The next morning, a severely reduced camp set out from Janburg, once again escorted by the Baroness.

  There were only eight [Commoners] left now, counting Olivia, even though some of the King’s [Guards] had stayed in the village after they’d officially quit the mission. They apparently still had orders to follow Clay around, so they couldn’t simply leave. He didn’t know if he felt annoyed or flattered that King John had taken such an interest in him.

  At the very least, the handful that were coming with them seemed far more determined and serious now. Perhaps it was simply being given an example of success, or the challenge of being outdone by a newly Chosen [Commoner] who didn’t even have a fighting [Subclass], but all three of the [Guards] were more than eager to join him on the next trip out into the hills. They’d even had to play some sort of game amongst themselves to determine who would go first.

  Apparently, luck favored Mitchell, which was why the surly man bid Baroness Janburg a respectful farewell and followed Clay out into the hills.

  They marched for a while in relative quiet. The first time Mitchell had followed Clay, the [Guard] had been relatively taciturn. During the encounter with the swinefolk, he hadn’t run, but he hadn’t budged from behind the tree where he’d been crouched, either. Clay had suspected it had been more because Mitchell had been watching how things played out rather than surrendering to the grip of fear, but he’d still seemed embarrassed by the lack of a contribution when the fight had been done.

  Now, though, he was walking with a spear and shield in his hands and an eye on the terrain around them. He seemed a bit more relaxed, even if his armor still creaked with painful clarity and the smell of stale sweat still filled the air, in tribute to the still-rising summer sun.

  Clay detected a group of monsters and changed course to track them. Mitchell glanced at him and grunted. “You picked up a trail, Sir Clay?”

  He glanced at the [Guard]. “Sort of. One of my [Experiences] lets me track them, even without any scent or prints.”

  “I figured. You were too sure of yourself the last time.” Mitchell nodded to himself. “Do you think anyone can get that [Experience]?”

  “Maybe.” The Academy had never given him a complete list of [Experiences] and the methods to gain them. They might not have known themselves, of course; [Experiences] were likely to vary quite a bit more than other abilities. Of course, explaining he’d gained [Seeker] when he’d destroyed a Lair would probably have gotten into a longer explanation than he was willing to give, for the moment. After all, he still wasn’t entirely sure he could trust the recruits yet, not like he did Olivia. There was too high a chance that someone like Sal could still be lurking in the ranks.

  Mitchell shook his head. “It’s nice to hear it’s possible, but I doubt I’ll get something as useful as that one, to be honest. Luck doesn’t really run in my family.”

  Clay looked over. It was probably the longest string of words that he’d heard Mitchell say at once. “Why would you say that?”

  “A string of burning buildings, crop diseases, and lost cattle going back four generations, Sir Clay.” Mitchell shrugged, clearly unimpressed by what seemed like a tragic family history. “Still, I might as well try.”

  Despite himself, Clay found himself growing a bit more attached to the grumpy old [Guard]. He reminded him of a few of the King’s men in Crownsguard. They’d often had plenty of stories, and even if they were known to complain and make sour comments, they were also the first to lend a hand when something went wrong. “Have you always lived in Janburg, then?”

  Mitchell shook his head. “No, Sir Clay. We are from up near Eldsville. My wife and I moved here a good nine years ago, just before…”

  He trailed off for a moment. When he spoke again, he shook his head. “Before the tragedy happened at Zelton. Honestly, thought I’d brought the whole place down with the family luck.”

  Clay frowned. “I’m sure it wasn’t that.”

  Mitchell raised an eyebrow at him. “I know that well enough. But still…” He glanced to the southeast, as if remembering a time when the hills looked different. “I was there, you know, when the Baroness saved that girl. The last daughter of Zelton. We pulled her from the river and brought her home. Nobody else made it out.”

  The sober tone of the words only helped them lapse back into silence. Then Mitchell sighed. “Look, I still think you’re all a little off your rockers for trying this, but if she can do it, then I owe it to her to try. I’m no thinker, though, so don’t ask me what plans to make or what I prefer. You know this business better than I do. Tell me what to do, and I will, all right?”

