It took a few weeks for Kegan to get all of his affairs in order. There were three new holdings that needed to be managed, in addition to his existing Keep. The man he’d found in the jail, Lord Aven, was now in charge of keeping them all productive. Walter was put in charge of watching Lord Aven for betrayal or shirking of duty. Kegan trusted Walter far more and would have preferred to just put him directly in charge. But Walter knew as little about running an estate as Kegan.

There were a few looming deadlines for Kegan as well. First was the extermination group that would be sent after him. No one Kegan had asked knew much about these groups. He didn’t plan on underestimating them. His fight with the elf in the forest had proven to him that there were powerful beings in this world that could pose a real danger.

The next deadline he had to worry about was a summer military campaign. It was spring right now, and a lot of manpower was dedicated to planting crops. But once spring was over the individual feudal estates were expected to provide troops to the kingdom. During the summer the Kingdom would use those troops to put down any internal rebellions, fight the orcs in the North, the elves in the East, and possibly skirmish with another human kingdom to the South.

If Kegan did not provide troops his lands would be added to the list of rebellious provinces to be put down. However, the lands he was in charge of had just lost a third of their troops from the recent fighting. There were some allowances made for frontier provinces, and some allowances made for provinces that had lost men in the previous summer. The Keep qualified for both of those allowances, but none of his other territories did.

In total, he would have to send most of his troops away. That would be a problem because some of the barons under Count Talias were always looking for new estates. They had a surplus of men, but a lack of land. The dead Lord Trivary and Lord Aven had some measure of protection from these other Lords because they were both subservient to Count Talias.

His problems didn’t end there. If he sent troops away to be used by the Kingdom, and their Lord didn’t accompany those troops, it was likely none of them would return. Without a Lord to restrain the generals his troops would be used as fodder. Kegan didn’t think he’d be much help even if he did show up, the level of politics and backstabbing in the kingdom disgusted him, and he didn’t have a mind for it at all.

A solution came up four weeks after Kegan gained his new lands. He was putting arrows together to increase the numbers for his material attachments perk, and listening to Aven and Walter go through their daily argument about the situation.

“You just want him dead! There is no way the King’s army is going to let an unsupervised mage just become a lord and join the army with his men!”

Walter had become far more protective of Kegan after learning about Trivary’s demise. He swore to serve Kegan for the rest of his life and promised to take a slave’s burial with Kegan. This sounded all well and good until it was explained that a slave’s burial meant you were supposed to be buried with the man you served. And not buried at a later date when you pass away from natural causes. Buried immediately. Kegan was deeply uncomfortable with the oath since he knew he’d just reincarnate, but Walter would stay dead. The nice thing about the oath is that it meant Walter found it very important to keep Kegan alive.

“Do you want us all to die with you? If we send no one the Kingdom will send an army and burn these manors down to the ground. If we send enough men to avoid open rebellion the other Barons will just loot and burn these places a little later in the summer.”

Lord Aven also had a healthy interest in staying alive, but Kegan knew that the man also hated him.

“I could take the people West. There is plenty of empty land out there.”

Kegan’s mild suggestion was met with both men sighing and looking at each other. Walter mouthed ‘your turn’ to Aven, and Aven pinched the bridge of his nose.

“My Lord Kegan, the lands to the West of here are infested with goblins. We know you can easily fight goblins, any man with a sword can easily fight goblins. Fighting them is not the problem. We’d have to be fighting them constantly. They’ll eat livestock and crops as soon as you aren’t looking. They eat all the animals of the forest. They eat the bloody trees if they get hungry enough. There is no way to survive in goblin territory.”

“I --”

“Yes I know my Lord, you have survived in those lands for many years. We are not as mighty as you are. We would all starve after the first goblin season.”

“Hmph”

Kegan was annoyed with the attempted flattery and crappy attitude but the man had a point.

“I’m just trying to think of something different. You two have just been arguing back and forth about the same three bad options we have for weeks.”

“Because there are no other options. Short of the Count dropping dead and the whole county being thrown into a succession crisis there is going to be … why are you smiling?”

Walter was a bit quicker on the uptake. “Oh no … Kegan, that wasn’t a suggestion.”

Walter and Aven watched a few days later as a caravan left the town. The caravan was composed of six wagons, each of them loaded up with food, weapons, and armor. Four knights and ten men at arms were in charge of protecting the wagons.

They’d both organized similar caravans before. It was a good setup for arming and feeding groups of soldiers. The only oddity with this caravan was that it was meant to feed and arm just a single man.

