When Lucen and the other mercenaries were asleep, one of the mercenaries, around his mid-twenties, stood up and quietly walked out of the cave. When he stepped out of the cave, he was greeted by someone.
"Hey, Mark, where are you going?" Harlik asked.
"Oh, boss, I was just going out to relieve myself. You know I can't do it in front of the guys or they'll get jealous," Mark responded with a sheepish grin.
"Hey Mark, how long have you been with us?"
"Are you seriously asking that right now, boss? I'm really about to explode over here." Mark asked while looking like his pee was about to leak. Harlik, who was blocking the exit to the cave, simply looked at Mark, awaiting his answer.
"It's been two years now."
"Yeah, that's about right. I've known you for two years now, and we've been to some dangerous stuff together. Like a good leader, I know quite a lot about my men, like how you send half your pay to your family back in your hometown. I also know that you had a thing for Hilda, and of course, I know when you're lying."
"Come on now, boss, what are you saying?"
"Let's stop fooling around, Mark. You were going to send a report back to the unknown client, right?"
When Mark heard what Harlik said, the smile on his face disappeared as he scratched his head and sighed.
"So you figured it out. As expected of you, boss, can't get anything past you," Mark replied while shrugging his shoulders. "Look, boss, I wasn't going to harm the kid. I was going to give a minor update, something along the lines of we found the kid and are waiting to capture him. Of course, I'm not doing this for free, like you said a lot of times, mercenaries listen to the voice of the almighty coin."
Harlik sighed as he listened to what Mark said. Everything he said was something you would expect a mercenary would say.
"Yeah, mercenaries are people who are always close to Velmira's embrace, and who pray fervently for Varkun's grace, but above all that they are soldiers of fortune who listen to the word of the almighty coin. Still, have you forgotten another thing I used to say?"
"What?..."
"We in our mercenary group might come from different places, but we're family. I always told you we would protect our family. The noble brat, the little leader, crazy as he is, he's already part of our family." The pressure Harlik was emitting made Mark take a step back and gulp dryly.
"You gonna kill me, boss?"
"Nah, like I told you, we're family, and like family, we're going to talk it out. When the little leader wakes up tomorrow. You better tell him what you were about to do and ask for forgiveness. Let him decide what fate you'll have."
"I guess that's fair." Mark raised his hand in defeat. "Still, now I really need to go and take piss, wanna join me boss?"
"Fine, let's go and piss." The two mercenaries went to a nearby tree and peed. Once they were done, they returned to the caverns.
...
In Ironhold, Vardon was in his personal training room, holding a sword in his hand. It had been years since he was stuck in the sixth mantle and could go no higher, but after seeing his son's improvements, he felt a little ashamed and decided to train harder.
Among the Thorneharts, he was not the strongest nor the weakest, but with his iron will and his command insight, he was regarded highly. Still, he wanted to see if he could regain the title of strongest sword back to his family.
In the past, the Thorneharts were considered Norvaegard's strongest sword and shield, but at some point, they only retained the title of the strongest shield, as for the title of strongest sword, it was taken by another.
The title was taken by a person centuries ago; at that time, that person was called the sword demon, Darin Runescar. He was a young man from a family of commoners. He later joined the War of the Crown, backing the first prince at the time.
In that war, he gained recognition for his abilities and was granted a noble title as a baron. Later, he honed his sword skills with swordsmanship he created himself, challenged all the swordsmen in Norvaegard, until he finally faced Raymond Thornehart, the Duke of Stellhart at the time.
They were evenly matched in the end; it was Darin who had won, and proved to the Norvaegard that he was the strongest sword of the kingdom.
Darin and Raymond became friends and rivals. They challenged the swordsmen of other kingdoms until they stopped because of their age. Even at death's door, Darin was never defeated in a sword match.
Now, the Runescars were at the same level as the Thorneharts and had a Duke title as well. Even after all these years, the Runescars and Thorneharts remained friends and rivals.
