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off.
    “Guardians! I want you to
go into the city and bring back every able bodied man between the
ages of fifteen and seventy. Have them assembled here in an hour.
Go!”
    Stern was the first to
respond having seen Malik in action. The rest of the men followed
with varying degrees of haste.
    “Well done, you've left
the gate unguarded,” Jenner snapped.
    “Not at all, you're here,”
Malik replied.
    Jenner turned
white.
    “I'm not a fighting
man.”
    “Really? Are we going to
have to do this again?”
    Jenner opened his mouth to
answer, then thought better and shut it again.
    “Good, now think hard and
tell me where I can find some weapons.”
“There are no weapons.”
    Malik leaned forward and
looked hard into Jenner's eyes. “I'm going to chain you to the
portcullis,” he said in a slow and even tone. “You can either stand
there and defend your city with a broken bottle like old Ives, or
you can tell me where some weapons might be found.”
    Jenner swallowed
hard.
    “There is one
place...”
    “I thought so.”
    “...but it is
sacred.”
    Malik rolled his
eyes.
    “Just take me
there.”

    ***

    Malik and Jenner waited
for Stern to return so as to not leave the front gate unmanned. The
young soldier soon approached with two unhappy looking courtiers in
fine clothing lagging along behind him.
    “Good work,” Malik said,
“these two look capable of slowing down an Orc or two before they
are sacrificed to a miserable and pathetic death.”
    The two men blanched, but
Malik was pleased to note the flicker of a smile around the edges
of Stern's lips.
    “There must have been some
mistake,” one of the men said, “we are from the merchant's quarter
and are exempt from defense of the city. Heroes have been called to
save us.”
    “I'm the hero, and I die
last,” Malik retorted.
    The merchant was about to
respond, but Malik held up his hand and turned to Stern. “When the
other guardians return, have them bring back more like this. The
wealthy, fat ones always fight better than the dregs from the poor
quarter with no protein in their bloodstream. You stay here and
instruct these maggots in basic swordplay. I'm going to go and get
them some weapons. If any of them try to leave,” at this he turned
his gaze back on the merchants, “cut them down as an
example.”
    The courtier who was still
trying to talk snapped his jaw shut.
    Malik started walking and
Jenner was smart enough to follow his lead.
    “Don't be afraid to smack
them around a bit,” Malik called out over his shoulder. “There
won't be any consequences because we're probably all going to die
anyway.”

    ***

    Jenner soon took the lead
and began guiding Malik through the winding streets of Ebulon. They
were just out of sight of the gate when Malik stopped and turned
his head in response to a distant sound.
    “Is there a blacksmith
nearby?”
    “Yes,” Jenner replied,
“just up this hill.”
    “Take me
there.”
    In a few moments, they
were standing at the entrance to a small forge. The blacksmith was
shaping some metal on an anvil. He gave Malik a blank look but gave
pause at the recognition of Regent Jenner.
    “What are you working on?”
Malik asked.
    “It's a heat shield for a
fire place,” the blacksmith responded.
    “Well, stop working on
that right now and forge some blades.”
    The blacksmith stared at
Malik in disbelief.
    “I'm told the city is
about to be overrun by an enemy force and you're wasting time on
heat shields? How fast can you make a sword?”
    “A good sword takes a
week.”
    “Ok,” Malik said, his face
twisting up in a sneer, “how long to make a crude bar with a sharp
point and some sort of grip that ensures the wielder's hands don't
slip off?”
    The blacksmith nodded,
comprehension dawning.
    “I could have a dozen or
so in an hour.”
    “Do it, and when you're
done, bring them to the gate along with all the able bodied men you
can gather up.”
    Malik gestured to Jenner
again and the two of them resumed