“I can’t believe I’m sworn to a man that is going to kill a Count.”

Aven was still in a bit of shock, he’d been taught from birth that the lives of the nobility simply mattered more.

“I’m just glad you didn’t suggest killing the King.”

Walter had grown more accustomed to Kegan’s unique outlook on the world. Aven just glared at him for the last comment.

....

A day’s walk from the town Kegan was pulling out a javelin from the back of a corpse. Six other bodies were strewn about with caved-in skulls, broken limbs, and stab wounds. Kegan was covered in their blood and feeling annoyed. The men had tried to rob him, he had tried to talk them into joining his town. They started a fight, and he ended it.

Kegan cleaned off his weapons on the dry parts of their clothing. He knew that he was gaining a reputation as bloodthirsty. Especially after embarking on this journey to kill a Count. He did enjoy the thrill of fighting, but he took no joy in killing. It was just the most effective thing to do sometimes. Walter and Aven were also acting strange. Kegan knew for a fact that both of them had killed people before. They were making a big deal out of killing just one man.

As he was dragging the bodies off of the road to try and cover up the scene of his slaughter a fog bank rolled in.

Kegan looked around in confusion at the fog, and then up at the morning sun that was still shining through the fog. ‘It was a clear day’ he thought.

The bodies were all in the woods by the road and covered with leaves and branches. He left them and continued making way along the road. The fog only grew thicker, and Kegan grew increasingly alert.

Off in the distance, he thought he heard a horse whinny. And then much closer he heard a pair of footsteps crunching on the dirt road, approaching him.

Out of the fog walked a large muscular man in a monk’s outfit. Kegan stood still and looked around, the visibility had gotten even worse.

“Hello traveler, may I ask you for directions?”

The man’s voice was very deep but had a friendly tone.

“Yes”

The man stopped his approach six feet away from Kegan, a comfortable distance for most people. The monk’s stance was relaxed, but Kegan’s was tense. The monk’s hood was deep, and in the fog, he couldn’t see the man’s face.

“Ah thank you. No need to worry, I mean you no harm. I am just looking for someone. I heard tales of a man as strong as a horse, who could heal from any wound, he is a great warrior, and lord of his own Keep. Do you know where this man is?”

“Yes”

The silence stretched on for a moment.

“Haha you are a man of few words. Where is this great warrior?”

“Just keep following the road, he’s the lord of the next town you’ll hit.”

“Thank you, traveller, I’ll be on my way.”

The man started walking around Kegan. Keeping a respectful distance. As he was just about to pass a female voice whispered in the air “kill him”.

“Sorry traveler”

The man jumped at Kegan, swinging a cloth-covered fist at Kegan’s head. The move wasn’t fast at all. Kegan grabbed the wrist with his left hand and punched the monk in the face with his right hand. His fist connected with some kind of metal face mask. But the momentum was still enough to make the man stumble and fall to the ground. Kegan shook his hand. He’d nearly broken his fingers punching that man’s helmet.

The man got up and a rounded metal spike a foot long appeared in his hands. “You hit hard, traveler, I’m no longer sorry for this.”

The man lunged forward with the iron spike. Kegan just jumped backward easily avoiding the slower fighter. He whipped out a javelin from his back and hurled it at the man’s chest. The man stumbled a step back and then looked down at the javelin sticking out of him. It hadn’t gone deep enough for a killing blow. ‘He must be wearing plate armor’ Kegan thought.

The monk easily broke off the javelin and tossed it aside. Then he was charging a moment later. Kegan unclipped the mace on his belt and bashed the man’s arm out of the way. The clang of metal told Kegan that the man’s arms were also covered in plate metal.

The monk covered his face with his other arm, which saved him from a backhanded swing. Kegan began circling the armored monk landing blows on the man’s armor. Looking for a weak spot. The monk had fully gone on the defense. Protecting his head with both arms.

Kegan whipped out a sword as well and started cutting away at the robes, so he could get a better look at the armor. The fog had been getting worse the whole time. His visibility was down to about twenty feet. He stepped back after attacking the monk for a full minute. The monk slowly moved his arms down. “It's him!” the same voice from earlier whispered in the wind.

“That makes sense. Guess I don’t need to hide anymore.” The monk started ripping off and discarding layers of cloth. It was not a suit of armor underneath. It was a thick skin made of metal. There were marks and dents all over from where Kegan had hit him. The javelin tip from earlier even stood out. The spike of metal that Kegan thought he’d been holding was instead fused to the man’s palm.

