Midnight Riders part 2

This is the conclusion to Midnight Riders.
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Dana woke the next morning in Galfont’s small house. She saw Galfont leaving, looking as giddy as a child on his birthday as he got onto his wagon and rode off. She went to the kitchen and found Jayden studying his spell tablets. He took one look at her and set the tablets aside.

“You’re not happy,” he said.

“No, not happy. We’ve worked with some questionable people, but this takes the cake. This man should be in jail or six feet underground. Instead we’re making him rich.”

“He is less likely to cause trouble if his pockets are full. He is also unlikely to betray us for a reward when his own neck could end up in a noose.”

Dana sat at the table. “It feels like we’re rewarding him for being bad. I know we can’t always pick and choose our friends, especially during a war, but I think we’re crossing a line. It could backfire on us like it did with Clevner. I get that the people of Zentrix need help badly and soon, but is it always going to be like this? Looking for the least bad choice?”

“It’s been this way with me for years,” he told her. “I have had good and honest men working with me, and the experience was if anything worse. My plans could have hurt them, their families and neighbors if I’d failed. In this case the only man who’d suffer if we fail is Galfont, a minor loss to humanity, but still a loss. There are few I can count on for help, making men even as questionable as Galfont valuable.”

Dana snapped her fingers. “Sorcerer Lord Jayden doesn’t have many people he can trust, but Prince Mastram does.”

“No,” he said firmly.

“It could work.” Dana leaned across the table toward him. “There are a lot of angry people in the kingdom. We met a bunch of them yesterday. Tens of thousands of people would come to serve a prince back from exile.”

“They would die just as fast! King Tyros and Queen Amvicta would stop at nothing to kill me if they knew I still breathed. Any who came to my side would be cut down without mercy, as would their families.”

“The king and queen are already coming after you,” she pointed out. “How could they make it worse than it already is?”

“I know them better than you do,” Jayden said, his voice grim. “I saw them at their worst during the civil war. If they are frightened, they can do deeds more terrible than you can imagine. They have no shortage of mercenaries and gladiators only too happy to follow orders, no matter how terrible.”

Jayden stood up and put his hands on her hers. “Prince Mastram is dead, and for the good of the kingdom must stay dead. Even a whisper of the truth would bring down horrors beyond imagination on innocent people. As loathsome as Galfont is, using him is superior to the alternative. Please, don’t bring this up again.”

The rest of the day was spent in stony silence. Jayden continued studying his spell tablets and Dana explored their surroundings. Galfont’s house was far from any neighbor, ensuring they weren’t noticed by suspicious locals.

To Dana’s surprise, she saw shepherds guide herds of goats through the wilderness to lush bits of pasture. The shepherds were armed and watchful, with fierce dogs. Dana figured these men were keeping their herds well clear of armed men who could confiscate them.

It was nearly dinner time when Galfont returned on his wagon. He ran over and nearly knocked the door off its hinges in his eagerness to reach them. “This is your lucky night!”

Dana figured a lucky night would be Galfont being arrested by the authorities or eaten by wolves, but she bit back a harsh reply when the former graverobber sat at his table. “Most of the storehouses were emptied by the army on their way to Zentrix, but there are three nearby filled to the brim with goodies.”

“Why weren’t they emptied, too?” Dana asked.

“The soldiers didn’t have enough wagons. Word is they’re going to unload on the front and come back for the rest.”

Jayden asked him, “What sort of goods do they contain?”

“One has oats for horses and oxen, but it could be food for men just as easily. Another has saddles, horseshoes, yokes and the like for draft animals and cavalry horses. The last one is the real prize. It’s got uniforms, tents and blankets for five thousand men.”

“An army could fight without any of those,” Dana said.

“Not as well as they could with them,” Galfont countered. “There are more storehouses farther out, but they’re either empty or guarded like fortresses. It’s this or nothing. Deal?”

“What are their guard compliments?” Jayden asked.

“Ten men or less for each one, and no knights or archers. They’re more likely to run than fight.”

“What about the Golem Works barge in the city?” Dana asked. “If it’s carrying what Jayden thinks it is, we could have a fight on our hands.”

Galfont chuckled. “I saw them leave Trenton Town hours ago. They said they’d only stopped to buy food.”

“We hit them all tonight,” Jayden said. “Galfont, pack your belongings so you can flee after we’re done. When the third storehouse is destroyed, you’ll get the pay as promised. If we have to leave before finishing the job, you’ll be paid according to how much we did.”

