On the way back to Ironhold, Lucen began teaching Milos how to use the arquebus. The boy had never held such a powerful weapon before. His eyes widened the first time it fired, the recoil nearly knocking him off his feet.
Even so, Milos gritted his teeth and trained with unwavering focus. He listened to every instruction Lucen gave, determined to prove himself.
Aside from these moments of practice, the march back to Ironhold was uneventful. No monsters. No ambushes. Just the crunch of boots on the road and the occasional sound of musket drills echoing through the trees.
It wasn’t long before the landscape began to change. The white-capped trees thickened, the wind grew sharper, and the sky turned a colder shade of gray.
They had finally returned to North.
"It’s only been a few days, but for some reason..." Harlik muttered, a small smirk on his lips as he looked up at the falling snow. "I missed this cold biting my skin."
"Heh, boss, looks like you finally became a true Northerner!" Sarah called out with a grin.
"Well, we’re practically citizens of Stellhart at this point, right, little leader?" Harlik added with a shrug.
Lucen chuckled softly, his gaze fixed on the snowy path ahead.
"Of course you are." Lucen smiled faintly. "Proud men and women of the North."
Lucen and Thornefang had returned to the fortress city of Ironhold. Its towering walls, rimed with frost, loomed like a silent promise against the cold sky. Within, the clang of steel and scent of hearthfires greeted them like an old song.
Unlike when they returned with the young fire dragon’s body, this time there was no grand welcoming, but the people who saw them pass by greeted them with a smile.
Children ran up excitedly, bombarding the group with questions about their latest adventure. Bakers emerged from shopfronts and handed warm bread to the Thornefang members with flour-dusted hands and grins.
This was a normal sight in Ironhold, where knights come and go, protecting the North from monsters and barbarians.
Milos, who was on one of the wagons, was amazed by the fortress city. Its tall, towering walls were quite the sight to behold. He felt so small, so insignificant, upon looking at it.
When they entered, and he saw how the people reacted to Lucen and Thornefang, he felt that his decision to follow Thornefang was the right one.
As they were moving through the street, Lucen noticed someone charging at them at incredible speed. When the person got closer, Lucen immediately knew who it was.
"Young master!" The person who was sprinting towards them with excellent form was none other than Sir Thalos Stonemaul.
"Sir Thalos, it’s good to see you back. How did the negotiations with the barbarians go?"
"Oh, that was easy enough. The Thyrmholt tribe is easy to talk to. After a few drinks, a few wrestling matches, and some light sparring, we came to an agreement. Enough about that, I heard you have been doing some incredible things, young master."
Lucen smiled. "It wasn’t much. Just a bit of luck... or misfortune, depending on how you see it."
Thalos let out a hearty laugh. "You call slaying a dragon nothing much? Hahaha, as expected of you, young master. I also heard that you formed your own regiment. Thornefang was it."
Thalos looked at the members of Thornefang, who suddenly felt a shiver down their spines. "I see that there are some good seedlings within them. Do you want me to train them?"
"I was actually planning to ask you that, but you went out to negotiate with the Thyrmholt tribe," Lucen replied. "Now that you’re here, do you mind training them?"
"Of course, I wouldn’t mind, young master. Can we start now?"
"Yes, please forge them into powerful warriors. Just make sure not to kill them," Lucen said.
"As you wish, young master."
When the members of Thornefang heard Lucen and Thalos’s conversation, they felt a threat like no other. Even facing the young fire dragon didn’t feel as threatening.
Even though they had no idea how hard Thalos’s training was going to be, they instinctively felt that it was going to be deadly.
"Wait, little leader, we don’t really need to train that hard, right?"
Harlik spoke what was on everyone’s mind. Lucen looked at the members of Thornefang and then smiled brightly.
The second, Lucen said those words, Harlik was about to say something more, but Thalos interrupted him.
"Come on, enough talking, it’s time to train. As the people who are under Thornehart’s command, you guys need more muscle. Don’t worry, I will make sure to mold you guys into proper warriors!"
Thalos excitedly guided the members of Thornefang to the training grounds. Harlik and the others looked at Lucen, their eyes begging him to save them, but Lucen simply smiled and happily waved his hands.
After the whole thing with Sir Thalos, Lucen was going to meet his father to directly report what had transpired in Dorsen.
As he was walking towards his father’s study, Vahn, alongside his younger brother Cael, approached him.
"Welcome back, young master." Vahn greeted him. Cael, who was standing beside Vahn, nodded his head.
"It’s good to see you as well, Vahn, and I see that you came as well, my little bro. Did you come to greet me?"
Lucen knelt on one knee to be at eye level with his young brother. Cael looked directly at Lucen’s ruby red eyes, which contrasted with his own icy blue eyes, and nodded his head.
"Thank you, little bro."
Lucen patted his young brother’s head. Even though it didn’t show on his face, Cael seemed to be enjoying it as he closed his eyes, allowing Lucen to pat his head. It was at this moment that a familiar voice interrupted them.
"You’re finally back!" Removing his mask with a bird beak, Robert excitedly approached Lucen.
Robert’s clothes were singed as usual, and he smelled of smoke and chemicals.
"I and that grump Oswin have made several improvements to the Armor Buster. Also, I want to hear your views on the Crimson Lord Mk IV. How effective was it in battle? Did you time how long the heat lasts after squeezing the trigger with a full load of black powder? Were there any issues with the heat? Did the fire protection runes make the heat for you, the user, bearable?"
Robert suddenly bombarded Lucen with questions, making him stop patting his little brother’s head.
"Enough, will talk later, Robert. I still have to report to my father about completing my mission."
"Fine, but you better head to my lab, there are now several yellow tower mages here who took the mana oath under the watchful eyes of the Thalara, to keep what they see here a secret. So they’re now helping me create black powder. Even though I trust them, I didn’t actually teach them the right amount to create the black powder. I still do that part personally."
"Alright, I’ll head there once I get the chance."
"You better," After saying what he wanted, Robert hurried back to his lab. He, as usual, was like a storm that came and went as he pleased.
Once Robert was gone, Lucen looked at his younger brother, who was still there beside Vahn.
"Thank you for welcoming me back, little bro. I need to go and report to Father now."
Cael gave a small nod.
Lucen smiled. "I’ll see you later. Vahn, take care of him for me."
"Of course, young master," Vahn replied with a respectful nod.
Lucen ruffled Cael’s hair one more time, then turned toward his father’s study with steady steps.
Lucen’s hand rested briefly on the handle of the study door. Beyond it lay the next decision, the next burden, the next move in this long, bloody game. And as always... He was ready to pull the trigger.