After the meeting with the Queen, I nearly pushed Sir Gorin out the tent flap to lead me to Galdren's forge. Gorin walked me through the camp to the very rear. This is where Galdren set up his forge to stay out of the fray. I could see smoke billowing out of the stack that rose above the tent. It was Galdren's own design. Sir Gorin announced himself in that large booming voice of his, and burst through the flap in hopes of startling the old man inside.
"It is I Sir Gorin, I come with a gift Galdren. One that you won't want to go unseen."
"Ah, get outta here. I got more work than you have men under your command. This war will not happen if you don't have blades to fight with."
"Galdren, old friend. You don't even have a moment of time for me?"
He spun on his heels faster than I could have imagined. A look of joy and amazement jumped onto his face, and Sir Gorin began laughing that hearty laugh of his.
"I was wrong, you didn't kill him."
"It's going to take more than that to kill me you fool. Come here boy, let me get a better look at you. I heard tales that The Patchwork Knight was back amongst us, but I didn't believe them, because I knew if they were true, you would come here first."
"I came as soon as Gorin told me you were still here. Why are still slaving over this forge? You should be relaxing at the Palace, enjoying the good life."
"This is the good life lad. I've never wanted to do anything else. If I was sitting around staring at palace walls, I would rot away. This forge keeps me alive."
"It appears that it does. I believed our last meal together was the last time I would have seen you."
"Truth be told boy, I believed that myself, but this world is a funny place sometimes, and when paths are meant to cross, they will without fail."
I finally ran over and embraced the old man who became a father to me when my own had died. Gorin ran over and grabbed us both up on a massive hug, and we all began to laugh.
"Let me get a look at that armor boy. You have taken pretty good care of it all these years. It could still take a hammer or two though. Get it off, and let me have it at. I still say that this is my finest work, but don't tell the Ki..., I mean the Queen that. Don't you go running your mouth Gorin, I know how you are with a secret."
"As far as I'm concerned, you were just going on in your old crazy man speak. I can't ever understand a thing you say anymore."
I began taking off the armor that had served me for. I'm not sure how long I was gone. The years all ran together.
"How long has it been since I last saw you Galdren?"
"You don't remember?"
I shook my head.
"I guess living on your own can play with your mind a little. I have marked each day since the last time I saw you, and it has been 26 years. I guess you aren't really a boy anymore are you?"
"My bones creak a little, but I don't feel any different."
"Ah, don't worry about that boy, my bones were creaking when I was younger than you when we first met, and look at me now."
"It is a surprise you can still walk around. I can hear you from a mile away. Creak, crack, pop, and creak again."
"Don't you have somewhere else you can be right now Gorin?'
"I'm sure I do, but it is much more fun to sit here and josh you about."
"I can still burn you with my hot poker over there by the forge, don't you forget it."
"Aye, I'll leave you two to catch up."
"I'll see you on the field of battle, my friend."
"Now that he's gone, we can really talk. How have you gotten along all these years on your own?"
"I just did what I know how to do. I hunted and fought Raiders, knowing that one day I would return to the Kingdom with the hopes that the Target Realm would meet me there, but it took longer than I had hoped."
"Regardless of time, it seems that it has all come together as you hoped. You have whittled down the Raiders a great deal. The reports that we have heard, is that the only remaining forces that are ready for a fight, are behind those walls. We stopped seeing caravans coming into the Realm a few years ago. Here, walk with me to the forge so I can bang these dents out of your armor."
"I wanted to return much sooner, I tried to, but the Mudwood sent army after army my way. I fought through each and every one of them to make it here, and then a got the shock of my life hearing you were still alive."
"No one is more shocked than me. I knew why you left, and I understood, but it crushed me to see you go off on your own. I worried for you each day, and waited for the story of your death, but gladly it never came. Maybe that is why I lasted this long. I couldn't die until I knew what had truly happened to you."
"Don't get all soft on my old man. It truly is good to see you again."
"Let's get these dents out, there isn't much time before you are off to fight in your final battle. This is the one that will bring the Kingdom back the Realm, where it rightfully belongs."
"If they truly sent their best after me, then it shouldn't take much to take the Kingdom back."
"I have heard from our advanced scouts, that this new leader of the Mudwood, has a corp of troops that she has personally trained, and that they are far superior to anything the Mudwood has put against us in the past."
"Is that the raven haired woman I saw on the wall?"
"It very well could have been. It is said that she is as dark as night and more fierce then any wolf the Realm has seen. It is said that she calls herself Dark Raven. Part for her hair, and part for how fearless the bird is. We don't know much more about her."
"When I saw her on the wall, I noticed that she was different than the Raiders."
"There are stories, that we hear from time to time, of her having powers, but none of our scouts have been able to confirm that. I think it would be best that if you come across her during the fight, to use your own abilities and kill her quickly. If she falls, so will the Mudwood."
"Is she known to fight alongside her people?"
"That is another thing that we don't know. No one has really faced this elite troop of hers, so they don't know if she fights with them or behind them. This may be the first time we learn all of that. Ok, your armor is done boy. I'll help you get it on one last time."
"I hope that it is for the last time. I understand now what it was my father kept telling me as a boy. Fighting and killing only leaves you with a lot of bodies on the ground, and that is no way to build a kingdom. I will finish this fight, and then live as my father did. I may need you to teach me a little bit more on that old forge of yours. I can make horseshoes, but not much else."
"Aye, boy. I can see it in your eyes. They look just like your father's did when I helped him on with is armor for his final battle. When you come back from all of this, I will teach you all that I can."
I put my armor on and embraced my old friend one last time. I walked through the tent flap ready for the battle that lie ahead. The night would break to day in a few hours, but we would be fully engaged in battle before then. This day was only just beginning.
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