AN: So, I am sorry that this chapter took so long to put out, I had a number of Real Life issues that led to its delay. I will elaborate down below, but for now here it is. Not entirely sure it is up to par with the rest but at this point I just want it out.

Have you ever heard something coming so out of left field, that despite fully understanding said statement, you can't comprehend what you just heard? Like, someone speaking words that are so jumbled together and spoken with such a heavy accent that you understand that they said something, but you just can't quite connect the dots?

"What?" I said dumbly, what more could I say?

Celestine stepped forward. "I had a vision while you were away yesterday." The High Elf spoke calmly "The poisonous miasma that surrounds the Dark Queen's Citadel has weakened. Her power has begun to wane, she is vulnerable." Celestine spoke as if it was good news, but I knew it was the beginning of the real war… One I am wholly unprepared to fight right now.

"We are discussing terms to send you with Vault to finally take on the Dark Queen." Claudia clarified. "Although I do not like the idea of sending mercenaries to deal with it, the Archbishop insisted on it." She told me while Celestine nodded in agreement. "To that end we are trying to negotiate in order to send you along with the Black Dog mercenaries to lend them your… special talent."

Vault spoke next. "Yeah, I heard about that." He said before taking a seat at the table. "The first person in centuries to be able to get past the Dark Queen's enchantments. Now, I am not a real believer of destiny or any of that stuff, but the way I see it, this is a sign that her time is up." He couldn't help but show that vile smile again. "The way I see it, that kind of ability might just be the edge we need to win this thing." He said, leaning back and putting his heavy boots on the table "So, how about it? Wanna run with the Dogs?"

"Why do you think I want to be anywhere near you and your sausage fest?" The words spilled out of my mouth before I could even think to bite my tongue and keep them inside.

""Sir James!"" I heard Celestine and Claudia exclaim with a gasp. In my peripheral I saw that Celestine had her hands over her mouth and Claudia was suddenly standing straighter with a more stern expression, almost like a mother who just heard their child insult someone.

I watched as Vault blinked a few times, registering the words I just said. But rather than being offended, he barked out a laugh. "Ha!" He leaned back in his chair. "Good to see you're not afraid to speak your mind at least!" Vault said, his smile was now larger and with more teeth. "Well, for one, the money is pretty good." I bet a lot of that money doesn't belong to them.

"Second, I am willing to bet that you'll be pretty famous for helping to bring down the Dark Queen." You'll be famous alright, famous for being a traitor.

"And thirdly, there are tons of thankful maidens who'll be willing to-"

Before he could finish, the two doors to the room opened behind me and two old men surrounded by elite-looking knights came in. One wore a large funny looking penis-shaped hat, while the other wore a similar hat, albeit smaller and a bit more floppy. I almost laughed at the sight of them, but managed to hide my amusement. "Archbishop, Cardinal, thank you for joining us today." Celestine greeted, approaching them and…

… If there was ever a moment where I wanted two old men to die any more than I wanted to right now, I could not think of it. I watched them both give and receive kisses on the cheek from Celestine, and I felt the blood in my veins boil at the sight. Not because of the act itself, but because I knew this was all just an act on their part. And the instant they don't have to play the part of Holy Men, I know they will expose their true selves. But seeing liars like that get so close to her makes me want to-

"Hey." I suddenly received a slap on my back, taking me out of my thoughts. I turned to the one who hit me, and was left a bit nonplussed when I saw who did that . "Cool it, you look like you're about ready to blow up at a moment's notice." Vault told me, which sort of surprised me. "You got something against the old guys?" He asked quietly while Claudia and Celestine began exchanging greetings.

I couldn't exactly say no, considering my reaction was visible enough for him to notice. "I suppose you could say that." I said as I tried to force myself to calm down.

Before Vault could comment any further on it the Archbishop, the Cardinal, Celestine and Claudia all approached the meeting table. "Greetings Vault." The Archbishop addressed the Mercenary King. "We both know why you were summoned here, and that is because the Dark Queen's power has finally waned enough for action to be made." The old man stated."As I am sure you are aware, the poisonous miasma that surrounds the Black Fortress has weakened enough to traverse through the Dark Queen's Country without succumbing to death. The opportunity to strike at the heart of this damnable conflict is too great to allow for it to slip between our fingers."

The one with the smaller hat rolled out a scroll, one that had a lot of print on it, along with an... artistic rendition of what Olga was supposed to look like (honestly, it was like they were trying to make her into a stereotypical witch rather than a sexy as hell dark elf). "We are prepared to offer you 250,000 gold pieces for her head, 300,000 if you capture her alive." He said as he pointed to the large numbers on the bottom of the page.

Celestine looked surprised by their statement. "But we do not have that much. Where would it come from?" She asked, but shrank under the combined glare of the two old men. I felt my knuckles tighten as I clenched my fists again in an attempt to keep myself calm.

"Then we must raise the taxes." The man with the taller hat said. "It is but a small price for them to pay for the end of this long and drawn out conflict."

The other one nodded. "Indeed, what strain it will put them under now will pay dividends in the future. I foresee an influx of towns, farms and such once the threat is finally dealt with." He said, and I watched as Celestine's face went from one of sadness to resignation as she nodded a single time.

"I pray that those in poverty can bear it just a little-"

"Wait a moment, hold on here." I interrupted "Why can't the Church foot the bill?"

Everyone looked at me like I had grown a second head. "What did you just say?" The man with the shorter hat asked. "We cannot 'foot the bill'! We need all the gold we have to spread the word of the Goddess!"

"Yes, that is right, once the war is over there will be many churches to be built and statues to commision, a great many things that require a great deal of money." The taller-hatted man said. "The people across the nation will be glad to know that their contribution will have helped-"

I raised my hand to interrupt them."So, it's not because you don't have the funds, you just don't want to spend them." I pointed out, and they both stiffened a bit.

"Yeah, that's a good point." Vault agreed. I almost wanted to turn against my own argument because of that. "If you guys can pay, why bother squeezing everyone else dry? I am sure you and some other members of the Church can get by on bread and cheese for a bit, can't you?" He suggested.

I heard Celestine clap her hands."That is a wonderful idea." She said with a smile. "Since the Archbishop and Cardinal are here we can have the full payment delivered as soon as we hear of your success, rather than incremental payments across months, or even years."

The man with the taller hat, I am going to assure he is the Cardinal, glared at me."Vault, you should learn to keep your new recruits on a tighter leash." He told Vault, I guess Celestine never informed him about me. However, I feel vaguely threatened by what the old man said, something tells me that I just made an enemy out of him.

Oh well, I ain't gonna cry about it.

The men of this world can all go fuck themselves for all I care.

"Well, he isn't a recruit yet, but I will admit I am considering it." Vault said, and I suddenly felt disgusted with myself. The idea of even being liked by this bastard made my skin crawl… I really hope I can get away from him soon.

The Archbishop turned and looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze." Then why are you here?" He interrogated.

Before I could respond Claudia had already begun speaking. "He is here under Lady Celestine's request." She told him. "He has an unnatural ability to bypass the enhanced regeneration of the Aberrants under the Dark Queen's rule. His assistance could help limit casualties and ensure the Dark Queen's capture." She replied, seriously and with a voice that demanded attention.

