The knight walked up towards Rick, stopping a few meters away. Placing the butt of his spear into the ground whilst leaning onto the top of his shield.

“You do look like shit though, need a hand?”

The knight spoke calmly, looking relaxed as he leaned easily on his shield, wagging back and forth. Rick's breathing increasing in intensity, staring wide eyed, trying to move his unmovable body.

“Hmm, mute? That’d explain the rumours. You’ve got many my friend, so it’s hard knowing which are real and which are not. Like I mean, defeating a manticore with only a knife? That's just stupid… Though, seeing this many monsters on the ground, maybe it is true? Or maybe, you had help but then was left abandoned. Or maybe, that toy is freakishly strong. I mean that toy by your side... but it might just be a keepsake from the toymaker, he does seem to give them away wherever he goes. Though he’s only given them to children thus far, so maybe you really are the toymaker? But what if you aren't? Maybe you are a monster in disguise? And the toy is a part of that disguise. Wouldn’t be the first time I met one of those shapeshifters. Though, they don’t dwell outside human cities. Hmmhmm”

The knight went on, speaking slowly and leisurely, calmly even, giving Rick’s fear a hard shake as it transferred over to one of mild confusion and weirdness. Trying to keep up with the knights weirdly fluent and calm speaking voice. Feeling lost in the stream of words. But feeling his fear replaced by a realization, realization that this man wasn’t here for his head, for if he was, he’d have already lost it.

The knight lifted a gauntlet hand to his armoured chin, scratching it as if wearing a full-beard.

“One can’t be too diligent though. Better to see if you’re a monster first, then help you. I wouldn’t want to be the guy that was killed by a fake toymaker. Oh boy, just think of the shame.”

The knight said, easing off his shield as he lifted his spear, taking a step towards Rick. Taking several, then pointing his spear towards Rick's exposed side. Rick feeling his fear returning quickly, eyes widening, the knight seemingly noticing.

“Don’t worry, as long as your not a shapeshifter this’ll just sting a bit. I’m gonna draw a lil blood to see if your insides are white or not. You see, shapeshifters are naturally white but lack the ability to regenerate, so if you cut one, their insides will be practically sparkling. Quite interesting really. What more, they seem to reorganize their organs to fit the shape of their preferred host. Very-“

Bob jumped forward to stand before the closing spear, lifting his arms out as if blocking a charging wolf. The knight jumped back inhumanly quickly, raising his shield and resting the spear on top, pointing it down towards Bob. The spears on his back rattling with the sudden move, muffled by cloth wrapped around each.

Wind roaring in the distant.

Two opponents staring. One with his arms out, the other with a spear pointed.

No one backing down.

Not until the knight spoke up.

“Well, this is awkward.”

The knight stated quite simply, calmly, still pointing his spear towards Bob as he stared him down. His feet firmly planted, one slightly slanted to give him more traction on the slightly muddied ground, stained red.

“I really wish you could speak right now, if you are human that is. Your toy, if that really is a toy, is kinda freaking me out.”

The knight said, not even sounding slightly freaked out. Instead, actually sounding very calm, relaxed even. Rick not feeling calm though, feeling dread, having tried to push himself up whilest the knight and Bob had their stand-off. Tried and tried, burdened by overwhelming fatigue and discomfort, staring wide eyed at the knight.

“Okay, okay, I got an idea. You seem freaked out, I feel freaked out, your “toy” seems freaked out. But! But this can all be easily solved once I confirm you aren’t a shapeshifter. Now, your “toy” doesn’t want me near you, so I’ll toss him, her, it… Eh, ah ahem. It? Yeah, It. I’ll throw it a dagger, and it will cut you for me. I assume you can’t do it yourself considering your, condition… Sounds like a plan? A foolproof plan if you ask me.”

Rick’s eyes stayed wide, emotions warring within, not quite sure how to feel, feeling fear mixed with relief mixed with confusion mixed with everything. An odd blend that kept Rick feeling overwhelmed, not capable of agreeing to anything.

The knight seeming to not care, slowly removing his pointing spear from the top of his shield, planting its butt into the ground as he reached his hand down to his armoured belt. From there, he grabbed one of several knives and tossed it gently towards Bob.

It bounced two times before stopping perfectly next to Bob, Bob turning to look, looking back on the knight, then turning around to look at Rick. Rick looking back, the two sharing a small moment, confusion evident on both of their faces. Evident until Rick nodded hesitantly, awkwardly, barely noticable, getting a nod back from Bob.

Picking up the oversized knife, he turned towards Rick, holding the knife with two unsteady hands. Rick glanced up at the knight, seeing him back to his earlier position, spear pointed down on them, then looked back on Bob. Using only his eyes, and small nudges with his head, he tried to look down on his arm. Bob following, staring, pondering.

