3 Chapter 2: The Royal Mercenaries

Chapter 2. The Royal Mercenaries

In the great ballads and bard's tales about heroes and legends they always tell you much about their heroic battles, but they rarely ever tell you about the aftermath. When we fight, we only think about winning, and pay little attention to the effects of our fight. It's not like there is a choice in the matter, trying to think of every possible consequence of a battle is a good way to lose.

Sometimes people die that you don't want to, sometimes they have friends and family that will blame you for their death. Precious things get damaged or destroyed. Perhaps a single wild swing of a sword could accidentally destroy everything you have lived for up to that moment and change your life forever.

…

There are direct and indirect consequences to every battle. Directly, Thane and his friends had to deal with the fact that they had killed another human for the first time. They carried on with regret, collapsed with intense shock, or moved on with cold indifference.

The indirect consequence was how their fight affected the people of the town. They had just watched a group of four who could barely be called adults take out a group of twenty heavily armed and armored mercenaries, and they did it without a scratch. The people of the village now knew that the children playing with swords in the woods were dangerous, far more dangerous than any bandit. In a matter of seconds these children had turned the village into a blood soaked battleground. The villagers were afraid, Thane and his friends no longer had a place in the village.

No more hiding.

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-Thane-

When Thane woke he was on his back with his head resting on a soft surface. He felt the warm magic of healing closing up the tiny tears in his body from the mana ruptures. He looked up to Sarah who was holding his head on her lap while she attempted to heal him.

Thane looked at her focused expression and shifted his gaze to the chest that was surprisingly close to his own face. "If this is what I have to look forward to, I should use that technique more often."

The flow of healing mana suddenly stopped and the open palm clenched into a fist and came down on him. "Ow, gods, my nose...why? You're not supposed to injure a patient further."

Her eyes narrowed, "Father always said that pain is a good teacher, you could have died you idiot."

"It hasn't killed me yet, it just knocks me out and the worst I get is a few cuts and body aches for a couple days."

She clenches her fist a second time, "Oi, you still haven't learned yet? Perhaps my teaching methods aren't strict enough? I swear to Syllanar I'll break your nose this time. IF you didn't notice, you "just got knocked out" in the middle of a battlefield surrounded by people that wanted to kill you."

"I get it, I was just...when I saw Davik get cut down, I couldn't hold back." -If I didn't slip up at the end there and lose focus I could have kept going too,- Thane continued mentally. He didn't say it out loud since he didn't want to get hit again. If there was one thing he knew about Sarah it is that she was completely serious about breaking his nose and would say something like 'Since I'm already healing you I'll just fix that too'.

"Now that you're awake you should get up and finish the healing yourself. You probably have dozens of tiny muscle tears again and you know how bad I am at healing magic."

In defiance to her request, Thane shifts his shoulders making himself more comfortable on her lap before he realizes something and pauses. "Come to think of it, why are you doing the healing? Don't you usually leave that to Kisha? Is she all right?"

"Ah, Miss Feyblood is fine. She is uninjured but didn't really have the stomach for killing. I found her covered in someone else's blood and puking her guts out at the edge of town. My brother is fine too, he is speaking with father now."

Thane sat up quickly and looked at his hands. His knuckles had traces of blood from knocking the man out and he looked around. The townsfolk with tougher constitutions were cleaning up the mess; dragging the bodies to the edge of town and tying up the ones with minor injuries. "That's right, I killed two...three men." He saw the man with the stomach injury was no longer breathing. The dirt and cobblestones were dyed red due to the trail of death left behind by him and Sarah. Thane was a bit shocked about how nonchalantly she was taking this, as well as his own cool headed reaction. "I guess her reaction is the more normal one isn't it?"

"Maybe you're just used to blood. You have been killing skinning and draining the blood from the animals you've hunted since you were eleven."

"That's different..."

"You're right, the deer and rabbits never grabbed swords and axes to try and kill you." She placed her hand on his shoulder, "Don't regret what you did, and don't feel guilty about a lack of regret. They were ready to kill us and anyone who got in their way. They would have forced the town into starvation if we did nothing and likely would have killed more than just Davik before leaving."

Thane stood up, "I'm going to check on Kisha, see if she is all right. I'll be-". He paused and looked to the sky. A large white bird was circling around the town, as if it was examining the aftermath.