He looked between me and the Goddess for a few moments. "I...see." He said slowly, before turning around "I will begin organizing the payment, but take heed that this bounty is only for the Black Dogs." He said as he left.

"Good luck to you Vault," the Cardinal said. "May the Goddess watch over you."

Celestine and Claudia returned the gesture, Vault just waved off the blessing. "Yeah, yeah." He said before turning his attention to the scroll on the meeting table. "Now then, I suppose I should start moving out." He said with a smile, rolling up the paper and pocketing it. "A new era will be upon us soon…" I heard him add as he left, only to watch him stop at the door.

"Oh, and before I forget." He said, looking back at me. "If you're willing to talk back to one of those old priests, then I think I might just be able to make a Dog out of you yet." He said, before reaching into one of his pant's pockets and tossing me what looked like a pendant, but I didn't even try to catch it and just let it hit the ground in front of me. "If you change your mind about joining up, I'll have one of my guys waiting by the south gate.

Not gonna happen.

With that, Vault left me, Claudia and Celestine standing in the meeting room. That went by a bit faster than I thought it would have, to be honest. "Sir James." Celestine's voice got my attention "Why didn't you want to go with Vault?" She asked.

Ah… How do I politely say he is a monster, piece of shit, rapist, sadistic, traitorous, treasonous, two-timing, double-dealing, backstabbing son of a bitch?

"I just have a bad feeling about him. I haven't exactly heard good things about his bunch." I kept my answer vague. As much as I wanted to out him as a traitor right now and end this whole thing before it could even begin, I have nothing to back up my claims. It would be my word against his, and somehow I doubt they would believe me if I said that he plans on making a Nation of Service.

Celestine nodded. "I have heard those rumors as well, but regardless he and his company are the strongest force in the nation right now. Many of our own knights are too busy keeping the fortresses safe to launch an offensive like that." She stated. "I wish this conflict could be ended with mere words, but the Cardinal and Archbishop insist that she cannot be reasoned with. We must defeat her if peace is ever to return to the kingdom."

That got my attention. "Wait, you've never even spoken to her?" I asked, and she only shook her head.

Claudia answered for the Goddess reincarnated. "We have sent messengers, but they never make it, nor have we received any attempts at communication from her." Claudia said as she crossed her arms, "We can only assume this means she has no desire to negotiate for peace."

Does it, though?

Celestine grabbed my arm, looking at me in the eyes, "Please sir James, go with Vault and put an end to this war." Her voice made my resolve shake, and that look in her eyes…

"Please."

Damn you Celestine, you and your green puppy dog eyes.

I was in the back of a cart again, with my eyes closed and looking upwards towards the sky, trying to ignore my current driver and the fellow passengers. "And I saw this gorgeous gal in town, boy if only there was a breeze in town I could have sworn I would have seen whatever panties she was wearing!" One told the others, I wasn't paying attention to who said what.

"Nah man, did you see that pretty little Halfling?" Someone else asked one of his buddies. "She had a killer rack for someone so small!"

Trying to tune them out was like trying to ignore nails on a chalkboard: Impossible and ear-grating. I was half-tempted to change my mind, but sadly this is my best option to get to the dark elves. I don't know these lands well enough to try navigating them myself, nor do I want to risk getting to the tower late and end up trying to keep up with Vault rather than being a step ahead of him.

And so, I had to endure this damn wagon ride, with these damn mercenaries talking my ears off. But at least it gave me time to study my new necklace.

The pendant was made of blackened steel, a symbol of a dog's head with a sword as its collar: it meant that I was scouted by Vault himself, if what the others told me was true. He has only ever given a few of these out to people he thinks has the potential to be his best. Which was flattering in a way, but that didn't really make me change my mind about him.

"Alright you mutts, welcome to base camp!" The driver announced. I opened my eyes, leveled my head and began looking around, finding myself surprised. Not a single woman being raped in sight.

Huh, ain't that interesting?

I watched as everyone piled out of the cart, jumping off the back and all going their separate directions, with me dismounting last and looking over the camp. It was large, to say the least, a lot more than I expected. Which was kinda bad, because there were easily hundreds of people in this place.

But now that I'm here, what am I supposed to do?

I groaned, tightening my satchel around me, and began walking around. Maybe I could find a quiet little corner to hide away while I was here? Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to me in the slightest anyways.

Walking through the camp I found a little mess area. A bunch of tables, people eating and drinking, and just generally having a jovial time. I wanted to ignore them, only to hear someone call out. "Hey! Look! It's the guy that beat Davis and Fred!" One of the men at a table announced.

Slowly turning to face them, I was once again caught off guard. Instead of a bunch of angry and pissed off mercs, I saw a bunch of smiling faces and raising of mugs and bottles. A chorus of happy cheers echoed around me, and that confused me all the more so. I even got a few pats on the shoulder by those that passed me by.

"You know, when I heard some stranger took out two of the most obnoxious recruits down a peg, I hadn't expected him to waltz right up into our camp." I heard an unfamiliar voice behind me. They tapped me on the shoulder, causing me to turn and face them. I was.. vaguely familiar with their faces. They had brown hair and wore a green vest and some grayish pants that had two short swords hanging from his hips. "Name's Hicks, you must be James right?" he asked, holding his hand out for a shake.

I let him hold his hand out and asked, "How do you know my name?". I crossed my arms and watched with a weird, petty satisfaction as he casually lifted his arm up to rub the back of his head.

"The Boss told me to be on the lookout for you." He said. "Told me that if I were to find you, I should show you to a tent and let you get a bit settled before coming to meet the 'Top Dogs' of our little band." Hicks said as he gestured for me to follow. Without anything else to do, I kept just a few feet behind him as he led the way to my tent.

We passed a bunch of small one-man tents, a bunch of them looked like they took just a few seconds to set up and break down. "Which one is mine?" I asked, before we reached the end of these smaller tents.

Hicks looked back at me. "Oh, none of these are yours," he said. "Boss says there is something special about you, and he decided that you are getting some special treatment." I raised my eyebrow, why would he give me special treatment? "This one is yours." Hicks told me as we stopped by a bigger tent. The cloth was thick enough so that wind or rain wouldn't get through, on the inside was a small table, a cot and an animal skin rug. "Lucky bastard." Hicks commented as he jabed my ribs with an elbow. "Boss-man really wants to make a good first impression, huh?" He said as I entered the tent.

"Why?" I asked. Why would he do this? Was he…

"Like I said, he wants to make a good first impression, I guess." The man in the vest said. "I'll be back later. Don't get too settled, though. Boss wants us to move first light in the morning." With those final words Hicks left me alone in the tent.

So that's Vault's game, huh? He wants to butter me up… but why? I sat down on the cot and began to think. What could Vault gain by doing this? As much as I hate to compliment the man, I know he is cunning, strong, intelligent; and most importantly, knows what he wants and how to get it. Maybe I am just reading too much into it, but if I am getting a fancy tent over the smaller ones that were set up I must assume that there is more to it than just getting me on his side.

I can understand why though, Claudia and Celestine both informed him of my special ability to easily kill monsters. Maybe he thinks that I might be a nice deterrent to keep them in line? I can't think of any other reason for why he might be trying to make me cozy here. As far as he knows I have only done one thing of note, but that might be enough for him to want to try and make me stay.