“Fair enough,” Galfont told him. “We’re going to have to leave right away to do this. Hide in the back of my wagon and we’ll reach the first one by dusk.”

Dana and Jayden sat in the back of Galfont’s wagon as he rode through the growing darkness. It wasn’t comfortable for several reasons. The first was the wagon was meant to carry cargo rather than passengers, and there was no padding when they hit bumps in the road. The other cause of concern was how many other people were coming out only now that it was dark. Wagons shuttled around goods and people, while hunters and trappers brought fresh meat to sell. She’d never seen a city busier at night than during the day.

Jayden seemed to echo her thoughts when he asked, “Is it always so active?”

Galfont answered, “Locals tell me trade at night started last year and has only grown. They’re trying to avoid tax collectors and officials who steal worse than I ever did. Their duke has been ordered to put a stop to it, but he depends on untaxed trade as much as his people do.”

“How long until we reach the first storehouse?” Dana asked.

Galfont pointed ahead of them. “Not long before we hit the one with uniforms and tents. It’s a barn seized by the army outside city limits. I want to make it clear I’m acting as native guide. You’re on your own when the fighting starts.”

Jayden drew his magic sword. “I expected as much.”

“Did you ever learn what that thing does?” Dana asked.

“I figured it out earlier in the week.” Jayden looked almost giddy at the thought of using. He pulled off his outer layer of winter clothes to reveal his black and silver uniform beneath it. “Before we strike, I need you back in uniform.”

Dana frowned when he handed her the cloth mask, long gloves and leggings. “Then why are you trying to be as obvious as you can?”

“I’m counting on my reputation spreading fear. The king and queen know me well, but they have only vague details concerning your identity. The longer they remain ignorant of your name and face, the easier you’ll find it to move around in public.”

Dana put on the concealing clothes when they were in sight of the storehouse, just an old barn with ten spearmen standing around a fire. The soldiers looked bored and tired, and as they drew closer it was clear they were teenagers. They saw the wagon approach and barely reacted.

“Come on, guys,” one of the soldiers said. “This couldn’t wait until morning?”

“You ride at night and your horses are going to break a leg in the dark,” said another. “Cripple a horse and you’ll be whipped and branded.”

Jayden cast a spell and leapt off the wagon, landing with his sword pointing at the ground. “Gentlemen, tonight you get to choose whether you live or die.”

“Who the devil are you?” one asked.

Dana climbed off the wagon and drew Chain Cutter. The sword glowed in the darkness and made the soldiers gape in awe. “Seriously? Don’t any of you read the wanted posters?”

A soldier pointed at Jayden. “That’s the Sorcerer Lord! And unnamed female accomplice!”

Dana slapped her free hand over her face. “They’re still calling me that.”

Jayden pointed his sword at the soldiers and declared, “Run or fight, children. I should add that fighting ends in dying.”

The soldiers were far too young for their job, but to their credit they lined up and formed a wall of spears between Jayden and the storehouse. The young soldiers ran screaming at him. Their charge ended when a giant clawed black hand flew in and wrapped its enormous fingers around their spears. The youths yelled as they tried to pull their weapons free. Dana ran in and lopped off their spearheads with Chain Cutter. The now defenseless men cried out in panic as they fell back.

“Daggers!” one of the youths yelled. “Draw your daggers!”

Four soldiers broke and ran away while the rest pulled hunting knives from sheaths on their legs. The poor fools spread out and charged Jayden again. It was a desperate gambit that ended when the giant hand swept over them and effortlessly bowled them over. Five more ran off while the last cowered by the storehouse door. He made frightened, whimpering sounds.

Dana waved her sword in the direction the other soldiers had fled. “Go on, get out of here.”

“You’re not going to kill me?”

“Do you want me to?” The youth shook his head, and she said, “Then don’t ask stupid questions like that. Scoot.”

Once the soldiers were gone, an older, overweight man stumbled out of a door on the side of the storehouse. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Galfont. I told you there’s nothing here you want.”

Galfont hurried over and put an arm around the old man’s shoulders. “There’s been a change in plans. The fellow over there is paying you a handful of gold coins.”

“Gold?” The old man smiled from ear to ear. His joy ended when Jayden bashed down part of the storehouse’s wall with his giant black hand. “Here now, what’s he doing?”

