Reinforcements Arrive

I set down another log as I hear footsteps rapidly approach behind me. Turning, I see one of the recruits rushing up to me, rusty sword hanging from his side. It sucks that I can't remember his name...

"Dus-, uh, sir, uh-"

I raise my hand. "Dusk is fine. What do you need?"

"The Recuan guard are back. Camilla wanted me to tell you." He pants a bit.

I nod. "Thanks for letting me know. Take a breather, Private." I turn back to James. "I'm heading out." He nods as I begin to trot off. It's not too long before I spot the five carts lined up at the edge of town. I quickly recognize the Monsquad (who wouldn't notice an eight foot minotaur?), even from a distance, and hasten my pace.

"Remember," I hear Bel's voice as she stands at the head of the cart, "if you abandon your escort, it'll be counted as trying to escape, and you'll be hunted down and killed."

I blink. That's new... "Hey, everyone." I hop up next to the lieutenant on the 'driver seat'. "Long time no see."

"Dusk!" Essraya waves with a vine growing from under what can only be described as a straightjacket. Blobby meanwhile, has already begun sliding herself off of Belinda and wrapping herself around me as a chestplate again.

"Now why isn't he chained up?" Eric complains.

Bel raises a hand. "Dusk is in charge, here. If he asks you to do something, it is expected you do it."

Xerxes huffs. "And what if we don't." He stares at me intimidatingly.

I cross my arms. "You think you can do better, Xerxes?" I activate God's Eye, taking a look at his stats.

"You haven't earned my respect yet, [D] steer." He straightens his back, and I bet he would stand if it weren't for the chains around his feet.

I cock my head. "[D] I'm going to pretend to know what that means. [H] Anyway, welcome to Riverbend. Bel, when you're ready, there's a new house down the north path. It's the last one on the left that isn't being worked on right now. We're working on making more, but in the meantime, that one's for all of you."

"I can lead the soldiers to the barracks." I turn, seeing Camilla walk up behind me with her arms crossed.

"Cap, you sure you're okay?" I hop down, seeing that she's still a bit shaken, even over an hour later.

"I'm fine. I can't just sit around and do nothing, Dusk. I'll take them to the barracks, and help them get settled in."

I pause. "Isn't the barracks your house?"

She shakes her head. "Not anymore. Between Lilac and the new guards, I'm moving out. Hope you don't mind, I already moved most of my stuff into your place."

I blink. "Oh...kay... We'll talk details later, but I appreciate it." I set my hand on her shoulder. "Don't be afraid to take a break though, okay?"

She nods, her breath a bit shaky. "Yeah." She then walks over to the fourth cart and begins speaking with who I recognize as the feminized Captain Roger.

I turn back to my lieutenant. "How about we get these chains off?"

"Roger, calm down. We're nearly there." I try my best to ignore the irritable blond.

"I can't calm down when for all I know you've locked her up just like my father did!" They follow close behind me, their better-fitted chainmail clinking all the way.

"What was that even about?" I push a branch out of the way, holding it down for them.

"It's-...classified." The glare I receive is just as strong as it was the day we met.

"Oh, but I bet you'll tell Rose in a heartbeat." I begin walking again.

"Of course I wouldn't! And how dare you refer to her by that name!"

"When she gives me an actual name to call her by, I'll use that. And no, 'Empress', 'my liege', and others like that are not actual names."

"Empress!" Roger rushes past me, Rose now in sight. They pause for a moment, seemingly unsure what to do, before saluting, their right arm crossing their chest and palm flat, facing down. "It's good to see you're safe."

"So you weren't lying, Dusk."

"I try not to. Where's Moran?"

"She's keeping an eye on Cooker."

Roger cuts me off. "E-empress, would you like me to assign guards to you? There are-"

"I know. I noticed them all an hour ago...at least I think it was that long. Time is difficult to keep track of these days."

"I...I'll have a clock brought in from Recuan."

"That won't be needed. I'll recover soon enough. As for guards, I think I'll be fine. You'll be close enough that I can call for you when needed."

"U-understood."

I look at Roger curiously. It's not often I get to see them...nervous. "Anyway, I'll let you get better acquainted. I've got some stuff I need to take care of. Captain, I expect to hear from you again before sunset, but until then, you're dismissed." I turn and begin walking away.

"Don't pretend you can order me around. I'm not one of your lackeys, scum."