Regardless, the reason doesn't matter. I won't be staying, no matter how hard he tries to make me. I don't think I could stomach the barbarism he practices on an almost daily basis in his own 'kingdom'.

I groaned as I put my head in my hands. "What have I gotten myself into?" I had to ask, even if I didn't get an answer. Here I was, in the middle of the enemy camp, surrounded by bandits posing as Mercenaries, and all for what?

… Why am I even asking myself that? I know why, but that doesn't make me like the situation any more. I can't prove Vault is a traitor on my word alone, and I doubt I could beat him to the Black Citadel before the damage he's going to inflict is done. As much as I hate to say it, I need to be there in order to deprive Vault of one of his biggest sources of propaganda: the Dark Queen herself, Olga Discordia and her… Servant? Bodyguard?... Chloe.

Assuming I can even figure out how to get them away and survive myself.

"Hey, newbie. Are you in here?" I heard another new voice ask, and this time it was a man with short brown hair, wearing hide braces, a skin-tight black shirt and purple scarf around his neck. "Ah, you must be James." He greeted me with a wave. "Name's Morgan. The boss asked me to fetch you, he wants you to meet the others in command here."

Good, I needed to know who was crucial to this whole thing. I nodded and after leaving my tent began following him. "So… Morgan…" I started, "Anyone in this camp got anything to read?". I asked as I stayed a few steps behind him. I wasn't sure if anyone here was a mage, and if there were I wanted to eat their books… Or at the very least, steal them.

He glanced back at me. "You can read?"

"Yeah? Can't you?" I raised an eyebrow at his question. Couldn't most people?

Morgan gave me a nod. "I can, but most everyone except the leaders can't." He said as we walked. "How did you learn?"

"Well you see, I started with the alphabet and worked my way up from there." I answered a bit snidely.

He threw his hands up in surrender. "No need to get like that. Just curious, not a common thing to know how to read." Morgan told me.

So, most commoners can't read, or at least most of the Black Dogs can't. Not sure if I can use that, but maybe that might come in handy in the future.

Morgan led us to a large tent, I am guessing it's the one used for command, considering all the flags coming out the top and the fact that it makes mine look small by comparison. "Alright, here we are. Best not keep them waiting." Morgan said as he entered the tent.

I followed in after him and saw Vault looking down at a map on the central table. "Alright, I want everyone to be able to come in on this, that means we'll have to wait for our scouting parties from around the area to regroup with us before we finally take the fight to her fortress. I want to be able to take it in a day, and I won't tolerate anything less than a full frontal assault." He told the others around the table as he pointed to specific spots on the map.

"Ah, Boss, looks like the fresh meat has finally decided to join us." Hicks said, getting everyone to turn my way.

"Ah, I see you made the right choice." Vault said with a smile. "Alright guys, meet the newest recruit: James. James, meet your new bosses."

Hicks raised his hand and gave a wave. "We met already, I am the scout commander, it's my job to be the eyes and ears of the Black Dogs." He told me as he put a hand on one of his short swords.

The next person to speak was a man in blue, with longer hair and glasses. "My name is Kin, resident mage and sorcerer. If you happen to find any spell tomes I would gladly pay a handsome fee for them." I nodded along. Okay so that is the rogue and mage of this party down, what is mummy face's deal?

"You may call me Shamuhaza. All you need to know is that I make the potions that the Black Dogs use. " Okay, so creepy bandage face is a potion seller… I doubt that is all he is, though.

Vault gestured to Morgan. "Morgan you already met." The man in question gave a two-fingered wave "He is a scout captain, like what Hick does, but maintains his own personal unit rather than all of them." So Morgan is not even really a leader, then?

"If he isn't one of the leaders, then why is he here?"

Vault barked a laugh. "He might not have Hick's job, but that doesn't mean he is damn good enough to take over if the former ever kicks the bucket."

"That ain't happening Boss, I am gonna live forever surrounded by hot babes and booze, you watch." Hicks said playfully.

Ah, hello Death Flags… good to see you're on my side in this. "Well, depending on how this next job goes, I think that's the kind of life everyone of us is going to live, ain't that right?" Vault asked patting Hicks on the shoulder. "Anyways, I just wanted you to know who you'll be reporting to. Don't let anyone else fool you, the only people that hold any kind of rank here, are us in this room… with the exception of you, but that is open to change."

I nodded. "Was there anything else?"

Vault shook his head. "No, go ahead and familiarize yourself with the camp and your new comrades. We move first thing tomorrow, and I want everyone well rested for the fight ahead of us. I don't intend to lose against the bitch in her tower."

Okay, so waste time. Got it. I think I'll actually spend the downtime reading while I can. I turned and left the tent.

I got about five steps before I stopped, having realized something. "I never learned where they keep their books," I murmured to myself, before groaning and heading back to my tent…. Textbooks for me, then.

{POV Shift}

After James left the tent Vault was staring at that empty space with a smile. "Alright then Boss, what's the deal? What is so special about that guy?" Hicks asked, crossing his arms over his chest. It wasn't everyday that Vault personally recruited someone. There has to be something more about him than what they could see, right?

Vault's smile never left his face as he turned to Morgan. "Do you still have them?" Vault asked. The man in question reached into his pocket and tossed a bunch of letters onto the table for the others to read.

Kin eyed them for a moment. "This is the seal of the Goddess, isn't it?" He asked before grabbing one and opening it to read its contents.

Shamuhaza grabbed one of the letters and inspected it as well, he silently read line after line before setting it down onto the table. "So, she has had visions specifically involving him?" The bandaged man asked, and Vault's smile just widened.

Hicks barked a laugh. "Ha!" He slapped a hand to his head. "I'd laugh if it weren't so sad." He said as he tossed his back into the pile "So, what's the plan Boss?". The scout commander asked as he leaned forward on the table.

And Vault's smile grew even more as he told them his plan.

{POV shift}

The day progressed quickly after my little meeting with Vault and his commanders. I ate and tried to sleep, but found rest eluding me. So, like my nights before this, I spent them reading. Unfortunately nothing good came of them, considering it began talking about habits and… breeding methods for monsters, which quickly shut down any motivation I had to get in my required reading for the night.

I laid down on my cot and began to try and get some rest, since I had nothing else to do. Only to be woken up by a strange feeling by my feet. I half expected a dog to have found its way into my tent, or maybe even a cat, but when I leaned up to look at it I found myself staring at the ugliest fucking thing I have ever seen in my life.

A small, strange creature with glowing yellow eyes was slowly working its way towards me, and I did the only thing that came to mind: kicked it. My foot reared back, further and faster than I expected, and delivered a solid kick between its massive glowing eyes. I watched as it hit the ground and hurriedly scuttled out of the tent, not that I was willing to let it go just like that.

I grabbed my sword and stormed outside, watching as it began scuttling off towards a far-off and lonesome tent. Now, I didn't want to chase it, but I wasn't going to risk it coming back to do… whatever the hell it was going to do. So I followed it to this small isolated part of camp and watched it hurry inside the lone, dark tent.