"A scavenger? Probably sees a lot of meals laying around right now."

"No, that's a falcon, it's pure white...I think it's a snow falcon. Teacher said they are common in the white crowns. It shouldn't be this far west."

"So it flew a bit far from home then."

"Teacher also said they are very popular as familiars for mages." Thane quickly gathered up his weapons from the ground. "This might not be over yet."

The two followed the path of the falcon with their eyes as it circled the town once more. It broke from the circle and flew back over the grain fields where the invaders came from. Soon it landed on the forearm of a woman on horseback. She was in the center of a formation of mounted soldiers. Nearly 100 of them by Thane's count.

"No banner, those are either more thieves or mercenaries...a lot of them."

The two were thinking the same thing, but Sara was the first to put it into words, "What are we supposed to do now?"

The deep voice from an older man responded to her question from behind. "You are going to come with me, Thane is going to go fetch Kisha." Castor interrupted the two as he walked up to them with Mahs following closely behind.

"Father, do you know who they are?"

"The men who attacked the village did not come here by design, they were chased by those people. We'll understand more once they make contact. Don't do anything stupid and wait for them to come to us. There won't be a fight this time." After answering his daughter's question he nodded over to Thane motioning him to move along.

When he found Kisha, she was sitting on a pile of drying firewood. She was leaning over with her forearms propped on her knees. A large bloodstain covered the left half of her tunic over her shoulder, and was beginning to dry on her cheek.

"Kisha, are you alright?"

She looked towards him and forced a smile. He changed his question, "Are you going to be alright?"

"I will be, I knew it could happen but...it was so close...and there was so much blood."

"Let's get changed and cleaned up. Castor is calling for us."

Still downcast, Kisha stood up, "Right, 'Never stop moving forward'. I remember."

Thane wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to. He knew the weight of those words. And so, the two of them walked silently back to their house.

The house belonged to Thane's family, and was one of the two largest houses in this small town, and one of three buildings to have a second floor. The other two were Castor's house and the local wayfarer's inn that would house passing merchants and served double duty as the only tavern for the locals. Ever since Kisha and Thane lost their parents 5 winters ago this house had been their home together, with frequent visits from Mahs and Sara.

When Kisha went to change, Thane opened up a large storage cabinet near the stairs. Inside was a display of arms and armor that had belonged to his father. Blades of differing sizes and shapes, a war spear, and at the center of it all was a suit of armor. It used to belong to his father, but Thane had it altered to his personal preference and adjusted to fit him. There was a solid metal breastplate that had most of the shoulder guard plates removed to give his arms more vertical motion and make it easier to use a bow, and the rest was piecemeal. The thickest and strongest metal was a pair of thick bracers that he used like a shield, while other metal plates were made to be strapped on his shins and upper legs. He had an arming doublet and leggings to cover the unprotected areas but he didn't like being restricted by the weight so he never wore them after the first time Castor suited him up.

Thane sighed and pushed the armor aside, instead he grabbed a chain vest that could be worn under his shirt and the pair of bracers. Castor made it clear that he didn't want to fight the visitors, so going in looking like a soldier ready to go to war didn't seem like the best plan. So instead Thane would take minimal protection and a single long sword, and leave a spear and bow nearby in case they were needed. Unlike before these weapons weren't for hunting or clearing underbrush, these were made for war.

Thane was just finishing his preparations when Kisha returned. He had placed the bracers in a bag that hung from a strap around his shoulder down to his waist and was in the process of fastening his sword belt.

Kisha, however, was now completely disarmed and wearing a pale blue dress, "Are you getting ready to fight again?"

"Castor thinks the fighting is over, but I just want to be safe. Davik was cut down in front of his own stall and I don't trust these new arrivals to be any different."

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As the two of them went to meet up with Castor, Thane hid his spear and bow near the butcher's stall. The cobblestones and dirt were still stained with blood from the fighting but the bodies were no longer there. They found Castor at the edge of town with Mahs and Sarah a step behind him. "You won't need that" Castor said motioning at the sword, "While you were gone, the snow falcon delivered a message."

After a few moments of waiting, Thane realized he wasn't going to continue and asked, "What was the message?"

