steuben and the refugees

[steuben]

warning: the following contains scenes of violence which may not be suitable for all audiences. viewer discretision is advised.

rated pg-13: for scenes of graphic violence and death

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prologue:
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many years ago there existed a fair and prosperous city. but, because of the greed of yilaki the city destroy. its inhabitants cast out or killed. the surivors wandered aimlessly searching for a new home.

then they met a yliak. one gifted with skill in iron and steel. in the cold ashes of ruins, he planted the seed of a new community. listen to the tale of his wokr. learn why we honour the graves, of those who attempt to follow his path, with markers of the black locust tree. and know that once heros like him once existed, and may exsist again.

[steuben]

episode 1:
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steuben leaned the counter in sulka\'s tavern. he watched as the mulled rum was laddled into his mug. the cold wet weather outside and the cool damp of the caverns had seeped into his bones. after the steaming mug had been placed before him he takes a mouthful. the warmth and alcohol thawed both body and soul, except for the small nugget of ice behind his eyes. not even the full power of the azure sun would be able to thaw it.

steuben walked over to the pit and grabed a seat next to the fire place. the tavern was fuller then usual, but not that much busier. a group of refugees had arrived earlier in the week. some had come to the tavern to get out of the weather. but some had come to sell the only thing they had left, and they only had the clothes on their backs. steuben sat half watching the people, half absorbed in his mug.

in one corner sat an older man, a young woman stood behind protectivly him. opposite him at the table sat a thug. the thug gestured into the crowd. the old man nodded wearily. the thug laughed and stood up. before he left he looked at the woman. she tried not to cringe back, and mostly succeded.

steuben sat and watched them a while. he drained the last quarter of his mug and walked over to them. if asked why, his answer would have been, it is the thing to do. he sat down at the table. the old man looked up.

\"we don\'t have much,\" he said tiredly. \"but perhaps we can negotiate something. how much?\"

\"less then you\'re paying him.\" steuben gestured towards the thug that just left.

\"what, only one a night?\" the young woman retorted, anger failing to cover her fear.

steuben looked up at her. she tries to take a step back but collided with the wall. he turned back to the old man. \"merely, a bed, an equal share of food, and a chance to practice my trade.\"

the old man relaxed a bit. \"and what is your trade,\" he asks.

\"i was trained a smith. i think, perhaps, it is time that i took up the trade again.\" he held up a hand to forestall comment. \"you may not have much need of one. but if he,\" he gestures towards the thug that had just left, \"is typical of the lot you\'ve hired, well they can barely take care of themselves let alone their equipment. when it finally fails you\'ll be worse off then if you hadn\'t hired them at all.\"

the old man nodded, \"can you weild a blade as well?\"

\"well, enough to be of use.\"

\"you come cheap, but you\'re welcome to join us. we leave from the main gate in two days.\"

\"two days.\" steuben noded and stood up from the table. \"i\'m not cheap. i\'m just charging what the buyer can bear\"

later that night in steuben\'s room, he walks over to the dresser in the one corner. laid on top of it is a sword sheathed in a scabard. he pick up the scabard and pulls out the sword. it is a simple sword, but appears very well made. it is unadorned except for the impression of a scalloped ring on the blade just above the hand guard. the blade catches and throws the few bits of light coming in from the window. he resheathes the sword.

\"things will be interesting,\" he thinks to himself as he lays down on his bed.

the next morning steuben heads towards the refugee camp. on the way to the camp steuben comes up behind an old man. he is carrying a heavy sack.

\"heading to the camp?\" steuben nods towards the camp.

\"yes,\" the old man says breathlessly.

\"hmm. so am i. perhaps i could give you a hand.\"

the old man stops. he looks at steuben, an expression of hope and fear on his face.

\"no tricks, no payment. yust carrying the sack.\"

the old man nods. steuben gently lifts it off his shoulders and places it on his. they continue on together. steuben matching his pace to the old man\'s.

the old man looks at steuben. \"why?\"

steuben shrugs. \"why not? i was here. it was the right to do. no reason.\" he shrugs again. \"sometimes the reason doesn\'t matter. only the act.\"

the continue the rest of the way to the camp.

\"you there,\" the young woman from the tavern. \"mercenary. what are you doing here?\" her words carry great distain with them.

she strides over. anger clearly evident on her face, steuben stops and turns towards her his face car efully blank.

\"carrying a sack mistress,\" he responds.

she pauses, caught off guard by the simple, but truthfull responce. the old man snorts.

\"why are you here? part of the anger is gone from her voice. but the edge is still there.

\"i came to learn more about who i would be working for.\"

\"why? looking for a way out?\"

steuben shakes his head. \"i signed on to do a job. i\'ll see i through to the end.\"

\"what does it matter you you\'\'re working for? you\'re just here to do your job.\"

steuben pulls a dagger out. the young woman and the old man take a hurried step back. he holds it up balanced in his palm.

\"this blade is perfectly made to me.\"

he begins to move his hand. the agger begins to move. it rolls over his hand wrist and forearm. the sack on his shoulders doesn\'t move.

\"i could do something like this,\" he walks the blade along his fingers, \"with just about any blade.\"

the movements become more complex.

\"perhaps not as finely. the smith knew my skill, my movements to make a blade like this.\"

in a final flourish is slides the dagger back into its sheath. during the flourish the lade seemedo move like quick silver.

\"to do this job just as well, i will need to know who i am working for. what i am really protecting. because, it may make the difference between first and second. and being second best is not a good career move.\"

[steuben]

episode 2:
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steuben sat by the small fire. he ran the whetstone along the edge of his sword blade. he reflected slightly on the events of the preceding day.

the bandit raid had been been swift. a few of the bandits hadn\'t made it back. neither had some of the guards. it had taken a couple of hours after that to organize the refugees into some semblence of order. during that time steuben managed to convince a number of the guards that it could be profitable to head after the bandits. the raid on the bandits had been profitable, the captured refugees rescued, additinal supplies obtained, and a proper look at the other guards in action.

the other guards were celebrateing their victory. a woman walked over to steuben as he sat by the fire. he drew the stone along the edge and off the curve. the blade rang slightly. the woman stopped on the opposite side of the fire from steuben. he reversed the blade and drew the stone along the other edge.

\"i guess you\'ll be wantn\' your payment now,\" she said.

he continued to draw the whetstone along the edge of sword. after the stone has rounded the tip of the stone he gestured towards the bowl and cutlery sitting off to one side before drawing the stone again along the edge. she stood there confused by his responce. he looked up, his hand continued the motions automatically.

\"if you want you can wash those.\"

\"but, the others,\" she gestured to the crowd behind her.

steuben\'s hand stopped.

\"they, \" his voice is distainful for the word, \"have made other arrangements. besides, if i don\'t take care of this, \" he patted the sword lightly, \"it could mean that i come in second place the next time i need it. now you can either wash up and save me the ten minutes. or, you can continue on your way.\"

she walked over to the bowl and picked it up. steuben began to draw the stone along the edge of his sword again. the metallic hiss of stone against steel seemed to follow her as she walked off to wash the bowl and cutlery.

later that evening the young woman from the tavern walked over.

\"i should thank you for today. but i have to know why you did it,\" she asks.

steuben takes one last stroke along the blade with the stone. the sound seems to have a contented note to it.

\"it was my job,\" he responds simply.

he holds up the blade in the firelight. the light seems to split around the edge of the blade as he twists it to look at the edges.

\"you didn\'t have to go after them.\"

\"yes i did.\" he slid the blade home into its sheath. the hiss of leather on steel seemed faintly like a purr. \"if i hadn\'t i wouldn\'t be true to the oaths i swore when i forged this ring.\" his thumb fiddled with the ring on his right little finger, it glinted slightly in the fire light.

