Beyond the Rabbit Hole

Herongrand

Alyss and Morgyn looked at each other each with a worried expression.

Benard sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You two. . . I swear. You do this thing where you glance at each other every time something comes up and you don't know how to answer. It is beyond obvious at this point, so I'll take that to mean I'm right." He let out an even deeper sigh and walked forward to lean out against the railing and face the sky. "It all makes sense when I connect the dots if I assume you two aren't from this world at all."

Morgyn turned and stood next to him. "Is it really that obvious?"

"How do you expect us to react when you people talk about things that make no sense to us." Alyss shrugged.

"What, you've never bullshitted your way through a situation before?" Benard chuckled.

"That seems to be rather difficult when we don't know many of the common sayings, things, or places here." Morgyn sighed. "So, what are you going to do, now? Will you tell Rendhal?"

"I suspect the commander already figured it out."

"I was hoping that wasn't the case." Alyss closed her eyes and leaned back against the railing. "This whole journey he recommended to us seemed awfully suspicious."

"It seemed that way to me as well." Benard nodded. "And I suspect Isaaik will figure it out soon after you meet, assuming Rendhal didn't just spell it out for him in the letter."

"We could always open it up and see." Alyss smirked.

"Not a good Idea." Bernard shook his head. "The Lord Commander isn't somebody you want to cross, especially when you have so little information in the first place. You don't want to be crushed by his connections."

"So, what if we leave Herongrand without meeting him at all?" Morgyn asked.

"That's an option," Benard replied. "But it is still a great opportunity to make a valuable connection of your own. Besides, Rendhal wouldn't just send you two into the wyvern's nest. If he recommended us to go see Isaaik, then he trusts him enough not to harm you two."

"You don't sound entirely sure." Alyss furrowed her brow.

"I'm not." Benard chuckled and turned away from the railing. "But I've made my decision." His face filled with resolve, and a slight smile emerged as he walked away from the railing.

Morgyn turned back to face him.

Benard turned and looked from Alyss's eyes to Morgyn's. "I never cared much for the emperor, and the emperor probably wouldn't care about me – not that we ever met of course. I said it earlier and I'll say it again – you two are special. I can see that clear as day. When you don't have any clue about something, I'll come up with the excuses. When you need a sword, you can count on mine, though I need to get a new one. You two have saved my life three times now. I have a debt I can never pay back, but with this I shall attempt to, nonetheless." Benard dropped to one knee and lowered his head. "From here on I dedicate my knowledge and my skills to you both. I shall serve as your sword, your shield, and your advisor until my last breath." He looked back up at them. "If you'll have me."

Morgyn stood there with his mouth agape.

Alyss was speechless as well, but only for a moment. Then, she burst out laughing. "I don't really know about any of those other things, but we're happy to have you as a friend!" She reached her hand out to Benard. Her teeth shined through a wide grin.

Benard took a deep breath and lowered his gaze. "I wasn't expecting you to laugh at my resolve. That was a serious declaration of my loyalty, you know."