When I followed it inside I wasn't sure what I was expecting, maybe it was trying to do whatever it was about to do to me to someone else, or maybe it was trying to hide. I did not expect to find that creature hiding behind the bandaged man, Shamuhaza. "What is the meaning of this?" He asked as he stared at me.

"Your little pet there was about to attack me in my sleep!" I told him, pointing to the small creature with my sword. Granted, the attack part was made up, but something tells me what it would have actually done would have been just as bad.

Shamuhaza narrowed his eyes. "I assure you, my insects would do no such thing." He denied.

In return, I narrowed my own. "Then explain to me what it was doing in there."

The bandaged man looked down at the insect, before crouching down and lifting it onto a table "This particular insect was created to find sources of magic and absorb them." He told me. "I use them to disarm magical traps, or hunt down troublesome mages." He said slowly, before looking at me. "Do you have any spell books on you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not right now." I told him. I watched him nod slowly, before withdrawing a knife from his cloak and in a swift motion, stabbing the insect between the eyes. I had to step back in shock as the creature began crying out.

"If what you are telling me is true, then it appears I have a defective insect." He told me as he twisted the blade, and with a sickening, popping sound the bug collapsed onto the table, every limb as limp as a corpse. "An insect that cannot perform its duty is a failure. I do not tolerate failures." He said, before yanking the blade out, covered in the blood of the dead bug. "Thank you for informing me of this, I must begin to work on another before we arrive at the Dark Queen's fortress."

"Yeah…" I said slowly, there was a pause as I started watching him cut the insect into pieces. "You're welcome, I guess." Shamuhaza didn't react, and instead began dropping the body parts of the dead insect into various baskets. I hadn't even taken the time to look around the room to notice the dozens of wicker baskets all sealed up with a Japanese kanji on a note. "What is all this?" I asked.

"They are insects." He replied simply. "They are far more reliable in accomplishing their tasks than any human. Tracking, hunting, finding food, killing beasts and other such monsters, they can do a great variety of things if one knows how to manipulate them." He told me.

I eyed a special one in the back just by the table, but covered in shadows. "What about that one?" I asked, making Shamuhaza turn to look where I was looking.

"That one is a personal project of mine." Was all he told me. "Was there anything else, or do you have any more questions?"

No, I didn't. I walked out and began making my way back to my tent, laying down once more, but this time I didn't even try to go to sleep. I didn't want to get caught off guard like that again, so I had a sleepless night, both eyes open and one hand on my sword.

After dawn broke I heard what sounded like a bell, and someone calling out. "Come and get it!", a man shouted . Since I was already dressed and ready to go, I left my tent and noticed a bunch of groggy looking guys just barely starting to come out of their tents. Considering I didn't really get any sleep last night I was surprised I wasn't any worse than they were. Not that I minded, it made it easy to get my breakfast first, and I was actually pleasantly surprised. The food didn't look half bad.

I was planning on going back to my tent to eat, before I heard Hicks call out. "Hey, James, over here!" He yelled out to me, and I felt my shoulders drop as I groaned and turned around to go and sit by the vested fucker. "Hey man, heard from Shamuhaza that you had a bug in your tent last night." He said as he leaned onto the table. "How did that happen?" He asked and I sighed.

"Not sure. I told him so and he killed it, calling it defective. Not much else to it, I'm afraid." I said as I sat down across from him, eating my food as fast as I could without choking on it. I really wanted to avoid as much interaction with these guys as possible, makes it easier when I've got to kill them.

Hicks gave me a raised eyebrow. "Really?" I only nodded in response. "Damn, I thought he loved those things with how much time he spends with them." Hicks told me as he began taking some bites out of his food.

"He does." I heard the man with the glasses say, Kin I think his name was, right? "But he only loves the ones that aren't defective or failures." He said as he sat down next to Hicks. "He is a man of science, like myself. The only difference is he prefers insects while I have a… broader view of the field." He took a bite from one of his scrambled eggs.

The scout commander eyed my food. "You know we got some time before Vault has us packing up already, right? You can take a second to enjoy your meal." He commented as I finished my plate.

"I don't want to waste time, that's all. The sooner we get this show on the road, the sooner I can go." I told them as I stood up from my seat and turned to leave, only to end up looking directly at Vault.

The mercenary king simply smiled at me. "Now that is a work ethic I can get behind." He said, putting a hand on my shoulder, I had to fight the urge to slap it away. "James here is right, we need to get moving. I want to make sure she doesn't have the time to reinforce her position anymore than it already is. Consider yourselves lucky to have gotten breakfast at all, I have already given the order to start packing up." He said to them before looking at me. "Now, I want to have a little chat with our newest recruit here, you two start packing your things. We move in one hour."

I suddenly found myself very, very tense. Vault wants to talk with me? I haven't even done anything yet! "Got it Boss, I guess I'll be on my way then." He said. "I'll get my guys and go scouting the path ahead, If I see anything suspicious I'll double back and let you know." Hicks and Kin both stood up, the former taking his plate and eating everything on it as fast as a vacuum.

Vault suddenly put an arm around me and said. "Come on, I want to get to know my newest recruit." He told me as he began leading me through the camp.

Okay, so he wanted to get close to me… Alright, not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. "So James, man to man, what's your type?" He asked me, and I blinked.

"My type?" I asked dumbly.

"Yeah, what do you like? Big tits? Flat chests? Or maybe your tastes are more for the lower side?" He asked, and couldn't help but just stare at him. This had to be a joke, right? It must have been, but he was looking at me like he wanted a real answer.

"Well…" I started. "I never really thought about it in specifics before." I lied. Truthfully, this is one of the only things in my life right now that has not come into question. Despite my dirty and guilty feelings, I can't deny that I find Celestine attractive, and if she is the benchmark for the others? Boy oh boy, do I feel excited to see them in person…

...Ugh, that ugly feeling is back. I shouldn't think like that, the idea that I am having the same thoughts as these guys is sickening to me. I can't let myself be like them if I can avoid it. "Oh come on, you've got to have something." Vault said. "Personally, Celestine checks pretty much every box I got. Wide hips, a damn fine pair of tits, and her ass is pretty sweet too." He said and I found myself going from self loathing to barely restrained anger in a moment. "The things I'd do if I ever got the chance."

I clenched my fists. "Like hell you will." I said, again for the second time before I could think better of it.

Vault's head turned to look at me. "Oh, seems I've struck a nerve." He said before withdrawing his arm and putting them behind his head. "Don't be mad, there isn't a man alive who wouldn't give anything to have a chance to get with her." He told me. "But then again, Levantine is a pretty good looking babe too, just a shame she is married already."

What I wouldn't give to leave this conversation right now. "I suppose she is." I agreed reluctantly.

"Although from what I hear, that dark elf Queen is supposed to be a beauty on par with Celestine if the stories are true." He told me. "Have you ever seen a pure-blooded dark elf before?" He asked, and I only shook my head. "Well, let's just say that each and every one is a certifiable bombshell. I have never seen one that could even be considered unattractive."

"I'll take your word for it." I said, earning a raised eyebrow from the man. "I don't really have a preference. I never really wanted to be picky when it came to women, a broad net catches the most fish, if you understand what I mean." I told him.

I watched him nod his head. "Well, once this job is done, I can guarantee that you'll have your pick of the finest women." He told me before we arrived at a bunch of wagons. "Maybe, after it's all said and done, you'll find a real preference, eh?"

