The wind blew in cold, and many fires were doused, letting the darkness creep into the camp. I paced around looking for the rest of our crew. I found Cal by the red light of his cigarette.

  I sat next to him on the log, and pulled my jacket tighter around me.

  Silence filled the space as I let him get used to the company. Sometimes I felt like he was an ornery cat, and I needed to let him come to me.

  Bernie was asleep in our tent. She’d come to me to fill me in on what she’d learned from Sargent Nedry, and then quickly fell asleep. This kind of travel took a lot out of her.

  I briefly wondered where Berryhop was, but then realized that was sort of none of my business. The people here were mostly good folk, and she could take care of herself.

  I finally broke the silence.

  “What happened to the elf girl with the green hair?”

  “Florinda? She’s nice, I guess,” he exhaled smoke into the night sky, then continued, “but as I was about to invite her to my tent, I had this thought creep up out of nowhere, ‘wouldn’t this be something my dad would do?’”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah. What if, Warden provide, she got pregnant. I’d just be perpetuating this endless chain of bastards.”

  “I mean, couldn’t you just—” I made a motion with my hand implying he had options.

  “Not the point. I don’t know. I’ve been doing this ‘lover leaves in the night’ thing for a long time now, and I’m kind of sick of it. I see what you have with Bernie, and I’m jealous. Not of her. She’s a mess — no offense.”

  “None taken.”

  “But of the bond you have. Or even my father. The way the Queen looks at him… I don’t know if I’ve ever felt like that for anyone.”

  “I think that kind of thing takes time.”

  “Yeah? It take a lot of time for you?”

  “I don’t know. What did you see?”

  “You were looking at her like that for as long as I’ve known you.”

  “Hmm.” That caused me to pause. “Maybe you’re in your own way. Maybe once you feel like your own man, you wouldn’t let anyone stop you from the ones you love.”

  “Maybe. I thought I was my own man til I met him. Then I realized I’ve been spending all this time chasing after him, and I didn’t even know it. What about you? When did you feel like your own man?”

  I thought for a bit. I wanted to take another sip from the flask, but thought better of it. Drinking always kept me up late, and we needed all the sleep we could get.

  “Can I try one of those?” I asked.

  “Sure,” he said, and handed me the cigarette. I took a drag, then exhaled and handed it back to him.

  The sweet smoke settled a comfortable feeling into my chest.

  Hopefully this stuff was less bad for me than tobacco. My sister worked for a call center that helped people deal with cancer treatments. So I heard horror stories about people smoking on ventilators and stuff — addiction that destroyed people’s bodies, but they just couldn’t stop.

  Maybe this would help me get to sleep. I was nervous about this fight coming up. I knew we were the right level for it, but we didn’t know much else.

  When did I feel like my own man? Did I feel that way now?

  “I guess,” I said finally. “I’m just starting to settle into the man I want to be. I think the more I realize that people rely on me, the more it feels like I can rely on myself. I know where I belong in a fight, and I do that role well. I know that Rachel relies on my friendship, that Bernie relies on my trustworthiness. I know that these guys,” I waved my hand at the few folk that huddled around the fires, “are gonna need us to carry them through this fight tomorrow.

  And maybe there was a time in the past where this knowledge would have crushed me, the pressure would have made this too much. But now … Now it’s given me a clear idea of my place. I’m the guy they look to to get them through a fight safely. I’m the guy that loves Bernadette. I’m the guy they don’t have to worry about because I got my hands on the rope without them even needing to ask, and if they falter, I can pick up the slack.”

  Cal took one last drag then crushed the end of the cigarette against the log we sat on. He exhaled smoke into the night, then wrapped the stub in a bit of oilcloth, and tucked it into a pocket. This wasn’t the kind of herb you threw away even the dregs of, apparently.

  “That sounds nice,” he said finally. “But I was really asking about your parents.”

  “Ah, my folks are boring. Parents split when I was young, but they both loved me. I got no hang ups there. But we all have ghosts to chase. I’ve always wanted to be some kind of hero. The world I come from has no use for heroes, though. Not like here. Maybe that’s why I’ve taken to this role so well.”

  I fished the flask back out of my pocket, and offered it to him. This felt like the right moment for it.

  “Thanks,” he said, recognizing my intent, and lifting the flask.

  “To a world that needs heroes,” I said.

  He took a sip. I took a sip. We stood. I gave him a hug.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “We rely on you too, you know,” I said.

  He hugged me back.

  “Good night, Zachary.”

  I stumbled back to the tent, and fell asleep instantly.

  I awoke to the sound of movement in the camp. Horses whinnying, soft conversation, normal sounds. Took me a second for my eyes to adjust.

  I saw Berryhop, fidgeting just inside the entrance of the tent.

  “Berryhop?”

  “Yep.”

  “Were you watching us sleep?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s weird.”

  “You see,” she said quickly, and in a whisper, “I had the most wonderful night with Sharon, like you don’t even — well, you don’t need to know that. Then I couldn’t sleep, but then I remembered that you guys have a hard time in the mornings, so I came here to give you my new concoction. But then seeing you two asleep, I didn’t want to wake you, but —”

  “It’s fine,” I said, cutting her off. “What did you want to bring us?”

  She walked closer, and handed me a small confection, wrapped in leaves. Bernadette stirred in her sleep.