"They will be sending four people down to discuss recent events with the village representatives, but before that…" He crossed his arms and looked at Thane irritated, "What exactly were you thinking using that technique again so recklessly?"

After Thane was silent for a moment he continued, "Listen, you have a gift. There are advanced mages who spend decades honing their mana manipulation and they still lack the mana control that comes natural to you. You're using this gift to force a bunch of chaotic energy into your body which only is about as effective as high level augmentations."

"Father, they are coming."

He let out a heavy sigh and shook his head, "Listen, tonight you and I are going to have a talk. There is something you need to understand. Before that happens a quick lesson. Even though we are not an enemy force, these people are following the rules of battlefield parley. There will always be at least four people. The leader who will be speaking, a mage whose main task is to make certain there are no underhanded spells being cast, and a bodyguard whose job is to make certain there is a safe escape if a fight breaks out. The fourth member is a runner, a squire or attendant who will run messages between the parley and the main force in case something or someone is needed."

"So which one of us is the attendant?" Mahs asked.

"We don't need one for two reasons. First we are not obligated to follow the rules of parley since we are not a military force, and second, even if we were, they are coming completely into our territory. Our numbers and station mean nothing in that instance. If this were a battlefield it would be the same as holding parley in the middle of an enemy encampment rather than in neutral ground."

The four visitors rode up on horseback, Thane tried to pick out which was assigned to each position, a task that was disappointingly easy. The mage was the woman with the snow falcon, which was now hooded and sitting on a perch attached to the saddle. She appeared to be around in her mid thirties, and rather than robes she wore a layered tunic with a few odd designs stitched on it and a pair of riding trousers. She carried a large leather bound and buckled tome under her right arm and she might be a bit attractive if it were not for her glare which seemed to be a mix of derision and boredom.

The bodyguard was similarly easy to pick out. He couldn't immediately tell if it was a man or woman, since they were covered in metal from head to toe and wearing a closed face helmet. The only thing about their appearance that stood out was the ornaments on the front of each shoulder. The ornament started where the pauldron met the breastplate and spread up the shoulder into 4 points with a curve that resembled wings.

The attendant was unremarkable, a nervous boy who was actively avoiding eye contact with anyone. The leader, however, was much more noble in appearance than Thane was expecting and had a powerful presence. He was an older man in his 50s with a neatly trimmed greying hair and beard. Something irritated Thane about the way he was carrying himself, slightly condescending and proud. It was a bit of a surprise to him when the man's stern expression turned to shock, and his first words were a jumbled mess. His composure was completely lost when he set eyes on Castor.

"You-...My...Captain?"

"I'm not your captain anymore, just call me Castor."

"I couldn't possibly do that, you're-"

"Castor." he emphasized one last time, "And you should dismount from your horse, Marcus, unless you want to keep talking down to us."

"Of course." The leader of these mercenaries quickly dismounted, as the rest looked on in confusion. In mere seconds his domineering aura was gone and his companions looked at eachother questioningly before dismounting as well.

"What in the hells is going on here?" Kisha whispered to Sara, "Who exactly is your father?"

Sarah kept her mouth shut, simply observing and Mahs answered, "You know as much as we do at this point. He never mentioned being the captain of anything."

Thane's watched the back and forth conversation between the two for a moment, not really hearing anything as he was lost in thought. Eventually he turned his attention to the adults' conversation, the armored man was speaking now, "So you're saying these four took out twenty armed men by themselves?"

"Of course, anyone in this town will tell you the same. We have eleven confirmed dead and nine prisoners. Let me introduce them and you can have the Glass Diviner over there take a closer look if you need more proof." The woman carrying the tome tensed up at the mention of her second name.

"This is my son and daughter Mahs and Sarah, they are twins who turned 17 not long ago. The boy here is Thane, the son of my friend Xander who will do the same next spring. The youngest here is Kisha, daughter of Caitlyn who will be turning sixteen next week."

Marcus bowed "It is a pleasure to meet you all, I am Marcus, the leader of the Stone Fox mercenaries. Accompanying me is a representative of the kingdom who prefers to go by the name Lance, and Gailwyn, as you mentioned, she received the second name of the Glass Diviner from the mage council of Attica."