"Why did you want to know anyways?" I questioned. "You could have asked anything else, hell I expected anything else." I really shouldn't have thought. "Why that?"

The large man smiled. "Look around you." He said, gesturing to the camp. "I am not just these guys' employer, I am one of them: just another guy making his way in the world." He said. "Everyone here will fight on my command because I am not some stuck up noble, not some lord rollin' in cash, but I am just like everyone else in this camp. I may be the leader, but I didn't get so many loyal men by acting like I am better than them. No better way to show that than have a guy talk like this." He told me.

I raised an eyebrow. "So you do this to show you're not above it all, is that right?"

Vault nodded. "Yep, I want everyone in my company to know that I ain't going to act all high and mighty just because I am in charge. You might be a temporary member, but that doesn't mean that can't change."

Like that will ever happen. "Hey boss." I heard Morgan call out while jogging over to us. "Mind if I borrow James here?" he asked.

Vault nodded. "Well James, I'll leave you in Morgan's capable hands, I gotta go make sure everyone is ready to follow behind the scouting party." Vault said before leaving. I was thankful for that, talking to Vault almost makes me want to vomit.

"What do you want, Morgan?" I asked as I turned to face the man.

"You know we are on the same side right? No need to get pissy." He said. "You are coming with me and Hicks to scout the roads ahead. We are down a man and I feel like you might be a pretty good fit." He told me.

I raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

Morgan just shrugged. "Just a feeling, come on." Morgan said as he led me to the edge of the camp.

"It's not going to be an issue that I've never ridden a horse before, will it?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Shouldn't be. Most of our horses are currently pulling the wagons and carts of supplies, so we are walking."

I gave Morgan a look of confusion. "Don't worry, we might not have horses but we aren't looking to go all the way to the Dark Queen's lands just yet, just making sure the road is clear enough for the convoy to make it through in good time." He told me as we began walking down the road. "Hicks should be waiting at the fork with the rest of the scouts, he told me he would be sending them down one road while we would be going the other."

"Well that's good then, I guess. Cause I don't know how to ride a horse, or drive a wagon." I told Morgan.

He simply laughed. "Well, once things settle down I am sure you can find someone to give you a few pointers." He said, before slapping me on the back and almost making me stumble. "I'll make sure to tell the Boss. You can ride with Kin, from what I hear his wagon will have a free spot."

"Any reason why that is?" I asked.

Morgan shrugged. "Truth be told the guy is kinda… weird." He said, looking around for any eavesdroppers, which there were none considering it was just us and the road. "I heard that he has been talking with Shamuhaza about things: experiments and stuff, you know?" He said. "Shamuhaza is a certifiable creep, talks about his bugs as if they can replace the Goddess. If Kin is talking to him about stuff, trust me that it will be just as creepy as shit."

I nodded slowly. "Got it…" From what I have seen, I'll take his word for it. "What is that guys deal anyways?" I asked.

"Don't have a clue." Morgan said as he shook his head. "Guy is an easterner, we know that. Seems to have a bit of an obsession with Lady Kaguya of Thorn, from what I know. Never really says why though, and I don't really care enough to ask."

So that creep is after the Kuudere shrine maiden. Note-to-Self: create insecticides as soon as possible…. Also, see if I can plant mint around that fortress. If what I remember my dad telling me, mint keeps all kinds of insects away. I don't know if the same applies with demon bugs, but I might as well try it. I don't have many other ideas after all.

We continued for a decent while before my companion spoke up. "So, James, I got a question for ya." He started. "What do you like better? Young ladies or the more mature ones?"

I gave him a flat look. "Is women the only thing on you guys' minds right now?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I mean, it isn't the only thing, but I like to keep myself distracted when I am about to enter a life or death situation." He told me and… Honestly, I can kind of understand where he is coming from. "So, young ladies or the milfs of the world?"

I sighed. "Both, I guess." I told him.

He glanced over at me. "Really? Most people I know prefer one or the other."

"I guess I am not like most…" I began, trailing off as I noticed a rising pillar of smoke. "What's that?" I asked as I pointed to it.

Morgan glanced where I was pointing. "Eh, probably just a raid. Towns out here get them all the time." He said offhandedly, as if this wasn't a big deal.

I glanced at Morgan, and saw him keep walking…

I don't know what came over me, but I started running. "Wha- James!" I heard him call out behind me as I ran ahead towards the smoke. If there were people in trouble then I had a responsibility to help, didn't I? I refused to be like the Black Dogs who didn't care about this kind of thing!

While I ran there I only caught a glance at the sign that told me where I was going. It was a town called Grasmere.

It took me a solid few minutes to crest the hill and reach a vantage point where I could actually see the village under attack, and found my blood boiling because of one simple fact: It wasn't monsters that I saw.

A bunch of men were running around, chasing people and grabbing women. The men who tried to stop it were slaughtered, swarmed by these bandits. I had originally assumed they were Black Dogs, maybe trying to keep me from seeing their real colors, but no… these looked like your stereotypical outlaws.

I felt fire begin building in my fist as I saw the carnage.

But I wouldn't use magic, not when I knew Morgan or anyone else could see me use it. I wanted to keep that card as carefully concealed as I could for when I really needed it.

I sprinted down into the village. Maybe it was the fact that my armor was like theirs, or maybe they just didn't notice me, but I managed to sprint at the closest one without them even so much as giving me a second glance. What happened next…

"RRAGH!" I cried out as I rammed right into him, knocking him off his feet and his sword out of his hands. He clearly wasn't expecting me and had the wind taken out of him when he hit the ground. I only had a moment to grab his sword from where it landed, and in a single moment that would forever be ingrained into my memory was the look on his face when I stabbed downwards.

He just had a moment to cry out "WAIT-!" before I put the sword down his mouth.

Hearing him gurgle in his own blood, as his eyes were looking up at me in shock before finally life left them, was something that engrained itself into my mind.

And I did not care. It wasn't the fact that I had just killed another human being without a second thought that stayed with me. It was the fact that in his final moments, before his life was over he managed to look up at me, and I felt nothing from it.

I slowly withdrew the sword and tossed it aside from me, the thing was worthless anyways. It had dozens of chips in it, and just looked poorly managed. But that wasn't important right now. I took out my own steel sword and charged at the next man. He had barely had time to turn and face me before I rammed my sword straight through his torso. The look of shock and pain on his face was one that I found myself relishing. He made a few pained gasps, before I planted my boot firmly on his body and pushed him off of the weapon.

As he fell, I noticed a few had broken off what they were doing to come and try to face me. Instinct told me to move, find a better spot to fight them, take away their advantage of numbers. If I remembered right, spartans had this tactic when they fought at the Thermopylae, where they lured the persian army into a tight corridor where their enemies could only come at them a few at a time. So, I ran from the men charging at me and went for the small alleyway between what looked like an inn and some other place.

The space was tight and my own movement would be restricted, but they couldn't surround and swarm me like they would have before. Thankfully it wasn't every last man, but a group of about five. I tossed a few of the barrels and chairs in the alley over and created some obstacles for them to get over to slow them down even more.