“You’re being paid enough to not ask questions. Take the money, hide it, and if anyone asks—”

“Sorcerer Lord Jayden destroyed the storehouse,” Jayden told the old man. “Galfont, I see no need for your friend to suffer injuries to make this look like a robbery. My reputation is excuse enough for him to leave.”

Jayden began chanting a spell Dana was familiar with. The old man looked puzzled when he left, saying, “Gold, and I didn’t get slapped around this time. It’s an odd night.”

“How’s he going to destroy it?” Galfont asked Dana.

Jayden finished his spell, and a tiny ember floated from his hands into the hole he’d made in the storehouse. He walked casually back to the wagon and climbed aboard. “Take us to the next one.”

Galfont pointed at the storehouse. “But you didn’t—”

BOOM! The explosion tore the storehouse apart. Burning pieces of fabric and wood fell from the sky as heavy as rain in a thunderstorm. Jayden used his black hand to tamp out a few fires that were starting to spread and had it float back beside the wagon.

“Right, um, on to the next one,” Galfont said. He waited until Dana was onboard before driving away. “Take this as a professional critique, but you need to work on your approach. Too loud, too flashy. Everyone within a day’s travel heard that, including the authorities.”

“Great, we’re taking advice from a graverobber,” Dana muttered.

“Former graverobber, thank you. The next storehouse is at the edge of town and has saddles and yokes. The noise must have drawn a crowd by now. If we’re lucky they’ll follow the sound to our last stop.”

“I’m not greatly concerned about soldiers,” Jayden told him.

“I imagine you wouldn’t be,” Galfont said as he brought the wagon to a halt next to a large building at the edge of Trenton Town.

Soldiers on guard duty were alert and looked scared. One pointed at smoke in the distance and asked, “What was that?”

Jayden dismounted and smiled at the soldiers. “Roughly one thousand gold coins worth of goods burning. Tragically for you, the event is about to repeat itself.”

These soldiers were as young as the last ones and panicked even faster. Half of them ran when they saw Jayden and the rest fell back.

“Hold them off!” one of the teenagers said. He grabbed one of his soldiers by the arm and shoved him to the left. “Go, get help!”

Jayden sent his giant hand to swat soldiers aside, and they ran off rather than face it. The soldier giving orders was the last to flee. Jayden made the hand scoop him up. The youth screamed as the hand brought him back to Jayden.

“I have a message for your commanding officer,” Jayden told him.

“I don’t know who that is!”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Dana demanded.

“I, I was under General Thrade’s command, but I was transferred to General Kame, and then assigned guard duty here after Thrade and Kame left. I don’t know who’s giving orders here.”

Jayden dropped the soldier, who ran off as the giant hand battered a hole into the storehouse. A pudgy clerk came out of a side door and said, “I would have opened it for you.”

“Pay him and get him out of here,” Jayden ordered. Galfont took the clerk aside as Jayden began chanting. Dana kept an eye out for the trouble that was sure to come.

“I hear men coming,” Dana warned.

Jayden finished the spell and sent a single spark floating into the storehouse. “To the last target, and hurry.”

BOOM! The building went up in flames. This one didn’t detonate as explosively as the last one. Dana figured it was because the saddles and yokes wouldn’t burn like fabric did, and the horseshoes wouldn’t burn at all.

Dana and Jayden climbed back aboard the wagon and Galfont drove off. They heard men in armor running toward the storehouse, and shouts were coming from all around them. Frightened people came out of their houses to see what was going on. Vendors selling goods on the streets gathered up their possessions and fled.

“The last one is on the other side of the city, and I want my wagon filled with goods from it before you blow it up,” Galfont said. “We need to hurry. If whoever is in charge here has a working brain, he’ll figure out where we’re going and try to beat us to it.”

“Get us there first,” Jayden ordered.

Galfont drove his horses hard through the streets. Twice he had to slow down to avoid groups of people coming out of their houses. One man nearly got run over, but Jayden’s magic hand scooped him up and set him down in an alleyway.

“What’s happening?” a woman shouted at them.

“Wanted criminal coming through!” Jayden shouted back. Dana would have bet good money that his warning would have sent bystanders running for cover. Instead they hurried over to get a glimpse of him.

A flash of light to their left caught Dana’s eye. She looked over and saw nothing as the wagon rocketed down the street, but as they passed an alley, she saw the light again. There were dozens of soldiers running down the streets and carrying lanterns to light their way.

