Nathan and Kelly worked their way through the town overrun with savages and rogues, the number of which had steadily dwindled as the battle progressed. If the enemy weren't in range of Nathan's sword, then Kelly's arrows would hit them. And if any managed to rush in close enough to attack, his shield held them at bay.

Nathan leapt out onto the main street from behind a shabby building, only for his heart to drop. Innutuk's forces had arrived. Light-skinned, bearded warriors from the northwestern empire, donning thick plates of armor and heavy shields to cover any of the many deficiencies. The Innutukians wielded a variety of weapons, from heavy war hammers and axes to crossbows and spears. They marched down the main road in formation, a truly intimidating sight.

Nathan exchanged a glance with Kelly. Her icy blue eyes darted rapidly between his own before she gave a stiff nod. Nathan held up his shield and charged, while Kelly hung back in partial cover and shot arrows into the Innutukian lines.

Two crossbow bolts immediately riveted themselves in Nathan's shield, but he continued on. Another whizzed by his ear. And a fourth clattered to the ground at his feet. But Nathan would not be deterred.

He rushed up to the nearest axe-wielder and used his shield to smack aside his opponent's own. Nathan swiftly glanced over the openings in the unrefined armor before settling for a stab to the belly. Before the body could fall, Nathan snatched the axe and hurled it at the closest crossbowman. Even though his helmet protected him, the impact still dazed the Innutukian long enough for Nathan to bolt over and behead him.

As Nathan continued battling the Innutukians, more and more projectiles imbedded themselves in his wooden shield. Eventually, he discarded it entirely to take up one of their hefty shields. Holding their version of the defensive device up for long at all proved extremely wearing on the shoulder, but he had no other options. Soon, the front line, comprised mostly of wielders of ranged weapons, had fallen to Nathan's sword.

The second line boasted of a far greater number of the Empire's fierce melee warriors, swinging axes, hammers, and a club here and there. Bella Holt made an appearance to back Nathan up, lending her balanced Halotinian swordsmanship to the fight. She had become highly esteemed among the knights for her exemplary footwork especially, perfectly calculated to evade attacks and power her own sword strokes in turn. She had taken all the mastery of her uncle, added a few of her own techniques, and synthesized them to become the ultimate Halotinian warrior.

Nathan himself displayed exaggerated Raskan tendencies, pressing the attack so hard that the enemy hardly had time to think, let alone defend. Still, the Innutukian hordes were universally feared for a good reason, as Nathan many close calls well reminded him.

Despite Nathan and Bella's skills, and Kelly's much-needed archery, the massive gap in numbers couldn't be bridged until Captain Sloan and his battalion arrived. The best the knights could hope for was to hold the Innutukians off for the hour or so until then.

An intense volley of arrows forced Nathan and Bella to retreat. They dashed back to Kelly, who had entrenched herself behind a stack of crates.

"It's time to shift strategies here." Bella stated, emerald green eyes darting between the two, "I'll rally some of the others to attack from behind, if you two can keep their eyes up here."

Nathan nodded. "You've got it."

With that, Nathan and Kelly leapt out of hiding and conspicuously raced across the road to draw the Innutukians' attention that way. A group of warriors broke off from the main group and raced for them.

When axe blades and hammer heads flew at them, Nathan held up his shield to defend. He and Kelly hastily retreated under the onslaught of heavy weapons. Kelly sent a few arrows back, but with so much attention focused on her footwork, they were scarce and inaccurate.

Nathan attempted using his shield to shove one of the Innutukians back, but the invader stood his ground and did the same. Nathan stumbled into Kelly, and they both dropped onto their backs in the grass.

Wide-eyed, Nathan tumbled aside to avoid an axe blade dropping on his position. He hastily snatched up his shield again to ward off a hammer strike. Kelly had taken to flight, and a good number of their attackers followed in pursuit.

Nathan glared and stabbed into the neck of his closest opponent, intent on backing Kelly up. Two more Innutukians remained to detain him. One irritated Nathan constantly with feinting thrusts of his spear, while the other continually threatened with his axe. The greater length of their weapons put him at a severe disadvantage.

He charged at the spearman. The spearhead shrieked against Nathan's shield as he came in to strike. He swung at an exposed bicep, but the man moved his arm so that the sword bounced off a gauntlet instead. Nathan glanced back at the other Inntukian, only to gasp and throw himself to the ground.

