Life and Death: Two Sides of the Same Coin

*Leon yelled at the people below to gather inside the meeting hall, the citizens ran inside as Brandon gathered the border patrol. All border patrol members were armed with a spear and shield, they made a shield wall and pointed their spears like spikes towards the oncoming wolf riders, Leon and Derrick stood behind the men ready for any that broke through. Brandon had the archers in the watchtower ready to fire as soon as the enemy was in range* "Loose!" *Brandon shouted and the archers fired a volley of arrows at the invaders, 35 wolf riders came out of the forest, 4 were hit by the arrows falling off their mounts but the wolves kept coming, Leon shouted to the archers. "Aim for the wolves not the riders!" *The archers adjusted their aim and shot again hitting the wolves killing them instantly making the goblins fall off and injuring them in the process. The archers got off one more volley, 26 goblins and 30 wolves approached the group, they were outnumbered*

*The wolves smashed into the raised spears of Leon's soldiers, after the initial clash the wolves used the bodies of there comrades to jump over the spear wall and land on the other side, Leon and Derrick took on these wolves and goblins, soon Leon and his soldiers were sandwiched between their feral foes. Brandon descended from the watchtower along with the archers which were now armed with swords, they charged the goblin riders who made it into town finishing that group off, their attention turned to Leon and Derrick who had cuts all over them but were holding their own, with Brandon's help they repelled the goblin riders from the town and could now focus on the ones on the other side of the shield wall, with his forces rallied they finished off there enemies and drove the stragglers back to the forest. The end result was 33 goblins killed, 30 wolves killed, 4 warriors killed, 2 archers killed*

*Leon looked around after the battle stopped and took a deep breath* "Gather the dead, we will hold a funeral tonight. Derrick can you identify them and tell the families, personally please." *Derrick nods and begins combing the area for the fallen soldiers. Leon looks at the bodies of the goblins and sees something strange, each one has the symbol of a boar burned into there skin* "Strange…perhaps some kind of clan?" *Leon helps gather the goblin bodies and carry them outside the village where they are piled and burned. Later that night the town gathered and prayed as their loved ones were buried, a priest spoke the words of god and put their souls to rest*

*Leon sat on the outskirts of the village and looks out to the forest* "Is everything alright my lord?" *Vivian walks over to Leon and sits down beside him* "Not exactly, this was the first time I led men into battle, and the first time I lost men under my command…" *Vivian looked up at the sky* "But think of the alternative, the town could be on fire, there could be killing in the streets, children orphaned, prisoners taken away from there families, Leon you saved all these people, when those men signed up for the border patrol they knew what it meant, and I know they are up there happy that their family and their king lives because of their sacrifice." *Leon smiles and looks at her* "Thank you Vivian, you are a wise woman." *She stands and bows her head* "I do what I can my lord." *She walks off and returns to her home. Leon lays there and stares at the sky until late into the night then returns home and sees his mother asleep in bed, he gets a glass of water and sets it on her table nearby then checks her temperature and smiles as he sees its gone down, he pulls out his bedroll and sleeps at his mother's bedside*

*Leon awoke early the next morning, when he opened his eyes he could see his mother was already awake and Vivian was giving her medicine. Leon quietly stood up and held his mother's hand* "How are you feeling today mother?" *Reina smiled and kissed his hand* "Feeling better, the chills have passed and I am not sweating anymore." *Vivian smiled* "Yes, the fever has broken much faster than I thought and she should be on the mend now, we will try some food tonight but for now just make sure you drink lots of water ok?" *Reina smiles at Vivian* "Yes ma'am." *Vivian walked out and Leon kissed his mother's forehead and soon followed* "Vivian, thank you again for all of this, I don't know this stuff at all, you have saved my mothers life, I can never repay you." *Vivian shakes her head* "Like I always tell you, no thanks necessary, its my job." *She smiles and bows then walks out*

*Leon follows her out then turns to head to the meeting hall, he is greeted by Derrick and a cart full of tools* "Good morning Leon, the tools from Yarden have arrived right on schedule." *Leon grabs a shovel from the cart and inspects it* "Very good, expertly crafted, this should make work around here much easier. So Derrick, any luck on searching for mercenaries?" *Derrick nods his head* "Yes sir, I have sent out a letter to 3 different guilds asking for mercenaries, they will send over who they think is best and I will decide between them." *Leon nods* "I know you don't like the idea Derrick, neither do I, but especially after yesterday we need more men." *Derrick bows* "I know, your right." *Leon smiles and walks into the meeting hall and into the back room which was his workstation getting started on reading letters and sending replies out, he also had to check on all of the ingoing and outgoing trade*

*Leon worked in his station until late in the evening, has he wrapped up his work day he heard a piercing scream from outside, he picked up his blade and rushed outside, the sight he was greeted with was all too familiar, a tall grey figure standing above a mans body, as the figured turned Leon tighten his grip on his blade and his anger boiled up from inside him* "Hello there boy, so it was your people who killed my kin, happy days happy days." *It was the orc, the same orc that burned down his village and injured Brandon and Derrick, the same orc that killed Dave*

*Leon charged at the orc swinging his blade with all his strength, the orc grabbed Leon's blade and smirked* "I'm impressed boy, in such a short amount of time you've grown much stronger, almost strong enough to entertain me." *The orc tossed Leon aside and laughed* "Well I did come here to burn this village to the ground, but now I'm conflicted." *The orc bends down and grabs the mans coin pouch pulling out one gold piece* "Lets have luck decide ehy?" *The orc flips the coin into the air and closes his eyes, the coin is in the air for what seems like an eternity but eventually lands in front of the large beast-man, the orc smiles and looks down* "Well well well, looks like you and your people live today boy." "As if I would let you leave!" *Leon charges again but the orc steps aside and trips him then steps on his blade* "I'll see you soon." *The orc strikes Leon in the face with his massive fist knocking him completely unconscious*