\"seems to be the only magic that iron will take.\" he chuckled slightly \"doesn\'t seem to weaken it either. once i took the job, i had to do what i did. but it isn\'t like i wouldn\'t have done it anyways.\"

he gestured towards the mostly passed out revelers. \"they at least had a choice. i\'m not sure that i do anymore.\"

[steuben]

episode 3:
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the party walks along the forest path. steuben walks next to one of the carts. a young child runs up beside him and keeps pace with him. the child looks up and studies steuben as they walks along.

\"you\'re the one that saved auntie,\" he says with certainty.

steuben looks down, \"maybe,\" he says.

\"auntie says, the guy went in two different directions to get away from you.\"

\"yes, two different directions,\" he whispers as images of that evening come back to him. all of them tinged red.

the two walk on in silence for a while.

\"mummy says, you\'re odd.\"

steuben looks down at the child again. \"yes,\" he says simply.

again they walked on in silence.

\"i hope you can guard us forever,\" the child dragging out the last word. he rounds out the sharper sounds as he does so.

steuben looks down again.

\"forever is a very long time,\" he says. \"but, i will guard you for as long as you need me.\"

the child smiles and nods sharply, pleased with the responce.

\"esto, esto come over here. don\'t bother the guards while they\'re working,\" a woman calls out.

steuben turns and looks in the direction of the mother. esto runs back.

\"don\'t worry mamam. he was no bother,\" steuben calls back.

the mother quickly turns her back and bundles the child away. hunching over him as if protecting him from something.

steuben and the refugees continue their march onwards. the young woman from the tavern (see episode 1) walks up to steuben. she walks along side for a while.

\"that\'s the first time that esto has smile since he saw his father killed,\" she says.

steuben looks over at her. \"yes,\" he says, again, simply.

\"he was killed by the bandits that drove us from our city. he died with a pitchfork in his hands. but they ran him through right up to the hilt at his stomach and then drew the sword up through his shoulder.\"

\"yes.\"

\"is that all you have to say?\"

\"what else is there to say? you want me to say that he was brave sacrificing his life so that his family could escape? or that he was a fool to face off against armed men with only a sharpened stick? he will have to decide about his father for himself. what\'s past is past. i have little skill or inclenation to bring back the dead... they tend to be a little bit messy.\"

\"but what do you think?\"

\"he made the choice that seemed correct at the time. i\'m not going to gainsay his choice now. i wasn\'t there.\"

she glances over at him for a moment.

\"you don\'t approve of his choice?\"

\"nor do i disapprove. when you have no good choices, not making a choice is the worst thing you can do.\" he looks back towards the child now a far ways down the refugee caravn. \"but, choosing the chance at life is rarely a wrong decision.\"

[steuben]

episode 4:
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the two figures danced in the clearing. at least it appeared like dancing, if you ignored the swords, the armour, and the sharp loud sound of metal colliding with metal. one of the two moved quickly and forcefully, but the movements were unrefined. the other moved smoothly, and with seemingly little extra motion.

they part. their swords now dozen feet apart. the youth breathes heavily. his sword rising and falling with each breath. the elder stands nearly still.

\"good thing we left you behind on the raid,\" steuben says. his sword still at the ready. \"all the little girls would be able to protect you. now show me what you have.\"

the two others standing watching the match snicker at the dig at their compangion. one of them had been on that raid. (mentioned in episode 2) which is why the three of them were there. they had asked steuben to teach them.

beyond them, was a small gathering of refugees and guards both. they too stood watching the match. some had seen steuben in action, the others had heard the tales. while they figured the outcome of the match was a forgone conclusion, they wanted to see how the boy would fair.

the youth rushes at steuben. his sword held high to attack. he attacks with a series of ferocious blows. steuben doges some and turn the rest with his blade. the sound of ringing steel sounds throughout the camp.

they part again. their blades again a dozen feet apart. the youth still breathing hard. his blade rising and falling with each breath. the barest of sweat is upon steuben\'s brow.

\"now,\" an edge creeping into steuben\'s voice, \"you scut-son.\" rage now appears in his voice. \"show me!\" steuben steps steadily towards the youth.

some of the observers reach for their swords. they stand not sure what to do, and not sure if they could stop steuben if they had to.

the youth takes a couple of steps back, and stops. he realizes that there will be no escape. he steps forward and begins to attack. steuben again either doges, or deflects the blows. after a while he stops defending, and begins attacking. the youth stops some of the blows, but the rest get through. he strikes with not enough force to wound, but enough so that he knows that he\'s been hit.

a scream of no, carrying over the clash of metal against metal, comes from the camp. quickly, almost casually, steuben strikes the sword out of the youth\'s hand, and knocks him down. the sword slides across the grass, ringing against a stone and coming to rest. the youth lays in the grass panting. steuben sheaths his sword, the sound seems to have a disappointed sigh in it.

steuben walks quickly through the crowd, and though the camp. his face has a shadow across it. his eyes cold enough to chill the heart of the azure sun.

as he walks through the crowd somebody says, \"he was just toying with him.\"

\"given what i saw during the raid,\" someone responds, \"i\'d just as soon he didn\'t. cause then you\'d know it\'d be over quick.\"

steuben walks over to where the thug (see episode 1) is standing over a young woman. she is lying on the ground, fear in her face and eyes.

\"she said no,\" steuben says coldly.

the thug straightens up and turns slowly towards steuben.

\"so what if she did? who are you? her brother? her mother perhaps?\" the thug chuckles at his slight joke, but stops when steuben doesn\'t rise to it.

\"no. merely someone paid to protect these people.\"

\"yeah? well so am i, and i\'m just getting my payment.\"

\"by robbing the people you\'re supposed to protect?\"

the thug slowly begins to slip his hand behind his back.

\"if i have to. i\'m just making sure i\'m getting paid. besides, what are you going to do about it?\" the thug pulls a dagger from behind is back. the blade catches the last light of the day, and the light from the near by fires.

steuben looks down at the blade. \"stop you,\" he responds.

the thug snorts. \"i\'d like to see you try.\"

\"i already have.\" steuben rests a hand on the hilt of his sword.

a few of the on lookers snicker.

the thug snarls. \"i\'ve just about had it with you. your fancy sword, your fancy armour, your high and mighty attitude.\"

\"then shall we deal with it now then?\"

\"what are you two doing?\" shouts the woman from the tavern. (episode 1) \"stop this right this instant.\"

steuben shakes his head. looking towards the woman, \"sorry, mistress. this must play out here and now.\"

\"yes,\" the thug says. \"it does,\" says as he lunges towards steuben. steuben draws his sword and steps to the right. the sound of steel against leather seems anticipatory. steuben smiles, perhaps a smile in form only. it is the last smile a fish sees as the shark closes in.

\"o~~oh, such a pretty sword. i shall have to claim it after you\'re dead,\" say the thug. trying a couple of times with his dagger. thrusts which steuben blocks easily with his sword.

\"stop, you\'ll kill each other,\" she calls out.

\"no,\" steuben responds. \"only one of us will die today.\" he takes a step back. the smile freezes in place.

