While they were walking together, Bardy said, "Commander!"
"Yes, I'm listening," Arrdun said.
"Your plan worked," Bardy said.
"What are you talking about?" Arrdun asked.
"We have a broken wall and dirty, slippery ground. All we lack is the enemy," Bardy said.
The crew started to laugh.
"Yes, indeed, it worked," Arrdun said, smiling.
Bardy and Arrdun went directly toward their tent. Others started cleaning and building a new campfire, which was going to be bigger and most importantly able to resist the wind.
They have arrived.
"I am listening," Arrdun said.
"What? I didn't say anything," Bardy said, confused.
"What is going on with you?" Arrdun asked angrily. "First the rain, then the damage to the wall, the watchtower, and an empty watchtower."
Bardy remained silent and looked down with a sad face.
"Firstly, I am your friend," Arrdun said. "Then the commander, and you know it," he continued. "I just want to help you if you need it, of course."
Bardy was silent and he was not reacting to Arrdun's words.
"Dori, did you already give up?" Arrdun asked worriedly. "What would you do in my place, facing the people who made the decision that you did?"
Bardy said nothing but started to breathe heavily.
"People from there," Arrdun said, pointing to the crew, "have named you Bardy the Brave," he said sadly.
Bardy remained silent but began to clench his fists.
"As a commander, before even speaking about the wall, I could already decrease your rank," Arrdun said gently. "Bardy," he said, taking a deep breath, and continued, "Say something." He continued, "Look at me when I am speaking," he said in a threatening tone.
"I am sorry, Commander," Bardy said and looked at Arrdun. "I am not Brave. I am Bardy the Broken." His tears fell from his eyes, his fists became unclenched. His whole body started to shake, like someone who felt cold. "I just..." he couldn't finish his words and he fell on his knees. He covered his face with his hands. He started to cry, complain and repeatedly mumbled, "sorry, sorry..."
"Soldier! Pull yourself together," Arrdun said, giving an order. Crap! It caught me off guard. I knew something was wrong but couldn't imagine it was this deep. If Dori is out, so am I. Good job, Commander. I guess this is our end here. Shit.
Bardy didn't react to Arrdun's order. Arrdun bent down and grabbed Bardy's arms and lifted him up. He forcibly put Bardy's hand down and gave a friendly weak slap. Arrdun didn't want to harm or make him feel pain. That slap was a reminder about who they were and why they were here.
After the slap, Bardy became silent. He had not expected it. He was shocked; he stopped crying and complaining. He looked at Arrdun in confusion.
"Don't disgrace the Dark Cloak's memory," Arrdun said gently.
Some time passed. Bardy said, "Radi, after that rain, I thought nobody would even try to move," he continued. "Who would attack in those horrible conditions? I couldn't even see my nose," he said, smiling.
"You shouldn't be able to see your nose, jester," Arrdun said. "I know, but rules are rules, especially for the watchtower."
"Yes, Commander! Please, keep my rank, keep it!" Bardy yelled. Suddenly, he started speaking loudly, which surprised Arrdun.
"Bring me 1 kg of apples, then I will keep your rank," Arrdun said.
"Commander! I will correct my mistakes," Bardy yelled.
"Dry up, jester," Arrdun said. "Get lost."
"Yes, Commander!" Bardy shouted and kept his body straight. Arrdun started to laugh.
"May I ask, Commander!" Bardy shouted.
"Yes, Dori, you know you can and stop yelling," Arrdun said.
"Why do you need a kilogram? I took only one apple," Bardy asked curiously.
"Because you play games, challenge other servants, and bet on apples," Arrdun said, "and indeed, you don't cheat, you play by the rules and somehow you win every time, jester."
"Well, someone has to win, right?" Bardy said, smiling. "Maybe one day I will tell you."
"Maybe yes, maybe no, maybe get out of here," Arrdun said, smiling. "A kilogram, no negotiation."
Bardy was preparing to go when suddenly they both heard loud footsteps coming toward them. They looked at each other with worried facial expressions and fear.
"Something's wrong," Bardy said worriedly, his hand resting on the dagger tucked under his belt at his left waist. The dagger was made of an alloy of copper, tin, and brass.
