Nitesco's eyes fluttered open as he woke from a deep battle-induced slumber. He groaned, still drowsy, and turned on his side. He gasped and sat up as he saw four men turn towards him through his barely open eyelids, startling them and himself. "Hey, hey. Easy there. We're not here to hurt you." It was the old man from last night, Austin something-or-other. He exhaled, calming down as he noticed the two other faces in the tent were also familiar and friendly.

"So, who are you guys?"

One was in the back, running a stone over a sword, no doubt slightly dulled as a result of the battle. The other waved at him, finishing off a skin of wine before introducing himself.

"I'm Quixotic, and the guy with the sword is Gwydion, and our guest here is General Jaeger. I'm assuming you know Austin." Nitesco nodded, sitting up and planting his hands behind him on the rather uncomfortable mat of hay he slept on. "Not that well, actually. I suppose we'll all get to know each other better eventually." He paused. "This is a little off-topic, but where are we? Last night was a bit of a blur."

Gwydion set his sword down and turned towards the aspiring soldier. "Well, we were riding away from the battlefield when we stumbled upon a retreating Bumblebee legion. Austin was fortunately acquainted with the General, and managed to get us a spare tent and some food. You passed out right after we got there; Austin was nice enough to give you a mat."

Austin smiled and returned to quietly (but intensely) biting apart a loaf of bread. "So, who's in charge here?" Nitesco asked.

Jaeger raised his hand. "I am. General Kuchen Jaeger, commander-in-chief of the armies and heir apparent to the throne of Bumblebee. My cousin Jillian was unable to escape Celtic's wrath."

"Celtic?"

"The leader of this insurrection. He was an exiled lord from Night's Watch, banished from the court of nobles for disobeying the Mod Council. He has powerful allies: Emberald, for their hold on the resource-rich lands of the north, and Arkos and Crosshares for their large armies. Hell, he's even got a goddamned steppe horde with him. He's a man with incredible power, and many connections. If he gets his way, the entire Subreddit will bow to him and his execrable cronies."

Quixotic flopped back on the ground. "Fantastic. No pressure there."

"Don't worry, son. We'll get our lands back eventually. In the meantime, you'll all pull your weight. Austin, you're on guard duty with Quixotic. Gwydion, you and Nitesco will take the shift after theirs in an hour. With any luck, we'll be back in the city and have Celtic's head in a bag by the end of the week." He stood, gesturing to Austin and Quixotic to go to their posts before disappearing around the corner of the tent.

"We'll talk later." Austin smiled, stood and waved Quixotic out of the tent before following him to their posts. Alone, Gwydion turned to Nitesco.

"Well, we've got a couple hours to ourselves. What do you say we have ourselves a look around the area?"

"Sounds fine to me."

Gwydion stood, sheathing his sword and making sure he was followed by Nitesco before walking out of the tent and entering the woods. For about ten minutes, the pair calmly and silently strolled through the woods. Finally, Nitesco broke the silence.

"So, how'd you become a blacksmith?"

Gwydion laughed. "It's a long story."

"I have time."

The blacksmith scratched the back of his neck and began expositing.

"My father was the leader of the most feared mercenary company there was; they were called the Fallen Angels. My brothers and I were each trained in a different art. My older brother was a cavalryman, my youngest brother was a strategist. I was a blacksmith. As brother's we vied for our father's attention hoping to impress him. Eventually, I did, and I became the chief blacksmith of the company. It was all for naught."

"Some time later, my father, now in his older years, led us into the Third Shipping War against White Rose and Bumblebee. During the siege of Lancaster, we were defending the castle, when some of our men betrayed us. They opened the portcullis while we slept, released the drawbridge and aided them in slaying all the defenders. My father… he was killed by his most trusted lieutenant. I knew we were beaten. I ran. I ran until I crossed the border into Bumblebee. I set up as a blacksmith, made myself known. That's where I was when Celtic destroyed the city. I saved Quixotic from two of his henchman, and we rode off into the countryside. You know the rest of the story." He paused, leaning on a relatively small oak tree. "What about you?"

