The heavy-set man’s wide mouth tilted into a frown. He squinted, puckering the red scar tissue around his one good eye, a square eye patch covering the other.

  It was Took.

  “There you are, elf.”

  "Took! You're looking better every day."

  He bared his teeth, more a grimace than a smile.

  "You’ll wish you looked as good as me after we’re done with ya.”

  His gaze shifted to Castille.

  "This doesn't have to turn sour, Castille. Give up the elf and go on your way."

  "The half-elf is in my party now, Took. I’ll keep him out of your hair from now on."

  Took shook his head.

  "He needs to pay for my eye."

  "Your eye was the price for wisdom. The wisdom you can show by getting out of our way."

  Took passed a wary glance from Castille to Dugan.

  "I wanted this to go easy."

  He whistled, and the forest's underbrush shook as shadowy figures stood up and walked into the sun. Twenty grey-haired veterans formed two wide ranks behind Took and the other rider, blocking the road. As I passed my eyes over each battle-hardened face, I became more impressed with Castille.

  Took’s plan had been simple. By charging down the road, he wanted us to panic, take cover in the forest and get ambushed by the twenty men now in front of us. Castille had seen through the plan in an instant and called Took’s bluff. As amazed as I was with Castille, the series of events left me shaken.

  My first instinct was to hide in the forest. If I followed my gut, I would be dead. No. The fact that they hadn't shot us full of arrows from the treeline meant they wanted me alive, and I didn’t want to find out why.

  "All your talk of wisdom, yet you wanna make an enemy of Rugar Centovian. Just for some elf?"

  Castille leaned forward in her saddle; her voice came out in a low, dangerous growl.

  "The half-elf stays with me. Now… move or be moved."

  Took laughed, looking around at his fellow soldiers for support.

  "So, there's some steel in that spine after all. Where was that when you were fighting those hairy bastards on the border?"

  Castille sat straighter in her saddle, silent and her head at an angle. Tension filled the air like a hunter waiting to release their bowstring or a big cat about to pounce.

  …

  …

  "Now!"

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  She and Dugan charged, catching Took and the other rider off guard as their horses whinnied and veered off the road. They formed a wedge that pushed Castille, Dugan, Thor, and Isla through the enemy encirclement.

  If only I were so lucky.

  As I urged my horse forward, Took managed to get control over his reins and charged in my direction. My horse panicked, rearing up and dumping me onto the hard-packed earth.

  I didn't have time to recover from the shock of the fall. I found myself rolling to my feet, my head narrowly missing the hooves of Took’s horse.

  “Forget them. Get the elf!” Took said.

  I sighed.

  And I just had this coat cleaned.

  Foot soldiers rushed forward to cut off my escape. In a smooth motion, I slipped my cane out of my belt and blocked a club’s overhead strike with the sharp crack of wood hitting wood. I twisted the top of my cane to unsheathe my short sword, burying the tip of the blade into my attacker's foot. Another enemy attacked from my left. I blocked his iron banded club with my scabbard and stabbed his left shoulder. Something fast flew from my right. I ducked. A cudgel fashioned from a tree branch brushed my top knot. I swung my scabbard at the inside of my attacker’s left knee. Then, I stepped back and cracked him again on the knee’s other side. His leg bent the wrong way with a sickening crunch.

  Wounding an enemy is often better than killing them. It removed them from the fight and forced other potential attackers to care for them. Also, if this is how Rugar reacted to taking one of Took's eyes, the last thing I wanted to do was kill one of his men.

  Luckily, I wouldn’t have to.

  As the mercenaries focused on me, Castille and Dugan doubled back. They plowed into the rear of the mercenaries' advancing lines while Isla and Thor stayed back further along the road. Castille charged through the enemies, holding the bare blade of her longsword in one hand to swing the pommel down and bash skulls.

  She had the same idea as me—injuring instead of killing.

  Dugan broke off to Castille's left to widen the gap in the enemy’s line and leave an escape route.

  "Get on!" Castille said, pulling up beside me.

  I sheathed my short sword and slid the cane back into my belt. As I took her outstretched hand, Took charged again from my left side. A moment later, the earth in front of his horse shot up. It tripped and fell face-first onto the ground. Took was sent flying from his saddle, rolling to a stop at my feet. I got on Castille's horse and winked at him.

  "Let's do this again sometime."

  "Dugan, let's go!" Castille said.

  Dugan looked at her and nodded while holding off three men on foot with measured swings from his axe. Castille's horse blazed past the gap left in the disorganized force, with Dugan following just behind us on the right.

  I turned back to see Took mounting his dazed horse and the other rider organizing their forces to make a counterattack. There was also a third rider galloping hard toward the capital on my horse, probably leaving to bring back reinforcements.

  "We need to get out of here."

  "What do you think we're doing!" Castille said.

  A unified shout rang out behind us. The mercenaries were charging, with Took and the other rider ahead on horseback. It would be over if they could keep us engaged long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

  "Stop! I have an idea."

  "You just said to get out of here!"

  I reached into my right pocket and pulled out one of the hand bombs I bought from Elmer.

  Castille gawked at the explosive over her shoulder.

  "What else are you hiding in those pockets?!"

  She pulled up her horse, and I slipped the spark wheel out of my hair.

  Dugan reined up next to us, eyes widening as he saw me put the spark wheel next to the explosive's fuse. I ran my finger along the stone wheel to strike the flint in the connected metal tube. The wheel was stiff from lack of use.

  "C'mon…"

  The sound of galloping hooves and marching feet was closing in.

  "C'mon… C'mon…"

  I could make out Took's voice shouting over the approaching horde.

  "C'mon… There!"

  The wheel moved, striking the flint and showering the fuse with sparks. The fuse ignited, and I was filled with the powerful urge to run.

  "Dugan, how's your throwing arm?" I asked.

  Dugan looked at me and nodded, wheeling around his horse to face the mercenaries with one hand outstretched.

  I passed him the bomb.

  "Make sure you give them a few seconds to get away."

  He nodded, taking the bomb and urging his horse forward in a trot. Took and the other rider slowed at the sight of Dugan advancing.

  Then they saw the explosive in his hand.

  Dugan turned his horse to the left, keeping his upper body forward to twist his torso and generate power for his throw. With one impressive heave, the bomb flew into their ranks.

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