Dana waved her sword to their left. “Soldiers are going parallel to us on the next street over!”

Galfont pulled on his wagon’s reins to slow down before he hit people milling around in the street. “Get out of the way!”

“We’re not moving much faster than they are,” Jayden said. He cast a spell that formed a globe of light that shot down the street ahead of them. Pedestrians flinched away from the sudden light, opening up the way for them.

“That’s it up ahead,” Glafont told them. He nodded at a large building at the end of the road. “Former church for the Brotherhood of the Righteous before they were kicked out of the kingdom. These days it stores oats.”

The converted church was guarded by more young soldiers who looked terrified. When Jayden dismounted the wagon, one ran up and said, “What’s going on? We heard explosions and screaming. Are we under attack?”

Jayden looked the youth in the eyes. “Is it really that dark that you can’t recognize me?”

The soldier screamed and ran. The rest saw him flee and followed suit when Jayden’s giant black hand came barreling toward them. He sent his magic hand crashing into the old church’s doors, knocking them off the hinges. A frightened clerk peeked out of the building as the giant hand retreated.

“You, out,” Jayden ordered. The man ran past Jayden, but to their surprise came running back. “What are you doing?”

“Soldiers!” the clerk screamed as he went back into the old church.

Dana, Jayden and Galfont spun around to find fifty soldiers marching toward them. The men wore chain armor and had shields, spears or swords, with ten men carting lit lanterns. It would have been an intimidating sight if the men were advancing. Instead they stood in a rough line, neither advancing or retreating. They were young, some younger than Dana, with a sprinkling of men far too old for the difficult job of soldiering.

“Do something,” Galfont whispered to Jayden. “Anything.”

The soldiers had them ridiculously outnumbered. Jayden was a credible threat to a group this size, but they stood a chance of killing him in battle. There was no attack, though, nor even an attempt to threaten or harass them.

Jayden bared his teeth and marched toward the line of soldiers. “This is best the king and queen can do? This rabble? Your army is preparing to invade a neighboring country, and you can’t even face one sorcerer.”

Dana caught up with him and put a hand on his arm. “Jayden, look at them. They’re called soldiers, armed like soldiers, but they’re kids and old men. Some of them are younger than I am.”

“Is that it?” Jayden demanded. “Did your generals leave behind men they didn’t trust to face the horrors of war? I can’t tell if that was an act of mercy or contempt. One of you must be an officer in charge of this mob!”

An older spearman said, “I think his name is Commander Varnos. He gave us orders when we got to this city. That was five days ago. Haven’t seen him since then.”

Jayden stared hard at the men. A look of confusion swept across his face, followed by rage. “You’re new recruits. You haven’t been given any training, have you? Your leaders gave you armor and weapons, as if that would make you soldiers, and sent you into the jaws of war. I wondered how I could enter this city so easily and strike barely opposed.”

Boom. The sound echoed down the street, a distant thunder that spoke of power. Boom. Soldiers spun around and panicked at the threat coming up behind them. Boom. They cried out in terror as a ten foot tall stone man walked down the street toward them. Boom. The golem looked like a bald, muscular man. Boom. Dana gasped when the golem blinked its stone eyes and grinned.

“Make way, mayflies,” a dwarf with a long black beard called out. He wore plate armor and held a silver amulet in one hand and a black ax in the other. “Clear the road.”

“You said the Golem Works barge left this morning!” Dana shouted at Galfont.

“We left, and we came back,” the dwarf said casually. “Upriver is too shallow for our barge to float with my friend here riding along. We were going to walk to the front lines, but a frightened human told me the city was under attack.”

“Lovely,” Jadyen said. More quietly, he told Dana, “Few of my spells can hurt the golem.”

The dwarf chuckled. “Sorcerer Lord, is it? Name’s Dunrhill Stronglock. Word was the elves killed off your kind long ago. Guess there are always survivors. I’d have some sympathy for you after what my people suffered at elven hands, but the man paying my bills is keen on hearing of your demise. Nothing personal, you understand.”

“Perish the thought,” Jayden replied dryly. “You do know an iron golem tried to kill me and died?”

“Heard about it,” Stronglock. “You had two wizards helping in that fight that I don’t see here. Odds are in my favor, not yours.”

Jayden rested his sword on his shoulder. “Feel like giving me a chance to surrender? Most of my foes do.”