\"you\'ve got that right,\" the thug says as he steps forward to attack.

steuben steps to the side and brings his blade up. it kisses the edge of the dagger as it rises. there is the sharp sickening crack of steel on bone as it moves through the thug\'s neck. the body stumbles as it loses control, and falls forward. blood gouts from the neck nearly reaching the head which had rolled from where the body had fallen. it lay there spasming as it attempted to come to grips with its new state of affairs. the smells of blood and human waste begin to fill the air.

the \"smile\" fades from steuben\'s face. he straightens, turns and walks over to the corpse. he crouches down and wipe he sword off on the thug\'s shirt. as he stands up he slides the sword back into it\'s sheath, the sound seems almost contented.

the young woman runs towards the corpse. a determined look on her face. he catches her before she can reach it. \"no,\" he tells her, gently. \"leave it be. it is over.\"

she looks up at him and begins to cry. she collapses against his chest sobbing. he guides her over to the woman. she still has a look of shock and horror on her face. some of the blood from steuben\'s swing had hit her on the face.

\"take care of her,\" he says queitly.

the words seem to bring her back to reality. she takes the young woman from steuben\'s arms, and guides her away.

\"you two take the body to the edge of the clearing. and you go get some shovels,\" he directs quietly.

the three indicated rush to work. steuben walks towards his gear. with a few minutes the sound of digging can be heard. after retrieving a small pouch, he joins those at work. after a few hours a suitable grave has been dug, and the body handed down. before the last few shovel are replaced steuben takes a seed out of the pouch, and places it in the dirt. he replaces the dirt and pats it gently with his hand.

\"may what you have taken in life, be returned in death,\" he says almost in prayer.

he turns around. the woman is standing there.

\"there would have been a better way then that,\" she says.

steuben shakes his head. \"there never is a good way, or a good time to kill. if it hadn\'t have been now it would have been later. by then others would have followed him. if i hadn\'t done it i would have been breaking my oath. and that,\" resignation, exhaustion, and frustration creep into his voice. \"that is something i am unable to do.\"

despite the blood and dirt, the ring on his right little finger gleams in the distant fire light.

[steuben]

episode 5:
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steuben walked along side the cart. it slowly creaked along pulled by the aging mule. the woman from the tavern walks up beside him.

\"what did you mean last night,\" she asks.

\"about?\" stebuen responds.

\"something about being returned in death.\"

\"ahh,\" steuben nods. \"\'may what you have taken in life, be returned in death.\' i\'m not sure that the words actually mean anything. perhaps, the actions mean a bit more. planting a seed in the grave gives the seed a nice source of fertilizer.\" he shrugs. \"as good a reason as any. but, mostly i do it because it is what i was brought up to do.\"

\"common practice, where you come from?\"

steuben nods.

\"which plant was it?\"

\"black locust.\"

\"sounds horrible.\"

steuben shakes his head. \"it\'s a good tree. grows just about anywhere. the wood doesn\'t rot, and it burns pretty warm.\"

\"and you chose it for those reasons?\"

steuben shakes his head. \"it is my clan\'s tree.\"

she looks him up and down a couple of times. \"it suits you.\" she looks forward again.

he shrugs.

\"your homeland is filled with forests?\"

\"yes.\"

\"i though it was something like that. you seemed to be a bit more relaxed since we entered the forest. i had wondered what it was.\"

he nods. they walk along in silence.

\"if you don\'t mind me asking...\" she pauses for a moment. \"who were you before, you did this?\"

steuben looks at her. he looks as if searching for something in her face, in her eyes. he looks forward.

\"i was a smith.\"

\"just a smith?\"

\"just a smith.\"

\"but, your sword and your skill with it.\"

steuben pulls the sword. the sound as it is withdrawn has a just waking up and expectant sound to it.

\"it is my master work of my craft. it took the two of us a year to make this.\" he smiles slightly as he remembers back to the days of his master\'s forge. he slides the sword back into its sheath. it has the note of something content to go back to sleep. \"the skill came after.\"

\"so you aren\'t some exiled prince, or some great warrior.\"

steuben shakes his head. \"battle does not make one great, only lucky. but no, merely a simple smith.\"

they walk along in silence.

\"those three that you were training, do you think that they will pan out?\"

steuben shrugs. \"it is up to them. if have the nature, or the ability to control themselves, they will.\"

\"so you don\'t really care if they succeed or not?\"

steuben shakes his head. \"no, i do care. i care enough to not let them fail in their job now that they have decided to do it. and when they do their job mine becomes easier.\"

\"and \'the job\' is all you really care about?\"

steuben shakes his head.  \"there have been ... other things.\" his voice filled with fatigue, regret, wistfulness, the sounds of bitter-sweet memories coming to the surface. he turns his head to look at her, then he looks forward again. \"and there will be other things. but, for now the job is all that shows.\"

[steuben]

episode 6:
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steuben stood infront of the anvil in the smithy. he was wearing only his pants and the heavy leather apron. the accumulated scars show lighter against him skin. steuben moves his arms and hands as he talks. the skin over his musles moves, showing that some of the scars were once deep wounds.

in the forge a piece of stock iron is slowly heating up. infront of him is the smithy\'s owner and his two apprentices. in addition there are two smithes from the neighbouring villages. it is in effect, a small smithing seminar.

steuben moves his hands as he discribes the process that he is about to demonstrate. one of the smiths stands looking as though he is being sold snake oil, but is willing to listen anyways.

steuben pulls the iron out of the forge. it glows with the stored heat from the forge. he lays it on the anvil and begins to hammer it flat and thin. after repeated heatings and flattenings he folds it over and repeats the process.

\"as can well imagine it takes a while to finish the product. however, the result is well worth the effort.\"

he quenches the iron and places it on the anvil. he walks over to the pile of his equipment. he fishes around for a moment and pulls out a sheathed dagger. he walks back to the anvil and pulls out the dagger, placing the sheath on the anvil.

\"this is the first one that i finished. it took about two months working on it part time. the edge holds better, and doesn\'t chip as easily.\"

he hands the dagger to the smiths observing him. the owning smith tells one of his apprentices to get one of the finished daggers that he had in the shop. the two are compared. it is like having a wolf and a dog side by side. steuben\'s dagger is slightly longer and thinner, and has a curve to the blade. but that is merely reflective of the two different people who made the blades. the difference lies in the feel. steuben\'s blade simply feels faster, sharper, sleaker.

the doubting smith harumphs. \"you simply worked a glyph into the steel.\" while he doubts the process, he is planning how to try it when he gets back home.

steuben shakes his head. \"no magic. just simple steel. besides no magic has ever bonded with good iron.\" the smiths nod in agreement.

\"well you\'ve kept your end,\" says the owning smith. \"i\'ll leave my lads here to finish this one off. but tomorrow, and the next couple of days you can use the place. will you be needing my lads to help you?\"

\"no, i\'ve got a few of my own that i\'m working with. but, they\'re welcome to stay and watch. they may be able to teach my lads a thing or two. but i\'m doing anything fancy, just some maintence work that some people who should know better haven\'t been doing.\"

the other smiths nod, all knowing exactly the kind of person, each having dealt with them. with that the seminar breaks up. the two visiting smiths head off i their own directions.
 
collects up the dagger and the sheath. he takes off the apron and lays it over both the half worked iron and the anvil. he walks over to his clothes and equipment. he slides his shirt on. as he does the smith come sup to him.

\"why don\'t you open up your own shop? with what you could make you could do well for yourself,\" he says.

\"once, i would have. i think i had kind of planned on it.\" steuben replies. \"but, other things came up.\" he slides his sword on. the hilt slung high, as if the sword was wanting to watch its surroundings.

\"her?\" the smith gestures towards the door with his head.

steuben looks up, he sees the young woman (episode 1) standing near the door. \"no. she came after. but, i sometimes wish it had been,\" steuben answers as he leaves the smithy.

\"things went well,\" she asks.

steuben nods. \"i\'ve managed to secure it for a couple of days. it should be enough to bring most of the equipment back up to spec.\"

\"what did you trade him for the time?\"

\"knowledge, and he thinks he got the better end of the deal.\" he shrugs. \"he may have. but, he knows he\'ll have to work hard to be able to use it. so it probably balances out in the end.\"

they walk along for a moment.

