sharpness. Tasha looked at it too.

  “Um, did I do something wrong?” Flora asked concernedly.

  “I don’t know, maybe.” Alright, no more of this analysis. I walked to the next store and arrived just as the shopkeeper started speaking.

  “It’s a very fine piece, that one. Made with some of the best iron ore mined from the Eastern Iron Wall. Should be perfect for someone like you, sir.” The plate armour shopper turned the sword around in their hands one more time before setting it onto the table. Out of curiosity, I tried taking a close look at the sword as well without touching it. I wasn’t a blacksmith, but it didn’t seem all that impressive. More importantly, though, Tasha was still here. I guess it wasn’t about me, then.

  “Is this the best sword you have?” Tasha asked, pointing at it. The shopkeeper smiled in a weird way.

  “It’s the best one in stock that we are currently selling.” The shopkeeper quickly turned his attention back to the one in plate armour after answering the question. “So, what do you think, sir? I see that you don’t have a sword on you at the moment, so I assume you are looking for a replacement?” The plate armour shopper said nothing and made no indication to answer the question.

  “This is the best one you’re selling? Does that mean you have better ones you are not selling?” Tasha asked again.

  “You certainly seem interested in swords, young miss,” the shopkeeper began, with a wide smile, “Is your father perhaps a blacksmith?”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “No,” she answered simply. The shopkeeper glanced over to me, and perhaps wanting to just ignore Tasha, spoke to me instead.

  “And you, sir, is there anything I can help you with today?” He looked between the two of us, but if he had made any sort of connection he didn’t bring it up.

  “Oh, just browsing for now.”

  “Well, if there’s anything you are interested in buying, please let me know.”

  “Sure,” I replied. The person in plate armour pointed at another weapon on display, a halberd this time.

  “Oh, not interested in the sword?” The man put the sword back before bringing over the halberd. I wondered if it would have been a better design if the shop was something you walked into and all the weapons on display could just be picked up and tested out without having to ask. Maybe that’s how the other buildings are like? I guess it’s safer for the shopkeeper, though.

  “So, do you have any better swords?” Tasha asked, not giving up. I was kind of surprised by her persistence. Does she really want a new weapon that badly? The shopkeeper looked at me again before answering her.

  “If it’s just for practice or training, we have plenty of suitable swords.”

  “I don’t want a sword for just that.”

  “Well, if your father promised you something better,” he looked at me again, still seeming unsure, “it would probably be best if he brings this up with me instead.” For the sake of doing away with the uncertainty, I really should have just spoken up and settled it, but I didn’t feel like it. It was amusing. Tasha also was not helping the situation as she continued speaking without even looking at me.

  “So, you do have better swords after all then, right? Here, do you have a sword at least better than this one?” Tasha unsheathed her sword and presented it to him. Initially, he glanced at it with a smirk on his face, but that quickly disappeared.

  “That’s…not such a bad sword you have there. Uh, a bit worn, though, could use some maintenance,” he hurriedly added, being careful to not praise its quality.

  “Well, do you have better ones?”

  “Um, yes…and no.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Tasha asked with confusion.

  “Well, we do have better weapons, but I can’t sell them to you.”

  “Why not?” Probably because you are a child, Tasha. At that moment, the plate armour shopper set the halberd onto the table.

  “Not interested in this one, either?” The shopkeeper was quickly losing his glibness.

  “I asked you why you can’t sell it?” Tasha asked again. “Is it because it’s too expensive?”

  “Well, I don’t mean to say that you cannot afford it, but the price is not the main issue.” The shopkeeper picked up the halberd to put it away. “We have a small number of branded weapons, but we cannot sell them to anyone without permission from His Majesty.”

  “Branded weapons?” I asked, finally speaking up.

  “Yes,” he began, a bit surprised to see me suddenly chiming in, “Master blacksmiths who craft weapons and armour with the best quality materials have a right, well, a duty, to brand them. They are also known as masterwork weapons and armour.”

  “What are they branded with? The symbol of their race?” I asked, wanting to confirm what I suspected about the sword I took from Jack Free.

  “Yes, in most cases. Equipment directly commissioned by a clan could also be branded with the symbol of that clan if they wish to, as well. Assuming that those items are still of masterwork quality, of course.

  “So you have some weapons like that? A sword with a brand? A brand with crossed swords?” Tasha asked.

  “Crossed swords? Are you referring to the brand of the Battle-Hardened? Why would a masterwork weapon made in Brennan have that?” My eyes widened a bit.

  “Oh, don’t mind her! I told her about the different races and she got really excited when I told her about the Battle-Hardened.”