  The honest, blunt request was so sincere that Clay couldn’t help but smile. “All right, I will.” He looked back along the path that the swinefolk were following. “They always travel in threes. What I’m going to do is lure them to follow me, and then when the eater—that’s the one in the robe—when they go past…”

  By the time Clay came back with Mitchell, the [Guard] had actually killed just as many as Olivia had. He’d taken both an eater and a squealer from ambush while Clay distracted the others, and he’d killed a smasher by hamstringing it before delivering a final series of blows. The man’s expression had been a mix of awe, gratitude, and smug pride when he returned to the camp, and Clay had been more than happy to announce his accomplishments to the rest.

  Not all of the [Commoners] improved as much, however. When Elizabeth and Peter had gone next, they once again failed to do much more than watch Clay work. After he’d brought Peter back, the siblings almost immediately began arguing about whose fault the whole situation was. As he left with Lana, he was relatively certain that both Wheatrose siblings would be gone by the time he came back.

  Lana, at least, seemed a bit more sober now. She had changed out her hunting bow for an actual longbow, and he’d seen her practicing with it throughout the day. Her sword remained sheathed at her hip as they walked.

  She caught him glancing at it and gave him a nervous smile. “I promise I’ll aim a little better this time.”

  Clay nodded. “Your shot actually wasn’t that bad yesterday. With a better bow, you’ll probably be able to score your first kill.”

  Lana nodded. “That’s what I was hoping.” She fell silent for a few more minutes as they continued through the hills. “You weren’t really all that happy with us yesterday, were you?”

  He caught the hint of sadness in Lana’s voice and debated his answer. Then he sighed. “Things could have gone better, yes, but I think you were all doing the best you could. The important thing is that you are sticking with it, and for the right reasons.”

  She winced. “Thank you.” Then her back straightened. “I’ll do better this time. I will. My arrows will fly straight and true.”

  It seemed like she was speaking as much to herself as she was to him, but Clay supposed it couldn’t be too bad. He shrugged off his misgivings and headed for the nearest of the monsters.

  They found the swinefolk a short while later. It seemed as if the number of groups traveling through the hills had started to increase, though it could have just been the fact that they were getting more cautious. This batch was trundling along the grass, tramping it down as they walked. Clay started forward when Lana reached out and stopped him. She spoke low, staying crouched down in the grass. “I don’t want to get close.”

  Clay blinked at her. He couldn’t help but grin. “You want to try that bow shot again?”

  Her expression was serious as she nodded. “Yes. I do.” When he tilted his head, she continued, her eyes still on the monsters. “At first, I wanted it to be like a story. My sword flashing in the sun, an adventure I could tell people about… It isn’t like that, is it? And it never will be.”

  She drew out an arrow and fit it to the bowstring. “I don’t want a story anymore. I want to do the job you’re trusting me with. So I want you to show me how to shoot them from here, before they even have the chance to get close. Can you do that?”

  Clay nodded and put down his spear. He drew out his own bow. “I’ll take the other two. When you fire, take out your next arrow and start pulling it back, just in case you miss. For the eater, you don’t need to aim for the head, especially not with a bow like that. Just hit it in the torso, and you’ll probably finish it…”

  When they reached camp again, they were both considerably lighter on arrows, but Lana was beaming. She’d killed one of each kind of swinefolk, all from a distance as they tried to close with her. True, she’d spent nearly half her arrows doing it, but the kills were all that mattered. The Baroness would be more than happy to replace the ammunition… probably.

  Arnold, one of the King’s soldiers, was far less optimistic. He carried the crossbow he’d brought with him almost like he hated the thing. The man fired one shot, missed, and Clay had to save him when the swinefolk came down on him. After that experience, the [Guard] had stormed back into camp and declared his honor satisfied and his time fighting monsters done.

  Sandra, his fellow soldier, had been next. When Clay had mentioned Arnold’s frustration, she had just rolled her eyes. “I have to give him credit, he stuck it out better than most. This all hasn’t been easy, you know.”

  There was a note of accusation in her voice that Clay hadn’t really been expecting. He winced. “The King ordered you to follow me. He didn’t order you to come out here, though.”

  “Did he?” There was a slightly mocking note to her question, and Clay winced again. She went on as she scanned their surroundings, obviously looking for more signs of monsters. “He’s been really interested in you since Crownsguard, actually. Especially when you came back with the Ruffians.”

  “Is that so?” Clay grimaced. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that he’d told you to do more than watch.”

