"I can't believe I forgot about the horses!" Deran berated himself again, kicking at the ground with disgust, "You say wisdom can help me there?"

Luke nodded from atop his horse. He hadn't remembered either but when he woke that morning, she had been grazing not too far off. "Yeah, wisdom helps a lot of things. Mechanically, it's useful for magic users. For other folks, it isn't smart to leave it too low. Just because you're super smart doesn't mean you know what questions you should be asking. It would also help with plans like last night." Luke trailed off a bit, looking at him from the corner of his eye. "Mine isn't great either. If you're worried about it, just throw a few points into it when you level up again."

"Yeah. That reminds me." Deran groaned, eyes flicking to the flashing icon. He had been ignoring it since before the battle the night before and it was bound to be clogged. "I have about a thousand notifications to go through."

"Why not just filter it out? The game will do it a little bit as you play, clearing notifications that you don't seem to spend any time reading. Some people don't follow combat logs at all, so they fade to the background. There's a bunch of different tricks you can do to keep it flowing, like a sleep mode when in combat to an exit as soon as you finish reading it." Luck chuckled at Deran's gaping expression, scoffing, "Lady Luck, you didn't do ANY research before jumping into the game?"

Deran blushed scarlet, "I wasn't thinking straight. It was one of two options and I jumped on the better one. Give me a second here, let me clear these out."

The first few were the standard ones he was used to. The skirmish, brief as it had been, was enough to level both his one-handed once and his Block twice. One point away from a skill, if his new intellect was right about the square numbers theory.

You have unlocked the skill Leadership! You have won your first battle! (1000 xp) Leadership skill increased to level 5 (7*)! (25 xp) Leadership tab unlocked!

"Hey, Luke, you know anything about a leadership tab? Most of this thing is grayed out and what isn't doesn't make a lot of sense."

Luke rocked back in the saddle, clicking his tongue thoughtfully, "Never heard of it. In the army, sometimes a hero would get certain leader privileges but I've never heard of a tab for it. What's it look like?"

Deran described it quickly, "Just a simple list. Everything passed the first tier is grayed out though, so all I have is some emblem."

"Does the emblem look like a small shield with a T on it?" Luke asked him, looking intently at something just above Deran's head. "Cuz you got one of them next to your name now all of a sudden. Never seen that before except on NPC's. Couldn't tell you what it means though."

Deran shook his head and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, barely paying attention to the road at his feet. "It mentions troops. Something about a squad, with the number of people equal to my leadership score, but it says 0/9. How do I fill a squad?"

Luke looked around with a complete loss, "I have no clue. I'd think you've already done that. Maybe you gotta make it more official?" Their conversation was cut off by one of the rear sentries coming in at a dead sprint. Before he could even speak, Luke was yelling, "Double time! The enemy isn't too far behind, get your asses in gear! Once you see a base, then you can speed up but until then I better not see one of you mothers walking!" He turned from on top of his horse with almost a manic grin, "I've always wanted to act like those drill sergeants you see. Kinda cool that it's kind of working."

It was, though more from fear of the bandits than loyalty to Luke. Deran brought him back to reality, "I need you to race back and make sure Nolan made it back to warn the village. If we aren't back, that means the bandit's won. "

"I'm not gonna leave you here. You're the one with the unknown questline, we don't know what will happen if you die. You take the horse and get back to town. We will make it to the farmhouse in time." He referred to an abandoned farmhouse one of the villagers had known about. Early that morning, they had managed to find six horses, though some of them were obviously runaways from the bandit's camp. Deran had sent Gorgath and five men to fortify the farmhouse, not seeing hope in getting back to the village in time. Now they just had to get there.

"We don't know how well they'll listen to you but we know that they'll respond to me. Especially with this leadership stuff. Plus, I brought them out here anyway, I'm not gonna leave them here to die. Take the egg with you and keep it safe. We'll see you soon if all goes well." Luke opened his mouth to argue but sputtered without finding the words. With a snort of exasperation, he brought his heels against the horses flank in sharp motions, bringing it up to a trot. Soon, he was racing down the dirt road, kicking up puffs of smoke.

"You heard the man, get moving," Deran called half-heartedly, "Get to the farmhouse yesterday!"

They managed to make it to the farmhouse without any trouble from the bandits but Deran was certain they weren't far behind. He'd always hated the saying "Better safe than sorry" but it fit the situation like a glove. It wasn't more than an hour before one of the men standing at a boarded-up window called out, "Sir! I see movement. It looks like the bandits."

Deran cursed his luck and looked at his only real hope, "Jace. If we remove a board from the window's, how many can you get?"

