Trang and Falcon stood watching as carpenters worked on the siege engines and other machines.

“What’s that?” Falcon asked.

“Chariot. It’s experimental. We’ll test it out. See if there’s any use for it.”

“What about that?”

“To be honest, I don’t have a clue. A couple of my guys are engineers in real life. They come up with all kinds of shit.”

“You make any guns yet?”

“Nah, gunpowder doesn’t work here.”

“Ah. Didn’t know that. Shit, you’ve thought of everything.”

“We had plans to start building a navy, but got, you know, a little sidetracked.”

“Yeah. I’m starting to think it’s a shame you got knocked out of Fedra. You’re doing some cool things here.”

“I underestimated these people. They are formidable. Smart. And this is their world.”

“You still enjoy playing the game?”

“Oh yeah. I love it. I love the challenge. You?”

“Not really.”

“Really? Why are you still here?”

“Tamara.”

“Oh.”

“I hope you rebuild fast, take out that fucking Empress, and give these people an actual government. Hell, I’ll pay you a shit ton of gold myself to take out one asshole, Griffin Roane. Heard of him? He’s an earl in Jaspen.”

“The name doesn’t ring a bell. I’m sure we have a file on him.”

“Of course you do.” Falcon laughed.

“Want us to take him out? No problem. Consider it a favor, no need to pay me. He’ll probably need to go anyway, when the revolution happens.”

“He’s a slippery son of a bitch, trust me.”

“What’d he do to piss you off?”

“He threatened to kill me.”

“Ah. Wait, that’s it?”

“I don’t mean my character. Me. The fucker told me he’d hire a hit man to come to my house. And he knew my address.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

“He’s lucky he didn’t do that shit to me.”

Falcon scoffed. “Please. You have no idea what that felt like. It scared the shit out of me. And he threatened to have Tamara raped and mutilated.”

“Why is he not dead already? Serious question.”

“He knows I’m after him, and he’s smart. Very smart. I’ve got some people looking for him. But he’s got money. And I think he has the Empress’s backing. People are afraid to go after him. He’s dangerous, I’m telling you.”

Trang said, “I really could use you here. You should join the guild. I’ll make you second in command. Right now.”

“I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I’m done. Gonna find a nice, quiet place, get Tamara set up, then…be a casual player I guess. Run a shop or a tavern maybe.”

“You think there will be any nice, quiet spots in this world for long? What’s happening in Friedor is happening everywhere.”

“It’s a big world though.”

“I’m not going after the Empress for awhile,” Trang said. “We’re changing things up, taking a different tack.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. We’re going after Moroso.”

“Huh. Interesting.”

“You know about him?”

“Sure. Legendary wizard. Invented Permakill. So I hear.”

“He did create the spell. We verified it. He is the most dangerous person in Friedor, by far. The Empress is bad, but nothing compared to him.”

“How are you so sure of that? Nobody’s even seen him, as far as I know.”

“Think about it. Every game has a big boss at the end. Moroso is ours. There may be one like him in every empire, who knows. Sounds like it, from what I’m hearing. But anyway, he’s mine. We knock him out, Friedor will eventually be ours. And the people will be so much better off.”

“Well, ok. Best of luck, I guess.”

“Oh no…”

“What?”

“Just got some news from Destra. Check the news feed. It looks like your army has fallen.”

FROM THE JOURNAL OF HANDICE

Twelve of us went out for a two week patrol, our first as a unit. The best soldiers in the army. We returned with eight. We staggered through the gate, all of us on the verge of collapse. Cochran went to brief the general while the rest of us went to the hospital to get patched up. We had run out of Healing potions on day six.

I got my leg fixed up and made my way to the barracks. The day was hot. Freejack looked to have grown even more while we had been gone. New faces everywhere. Put me on edge. But most seemed to be working hard. The main road was being expanded and two new side roads being added. New buildings going up everywhere.

Picasso and I went to headquarters to get our pay, then hit the main strip.

The Shanty was open for business, despite the Midday hour. Leda was on duty, the half dozen patrons all soldiers who had worked night shifts. Leda took one look at our faces and began bringing ale immediately. Before long the rest of the men had joined us and we had taken over the tavern. Even Cochran showed up for a few drinks.