I watched as the first man of the group climbed over the barrel, then moved to attack before he could properly defend himself. A single thrust to the armpit, as dirty as it was, pierced his skin and the tip emerged just on the other side of his neck. As I withdrew, one of his hands reached for the new breathing hole but it was too late, too fatal for him to survive. He hit the ground within moments. I believe he died before he even reached the earth's embrace.

The next tried to come at me with a thrown axe. Common sense told me to duck, instinct told me to catch it. I ended up trusting my instincts and just barely managed to get it before the sharp end would have cleaved my skull in half. While I was recovering from that little event he charged me and again, instinct overrode rational thought, and in a movement that was faster than I ever believed I could do, I spun the axe around and swung it once.

The axe embedded itself into his neck, deeply. I couldn't even pull it out before he fell, taking it with him to the ground.

Two bodies were in the alleyway now. The next bandit tried to rush me, and I expected to have to grapple with him.

Instead, he tripped over the axe handle and fell face first in front of me. He looked up at me, and I could see the fear that had entered him in that moment, face first on the ground and at my mercy. "Please! I yield!" He cried out, but I ignored his cries as I stabbed downwards into the top of his skull.

The last man however was waiting… I wasn't really ready to give up my advantage just yet. But as I stared him down, I realized something.

Where was the fifth bandit?

As I asked myself that question, I heard a battle cry from behind me. "RAGH!" I barely had a moment to block his downward slash and man, did he have some strength behind it. I had to hold him back with both hands, but as I blocked I felt the ring on my finger begin to pulse, and my own strength increased enough to keep him at bay. The fourth bandit saw an opportunity, and came at me from the opposite side. I saw him charge at me with a raised axe, and I instinctively reached out to grab his face and ignited my Flames spell. I heard his cries of pain and agony as he writhed and tried fruitlessly to pull my hand off. I found myself surprisingly thankful for the fact that I didn't have enough time to register the notion that I was touching seared and burned flesh under my bare hand.

By the time he managed to pull himself from my grasp, the imprint of my hand was forever burned on his face. The cloth headband he was wearing had caught fire, so did his hair, and so had his shirt. He cried out howls of pain as he stumbled backwards and back out into the streets.

The bandit that had tried to ambush me from behind had been so terrified, I noticed he had started to back away. "Wha.. What the fuck..?!" He swore. "You… You don't have a spell book… What did you do?!" He asked, before he slipped on a piece of trash, ending up on his back without a weapon. "Please! I'll… I'll go! I'm sorry! I'll change! I'll get an honest job! I'll stop hurting people! Please! Spare-!"

I marched out of the alleyway, and saw the rest of the bandits looking my way, same with the villagers that were still alive. "Alright then…" I said as I raised my steel sword again, and let the magic fire in my first flare for all to see. "Who is next?" I asked as I took a few steps closer. "You?" I asked pointing at the man pinning a woman to the ground. "Or how about you?" I turned my sword to a man with bags of spoils on his shoulders. "Or maybe you?" I lastly pointed at the man currently holding a young girl by the waist.

They all looked at me with faces that were a mixture of shock and fear. All except one, who had charged at me and attempted to attack, but a quick stream of fire stopped him in his tracks as he quickly found himself enveloped in flames. I noticed a few start moving backwards, a decent few actually. Which is a shame because I wanted to kill them all.

"What are y'all backin 'up for?!" One of the braver outlaws yelled out. "It's just one guy!" He said as he dropped his captive and grabbed his sword. "We got the numbers here, why are you letting a pussy like this scare you?!" He asked his companions as they each began exchanging glances.

Another one responded to his associate. "I… I don't know man… something about this feels off, don't you think?" He asked. "I mean, he took out Jonas and the other guys that chased him, hell he even set Ridgeway on fire!" He pointed to the burning body. "Are you sure we wanna mess with this guy?"

The assumed leader scoffed as he began to approach me. "Fine, I'll kill this fool and then you can all breathe easier, since I got rid of the big damn hero." He said.

A few of his buddies began to join him. "Yeah, let's show these people what happens when you try to be a hero!" One said, the group began devolving into simple cheers as they tried to hype themselves up. From what I could count this was a group of… oh dear, that is about ten guys coming towards me: the leader, and the lackeys he managed to rally behind him.

I raised my sword and began trying to figure out a way to gain an advantage here. I glanced around my spot and took note of the surroundings. I saw a general store, a blacksmith shop, and a burning tavern… and from the looks of it, the other buildings were going to follow the tavern's example.

My best bet was to divide them, try and limit how many can come at me at any given time. I think my best option is the tavern, given my choices. It's two stories, so I can get to the high ground easy enough, depending on if anyone is inside. "Alrighty then, come and get me if you're ready to die!" I called out as I made a break for the tavern.

Predictably, they began charging after me. Once I got inside I gave a look around the place, a bunch of tables were overturned, and unfortunately I noticed that I was not alone inside. At the top of the stairs there was another bandit, holding a barmaid down, and he was currently…

I didn't even want to think about it.

So I charged in, grabbing a bottle rolling on the ground and smashing it on his head. Unfortunately that didn't knock him out like I had hoped and instead pissed him right the fuck off. His head whipped around to face me and in a moment of pure instinct, I rammed the broken bottle right into his eye. His screams mixed with the womans as he got to his feet and in a failed attempt to save himself, began wandering as he tugged at the glass now impaling his eye.

He got only a few feet before he slipped on a spilled drink and hit the ground, shoving the rest of the broken bottle into his face.

The rest of the brigands were coming in by now, though. "Get up, go!" I yelled at the maiden as I forcefully pulled her off the ground and began shoving her towards what I assumed to be the back door of this bar. I wasn't about to let her get caught in the crossfire of this fight, I didn't need that distraction right now.

"He's up there!" One called out as they began flooding inside. I took a defensive position at the top of the stairs, and prepared myself for a bad fight.

I heard the barmaid scream, and turning around I just barely caught sight of what she cried out about. Of course, more people were pounding at the backdoor, as if I didn't have enough guys to deal with.

As the last man entered the bar, the walkway above him burned enough to collapse on him, blocking the doorway and windows out through the front. Shit, this place is burning faster than I thought it would be. I need to get out of here, this was a bad move!

"RUAGH!" One of the bandits cried out as he took a swing at my legs. He just barely missed, but I had to swing wildly down at them to make them back off a bit. Only when they did, more of the building collapsed and destroyed the fucking stairs!

I backed up to the top. "Damn!" I cursed at how close that debris was to me. The fire is spreading fast, If I don't figure out something soon I won't be leaving! "You!" I yelled out to the woman, who jumped at my voice. "Get over here now!" I commanded, and to my surprise she responded instantly, running over to me as fast as she could.

Good thing too, as the instant she started running over to me, the bandits at the backdoor had broken in. Once again I prepared to fight them, but the floor gave out under all their weight and they fell into the burning building below. "Oh goddess I'm gonna die here!" I heard the woman say in a scared, small voice.

Damn it, how are we going to get out of here now? The only way I can see is the window, but this isn't a movie or a game where jumping out the window is usually option number 1. I could end up gutting myself on the glass if I do it wrong, and I would be jumping onto solid ground from the second floor. I don't want to put myself in that vulnerable of a position, especially with the rest of those guys out there!

