A Roll of the Die - 1. Inception
Copyright© 2026 by Michael Loucks
Chapter 35: Day 52
The following day, after breakfast, Matthias, Milos, Tristan, Karla, Tyra, Lisette, and Lucas departed the Compound on horseback to meet the members of the City Guard who had been assigned to help clear the woods of the interlopers.
"I know you won't like this," Milos said to Matthias, "but you should remain at the farm. We cannot risk you being injured or, gods forbid, killed."
"I do not intend to hide in the face of danger!" Matthias countered. "We will certainly have missions that require my skills."
"That is true," Milos agreed. "THIS mission does not. The men from the City Guard will take the bulk of the risk, as this is, in effect, a military operation."
"Is that a command or a request?" Matthias asked.
"Advice," Milos replied.
"I have to agree with Milos," Karla interjected. "You should not take unnecessary risks. Last time, both Tristan and Lucas were injured because we did not understand the true nature of the threat, nor did we understand the risk, and we still do not."
Matthias considered what his friends were saying, and they had a point, but he was reluctant to send them into danger while he remained safe.
"It is not my nature to allow my friends to go into harm's way while I remain behind."
"And yet, that is what leaders do unless their presence is directly required for morale or other reasons. To my knowledge, no such reasons exist."
Matthias thought for a moment, then said. "Reluctantly, I'll heed your advice."
When they reached the farm, Milos asked Sierra to bring her flock in, then coördinated a plan with a lieutenant and two sergeants. They spent about five minutes conferring, then Milos stepped over to where Matthias and Sierra were standing.
"Sierra," he said, "Count Matthias, who is an expert with the rapier and dagger, will remain with your family to offer protection should anyone elude us and think they can gain an advantage by taking hostages."
Matthias smiled at how Milos had framed ensuring his safety as a way to ensure the safety of Sierra's family.
"Thank you, Sir!" Sierra exclaimed.
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Everyone except Matthias deployed as Milos and the leaders of the City Guard had planned — two-man teams of a crossbowman and a swordsman, backed by one member of the Newtown Adventuring Company, though Lucas stayed by Milos' side.
"Men in the woods!" Milos called out in his booming voice. "Surrender and leave in peace!"
The answer was an arrow, which Milos blocked with his shield. All five crossbowmen, plus Karla and Lucas, returned fire, with a crossbow bolt finding its mark in the arm of the archer who had fired at them. The Lieutenant and Milos had a quick word and agreed a plan.
"Spread out and advance!" the Lieutenant ordered. "Accept the surrender of anyone who yields immediately; kill anyone who does not."
Each group of three, directed by the sergeants, advanced with a swordsman in the lead, the crossbowman several paces behind, and the member from the Newtown Adventuring Company two paces behind the crossbowman. They moved cautiously towards the woods, alert for any movement. Karla's team made the next contact.
She and the Guardsmen exchanged fire with the opposing archers, effectively pinning them in place as the swordsman moved to flank them. The nearest team to Karla's, which included Tristan, was directed by the sergeant to move to support, and the enemy archers were subjected to enfilading fire while the swordsmen advanced. The enemy refused to yield and were felled — one by a crossbow bolt, and one by Tristan's sword.
The group with Tyra was not so fortunate, with their swordsman taking an arrow to the chest from a concealed archer. That archer soon met his fate, stunned by an area effect spell from Tyra, and killed by the crossbowman with a dagger, as the enemy was already incapacitated, and it made no sense to waste ammunition.
Tyra moved to check on the swordsman and found the wound to be serious, but the Guardsman was breathing and not coughing up blood, meaning he might survive.
"Let's help him back to the farm," Tyra suggested.
The crossbowman agreed, and they managed to get the wounded man to his feet. That turned out to be for naught when a second arrow struck him, this one penetrating his side, causing him to begin coughing up blood. Tyra and the crossbowman let the doomed swordsman fall and dove for cover.
They were pinned down and likely outnumbered, so Tyra cast a protection spell over both herself and the crossbowman, which allowed them to sprint to safety behind a fallen tree. They took cover behind it, then watched for their adversaries.
The problem they now faced was the loss of their swordsman and the depletion of four of Tyra's mana crystals. With six left, she could face perhaps a single encounter, after which their effective strength would be one.
"We should hold this position," the crossbowman suggested. "It's too risky to advance."
"I concur," Tyra agreed.
The fourth team, which included Lisette, encountered no opposition before reaching the cliff. Following the plan, they moved about thirty paces southeast along the cliff and then turned back into the woods.
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Matthias settled into a chair Patricia had set near the hearth. Through the open door came the sour-sweet smell of the flock, and he heard the steady clack-clack of her brother's shuttle.
"Is there anything I can get you, my Lord?" Sierra asked Matthias.
"Some water to drink, please," he replied.
"Water? Not mead or ale?"
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