Lance gave a short bow and Gailwyn was staring at them over the top of her book that was now open. The space above the book was shimmering like a heat distortion over a fire, and she was examining each of them through the distortion. "One Tamlin, three humans, all of them...are second or third circle mages with at least two domains, and one... how have they advanced so far at such a young age?"

Castor laughed, "Because I trained them myself, that's how. Now, let's discuss the mess you chased into my town."

Thane only half listened to the rest of the conversation, keeping his focus on the representatives. The mercenaries agreed to take care of the corpses and prisoners and the kingdom representative would provide remuneration to Davik's wife. Finally the officers would be lodging at the inn and no more than a dozen soldiers would be allowed into the village at any time. The number of mercenaries waiting outside of town was over a hundred, which was more than double the population of the small village. Eventually the conversation ended and the mercenaries left to go about their business with Castor and his son Mahs following his old acquaintance Marcus.

"What in the hells is wrong with them?" said Sarah. "You noticed it too right Thane?"

Thane nodded and Kisha looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well, their leader Marcus didn't have any issues, probably because of my father, but the other two were looking around the town as if they were staking out a den of criminals."

"Are you sure you're not imagining things? They might have been nervous."

"No they were definitely suspicious of us" Thane added, "I'm not sure why. They bring a small army that chases a group of armed mercenaries into our village, and for some reason they think we are the suspicious ones?"

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After several hours the sun began to set. Thane had recovered the prize from his earlier hunting trip and had enough time to remove the valuable pelt and some of the more useful bones before burning the inedible meat. Kisha went to help at the wayfarers inn as she usually did when the larger merchant caravans came through. But this time, she found herself serving food and mugs of beer and ale to groups of mercenaries rather than the usual merchant clientele. Thane saw Mahs following his father around as he talked with the mercenaries and their leader and Sarah had disappeared to go talk to their teacher Maria.

Once Thane finished with his work he walked through the town. Everybody was on edge with the mercenaries around, and the local farmers avoided eye contact and distanced themselves from both the visitors and Thane. Even though it was over, the entire town had yet to relax.

When Thane reached the wayfarer's inn, it was half empty. There were no villagers inside, only a trio of women that Thane assumed were part of a merchant caravan, and Castor was sitting with Maria and the three from the mercenary group. He was surprised to see that Lance was not wearing his helmet, and was a bit shocked and slightly nauseated by what he saw. It was not that he had a hideous appearance, quite the opposite. He had shoulder length blonde hair and a handsome, you could even call it a beautiful, face. It was like some knight in shining armor or fairy tale prince had leapt out of some young woman's story book and was sitting in the corner sipping ale.

Yes, it was definitely nausea, not jealousy at all.

Thane went to talk to Kisha who was behind the serving counter when Castor called out to the two of them. "Thane, Kisha, come sit with us for a moment." The two of them pulled up chairs and sat next to the table. "Maria and I have done our best to raise you kids since your parents passed on." He paused for a moment to laugh, "At least I would like to say that, but you two have done a fine job of supporting yourselves for the past few years. I'm just sorry you had to grow up so fast." Kisha tried to speak up but Castor silenced her by raising his hand motioning for her to stop, "That being said, I think you have outgrown this town, your talents are wasted here. Tomorrow morning Marcus and his mercenaries will be leaving back to their home base, I want you to go with them."

The two were silent. They had often talked about leaving with the twins, but never really had any plans as to how. They often talked about being traders, adventurers or guards, but never took any action. Thane felt he knew the answer to this question, but he decided to ask anyway. "Why now?" After looking over to Marcus he added, "and why with them?"

"Marcus is an old friend of mine and I trust him. As to why now, I'm sure you noticed already how on edge the town is. You put on quite a show earlier today and the people that live here are simple farmers. Until today they likely thought of you guys as just kids who like to play with swords, but the men you fought today weren't just an untrained mob. They were soldiers, and you overwhelmed them while you were outnumbered four to one. Even if the townspeople became comfortable around you again, they would still talk. And when the rumors spread, people will come looking for you." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, "I'm not sure where you found the confidence to start that fight, you never had anything to compare your strength with besides each other."

They both looked over to the Teacher, Maria. She had been more than happy to tell them how strong they were, and what it meant to be able to cast third circle spells. When Castor followed their gaze he let out a second heavier sigh. "I'm not saying you have to join Marcus' group, if nothing else he can provide transport and point you in the right direction."