I heard the woman scream again as more debris fell down from the roof. I growled in my throat, didn't really have any other option now, did I? This place is coming down, and if I don't get out, then I am going to get buried inside of it!

I looked around a bit more and groaned. Window it is, let's just hope it is as effective a clichè as it is. I ran and prepared to smash it, only to realize something just before I was going to bash it open with the pommel of my sword: It was latched in the middle. After I put my sword away, I undid the little latch and pushed the window open… Okay, that solves the gutting myself on the glass part. "Alright,-" I stopped myself mid sentence as I heard the ground under me start to crumble. "COME ON!" I cried out as I reached out, grabbing the barmaid and jumping out of the window just as the rest of the walkway crumbled into the fire below.

Unfortunately my landing was not nearly as good as I had hoped, and I ended up falling over, tossing the lady a few feet away from me. I groaned as I shook my head and turned to watch the rest of the tavern collapse. "Well…" I started to say as I rolled over and sat up before I began brushing some of the ash off of my armor. "That got a little heated, don't you think?" I tried to laugh at my own joke.

The woman looked at me with an awed expression. "You… you saved me..." She said slowly. As the realization began to dawn on her she quickly pushed herself onto all fours and began pleading. "Please! Their leader has my sister! I beg you sir, save her!"

"Do you know who has her?" I asked with a groan as I forced myself back onto my feet.

"That'd be me." A larger man called out as he approached from behind the crowd. "I lead this pathetic band of whelps." He said as he came forward. He was a large man, wide and burly, with a warhammer on his back, wearing what looked like Iron Armor. "I've half a mind to kill you here and now, but at the same time if you wanted to join up with us… I think that would work to everyone's advantage." He said before walking over to some of his men and grabbing a girl that they had been… toying with. "How about this, you can either join up with us and get spoils and women, as much as you could ever want." He said as he tossed her towards me.

"Sister!" The woman next to me cried out as she tried to crawl for the younger girl, only to be stopped when that warhammer came down next to her little sister.

I glanced down at the girl, who looked up at me with silent, tearful and pleading eyes. "Or what?" I asked as I looked back up at the man, who took out his hammer.

"Or you die here." Was the simple answer.

I narrowed my eyes and took on a stance as I held up my sword, preparing myself for a serious fight. "Then take your best shot." I challenged.

The big man laughed. "If that's the case, before you die I want a name." He said as he brought the hammer to rest on his shoulder. "I want to know who to look up after I am done turning your head to mush."

"James. James Hind." I answered.

The man nodded. "Hmm.. good name. Strong Name." He said "A shame you're dying here, over some worthless town. Could have been someone someday, if you didn't have this little burst of courage." He said before drawing his hammer off of his shoulder and reading himself. "Call me Crunch."

I almost wanted to laugh. "You pick that name yourself?"

He laughed. "Nah, I got it because that's the sound this baby tends to make whenever I bring it down on some poor fool's bones." He told me before his own expression darkened. "But the time for talk is over, now DIE!" He shouted with a roar as he ran at me, raising the hammer to smash me.

When I saw him swing that hammer, I expected an easily telegraphed attack, an overhead smash, or a slow swing to the side. Only to learn one vital lesson: just because your opponent uses a heavy weapon, it doesn't mean in any respect that they are slow.

I barely managed to step back and away from his first overhead smash attack, but wasn't prepared for the followup horizontal swing that struck me right in the ribs before I could even think to guard. The attack sent me off my feet and straight into the blacksmith shop, and I found myself in an odd position of being too shocked to move right away. I laid there, slowly applying the healing spell to where he struck, and watched almost helplessly as he approached. "You know, since you beat my guys I expected a bit more of a challenge, to be honest." He said, as he began resting the war hammer on his shoulder again. "But quite frankly you've done me a favor. You see, I do not employ idiots, and luring them into that burning building? Only someone crazy would run into a building that is on fire, and only an idiot would have followed them inside." He told me as he stopped a few feet from me.

"Hey, you're the one that took them on, not me." I hissed as I tried to sit up.

Crunch laughed. "I suppose I did, too bad you didn't want to join me." He said as he raised the hammer."We could have lived like barons, you and I." He told me before he swung downwards at me. I rolled out of the way, only to notice he never hit the ground. I spared a glance up and saw that his hammer had gotten caught on one of the wooden struts in the ceiling of the shop! "Argh, come on!" He growled out as he tried to tug it free.

As I stood up I noticed I didn't have my sword anymore, and after a quick look around, saw that it was laying on the ground outside. I began cursing my poor grip on it before I took this chance to separate him from his weapon. I charged at him as I stood, slamming him onto the iron anvil and thankfully managing to make him leave his weapon stuck on the wooden strut. I clenched my fist and began beating him when he was against it, one hit after another, after another, after another, before he finally recovered enough to catch my wrist mid punch.

He began to squeeze, feeling my bones begin to scrape each other before I opened my hand and let forth a torrent of fire directly into his face. This was both a smart, and a stupid move.

While I succeeded in giving him the world's meanest burn right on his face, I neglected to think about the fact that he was stronger than I was right now, and was thrown off pretty easily. I was tossed to the ground and my hand landed right into the forge itself. "AGH!" I cried out as I pulled it out and saw that a nasty red burn was already present. I was so tempted to grab my hand, to try and squeeze it, but I suppressed the urge and settled on gasping under the pain. I spotted a barrel close by, and upon inspection saw it was full of water. I submerged the angry red flesh of my hand inside and began channeling healing magic to it.

Thankfully, I could already feel the pain being suppressed behind the magic and began to relax.

However, I neglected another vital factor while I was focusing on making sure I could actually use my hand: that bandit, Crunch? He was still alive, and pissed.

He grabbed the back of my armor and with more strength than I thought possible, he yanked me away from the barrel. What he wasn't expecting was for me to try and hold onto the barrel when he threw me away from it, and accidentally spilled it all over the floor. "Ah Fuck!" He cried out as looked down at me with a fury that I had never seen in my life. "That was a nasty little trick you pulled." He said with rage. "LET ME RETURN THE FAVOR!" He yelled out as he grabbed me again, but this time he wasn't trying to throw me anywhere. No, this time he was trying to force me into the forge.

I barely managed to grasp the sides by the time he began pushing against my head and upper back. I am not going to lie, I was afraid. This guy was stronger than I was, and for a few moments just as my face was centimetres away from those hot burning coals I was afraid that I was going to die here.

But that fear led me to a different kind of strength. I refused to go out without at the very least taking this bastard down with me. I began pushing myself back, struggling for every inch I could get, before I saw my salvation.

I reached out a little bit and grabbed a sword that must have been left in the forge when the bandits came. I wrapped my fingers around it and although that burned, I spun it around in my grip and made a blind stab backward, shoving the burning steel into his forearm. "AAGH! YOU FUCK!" He cried out as the hand on my back left.

Within a moment of that happening, I threw my elbow backwards and struck him in the face. I heard him grunt in pain as the hand on the back of my head left. I had only a brief window to act now, and with it I spun around, grabbing him and forcing him into the furnace. Only, I made sure he couldn't grab the sides to keep himself out.

