The Angry Boar tavern was just the sort of place that I somehow expected it to be.

  Hard wooden benches around solid rectangular tables. Furniture that would be difficult to pick up in a fight.

  I expected the Boar had more than a few fights. The bartender had a long gash across his face I didn’t think came from a shaving accident. The servers wore simple skirts and blouses that were practical. They moved among the tables taking orders and laughing with the guests. They were quick, and I expected they could get out of the way fast in a brawl.

  The mood was mostly upbeat since the town survived and the guardians were back. However, some tables were more somber with a good friend or family member lost.

  We had just settled in and started to look for a server when an older woman in smoke covered clothes came over to the table.

  “What’s her kind doing in here?” Her voice was shrewish and loud.

  “Getting a drink.” I said. “Would you like one?” I added trying to diffuse the situation.

  “I don’t drink with half-breeds,” she said. With a clearly rising ire. “Her kind is what got us into this mess.”

  I was about to reply when Caspar spoke up. His voice was soft, but it carried straight through the place.

  “Shut up, Molly.”

  The woman’s mouth opened and closed as her tirade was interrupted.

  “Don’t you be talkin’ to me…” She started.

  Caspar rose in one smooth motion and stood in front of the woman looking down at her. His face held a fierceness I had not seen even when he was fighting the bandits.

  “I said, ‘Shut up, Molly.’ I meant it. Not another word or I will throw you bodily out of this bar.”

  Molly took a step back and her head bowed. Then she started to fire up again.

  “Where was that one when the fighting started? Was she on the wall? No! She was no where to be seen. My Henry was on the wall. My Henry he… he died on that wall.”

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  She looked around for support. Then her eyes lighted on me.

  “And where were you when the fighting came? I didn’t see you on the wall. You have no right to come in here with us that took our turn.”

  There was some grumbling from some of the other tables. I could sense there mood of the crowd was shifting, unsure.

  I was about to reply when I heard a new voice, a calming voice.

  “You are wrong, Molly. Completely wrong.”

  Molly’s head turned to look. In the doorway stood the aging cleric.

  The cleric nodded to Cassana and then to me.

  “You asked where these two were? I will tell you, for I was on the wall, and I saw what they did.”

  Heads turned to listen to the cleric. You could have heard a pin drop.

  “While we fought the bandits on the wall, this one stood out in the field and started the fire that broke their lines and caused them to flee. He fought them single handedly. Alone in the field with no one to aid him. And he prevailed.”

  His hand swept over and he smiled at Cassana.

  “And this beautiful child, risked her life racing through the flames. Climbing the wall. Knowing she might be shot by our own defenders or the bandits. All to return the guardian stone that had been stolen.”

  His voice rose.

  “These two went into the camp of the enemy, recovered the stone. It was was not taken by the gods unhappy with us, but by cowardly thieves in the night for their own gain!”

  “Not exactly true,” I thought. “But close enough for this crowd.”

  “These two,” continued the cleric, “saved this hamlet and all who are in it.”

  Molly stood in dumb silence. The crowd shifted uncomfortably.

  I nodded at the cleric, rose and walked over to Molly. She looked up at me and I could see tears.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, Molly. I wish I could have done more. We both do.”

  Molly’s shoulders slumped. “I’m gonna miss that big lump.”

  I put my arms around her and said, “How about you join us for that drink?”

  She nodded. And we slid aside so she could sit between Cassana and me.

  The cleric came over and smiled.

  “She is a good woman, she is just in a lot of pain.”

  Cassana nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. I indicated a place for the cleric to join us.

  Drinks came, and the bar became more lively. We remained quiet for a while. Eventually the cleric and Molly left us and we toasted to our survival and to the ones who hadn’t made it.

  The night was clear and surprisingly cold when we left the bar. Caspar hung back as we were leaving and he pulled me aside.

  “I appreciated what you did for me with Cassana, but I couldn’t leave her thinking I did it all on my own. So I told her what happened.”

  “Good for you,” I said. “What did she say?”

  Caspar laughed. She said she knew it already. “Saw the arrow sticking out of his side as I pitched his body over the wall.”

  He shook his head slowly. “I just haven’t figured out how to tell the rest of the town. They all think I’m a hero.”

  I smiled.

  “Don’t say a thing. They are right. You are a hero.”

  “But I didn’t kill that big bandit chieftain. You did.”

  “But I wasn’t up on the wall holding him and all his men off long enough for me to get a clear shot,” I replied.

  He looked at me doubtfully. I laughed and patted him on the back.

  “A hero is somebody who sticks up for what is right even when it may cost them everything. You did that.”

  I winked.

  “Just be glad you’re not a dead hero. That just sucks.”