“You gotta be kidding me….”
Lennox stared at the village with his eye twitching so badly that Esme could practically see the irritation crawling across his face.
A silver sword hung at his side, seven white runes glowing along the blade, each one humming with Alpam’s divine light while doing absolutely nothing to improve the situation in front of him.
Yoslan was a fairly decent-sized village tucked within the Kalhalla Kingdom of the continent of Skaldr, with rows of timber houses, stone paths, fenced gardens, a small market square, wells, barns, and enough people moving around to make the place feel lived in, except almost every adult resident seemed to be packing belongings into carriages.
There were three dozen recruits scattered throughout the village, all wearing their newly issued equipment and staring around with expressions ranging from confusion to disbelief, while dozens of children wandered between them, climbed fences, shouted at each other, kicked stones, and carried sticks that had been sharpened into wacky imitations of swords and spears.
The children were around nine to eleven years old, and every single one of them seemed to have perfected the particular face children wore when they had discovered that adults had rules and were about to find out how entertaining it was to violate every one of them.
Esme stared at the children, then at the houses, then toward the road where several parents were preparing to leave.
“What do you mean our first so-called brutal and excruciating trial was this?! We have to….”
The entire group of recruits and Lennox shouted together.:
“Babysit children?!”
Lennox then dropped onto his knees, exclaiming, “This is the first step to get brainwashed! Taking care of children is hell!”
Esme immediately pointed her scythe toward him. “Lennox, stab me before it’s too late!”
It was a normal looking scythe with 7 glowing white runes on the blade, a temporary weapon from Nepherel himself.
Lennox raised his silver sword and pointed at her, “Okay! I’ll do myself next!”
He swung at her, and Esme ducked beneath the blade so quickly that several strands of her brown hair brushed against the sword.
“No! Not for real! You psycho!”
“Then don’t tell me to do it, dumbass!”
Several others exchanged looks while the children continued wandering around them, and the situation became increasingly suspicious when the recruits actually paid attention to what they were dealing with.
“We really have to take care of kids?”
“What about the other half of the recruits like us? Wonder what kind of trial they’re doing.”
“Probably not taking care of dirty ass kids.”
The children looked ordinary at first glance, with small bodies, colorful clothes, dirty knees, and mismatched shoes.
The children looked at the recruits, and suddenly the entire village felt considerably less harmless.
One boy smiled while holding a wooden sword against his shoulder, another girl carried three sharpened sticks beneath one arm, and a pair of brothers were whispering together while staring at the recruits as though deciding which one would be easiest to ambush.
They had the particular kind of child evil that came from boredom, confidence, and the absence of adult supervision, which was somehow more concerning than a trained assassin.
The recruits had expected something else entirely.
Everyone had assumed the first trial would involve death, sacrifice, monsters, impossible choices, perhaps some horrible situation where people would be forced to decide who lived and who died while Alpam watched from somewhere beyond mortal perception.
Nepherel had stood before them in that sanctuary and called the trials deadly and excruciating, which was a rather dramatic way of describing childcare, unless the Paladins had developed a secret doctrine involving toddlers and psychological warfare.
Lennox had spent the entire ride toward Yoslan preparing himself for catastrophe, checking his temporary sword, testing his footing, thinking about how he would react if something supernatural attacked the village, and imagining himself standing between innocent people and some horrible creature while proving that fate could be beaten through sheer stubbornness.
He had mentally rehearsed enough heroic nonsense to make himself sick, and now the universe had apparently decided to punish him for taking the whole thing seriously.
Yoslan itself existed because war kept throwing people across borders like unwanted pieces on a game board.
The village belonged to the kingdom of Kalhalla, yet many of its residents had arrived from neighboring kingdoms after their homes were destroyed, their families scattered, or their lands became unsafe.
Refugees lived beside war orphans, and families who had crossed borders with whatever belongings they could carry.
Some children had lost parents. Others had parents who were still alive somewhere beyond the kingdom and were trying desperately to return. There were always rumors of another army gathering somewhere, another border dispute, another king making promises that would eventually become graves, and now whispers about a coalition had begun spreading through Kalhalla.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The parents of Yoslan had apparently decided that three dozen newly recruited Paladins were sufficient supervision.
One woman climbed into a carriage with two large bags beside her.
“Finally, a break!”
A man behind her laughed while loading supplies.
“It’ll be good to get out for a time!”
Another parent waved toward the recruits.
“Haha, I hope those new Paladin recruits can handle them.”
A gray-haired man climbed into his carriage and sighed as though someone had finally removed a mountain from his back.
“Anything to take a break from this stress of the war and rumors of the coalition. It’s been a hassle trying to prepare for it, whenever it may come.”
A woman settling herself comfortably into a carriage seat stretched her arms with a yawn and relaxed.
“Yeah, we needed this break!”
The parents finished loading their belongings, climbed aboard, and began leaving the village one carriage at a time. Several waved cheerfully toward the recruits as they passed.
“Bye! And thanks!”
The recruits stared after them, Lennox’s mouth hung open, and Esme slowly lowered her scythe.
One recruit whispered, “They’re actually leaving.”
Another replied, “They’re abandoning us.”
“They’re leaving their children with strangers.”
“Paladins.”
“New Paladins.”
“That makes it even worse! We’re doomed.”
The last carriage disappeared along the road, and the village became strangely quiet for several seconds.
Then one of the children stepped onto a wooden crate; he was eleven years old, with dark brown skin, messy copper-red hair sticking out in several directions, and bright green eyes that looked far too pleased with the situation.
His clothes consisted of a faded blue shirt, brown trousers patched at both knees, and a belt carrying several small wooden knives.