"I owe him at least that." Marcus interjected. "Whatever you decide, I will assist you."

Castor's children soon joined the table, with Mahs and Sarah sitting next to Kisha and Thane. He repeated to them what he told Thane previously. Unlike the previous two, the twins seemed excited at the prospect rather than hesitant.

"So…" Mahs spoke up, "What exactly does your mercenary company do?"

"We take jobs and requests, contracts from free cities mostly. Usually we are contacted and given job details and will look for volunteers or assign people to the task. Bounty hunting, caravan escort, private security, monster hunting, that sort of thing. Anything that needs a blade, magic, or any kind of force to resolve. It is dangerous work, and you lack the freedom of a freelance adventurer, but it is quite well paying and you have the company backing you to make sure you get paid properly. We also have the bonus of having royal backing. That is why we have Lance here as a Kingdom liaison."

Thane sensed something a bit off so he spoke up, "Why does a mercenary group have Royal backing? What is it that the Kingdom military can't do itself that it needs mercenaries for? You even have an unusual amount of troops."

Maria smiled, "I told you he was observant."

Lance was next to speak up, "I'll explain it. How much do you know about the situation with the kingdom of Ascalon, our neighbors to the West?"

"Little to nothing, we get some news from travelers passing through, but they usually come to and from the South."

"As you may know, a little over twenty years ago tensions among the four kingdoms almost broke out into several wars, or one large war depending on your perspective. Peace was brokered, but old hatreds don't die easily. A few years ago, in order to keep the peace, Reolve and Ascalon created a demilitarized zone running along the border. No fortresses or soldiers within several dozen miles, but there are still people living in this area. The local town militias and a few free cities managed to keep the land safe until recently. Once a few aspiring bandit kings and warlords realized that we could not prepare a military response, they began to organize. While the Council of Lords was debating how to respond, or even if they should respond, the King pulled the funds to hire a merc company. We find volunteers for Marcus and he trains them and leads them in the west. It's treading a thin line since they are employed by the kingdom, but not part of the military."

"What if they claim you are breaking the treaty?" Thane asked.

"Then we pull the troops out. By that time it won't matter. A response would tae news to reach the Ascalonian houses, then the issue would have the issue go through their bureaucracy, a response would be created, the official response would be sent to Reolve, and then the King would have to send a reply. The entire thing would take months. By then the issue would be taken care of."

Marcus interrupted, "You won't be needed for that job. I won't stop you if you want to volunteer, but I think you would be wasted on common soldier work. If you're confident I would most likely send you on monster and magical beast hunting. There are always a few nasty creatures that cross over from the Silver Wood. Nothing too dangerous, you won't be hunting any dragons, hells, even the wyverns of The Crowns were hunted to extinction a decade ago."

Gailwyn spoke next, "I think they understand Captain." She looked over to Thane and the others, "The four of you are all very talented, as the Captain said, your talents are wasted in this small town. One last thing we can offer is practice and training to help you hone these talents. Since the captain is indebted to your master, we would be more than happy to assist you. As one who has earned her second name from the Attican council, I would be more than happy to assist you with your magic." She pushed back her chair and stood up. "We should be going now, Captain, before the men start to wonder why you're taking so long."

"Right, we will be leaving around noon, and will arrive at the Stone Fox fortress before sundown. You will have some space on a wagon for your things, plus whatever you can pack on a horse. I hope to see you with us tomorrow, and I hope even more that you would consider joining us." The three mercenaries gave a short bow before retreating from the inn.

Thane just now realized there had been a full mug of cider sitting in front of him the entire time that was growing warm. He picked it up before asking the others, "What do you guys think? What should we do?"

Mahs was the first to reply eagerly, "We join them of course. This is what we have been waiting for. We can join them, make a name for ourselves, and move on. Think of the reputation we can get working for the crown, even as a mercenary. All the times we sat around a bonfire, discussing setting out for adventure, and now a perfect opportunity drops into our lap!"

"I agree" his sister Sara added, "It sounds like a good way to earn money." She smiled at Thane, "Better than selling pelts anyway. Monster hunting can be quite lucrative. Not only do you get the bounty but we have Thane here to cut them apart to get the valuable bits."

