Linth and Verdom were sitting around the fire. Tomorrow, they would make it back to the village. Linth definitely kept his mistrusts known, and Verdom was silently trying to reassure him. What they had to do first was convince the Lord. Linth wasn’t worried, but Verdom had reservations.
“Stop fidgeting Verdom, we will be fine,” Linth said. Verdom had been anxious all day, biting his fingernails, and couldn’t sit still. Verdom knew he was getting on Linth’s last nerve. Linth had to take a deep breath. Verdom was young, and scared to death.
“I will protect you, and the warriors underneath me will be by your side. Your family will be safe, don’t worry,” Linth said. Verdom nodded, but his fears had not been lifted. The next morning, Verdom looked serious, ready for what he had to do. Linth was feeling a bit nervous now, but he wasn’t about to show it. They ate a bit of jerky and packed up and left.
“Only speak when asked, don’t try to make up more story than needed…understood,” Linth said. Verdom nodded. They walked up to the gate, and Linth told Verdom to take a deep breath. He did, and Linth did the same. People were buzzing about their return, and people were openly wondering where everyone else was. Some people started trying to ask Linth, but he just ignored them. No one dared to talk to the soldier. Verdom noticed, and he realized the people loved Linth and his warriors. They were scared of the Lord’s soldiers. As the commotion worked its way to Nartuck, he sent five soldiers to fetch them. They all ran back, and both Verdom and Linth felt their anxieties. Once they got to the Lord’s hut, they were asked to surrender their weapons. Linth refused, and this started to cause a scene. Verdom was the one to say it was an insult for him to give up his weapon, and the soldiers decided to listen to Verdom. They walked inside, and Nartuck was smiling.
“Come, come, tell me some good news!” Nartuck exclaimed, feeling like he had won. Linth gave the nod to Verdom, and he went to Nartuck and kneeled down, which made Nartuck happy, but Linth thought it was too much.
“My Lord, I have vanquished Fulch and got Linth on our side,” Verdom said. This put a bigger smile on Nartuck’s face, and he hollered in cheer. Linth then decided to kneel down as well; maybe Verdom had a good idea.
“My Lord, I was blinded by the idea of grandeur, but now I see that you have been our king all along. I will tell my warriors that you are the true heir, and we will follow you!” Linth said the words burning in his throat as he said them. Nartuck jumped up and down; he thought he’d won. Nartuck was basking in his own glory when he then remembered the Master and Lunae.
“What happened to the Masters?” He asked. This was the part Verdom was most nervous about.
“My Lord, I faked a Rhudon attack and killed Fulch with the help of Linth, and we ran away from them,” Verdom said. Nartuck was confused, then realized he had to sell it better.
“It was my idea, my Lord, think they are in a fight by the time they realized, we’re gone, they would have no choice but to scrounge for something to help them. They’ll be circling the forest for many days. Then you come and save them. They’ll be indebted to you,” Linth said. Nartuck thought on this for a while, and then he had a huge smile on his face.
“Yes, my dear friends, yes! I will be the savior! This is perfect!” Nartuck said. Verdom was so scared that he was just stuck staring at the floor. Linth realized he had to get them out of there.
“My Lord, we are tired. May we retire?” Linth asked. Nartuck was enthralled by the news. He just waved his hands, and they were permitted to leave. Linth had to hit Verdom, and they started to walk off. Then Nartuck yelled for them to stop, and both of them had immense fear.
“Wait, tell me before you go. How’d the supposedly king die?” Nartuck said, Verdom went white and stiffened. Linth knew he had to save him.
“Well my Lord, Verdom attacked with much ferocity that Fulch fell, and when he did Verdom took the last blow. Killing him,” Linth said. The Lord laughed and clapped his hands together.
“Tell me Verdom, what was his face like?” Nartuck said. Linth was scared for Verdom; he didn’t know how he was going to get out of this. Verdom took a deep breath and prayed to the water for guidance.
“Well my Lord, Fulch thought he was going to win, and when he tripped, fear consumed him. You could tell he was waiting for someone to help him, but no one showed, and he was purely shocked when I ran my sword through him,” Verdom said, hoping his answer was good enough. Nartuck seemed pleased as he laughed. Verdom and Linth waited for Nartuck to finish so they could leave, and their nerves were about shot. When Nartuck finally settled down, tears were coming out of his eyes.
“We shall rejoice tonight, and you two will be the guests of honor. Now go, you must be exhausted. I will send for you soon,” Nartuck said. Linth grabbed Verdom by the arm and got out of there as fast as possible. Once they were outside, Verdom started to hyperventilate. Tears started to fill up his eyes, and he reached for Linth. Linth grabbed his hand and held it tight.
“Breath, young one, we are okay, you did well. Now the real work begins,” Linth said, and Verdom started to calm down. Linth noticed the soldiers were making people disperse.
“Do you notice the soldiers?” Linth asked Verdom. Verdom never looked at the village the way Linth did, but he did notice a lot of them.
“Yes, why do you think there are so many?” Verdom said. This made Linth think and realize that Verdom really had been blind to the way of things.
“Things are about to get a lot worse for the people of this village,” Linth said. Verdom looked puzzled.
“How so, and were things bad before?” Verdom said, which made Linth very angry. The look on Linth’s face made Verdom look down at the ground, feeling embarrassed.
“I don’t know where you have been, but the Lord terrorizes the people, or are you so blinded by his rhetoric that you believe him?” Linth said, then he realized that, of course, he believed Nartuck; he was a soldier after all. Linth noticed the look on Verdom’s face, which was full of shame.
“I’m sorry you are so young. I forget you probably don’t remember how things were before. Most of our people have forgotten, but the loyal have not,” Linth said, trying to soften his tone for Verdom, which was gracefully taken. Verdom’s face lit up just then.
“Can you tell me the way it used to be?” Verdom said, Linth nodded, and took him to his hut. Linth would tell him stories, and they had to come up with a plan to get some more soldiers on their side.