Day turned to evening. Other soldiers bought drinks for us. Civilians steered clear and went elsewhere to imbibe.

I saw Picasso slip out and decided to follow. I do not know why.

Work had stopped for the day and citizens milled about the streets. It was not like Glen Falls, but it was more like a real town than it had been. It would have been difficult to find Picasso in the crowd, but I knew where to look. I spotted him heading for the prison.

I watched him go inside. I passed Gentry on his way out, deduced that he had been guarding Varina before being paid by Picasso to take a break.

“Handice?” Picasso slurred. “What are you doing here?”

“Came to ask you the same.”

He had done nothing yet. He was still outside the locked cell. The former queen had awoken and was sitting up in her bed, in her night clothes.

“Just talking to the queen, that’s all.”

“You men are as drunk as any I have ever seen,” Varina said. “And I have known many nobles who can drink.”

“We should return to the Shanty,” I told Picasso. “Cross and Malch are having an arm wrestling match. The wagers were quite high when I left. Easy coin.”

“Ah, all right,” Picasso said, to my relief. He told Varina, “I will see you later, woman.”

She shook her head.

“Go fetch the guard,” I ordered Picasso. “I will stay with her until he returns.”

He left.

Varina and I stared at each other.

“How was your expedition?” she asked.

“Eventful.”

“Your comrade tells me you encountered an army from Astela. Disconcerting news. Did you really cross the Beast?”

“We did. Picasso talks too much. Did he threaten you in any way?”

“He did nothing. You should not keep your men on too short of a leash. A bit of leadership advice.”

“I will seek such advice from leaders who did not lose their kingdoms, thank you.”

The guard returned. I took my leave.

Picasso was not going toward Main Street. He was going toward the wall.

I ran to catch him. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Going to pick a fight with a growler.” He was already halfway up the wall.

“You fucking fool! Get down! That is an order, Corporal!”

He ignored me. He reached the top, said farewell, and went over. I heard his boots land on the other side, and heard him grunt from the twenty foot drop.

Cursing, I attempted to follow. The task was nearly impossible with one hand. I managed to use my wooden hand for leverage and pull myself up with my left. Once over, I tried using the wall to slow my fall, but landed flat on my back, the breath taken from my lungs. I had to lie still for a minute.

I found Picasso a few minutes later.

“This is madness,” I told him. “You don’t even have your sword!”

“Got my knife. Knew you’d follow me. Two of us can take one of the bastards.”

“They travel in packs,” I reminded him. “Let’s go back.”

“Sorry, Sergeant.”

He went off at a sprint for the woods, yelling for the growlers to come and get him.

I almost let the drunken fool go. It was madness to follow. But he was one of my men.

When I caught him we were into the woods. He had stopped and gotten quiet.

“I hear one,” he whispered. Indeed, some creature was moving around close by. Not a growler. They do not let you hear them.

“That’s not a growler, you damn fool.”

It was a Nightbeast. We smelled it before we saw it, black and ten feet tall, snarling.

“Sorry, Handice,” Picasso told me. “You shouldn’t have followed me when I went to see the queen.”

I felt a sharp pain in the back of my right thigh, and I collapsed to the forest floor. Picasso had slashed my hamstring. He was already gone, running back to town and leaving me for dead.

I took my knife from its sheath and waited, on one knee and bleeding.

The beast charged.

An hour later, the team came. They thought they were coming to recover my corpse. All except Cochran were still intoxicated from the night before. Picasso led the way. I heard later that Hoss and Malch nearly jumped out of their boots when I twitched and moaned as they picked me up. They had been certain I was dead.

I woke in the hospital. I would have some scars on my chest, arms, legs and neck, but would recover fully. I had not killed the beast, but I had given it enough to think about that it decided to find a meal elsewhere.

Picasso was dead by the time I woke. He took poison. Evidently he had been spying, for who we did not even know. He killed himself before we could ask. It seemed impossible to believe that he would spy for the Empress. Had Varina seduced him somehow? He had been obsessed with her - that was clear. She feigned ignorance of it all, claimed he had fallen in love with her and gone mad. We did not believe her. The guard on her was doubled.

Cochran began to reinforce the team, recruiting five new members from the ranks.