  “Ah, so the two of you are together,” the shopkeeper said with a tiny bit of relief.

  “Ah, yes, she is my daughter. Sorry if she was pestering you a bit too much.” I picked up Tasha’s sword and handed it back to her.

  “Oh, no, not to worry. So, was there actually something in particular you wanted to get for her?”

  “Sorry, she just really wanted to take a closer look. We’ll just leave you be now, sorry if we’ve been an inconvenience.” Before the shopkeeper could say anything else, I grabbed Tasha’s arm and pulled her away. Flora came over after we left the storefront.

  “Um, is everything okay?” Flora asked. I ignored her question.

  “Tasha, I know it’s been a long time since I’ve brought it up, but you should be more careful when talking about the Battle-Hardened around humans.”

  “What? I didn’t say I was Battle-Hardened.”

  “Well, most people don’t go around asking to buy rare Battle-Hardened equipment.”

  “B- but…okay, I’m sorry, but I had a good reason.”

  “That doesn’t matter; just avoid saying anything like that while we’re in a human kingdom.” I then turned to Flora. “It would also be best if you don’t tell anyone you’re a Farseer, as well.”

  “I understand that much.”

  “Good. Alright, let’s hurry on past here.” We started walking again, and ended up behind the person wearing plate armour who had since then left the store as well. As we were about to pass them, they suddenly tripped and stumbled. Before crashing into the ground, Tasha quickly dashed over in time to stop their fall.

  “Are you okay?” Tasha asked.

  “Oh, yes, thank you very much for your help,” she replied. As she steadied herself back onto her two feet, she suddenly brought up one hand to her helmet. I cocked an eyebrow. “Uh…” Well, someone seems to have a secret. Not that I care, though.

  “Come on, Tasha, Flora, let’s keep moving.” I tried to take a step past the woman in plate armour, but she blocked me off. Then, she silently gestured for us to follow her. “We kind of need to get somewhere.” She gestured more vigorously. I scanned around again and did not see anything amiss. “Alright, fine.” We followed her out of the plaza and into the nearest alley back in the residential areas. I whispered over to Flora to alert me immediately if she felt something seemed off. We got far out of earshot of anyone passing by the streets before she finally stopped to lean up against the wall.

  “What’s going on?” Tasha asked, as she also started scanning the alley. The woman fiddled around with her hands, which looked especially awkward given all the armour.

  “Please do not tell anyone you saw me here,” she said. Lady, I don’t even know who you are. I wouldn’t have even thought twice about you if you hadn’t dragged us over here. But, if this is how it’s going to be…

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t want my father to find out.”

  “Why not?” I asked again.

  “…what do you mean?” With the helmet there, I could not read any facial expressions, but it seems the absurdity of this situation was starting to dawn on her. “It would obviously trouble him greatly, you know?” Or maybe not. Tasha gave me a very confused look. Alright, let’s just put this to an end now.

  “Listen, we have no idea who you are. There is no one we would even tell, even if we wanted to tell someone.” She stood silently for a moment.

  “Oh, I see. Yes, you have no idea who I am and you won’t tell anyone that you saw me. Thank you.” That string of words really came out kind of awkwardly, especially as she seemed to be trying to curtsey at the end. Although, since she didn’t have any dress to hold onto, it could have been some other strange gesturing.

  “Right…you’re welcome. Well, we’ll just be off now…” As I began to turn around to exit the alley, Flora touched my arm. I was about to ask her about it but her expression made things evident. Tasha also seemed to be alert now and I scanned around the alley again. Except for us, it was empty and quiet. I took a couple steps over to our new acquaintance.

  “W- what?” she asked, sounding oblivious. Flora took out her bow and Tasha unsheathed her sword. “W-wait! I thought you were all just going to leave now!” Her voice contained clear panic and her hands were held out defensively. Further down the alley, a figure finally came into my view. There was the glint of metal and I quickly ducked down low to the ground, pushing down the woman in plate armour as well just as a crossbow bolt flew by where her head was only a second earlier. I quickly got back up and rushed down the alley, charging up a bolt throughout my body with an extra one for just my legs as I did. From behind me, I could hear people charging in as well, alongside the sound of a man yelling out as if he was just hit by something. Before I reached the end of the alley, another pair of people charged inside, probably to cover the crossbowman as he reloaded. One of them was carrying a club and the other one had a dagger. They clearly had no idea who they were dealing with.