  Sandra shrugged. “It’s not the worst assignment. After all, who doesn’t want to be the next Commoner Hero?” Then she shook her head. “A lot of us actually volunteered, to be honest. We thought that if you could do it, any of us could too. You know, we’ve spent our lives training and fighting. Why would this be any different?”

  Clay shook his head, and she laughed. “Yeah, I know. It seems a bit ridiculous now. It’d be like the difference between the Common Melee and the High. It’s one thing to fight a man on horseback, but against monsters like these…”

  The [Guard] chuckled to herself, and Clay looked back at her. She seemed a bit more resigned and full of melancholy than he’d expected. He looked back at where they were headed, making sure his senses were still keen to any approaching monsters. “Why would he even want you to learn this type of thing, anyway? Does he not trust the Guild?”

  She snorted. “Trust them? No. They’re outside his direct control and a King, well… they don’t approve of things like that very often.”

  Clay grunted. King John had seemed decent enough, but one fistfight didn’t tell him that much about the man’s character. Out loud, he just tried to keep his voice light. “I’m sure he loves me, then. I seem to be causing problems for everyone, no matter where I go.”

  Sandra snorted again. “I think he likes you a bit more than you’d think. That’s why he wants a group of [Guards] who are used to working for you, and maybe have a few levels from following you around. Maybe he wants you to get more used to ordering soldiers around too, now that I think about it.”

  He paused, his feelings going a little still at the implication. When he looked back at her, the [Guard] was smirking at him. “Why would that be?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. You have that [Experience], right? The one that makes it so that first level adventurers can take on people at three times their level?” When he stayed silent, she continued. “You think the King wasn’t thinking about what that could do for him? I’m sure the first thing he pictured was you leading a hundred or so of his best men into the center of an enemy army and trashing the whole thing. You’d be unstoppable.”

  Clay stopped. His fingers clenched on the haft of his spear for a moment. “And he thinks the Guild would allow that?”

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  Sandra shook her head. “Well, no. The Guild is always a little stiff about what he’s doing, but unlike them, he has a kingdom to run. He can’t afford to play nice.”

  “And he assumes that I will?” Clay saw her freeze slightly, and when she looked at him, the smile he gave her was cold. “I’m not going to be leading any armies.”

  She looked at him like he had lost his mind. “What makes you think he’ll give you a choice? If he’s willing to take on the Guild, you can be sure he’s willing to make you a little upset.”

  Clay shook his head. “I swore an oath to forego war. Leading an army would break that oath. I’m going to keep my word.”

  Sandra threw back her head and laughed. “An oath? You think he’s going to let a thing like that stop him?”

  “It’s the same oath that keeps me from leading armies against him, in case you’ve both forgotten.” He saw her go still, and he raised an eyebrow. “Explain to me why I would break one part of that promise, and not think about breaking the other?”

  It took her a few moments to recover enough to respond. Her hand dropped to her sword. “Some people might consider you a traitor for even suggesting that, Sir Clay. The King deserves your respect.”

  “Then he probably shouldn’t have tried kneeing me in the nuts, Sergeant Sandra.” Clay saw shock on her face, and he laughed. “And before you draw that blade, remember that one of us has been killing monsters that the other can’t even stomach facing. I wouldn’t even have to kill you, really. I’d just let that group of swinefolk get you.”

  He nodded behind her, and the [Guard] glanced backwards. Before she’d turned back to face him, he had his spear out, with the point resting against her neck. Her eyes went very, very wide, and her face turned pale as he leaned forward.

  “I’m going to escort you back to camp, and then you and all of the King’s troops in Janburg are going to head back to Crownsguard. You’re going to report that your mission was a failure, and that I’m going to refuse to train any of the soldiers under his command unless he allows them to take the Adventurer’s Oath first. You can tell him that the only war I care about is between the monsters and the people, and anything or anyone who gets in my way is going to find out exactly what it means to choose the wrong side of that conflict. Do you understand?”

  Sandra very carefully took her hand away from the hilt of her sword. Her fingers shook a little before she clenched them into a fist. “You really think he’s going to accept that?”

  Clay shrugged. He didn’t let the spearpoint move at all. “If he’s that upset, he can come and explain things to me personally.” Then he let out another crooked smile. “He should keep in mind that I was only at level eight at our last meeting, though. That won’t be the case next time.”