Nitesco swallowed. "Well, I wasn't in it for the glory or fame or money or what have you. I joined the foreign legion because life in Guns N' Roses was boring. I mean, I love my homeland, and heaven help the man who harms it, but it was tedious. My parents were serfs. I hated the prospect of working the same strip of land for the rest of my life, so I ran. I ran away. I was never caught either. I hid in the city for three years, before I finally came of age and joined the legion. It was exciting, I had always loved the tales of dashing heroes and valiant knights. But war…" He trailed off, painful memories surging through his mind like a river.

"War is different. But even if I die in this fight, I'm still glad it was here and not on some godforsaken dirt farm in the middle of nowhere."

Gwydion nodded, smiling. "I understand. You're very brave, for such a young man."

"No. I'm not." He looked at the ground, sighing regretfully. They stood awkwardly for a couple seconds before Gwydion finally broke the silence.

"Hey, let's not dwell on the past. Let's look to the future. Specifically, the mess hall, because I didn't have breakfast." The pair shared a halfhearted chuckle. Gwydion patted Nitesco on the shoulder, comforting him as they walked towards the distant smells of fresh bread through the lush forest.

Austin and Quixotic stood in a small clearing in the woods, surveying the surrounding foliage for any disguised or hidden threats. Quixotic sighed tiredly, sitting down in the matted grass. Austin, seeing his compatriot taking a moment to rest, laid down beside him, staring up at the few wispy clouds in the early morning sky.

"Man, this sucks! There's nothing to do!"

Austin sat up and looked at Quixotic with derision. "If we had something to do, it would distract us from our duties."

Quixotic sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and rolled over on his side. Austin looked at him nonchalantly. "Is something wrong?"

Quixotic groaned. "I just looked at the sun. Holy shit, do I have a screaming headache."

"I believe that's called sobriety."

The drunkard blindly tried to backhand him, but missed and swiped the ground. "Smartass."

Austin laughed, folding his hands behind his head and lying down.

"So why do you drink so much?"

"If I stop drinking, the cumulative hangover will kill me."

"You know what I mean."

His compatriot grunted, trying to remember his cover story through the haze of a hangover.

"Well, I was exiled from my homeland, so I started meandering about the Subreddit. First I stopped in Guns N' Roses, then Night's Watch. The Third Shipping War broke out, I joined as a mercenary, fought for White Rose. I saw shit. I learned the hard way what war does to a person. I picked up a drinking problem and a ride to Bumblebee, and I carved out a living selling trinkets and doing odd jobs for a guy."

Austin placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, silently sympathizing with the experiences of war.

"I understand. War is hard. War…war never changes. You know, I used to be a top general for Guns N' Roses."

Quixotic looked over at him, cracking his eyelids open just enough to prompt Austin to continue dumping his exposition on him.

"I was a prodigy. As a child, I studied great strategists like Exo II and Nightswatchh, and the decisive battles of the First Shipping War. I learned everything there was about fighting, every tactic there was to understand. I pored over books of strategy and countless volumes of history."

Quixotic nodded, trying not to let the throbbing pain in his head lull him to sleep.

"I trained as a knight under King Pykoh. We were roped into the Second Shipping War on the side of White-Rose and Bumblebee. I thought I was ready; I was very, very wrong."

Quixotic inhaled sharply in a desperate attempt to keep himself awake.

"I saw men tear each other apart with their bare hands. I saw the most gruesome acts of cruelty I ever thought I would see. Heads rolling, men crying and screaming in pain, an ocean of blood enveloping the battlefield. I was absolutely horrified."

"It got worse. The civilians? They died too. I burned their homes and villages. I led soldiers as they killed every man and child, and looted their homes. I stood by and watched as their lives collapsed before their eyes, before they earned the mercy of the sword. And do you know what? They gave me the fucking medal of honor when all was said and done. Ten thousand lives on my conscience, if not more, and I got a pat on the back and a fat pension for it." The drunkard sat up, genuinely intrigued and shaken out of his stupor, now intently focused on Austin and his story.