“That’s reason enough not to do it.” Stronglock raised the silver amulet high. “Simon says kill the Sorcerer Lord.”

The stone golem lumbered toward Jayden as soldiers got out of the way. It hadn’t gotten far before Jayden’s giant black hand charged in and hit the golem in the face, knocking it over. The hand swung down again and again on the prone golem. For a few seconds that was enough to keep it in check, but the golem grabbed the hand and squeezed. Jayden cried out as the giant hand dissolved into black mist.

“Are you hurt?” Dana asked him.

Jayden rubbed his hand. “I canceled the spell before I suffered too much feedback.”

The golem stood up and advanced on them again. It was a serious threat, but like Wall Wolf it wasn’t fast. This gave Jayden time to cast two spells before it reached them. The first formed a shield of spinning black daggers in front of him while the second reformed his giant black hand. The golem raised both hands high to attack Jayden, ignoring Dana entirely. She drew her sword and ran at it, only to find Stronglock in her way.

“I heard about you, too,” the dwarf said. “Word is your sword is impressive. Let’s find out.”

Dana swung at Stonglock, and her sword met his ax in a shower of sparks. Normally Chain Cutter hacked through weapons, but the ax suffered little more than a nick. Stronglock swung at her head. Dana stepped to one side and hit his ax again. Sparks again showered onto the street as each weapon held.

“It’s as good as I was told,” Stronglock said approvingly. “Is that Thume Breakbones’ workmanship?”

Dana dodged another swing from the dwarf. “Yeah. Bald, rude, self-centered.”

Stronglock’s next attack went low in an attempt to hit Dana’s heels. She jumped over it and swung down, but Stronglock already had his ax up to block it. “That’s Thume, all right. My ax is one of his earlier weapons.”

Dana charged Stronglock and tried to stab him in the shoulder. The dwarf parried her sword with more sparks raining down on them. This was bad. Dana had learned a lot about swordsmanship from Jayden, but she hadn’t landed a single hit and was barely avoiding Stronglock’s ax. She’d heard dwarfs were legendary for their stamina. Stronglock could keep this fight up for hours, while she would tire far sooner.

Not far away, Jayden sparred with the stone golem. The golem tried to punch him and hit the shield of spinning blades. Black blades broke when the golem struck them, scratching its right arm from fingertips to its elbow, but doing nothing else. Jayden swung his magic sword at the golem, and to Dana’s amazement he moved as fast as its original owner, Brasten. Jayden moved so fast he was a blur as he struck the golem across its face and neck. His sword merely scratched the stone.

Stronglock kept after Dana with powerful, relentless attacks. She was faster than the dwarf and avoided the worst of it, but when she blocked one swing, he punched her hard enough to send her back three feet.

Jayden ran over and helped her up. “This isn’t going well, and the soldiers are blocking our escape route.”

Stronglock and his golem were heading for them. Either one was difficult to beat, and together they were more than Dana and Jayden could stop. Dana backed up a step, and her sword grazed the edge of a building, cutting into the stone. Inspiration hit like a thunderbolt.

“Trade partners,” she said. Jayden looked shocked by the suggestion, but she pressed on. “I can hurt the golem at least a little, and your spells should stop the dwarf.”

Jayden sheathed his sword and cast a spell to form his magic whip. “It’s worth trying.”

“Letting a girl fight your battles?” Stronglock taunted.

“Shut up and dance,” Dana said as she went after the golem. It ignored her in favor of Jayden, and she cut a deep gash in its right leg.

“Simon Says kill the girl,” Stronglock ordered. He tried to attack her and got only feet before Jayden swung his whip and wrapped it around the dwarf’s ax. The whip didn’t eat through the ax like it did nearly everything else, but Jayden was able to drag Stronglock to a halt.

Powerful as the golem was, it was tragically slow. The stone golem swung at Dana and missed, smashing in a wall of a building she was standing next to. When that failed it tried to kick her. Dana slashed the golem across its foot and left another deep gash. The golem scowled and lunged at her with arms outstretched. Dana jumped out of the way and swung her sword behind her, catching it across the belly.

Stronglock wasn’t doing any better against Jayden. The dwarf stopped trying to pull free and instead charged him. Jayden let his magic whip dissolve and drew his sword. With the sword’s magic he moved amazingly fast as he lashed out at the dwarf. Stronglock’s heavy armor stopped most of the swings, but one stroke took off half of his beard.

