A Blessing

Playing beside another musician was always a treat, especially for a particularly large crowd. A second set of hands or another voice would almost always have far more impact and could reach far greater heights than one by itself could. As luck would have it, Herongale had a practitioner of the flute, better yet, she was good at it, very good. The growing crowd of twenty or so people only reinforced this as we played an upbeat folk song telling of a grand rebellion in the moonlight. It was a bit on the nose considering the current situation, and knowing the final outcome of said rebellion made it somewhat ominous, but it was a fun song to play, so I wouldn't complain.

I couldn't help myself from smiling and looking around at the snow capped surroundings around me. From my co-performer, an aged, but still beautiful woman of dark skin with hair that almost seemed a perfect mix of silver and black, to the clapping and dancing people of Herongale singing along to the words. Even Liam and the Conqueror had taken a moment to watch the performance, which I'll admit I was particularly proud of. All too often those two seemed too busy to partake in anything fun, seeing them actually take a second to enjoy something was nice. All in all, this was shaping up to be one of my best performances.

Things slowed down a bit as we came to the bridge of the song. My partner gently played her part as though playing an in memoriam piece, and I followed suit. I found myself closing my eyes and picturing those close to me I'd left or lost along the way here. My close friend who'd taken me in, bless her soul, a kindly innkeeper who'd given me free lodging because I couldn't pay, and of course, daddy. It was a solemn moment for me, seeing those friendly faces flash in the darkness, only to fade back into the emptiness. I wondered if it was wrong to think about them here, they weren't soldiers or warlords, like the song was trying to honor. Honestly though, I didn't care. They mattered to me, and that was what counted here.

"By the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon…" I sang as the song slowly ramped back up in tone. My partner actually went silent here, gently bobbing her head along as she gave center stage to me and my singing. I smiled to myself as I gently plucked at the strings of my lute, soft melodies carrying through the hamlet as the audience stood enraptured by my work, I could even see the Conqueror swaying slowly back and forth to the tune. Not Liam, though, he was staring right at me, lost in his own head, no doubt. Maybe it's selfish, but I was more than happy to leave him there, I even gave him a little wink to do just that. I could have sworn I saw the Conqueror give him a playful nudge.

Beat by beat the song picked back up, and I began tapping my foot along with the beat. Before long, the crowd had gotten my message, and began clapping and singing along as my partner bobbed her head up and down with a smile, flicking her hair back over her shoulder as she readied herself. Now we were back in the swing of things, whoops and hollers ringing out as the flute rejoined the tune, jubilation erupting from the crowd. I sang the chorus one final time, our playing reaching a near fever pitch amidst the clapping and singing.

I sang one last chorus before whoops and hollers replaced any form of lyrics, and I went for it. I strummed like there was no tomorrow, each set punctuated by a sting of notes from my partner. The two of us glanced at each other, I could see her smile even over the flute, and I knew she could see mine. We were having the time of our lives, and it was time to bring it home. With a final flourish, I struck the final chords of the song, leaving her to finish with a string of quick, beautiful notes, holding on the last for a few seconds before holding the flute up like a trophy.

Cheers erupted as my partner made her way towards me and extended a hand. It took a bit of effort, but she managed to help me to my feet and held my free hand aloft as we basked in the praise. I lead us in a bow before she pulled me in and gave me a big hug, which I'll admit caught me off guard. Still, I managed to laugh it off and swing my free hand around her, using the other to hold my lute.

"That was wonderful, sugar! Oh, I wish I'd had half your talent at your age!" She cheered. I was flattered by the praise, especially from someone who had clearly been at this a lot longer than I had. She loosened her grip on me and pulled back a bit, keeping one hand on my shoulder. I did the same, though for me it was more for the sake of balance than anything else.

"Yeah, well I hope I look half as good as you at your age." I said back. Her sapphire eyes practically glistened as she laughed and patted me on my shoulder.

"Such a sweet talker you are!" She said before holding up my hand once more, turning both of us to face the crowd again. "Let's have one more hand our guests, yeah?" She cried out. The crowd seemed eager to comply, roaring with approval at our performance. Normally I wouldn't mind being the center of attention like this, and at first I didn't mind the applause. Yet, when I realized that even Liam was clapping for me, I felt a knot forming in my chest that I couldn't seem to ignore. Eventually the applause died down, and my partner released my hand, which quickly found itself back onto my lute.

"Alright, no more break time, let's get back to work! We have much to do!" My partner said as she threw her hands up and made a 'shooing' motion at the crowd. As if to drive the point home, she began to walk into the crowd in an effort to make them disperse. I laughed inwardly at that, and found myself wondering if she was the resident 'mom' of the place, so to speak. It wasn't long before I found something else on my mind though, as my companions began walking towards me, both carrying their weapons at their sides. I decided to try and mimic them for fun, holding my instrument at my side in a likewise manner as I marched to meet with them.