His name was Tovin, according to the faded wooden tag hanging from his belt, and judging by the way the other children immediately gathered around him, he was apparently the closest thing Yoslan had to a leader.
For the kids anyhow.
Tovin raised his wooden sword, and said. “Look at these bright Paladins! They’re weak! We don’t need them to take care of us! We need to take care of them! Babysit them!”
The children yelled into cheers:
“Yeah!”
“Beat the Paladins!”
“Take their weapons!”
“Make them cry!”
“Get the blonde one!”
Lennox looked at Esme, and Esme looked at Lennox, and Lennox pointed toward the road.
“Fuck this! Esme, let’s go!”
“Right behind you!”
The two immediately ran, but they made it approximately six steps before a large hand seized the back of Lennox’s shirt, while another grabbed Esme’s clothing, lifting both of them several inches from the ground.
Their legs kicked uselessly beneath them while the children burst into laughter.
“Egh?! Let me go!” Lennox said.
“This is torture!” Esme added.
The man holding them was pretty big compared with the other recruits, standing well over six feet tall with a broad, muscular frame covered in fitted chain like armor.
His messy white hair hung around his face, partly covering a grizzly beard, while several old scars crossed his cheeks and jaw.
His blue eyes were pretty serious enough to say he had never once considered running away from responsibility, which was unfortunate because Lennox and Esme had already decided that responsibility was currently their enemy.
The man looked between them. “You two cannot abandon these children. They are war orphans, and they deserve someone willing to stand beside them.”
Lennox and Esme said nothing, and the man continued, “Yoslan has become a refuge for people displaced by conflicts throughout Skaldr. My own family has served Kalhalla for generations, and the Grandbelle family has produced many Paladins of War. My grandfather fought during the northern campaigns, my father defended three refugee settlements, and I grew up hearing stories about the meaning of the War Oath. War Paladins do not merely fight. We stand where frightened people need us most. For refugees, seeing a Paladin of War arrive can mean the difference between believing someone will protect them and believing they have been forgotten.”
Lennox’s face slowly twisted, and Esme’s expression became even more disgusted.
‘How annoying. And disgusting.’ Esme thought.
The man continued. “That is why I intend to uphold the Grandbelle tradition and become a Paladin of War myself. My name is Hallwin Grandbelle, heir of the noble Grandbelle family, and I believe the Oath of War represents a sacred responsibility to those who cannot defend themselves, especially children who have experienced conflict at such a young age, because the psychological burden placed upon—”
Lennox stared blankly at him with annoyance.
“—the younger generations can influence their entire lives, and therefore a Paladin must demonstrate courage, compassion, discipline, and—”
Esme finally looked at Lennox. “Blahhhh blahhh just yapping. Watch out, Lennox! He must be brainwashed!”
“This must be how it starts!” Lennox replied.
Hallwin said, “You two won’t be going anywhere, I won't let you. You are both cowards. For a brat to attack a Paladin Son of Vengeance back at the Sanctuary sure looks pathetic at this moment.”
The children cheered again:
“Fight!”
“Fight!”
“Fight!”
“Is that so?” Lennox’s feet touched the ground, he rolled his neck, then looked toward Hallwin with a grin that had absolutely nothing to do with babysitting.
Lennox continued, “Yeah. I don’t think I’m a coward. I don’t care how buff you are. I’ll kick your ass in front of these children. Plus, I didn’t join the Paladins to babysit. I can’t prove myself here…I can’t beat fate like this. But maybe fighting will….”
Lennox and Esme both moved at once, their legs came up together and struck Hallwin directly in the face.
THUD!
Hallwin staggered backward as Lennox and Esme landed side by side, while several recruits stared at them with open mouths.
“He just…!”
“How strong are they?”
Lennox calmly placed his sword on the ground, and Esme dropped her scythe beside it, seven glowing white runes shining along the blade.
“Guess we’re throwing straight hands and no weapons.” Esme grinned. “If I make his lips puffy I won’t have to listen to his yapping anymore.”
Hallwin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at the two of them. “If a fight is enough to make you stay, then I will oblige to—”
FWOOSH!
Lennox recklessly vanished from where he stood, and a small crater formed beneath his feet as the ground cracked from the explosive launch, while a blast of wind swept through the nearby grass and sent several children’s shirts fluttering behind them.
Hallwin barely had time to turn before Lennox appeared in front of him.
‘He’s fast!’
Lennox grabbed his hair, and his knee slammed into Hallwin’s face.
KATHOOM!
Blood sprayed across the air as Hallwin’s head snapped back, and before the larger man could recover, Lennox twisted through the air and drove his fist down into his face.
BOOM!
Hallwin struck the ground hard enough to kick dirt across the road.
Esme’s mouth fell opens and several recruits stared in shock.
One whispered, “He actually took down Hallwin.”
“Hallwin…a rumored powerhouse for that noble family.”
The children went wild too:
“GET HIM!”
“DO IT AGAIN!”
“PALADINS ARE AWESOME!”
Tovin said to the children, “They may be awesome! But we own them! They are still our servants!” Tovin raised his wooden sword above his head, grinning like he had been handed the greatest entertainment imaginable.
Hallwin slowly pushed himself from the dirt, and Lennox stood several steps away, fists raised, breathing hard as he watched him rise.
Lennox thought, ‘I didn’t sign up to babysit anything. I didn’t realize if I ran that’ll be it for me and my entire goal. I told myself I’d catch everything they throw at me. Can’t leave now.’
Hallwin got into a grappling like stance, saying to Lennox, “Let’s do this.”
Esme sat on a stack of wooden crates, and said, “Yeah! Take him down for me, Lennox! Be my knight and my noble steed!”