“You don’t touch a dwarf’s beard!” Stronglock bellowed. He pointed his ax at the soldiers and yelled, “Stop milling around and fight!”

The men looked uncertain until a lone soldier pointed and asked, “Hey, what are they doing?”

All eyes turned toward to the former church. Galfont had been busy during the battle carrying one sack of oats after another to his wagon, but the former graverobber wasn’t alone. A steady stream of citizens hauled away the storehouse’s contents.

“You thieving dogs!” Stronglock yelled.

An angry man shot back, “Who do you think grew this in the first place!”

More citizens gathered until they outnumbered the soldiers five to one. A man pointed at the bags being taken away and shouted, “We need food more than the army does! Come on, lads! Take back what’s yours!”

An already chaotic melee became utter madness. Enraged residents of Trenton Town surged into the soldiers from behind. Some men tackled the soldiers while others pushed on to loot the storehouse. Most of the soldiers were occupied fighting back, while others ran off and a few actually joined in the looting. Dana fought the golem while Jayden sent a flurry of sword swings at Stronglock.

“You people are idiots!” Stronglock yelled as he struggled to get past crowds of rioters and soldiers. He was making some progress when Jayden brought his giant magic hand down on the dwarf and knocked him over. Dana was amazed when the dwarf got up quickly, but her surprise doubled when the dwarf’s face contorted in fear. “No! Where is it?”

Dana couldn’t figure out what terrified Stronglock until she noticed he carried his ax in one hand and the other was empty. He’d lost his silver amulet when Jayden hit him. The dwarf scrambled across the street on all fours in his search for the amulet.

The stone golem was still coming after Dana, and she had to slip through the crowd to escape it. She was lucky the golem was trying hard not to step on the townspeople or soldiers when it came after her. That avoided a massacre and slowed the golem’s pursuit. As she struggled to get through the packed crowd, she saw a small, glittering amulet skid across the street. Someone kicked it by accident, then another person kicked it in a different direction. Dana and Stronglock both tried to reach it while countless people ran between them.

Dana was smaller and lighter than the dwarf, and that was just enough for her to slip through the crowd and grab the amulet. She crawled away while both Stronglock and his golem followed her.

“Stop!” Dana yelled at the golem. It continued after her. “I said stop!”

Jayden caught up with Stronglock and punched the dwarf in the face. “Tell it Simon says stop!”

The golem caught up with Dana and raised both arms to crush her. She couldn’t move fast enough through the crowd to avoid it. “Simon says stop!”

The golem froze in place. Dana got out from under it and pushed past the many people around her. “Jayden, come on, let’s go!”

Jayden pushed through the rowdy crowd to reach her, and they both ran. They saw Galfont drive his wagon away, although someone had climbed onto it and was throwing out the sacks of oats. Dana heard Stronglock hollering as he chased them, but the dwarf couldn’t match their speed and soon fell behind. They ran through the city until they reached the river.

Dana held up the amulet. “Can I control the golem from here?”

“It has to hear your orders to obey them.”

“I guess I should have told it to follow us. It could have been the help you need.”

Jayden looked back into Trenton Town. City streets rang out with the sounds of rioting. “It’s best you didn’t bring it. Golem Works would do anything to retrieve it. The stone golem moves too slowly to keep up with us, and it’s so heavy its footprints would be deep and easy to follow. Golem Works can likely track the control amulet. You’ll have to get rid of it.”

Dana set the amulet down and swung her sword at it. Chain Cutter effortlessly hacked through the silver amulet. “That overgrown statue won’t go far now.”

“Not until the dwarfs bring a new amulet and attune it to the golem, a process that could take days to weeks.” Jayden led Dana away into the night away from Trenton Town. They’d only gone a short distance when he said, “I wonder if Galfont escaped in the confusion.”

“Oh, he got away. He’s a slippery one.”

“The enemy’s attention was more on us than him, so you’re likely right,” Jayden admitted. “We’ll wait for him at his house, pay him and move on in the morning. I’m tempted to stay here longer, but with the army supplies burned, stolen or already gone there is nothing left to attack. We have to find new targets, and soon.”

“You sound awful depressed. We won, Jayden. You burned two warehouses, helped empty out another and got away with it.”

Jayden stopped and stared at Trenton Town, a city he’d left in disarray. “I have been striking blows like these for decades. None of them stopped the wars I feared would come to pass. Tonight’s victory was small, and we must strike many more like it.”