A bloodcurdling scream ensued behind Nathan. He glanced back to see he'd caused the axe-wielder to injure his friend. Both glowered, but only one had strength to act on it. When the Innutukian came forward and swung his axe, Nathan smacked it aside, then bolted forward and sliced into an artery. After finishing off the other warrior as well, he hurried to catch up with Kelly.

To Nathan's surprise and understated pleasure, he came upon a quintet of dead Innutukians, all of which had arrows jutting out of gaps in their crude armor. Above them stood an exhausted Kelly.

Before Nathan could say anything, he spotted several more Innutukian warriors appear over her shoulder. His narrowed eyes prompted her to turn and see for herself. They sighed in sync and prepared to engage.

As Nathan assaulted the Innutukians with his sword and shield, Kelly exhausted her last three arrows on them. Then she joined Nathan in his melee onslaught, daggers sniffing out any armor gap and exploiting them.

Nathan ducked underneath a spear thrust and kicked the pointy weapon out of its owner's hand. After slashing into the Innutukian's thigh, he threw himself shield first into another axe-wielder. His attacks became more brutal as the skirmish progressed.

Then Kelly screamed out, and Nathan's eyes shot open. He kicked his current foe away and hurried to her. An Innutukian's war hammer had torn into her left leg. Her calf was no pretty sight to behold, smashed, mangled and bleeding heavily. And worst of all, the perpetrator currently lifted his hammer to smash the skull of his immobilized victim.

Nathan dove in and knocked the man to the ground. The Innutukian's helmet fell off in the tumble, and Nathan took advantage. He subjected the warrior to a tasting of his sword blade before drawing it back and racing back to Kelly.

He eyed her regretfully before facing the three remaining warriors. Two with clubs, one with a spear. With a war cry, he flew into their midst. He decapitated one club-wielder while kicking into the other's hip. Having bought himself a moment, he engaged the spearman. Despite the fact this man's armor had far fewer gaps than his peers, Nathan found the one that did exist and exploited it. Soon, the last Innutukian was history as well.

Nathan sheathed his sword and knelt on one knee before Kelly. His eyes overflowed with sympathy at her various winces and groans, and worst of all, he hadn't the slightest clue how to help. At last, he settled with sitting beside her in the grass and allowing her to rest her head in his arms.

"You'll be okay...just breathe." Nathan muttered in as soothing a tone as he could muster. "Just...have to wait for the main forces to show up."

Kelly pursed her lips and nodded. Her chest expanded as she sucked in a deep breath through her nose.

"That must hurt...I'm so sorry." Nathan said, "I should've stuck close, could've prevented this."

Kelly shut her eyes tightly and shook her head vigorously. "One doesn't come to a battle and expect to leave without a scratch."

"Still..."

"I don't wanna talk about it, please."

Nathan glanced down and sighed. "Alright, I'll keep quiet."

"No, no, I mean...talk about something else."

"I...it's not like I can think of anything more relevant than this mess we're in."

"How about..." Kelly began before wincing again, "you tell me about something that excites you? Maybe...what is it about knighthood you like?"

"Oh, well, I've always been one to enjoy experiencing things, if that makes any sense. That feeling where the blood's pumping and heart's pounding...that's exhilarating."

"You love the adventure."

"That's one way to put it, yes." Nathan said, "So with knighthood, I get the adventure, and I get to do something worthwhile. Help people, stop tyrants in their tracks, all that."

"And what after that? Where does the adventure end?"

"I'd prefer not to look at it that way. It's less the end of an adventure and more...the beginning of another. When the right person comes along, I'll be ready to hang up my sword and take part in the journey we call parenthood."

Kelly returned Nathan's smirk with a weak smile of her own. "That's an undertaking more harrowing than any battle."

"Why's that?"

"Well, part of it's that you have to live through it. Little chance of it being cut short like a battle."

Nathan let out a dry laugh, unsure whether to find amusement in her statement or not. "I guess that's true."

"How long do you think it'll take them to get here?"

Nathan frowned. "Who?"

"The medics."

"Oh...half an hour, maybe more. Don't worry, Kelly, I've got you."

Kelly opened her eyes with some effort and flashed her teeth briefly at Nathan, hand reaching up to take his. He gently rolled his thumb over the back of her hand as his other hand massaged her head. However long it took Sloan and his forces to arrive, Nathan resolved he would take care of Kelly to the best of his ability.