Arrdun didn't say anything.
A few servants were rushing to speak with Arrdun. Before they even reached them from afar, they shouted, "Commander! Commander!" they said, approaching.
"Forgive us for our interruption. We know you wanted to talk with Bardy, but the enemy is approaching," a servant said, fear creeping into his voice.
When Arrdun heard the word enemy, he said, "Bardy, use my equipment. It's in the public tent."
"There are only two people who are approaching," another one said.
"Two people attack?" Bardy asked, confused.
"I don't know," another one said.
"Who saw them?" Arrdun asked.
"A servant who managed to climb the watchtower," the third servant said.
"Watchtower?" Arrdun asked, surprised.
"Yes, but he can't go down. As the main task, we were cleaning that area," the servant answered.
"All right," Arrdun said, "you two join Bardy, the third join me to help get down from the watchtower."
They all rushed. They managed it. The servant safely came down from the watchtower. Meanwhile, Bardy was preparing others for the fight. They had a few minutes left before the two strangers reached their wall. The watchtower was empty, and only one servant was on the wall. Bardy and Arrdun were in the front line; behind them, the others stood.
"Are you sure about your equipment?" Bardy asked very quietly, and only Arrdun heard.
"Yes, I am weak, I can't hold a spear," Arrdun answered very quietly, and only Bardy heard.
"Shit, I thought you were good," Bardy said. "Why in the first line?"
"You know, a commander shouldn't hide," Arrdun mumbled.
"My sister didn't want a dead husband," Bardy said.
"How many pigs should I pay?" Arrdun asked.
"Say no more," Bardy said.
"Focus, Dori. I am not fighting, but you are," Arrdun said, smiling.
"Jester, betraying me like that," Bardy said.
The crew didn't hear what they said. The servant on the wall climbed down and approached them. "They are almost here," he said, then moved to join the second line.
Arrdun raised his right hand and made a signal to keep silent because the crew was also mumbling. Some time passed. They heard voices from outside and someone knocked on the gate and on the wall.
"Good evening. Is anybody here?" a stranger shouted.
"Maybe they are already dead?" a second stranger said.
"What is happening?" Bardy mumbled, worried. "It's a trap."
"Trap? Nonsense. They have a monster, no need for a trap," Arrdun answered quietly. "This isn't our reinforcement and this isn't our enemy. We need to understand."
"Also, we can hear you and we know that you are there," the first one shouted. "Is this how you host travelers?"
"We are losing time. Let's go back. We did what we had to," the second one said.
"There are no travelers, only enemies!" Arrdun yelled.
"Radi, your diplomacy degree is impressive. Where and when did you study it?" Bardy mumbled.
"Shut it," Arrdun said. "Studied at your house with your sister."
"We are not enemies!" the first one shouted.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Arrdun yelled.
"Firstly, maybe you can come closer. Don't want to yell," he first one shouted.
"Don't worry, we don't bite," the second one added.
"Will bite so hard you will not forget!" Bardy shouted.
"Dori, what devilry is this?" Arrdun mumbled. "Speaking about diplomacy?"
"Learned from the best," Bardy said.
"Strange, I remember only your sister. You were there too?" Arrdun asked, confused.
"Fool, the walls are thin," Bardy answered.
"You should change your walls," Arrdun said.
"Dry up," Bardy said.
"I'm coming!" Arrdun shouted, starting toward the wall.
He showed a signal, and the second line held their potions. He went with Bardy. They came close to the gate, and Arrdun opened the small window.
"Here I am, travelers. Now, answer the asked questions," Arrdun said, gently.
"Great. Now we can see each other. Good evening. Please, may I speak with the higher-ranking one?" the first one asked calmly, smiling.
"Good evening, too. I am the commander, and I am listening," Arrdun said.
"Good, good," the second traveler said warmly.
"You see, we are travelers. We were nearby when the horrific rain started. We tried to find cover, but it was too late. We lost lots of our goods. Now night is approaching, and the forest isn't a safe place for the unprepared," the first one explained. "We heard noises, and that's why we came this way. Also, I would like to ask which clan is yours and who is your master?"
"Travelers, here?" Arrdun asked. "Hmm, when you came here along this path, did you see or meet with anybody?"