"That was quite a performance!" Said the Conqueror as we stopped in front of one another. I smirked and moved a stray piece of hair behind my ear, admittedly looking towards Liam as I did.

"Yes, I'd say that was some of my better work, if I'm honest." I boasted. Liam didn't respond right away, instead planting the tip of his sword in the ground before resting his arms across the guards.

"Indeed, it is good that you can lift the spirits of the people. They will need all they can to stand against Blackstone." He mused, turning to observe the now dispersing and chattering townsfolk. At first I was a bit irritated that he'd said nothing about me in most respects, but I just wrote it off as his code getting in the way. Hard to break something you've been following since birth, after all. So instead of getting huffy, I decided to raise an eyebrow and tilt my head at him.

"That's a pretty long winded way of saying you liked it, Liam." I teased. This seemed to snap him out of his mood, as he shook his head and turned his attention toward me.

"Ah, yes, forgive me. It was a masterful work of music, Deborah. I don't know if I've ever seen it's equal." He said, nodding in approval as he did. I tried to fight off the flush rising in my cheeks as I laughed off the compliment to no avail.

"Well, I don't know if I-"

"Warden? May I have a word?" The sudden voice of the Captain cut me off before I could finish my sentence. Sure enough, once the three of us had turned just a bit to our right, there he was, arms folded behind his back, looking right at Liam. How these rangers managed to sneak up on people in broad daylight still made no sense to me, we were in the middle of the hamlet for crying out loud. Still, I guess that just meant it was a good thing they were on our side.

"Is everything alright, Berrat?" Liam asked, plucking his sword from the ground. The Captain was at least kind enough to smile at and acknowledge the Conqueror and I before turning his attention back to Liam.

"It's nothing you need to worry your companions about, but Elder Kharion requested I speak with you." He explained. Yeah, sure, nothing worth worrying about. It's only a direct request from the leader of the hamlet, and on the eve of an attack from Blackstone, after all. I'm sure it was just an invitation to dinner. Plus, let's be honest, a 'request' from an authority figure was just a polite way of ordering someone around. I managed to hold my tongue and say nothing of this, thankfully, as Liam turned to address us.

"I'll be back in a moment, forgive me." He said. Without another word, he marched off alongside the Captain, weapons swaying gently as they walked. I stifled a laugh and turned to watch him go.

"And there he goes again, barely a moment of rest before he's right back at his work." I said, not particularly to anyone at first. Then I remembered I wasn't alone at the moment, and looked towards the Conqueror, who had walked up beside me and had likewise watched them go. His flail was ever so slightly dangling over his shoulder now, as if he were trying to lean it against it only to forget there was a chain connected to it.

"Was he always like this?" I asked. The Conqueror simply shrugged before replying;

"Pretty much. Guy really didn't know how to unwind before I came along." I couldn't help but laugh at that. As much as I wanted to call bull on him doing anything for the Warden, I could at least buy that he helped him relax a bit. Though from the looks of it, whatever he'd taught him hadn't stuck, for better or worse.

"Honestly, you'd probably be good for him in that respect." The Conqueror said. That made me raise an eyebrow and turn back towards him.

"I'm sorry, good for him?" I asked.

"Sure. You know, a good way to get him to ease up." He replied. Just what was he implying here? Ease up? Was he confusing me for an escort now?

"Just what are you trying to say here, Conqueror?" I asked, making sure to make my contempt a little more obvious. To his credit, he picked up on that pretty quick. Though it was his response that made me stop and think.

"Not like that…" He groaned, shaking his head before he continued; "I mean as his partner, so to speak." Partner? Was he saying what I thought he was? Because if he was, he was way off base. Liam made me feel safe, that was all. It wasn't like I was… interested?

"Listen, Conqueror, you've got it all wrong, I'm just…" Just what, I thought to myself as I paused. A friend? I'm not sure that was the best way to put it. I mean, he'd been willing to spill his guts to me on our first night, and I'd been willing to get stabbed to keep him safe. That felt like more than just friends, but we hadn't done anything otherwise, right? The Conqueror seemed to take my silence as permission to talk, cutting me off before I could finish my thought.

"Look, you can fool each other but you can't fool me. I mean, ever since Liam learned what Blackstone really was, he was just… aimless." He explained. He turned to face me now.

"I must have been working him for months, and I still couldn't break him out of it. Then you walk around with him for what, a week? Now all of a sudden he's talking to me about rebuilding the Iron Legion, giving people something to believe in again. That doesn't just happen, Bard." He argued. I mean, I hadn't really thought of it that way, I just assumed that Liam was that way from the start. I guess I hadn't known him long enough to see a difference. But, no, it had to just be him, I mean he'd accepted lower payment when he could have just walked away, and I was on his bad side then.