Jace pursed his lips, eyes counting his arrows, "I can't promise a hit, let along a kill. But if I'm lucky I can get two or three before they reach the farm. From then it will be dicey and up close."

"Every body counts. There's twelve of us including you, Jace, against who knows how many bandits. What we had in surprise is lost. I just hope I haven't led all of you to death's gate." Another turn of phrase he wasn't certain where he picked it up. The game was subtly changing how he thought, which terrified him. "As soon as they get in range, start picking them off. When they breach, we fight. Stick the first thing that comes through those windows or doors."

The men nodded and turned to their tasks while Gorgath pulled Deran aside, "So what happens when they lay siege to the place, or just burn it down?"

Deran moved to a window to look out, trying to count how many men there were left, "Hopefully, that won't happen. They need food, especially after a day of chasing with nothing in their stomachs. If they're smart, they won't burn the only ready supply of food."

"And if they aren't that smart?" Gorgath leaned back against a wall nearby.

"Then we react accordingly. But let's not give them the chance."

Deran proved correct in the bandit's desire for food, as they were attacking well before sundown, the time Gorgath had guessed they'd choose. With no ranged weapons aside from Jace's, it was a tense wait while the young man fired as quickly as he could through the small hole they had made for him. All too soon there was a thud against the door and it shook violently under the force. Swords began to be stuck through the boards on the windows in an attempt to pry them open. A few of the men managed to stab their swords back through to the result of cries of pain but it was only delaying the inevitable. Jace managed to score another hit with an exclamation of success before the door splintered open and one of the windows finally gave way.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as men pressed in through the gaps in defense to be cut down by the villagers but there were so many still forcing their way in. More than had been in the camp, if Deran's fragmented attention was accurate. When the chaos finally stopped long enough for Deran to take stock, he felt like he'd been punched in the chest. Over a dozen bodies were motionless around the room, hanging out one window, and blocking the doorway. The worst part was that a quarter of them were his men. Jace was leaning against a wall holding a bleeding arm and grimacing, "Sorry, I don't think I can shoot anymore."

Deran waved away his apology, taking the bow from his limp fingers, "You did more than I could have asked. I'll try and get a shot off or two when they come back. I wonder why they stopped."

"Here's why. There's a man on a horse, just out of bow range. He looks kinda important." A tired voice called out from the man on watch. "You might wanna come listen to this."

The leader, who Deran guessed was Alfonze, sat astride a very familiar horse, "Misty! That bastard must have found her!"

"Ho, the ruin. I'm gonna give you one chance to vacate the house. I'm tired and at this point, I'll take my chances burning you lot out. Save us all some time and just give it up." As he spoke, a handful of the remaining bandits began lighting torches and grinning to each other.

"What are we going to do, nofang? It's your call." Gorgath spoke softly but every man in the room nodded along with him, eyes locked on their leader. His mind raced but nothing jumped out at him that wasn't suicidal. Desperate times call for pulling stuff out of your ass. Deran looked at the mere handful of men left and couldn't help but internally cringe.

"One, stop calling me nofang. Two, we wait until they get close with the torches and then burst out and attack. The windows are barely boarded up now and the door just requires a little jump. There aren't that many left out there. With your song, maybe we ca-"

Shouts of alarm and fear rang out from outside, causing Deran to turn back to the window so fast it almost gave him whiplash. The scene outside was pandemonium as what looked like woodland creatures ravaged the already bloodied bandits. "What in the world is going on out there?" Gorgath joined him at the window and drew in a sharp breath.

"Twisted Ones. I've heard stories about them since I was a kid, they were the only thing worse than me back home. Animals are usually the first ones to become affected by the Fey if the legends are true. Wild, crazed beasts driven mad by the magic now fueling them. Or something." Gorgath shrugged, eyes darting around, "Whatever the case, they may have just saved our lives."

"We still have to survive them." Deran set his mouth in a thin line and rolled his shoulders, "Get ready everyone. We attack the moment one side wins. Give it your all and we can take this home." The woodland creatures, or Twisted Ones as Gorgath called them, fought far more intensely than normal animals. There was only a small pack of badgers and one small wolf but they managed to put up enough of a fight that by the time they were finished, there were barely eight men left standing.

"Charge!" Deran yelled, jumping over the bodies blocking part of the doorway and hoping everyone was following behind. It wasn't necessary, as the new onslaught was enough to send the beaten band scattering. Alfonze wheeled Misty around to run. Deran fumbled with the bow he had taken from Jacee and knocked an arrow hurriedly. The shot went far too wide, however, not even coming close to having the power needed to kill a man, even if it had hit one. "Misty!" The shout was much more effective than his attempt at archery had been. At the sound of his voice, Misty reared back, sending the leader tumbling back over her rump with a sickening crack. The man lay unmoving on the ground as Misty trotted up to Deran and nuzzled his hand.

