Vincent and the rest stopped under the light by a desolate house. Though the hut was supposed to be used as a shelter for guards during night watch, the occupants were nowhere to be seen. Taking in deep breaths, Vincent looked at his arm. The plate was only covered the chest and abdomen leaving the arms completely vulnerable. Grabbing the shard embedded in his bicep, he grit his teeth and pulled. Resisting the urge to scream, he inspected the shard. It was made from normal soil but the magic of the hooded figure had hardened it to insane levels.

Recalling the earlier events, Vincent threw the shard to the ground hoping to vent. He had been made to realize just how weak and insignificant he was. The fear and his inability to act only made the experience worse. The event replayed in his mind again and he was hit by self loathing all over again. As he recalled how he had forgotten his promise, he began feeling nauseous. Despite his best efforts, gastric fluids and his lunch travelled up his throat and out his mouth.

When he had emptied his stomach, tears filled his eyes and dripped down his cheeks slowly. His now empty stomach ached and his arm started hurting as if to signal that the wound needed to be taken care of.

Vincent just sat there blankly weighed down by heavy feelings. Zach, Nathan and Casper seemed to be out of their elements in similar ways. For a long time, no one said anything. A plethora of emotions zoomed by the groups' minds amidst the silence and starry skies.

"Hahahahahaha" The tranquility was broken by Zach's maniacal laughter. Everyone else looked at him and Nathan inquired, "What's so funny?"

"The giant man's last words were a copy of what the Old general says in the screenplay by John Miller, 'The Tragic Tale of Romeus'. He didn't even change a single word. He must be feeling smug right now." Zach answered with a somewhat empty laugh.

"Who knows, it might be his dream to play out the hero who sacrifices himself. I just hope both of those bastards end up killing each other." Nathan cursed the two gold rankers as he took off his plate armor. He scrutinized the plate under the light of the torch by the hut's side. Dents of various sizes were all over the armor. Luckily, all the shards had only hit the armor and he was unhurt. It was the same for Casper and Zach.

Casper observed the armor and said, "This is ridiculous. The shards had just a tiny fraction of the spell and yet it made bigger dents than what an arrow shot using war bow would. It's no wonder that gold rankers are respected and feared. We are lucky to be still alive." Unlike the rest of the group, he wasn't as shaken for he had lots of actual experience in real combat.

"What do we do now? We didn't get the gold nor any spoils of war. We came out empty handed once again. Seems like the stage is not set for us after all. One unfortunate event after another, maybe the gods don't wish for us to shine after all." Nathan sounded exhausted. It couldn't be helped. Their plans had been disrupted one after the other. It was a huge blow to their morale and confidence.

Zach tried to find words to cheer up everyone but couldn't bring himself to utter any of the empty words he had thought up. He was the one who wished for their venture to succeed the most. He had managed to keep the group from falling apart before but now he was at a loss as to what he should do after looking at everyone. Vincent looked specially tired and weak.

"Maybe we should give up after all. Looking at how the bastards robbed most of the lords, we would be lucky if we managed to get even a fraction of what we were promised. We are too weak. There's no feed for small fishes in such a big pond."

Nathan had seen this coming and said nothing. He was already hard pressed to contribute anything to the formation of the mercenary band. Saying anything now would be inconsiderate and selfish. Casper too felt a little sad but not as much as the others. While the band would be means to achieve something for others, he was only looking for adventure and excitement. It was a little unfortunate but nothing too major for him.

"I am not giving up. I am gonna find those bastards and make them cough up the gold. It was supposed to be ours." Vincent got up and shouted in a determined voice. His sudden proclamation caught everyone by surprise. He was the worst off until just moments ago but now he was shouting crazy things.

Zach suppressed his surprise and laughed. "But the axe wielding man saved us even if his intentions were ignoble. Are you sure?"

"That hulk used us as bait and then robbed us. We were dancing on top of his palms all along. I am gonna make him pay up more than the hooded guy."

Listening to the plain answer, Nathan recollected himself. He had lost his hope on the mercenary band and was feeling empty. But now, Vincent had reignited his hope. He didn't want to give up if he could but the declaration was still too ludicrous. "But they are gold ranker you know? How will we beat them?"

"We just have to get stronger than them. I have decided, I am going to beat the crap out of both of them. I will make them regret ever crossing me." The reply was simple. Too simple, in fact. Even though they all knew it, no one pointed out how unlikely it was that they would accomplish the goal. The ridiculous notion was what they needed at the moment and they would gladly ride the wave of this foolish proclamation.

"Very well. I want to give those bastards a taste of their own medicine as well. Let's head back for now. Though we may not be able to form a mercenary band as big as we had expected, we can still start small and grow eventually. Incredible adventures and riches await us. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I didn't get to ever taste it." Zach ended the conversation on a light note and lead everyone back to his temporary place.

The group went to sleep with new resolution and aching body. Though they had been dealt a huge blow, it served little purpose to dampen their fighting spirit.