"No way!"
Adel, Seline, and Sangrid glanced at Weimar and Syras with eyes so wide that they looked like overgrown Lugzorian beetles. The signs of the death and destruction that had plagued the plains and woodlands around them had been receding thanks to the efforts of the Territorial Guard, the InterKingdom Unit, and other volunteers and good samaritans. After divulging the news of their latest appointment to their new positions, the other members of the Chtulu looked stunned. Weimar couldn't tell if it was out of awe or stupefaction, but their friends couldn't believe their eyes. It was as if Syras and himself had become kings or barons of a rich piece of land down yonder.
"Yes way!" Syras smirked. "Say hello to Sir Globar's new stable hand and squire, mates."
"Oi!" Sangrid frowned. "Ah don' know which of ye is which. Ye never made it cleah with yer fancy smanshee way of speakin'!"
Weimar decided to settle the issue. He took a step forward in the bloodied grass and cleared his throat. "You are looking at the Red Robin's new squire."
Sangrid, Seline, and Adel's jaws drop simultaneously in wonder. Adel recovered quickly enough to respond
"Seriously, though no one has referred has referred to the knight as such."
"Why? Sound too intimidating for your peach arse?" Syras couldn't resist teasing the tavern boy.
Adel pouted and crossed his arms. "No! I meant that only those who battle or competed against Sir Globar refer to him as such. You can guess why."
"Aye! It's not like you haven't viewed all the blood decorating his armor. That is an uncompromising detail to show off how much of a renegade you are!"
"Idjit! Yer knight is a decent person unlike yeh!"
As his friends bantered back and forth over his newest employer, Weimar turned to stare southward at the horizon. The setting sun shone a mix of red, orange, and yellow rays over the land sullied with the blood of fallen outlaws and villagers as the young squire thought of his mother and Will, mainly of how to divulge the news to them-both the good and the bad.
"Hey look! There's Mar!"
Hearing the pet name his younger brother referred to him as whenever they were at the farm, Weimar Rice glanced over to the side of a nearby hill to see his younger brother scurry along the path to reach him. Behind him, dressed in a long white and brown tunic that went passed her knees, Madelynn Rice struggled to keep up with her youngest son in his haste to see his older sibling. Her long chestnut hair was covered up by a coif, which his mother usually donned whenever she went on outings.
"Will! Did you come to see father?"
Weimar hurried to the base of the dirt-covered hill to meet his beloved brother.
"A-aye!" Will's lips quivered. "Veerus wrote to us. Will papa make it?"
"The healers expect him to make a full recovery in a week," Weimar assured his brother. "Why did Veerus come here in the first place? How could he have known what happened if he wasn't here?"
It was his mother who answered. "I sent him to deliver some Deaal fillets for your father, but none of us anticipated this cowardly attack. How could anyone plan something as heinous as an attack on a recreational village where families congregate?"
Um, bandits?
Syras then appeared beside Weimar. " I'll tell you who. Vagrant without a care for human life and a need to fulfill their desire to see death and destruction. Oh, and a belated greetings to you, Madame Rice." The agile teen made a show of bowing.
Madelynn giggled. "Nice to see you again, Master Morrizak. How are Rupert and Zama doing?"
"My parents are quite dandy, thanks for asking. " Syras grinned. "Dad is currently serving on an escort mission for the palace's maester, but momma is doing her part for the homefront. "
"Crivvens! Where did yeh run off to, Syras?"
Sangrid and the other two members of the defeated Chtulus arrived to see the teens converse with Weimar's brother and mother. Sangrid noticed Will glance up at her in awe and reached forward to tussle his hair.
"What are yeh lookin' at, yeh cute little furball?"
Will grinned. "Wow, you are tall for a lady. Even taller than ma."
"Willy!" Madelynn scolded the young boy. "That is no way to address a lady!"
"That's ah-right!" The Backwater girl chuckled. "The kid is cute!"
"That's my brother." Weimar smiled as he introduced William Rice to his friends. "That's my mom, by the way. Mom, these are my friends Sangrid, Selina, and Adel."
---
"Listen, my son. I am proud of you already, but before you set off on your quest with Sir Globar, I have to let you in on a few matters."
Back inside the tent, Weimar was having a few parting words with his father as the Rice family congregated around Faramahr. His mother and Willy had desperately wanted see the wounded farmer and had feared the worse, but one of the healers, an older gentleman who spoke with what Weimar deduced to be a Mobion accent, had assured them of his full recovery. The catch was that he had to rest for several weeks without any strenuous activity. That meant that Veerus had to take over farm duties for the time being.
"Yes, father?" Young Weimar leaned over to hear his father's words of wisdom.
"First, I want you to know that I am really proud of you and how far you come-"
"You already told him that!" Veerus rolled his eyes before his mother cuffed him on the back of the head for that rude interruption.
"Please go on." Weimar shot a glare at his older brother to show that he was not content with such a rude interruption. "
"You are the first of your lineage to be granted such an honorable post. That is excluding your grandfather's position in the militia. Aislundia does need to levy a militia due to the outbreak of bandit and rebel attacks, not to mention the incompetence of the joke known as the Territorial Guard. " Faramahr halts his speech to cough. "Pardon me. Anyway, I digress. Make sure you listen to whatever Sir Globar tells you and heed his words well. The man is patient and easygoing, but he is a master of his craft. No other knight since Sir Henri has represented Aislundia, not to mention the rest of the world, as he has. Go forth and bring honor to the Rice family. Show the rest of the villagers, if not the world, that we are capable of being more than farmers."
"Aye, father." Weimar bowed as he left the tent. Today was a new day.
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