There was a long moment of silence suddenly broken by the cheers of the men as their inevitable doom was replaced by hope. Tears flowed as quickly as the laughter, with Deran joining in maniacally for a long moment. Walking so close to death only to survive is sure to lead to a little bit of madness.

Deran let the men celebrate their mixed success, waving over Gorgath, "Do you think that will be the end of the bandit problem?"

Gorgath sucked at his teeth a little, looking out into the woods, "I would say, yes. With no leader and a bare handful of men, they may try to take it up again but will have little success. There aren't many on the roads now and most of them hire guards."

"Good. Then take the men back home after they've rested. Buy them as many drinks as they can drink and I'll meet up with you. Tell the innkeeper to put it all on my tab and that I'll settle it when I get back as well." They clasped hands with tired smiles before Deran leaped up onto Misty's back, "Good girl. Sadly, we gotta go back but if I find an apple, it's yours." Misty looked back at him over her shoulder and made a huffing sound. It sounded so much like an exasperated sigh that Deran laughed and patted her side, "Me too, Misty, me too."

Deran's return to Tarth was met by a mixture of cheers and sorrow as some of the villagers waved and others just stood there with tears in their eyes. He made a point to walk up to each of them and press a swan into their hands, "I'm so sorry. Joseph gave up his life to save you all. And thanks to the people like him, we did it. The bandits will trouble us no more. I wish I could have done more to protect him."

Similar conversations happened with all the bereaved. Deran had asked everyone left for the names and closest family members of the slain. Paying them each the death token took up about half of what he had found at the bandit's camp when he went back after the farmhouse battle but it was a price he didn't mind paying. He'd rather pay them gold if he could but something told him he would need all the money he could scrounge up soon.

Finishing with the last of the families who lost someone, he turned to Luke and Gorgath. "We need to talk. I gotta drop this gear off at Aaron's, as well as pay him what I owe him. Meet me at the mayor's, he's gonna wanna hear what we have to say."

Gorgath nodded and set off at once but Luke walked with him to the smiths, "What are we going to do? Attacking the supply lines of the Orcs was a good idea but we may have problems closer at home."

"We still need to get information from your friend but I agree. Leaving to deal with the Orcs would leave the village too exposed to Lyselle, or whatever she is now. Those animals worry me. I thought we'd have more time before anything like that happened."

Luke nodded, idly playing with a dagger, "I did as well. That tree has a lot of innate power and your friend seems to be directly linked to it. The real question is whether the animals are byproducts or if she's making them."

"Either way is a problem that we'll have to deal with. Some good news came from the battle though." Deran quickly explained that he had found a few barrels of the "boom powder" that had been moved to the leader's tent. The few men left to guard weren't expecting him and weren't a match to hold him off. "Oh, my leadership skill went up as well. I still have no idea how to make use of it but it's at level 7 now, effectively 9, which should unlock the next level in the leadership tab."

The conversation cut short as they neared close enough to the smithy that the clanging and loud noises made conversation impossible. Deran saw the lights off in the main shop so he went around to the forge to see Aaron and his young apprentice working together on a wicked-looking ax-like thing. Deran couldn't tell what it was going to be from its current shape but guessed it was a commissioned item.

Deran was willing to wait for the man to finish but Luke was impatient, "Aaron! Oi! Got some more metal for ya!" He waved, barely heard over the noise. Aaron turned and looked, waved back, and then held up a finger. A few minutes later, he handed the ax head over to his apprentice and walked over, wiping his hands before removing his goggles.

"Hey there Deran. What brings you over?" Aaron led them towards the front of the building, unlocking the smithy door, "Come in, come in. It grows dark and business is done in the light."

Deran nodded, grabbing the wrapped up bundle tied to Misty's saddle. It contained the handful of blades not quite in shape for fighting that would be worth the money to reforge. "I've got some metal for you, both steel and silver." He set four swans on the counter as well as the small bundle of swords. Aaron nodded and counted the swords, doing mental math. He began to count out a few coins when Deran held up a hand, "Actually, I thought the extra could go into a lesson or two. Just enough to get the basics so I can take care of my gear." Learning about the increase in experience made Deran want to pick up more trade skills. That value alone was worth spending another half of his resources. Coin didn't seem to last as long as it took to get it in this world.

