Chapter 460: Chapter 457: The Courage of Children

Chapter 457: The Courage of Children

 

  The final threads always seemed to be the easier but after staying up all night Witt found it difficult to keep his hands steady. His eyes were tired and the tiny threads began to blur between each other.

  “Is it done yet?” Melfyn asked restlessly.

  Witt looked up from his work, dark bags underneath his eyes, and glared at the teenage goblin. “For the 8th time, when it’s done I’ll tell you!”

  Sandra shook her head. “I told you he’s useless, Mel. We should just go and get some breakfast with the others.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Melfyn sighed in resignation.

  Witt gritted his teeth. “Look here, you little shits! I didn’t stay up all night working on this for you just so you can berate me like some damn—!”

  The door swung open and the temple’s priestess, Karen, walked in. “What’s with all the shouting?”

  Witt pointed accusingly at the two goblin teens. “I was just telling these damn kids to stop rushing m—”

  “Oh! The banner! Did you finish it?” Karen pointed to the long piece of fabric on the table.

  Witt’s eye twitched. He ran his hands through his shaggy brown hair and sighed in defeat. “...Yeah, I just finished.”

  “Seriously!? Let me see!” Melfyn hopped off his chair and snatched the banner.

  Sandra held up the other corner and the two pulled the banner taut, displaying the banner’s design in full. The fabric was black and served as the background. At the center was a sapphire burning like the sun and a silver full moon stood behind the sapphire.

  “The Sapphire of the East…” Karen whispered.

  “Lunis, the first Great City of the Ebon Realm,” Sandra finished.

  “You did this?” Karen muttered in disbelief.

  Witt looked away abashedly, “I tried to copy it like it was in the book but I know it’s off. I’m a little rusty with my sewing. Especially the bottom side of the sapphire, it’s a bit lopsided. I should have—”

  “It’s perfect,” Melfyn said with quiet admiration.

  Witt blinked. “Really?” 

  “Yeah, it is,” Melfyn said genuinely.

  Witt sat up a little straighter and his lips curled in a grin. “Thank you. That means a lot, really. I wasn’t sure if you all would—”

  “Let’s go show it to the others!” Sandra said excitedly and pulled the banner away, carrying it like a cape on her back.

  “Hey, wait for me!” Melfyn yelled and chased after her out the door.

  Witt sighed and hung his head, “I wasn’t sure if you all would like it…”

  Karen walked over and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “I’m sure they do,” she said sympathetically.

  Witt shrugged, “Meh. They only care if their food is prepared on time and if I added enough ‘variety.’”

  “You know they love your cooking and they love it when you make new recipes. Especially Sandra, though she’d never admit it.”

  “No she’d rather just critique all my dishes,” he grumbled.

  “She only does that because she has such high standards for your cooking. It’s her favorite.”

  “More like she’s picky.”

  Karen’s gaze softened. “6 years ago Sandra’s parents were killed in a sentinel dispute. They were trying to protect a human child who had lost her nameplate. They didn’t even know the girl but they risked everything to keep her safe. They were good people.”

  “What happened to the human girl?” Witt whispered.

  “She made it out, but no one thanked Sandra’s parents for their sacrifice. Not even the girl’s parents. To them, it was just a couple more goblins who foolishly got in the way of the undead sentinels… No one cares about us goblins.”

  “That’s horrible,” Witt mumbled in dismay.

  “It’s the way of the world.” Karen shrugged. “…Sandra lost everything that night. She lived on the streets, hiding from the sentinels who would kill her on sight and the gangs who would do even worse. She survived off scraps for an entire year before the temple found her and gave her a place to stay. And even here, they barely had anything to offer but simple porridge. There were too many orphans and too little funding.”

  Karen grinned softly, “And then a couple of years ago, this stranger came to the temple and began leaving large anonymous donations.”

  “Stryg…” Witt guessed.

  “Mm. And soon after we found this country bumpkin human from some backwater village. He’s an idiot and can’t even properly clean the temple’s statues, but he’s an amazing cook and he started making meals the kids actually enjoyed for the first time in what seemed like their whole lives.” 

  “Dullwater.”

  “Huh?” 

  “My village is called Dullwater, not Backwater.”

  Karen giggled, “You know, that somehow makes it so much worse.”

  Witt smiled lopsidedly, “You really think they like my food?”

  “Definitely, which is why I’m never making breakfast again,” Karen dusted her hands off. “I helped out this morning because you were busy with the banner, but bloody Bellum those kids hate my soup.”

  “Heh, don’t worry, that’s what I’m here for.”

  “Yeah,” she smiled warmly. “I wouldn’t have you anywhere else.”

  He blushed and sniffed. “Well, as long as one person appreciates my hard work, that’s enough for me.”

  Karen nudged his shoulder, “Oh please, they may tease you, but those kids out there love you. It’s why Mel and the other older kids are going out to the barracks.”

  Witt bit his lip. “They shouldn’t have to. They’re still kids.”

  “We can’t stop them. Believe me, I tried. But Mel, Sandra, and Jack were adamant, and the others follow their lead.”

  “It’s stupid. They shouldn't have to risk their lives. Why can’t we go somewhere else? Somewhere safe?”

  “There is nowhere safe. The Warlord Marek and his army occupy most of the valley and soon they’ll be here.”

  “So what? We’re supposed to just leave it to the children to fight our battles?”

  “Believe me I’m terrified for them,” she admitted with a shaky voice. “But I can’t stop them, or they’ll just go behind me, so the least I can do is support them. This way I can make sure they stay in the backlines, as far from battle as possible.”

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  “Still, they’re not soldiers. They shouldn’t have to fight.”