There were horses galloping in the distance, they’d be here at any moment. Kegan growled in frustration and charged the iron monk man. With his sword arm, he stabbed toward the man’s face and used his mace to bash in his knee. The monk grabbed the sword, as his grip tightened the sword was slowly crushed in his grip.

Kegan let go of the sword and went back to his earlier strategy of moving quickly and bashing the crap out of the man from all angles. His mind raced to figure out his opponent. ‘Tough skin, protects his face, slow but can be very strong, doesn’t absorb the metal, and doesn’t seem to self heal’.

Kegan went low on his next swing and grabbed some dirt off the ground, then threw it into the monk’s face. The man spit out the dirt and coughed lightly, but his eyes didn’t blink. ‘The eyes aren’t the weakness, the mouth is, he still needs to breathe.’

“Ha, are you just running out of ideas, or are you running out of breath yet? You’ve got a lot of stamina for a muscle mage, it's a shame we have to put you down.”

They stared at each other. The sound of horses was gone. Kegan jumped to the side, expecting an attack to come from behind him. There was no one behind him, but the fog was incredibly thick.

“A little paranoid, aren’t you?”

Kegan turned around and started running, as soon as he was out of sight through the fog he started applying his camouflage perk.

“We got a runner!”

The metal man started running after him, his footsteps were easy to make out. Kegan also heard the sounds of horses on either side of where he’d been starting to run after him.

He changed direction and started running towards the nearest horse. There was a cracking sound at his feet, and suddenly there was very little traction on the dirt road. Kegan would have slipped and fallen if not for his perk that helped keep him balanced. His momentum allowed him to slide across the ice that had suddenly formed. He whipped out a javelin, ready to throw it at the rider in front of him as soon as he was close enough. Just as a horse started materializing out of the fog a feminine voice shouted from further back “Watch out!”

Kegan didn’t hesitate and threw his javelin towards the voice. He knew the throw had connected when he heard the ring of metal, thunk of wet flesh, and a sharp intake of breath.

Oddly enough the intake of breath seemed to suck in all of the fog in the immediate area. The scene around him immediately became clear.

Seven riders on horseback, including the woman with a javelin sticking out of her heart. Four were heavily armored and carrying large crossbows, two others were hooded figures, including the one Kegan had been running towards.

Kegan’s camouflage made him look wispy and indistinct, but he was still clearly visible in the middle of the road.

The moment of confusion didn’t even last a second. Four crossbows were leveled and fired at Kegan. The iron skinned man screamed in anguish “Jess!”. Kegan lept towards the closest horse. The robed man on that horse turned towards Kegan and projectile vomited a clear fluid towards his chest.

Three of the bolts missed Kegan, they’d been aimed too high and he’d moved his chest out of the way. The last bolt caught him in the bladder and shattered his left pelvic bone. The clear liquid landed on Kegan’s chest and started hissing just like the elf’s acid, but none of it had landed on his skin.

He screamed in pain from the bolt in his pelvis, activated his surgery perk, and flung his mace at the man in front of him. The mace connected with the man’s head, snapping it back and spraying blood as the man flopped dead off the horse.

Kegan turned to the remaining men and drew the last javelin he was carrying. The nearest one to him was frantically reloading his crossbow. Another man lay on the ground with his head smashed in. The iron skinned man was only a few feet away from him completely still with sparks of light flashing on him. The last hooded figure was standing a few lengths away holding out his hands toward the iron skinned man. Thin wires of flesh connected the two and those wires of flesh sparked with light. The last regular looking soldier had a spear at the back of the wire flesh man.

Kegan threw his javelin, a moment later a crossbow bolt slammed into his chest and tore into his spine. He lost all feeling in his legs and collapsed face-first in the dirt.

The fat reserves he’d spent weeks building up were getting rapidly he used up as he spent them on his surgery perk, trying to repair the extensive damage to his body. He was in his own world and didn’t hear the fighting and shouting around him.

A minute later he was turned over onto his back. The front left side of his armor had mostly melted away from the acid. Both of the bolts had snapped off when he fell to the ground. His armor was soaked in his own blood.

Looking down at him was the man with iron skin.

“You killed her”

“I saved you”

Kegan’s last javelin had taken the wire flesh man in the chest. It was a gamble, hoping he’d get the one person he couldn’t kill on his side.

The iron skinned man knelt down placing a knee on Kegan’s gut wound and putting his hands on either side of Kegan’s head.

“You should have saved her”, the iron skinned man squeezed. Kegan felt an extreme headache and then his suicide perk activated just before his head was crushed.