I stop. I pivot. I slowly step toward the blond. "You're right. You're not my lackey. You're not here to help me become the real lord of Riverbend. You're here because your uncle told you to be here. I don't care about that. Right now, you're a resource, to me. As long as you and your lackeys can protect the people, I can focus on doing what I need to. I can go out and take care of dungeons, and I can help build houses, and anything else that needs to be done. I'm not telling you to follow orders, Captain. I'm telling you to do your fucking job." By the time I finish, I'm only a couple inches away, staring them down. "Now, you're going to report back to me by sunset, so we can discuss how best to make that happen." I turn around again and walk off, not giving the defiant-looking captain another chance to speak. What is with these bouts of aggression?... Some people...

I pick up a sword from the rack, shorter than most of the others, and give it a couple swings. "You sure you want to do this, Xerxes?"

The minotaur huffs, his arms crossed. "You're the one that offered, Dusk. Let's just get this over with so I can take Ess and get out of here."

I raise a hand. "Hold on. You're fighting for your freedom. If she wants to come with you, she'll need to fight for herself."

He uncrosses his arms and begins stomping toward me, his head lowering a bit. "Why I oughta-"

"Xerxes, that's enough!" Essraya screams from the forest's edge, causing the brute to stop. "Win your own fight, and I'll win mine. You don't need to worry about me."

Xerxes pauses, huffing again before turning and walking back into the ring. I follow him, before drawing the rune Citrinas had taught me into the dirt. "Remember, you need to knock me out, get me to yield, or get me outside the arena. You do that, you win, and you're free to cross the river and enter the Demon Kingdom. I do that to you, and I win." I finish the sigil and the ring around us begins to glow, walls of dim light stretching up above us. I look to our audience, which is mostly just Monsquad, plus of a couple recruits and soldiers who want to study how monsters fight...or maybe they just want to see two monsters beat each other to a pulp. "Now, let's go ahead and get started. Bel, do you mind?"

The dullahan lifts up a stick above her head. "On three. One."

Xerxes digs his hooves into the dirt.

"Two."

He glares, and I could swear his eyes go blood red.

The stick drops, and that second before it hits the ground seems to take forever. I raise the blade between myself and him as I wait, gripping it with both hands. As soon as it hits the ground, we rush at each other.

I sidestep, dodging his initial bull rush, but he quickly extends his arm and clotheslines me, launching me into the barrier. I hear a *crack*, but I can't tell right now if it's my bones or the circle. I stab into the shoulder of the hulking beast, feeling strong resistance in his hide, and grab one of his horns with the other. He immediately tries to swing his head around to throw me off, but my grip remains steady.

I follow up with another stab into his back, using the leverage to pull myself out from between him and the wall behind me. Real glad I did that, now. I use my wings to give a bit more thrust, flipping forward and yanking him back as hard as I can. It's not enough, and he bellows and swings me back and forth. My sword comes loose and I immediately abandon it, instead opting to grab his other horn after I flip myself around.

After a few more swings, I'm able to wrap one of my legs around to his front temporarily, giving some much-needed stability as I plant my foot onto his back and push down. My other leg releases him and follows suit, more than doubling the pressure I put on him. I release one of his horns and conjure an earth blade, pressing it against his throat. "It's over, Xer-ooh"

Xerxes heaves back, pinning me to the ground with another *crack*. "Now it's over, [D] steer."

I cough, tasting a bit of iron in my mouth. I begin pushing up, and even to my surprise, the minotaur slowly rises off of me. "You think so?" My arms scream at me, but I keep pushing, lifting Xerxes completely off the ground.

Once he recovers from seemingly being shocked, he simply rolls over and onto the ground next to me. I expect him to do something else, but the next I see of the minotaur is him reaching down to help me up.

I stare dumbfoundedly before taking his hand. "Did I miss the part where the duel ended?" I cough again into my elbow, noticing blood once I pull it back.

He stares back, looking unsure about something. "...you're tougher than you look, pipsqueak... I'll follow your lead for now."

I set my hand on my chest and begin healing myself, soothing energy flowing through me. "Thanks..." Let's not mention that I only even survived being crushed thanks to Pure Land... "Now...I think that's enough fighting for today." I look to our audience. "Guards, you've been told your duties. Monsquad, you've got the rest of today to relax, but I expect you ready to work bright and early tomorrow. Dismissed."