Advik rested for the better part of an hour as he settled his fears.

He had to do this. The dragon needed to die he convinced himself. He needed to be brave. He slapped his cheeks with cold refreshing water.

Advik stood up determined to carry on again.

Kevalya looked at him with a conflicted expression. Would Advik make it through the journey? Or would he abandon his mission? His attitude certainly worried Kevalya; but he figured it was fine. It would have to be. Advik had grown considerably over the past two months. It would be fine.

Pushing his thoughts aside, he urged the horses forward.

As they made their way through the border provinces, the desolation became apparent. Villages laid to waste, the wailing of orphans, pervasive starvation. The just desserts  of the horrors of war borne by the innocent and the powerless. 

Advik had never been on the battlefield, nor had he ever seen its aftermath. Until now that is. It disturbed him greatly. His usual quips fell flat within him as the realization dropped onto him like a hammer. This was what they risked. Just not here. In his own country. To his own people.

He realized for the first time. They couldn't fail. Not now. Not on this. Fear crept into his heart. The bane of clear thought.

"Where should we sell the spices? Here or in the next town over?" Kevalya asked him, breaking him out of his introspection.

"The Jaranuka forces are concentrated in the border towns. If we try to sell them there, what's to say our cargo won't just be confiscated? I say we just sell it here and change for currency at one of the border towns. We still need to rush over to Tirana. We will make good time without the cargo dragging us down. The soldier we sent ahead with the weapons might get discovered if we're late."

"Hey now, I didn't hear anything about going into the fiefdoms. I am not going anywhere near that mess. Just pay me now and let me leave." Cried Khurshid.

"Just see us to the next city over and then you can go." said Kevalya.

"Or.." emphasised Advik, pulling out another pair of coins, "you can take us to the border and earn an extra 2 silver Shreni."

"No. Just pay me now. I'm done with you and your .. your whatever this is." Insisted the boy.

"Okay okay. Here." Said Advik, paying him his due, before continuing, " Just point us in the right direction."

Khurshid counted the coins, noticing an extra. He looked at Advik with surprise.

"Keep it." Advik replied with a smile as Kevalya stared daggers into his back.

"Thanks. Since you've been generous, so will I. Don't take the main road. Go to Xiong village and then cross over at the second town from the border. It's called Lafiji. Has a odd shaped crag beside it. Can't miss it." 

"See. Being generous helps." 

As they made their way into town, he spotted the residents turning to look at them. 

'Odd. Haven't they seen any merchants lately?' He thought. 

They reached the merchants quarter in the town and called for the quartermaster.

"We would like to sell our cargo and carriage here. We have 3 crates of green chillies and 2 of red ones. And 3 bags of Hing and Jeera each. The carriage is new. Just had it made. Barely 5 weeks ago." 

"You guys are a blessing. No merchants have come around since the invasion started. How did you even get past the blockade?" The quartermaster asked.

"Trade secret. Say, how bad has the blockade gotten? What's the distribution of their forces?" Asked Advik. 

"Most of them are concentrated around the capital and some are blockading the border with the federation. But recently I heard about independent units ravaging the countryside. If you plan to go any futher, I would recommend turning back now." He replied. 

"And what of Xiong village? How's that road?"

"Wouldn't know. No one's been through there lately." The quartermaster put the money on the counter.

Advik picked it up and thanked the man and walked towards the door before remembering.

"Ah! One more thing. Do you happen to have any spare horses for sale?" He asked.

"No. The imperial army confiscated all of them for the war effort." 

"Thanks for the news then." He replied and met up with the rest of the crew at the town gate. 

"Are we done here?" Asked Kevalya. 

"Yes. Let's go." He answered, climbing onto Jagjit's horse.

"They didn't have any horses for sale?" Asked the soldier.

"What do you think?" Gestured Advik.

"I don't like how they are looking at us." Said Jagjit. 

"What?"

"They seem to know something. Something we don't. Like they didn't expect us to be here. It's odd." Jagjit replied.

"Well, there was apparently a blockade at their side of the border too. Maybe that's why?" Advik suggested.

"I sure hope so." Said Jagjit.