\"so, who will you use to help?\"

\"those three that i\'m ... training. they need to know how to maintain their weapons, know their limits, what makes them good and work.\"

\"and that\'s really important?\"

he looks at her for a moment.

\"to know how hard you can push before it will break, yes it is important. knowing it is what separates the good from the capable. and in this business being second best, is not a goood career move.\"

[steuben]

episode 7:
---------------------

the sound of ringing metal sounds from the forge. steuben and his apprentices had spent much of the day working on the armour and weapons. he had winced when he saw some of them. some would take weeks of work. he sighed as he began to sort them out in terms of what work had to be done to them. he shruged and got to work.

he then spent most of the morning bringing them up to speed on what to do. he had kept it simple. they hadn\'t been trained as smiths. mostly it had been simple cleaning and sharpening. he had kept the relatively complex metal working for himself. they had agreed surprisingly easily, at least to him.

he stands infront of the forge with one of the swords held in it.  one of apprentices is manning the bellows. he delivers a stream of air into the charcoal. he watches steuben for while. the sword slowly begins to glow from the heat.

\"i\'m not qute sure i understand, why i\'m doing this,\" the apprentice manning the belows says.

\"as you blow air through the charcoal it causes the heat to rise to a point where the sword can be effectively tempered,\" steuben responds still looking at the sword watching the colour of the glow.

the apprentice creases his blow at the responce. it wasn\'t what he had expected. \"what i meant was...\"

steuben waves him to silence. \"i know what you meant.\" he pauses as he shuffles the blade in the charcoal. \"what makes a good sword, a good sword?\" he continues. \"why is a bad sword, bad? and what is the difference? part of learning that is learning how to maintain your weapons and armour.\"

he pulls the glowing sword out of of the coals. he turns it a couple of times before nestling it back in the forge. \"part of it is knowing what it actually takes to make such things. if you want any kind of serious custom work down, and you will, you have to have an idea of what the limits of the skills and the materials are.\"

\"and which part is the fact that you needed a few extra hands to get this work down?\" the apprentice who had been resewing a seam quips in.

steuben smiles. \"the important part,\" he says as he pulls the sword out of the forge. the apprentice on the bellows takes the tongs, and holds the sword on the anvil. steuben hammers it, gradually forming it back into shape and hardness.

as evening begins to arrive, they begin to clean up from the day\'s activity. steuben looks at the pile of completed tasks. he nods.

\"good enough for the first day,\" he says.

he looks up, standing near the door is the young woman from the tavern (see episode 1). he walks over.

\"father, isn\'t feeling well tonight,\" she says. \"and we need to recruit more guards. i would like your help.\"

he nods. \"let me finish up here and i meet you there.\"

\"good. a couple of hours then?\"

\"yes.\"

they part and steuben head back into the smithy to finish cleaning up.

\"boss? can i ask you something,\" asks one of the apprentices.

steuben nods.

\"umm... what is going on between you and the boss lady? you two could have your pick of anybody. but, you keep dancing around each other.\"

steuben pauses as he banks the coals in the forge for the next day. he straightens and looks through the wall for a moment.

\"nothing,\" he says. there is a note to his voice. it isn\'t clear if it is regret, wistfulness, or simple weariness.

he turns around. anything that would have been on his face is gone. he looks around the shop. \"you guys head home. i\'ll finish up here.\"  

the apprentices take a quick look around. they aren\'t sure if they should leave their tasks unfinished, or if they should take their leave. then, as one, they dash out. steuben finishes the last bits of cleaning up. he hanges the apron over the anvil as closes up the smithy.

he bundles up his shirt, cloak, and sword, and walks over to the local well. he pulls up a bucket of water and steps away from the well. he sluices it over his head and body. the cold of the water emphasizes his scars. he draws up another bucket of water, and scrubs his face. he pours the rest of the water over his head and body again. he shakes his head. a spray of water comes from his hair.

he unbundles his shirt, cloak, and sword. he slides on his shirt, hiding many of the scars. he slicks back his hair. he then puts his cloak on. it swirls slightly. he slides his sword on, settling it high on his back. it seems as though the sword is wanting to watch its surroundings. settling the cloak\'s hood on his head, he leaves the well for the tavern.

he walks through the door of the tavern. he looks around. not seeing the woman there, he walks up to the bar. he pulls back his hood. he orders a pint of beer, and settles in to watch and wait for her arrival.

she walks into the tavern, and walks over to a table over in one corner. steuben joins her at the table. he turns a chair sideways and sits down.

\"i\'m not really sure how to do this,\" she says. \"i\'ve watched father do this a couple of times.\"

\"just know what you have to offer, and what you need. the rest will follow from there. any other arrangements will have to be made by them.\" steuben replies.

\"but, what do we really have to offer?\"

\"food, bed, a chance to work.\"

\"that isn\'t much.\"

\"no. but it will do.\" steuben gets up and turns the chair back into the table. \"i\'ll follow your lead.\" he walks over to the walk behind her and stands there.

the evening progressed. steuben stood there for the most part doinf nothing. occastionally he whispered advice to her. a few new guards had signed up. a few more had been non-committal. but, most had looked up at steuben, negotiated politely, and left. however, their last visitor of the evening was different.

he walks up to the table. he carries three earthenware mugs in his right hand. his left arm hangs limp and withered by his side. scars track up the left side of face and disappear into the hair on the top of his head. he places two of the mugs near the woman and steuben. he sits down and takes a brief pull from his. the smell of cinnamon, cloves, citrus, and potent alcohol waft up from the mugs.

the woman opens her mouth to speak. steuben places a hand on her shoulder before she can say a word. a faint smile creases his lips. his hand continues on to pick up one of the mugs. he takes a drink from the mug.

\"i have heard a couple of rumors,\" the stranger says. \"heard of a little woman who keeps a chained demon.\" he smiles. \"looks like the stories are partly true. but, the stories don\'t tell of what the demon does with his kills, or the oath that binds him.\"

\"an oath as inviolate as the day i swore it,\" steuben responds.

\"i hear that you are looking to recruit a few guards.\"

\"a few.\"

the stranger nods. \"and what is the pay,\" he asks as he looks at the woman.

\"oh, i get to speak now?\" she says and looks sharply at steuben.

\"sorry mistress,\" steuben says bowing his head. the stranger smiles slightly.

\"two meals a day, and a place to sleep,\" she says turning back to the stranger.

\"and...?\"

\"that is what we are offering.\"

he frowns. \"i know that you have at least one more thing you can offer.\"

her face freezes.

\"i hardly think that your \'pet demon\',\" he smiles slightly and gestures towards steuben, \"would have signed on for just two meals a day, and a bed.\"

\"we can also offer maintainance of your equipment. but, anything else you will have to make your own arrangments,\" her voice has an edge to it.

\"you flatter me lass. with this arm of mine i would be of little use to you. but, i do know of a couple of lads who may be of use. but, tell me how dangerous is this duty?\"

\"not especially. simply protection from bandits and thugs.\"

\"hmm, and for how long?\"

\"for as long as they want to stay.\"

\"a little vague. how about, for three months with the option to renew again after that?\"

\"sounds acceptable so far, but before i accept i have a couple of questions.\"

\"i would be rather suspect of the situation if you didn\'t. ask away.\"

\"i would like to see these lads first.\"

\"sure, any particular time and location?\"

\"perhaps here, tomorrow evening?\"

\"that will work well. and the second question?\"

\"how much for this little service of yours?\"

\"no charge. i am doing this because of what i owe them, and because they want to. besides, it gives me something to do with my time.\"

\"very well. tomorrow evening then.\"

\"excellent.\" he stands up and offers his hand to her. she accepts it. \"see you then.\"

he nods towards steuben. steuben nods back. he takes his mug with him as he leaves. steuben sits down in the recently vacated seat.

