“No, you’re not coming out again tonight. You weren't even supposed to be there yesterday,” Florian told Joe as he walked toward the wall. The kid had intercepted him on the way, brimming with excitement.

Joe frowned, his shoulders sagging. “I saved your life! I can be helpful!”

Tussling Joe’s hair, Florian shook his head. “I know, Joe. That’s not the point. There’s no need to fight right now. There’s enough of us on the wall, and we need to be able to keep someone in reserve just in case.”

Joe thought that one over, giving Florian suspicious glances every now and again. “Are you serious about needing a backup?”

Florian gasped dramatically. “Of course! What happens if something bad happens to Theo or I? We need someone to teach magic, don’t we?”

Joe nodded sagely, accepting the reason after another long thought. Smiling, Florian wished Joe a good night’s rest. But as he walked away, Florian thought that he could feel the boy’s stare on his back. Turning around, Florian found that Joe had already disappeared into the night.

The sky was clear that night, and it would allow the defenders to see a lot better than yesterday. Thank goodness for the little things, Florian thought, because they would need every advantage they could get considering that the gate had still not yet been fixed. The only thing that separated the defenders from the Hellwolves was the impromptu barrier that the Hellwolves themselves had created the previous night. Regardless of how tough the beasts were, Florian knew that the golden mound would incapable of keeping everything out.

“Why didn’t Master use magic to fix the gate? He could have easily raised a stone wall,” Florian turned to Kayla. She trailed slightly behind him, ever watchful of his actions.

“That kind of permanent magic is very difficult, as you should know, Disciple Cale.”

Florian thought about it. He had managed to create an earthen barrier at Tonbridge not so long ago, but he hadn’t actually seen if his little fortification had lasted beyond the time period he had been inside the armory. But still, Florian refused to believe that Theo, powerful as he was, couldn’t create a stone wall like that over the course of a day.

“Does he intend on fixing the wall?”

“Of course,” Kayla scowled. “What do you take our master for?”

Leaving that particular question unanswered, Florian prepared the still-bent Bludgeon. Kayla took her place behind the Warriors at the front lines, no doubt in order to cast a couple of spells. Fortunately, Anna took her place by his side, and so he knew that come hell or high water, he’d be able to rely on at least one person. And hell did come.

It was not quite so bad as the previous night, particularly as not a single Giant was present throughout the attack. The number of wolves remained relatively similar from Florian’s estimation, but some of their wounded had recovered and returned to combat. It was a rare night of routine fighting, the kind that most everyone manning the wall had spent some time training in.

But when Theo made his appearance to use his magic to make the lives of the Warriors a little easier that night, Florian knew that he had to make his move. “Can you hold on for a minute?” he asked Anna, who had just gotten through what seemed like a Hellwolf on steroids, going by the absolute size of the creature.

“I can.”

With that assurance, Florian sped off as fast as he dared, earning a quick look from Kayla, who had at this point already used all her Control by the beads of sweat on her forehead and the wince that made her otherwise menacing look comedic. Climbing the stairs to the wall itself, Florian came upon a pleasant scene. There were no rivers of crimson, nor were there particularly many screams, Hornbeck stood like an iron bastion, and all around the wall people took to his example and used every weapon in their arsenal – including their gauntleted fists – to throw the wolves off the wall.

Theo stood near Florian at the stairs to the wall, farther from the fighting than most everyone else. Before Florian could approach the wizard, however, he was intercepted by Mack, the large guy saying not a word in explanation.

“I’d like to talk to Master, please.”

Mack shook his head. “He is very busy at the moment, Disciple Cale. He is overseeing this skirmish and will return to his rooms shortly afterwards to work on a project of his.”

“When can I see him, then?”

Smiling, Mack shrugged. “I’m not sure, but rest assured, Master knows that you’re eager to speak to him, and he’ll let you know as soon as he’s available.”

Florian stood there, daring Mack to let him through, but Mack didn’t budge regardless of how hard of an expression he gave him. Breathing the largest sigh he’d breathed in weeks, Florian walked back down the stairs, unclipping Bludgeon from his belt and returning to the gate. He found his place just in time to see Anna use two spears simultaneously to slay two Hellwolves at a single time. Badass, Florian noted.

As the sun rose again, Florian was once again whisked away by Kayla, who seemed just as ready to fall asleep as he felt. Still, she left him alone in the annex with the other, unchosen disciples, going back out the front door to go do something that felt like it was pretty important, based on the briskness of her walk. He was frustrated to be corralled in this way again, but his exhaustion just so happened to agree with the idea and he could do nothing to prevent himself from falling into a deep sleep. As his eyes closed, he resolved himself to try to talk to Theo again the next day, and the next, and the next. He’d try until he got his answer.