They galloped away northeast towards Xiong village. 

The sun was setting as they reached the hovel only to find it under attack by a small band of soldiers. The villagers had created an embankment around the village to stop the invaders but they were outnumbered 2 to 1. One by one the defenders fell as the soldiers ran through the village. 

"Should we help them?" Asked Advik. 

"Yes! Do you even have to ask?" Said Kevalya, charging at the attackers, cleaving through two of them with his talwar.

Advik jumped off the horse as Jagjit joined the fray. 

Pulling out his dagger he ran towards the embankment created by the villagers and grabbed a spear from a dead soldier.

He aimed at one of the pillaging enemies and threw the spear, piercing his shoulder straight through. 

He didn't wait for the man to recover his balance as he launched towards the downed soldier and plunged his dagger into his throat. 

He took a deep breath as he lpoked at the blood running down his dagger. The man gagged, tears flowing down his face. His eyes begged Advik. 

He could almost hear it. 

Advik stumbled back. His adrenaline rush causing a thrumming in his ears.

He had just killed a man. The dead man's piss pooled beneath his feet as he puked his belly out. 

Seeing Advik, puking another soldier ran at him with his spear, only to be blocked by Jagjit and beheaded. Blood showered on him as the sickeningly sweet smell of blood and iron permeated the air.

Jagjit pulled him up. 

"Get your act together!" He shouted lodging his axe into another enemy's chest.

"Yes." Advik thought pulling the spear out of the dead man. 'I have to fight.'

Instinct took over as he swung his spear at another enemy, notching him through the eye. 

The man stumbled. No. It wasn't a man. It was a boy. No older than 15. 

'What!...' 

He didn't have time to finish that thought as a spear jabbed at him. He parried the strike and hit the boy with the back of the spear, knocking him out.

Advik looked around.

'Twenty odd enemies left.' He noted , skewering another one.

'Eighteen now' Jagjit had beheaded another one.

A soldier leapt at Advik. His sword swiping his arm. Advik retreated a couple of steps and smacked on the side of his head.

The man fell and Advik finished him off with a quick jab through his throat.

A village boy raised his arm as the earth itself speared three men through.

'A mage' thought Advik as he checked the battlefield once more.

'Fourteen' he counted. 

Advik parried another strike and stabbed the soldier through the chest. 

He circled around the corpse and ran over to Jagjit. 

'Ten'  he threw his spear again and picked up a sword nearby.

'Nine' Kevalya gutted the enemy captain.

'Seven' Jagjit literally disarmed a man and beheaded another.

'Four' he counted, running a soldier through. He spit out some blood that had gotten in his mouth.

The rest surrendered. The village was saved. Or so he would have liked to say. But the majority were dead or soon to be dead. 

It's not like they had any physicians to treat them. 

'Best to end their suffering' or so Kevalya would say. Which he did. Not surprising though, the mage boy survived. As did an old man and his daughter.

The battle was finally over. 

His body ached from fatigue and the cut on his arm burned from the cauterization.

After a brief rest, he walked over to the young soldier he had knocked out and slapped him awake. 

"Whaaa..you.... YOU.." 

"I what? Huh?" Said Advik as he slapped the boy once more.

"What do you want? I won't talk! I'm a honorable warrior!" He shouted. 

"What's he saying?" Asked Kevalya. 

"He's babbling about how he won't talk and how he's a honorable warrior and what not."

Kevalya smiled. He knew what it took to make foolish little brats like this talk. 

"Alright then. Tell him that we will give him a warrior's death." Said Kevalya, pulling out his talwar. 

Advik conveyed the message to the Jaranuka boy.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! Just keep him away from me." He cried.

'Honorable warrior no more huh?'

After he had given them information on the enemy troops and their positions, he was let go.

Though Advik suspected that Kevalya might have followed him out and taken care of him later.

Come next morning, the villagers were given proper funerals and laid to rest. The old man and his daughter thanked us and left for another town. The boy however stuck around. His eyes hollow. He had refused to leave. He refused to eat. 

'Poor boy' he thought. Unfortunately they couldn't take him with them. He would have to manage somehow.

They had a mission to fulfill.