\"you know him,\" she asks.

steuben nods. \"we ... served together once. he is, was, a good solider.\" he takes a pull at the mug, his eyes focus on something not really there. \"we didn\'t think he would survive his injuries. but he survived.\" his eyes focus again on reality. \"it\'s good to see that he\'s keeping busy. so many don\'t.\"  

[steuben]

episode 8:
---------------------

the scarred yliak* from the tavern (see episode 7) walks in to the smithy. the ringing of metal masks his approach. one of the apprentices looks up when the shadow crosses his work.

\"sorry, the smithy is closed,\" he says.

\"which would be of import if i was here for work,\" the yliak responds. \"i\'m here to see your boss.\"

steuben looks up from his hammering and nods. he returns to his work. the yliak steps over and leans against the wall. steuben continues to hammer on the sword that he is working on. the note of the ring changes. he picks up the sword and looks at for a moment. he quenches it in the bucket of water.

he speaks briefly to the apprentice assisiting him. the apprentice heads over to work with the others. steuben heads over to the yliak and they both step outside.

\"you always look your most relaxed when you\'re doing that stuff.\" he shakes his head, with a smile. \"even out on the sharp end, you would relax with that stuff.\"

steuben shrugs. \"we all had our ways of coping.\"

\"but, not like you.\" he sighs. \"but, i didn\'t come by to talk about the past. what\'s your take the situation?\"

steuben looks into the smithy. \"dregs, thugs, and too young to know the difference. some have potiential. some are just simply warm meat.\"

\"how well would a couple of veterans fit in?\"

steuben thinks for a moment.

\"as he pauses to dream of the army he would command.\"

steuben looks over at him. he harmuphs.

\"hardly. it depends on how...\" steuben pauses as he searches for the correct word.

\"they\'re still sane. well as sane as anybody in the business. they are looking to \'retire\'. they know they just can\'t just step back into the world. this is just about what they are looking for.\"

steuben nods. \"keeping busy is important.\"

\"so they will work well?\"

\"if she says yes then, they will. but, i have no real say in the matter.\"

he chuckles. \"yeah, right. and i\'ll clap again some day. but, i understand the chain of command. and so do they.\"

steuben nods. \"not that we have much of one.\"

\"give it a bit. you\'ll have one setup.\" he claps steuben on the shoulder as he turns to leave. \"i\'ll see you tonight.\"

steuben heads back into the smithy and returns to working on the sword. he outs the sword back into the forge to heat it once more. the apprentice returns to pumping the bellows.

\"you knew him, boss,\" the apprentice asks.

steuben nods, as he watches the sword heat up.

\"anything important?\"

steuben nestles the sword in the coals a bit.

\"potential colleagues,\" he responds. he pulls the sword out. \"yliaki who have lived by the arts of combat. yliaki who have survived living by the arts long enough to consider retirement.\"

he puts the sword back in.

\"they made a living though combat.\" he nestles the sword again. \"they were good enough to continue making a living through it. but, they know that they can\'t keep doing it. they\'re looking to retire, and lead a quieter life.\"

steuben pulls the sword from the coals, and places it on the anvil.

\"perhaps, that is all we can hope for.\"

steuben begins to hammer the sword again. he continues until the note changes. he quenches the sword. he studies the sword, and sighs.

\"there comes a time when a sword must be retired. it can be reforged. a new edge put on it. but, the fact remains that the sword is old.\" he places the sword in the to be sharpened pile. \"but, we\'ll see what we can do with it.\"

he begins to work on the next piece. the armour had been disassembled, the metal pieces had been removed from much of their backing leather. they work through the rest of the day. the completed items pile slowly grows.

at the end of the day steuben closes the smithy. waiting outside is the young woman. she looks at him for a moment.

\"you set him up, didn\'t you,\" she says. the is a note of accusation in her voice. it is like she should be angry but isn\'t quite sure at who or about what.

\"set who up?\"

\"you know who. the yliak with the arm.\"

\"ah, yes.\" steuben turns and heads off to local well. \"and no. i didn\'t set him up.\" she follows

she turns her head and looks at him as they walk along.

\"he was doing what he felt was right,\" he continues. \"two good yliak looking to retire from... the business. he found them a job that they can do. it\'s a good deal.\"

she looks at steuben for a moment.

\"would you ever consider retiring?\"

steuben slows. it is as if he has realize a great burden has been placed on his shoulders.

\"i doubt that would ever be allowed to.\"

*yliak - a gender neutral designation of a sapient of yliakum regardless of species. the plural is yliaki.
http://www.planeshift3d.com/wbboard/thread.php?threadid=14670&boardid=13&styleid=3&sid=9069038a1cb1eb51c455622f1834eb18

[Rallelalli]

When I first started reading your story, I thought, \"Oh no, this will be hard to read\", because of the absense of caps and the form in which you decided to do it in. I am glad that I finished it, it is a story that when you edit it will be not only good, but entertaining as well.
I was captured after I gave it a chance to develop, but you need to correct the caps and expand on some of the story, that would make it so much better.
Congrats on what you have done so far, I liked it very much.

[steuben]

episode 9:
---------------------

steuben stands to her right, as she sits at the table. they are waiting for the scarred yliak and his two canidates. a few had come to see what oportunities that they had to offer. but, they left with out agreeing to much.

the scarred yliak arrives with to yliaki in tow, one male, one female. he places three mugs on the table. the smell of alcohol, spices and citrus wafts from the mugs. steuben picks up one and sips it. he looks over the two new yliaki.

the female stands roughly four and a half feet tall and nearly as broad. she has the look of someone who has wrestle krans, and if not won, stood them to a draw. the male is the phsyical opposite. he stands nearly seven feet tall, and is almost rail thin. he looks as though the merest breeze would snap him in two.

there is something more to them. the look as if they had done it all before, and would do it again if asked. their eyes have a hard look to them. not a brittle hardness, but like the hardness of granite. but, there is also a weariness to them.

the young woman motions them to sit down. she proceeds with the interview. it proceedes smoother then the ones the previous night. both, because of her recent experience, and the quality of the people on the other side.

towars the end of the interview, one of the apprentices bursts into the tavern. a frantic look on his face. steuben looks up from from the table. he bends down and whispers into her ear for a moment then heads over to the apprentice. she had not noticed him.

\"boss,\" he says franticly. \"she\'s got to come back, and you. her father. he\'s --\"

steuben breaks him off. \"he\'s still alive?\"

\"when i left, yes. but --\"

\"wait outside the door, i\'ll send her out to you shortly. i\'ll follow later. don\'t wait for me.\"

the apprentice hesitates, turns, and leaves. steuben heads back to the table. he stands back where he was before, and waits for an appropriate moment. she looks up at him.

\"yes?\" she says.

he bends over and whispers to her. \"calmly head out to the door, there is something that you must deal with. i\'ll finish up here.\"

she nods. \"sorry, a matter has come up that i must attend to. steuben will be able to continue in my stead.\"

the scarred yliak smiles, and stands. \"no problems. such is the nature of leadership. i trust that it will be easily resolved.\"

\"thank you.\"

she nods to the others at the table and leaves. steuben takes her seat at the table as she leaves. the scarred yliak sits back down.

\"anything of import?\"

steuben shrugs, \"not really.\"

\"and that\'s probably all i\'ll get out of you. however...\"

\"no, we were almost finished. pending her final approval, you can consider yourselves hired. we\'ve encamped on the edge of town. we\'ll be here for a few more days. check in there tomorrow and we\'ll have a firmer time line for you.\"  

\"okay, excellent. well then we\'re settled.\" the scarred yliak holds out his hand. steuben shakes it.