He froze, letting the knife drop to the ground as he stared at it, his wooden head deep in thought. Deep in thought until he wasn’t, picking up the knife with a soundless grunt and tossing the knife away. Not very far. And shook his head quickly, his arms flying open again as he took a firmer stance in front of Rick.

The knight’s head tilted slightly, but otherwise stayed still.

And once again, wind was the prevailing sound on this battlefield.

Smell of rotten and rotting meat mixing with the smell of sweat.

Vapor trickled out of the armoured knight’s face, looking like a steaming horse.

Stillness.

Stopped as the knight lowered his head and raised his voice, still sounding very calm.

“Ugh, goddammit. I just need to see a little prick. It’s not like you have to cut him up… But I guess you won’t even do that? Will you?”

Bob shook his head in affirmation.

“That’s a shame. Goddammit. Okay okay. Let’s see. If you are shapeshifters, agreeing would be stupid. So this counts against you. But on the other hand, if I’m wrong and I kill you two, I would have killing the toymaker on my conscious, and all the problems assorted with that. Oh boy, just thinking of how I’d clean that up would be a mess. Shit shit shit… Stupid toy, why do you have to make it so hard for me?”

Rick perked up at that, wondering why he’d have to clean up a “mess” if he killed him. A shiver ran up Rick’s spine upon realising how callous that sounded.

Bob though, just stared curiously at the shining knight, pebbles of snow melting off of his perfect armour.

Seconds passed in silence, passed until the knight breathed out again.

“Uuuugh. Fine fine. We do it your way… “trusting” each other…”

The knight spoke, the word “trusting” sounding like a foreign word in his mouth. Then lifted his spear away from his shield, and very quickly and firmly, planted it into the ground. Doing the same with his shield. He then dropped his pack from his back and knelt before it, keeping Bob and Rick within sight while he ruffled around in it, pushing the many spears aside.

“I’m coming over to help, but if anything happens, I’m for sure-making-sure-that you two go down with me.”

The knight said as he brought something round out of the pack, runes littering its entire surface, far too covered to be something simple, and next took out a smaller bag with letters or numbers written on it. Having grabbed them, he stood up and spoke calmly.

“I’m assuming your injured so I’m bringing my supplies, please don’t bite me, or attack me, or kill me. Or you know, anything monstrous really. Yeah? Yeah. Phew, this is nerve-wracking.”

Rick just stared as the knight took confident strides towards him, not sounding nervous at all. Bob having calmed, eased as he watched the knight coming closer, even smiling. The knight himself holding both of his items in each hand. Stopping as he stood looming above Rick and Bob, staring down at them with his covered head.

He bent down quickly and dropped the worded or numbered bag next to Rick, then closed the distance between his face and Ricks, going awkwardly close, armoured nose bumping into an unarmoured one.

“You look alright, maybe exhausted, but otherwise a very healthy colour. Hmm, so you’re not poisoned, nor do you lack blood. Can you nod or shake your head? I have some questions before I start touching you. Don’t wanna get cursed you’kno?”

Rick blinked, blinking very fast, but didn’t shake or nod. Wanting to nod, feeling himself cringe at the strain, his position to awkward for it.

“Okay, no nodding then, but blinking seems fine. Okay, one blink for yes, two for no. Were you cursed?”

Rick blinked thrice, realized what the knight had said, then blinked twice.

“Ehm, five? Is that like, a double negative followed by a positive? Doesn’t that make it double positive? Does that mean your doubly cursed? No? Two blink- woa that’s a lot of blinks okay calm down, calm down now. Let’s start over. Were you cursed?”

Rick blinked twice, then held his eyes open.

“Hmm okay. You aren’t cursed… Though normally, people can’t perceive a curse with the naked eye, one needs an item for such things. But I guess-No, for my own sanity, I’ll just assume you’d know if you had been cursed.”

Rick blinked once, awkwardly aware that he did not even know a curse was a thing.

“Hmmhmm. Are you hurting?”

One blink.

“Do you know where?”

Rick blinked once, then stopped, blinking twice instead.

“Three? I’m guessing your unsure. So, a full body pain, I’m assuming. HmmHmm.”

Finaly, the knight lifted his head away from Rick’s, tilting his head from side to side, seemingly looking over Rick’s body. Rick noticing that he had dropped the bag, but still held the circular, runed object.

“No visual wounds at the front, though his leg and arm have obviously been harshly abused, I’ll assume abused by the dead monsters all around. No scarring or blood on his presumed damaged body parts though. Weird, very weird. Ahem, toymaker, do you know why you’re lacking any wounds here and here.”