  The one with the club came at me first, taking a swing at my head. I ducked and I stepped in quickly to deliver a swift punch to the throat. The man flew off his feet as the man with the dagger came in to stab me. I grabbed the hand holding the dagger and held it in a crushing grip; he yelped in pain. At the same time, I used my other hand to grab him by the shoulder. I quickly and easily lifted him off his feet and threw him at the crossbowman just as he was finished reloading. The crossbowman was knocked onto his back, but did not let go of the crossbow. As the two men tried to separate themselves, I smacked the one formerly holding the dagger on the side of his head. With the obstacle knocked out of the way, the crossbowman tried to take aim at me and prepared to fire at my gut. I charged up two bolts into my arm and pushed down at the crossbow right as he pulled the trigger. The bolt shot out between my legs. A tiny bit of panic came and went at this realization as I followed up with a punch to his face.

  A quick scan showed me there were no other enemies on this side of the alley and as I turned around, I saw Tasha already running towards me, three men on the ground behind her. I went back into the alley and Tasha stopped running towards me. Flora was kneeling by the one wearing plate armour, who was still splayed out on the ground.

  “Is she okay?” I asked Flora.

  “I- I’m fine,” the woman answered for herself. Seeing as she was making no attempt to pick herself back up, I knelt down on the ground beside her.

  “So, I still don’t know who you are, but am I right in guessing that there are some people after you?”

  “No, I mean, yes, maybe? Well, there might be people…after me- but not like that!”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Before she could give an answer, someone else showed up at the end of the valley. Unlike the previous assailants who were very plainly dressed, this one wore plate armour like the woman, but seemed no less hostile. Immediately upon seeing us, the newcomer came charging in at us with a howl, with chains gripped in either hand. Tasha stepped in before me to receive the attacker while Flora quickly tried to notch another arrow. From a distance, the armoured fighter attacked by swinging one of the chains and Tasha dodged it, but as the chain struck the ground, it danced up off the ground and chased after her. Stuck in this narrow alley, Tasha was forced to block the chain with her sword. However, the chain wrapped around the blade. The attacker suddenly pulled the chain back and dragged the surprised Tasha towards him.

  I leapt into the fray to assist. As I did, the attacker whipped at me with his other chain. Seeing what happened earlier, I did not have the confidence in perfectly dodging the attack in such a narrow space, so I charged up another bolt into my legs to dash straight towards the attacker. As expected, when the chain seemed to just barely fly past me, it quickly slinked towards me and started to wrap around my left arm. I didn’t let it bother me as I closed the distance to the attacker. Using my free right hand, I hammered at the face of his helmet. I could feel the helmet reverberate but he barely even flinched. He let go of the chain on my arm and tried to grab at my throat. I managed to evade just in time and tried to put some more distance between us but one end of the chain was actually attached to his armour. I attempted to pull the chain off my arm, but it proved more difficult than I expected and he came at me again, striking at my chest. I stepped back to avoid that attack, but ended up hitting a wall. His gauntlet struck me hard in the chest, but my hide armour did well in softening the impact. I was briefly winded, but even before fully recovering, Tasha came up behind him, having left behind her sword in order to pounce on him while he was distracted. She jumped up and brought her hands together to hammer him in the back of the head. Just as the blow was about to connect though, he flicked the chain in his other hand and it whipped her at the side of her head.

  As I saw Tasha getting knocked away mid-air, my blood instantly boiled. I charged up to my maximum of eight bolts and punched him in the side of the helmet. This time, I knew he felt it for sure. Striking the metal helmet cut up my knuckles a bit, but I felt great satisfaction in seeing him losing his footing as he tried to prevent himself from falling over to the side. I punched him again in front of his helmet and more of my blood splashed onto him as his whole body rocked back. With the increased space, I then kicked him hard in the abdomen. If it weren’t for the fact that my left arm was still chained up, he probably would have fallen over. Regardless, the fact that he was still standing served to only aggravate me further. You think you can go against me? Well, the fight ends here. I unsheathed my sword as the disoriented man in armour was still in the middle of steadying himself.

  “Wait! Stop fighting!” the woman in armour shouted as she ran over to us. I wasn’t one to just let some stranger tell me what to do, but she forced her way in between us.

  “Move!” I ordered. She was in the way of me running my blade through that man’s neck. Actually, why was she even in the way to begin with? Isn’t he with the ones who were attacking her earlier? Then, from the end of the alley, more armoured warriors arrived. Well, this party just doesn’t stop, now does it?

  “L- Leonora?” the armoured man gasped out in confusion, still slightly staggered.

  “Father, there’s been a huge mistake!” the armoured woman said in response. Wait, what?

  “Your Majesty!” the armoured warriors at the end of the alley called out as they came running. My body and mind were still burning, but the confusion made me ease up. Leonora then turned to me.

  “Please, this has been a huge mistake. Everyone, please, don’t fight!”