  “The city council has started city-wide enlistments. So long as you can hold a sword they’ll take you. If they want to enlist we can’t stop them.”

  “They’re teenagers, Karen. Shouldn’t we do something? Shouldn’t we fight in their place?”

  “Witt, sweetie,” Karen looked at him sympathetically and tried hard not to laugh. “You couldn’t hit a dummy even if it was in front of you.”

  “That’s not true!”

  “You tripped over your own spear at practice.”

  “That was one time!”

  “Twice.”

  “Okay, two times, so what!?”

  “So we need to be here, to protect the younger children if anything goes wrong.”

  Witt hung his head in defeat. “...Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But I just can’t help but feel like we’re doing something wrong.”

  “Yeah,” she leaned her head on his shoulder, “I know.”

  He sighed. “You think they’re ready? For war?”

  “Is anyone?”

 

~~~

 

  Captain Talia walked across the shade wall, surveying the newly fortified battlements. Small towers had been erected across the southern and western walls; at their tops sat freshly constructed catapults, wrought by the best engineers and mage smiths of House Goldelm and their retainers. They would have constructed more towers across the entirety of the wall, but there wasn’t enough time. Instead, they settled on the southern and western sides, where the might of the enemy’s forces would be greatest.

  Still, as the soldiers ran to and fro, trying to finish up last-minute defenses, Talia couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Time was running out and she hoped they’d all be ready.

  “Excuse me, are you the one in charge?” a young voice asked from behind her.

  Talia turned around and frowned. A motley crew of almost two dozen teenagers was standing in front of her. Some were human, one was a drow, but most were goblins. They didn’t wear standard city-military armor, nor the armor of any noble House, yet their equipment was polished and clean, and clearly of high quality.

  “Are you the one in charge?” Melfyn repeated, his voice a mixture of nervousness and eagerness.

  She nodded suspiciously. “...I am Captain Talia and I have the honor of serving directly under Lord Fergus Stonehand, Commander of the Southern Bulwark, who is as you so aptly put it, ‘the one in charge.’ However, he is too busy to answer to— Who are you supposed to be…?”

  “I am Melfyn, First of the Cinder Brood tribe. And this is,” he glanced at his friends around him, “Well, this is my tribe.”

  Talia narrowed her scarlet eyes. “Tribe? Are you trying to imitate the Valley Tribes?”

  “What? No. We are a Lunisian tribe, w-well, Sylvan tribe too, I guess.” He shook his head and cleared his throat, “Ahem. We have come to enlist.”

  Talia rubbed her nose bridge and shook her head. “Look, I don’t have time to waste with whatever— this is. If you want to enlist, the barracks are down there,” she pointed to a large assortment of buildings at the base of the wall. “So climb down wherever you came from and fuck off.” 

  Jack, Sandra, and the others glanced at Melfyn worriedly, but their leader seemed unperturbed. In fact, Melfyn smiled. “I think you misunderstand, Captain. I heard this is where to enlist if we wish to fight on the front lines. Was I wrong?”

  “Were you wrong to assume that this will be one of the most dangerous places to be in the next 24 hours? No. Were you wrong to come here? Yes. We need warriors, people who are capable and willing to fight, not a bunch of glory-seeking children who will run at the first sign of danger.”

  Melfyn opened his mouth to speak but another voice sounded beside Talia.

  “Mel, what are you doing here?”

  Talia glanced at the drow walking up to them, “Captain Polamtal…? You know this goblin?”

  Rorik nodded. “Yeah, he’s a— ‘student’ of a close mage friend of mine. He lives in the district I’m in charge of.”

  “A commoner then?” Talia stared at the teenagers suspiciously, “Why do they have such expensive high-quality armor then?”

  “We didn’t steal it,” Sandra said angrily.

  “I’m supposed to believe a bunch of commoner children just so happen to have better armor than my soldiers?” Talia frowned.

  “They didn’t steal it,” Rorik said. He glanced at Sandra, “I’m guessing your patron provided these for you all?”

  Sandra nodded, “Master Stryg had them all commissioned for us before he left for Undergrowth.”

  Talia's eyes widened. “Wait, Stryg? As in the Ebon Aspirant Stryg?” 

   “You know him?” Sandra asked.

  Rorik smiled proudly, “Stryg is a frequent visitor and patron of these kids’ temple. So, my question is, what are you all doing up here? Does the head-priest Elm even know you’re here? What about Karen?”

  “We came to fight,” Melfyn said adamantly.

  Talia shook her head, “I don’t care who you are friends with. Children are not allowed up here. We need battle-tested warriors, not kids wanting to play hero.”

  “Look over there, Captain Talia,” Melfyn pointed to a small temple in the distance. “The Commoner District is right next to the battlements and the wall. If the valley tribes break through our city’s defenses they will be the first to be attacked. My temple, my people, my family will be the first to be killed. I did not come here to play hero, I came here to fight for my people. The same reason as you. All I’m asking for is a chance to protect our own.”

  The other teenagers nodded in silent solemn agreement.

  “You… you’re all serious?” Talia looked at them uncertainly.

  “If it means anything, I’ve seen them in action, Captain Talia. They’ve killed more thugs in my area than all my guardsmen combined,” said Rorik.

  Talia looked at them with uncertainty then sighed. “Fine,” she said begrudgingly. “You may all fight and die for your city on the wall, if that is what you wish. But Rorik and I will be keeping a close eye on you. If one of you so much as falters, I’ll have you shipped back down to the outermost defenses.”

  “Wait, why do I have to watch them too?” Rorik frowned.

  “Thank you, Captain Talia, we won’t let you down,” Melfyn said happily.

  “I hope you do,” Talia said in a quiet voice. “Children should not have to die in the place of adults.” She turned around and walked away.

 

 

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