He screamed as I held his face deep in the flame, even as he struggled, throwing his hands wildly as he tried to grab the sides and gain any sort of relief, I always forced him back in.

Eventually he stopped struggling and I finally let go. He didn't even try to get out and simply remained there, with his face in the fire…

I… I didn't feel so good, and fell backwards onto a small wooden seat. The realization of what I just did finally setting in…. I just killed so many people. A part of me felt nauseous, like I was about to be sick, but these people were scum… I shouldn't feel like this for killing them. I took a few breaths as I began to collect myself. These… These weren't people, just monsters in human disguises.

Once I was certain I wasn't going to make a mess all over the floor, I stood up and left, but not before collecting that hammer. I slung it over my shoulder and walked out of the blacksmith shop, watching as all the remaining bandits began backing away.

"No way… Crunch is dead?!"

"Are you serious?!"

"Guys, let's get out of here, a few women aren't worth getting killed over!" I heard them talk among themselves before each one by one turned and ran.

I looked over the survivors, who were all looking at me with awe. "It's not safe here anymore." I told them. "Get whatever you need and go to one of the fortresses, it's safer there than here." My order was met with a bunch of nods and agreeing statements.

"But... What will we do?" I heard one of the wounded guards say as he sat down on the dirt. "This was all we had… without it, what's the point?" He asked. "They might as well have killed us all."

I looked him over, and then at my new hammer. "Bandits usually have bounties, right?" I asked, earning a strange look from the people around me. "What if you took the bounty for that guy I just killed? Help get yourselves some money to start over again someday?" I suggested.

The guard looked at me as if he was in disbelief. "You… You're serious?" He asked. "That would help a lot actually!" He told me as I held out the hammer for him to take, he grasped it almost reverently. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

I waved my hand. "You are going to need the money more than I would have, take it and get out of here." I told them.

"Yeah, Yeah we will! Thank you so much!" He said as he ran off, to begin preparations for their journey, I assume. I took a sigh of relief as I looked over the civilians as they began grabbing everything they could and began loading up various wagons with their belongings and money.

While they worked on that I walked over and began looking for my sword, only to find that younger girl holding it. "You...You saved us." She said, as she looked up at me. "Are… Are you going to end the war? Are we going to be safe?" She asked me.

I… I found myself at a loss for words for a moment. I grimaced internally, I couldn't tell her the truth, so instead I put on a wide smile and crouched down to her level. "Yep, I am ending this war and everyone will be safe. You can count on it." I told the young girl.

She handed me my sword back and I put it back into its sheath. "But, what if they attack us again?" She asked.

"Then I guess you'll be seeing me again." I told her as I patted her head. "Now go, get someplace safe." I said as I stood back up, pointing to the wagons.

The little girl nodded. "Thank you, Sir!" She yelled out before her sister helped her onto one of the wagons. I stayed for a bit, watching them pull away. I… I did that, didn't I? I saved them, right? My small smile faded as I looked around. The town was a complete wreck, the fires had spread to the other buildings and each was slowly but surely going to be reduced to ashes.

"Well, Well, Well." I heard the awful voice of Vault behind me. "Looks like we arrived late to one hell of a party." He said, as he looked around at the corpses and dead men. "Damn, James, could have at least saved some for us." He laughed as he inspected a few of the dead bandits.

I didn't know how to answer without coming off as hostile, but thankfully I was spared having to respond, only for my heart to sink as I realized that the next speaker must have been watching me. "Oh, there were some that survived." Hicks said as he emerged from behind one of the houses. "But they ran off when he killed their leader." He reported. Vault gave an approving nod. "Most of his kills though. were because they stupidly followed him into a deathtrap." He told Vault as he pointed to the collapsed tavern. "Looks like our newest recruit isn't just smart, but he's mad too."

Vault raised an eyebrow. "You ran into a burning building?" Almost as if he didn't believe it.

I slowly nodded. "Yeah, the idea was to try and limit how many I had to fight, but it seems like the word self-preservation only had meaning to a few of these people." I said.

Vault barked out a laugh before putting his hand on my shoulder. "Ha! I like this guy!" He said before putting his arm around me and more or less pushing me alongside him.

"Although, there is one more thing, Boss." I clenched my teeth and prepared myself for his next words. "It seems that our new friend here has a bit of a secret he never told us about." He said with a sickeningly smug smile on his face.

Vault looked back at his scout. "Well? What is it?"

Hicks' smug expression stayed. "It seems that James here can use magic without a book." He said, and I felt my heart just stop for a few seconds. Damn it, I wanted to keep that secret!

Before Vault could get his next word in, I heard Kin interject. "That's not possible!" He said loudly as he approached us. "No human can do magic naturally!"

Hicks just kept on smiling. "I never lied to you guys before, why would I lie now?" He asked.

Kin looked at me incredulously, before grabbing my arm. "I don't doubt you, Hicks," He said as he pulled me out of Vault's grasp and toward what I assumed would be the rest of the convoy. "But I need to confirm this for myself!" He called out as he dragged me along.

"So, your thoughts?" Vault asked as he watched James get taken back to the convoy.

Hicks shrugged. "Well, he isn't exactly the most straightforward fighter. But then again, he was dealing with superior numbers, all newbies too." He said as he stood next to Vault. "He's got a talent for fighting, but his skills are lackluster. He relied more on intelligent thinking and a crazy idea to win."

Vault rubbed his chin in thought. "And Crunch?"

"Dead, dumbass got his head forced into a forge cause he got his hammer stuck."

With a slow nod Vault let his smile grow. "Crunch was one of our veterans, wasn't he?" He asked looking at Hicks, who just nodded in response. "James is already proving himself to be potentially one of the best people I've taken in yet." He said with a smirk.

"Yeah, about that." Hicks suddenly became hesitant. "Seems he's still got some kind of moral compass. He let the victims go, you want me to send a party after them?"

Vault waved his hand. "He'll come around, he just needs some time, that's all. As for the people he let go, don't bother. We'll get them after we take over this place." He said with a sinister grin "Now go grab the horses they took and lets get going, we still have a lot of ground to cover before we reach The Dark Queen's Citadel." He said as he and his scout commander made their own way back to the rest of the Black Dogs.

Special Thanks to LittleWhiteMouse for his help with this.

AN: Alright, there.

Chapter done.

Fuck me, this took so much longer than it should have. But at least this time I have a somewhat valid reason for it.

At the beginning of February I accidentally got my fingers slammed in a door, which made typing out the chapter a goddamn nightmare. So I put it off for a bit while I wanted for my finger to heal. Once I could actually type without issues guess what? Family emergency, I don't want to talk about it since it is personal but it made investing time into the fic difficult because I was stressing out about it. This lasted a while, up until the beginning of March, when most of the drama had passed and I actually could put words to page, but then I found myself experiencing some writer's block.

But it's done now, and quite frankly I am happy to be done with it.

Until next time.

Oh, one last thing, I've been doing some thinking about Claudia recently and have moved from against to undecided about her being in the Harem. To make a long story short I figured out a way to get her in that doesn't feel contrived or forced but I have already said I wouldn't. So I figured I would put the decision in your hands. There is a poll on my profile to vote and I ask that you do.

Leave a like and review and all that jazz, stay safe, and hopefully we'll see each other again by this time in April.