"He would have gotten to rebuilding the legion on his own, I didn't have anything to do with that." I reasoned, not realizing I'd said it out loud. The Conqueror shook his head and walked a step closer.

"I don't think he would have. He had three years to do that and he didn't. Not until he met you." I opened my mouth to counter, but nothing came out. What was I supposed to say to that? He had a point, but I didn't think I was ready for anything like that, let alone with someone I'd only know for two weeks, if that. The Conqueror didn't give me a chance to think, and stepped even closer toward me.

"And come on, who rides half a day to be around someone they just sort of like when they're recovering from a stab wound?" Crap… he had me there.

"I think you're more important to each other than either of you realize. You'd be good for each other, I mean that." There was a softness in his voice I hadn't heard before, it was strangely genuine too. I sighed and shook my head, trying to get any thoughts of this out of my mind.

"I don't know, okay? This isn't something I can just jump into, assuming you're even right." I spat. To my surprise, the Conqueror nodded and took a step back.

"Sure, I get it. I'm just saying that if it comes to it, I approve." At first I wasn't sure who this guy thought he was, thinking his approval meant anything to me. Then I realized more about what that meant. This was a guy who had fought beside Liam for a long time, knew him way better than I did, and was probably closer to him than I could dream of being, save for what he was suggesting. And he was… okay with that. Put that way… I don't know, it touched me.

"You… You really care for him, don't you?" I asked. Stone sighed and looked back at Liam, his shoulders slumping a bit as he did. I followed his gaze and saw Liam with a hand to his chin in thought.

"I just know I failed him once already. I don't want to fail him again." He said. My heart sank a bit at those words, as I watched Liam lower his hand and nod at the Captain. I wasn't sure what either of them were saying, but I did know I was thinking differently, about Liam, about my role here, about a lot of things. And I wasn't entirely sure what to think of it. But one thing I did know was that Liam was gonna need us, both of us. That'd be enough for now.

"Well then let's try and keep each other in check for his sake, Stone. Deal?" I said, looking towards him. I swear I could just see that look of shock under his helmet, replaced just quickly enough with a little grin. Out of the corner of my eye, I could just see Liam begin walking back towards us.

"It's a deal, Deborah." He replied. I chuckled and nodded at him, and he at me before we both turned back to Liam. I was just about to greet him when he held up his hand, as if to silence us prematurely.

"If either of you need to pack anything, grab it now. We must leave before the hour is up." He said. That had certainly come out of nowhere, and I found myself rearing back a bit at his words. It didn't help that his tone had completely changed in terms of intensity.

"Pack? Where are we going in such a hurry?" Stone asked. Liam glanced at him for only a second, then back at me before speaking again.

"Blackstone sent a messenger by horseback. Holden Cross is calling for a meeting between us and his immediate counsel." He explained. Holden Cross? The same Holden Cross that was hunting us a few days ago? He wanted us to meet with him?

"Uh, forgive me for being a bit concerned, but wasn't he chasing after us not that long ago? Why would we go right into his camp, or den, or whatever he has?" I asked, not bothering to hide my unease. Liam held out his hand again and gently lowered it, trying to calm me down.

"If Holden is still half the man he was when I was in the Legion, he'll be the only man who might want to avert this whole battle to begin with." He explained before turning to his friend.

"Stone?" He was already nodding before Liam had even finished his name, arms now crossed with his flail dangling freely from the gap in between.

"He was when I left, I can't imagine much has happened in the past year or so that would change that." He confirmed.

"Then it's our best choice. End this encounter before it even begins, shed no blood if we can." Liam said. This was crazy, we were going right into the lion's den, and for what exactly? The possibility that we could work this out? That's when another thought came to me.

"Wait, why are we even going at all? Shouldn't this be Kharion and the Captain's duty?" I argued. Liam shook his head and looked right at me.

"The messenger asked for Stone and I specifically to come. And there's no chance I'm leaving you here by yourself, not after last time." He said. Well great, I thought, forced between a camp of brutes or another night alone where I'd already been assaulted once before. How had the Lawbringer even learned of our arrival? Liam had come alone, it wasn't like it was easy to just find some random knight in the middle of the woods, what kind of bull crap luck did they have? Besides, I wasn't sure how much I trusted this Lawbringer…

It was at that point I felt a weight fall on my shoulder, a heavy, but comforting weight. When I looked up, I saw Liam giving me as reassuring a look as he could manage with that helmet on his face.

"Don't worry, I will keep you safe. I took an oath, remember?" He reassured me. I did remember, and I knew he was a man of his word. Just his touch was enough to calm me down a bit, and the anxiety seemed to fade at the idea of him accompanying me. I still wasn't sure I liked the idea of going into the belly of the beast, but what other choice was there?

Guess I had to put my trust in Liam to the test…