  “Rachel kept talking about coffee. This isn’t that, but it’s as close as I could get. It’s chocolate, with a distilled version of the stimulant from tea. Plus, a little extra something I scrounged up.”

  I unwrapped the chocolate. It was smooth, and cool to the touch, but immediately began melting in my hand. I popped the whole thing in my mouth, and washed it down with water.

  “Op! You’re only supposed to take half,” she said.

  “I have a high caffeine tolerance,” I said, licking my fingers.

  “Okay,” Berryhop replied. She held her hands at her waist. “I’m sorry that I make things awkward.”

  “You don’t make things awkward Berryhop,” I said. “Or at least, if things are awkward, it’s as much my fault as yours. We’ll figure this out.”

  “Time to get up?” Bernadette asked herself.

  “Yep. Berryhop made us caffeinated chocolate,” I told her.

  Berryhop stepped forward, and gave her a chocolate.

  “Fuck yeah,” Bernie replied, taking and unwrapping it. She held the chocolate up to her face and sniffed. “Smells like heaven. Thank you Berryhop,” she said after taking a bite.

  “You’re welcome,” she replied. “You’re only supposed to take half, so save the rest for later.”

  “Yeah, no chance of that happening,” Bernadette replied, popping the rest in her mouth.

  “I maybe should have taken this into account. Made smaller doses.”

  “Berryhop,” Bernadette said. “You’re a goddamn miracle. Now get on out. I’m about to get naked.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Berryhop said, then exited the tent.

  Bernadette pulled her shirt over her head, then let her hands fall to her lap. Her eyes stared straight ahead for a moment. Then she looked to me.

  “Yeah, it’s hitting,” she said, referring to the chocolate.

  “I'm wide awake,” I said. I hit her with the elevator eyes. “You’re looking fine this morning.”

  She tossed her shirt at me.

  “We need to get moving,” she reminded.

  “Yes ma’am,” I said.

  We got fully kitted up — Bernie in her armorsilk, and me in the half plate. I had the magic belt around my waist, and carried the greatsword at my side.

  Upon exiting the tent, I saw Braelyn standing next to three spectral horses, faintly wisping darkness misting from their hooves.

  “Your rides,” she said.

  I counted one for me and Bernadette, one for Rachel and Berryhop, and one for Cal.

  “You riding with Cal?” I asked, as I threaded my sword through the saddlebags.

  Braelyn held her hand out, and summoned an honest to god witches’ broom.

  “I have my own ride,” she said. “The horses need little direction. They’re spirits after all. But you still need to make sure you hold on well.”

  “I think I got it,” I said. Caleb had given me some training in this, but I was still very much a novice. Regardless, I was better at it than Bernie. “Rachel?”

  “I can ride,” she said.

  Cal just nodded, as if there was any question.

  It’s weird that just last night he was coming to me for help, when only a couple of months ago it was the other way around. Had I really gotten it together finally, or had he gotten worse? Or maybe that’s just the way it was with friends. Whatever the case, he looked good on a horse.

  Soon we were on the road with the rest of the scout company. We moved fast. I wasn’t too up on horse terminology, but I think we were moving at a canter.

  It was dark still, and Bernie kept her arms tight around my waist. The moon shone just bright enough to light the dust of the trail. Sargent Nedry and Cal led the way.

  Soon, the sun poked through the scrubby trees on the horizon like lace thrown over a lamp. Red, orange, and pink seeped into the sky. My eyes struggled to adjust, but luckily our horses knew what they were doing.

  Something was off about the horizon. The lighter it got, the more the orange seemed to stay. At first I thought it was clouds. It wasn’t clouds.

  “Smoke!” I called to Rachel and Berryhop.

  Berryhop pulled her slate out of a pouch, and swiped at it for a second. She then waved it at me.

  “Quest has changed!” she said.

  “Bernie?” I called over my shoulder.

  “I have to keep holding,” she said, through her teeth.

  “What does it say?” I asked Berryhop.

  “Defend Greenvalley Village! Level 11!”

  I yelled up front.

  “They beat us to the village!”

  Sergeant Nedry pulled a horn from his belt, and blew. The sound hit my chest like a call from out of time, reminding me of something I’d never heard, but always knew. It was the call to war.

  And suddenly the horses ran at a full gallop, kicking up dust into the sky. I held on tight as the terrifying animal beneath me churned earth. Bernie’s arms were a crushing bear hug. We flew through the copse of trees that rushed past on either side of us. Suddenly, Braelyn settled into formation right behind Rachel, legs crossed on the witch’s broom, wand and skirts tight in her fist.

  The men behind me whooped. The pretense of stealth was gone.

  Soon we exited the treeline, and the valley stretched before us. Below sat the village, toylike, like a scattered ramshackle set of Lincoln Logs. Four or five buildings, less than a third of the village, glowed with fire. Maybe we could stop it.

  I saw the square, the dozens of people there. Then, I saw the wargs, the horse sized wolves the orcs rode. They’d gathered them to watch.

  The stories were true.

  Fuck this guy. Suddenly, I didn’t care if this made him a martyr.

  I pulled Certainty from my saddlebag, reigns tight in one hand, the sword stretching out in the other.

  “Forgive me for what I must do,” I said.

  Bernadette caught Edge.

  “Here goes nothing,” I heard Bernadette say behind me. She hooked one arm under my shoulder. We had never fought from horseback before. This was nuts.

  But I didn’t care. Rage filled my heart. Whatever happened, by the end of the morning this would all be over.