Sitting by the fire Joseph and White ate bear, White's portion easily twice the size of Joseph's.

"White I can't believe you actually dragged it all the way back here." White kept eating her eyes facing Joseph as he spoke.

White stops eating, staring at the entrance of the cave. Noticing Joseph speaks in-between bits, "What you not going to eat it now. You better not let it rot, you know I can't eat this much by myself." White, didn't acknowledge Joseph causing him to look at her with concern, "What is it?"

They both sit there completely still, listening. Finally, Joseph was able to hear something, shouting voices coming from afar.

"You see anything out here?"

"No, nothing so far."

"We have to find out what's driving all the animals out of this area. So you better find something, or else we can't go back."

"The hell you mean 'I better find it', we are both supposed to be searching the area."

Joseph stood up, 'Those are human voices!' White started to slowly get up, approaching the cave's entrance. "White stop! Let them pass, we're not killing anybody."

White looked at Joseph confused, "Woof!"

Joseph stood in her way blocking the entrance, "I know they are on our territory but just let them be White, we can't kill humans." White stared at Joseph before huffing and returning to her bear dinner.

Joseph watched the entrance to the cave concerningly, 'If they try to come into the cave I don't know if I will be able to stop White. So for their own sake, I hope they don't find us.'

The men walked around the area but never came close to the cave, "God forgive me but it's too cold up here, humans just don't belong here."

"Yeah, come on. We're heading back, I don't know what the animals are running away from but it looks like whatever it is, it's got to be further up than we can venture."

Joseph sighing in relief thought to himself, 'If people have made it this far there has to be more than them. Maybe even an army like in the stories from home. This is my chance.' Joseph looks over to White, patting her on the head. "Come on White, you have to eat as much as you can, you can't let it go to waste!"

White now fast asleep, Joseph silently made his way to the entrance of the cave, 'You'll do just fine without me White. I wish I could take you with me but people just wouldn't understand and would try to kill you. You're better off up here, without me. Goodbye.' Joseph left the cave leaving all his equipment except his bear kilt, boots, and pants. It had been a long time since he wore a shirt. 'If I show up with armor and weapons they might think I want to fight. Besides I'm sure mine wouldn't even compare to what they have.'

Joseph made his way down the mountain, following the tracks the men had left. He hadn't tried to get down the mountain since he ran into White, so now, his progress was surprising himself. 'I know I've gotten stronger but I had no idea I had grown this much, this mountain almost killed me last time I tried to escape it.'

Joseph traveled all through the knight. The men had gotten on horses at some point so he was now following the tracks of the animals. It took him the entire night to reach the men he was tracking. He found them as the sun was beginning to crawl across the sky, "Wow, look at all of them! This must be what an army is, there are so many people. More than my whole village counting women and children, and all of these men are full-grown warriors."

Despite his tiredness, Joseph's excitement made him feel wide awake. He eagerly strolled down to the army, 'This is it, the people who can train me. I can become a true warrior!' As Joseph grew closer a group of men saw him, branching away from the main group and waiting for Joseph to make his way to them.

"Boy, what are you doing out here?"

"Yeah, there's nothing in the direction you came from, are you lost?"

"Screw if he's lost, why aren't you wearing a shirt? And what's with the skirt, are you a girl?"

"If it's a girl it's the ugliest one I've seen, the flattest too, haha!"

Joseph smiled, "I've come here to become a warrior!" Joseph spoke with pride and conviction.

The men looked at each other before laughing.

"Son, this is an army. We don't train warriors, we are warriors."

"Yeah, and we don't take in strays either."

"He's not getting any of my rations!"

"He has to be a commoner, look at all those scars. You can only get that many from fieldwork."

"Ha, yeah. Any man who suffered so many injures in battle would already be dead."

Joseph stumbled in thought, "But if you're a warrior can't you teach me to be a warrior like y'all?"

"Son, I don't think you're understanding that a battlefield is not where you train to become a warrior."

"Boy, you have to become a warrior to get on the battlefield!"

"Can, you, understand that boy? Do we have to say it slower?"

"What was he raised in the woods or something, haha!"

A weird feeling came over Joseph, one he hadn't felt before. His face reddened and his eyes moistened, while his throat felt frozen solid, "I... I lived in the woods, so what! I'm going to become a warrior, I have to!"

"Haha, did you hear that? He really was raised in the woods."

"I guess that explains the attire."

"Stop it guys, can't you see he's about to cry."

"Son, why must you become a warrior so badly, surely you have a family who you need to be getting back to?"

Joseph stood proud, ready to show his resolve to these men, "I gave my word that I would take down God. So I have to become strong enou--" Joseph was struck by the blunt side of a sword and thrown to the ground.

"What did you say, boy?"

"You heard him, this heretic! He spoke ill of God himself!"

"We should have you killed on the spot!"

"Now, now. He's just a kid, a good hard beating should suffice!"

Joseph looked up at the men surrounding him, 'I can't fight them, I don't stand a chance against a warrior and there are many here, but I'm not a heretic!' Joseph spoke trying to get back to his feet, "I'm no heretic, it is God who is the heretic!"

Joseph was struck, this time with the back of a long ax.

"That's too far boy!"

"SHIT!"

"By God, I think you killed him in one hit!"

"No, he's still alive look at him, damn he must be a tough one."

"That just means we have to show him the strength of us true warriors!"

"Come on men, you don't want to disappoint the child heretics image of us, do you?"