\"i look forward to working with you,\" steuben says to the other two at the table. with that the table breaks up.

the scarred yliak looks at steuben for moment. \"is there anything wrong?\"

\"nothing that either of us can help with.\"

\"no, perhaps not. but, you can be there for her. which is probably exactly what you need to do.\" he claps steuben on the shoulder. \"head off. i\'ll look you up later.\" he leaves the table. steuben leaves shortly there after.

he hurries through the darkened streets back to the camp. he pauses infront of the tent. he pulls back the flap and steps inside. there are few yliaki gathered around the bed. the witch tending the old yliak looks up.

\"he still lives,\" she rasps. \"but, not from any of my craft.\"

\"it\'s not like you made it easy,\" the old yliak chuckles. the laugh rapidly deteriorates in to a cough. the surrounding ylaki move in a bit. he waves them away. \"come closer young man,\" he says to steuben.

steuben steps up to the bed. the old yliak dismisses everybody but steuben. his daughter hesitates before she too leaves. he motions steuben to sit down.

\"you have seen death many times?\"

\"yes,\" steuben responds.

\"how many times has it been personal? like this?\"

\"too many.\"

\"do you fear death?\"

\"i am familiar with it.\"

the old yliak chuckles a bit. \"which doesn\'t really answer the question. i fear it. i have seen the destruction of my city. i fear for the future of my people. for my daughter.\" he takes a deep breath. the sound of fluid is loud from his lungs. \"tell me, how does steuben the smith think?\"

steuben pauses for a moment. \"anything that is built by yliak can be rebuilt.\"  

\"and steuben the warrior?\"

steuben winces slightly at the word warrior. \"a sharp sword is a very blunt weapon.\"

he smiles slightly. \"and steuben the yliak?\"

\"do your job as best you can for as long as you can.\"

he nods. \"i don\'t fear it quite so much, now. i have seen the seeds of the future planted. teach them how to tend them. that they may grow strong and true.\" he looks at steuben and focuses on him. \"she will need your strength, for a while. teach her about her own strength.\" he shudders. \"okay, bring them back in.\"

steuben stands up and goes to the flap. he motions the others in. they gather back around. the old yliak looks up at his daughter. his strength clearly rapidly fading now.

\"trust him... he will... help you... through this.\" he grasps her hand with his failing strength. \"remember what we were.\" his voice now a whisper. \"know what we can be again.\" he relaxes with an absolute finality. his hand slips from hers.  

steuben reaches down and gently places the arm up against the body.

\"is he...\" she asks. tears beginning to stream down her face.

steuben simply nods. she turns and begins to sob violently against his chest. he holds her gently.

\"may your tree grow great and true,\" he says almost prayer like. he doesn\'t say anything else. because, what is there, really, to say.

[steuben]

episode 10:
---------------------
steuben and his apprentices spent the next day, their last, working in the smithy. most of the complex work had been finished at this point. they worked in relative silence.

\"boss?\" one of the apprentices asks. \"you alright?\"

steuben nods.

\"you sure? we can finish up here.\"

steuben shakes his head. \"no. i work\'ll the day out. done more in worse shape.\"

\"how the boss lady doing?\"

\"well enough.\"

he had stayed up most of the night with her. he simply held her while she cried. before the dawn she fell asleep. he put her to bed and left the tent. outside the tent the witch stood standing.

\"she\'s sleeping now.\" he said

she nodded. \"would you carry her pain?\" she rasped.

steuben looked at her. \"relative to what i carry, it is a light burden.\" he looked back towards the tent. \"but, the first few... they\'re always the hardest to bear.\"  

\"she is a strong woman.\"

\"yes she is. she\'ll lead her people well.\"

the witch chuckled \"after what you\'ve done for us, it\'s still \'her people\'?\"

\"i was hired to protect you. not to lead you. besides it isn\'t a job i\'d be good at.\"

she chuckled again. \"says the man who has led armies.\"

after completing the cleaning of the smithy, they head back to the camp. near the edge of camp a pyre has been erected. in the lesser light of late evening it appears as though most of the refugees have gathered. they stand there waiting.

in the near dark of late evening, the procession starts. the young woman leads. she carries a lit torch, the flames dance slightly in the breeze. the corpse is carried on a pallet by four yliaki. three are refugees,  the other is one of the guards. they carry it to the pyre and place it on top. the step quietly away.
 
the refugees gather around the pyre. there had been several such pyres, while steuben had been traveling with them. but, for this one they all gathered round. the young woman walk round the pyre. she pauses to say a few words in prayer before lighting that part of the pyre with the torch she carries. shs repeats this as she circles it. after completing the circuit, the pyre is fully started. she says something longer in prayer. she throws the torch onto the pyre. then as one they sit down. they watch the burning pyre in silence.

among the gathered refugees, sit some of the guards. some more of the guards sit off to one side, but are still there. steuben also sits there. nearby are two of his apprentices and the two veterans. the third apprentice is among the refugees. the scarred yliak walks up and sits beside steuben.

\"in the midst of death, you wonder how to preserve life,\" he says quietly to steuben.

\"there wasn\'t anything i could have done,\" steuben responds. \"or even should have done if i had the power...\"

\"but?\"

\"i did give him the truth. it comforted him, at the end.\"

\"and that is all that we mortals can do.\" he looks over at steuben. \"and despite all that you are capable of. you are not a god.\"

\"i know.\" the weight of the world appears to settle on steuben\'s shoulders for a moment.

they sit in silence for a while.

\"you\'ll be moving out soon i guess.\"

steuben nods. \"probably in a couple of days.\"

\"so how long will you stay with them?\"

\"till i\'m finished.\"

the scared yliak chuckles. \"some jobs will never be finished.\"

\"okay, until i have others that will be able to continue the job.\"

the scared yliak nods. they sit in silence a while longer.

\"you\'re a builder my friend.\" the scared yliak says. \"even when we were carring them out three deep, back through the ashes that we made, you were still building.\" he shrugs. \"i guess that why half the yliaki followed you.\"    

he stands up. he pats steuben on the shoulder. \"take care my friend. say hi the next time you\'re in town.\" he walks off.

as steuben watches the pyre burn. his memory drifts to other pyres that he has been to. eventually they return to the conversation he had with the witch that morning.

\"yes. i know who you are steuben viscosa,\" she rasped.

\"then you know what i\'ve done. you don\'t want a soldier leading you. you want some like her,\" he gestures towards the tent. \"you want someone who is still ... human.\"

[steuben]

episode 11:
---------------------

steuben walks along side the cart. he had sent the two veterans ahead. with one of his apprentices each, and two each of the volunteers, as he begun to think of them. the two scouting parties were checking the road ahead as well as the terrain.

he thinks about the past couple of days. as he walks along. somehow he had become the head a small band of, what? he couldn\'t call them soldiers. they didn\'t have any of the training or disipline. if push came to shove, maybe he could call them guards. he smiles as he thinks about what his drill seagent would have called them. but, the there is one word that seems to always sit nearby. regardless of what they are called, they are his.

the young woman walks up beside him.

\"thank-you, for looking after the guards, that past few days. i was in little shape to deal with them.\"

steuben nods.

\"i was hoping that you could keep looking after the guards. i don\'t think that i can do it.\"

steben nods again. he looks over at her.

\"the trick isn\'t to lead all of them.\" he responds. \"the trick is to lead a few, and let them do the work of leading the rest.\" he smiles. \"yep, one of the dirty little secrets of good army officers yliakum over.\"

\"so, who would i have to lead?\"

\"for now just me.\"

\"for now?\"

steuben nods.

