Chapter 11: Burying The Hatchet

Maxis rode home from the palace, still frustrated. The cold wind whipped against his face, and snowflakes fell all around him. He arrived at his cabin and tethered his horse. He smiled a bit, trying to be as quiet as possible as he entered the house so that he could surprise Edelweiss. He quietly crept around the house, listening for where Edelweiss could be. He heard what sounded like a quill writing on paper coming from their room, and he followed the noise. He slowly opened the door and stood in the doorway, waiting for Edelweiss, who had his back turned to the door as he wrote the letter, to notice.

Maxis stepped forward, making sure he was heard. Edelweiss jumped at the sound and turned around to see Maxis, smiling nervously.

"Oh! Y-You're back!" He said, starting to fold up the letter. Maxis smiled but noticed something was off. He walked forward to Edelweiss to embrace him.

"The negotiations are finished, and the war is over." He said with a smile. He looked at Edelweiss' hand and saw the folded letter. "What's that?" He asked, taking it from him.

"I-It's nothing." Edelweiss replied, trying to take the letter back.

Maxis unfolded the letter and began reading it. Soon, he gently folded the letter back up and set it down on the table Edelweiss wrote it on. His hopeful smile had faded, and he was now overcome with a look of disgust and sadness.

"Maxis... It's not what you think, I promise!" Edelweiss said, putting his hand on Maxis' shoulder. "I'm just using him to get information, I don't love him at all!" Edelweiss pleaded, but Maxis just walked away to a large chest in their bedroom. He opened it and took out his broadsword. The sword was long, at least four feet long, maybe five and a half if counting the handle. On the bloodlet of the sword was an inscription that read: "Nihil Obstat", Nothing Obstructs.

He placed the sword on the bed and began to dress himself in his armor while Edelweiss continued to plead with him. Maxis drowned out the sound of his cries not to commit the action he was about to do. As Edelweiss continued, Maxis took out a flintlock rifle from the chest and grabbed his powder horn, and pouch of shot. He slung his pouch and powder horn over his shoulder, his sword on his back, tucked his knife and tomahawk in his belt, and held his rifle as he walked outside and mounted his horse.

Edelweiss ran outside, crying and begging Maxis to stay. Maxis just looked at him in disgust and spat on the ground as he rode off. He rode through the snow and forest as fast as he could, finally arriving at Fort Broken Shield. He dismounted his horse as he came upon the fort and ran through the gate and into the forts main keep. Heinrich, Hetfield, Nathaniel, Tos-Que, Owaine, Judd, Jack, Amiel, Gabrien, and David were all inside, sitting, talking, and drinking around the fireplace. As Maxis burst through the door, they all looked at him.

"Ah, Maxis. Nice of you to join us." Heinrich said, rising from his seat to meet him.

"I need your help, all of you." Maxis said urgently.

"What is it?" Hetfield asked.

"It's Baldwin. I'm going to kill that bastard tonight. He's going to pay for those he's killed and for trying to make Edelweiss leave me." Maxis said angrily.

"Calm down, Maxis. Peace was settled today. We can't start the war again." Heinrich said calmly.

"I don't care. He needs to die. I don't care if you won't help me, I'll go alone if I must." Maxis said, turning around to leave. Hetfield stood up and rushed over, grabbing Maxis' shoulder to halt him.

"I'll come with you, brother." Hetfield said.

"Me too." David responded.

Soon, everyone was getting up and grabbing their weapons and heading outside, leaving the room empty save for Maxis and Heinrich. "Will you come with me?" Maxis asked. Heinrich stood still, finally answering.

"I will."

Maxis nodded, and the two headed outside with the rest and mounted their horses. The group rode off into the forest, north towards Middle Tahl.

"Where are we going?" David called out to Maxis.

"The Templar camp, they've almost all cleared out now, just a few of them are still there." Maxis responded.

"How do you know Baldwin will still be there?" Hetfield asked.

"I don't. But if my study on him is correct, he's the type to stay with his small group of personal guards." Maxis said.

The group rode for several hours and finally arrived near the camp. Maxis and his company dismounted. He turned around and began speaking to them.

"We're doing this quietly. Once we're in the camp, we can start attacking, but for now, move in silently and wait until my signal. You'll know it when you hear it. Tos-Que and Owaine, with me. The rest of you circle around the encampment and slowly close in."

Maxis, Tos-Que, and Owaine walked off, sneaking through the trees. Maxis noticed there were a few guards walking around the perimeter of the encampment.

"Shit." He thought.

He snuck up on one guard, covering the soldiers mouth, unsheathing his dagger and slitting his throat. He dragged the body away and stabbed him a few more times before setting him down on the ground.

The three made their way into the camp quietly. Maxis saw a hooded man in expensive looking armor. "That has to be him." He whispered to Owaine and Tos-Que. He took his rifle off his shoulder, loaded it, and cocked the hammer back. He took aim at the leader, holding his breath for a steadier aim, and slowly squeezed the trigger. A cloud of smoke erupted from his flintlock, and a hot ball of lead went flying into the back of the Grandmasters head.

Maxis laid his rifle down and unsheathed his sword, letting out a loud and wild war cry to signal his companions. All eleven of them stormed into the camp, slaughtering the Templars as they struggled to find their weapons. Maxis charged forward and cleaved a Templar soldier straight down the middle. Owaine and Tos-Que took out targets from afar, lending the others covering fire.

Nathaniel, Judd, and the other three regulars charged into combat first, while Hetfield, Heinrich, and David all came in from opposite sides.

The battle, if you could consider it one, was quick. The group of twenty Templars had been completely wiped out by Maxis' companions. Maxis approached the dead Grandmaster, who lay on his face. He turned the body over only to see that it wasn't Baldwin, though he couldn't be sure, as the ball from the bullet had made a disgusting exit wound on his face.

"It's not him." Maxis said, disappointedly.

"King Bryce will have us all locked up now." Heinrich said. "All because of your little vendetta."

Maxis glared angrily at Heinrich.

"Shut your trap, you dog. Your loved one has never gone behind your back and into the bed of your enemy, have they? You don't know anything of my pain today." Maxis snapped, sheathing his sword, picking up his rifle and mounting his horse.

Heinrich sighed.

"He'll be the death of us all."