  She nodded slowly, and Clay watched her for any signs of foolishness. Then he took away the spearpoint and gestured for her to head back to camp. “After you, Sergeant. I wouldn’t want you to have a late start for your trip. You have a long way to go, after all.”

  “Are you angry at me, Sir Clay?”

  The question startled Clay out of his thoughts. He’d been brooding over what Sandra had told him ever since he’d brought her back to camp. The [Guard] had stomped over to where the other members of the King’s soldiers were training, and after a few whispered conversations, he’d seen the highest ranked among them turn to try to reason with him.

  After a long, careful look at his face, the [Guards] had changed their plans. They’d left the camp and headed back to town, their expressions a mixture of anger and concern. Clay had watched them go for a while, and then gestured for Andrew to follow him out into the hills. The [Commoner] had been wearing a worried expression, and they hadn’t talked at all until now.

  He shook his head, feeling like a fool. “No, Andrew, I’m just… reconsidering some things. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

  A flicker of relief crossed Andrew’s face. Some of the tension went out of his body. “Th-that’s good. I was just a little worried that…”

  Clay glanced at him, and Andrew seemed to steel himself to continue. “That you didn’t want to help me anymore. After what I did last time.”

  He frowned for a moment, and then realization dawned. “No. That’s not it at all. I mean, you’re hardly the only one who froze up, Andrew. In the beginning, I froze up a lot too. I’d never blame you for doing something that’s completely natural.”

  Andrew’s expression grew even more relieved, but he hunched his shoulders a little more. It made Clay remember that the young man was only a few weeks out from his Choosing, in the larger scheme of things. Had he even started the hunts in the Tanglewood, at this kid’s age?

  His thoughts were interrupted again as Andrew spoke.

  “I just… I thought I would be better at this. My parents always said that if anyone could be an adventurer, it’d be me. We even came all the way to Pellsglade, just to give me the best chance.”

  Clay nodded, feeling a bit of empathy. “And then you ended up a [Commoner] anyways.”

  Andrew grunted. They walked along for a long moment until the young man spoke again. “I knew, when the others started to whisper about joining you, that I wanted to come with you. Adventurer or [Commoner], I wanted to be something more than just another farmer. I had to keep everyone…”

  He trailed off, and Clay continued for him. “Safe. You wanted to make everyone safe.”

  The young [Commoner] looked at him, and nodded. “I came out here to do that, but when I saw those-those things, I couldn’t... I couldn’t even move. And now people are leaving, and you’re sending even the soldiers away and I felt like I was next, you know? That I was going to fail again, and then I’d have to go back and admit that there had never been any hope after all.”

  Clay watched him walk for another moment. There were monsters clamoring for the attention of his ethereal senses, but they seemed somehow unimportant compared to what he’d just heard. They walked along in silence for another few moments, as Clay looked for the right words.

  Then he smiled. “Do you remember anything from your Choosing?”

  Andrew winced a little. “No. Not really.” He shook his head. “To be honest, it was all kind of a blur.”

  “I do. Or at least, I had a daydream that I think was related.” Clay saw Andrew’s expression shift to one of astonishment, and he held up a hand before the young man could respond. “Mostly, it was just me and the Trickster talking. Do you know what she said to me?”

  The other [Commoner] shook his head, and Clay continued. “She told me I was a failure. That, and she made me a [Commoner].”

  Andrew’s jaw fell open. “You? A failure?”

  “Yep. It stung quite a bit, even before the [Class] was given to me.” He chuckled, remembering the numb pain and grief he’d felt. “And then she gave me the [Laborer] [Subclass] on top of it. Did you know that?”

  The young man’s expression was a blend of astonishment and horror now. “No. I thought for sure you’d be something like a [Guard] or maybe a [Thug]…”

  “Nope, just a [Laborer].” He gave Andrew a sidelong glance. “I’m not forgetting that implication about my intelligence, by the way. What [Subclass] did you get?”

  Andrew blinked. Then he grinned. “I got [Crafter]. They say it’s a pretty good one for building things and making plans, but right now it doesn’t seem to do me any good.”