"What happened next?"

Austin snickered darkly. "I couldn't take it. I got a villa in the countryside, the best around, but I spent every day I could away from it. I was wracked with guilt. I would spend entire days on end in prayer, asking for forgiveness, or wandering about the town, drinking and whoring, trying to forget my misdeeds. Eventually the stress became too much to bear, so I purchased enough poison to kill a cow and planned to use it on myself. Then, I had an idea."

"I invited the king, his nobles, and his commanders to my villa for a feast. I got them all seated, poured them some wine, and put a dose of the toxin in each glass. They drank and laughed the whole night, until they started choking on their own vile spittle. I watched as they gasped their air, clutched their throats and begged for mercy and swore that they would have revenge. I did nothing; I stood idly by just like I had so many times before."

"I took their gold and horses and fled to Bumblebee. I was caught crossing the border by our very own General Jaeger, to whom I told the whole story. He took me in and allowed me an opportunity to settle on the land in exchange for Guns N' Roses state secrets. I settled in the countryside, taking my talents and applying them to poetry and the theatre. I wrote and sold scripts to make an honest living; and no one was the wiser, save for the General and now, you."

Quixotic sat in reverent awe, newly aware to the bloody truth of the man sitting beside him. He waited in silence for about a minute before turning to the veteran and asking him another question.

"Why did you tell me this?"

Austin sighed remorsefully, showing his true age. "Because we need to trust each other. Fate, God, whatever you call it, has driven us together. Celtic and his goons are just more butchers seeking to continue the cycle of war. If we're going to stop him, we all need to work together, and we can do that best without secrets to come between us."

The agent exhaled, concealing his guilt behind a façade of resignation. "I suppose you're right." He spoke quietly. "Is it alright if I take a piss?"

Austin shrugged. "Be my guest. I'm not going to stop you."

Quixotic nodded in gratitude, wobbled as he stood up and disappeared into the forest. He wandered through the dense vegetation, swiping away branches and trying his best to avoid prickle bushed as he arrived at a suitable spot.

A rustle in the fallen leaves to his right brought him to attention, and he turned to face a man in typical Bumblebee armor, the Golden Bee emblazoned on his armor. He pulled a small envelope, intricately stamped and sealed with the sigil of Top Shelf. Quixotic took the note as the soldier stroked his long black mustache and spoke in a deep country accent.

"A note, my good sir, from our mutual friend." He backed away, fading into the deep green of the forest.

Quixotic gently unsealed and opened the card, delicately extracting the precious note. He unfolded it and read the somewhat scratchy handwriting of his master.

My Agent,

It has come to my attention that certain forces throughout the Subreddit were responsible for the incursion of the false king Celtic and the armies of his supporters. A man working for him stole the plans you gave me and delivered them to Celtic, but there was a man on the inside.

A certain noble in the court of Queen Jillian IV of the Days dynasty, may she rest in peace, used his influence to make sure that the legions in defense of the capital were disorganized as possible as to allow the Night's Watch armies to conquer them as easily as possible. The man behind this is General Kuchen Jaeger, cousin to the Queen and potential heir to the throne.

He and his duplicitous conspirators have had this plan long in the making, but we have identified his allies in the circles of most large governments. We are dispatching men to eliminate threats to Top Shelf's ambitions in the Subreddit, but I am assigning the most important task to you.

Your mission is to cut off one head of this hydra, and eliminate the mole in Bumblebee's ranks. I want you to kill General Jaeger, and end his futile attempts for dominance.

May you be wisely guided.

-N

Quixotic held the note in his hands, numb from Jaeger's apparent betrayal. He crumpled up the note and shoved it in his pocket before trudging back through the forest to his post. He walked up to Austin and sat down next to him.

"Quixotic-" Austin asked, "-is something the matter?"

The agent turned his head to Austin and did his best at an unconcerned grin.

"No, my friend. Nothing at all."