Aaron pursed his lips in thought, "I can't take on a student with the influx of need around here. The boy can teach you the basics, though, as well as giving him some experience for when he has an apprentice of his own. Offer him the coins and see if he'll help in his free time. Lord knows he seems to have too much of it and ruins half my equipment." His smile showed the intent behind the words as he pushed Deran's change across the counter.

Deran nodded, thanking the man, and left, "Let's run. He was right about it getting dark and I'd rather get some sleep in a bed tonight. Been too long since I had that luxury." Luke sighed at the thought of running but kept up with him through the town. Deran began to understand what the smith meant when he spoke of the influx of work, taking time to look around at his surroundings.

The small village was bustling with people, though none of them gave obvious signs of being a player. Instead, it looked like refugees coming in from the countryside, worried about the war and other events going on. The population seemed like it had doubled in the past week alone and Deran was sure that it would only grow larger. The real question was how many of these newcomers were just new players, any one of which could be an assassin or plant. Deran made a mental note to ask Luke about those perception skills he had mentioned and what level they required.

The mayor looked troubled when they got to his office, meaning Gorgath had probably already given him the basics, "Deran. I see your mission was a success."

"A costly one and while the bandits won't be a problem anymore, I think we have a larger one now." Deran sat on the edge of one of the seats, wearily putting his face in his hands, "We don't know enough about this Fey stuff and now there are animals running around infected by the stuff."

He nodded, standing by a window thoughtfully, "Yes, Gorgath mentioned that. It would explain part of the sudden arrival of people from the country. That number will likely only grow in the next few days. I hate to press the issue but what is your current plan, young Deran?"

"I still plan on growing my force until it can take on the orc's supply line. We have too many questions that need answers and only one known way of getting them. However, protecting the village is also important, I won't leave all these people behind to suffer my mess. If it's okay, I planned on stationing them here, outside of town if need be, until we both grow strong enough to stand on our own."

The look of relief in the mayor's eyes was obvious, "Thank you. We appreciate your continued help. I can't tell you how much that soothes my worries."

"We need to start thinking about the village's defenses," Luke chimed in, "Anything we can get up will help a little and we can always build on it. Also, you should probably think about upping your recruitment game, Deran. I have the feeling that we're going to need as many men as possible."

"That won't be as hard as you think." The mayor turned with a grim smile, "Word spread quickly when your men came back, I think you'll find you have a line waiting for you when you get back to your inn. Especially if what I heard about the death token is true. You gave them each a silver swan?"

"I would have given gold if I had it to give. Those men gave up their lives, it was literally the least I could do." Deran spoke somewhat bitterly, seeing the faces of those dead men flashing before his eyes. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to get them out of my head."

Gorgath grunted from his corner, "Good. If you did, I don't think I'd want to work with you. Only monsters forget things like that."

Deran shrugged uncomfortably before turning back to the mayor, "We need to block off the mine. Station a few men and keep everyone away, even animals. I don't know if it's the tree or Lyselle changing these things but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

The mayor looked at him with a steely look in his eyes, "Consider it done. But why don't we just chop the tree down and be done with it."

Luke hurried to speak, "We have no idea what would happen. There's so much power pent up inside the tree that attempting to destroy it may just end with an explosion of magic that does exactly what we're trying to prevent. Keeping people away from it should help for now until we know more."

"For now, take six of our best fighters out to the mine and have them set up a camp with watches. Tell them not to go into the mine and to ensure no one else does either. Make sure they understand why and what will happen if they disobey." Gorgath met Deran's eyes and nodded.

"I can paint a rather good picture if needed to keep them in line. We'll set off first thing in the morning."

"The men will expect a swearing-in if you plan on having them fight for you," Luke mentioned, smacking his head, "That's probably why your squads empty. They haven't pledged to fight for you yet."

Deran looked at his lucky companion with a gape, "What do you mean, haven't pledged to fight for me? I just had half my force lay down their lives."

Luke shrugged, "I guess you haven't asked them since you gained the option. Wouldn't hurt to try it out, next time you see one. I'm curious what it all means."

Deran pressed a hand against his face wearily, "Tomorrow. I'll do that tomorrow. Right now I need to find a bed somewhere and sleep for at least a few hours. Unless anything else is needed right now?" At the quiet chorus of nays, Deran stood and stretched. "We'll keep Tarth safe, or fall trying." The mayor met his eyes with the barest glint of hope and nodded his thanks.

Heading back to the inn in the darkness and quiet of the sleeping village was both calming and frightening at the same time. It was so much quieter here than it had been back "home". If he could ever refer to that place as home again. His feet took him to bed mechanically while his mind wandered through memories. Falling asleep, his last thought was the desperate longing to hold onto his new life and friends.