\"and after?\" she continues.

\"that has yet to be determined. but they will be there.\"

\"but, will i know what to do?\"

steuben shakes his head.

\"for the most part you don\'t have to. you simply have to listen. then decide which way to go from there.\"

\"but, what if i can\'t decide? if there is no right option?\"

\"choose anyways. the worst choice is making no choice.\" the weight of world seems to settle on steuben\'s shoulders for a moment. \"for so long, it was sometimes the least worst of the available choices that i had to choose.  so many lives hung all ways on the decision.\" he shakes his head, and smiles. \"but, then much of it won\'t apply here.\" he claps her gently on the shoulder. \"i\'ll offer what guidance i can.\"

they walk on in silence for a while.

steuben looks up and down the column. he looks at her again.

\"have you given any thought about where you are headed?\" he asks.

she shakes her head. \"we\'ve pretty much just been wandering from town to town. searching for somewhere that we can call home.\"

\"maybe it is time to think about where you want to go.\" he shrugs. \"you don\'t have to answer right away. but, you should think about it.\"

\"i guess home, is probably not a good idea.\"

he shrugs again. \"you tell me.\"

she shakes her head. \"no, i guess not.\" she pauses. \"i don\'t _where_ to go.\"

\"the where may not really matter. for the most part it is having the goal is what is important. you don\'t need to decide right now. just think about it for a while.\"

\"how do i know what to set?\"

steuben shrugs and smiles a bit. \"i didn\'t say that it was going to be easy.\" steuben looks up and down the column of refugees. \"i think the people need one.\"

she nods and walks off. she returns later that night. steuben is sitting in front of his fire. sitting opposite him  is one of the verterans. she waits until the veterans finishes the report. she sits down after the veteran leaves.

\"anything important?\" she asks.

steuben shakes his head. \"no. these lands are fairly well known.\"

\"so why send out the scouts?\"

\"most of the volunteers fear me for one reason or the other. the others...\" steuben shrugs. \"sending out the scouting parties let\'s me see how they work.\"

\"but you\'ve been... ahhh, the veterans report back to you what they see.\"

steuben nods.

\"is that what you meant by leading the few?\"

steuben nods again. \"partly. but, there were the practical reasons as well.\"    

\"there is so much to know. i doubt that i could handle half of it.\"

steuben shrugs. \"the hard part is setting things up. when things a running it is much easier.\"

she sighs. \"and there is so much to set up.\"

steuben nods. \"there, usually is. tell me what\'ve got, and i\'ll help you with this.\"

they discuss the details. steuben adding refinements, and corrections. the young woman clarifing the direction that she wants.

\"excellent,\" steuben says. \"i\'ll have the scouts keep a look out. i should also be able to send out a few scouting parties a bit further abroad.\"

she nods. she looks at steuben for a moment.

\"you seem to know, what to do, how to do it. why don\'t you lead us?\" she asks.

steuben stares into the fire for a moment.  

\"i have lead thousands of yliak.\" steuben says. \"fed them. housed them. buried them. they were guards, warriors, or soliders. yliaki who were taught and trained to kill. yliaki who are familar with death.\" steuben looks up. \"you are trying to create something new. to bring life. i wouldn\'t be... suitable for that.\"

[steuben]

episode 12:
---------------------

steuben walks up to the young woman. following him is the female veteran. she looks up. when she sees their approach, a look of concern appears on her face.

\"what\'s wrong?\" she asks.

steuben pauses for a moment, to consider the answer. a slight smile appears as some of the answers work through his head.

\"wrong question,\" he replies. \"i think we may have a suitable canidate for a location.\"

\"really?\"

\"about a day from here, cross country.\"

she nods. \"what\'s it like?\"

steuben getures the veteran forward. she then describes the area to her. the young woman nods as the description is given. she pauses to thnk for a moment.

\"who should go take a look? besides me and a guide,\" she gestures to the veteran. she pauses for a moment. \"i would like you to come with us as well, steuben.\"

stueben considers this for a moment.

\"looks like you\'ve asked him a hard question, ma\'am,\" the veteran says, a bit of a smile on her lips. she turns to steuben. \"i think the boys will be good for a couple of days, sir. besides, i think these people could use a bit of a rest.\" she shrugs. \"here is probably as good a place as any.\"

steuben nods. \"for a couple of days. i suggest we leave at dawn. as for who else should come...\" he shrugs. \"that\'s your decision. but, i wouldn\'t recommend very many more.\"

the young woman nods.  \"tomorrow morning. just us three, then.\"

\"very well. i\'ll inform the guards of the situation.\"

steuben turns and leaves. the veteran and the young woman stay and continue to talk.

after the assembly where steuben informed the volunteers of the situation one of his apprentices approached him.

\"boss, can i talk to you about someting?\"

\"yes,\" steuben responds.

\"well, there\'s this girl, and i want to ask her to marry me.\"

steuben raises an eyebrow. \"but?\"

\"i\'m not certain i should.\"

steuben begins to head back to his camp. the apprentice follows.

\"why?\"

\"i don\'t know that i can be everything that she needs. what if she says no? what if-- \"

steuben looks at him for a moment. \"do you care about her?\"

\"yes.\"

\"does she care about you?\"

\"yes. i think.\"

he looks at him again, and holds the look. \"would you stand between her and me?\"

the apprentice pauses a moment. he swallows. the fear of having to consider such an event evident on his face. \"yes.\"

steuben nods, and looks forward again. \"would she try to stop me, if your positions were reversed?\"

the apprentice considers again, briefly. \"yes.\"

\"then ask her. nothing else of import matters.\" steuben looks at the apprentice. \"you both care for each other. marry, settle down, raise a family.\" steuben looks forward again. \"enjoy each other\'s company for the rest of your days.\"

\"but, what if she--\"

steuben stops, and turns.

\"then you\'ll know. one way or the other you\'ll know.\"

steuben continues on. the apprentice stands there for a while. he then turns and heads off. before steuben falls asleep, that night, he hears the sound of joyous laughter from across the camp.

steuben wakes before the waxing of the azure sun. he stirrs the coals, in his firepit, to a fitful life. he places a few sticks of wood on the coals. they eventually catch and through their yellow light over the immediate area. while waiting for the wood to burn to coals steuben mixes up a thick dough. he shapes the into little cakes. after the wood has burned to coals, steuben wraps the dough. he buries them in the ash and coals to bake.

in the waxing light, steuben packs up his gear. after he has packed everything up, he digs out the ash cakes. he unwraps them and places them on the top of his pack. he heads off to join the others in the early light of dawn.

they walk along the road for while before leaving it and start cross-country. off the road is forest. the forest is occastionally broken by small clearings. shafts of light occastionally pierce the forest canopy illuminating small patches of the forest floor. they walk out of the forest into a large field. the field is bordered half way round by forest. a series of small hills completes the enclosure of the field. coming up between to of the hills is a small river. it follows along the line of hills before it disappears between the forest and the hills.

steuben pauses at the forest edge taking in the area. he crosses the field, leaving a crease in the knee high grass. the two women walk around the edge talking to each other. he crosses the river, getting chest deep before climbing up the far bank. he walks up to the crest of the hill. he looks out over the lands. in the far distance he can just make out the smoke from the camp. he looks out over the hills, they look like some god pushed the land to create the series of hills.

he walks back down the hill and recrosses the river. the field side of the bank is steep but well grassed, almost to the water\'s edge. he climbs up the bank and cross the field to the two women. near the cente of the field he crouches down. he pulls out a dagger and cuts a small piece of sod. he pulls it out. the grass binds much of it together. a few peices of dark earth fall from the bottom. the vetern takes the clump from steuben\'s hand.