He pointed towards Rick’s arm and leg, then looked pointedly at Ricks face. Rick pondered for a moment, peeked down on Bob and saw him looking strangely up at him, then looking back on the knight. Blinking once.

“Hmmhmm. Okay okay. I’ll assume the toymaker has a way of healing himself, but with the caviat that this healing leaves him very, ehm, drained? Yeah. Considering the damage on the clothes and the amount of frozen blood around him and the ground, his arm and leg must have been thorougly shredded. Hmmhmm. There are very few runed items I know that can heal such damage, and even those would need several peoples amount of mana to heal such an excessively grievous wound… Unless”

The knight spoke and peeked down on Rick, using words that went above Ricks head but sounded smart. Finding himself staring at his arm and the word “blood”, realizing just how red he was, far too red.

“Toymaker, were you helped? I mean, ehm, did someone help you kill these monsters, and then, uh, heal you?”

Rick blinked, looking down on Bob.

“Nono I mean, of course you’d have help from your toys. I mean, ehm, outside help. Someone, or something, else.”

The way the knight said “something” put Rick at pause, looking up strangely at the knight. An armoured helmet that gave nothing away, a way of speaking that was calm even when he said he wasn’t. Rick stared up at the knight. Blinking twice.

“Uhuh... I see…”

The knight paused, starting to scratch at his invisible full beard on top of his full plated helmet. Staring down on Rick whilst the wind sung its soft lullaby.

“Dammit, if you’d just be able to speak this would have all been so much easier... anyway toymaker, I have a proposition for you.”

Rick blinked once.

“You see, I’m not out here for a mere stroll. I have a mission that I have to succeed, one that I cannot and will not, fail. There would be dire consequences if I did.”

He paused slightly, looking to his right on Bob, speaking up.

“You have a particular set of skills that I, at the moment, lack. And this makes me nervous. For I hate not having everything I might need. Being prepared is a virtue some say.”

The knight turned back to Rick.

“So, my proposition for you is that I’ll give you medicine, food, help and companionship. These woods are dangerous and one should not walk them alone, not even for someone as obviously skilled as you.”

He paused, this time letting the words settle in for Rick before he spoke again.

“But in exchange, you will help me with my task. A task, one such as you, will have an easy time dealing with. What do you say?”

The knight went silent, letting Rick dwell on the words, on the mysterious words, a weight slowly forming in his chest, a weight of uncertainty and anxiety. Rick wanting to say no, wanted to just wave this man away and continue his journey. His journey that kept him away from danger, away from those who hunted him.

But he felt, felt that he could not. Not only because he was out in the middle of nowhere, as this man had said, with food dwindling and a body that could not move, surrounded by dead and deader monsters. He could not for this man sounded like someone who could actually help Rick. Maybe even save him from the red man who was following him. This man, this knight, might hold the key to Rick’s safety.

“So?”

The knight asked, Rick blinked once. The knight staring silently. And Rick blinked once again.

“What say y- oh. Oh yeah. Uuh sorry. You blinked once?”

Rick blinked once.

“Perfect! Then we are hereby partners. Haha isn’t that wonderful? Oh, the rumours will be wonderful. Think about it. The champion of diligence teaming up with the famed toymaker. Who could have thought that would happen, right?”

Rick froze at those words, his eyes widening.

“Hmm? What’s that expression?... Oh! Oh I’m sorry, I totally forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I?”

The knight said as he slowly stood up, taking a step back as he placed his arms firmly on the sides of his hips. Staring up and into the white trees, voice going from calm to proud, speaking with gravitas and confidence.

“My name is Brynjar Brynjarsson, fifth of his family. Member of the church of diligence and the champion of our glorious god and savior, Sedulus."

Then he quickly bent down a little and whispered a little conspirically "Though, being born in these lands I just call him Dugnaður." Then raising to stand tall once more, hands placed back on his hips as he spoke out louder than before. "And I am out here on a glorious holy mission! A holy mission to slay the offspring of the great dragon Eldræktandi! A dragon slain by yours truly."

He said, saying the last part almost too fast to hear, bowing slightly, then raising up and speaking.

"Though, having failed to slay it's offspring, i've brought great shame to me and Dugnaður. So here I am, a champion of diligence, making sure to purge the world of the plight that is Eldræktandi's final offspring. Making the world a better, and safer, place.”

The knight, the champion, Brynjar spoke reverently, practically beaming with sunless light as he spoke, his voice full of confidence, of satisfaction, of reverence. He stared up and into the sky, blue like the clearest ocean.

And Rick realised that this man could really save him.