"Right now, though, we need to defend the Castle. I'm sure the Lizardmen will come to investigate, and we can't allow even one to escape with news of the Castle's restoration. YOU need to acquire the best equipment you can, not just weapons, but armor too, if possible. There's a leather breast plate somewhere, I took it off a Lizard I killed, but if there's nothing else, that will be better than nothing."

  Jenna nodded. "Yes, My Queen, I agree culling any future scouts is a must." We headed down to the main castle. The ruins of the city were still a sad sight to see, especially in comparison to the fully restored Castle. I led Jenna to the Armory, and to our delight, there were several sets of armor of various sizes that should provide much-needed defense for Jenna, and there were also steel weapons. To my surprise, she chose a mace, rather than a spear or sword. Noticing a bow, a quiver of nasty barbed steel-tipped arrows, she took that, an archer's guard, and a leather chest piece that should fit Marta. "Marta told me she had trained with the bow for hunting, this should suit her quite well. Lizards always took the bows back after every hunt, and would whip anyone who was missing an arrow, or had a broken one."

  I clenched my fists in anger, wanting to crush some filthy lizard skulls. We found Marta in the Kitchen and handed her the equipment Jenna had chosen. Wonder in her eyes, she equipped herself, caressing the arrows in reverence. "I've never used a bow so fine, and these arrows!" She trailed off, enraptured by her new gear.

  "If you get the chance, maybe shoot us some game. Fish and mussels are great, but proper red meat would be welcome, even bird meat would be a nice change." Her eyes focused on me, and she nodded in affirmation. "Jenna, how about you and I go on Patrol for a while? We can gather what we find as we walk." Jenna gave a firm nod, and Marta looked torn. "You need to protect Tessa, she's literally your most important function right now. Hunt if you can, but keep the Castle safe for yourself and Tessa." Marta smiled at that and nodded in compliance.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  I had found the key to the Postern gate inside the Portcullis. Using the key, I unlocked the smaller gate, and we used that, rather than raising the Portcullis and leaving the Castle open to assault. We closed and locked that gate behind us.

  Continuing on my original scouting line, Jenna and I soon reached the beach where I had first awoken. Staying on the firm ground just inside the treeline, we scanned the sand for footprints. We soon found some, and they led directly towards my improvised pier. Six Lizardmen were examining the structure, and we were able to sneak up to them while they were on the seaside of the pier. We had made it midway down the pier before the filth noticed our footsteps, and when they did, a dawning look of horror filled their ugly faces. They knew who and what I was, and they knew equally well that their end had arrived. "Mercy!" One had dared to utter to me, thus setting my target squarely on him.

  "Those who offered no mercy have no right to ask for any!" So saying, I brought my sword down on him, splitting the fool from top to bottom cleanly like a knife through butter. He continued to stand there for the next few seconds as I mercilessly tore through his companions, as Jenna did likewise on the other side of the pier. "Kick the filth into the water, let their flesh serve some good feeding the fish, as their lives served no good while they had them."

  Jenna took no small amount of pleasure in tossing the filth into the water, and laughed when the first one I had killed finally slid apart as each half fell in a different direction. I used my power to wash the deck with the sea water. We then returned to our patrol. "Majesty, judging by the number of bodies I saw, and guessing you disposed of several yourself in the sea like we just did, I think it's quite possible that there are only a few guards at the grassland settlement. It might be worth a scouting mission to see what we can there. As long as we neutralize that settlement, we can be assured of stealth for several months."

  I nodded at that. "That's good thinking. I hate waiting even an instant longer, but at the same time, Marta needs to be on higher alert before either of us goes running off to try and liberate that settlement." Finding no more scouts, but managing to corner a boar, which we were able to kill with surprising ease, we returned to the Castle. There were some wild Yams on the way, and using sticks, we were able to dig up quite a few. I used the shield I carried to hold the Yams, and we moved as quickly as possible back to the Castle with our precious burdens.