That first day went smoothly enough. Agnad took point at the elder’s house. He would be keeping a sharp eye on Glenis and spending most of his time indoors. It was a position that Cypher had expected the man to take. He could drink in peace and stay out of the cold, but it also made sense given that he was the largest of their group and seemingly the strongest.

Tym was tasked with keeping an eye on the perimeter with ten or so of the remaining guards in Gett. Between the eleven pairs of eyes hopefully, nothing would be able to slip past the shabby fence that surrounded the village. He also coordinated with them and integrated into their normal patrols around the area. They knew this land well and deferring to them was a smart choice all things considered.

Richmond was left to keep a sharp lookout on the watchtower. He was an archer and had keen eyes. Gett’s best hunter was currently with the village elder at the Galvan estate, but Richmond and the man had talked during their meeting on the road and so he was well aware of what to look out for thanks to that swap of information.

As for Cypher, he was tasked with patrolling the village itself. Along with the remaining four guards native to Gett, they would all work their way between the houses and keep an eye open for danger inside, should anything manage to slip past the others. It was a clearly lesser job to Cypher. He could see that he was being relegated to the sidelines simply because of his age and inexperience.

Still, it was probably for the best in his mind. He was still untested as far as his skills went. He, of course, had some faith in them, but at the end of the day, he had never known actual combat. To his credit, he was still only a boy of eleven. this was to be expected. As much as he yearned for the experience it would serve him much better to hang back and observe and learn.

The day went by with nothing major happening. The villagers went about their lives as normal, although he did get looks of confusion from some of them. A few even asked him how a boy his age managed to land a job like this. He might have been armored and armed with a weapon, but he was still only a child in their eyes.

They couldn’t have known about the intense training Jelroy had put him through over the last few years. The other kids were amazed to see someone their age walking around in leather armor and with a sword at his hip! It was like he was one of the other guards to them. They followed him around and giggled as they hid from him whenever he would turn to look at them.

He knew they were curious and found it amusing to finally be the subject of curiosity rather than scorn. The children at the mansion were mean and snobby. These kids, on the other hand, were playful and had a completely different energy to them than their noble counterparts. He did his best to look important to them. He would walk around carefully looking into the distance for threats while resting his hand on the pommel of his sword.

As much as he was enjoying being important in their eyes, he also desperately wanted to join them in their games and play. That was something that had been sorely missing in his childhood, but he knew full well that this was no time to be acting like them. His chance at being a kid like them was already long gone. It was a somewhat hard pill to swallow but staying on his current path was the one that offered him a chance for freedom one day and he wouldn’t give that up for anything.

The sun rose higher as the day dragged on and eventually, he took a break to eat some lunch. Glenis had pulled him off his rounds personally and warmly offered him some fresh bread and ham with a few slices of cheese. She had also given him a jug of sweet berry juice that tickled and bubbled in his throat as he drank it down.

It was sweet and refreshing, and having been kept in the cold outside, it was crisp and sent shudders of pleasure running down his spine with each gulp. After that, it was back to his rounds. With the passing of a few more hours, the sun finally began to dip behind the mountains signaling the end of another day.

Villagers returned to their homes and the laughter of the children slowly faded away. The livestock could still be heard braying as they usually did but it soon became background noise to Cypher as he worked his way toward his cabin. As it turned out, he felt rather accomplished at completing his first shift as a guard, and a smile adorned his young face.

However, that smile quickly faded as the sudden ringing of the alarm bells echoed throughout the village. Cypher wasn’t sure what was going on but he quickly turned away from the door to his cabin and ran towards the town center as fast as he could. Upon arriving he could see a torch-bearing guard running up from the direction of the main gate into the village.

Glenis emerged from her house, as did many other villagers and the guard breathed heavily as he approached.

“Baln?! What’s going on?” she asked.

“It’s bandits, ma’am! A group of bandits just ran out from the treeline near the forest at great speed! It’ll only take them a few moments more before they clash with the guards back at the gate! You should get to safety while we handle this mess!” Baln replied.

“How many are there? Can the guards handle them all?” Glenis asked frantically.

“Forgive me ma’am, but I’m not entirely sure. If I had to guess, something like thirty or so but my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be and in my haste to come to warn you I didn’t get a chance to count them properly,” Baln added.

The other villagers let out murmurs of fear and concern and Cypher could see their eyes darting in his direction, almost as if to beg him to do something. The looks he had gotten before were all but gone in the face of a threat, and instead of a child, now they could only see another guard.

“Don’t you worry about a thing Baln,” began Glenis, “Everyone, you know the drill! Gather your families and head on inside to the cellar. We’ve fought off bandits before and we’ll do it again!”

Cypher turned to see several of the villagers quickly run inside her house. Others ran back to their homes to gather the others in their families. As for Baln, he took off back towards the entrance to the village. Agnad emerged from the building at that point, his hand resting on the massive hammer at his hip.

“Don’t you worry about a thing miss Glenis. We, the guards of the Galvan estate won’t allow anything to happen to you while we’re here!” Agnad seemed a wholly different man than what Cypher had come to expect and it took him aback for a few moments. That is, until Agnad turned to him and bellowed an order.

“You there, boy! Make sure the villagers all make it inside safely. Keep your wits about you, things are about to get hairy!” With that Agnad thundered off in the same direction that Baln had run to. It only took Cypher a moment before he regained his wits and nodded.

“Alright everyone let’s keep things safe and orderly! We don’t want anyone getting hurt trying to get to safety! Stay calm we’ll take it from here!” Cypher said confidently. However, in his heart, a panic had begun to emerge. This was it, this was his first experience with something like this and he wasn’t sure how he would hold up.

Still, he guided the villagers inside the building in a single file line. Some had their children clutched to their chests, while others kept firm grips on their hands and guided them along quickly. It only took a few moments before everyone was inside and tucked safely into the cellar hidden under the house.

Cypher kept his eyes open and scanned the area for anything out of the ordinary. As the moments passed he could hear the clashing of blades growing louder and louder. They were coming and he drew his sword. It let out a loud metallic sound as it scraped against the inside of its sheath and Cypher held it aloft.

It suddenly didn’t feel quite as heavy as it had when he had first held it. The reason for that was that now, a surge of confidence tempered with fear filled him. He knew what he had to do and despite his fear and worry he held firm and stood with his back to the door leading inside.

His job now was to keep those villagers safe from any harm that might befall them. Nothing else mattered at this moment. His grip tightened on his sword and he gulped hard. In another few moments, he saw the battle finally arrive. Two bandits dashed towards him, having felled one of the guards native to Gett in their path.

His stomach tightened up and he felt a surge of adrenaline course through him.

“Let’s do this!” he said and gritted his teeth as his hand locked down around the hilt of his blade