Anthony sighed as he finished his mug of ale, smiling as he dug into his potatoes. “Chief was so generous to allow us such a large budget.” He couldn’t help his stupid grin as he drunk the next awaiting mug.

Jack smiled awkwardly, unsure if he should be spending so much money since he was no longer a member of the Bloodwall family. He couldn’t speak about the loss of his family either, since it would have been extremely rude to Sir Anthony, who had lost both parents when he was just a boy.

“You should eat as much as you can while I’m here,” Anthony said as he leaned back in his chair. “I’ll tell the Chief that it was all a necessary business expense.” He raised his hand towards a worker, who arrived swiftly to his side. “Two bottles of your finest.” He placed down a small bar no larger than his pinky.

The worker bowed her head, quickly retreating to the back to bring back the bottles. Anthony smiled as he threw a casual glance around, noticing the few who were silently drinking, faces inside their mugs.

The inn keep sighed, glad that the drunken knight was around. Even a no good knight could keep issues to a minimum with their presence. He motioned a hand to the returning woman, who bowed her head and then placed down two bottles onto the table.

“Excuse me, sir,” she said, trying her best curtsy, “would you also like a bottle of our local wine? A gift from the house to you.”

“A bottle of local wine?” Anthony grinned wide. “Sign us up! I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth when it’s offered by a pretty lady.”

The woman flushed and curtseyed again, retreating again to retrieve a bottle. She, for one, was glad that the knight was around. It kept wayward hands away from her, so offering a bottle to the knight was something which lightened her heart.

“Are you nervous?” Anthony asked, leaning in. He was a lean knight, not one who relied on brute strength, but a combination of speed, strength, skill, and of course, stumbling around like a buffoon whilst drunk. Even so, his presence helped the boy relax.

“A little,” Jack replied honestly. “I just don’t know how long I’ll be gone for.”

“It doesn’t matter how long you leave,” Anthony said. “Whether it’s one year or one hundred, we’ll always welcome you back.”

“A hundred years? Are you planning on becoming Steel First Core?”

“It hurts my heart to think that you don’t believe in me.” Anthony reached to his heart and winced.

“It’s not that!” Jack insisted. “Steel is so far away,” he said, thinking about his father’s rank. “Even fa- Chief Bloodwall is Bronze Fifth Core.” The fact that Anthony could be so powerful at his age was certainly a testament to his abilities. Even though he was a drunk, one could only respect the ethic required to achieve such a high level of strength in his twenties.

“That’s right,” Anthony said, rubbing his chin. “I took a few shortcuts to reach my rank so it’ll be more difficult…” Chief Bloodwall had been Bronze Fifth Core for some time. With the resources available to him, he could have easily surpassed his rank, but he had chosen to remain at Bronze Fifth Core. Since he didn’t like to think, he stopped the train of thought right there and let it go. “Why don’t you join the military?” Anthony asked. “You could become a smith in the military and also train to become a pretty powerful warrior yourself.”

“Training in the military will distract me from being a smith,” Jack said. “I have to become a smith as quickly as possible.”

“Don’t forget that other options exist, but you don’t have to worry about it.” Anthony opened up a bottle and then poured it into his mug first, taking a quick sip. Tasting no obvious poison and after waiting for a few moments, he poured some wine in for Jack. “Just take it one step at a time.”

“One step at a time,” Jack said. The words were so familiar to him, and he couldn’t help but smile. “One step at a time.”

Anthony returned the smile, seeing that the boy was taking the words to heart. The words had gotten him out of a terrible situation before, and they had always helped him getting through the days.

One step at a time.

“Someone tried to kidnap Jack?” Chief Bloodwall said, the surprise in his voice expertly masked, though they could not escape Ozcar’s keen ears. “Who would be stupid enough to try it?”

“A dark guild in a nearby town. They thought that he was the son of one of the Eldermen, and they were going to ransom Jack back to us.”

“Has the name of Bloodwall already fallen so low?” Jax sighed, reaching up to rub his forehead. “It’s too soon to fall.” Jax held onto his chin, narrowing his eyes as he tried to think. He was already planning for the eventual downfall of his family, but it was too soon to allow it to fall. Jack was too close, and the Eldermen were still on high alert.

More importantly, his reply to the kidnapping would show the world the position that the Bloodwalls held, and it would show the Eldermen that he was very serious about keeping the name clean for now. If they suspected his connection with Jack still, it would be easy enough to dismiss the issue.

“It’s only been a few days and he’s already brought us trouble.” Jax continued to rub his forehead. “I would send you, but it’s best you remain here for the moment.” Sending Ozcar would ruin the picture he had painted about the situation. “Send word to Mister White.”

“Mister White is currently on holiday with his family,” Ozcar replied. He hadn’t expected Jax to send word to that man of all people. The knights here could have easily dealt with the issue, but sending their greatest warrior would be a good way to send a message.

Jax remained silent as he thought. Interrupting Mister White’s holiday wouldn’t go too well. “Inform him that Jack was almost kidnapped. He will take the task when he returns, but if he chooses to head out soon, then we will compensate his holiday. We’ll extend the amount by how many days he loses. Send two knights to escort his family and prepare a pouch of gold coins.”

Ozcar knew that Mister White would have given up the rest of his holiday just by hearing that Jack was attacked. At least this way the Chief could show the world what it meant to try to mess with his family’s name.

“They say there were members of some organisation against nobles, though they didn’t target the boy because of that. They just wanted to make some coin and went against rules to target a Bloodwall.”

“So there’s an organisation against nobles which have made an exception for our people?” The Chief shook his head. “I’m not sure I believe it.”

“Mark personally retrieved the information.”

“Mark, one of Anthony’s men?”

“The very same.” Ozcar nodded.

“Since it’s him there’s no doubt it’s true.” Jax always wondered how Anthony had managed to claim Mark one of his own. The man’s methods were brutal, though quite effective. No other knight would have dared to pick up the man, but Anthony was different. Jax closed his eyes, recalling the first time he had met Anthony all those years ago. It made sense that the boy had attracted such a man to follow after him.

Jax’s eyes fell to Ozcar. “Since it’s like that, I’ll have to believe it. If they’re against other nobles, send a message to the local nobles about the matter, and then we’ll let Mister White deal with the rest. Anthony should be returning soon and I’ll ask him about his opinion on the matter.”

Ozcar was uncertain whether to tell the Chief that Anthony was likely not coming back. He had shared a look with the drunken knight and had prepared for certain matters. Anthony would have gone off on his own, but this way at least he was prepared. Ozcar would stick out his neck to calm the Chief once he heard about the knight going absent without leave.

“Why do I have the feeling we’re missing something?” Jax asked. He tapped his finger on the wood. Anthony was one of his most trusted knights, and though he was a drunkard, he was something with a good head on his shoulders. This kidnapping incident and the subsequent torture would have calmed the boy down.

Anthony was someone who would definitely obey his commands, there was no doubt in that. He sighed and then leaned back in his throne. The thrones was frail now and was in danger of giving out any day now.

“I will need to speak with her…” Jax whispered quietly so only Ozcar could hear. He wondered if he could find an excuse to go and rampage soon. No, he had a few months left as of yet. Even if he wanted to meet her, he didn’t really need to right now.

Ozcar noted that Jax’s eyes relented the ambition and he sighed. It was a good thing that he didn’t need to convince the man to leave the Feyking be. “We should retire for the night.”

Jax continued to ponder the situation. “Send word to Mister White immediately,” he said, standing up and then making his way to bed.