Vardon swung his sword in a perfect arc, as he remembered the last duel he had with Kaelvar Runescar, the current head of the Runescar family. They were evenly matched, the same as all the past Thorneharts and Runescar, but the same as in the past, it was a Runescar that stood victorious in the duel.
Still, despite his loss, Vardon never felt ashamed about it, as it was his best friend who had won over him. It was an honorable match, but now he was feeling a little different. After seeing his son, who had no aura, go beyond his limits, he wanted to see if he could do the same.
While he continued his training, there was a knock on the door.
"My lord, I have something to report."
"Come in," Vardon said. The old butler, Vahn, entered and bowed in the precise, formal manner of a knight.
"There's someone saying that he has a message for you from the young master, and he had this as proof."
Vahn handed the short sword to Vardon, who inspected it. It was a short sword with the Thornehart crest. It was the same short sword that Vardon saw that was on Lucen's waist.
"I will meet that person, bring them to my study," Vardon sheathed his sword.
"As you wish, my lord." Vahn once again did a knight's bow and left.
...
Vardon was in his study, waiting for the person who wanted to speak with him. While waiting, Vardon checked the short sword; it had a few nicks in some parts, and he could guess that his son did not use this sword for its intended purpose. Based on the barely noticeable damage to the edge, it looked like he used it as some sort of saw.
Vardon could pretty much imagine Lucen using his sword as a saw to cut trees. Just imagining it made Vardon grin a little, it was then he heard a knock on the door before it was opened.
Vahn entered first, his posture as stiff and proper as ever. "My lord, I present to you Renz Alwick, a mercenary who has accompanied young master Lucen in recent days."
Behind him stepped a man in his early twenties, lean but wiry, covered in a long cloak that was obviously not his. Vardon could guess that it might have been used as some sort of disguise.
There were a few tattoos on the side of his neck, and within that long cloak was leather armor and two short axes on his waist. He had a smile on his face as he curiously looked around, and when he spotted Vardon, he did not know what to do, so he gave a slight bow.
"Sorry, sir, I don't know any etiquette aside from the salute to the dead."
"Men who walk close to Velmira's embrace rarely have time for etiquette. I don't expect any. So you said you have information about the son, so how did you get to know my son?"
"Once again, I apologize, I cannot answer that question. If you want to know, please ask your son. I was just sent here to tell you that your son, our little leader, and our mercenary group defeated a young fire dragon."
The second, Vardon and Vahn, heard that they were stunned. Dragons were the apex creatures; they are a symbol of power, even their young, who act like wild beasts, were hard to kill, even if you brought an army. It took a few seconds for Vardon to steady himself and speak.
"You're telling me, my son and a few mercenaries brought down a young fire dragon? You expect me to believe this?"
Each word Vardon said became sharper and sharper. Renz, who was standing in front of Vardon, felt like a sword was pointing at his neck.
"The young fire dragon was already injured and dying when it met us. We did help, but it was mostly your son who did the job; he used an unusual spell that made things explode."
Renz took a breath before continuing, keeping his eyes steady even under the sharp gaze of the Iron Duke. Renz told everything that happened while fighting the young fire dragon.
"So little leader, told me to meet with you and ask if you can send some people who could harvest the young dragon's remains."
"You keep on calling my son, little leader, why?"
"Well, I guess it's because he took us under his wing."
Vardon and Vahn, yet again, were quite amazed by what Renz said. Still, even though Vardon did not have a clear picture of what happened, he had a few guesses based on what Renz told them and what he didn't tell them, and how he responded to his questions. A small smile appeared on Vardon's face, but as usual, only briefly.
"I see," Vardon said slowly. "I'll send a team."
Renz gave a small nod. "That's all I was told. Whatever else he's planning… Even I wasn't told."
"I understand, just rest for now, Vahn, lead our guest to his room."
Vahn did a knight's bow, and Renz clumsily tried to imitate. When the two left the room, Vardon looked out the window, bathed in moonlight, he murmured to himself
"That child... even I, his father, can no longer predict what he's planning. Hm... Perhaps that's a good thing."