  Clay shrugged. “Don’t sell it short. Even us [Laborers] can see some surprising benefits.” The [Crafter] snorted, and Clay smiled as he continued. “It wasn’t the only thing she said to me, of course, but there was one thing she said that stuck with me for a while. Something you might want to hear. She said failure is not the end.”

  He looked back ahead of them, feeling a group of swinefolk behind the next hill. “You failed last time, Andrew, but your journey isn’t over. If you really want to do what I do, and you want to try again, I’ll help you. It won’t be easy, but until we’re dead, we can keep going. All right?”

  The other [Commoner] hesitated. Then he nodded, and his grip on the sledgehammer firmed. “All right. I… I think I’m ready.”

  “Good.” Clay pointed at the hill. “The next group is right over there. This time, I’m going to draw their attention again, and when you see the opening…”

  Three dead swinefolk patrols and an hour or so later, Clay was once again stalking through the hills with Olivia by his side.

  Unfortunately, he’d had to spend the past little while explaining what he’d learned about King John’s intentions. When he was finished, Olivia just shrugged. “Do you think the King is actually going to come here?”

  The question made Clay frown. “No. I don’t think he would, especially if he’s trying to do something without the Guild interfering.”

  She nodded. “Then I think we can ignore him for now. He’s not going to want to put you in charge of an army if he isn’t completely certain you’re on his side, and for now he can use you to get the Guild to do things he wants them to do.”

  At the mention of the Guild, Clay grunted. “Do you think that this is part of why the Council wanted to keep me away from the King?”

  “Oh, definitely.” She grimaced. “After all, if he is busy having you lead armies, they can’t use you to make all of their mistakes easier to deal with. We really have to do something about your tendency to have people try to use you to fix all the problems in the world.”

  He gave her an appraising look. “You’re one to talk. How did I end up out here again?”

  Olivia laughed. “Oh, it’s fine if you solve my problems, Clay. It’s everyone else that doesn’t deserve you.”

  Clay felt his face go a little red. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere, ma’am.”

  “So you say.” She nudged him with a shoulder, giving him a broad grin. “Tell you what, I’ll solve your problems, and you solve mine. Doesn’t that sound fair?”

  He snorted. “So all I have to do is destroy a Lair full of monsters for you, is that right?”

  “For a start.” She rolled her eyes. “Hey, I’m committing to dealing with a King and the Council trying to turn you into a puppet. Seems like you’re winning the deal, honestly.”

  “Well, when you put it that way…” Clay grinned as she nudged him again. “You seem like you are in a good mood today. Anything I should know about?”

  Olivia blinked. “Well, if we do the same thing I did yesterday, I’ll get to level two. Why wouldn’t I be excited?”

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re assuming we’re going to find another three groups to take down today. For all you know, the swinefolk have lost so many they’ve started to retreat.”

  She gave him a stern look. “Really? I can practically hear them grunting and squealing from here.”

  Clay half-hid a smile and put a hand to his head. “Oh no, my senses have been fatigued by the efforts of the day. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to—”

  Olivia scooped a handful of dirt and tossed it at him. Laughing, Clay dropped the act and headed for the nearest pack of monsters. They had work to do, after all.

  The squealer slumped to the dirt, and Olivia let out a sudden explosive sigh. She stood motionless for a moment, and then looked back at him, her smile as bright as he’d ever seen it. “Level two.”

  Clay broke out in a similar smile. “Well done. What [Experiences] did you get?”

  It was normally a very rude question, but he figured that they were past some of the politeness that the Guild would have enforced on its members. Besides, he had his suspicions about at least one of them.

  “[Slayer]. And [Smallmage].” Her smile grew a little at his surprise. “I told you your [Experiences] reflected what you did. Why do think I worked so hard to use the [Chants] each time?”

  Clay tried to bury his own brief burst of jealousy. He hadn’t gotten [Smallmage] until he’d hit level five. “Well, I guess we can hit one more and head back to camp then. Unless you’d like to stay out longer again?”

  She had the gall to actually hesitate and then shook her head. “We can save that for tomorrow. The Baroness would start getting worried about us if we kept staying out here for too long.”

  “I wouldn’t want to keep you out past curfew then.” Olivia blushed, and Clay chuckled to himself.