"No, there was nobody. But before we came here, we found some tracks, possibly some remains of a camp," the first one said. "We tried to restore and stay there, but the camp was flooded. Too much work, and we decided to leave and search."
"Hmm, interesting," Arrdun said, surprised.
"Did you know them? Were they friends? Where did they go?" the second one asked.
"Doesn't matter. I think the rain pushed them," Arrdun said.
"Maybe, because if the lowlands were flooded and your camp is on higher land, that's why it didn't push like the other camp," the first one said.
Arrdun looked at Bardy, who was listening all this time.
"Listen, Commander, I don't want to hurry you, but it's really getting late. So what will you say? If you don't want, just say it, we will go elsewhere," the second worriedly. "And what is your clan, and who is your master, please?"
"This is how we will do," Arrdun said. "Stay close. I will need to think and will come back after a few minutes."
"Thank you," the first one said.
Arrdun closed the window and, with Bardy, went to meet the crew. When they turned to go back, they heard a voice.
"He said he is a commander!" the second one said. "From whom does he need to ask?"
Arrdun and Bardy met with their crew. After discussion, they agreed to welcome them.
"However, there is a matter which I am still thinking about," Arrdun said. "Our guests asked a few times about our clan and master," he continued. "We have two ways: lie or truth," he said. "We can try to lie, but lies have short legs. It will be discovered, and that will harm our potential ally friendship," he continued. "Or we can say that we don't have any master for our clan. Our dreams we will keep in private."
As the situation was strange, they took time to think and decided to go the second way with truth.
"To avoid any confusion, I will open and welcome them," Arrdun said. "For you servants, take off armors and weapons and build a guest tent fast. Nothing special, just grab some wooden logs which we will use as chairs and another one for a table. Finish setting up the campfire, if it's not done yet, and light it. We're all wet and tired. I'll exchange a little information with our travelers, and then we'll join you at the campfire. After that, return to your tasks."
When the servants prepared to go, Arrdun, with his head, gave a signal to the cook and he approached them.
"This is what we will do. We will need warm drinks," Arrdun said. "Bardy and I agreed. Give them our portions of herbal tea," he continued. "For us, bring whatever is left, water or nothing."
"Understood," the cook said and went.
"But I never agreed to that," Bardy said.
"Really?" Arrdun asked, smiling. "You owe me an apple."
"Don't worry, I will pay my debts," Bardy said.
"But what if I die before you pay?" Arrdun asked.
"Then I will have two choices. Put an apple on your tomb or do nothing," Bardy said. "And since I am a good person, why would I waste that apple? I will not feed grave worms. They will already have your juicy body. Certainly, I will eat the apple myself."
"Jester," Arrdun said, "come on, let's meet our new guests."
They went back. Arrdun opened the window and said, "All right, I agree to welcome you. About the master, we don't have one. About the clan, that is private," he continued. "What about you?"
"We are good," the first one said.
"Are you serious?" Arrdun said, confused.
"No, I'm joking," the first one said. "Does it matter?"
"Yes, because we fight against some clans," Arrdun said, "and you asked the first, not me."
"Well, we try to work with everybody to make it profitable for both sides. We have no master, we belong to every clan and we belong to none," the first one said.
"Understood," Arrdun said.
They tried to open the gate. While they were doing it, the wall with the watchtower started to shake with some loud noise, and the travelers became afraid.
"Be careful," the first one shouted.
"Move away," the second one said, pushing his comrade away.
"What are you doing?" the first one yelled. "It will fall. Is this a trap?"
"Trying to kill or help us?" the second one said.
"Don't panic," Arrdun said. "The rain did some damage."
"Also, if we wanted to kill you, you would already be dead," Bardy said.
Arrdun looked at Bardy and mumbled quietly, "Hold your horses, please."
Something was jammed. Arrdun was weak and couldn't open it. Bardy saw this and helped him.
"Can't hold a spear or open a door?" Bardy mumbled. "I think I will need to dig a hole."
"No words to the crew, otherwise it will be the end," Arrdun mumbled.
"Yes, I know," Bardy mumbled.
The gate opened and two strangers entered inside. They welcomed each other.