"You mean dismantling? Or harvesting depending on what exactly you are doing."

"Yeah that!"

Castor motioned to his children, "You two should get ready to leave then. I'll stay here for a moment to talk to Thane and Kisha."

""Yes Father"" they replied in unison.

Once they were out of the Inn, Castor addressed the two of them, "You can't blame them for being eager, their position is slightly different from yours. Despite being a year or two older than you guys, they still live with their Father. They don't have their own place in the world. You two however have already made your own life. You make your own money and provide for yourselves. Since Kisha is coming of age soon, the town has been incessantly talking about when the two of you are getting officially married."

The cider Thane was drinking made a large spray in front of him and he began coughing the excess liquid out of his lungs. "No we're- *COUGH* She's like a sister." Kisha was stunned as well but remained silent.

Castor laughed, "Feelings can change boy, friends become lovers and lovers become friends, or enemies. In fact, your father and I once loved the same woman, to the point where it almost became a serious fight."

"Wait, who did-"

"Neither of us won in the end. We wound up marrying different people. The last time we saw her, you were still an infant." He sighed, "But back to the matter at hand. Whatever you decide to do, whether to join the mercenary company or find something else. You can even remain a simple hunter but you should leave this town, no, you need to leave this town. Maria and I will be leaving soon as well."

"What? Why?"

"Your father and..us...there are many people that would call us heroes, but heroes make enemies. I'd hoped to tell you the full story one day, and I will when we meet again, but right now we don't have the time. The short version is that we played a key part in stopping the war two decades ago, but not everyone wanted peace. My brother set us up at this village here to retire, and we hoped nobody would ever find us."

Maria spoke up, "That plan went to shit the moment the old knight's mercenaries came into town. There is no way to keep every villager and mercenary from spreading the story. So we have to move on."

Thane was a bit surprised to hear the usual calm teacher get this irritated but he hid his surprise. "Kisha, think it over. I think we should go with them. If we join the company we can stay with Mahs and Sara, but you may end up fighting humans again."

After a bit of idle chat Thane and Kisha prepared to leave, but Castor stopped him, "Go ahead Kisha, I still need to have the conversation with Thane that I promised him." He steepled his fingers and looked at the boy as Kisha left. "I'm going to make this quick. I'm not going to tell you to never use it again, but I will tell you to be cautious and control your emotions. Do you even know what you looked like today?"

"What I looked like?"

"The mana you absorbed today was not aether. Your anger pierced right through the aetheric wall and drew mana from...somewhere else. My guess is it was chthonic. It altered your appearance slightly. Reddened your hair and eyes, darkened your skin slightly. In other words, you pulled a bit of the demonic realm into your body just so you could teach some thugs a lesson." he paused for a moment to watch Thane's reaction, he was silent and pondering what he just heard. "We've never told you this before, but that technique is not unique to you and your father. Your father once told us it was a forbidden technique."

"Before you ask, neither Maria or I know why it is forbidden or what the worst is that could happen. I will tell you that as far as I know, only two people have ever survived that technique. You and your father. He more or less mastered it and could use it briefly without damaging himself. Whatever sort of constitution let him survive and use the technique seems to have passed on to you." He placed his hand on Thane's shoulder. "You are your father's son, your relation to him is both a blessing and curse. Like I mentioned before, he made some friends and enemies, don't mention his name lightly."

Maria gave a small laugh. "His father? What about his mother? Could you imagine what a stir it would cause if they knew he was the son of Aille of the Masque?"

"Don't mention any of us lightly. We traveled the world and made many friends and enemies. Mentioning us idly could help or harm you, so be careful. Or better yet, be your own person without using the weight of names."

Thane parted with Castor and began to head home. It was all happening so fast. Up until today, the most consequential decisions he had to make was if he should hunt for meat or fish. The most dangerous thing he had encountered was a wild boar. Today he fought a group of armed thugs that would have killed him had he made a single mistake, and would be making a decision that could affect everything in the foreseeable future. To make things worse, he was now concerned about the voice he heard during the fight. At first he assumed it was his own inner thoughts, but if he really pulled demonic mana into his body, it could have been something else.

He let out a heavy sigh and looked up at the sky. The sun was completely down now and the stars were shining brightly.

-I guess I'd better pack things up.-