  As she fell into step beside him, she had a thoughtful tone to her voice. “We might as well go longer tomorrow, though. After all, there are only four of us left. That should give us plenty of time to hit six groups a piece. We’d all reach level three just two or three days from now at that rate…”

  He felt his smile become a little fixed as she continued charting out a grueling course for the rest of the week. At least there were only four left, unless someone had changed their mind by the time they got back. Otherwise, Clay was fairly sure that she would have run him ragged.

  Fortunately, or unfortunately, none of the remaining four [Commoners] objected to the plan of hunting longer for the rest of the week. The other three had been both encouraged and jealous of Olivia’s advancement to second level, and they unanimously chose to get in some extra training before they headed out the next day. Each of them wanted to spend two hours a piece in the hills, hunting down the monsters with a ferocity that bordered on fanaticism.

  Andrew, Lana, and Mitchell all reached second level during that next day’s hunt. Every single one of them had [Slayer] as an [Experience], something that Clay had grown used to. It had been true for the Ruffians, and he was beginning to suspect that it came from killing monsters for the experience to advance to their first level.

  Their second [Experiences] varied, however. Mitchell actually got [Watcher], which he was immediately proud of; Lana was just as happy with [Hiker], which would apparently give her a boost in the hills surrounding Janburg. Andrew was a bit more subdued, but it was just as clear that he had his own kind of pride in having received [Determined].

  None of them seemed to want to slow down, however. By day four, they all hit level three; this time their shared [Experience] was [Follower], something that Clay felt like he needed to take responsibility for. Olivia got [Warsinger] as well, while Mitchell got [Spear Expert], Andrew learned [Hiker], and Lana gained [Ambusher]. They celebrated, they trained, and then they went out the next day again.

  Clay could see the mild disbelief in the Baroness’ eyes as they came back to the village on the fifth day, already boasting about how they were planning on finishing out the [Achievement] the next day. Olivia had already told them about the fact that they’d get it once they made ten kills; the other three were planning on staying out long enough to get three extra patrols just to set things to rest. The Baroness had obviously never expected things to go that far, nor had she hoped for a bunch of [Commoners] to reach nearly half her level over the course of a single week. It must have seemed like a dream of some kind, without the clues about whether it was a nightmare.

  Still, as they walked back through the gates, Clay turned to the others and spoke quietly. “All right, tomorrow we’re going to do what needs to be done to get you all the [Achievement], but after that, the Baroness is going to escort you back on her own. I’ll need to head a bit further into the interior for a while, and you guys will have earned yourselves a rest.”

  He could already see rebelliousness in their expressions, and he held up his hands in defense. “Look, I need some time to scout the next part of the Lair’s defenses, and you won’t be ready for that yet. I want you all to train and rest a little bit. Once I feel like we are ready, we can move deeper in and start fighting tougher monsters.”

  When Andrew and Lana both opened their mouths to protest, Clay went on in a firm voice. “While I’m doing that, you can all keep fighting the lower level swinefolk on your own. It’ll be important to know what you can do when you aren’t getting the benefit of my bonuses, and it’ll help you get to know the lay of the land as well. Besides, it’ll only help us to cut down on the number of monsters hanging around so that they don’t ambush us on our way home.”

  Olivia spoke up, her voice cool. “That’s what they often did in the Tanglewood, correct Sir Clay?”

  He gave her a grateful look. “Yeah. Especially once we got close to the Lair itself. The more of the smaller monsters we can kill, the less the Lair can send to hunt us down when we start hammering away at its final defenses. Even a strong adventurer can get swamped, so this is part of the work too, all right?”

  The others gave him resentful nods, and he turned to the Baroness. “We’ll need your help at least one more time, my lady, but after that, I believe we should be able to defend our own camp. You won’t need to accompany us anymore.”

  She looked at him with eyebrows raised. “Are you saying my presence is not welcome, Sir Clay?”

  He blinked. “No. Of course not. Just that if you happen to have other responsibilities—”

  “The defense of my people is my responsibility. The destruction of these monsters is my responsibility.” She folded her arms across her chest and glowered at him. “I will continue to accompany you, regardless. At the very least, I can help exterminate more of these creatures to make sure their numbers continue to fall.”

  Clay nodded. “Your help is appreciated, my lady.” Then he looked around at the others and nodded again. “All right. Let’s get some rest and some food. Tomorrow will be a very important day.”