\"good soil,\" she says as she turns the sod over in her hands. \"very rich. it should grow good crops.\"

the young woman looks at her.

\"my folks were farmers.\" she shurgs. \"i left home looking for ... adventure. i figure farming is adventurous enough for me, right now.\"  

[steuben]

episode 13:
---------------------

steuben is working in a simple smithy. the forge is merely boxed sand. eventually he would have to build a proper stone forge. but, for now this will do. he takes the metal out of the forge. he works it into the shape of a thin plowshare. the original shape of the source metal can just be made out. he is finishing the weld where he folded over the metal, when one of his apprentices runs up.

looking up he watches the lips as he continues to hammer the metal. he catches the words raiders and coming from the lips and between the hammer blows. he nods and finishes the weld.

\"has everyone else been told,\" he asks as he quenches the piece.

\"yes,\" the apprentice says between breathes. \"everyone\'s gathered at the river.\"

steuben places the plowshare, tongs, and hammer on the anvil.

\"you\'ve gotta hurry,\" the apprentice says.

steuben walks over and picks up his sword.

\"not really.\" he straps the sword on. he looks towards the river. \"well, maybe a little.\" several small groups of ylaiki are setting up small barriers along the near bank of the river.

he jogs up to the gathering. the two veterns look towards him as he arrives. the three of them walk a bit away from the group.

\"it was always easier to pretend to be calm when i didn\'t know how badly we were going to get hammered,\" the male veteran says.

\"that bad?\" steuben says.

the veterans nod.

\"about three to one,\" the male continues.

the female veteran smiles, at least it could be called that. \"at the least they\'ll know they\'ve been in a fight.\" she looks across the river. \"but, i do want to walk away from this one.\"

steuben nods. \"and your asessment.\"

\"if we had another day...\" she looks at the beginings of the fortifications that had been built. she shrugs. \"but, the river will slow them down.\"

\"we have enough bits and such,\" the male says. \"we could rig up a couple of barriers on this side. nothing serious. but enough to set up a couple of choke points, for a little while.\"

he looks at the assembled yilaki. \"and they\'re not soliders.\" he looks at steuben. \"but, i\'m not telling you anything new.\"

steuben nods. \"but, they are what we have.\" he pauses. \"they\'ll suffice.\"

the male veteran nods towards an approaching figure.

\"but, i think somebody have an different opinion about that.\"

steuben turns around.

\"you don\'t have to do this,\" the young woman says. \"we can run away, and come back later.\"

steuben shakes his head. \"it\'s too late for that. the raiders are too close. they\'d simply cut us down as we fled. this is the only way for any of us to survive.\"

the two veterans nod in agreement.

steuben gestures to the working yliaki. \"they chose to be here. they\'ve chosen to fight. they are doing exactly what they are hired to do.\"

the sounds of the raiders approach begin to come over the hills.

\"and now it has become a moot point. head back to the others and hide.\" the edge of command creeping into his voice.

she runs back into the village. steuben heads over to the hand full of archers working. he gathers them to together.

\"choose your shots,\" he says. \"when they begin to cross the river and are climbing up the bank take your shots. after the bulk of them have crossed over wade in with your swords.\"

they nod nervous at the impending battle. steuben continues on inspecteing the makeshift barrier and the yilaki working on it. an arrow curves down out of the sky. steuben reaches out and catches it in his fist, almost causually. he snaps it in his fist. the two pieces fall to the ground.

\"okay, lads,\" steuben calls out. \"this is what you\'ve been waiting for. last one to blood their sword buys the rounds. now hunker down.\"

they all crouch behind the baricades as the raiders come over the top of the hill. more arrows come flying down. they land in the earth with a soft slap. the arrows soon stop. as the raiders crest over the hill the arrows stop. the archers begin to pick off raider as the cross the river. they slightly slow but are unable to stem the advancing tide. the first of the raiders climb up the bank. the archers continue to fire at the raiders in the river and on the banks.

the advancing hoard reaches the barriers. steuben silently steps out from behind his swinging his sword. the sword bite through the belly of the first raider. he bends over, trying to hold in loops of intestines. steuben around the dying yilaki. he drives the sword hard through the chest of the next raider. the raider falls backwards. steuben pulls the sword out, with a backhand motion it goes through the throat of a third raider. before the first raider hits the ground the third begins to fall forward in a red spray of arterial blood.

the two veterans come out from behind the baricades. the volunteers follow behind. soon the air is filled the sound of clashing metal, the screams of the dying, and the shouts of victorious. but, gradually the volunteers were being pushed back.

then a slow rhythmic thumping comes through the ground. over the crest of the hill comes a giant kran. he strides down the hill and into the river. he strides through hardly slowing. a white wall of water preceedes him till the bank. he walks up the bank. steuben runs towards him. steuben swings his sword with near invisible speed. any raider in his path falls dead. he picks up a fallen sword, in his other hand. steuben stops infront of the kran.

the kran bellows a challange and swings his massive sword. steuben meets the sword with his paired swords. the blow is deflected to steuben\'s left side. the kran\'s sword digs deep into the soil. steuben skids back from the force of the blow. the kran pulls his sword from the soil. steuben takes a step forward.

again the kran swings the sword. steuben blocks and deflects the blow to the right side. steuben steps forward to his original position. the kran swings a thirdly time. steuben blocks the third blow squarely. the crash temporarily overwhelming the surround noise. the pair part, and begin circling each other.

the kran swings his sword. steuben doges under and dashes for the kran\'s legs. he swings as he runs by. the blades glance off. the kran kicks at steuben as he goes by. steuben dodges with a roll. the arc of the blade shifts as he works to keep his balance. steuben rolls upright out of the reach of the sword. they begin circling each other again.

\"you lucky many times,\" the kran rumbles. \"me lucky once.\"

the kran steps forward swinging his sword. steuben bends backwards under the arc. as the tip passes over him, he brings his blades down over the top of the sword. the sword rips and arc in the sod before the kran can right the swing.

\"only if i intend to wear you down,\" steuben replies. \"but, i intend to stop you.\"

\"many try. fail,\" the kran smiles. \"you fail.\"

the kran steps forward and swings his sword. steuben ducks under the blade. he knocks it upwards as is passes over. he dashes inwards, and sheathes his sword. the hiss of leather on steel sounds like a hunting cat sneaking into the bush to hide. he grips the other sword with both hands. he jumps up and pushes off the kran\'s leg out stepped leg.

the kran\'s head follows seuben as he comes up. steuben brings the sword up. he drives it down. the tip slides into the kran\'s eye. using his strength and weight he drives the sword in till the hilt. the two foot blade does not protrude.

the momentum of the kran\'s sword begins to turn the kran. steuben pushes off. as he drops through the air he draws his sword. it has the note of a hunting beast returning to the fight. the kran over balances and falls face first. the hilt of the sword breaks off as the kran hits the ground. when steuebn\'s feet hit the ground he drawas his sword through the back of a neaby raider.

the crash of the kran overwhelms the sound of battle. the radiers upon seeing the defeat of the champion break and flee. some of the volunteers start to give chase.

\"no,\" steuben shouts. \"let them go... we have more important things to deal with,\" he finsihes normally.

the female veteran jogs up to steuben.

\"i didn\'t think we were going to make it,\" she says between breaths.

\"ten, probably fourteen by morning didn\'t,\" steuben responds.

\" yeah, even...\" she shakes her head. \"but, it don\'t mean nuthin\'.\"

\"in country it meant nothing.\" he nods towards the emerging villagers. \"here in the world. it means everything.\"