text: You spend the rest of the day in the castle, resting up and mentally preparing yourself for your mission. The King's servants bring you whatever you wish, and in this case, it's more alcohol so you can psych yourself up. Liquid courage and all that. By nightfall, you're as drunk as can be, staring silently at a wall as you usually do.
  "Stop doing this."
  "Well what do you want me to do?" you mumble, replying to no one.
  "Anything else."
  A chuckle escapes your lips. "Really? I guess you'd prefer me going on a drunken rampage and slaughtering all the guards."
  "That's not what I meant, Kit."
  "Then what did you mean?"
  "I meant you need to stop drinking. It's not doing you any good."
  "Of course it's not doing me any good if I'm having a conversation with myself."
  "You know who I am."
  "Quit lying. You're just a figment of my imagination I start hearing when I get too wasted."
  "Please, Kit. For me."
  "Buzz off." You throw the empty bottle of wine in your hand at the wall, then crawl into bed. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow, and you need your sleep.
  
  In the morning, you're woken up by a knock on your door. You get up, groaning slightly, and head for it. When you open it, Miller stands before you. "The King sent me to wake you. We're leaving today."
  
  "We?" you ask.
  
  "He asked me to accompany you, along with a mage in our military. A small enough team to get behind Kishak lines unnoticed, and hopefully enough to provide backup should you need it."
  
  You nod, heading to the dresser to grab some clothes. Miller turns away so you can get dressed, yet you still speak to him. "So what are you going to bring to the table?" you ask as you slide into a pair of breeches.
  
  "I was knighted at twenty-one, the youngest man to be knighted... Aside from yourself, of course. For the past seven years I have served the Royal Family, and have led many knights to victory against Kishak forces."
  
  "Hrm. How good are you with a sword?" You put on your boots and pick out a shirt.
  
  "I've never lost a one-on-one sword fight, sir. I have also managed to take down ten men at once with only minor injuries."
  
  "This bodes well then." You finish your ensemble by sliding on a tunic. "Alright then. Let's get going." Miller turns to face you then nods. He allows you to grab your sword and hook it onto your back, then leads you to where you'll depart.
  
  You head through several hallways before Miller stops in front of a bookcase. He taps on it once, pauses, taps twice, pauses, taps once, pauses, then taps three ties in quick succession. The bookcase opens slowly, and he leads you through a secret passage. A whistle escapes your lips. "How fancy."
  
  "Indeed."
  
  Miller continues leading you through the tunnel for what seems like half an hour before you come out the other side. You're in a clearing, about a mile out from the Castle, where a wagon and two people wait for you. You're not far from Kishak now, only a few more miles until the border.
  
  One of the two people, a woman about a year younger than Miller, steps forward. She eyes you up and down, and looks unimpressed. "This is the legendary hero who saved our city? He looks like a drunk and smells like one too." You give her a quick glare.
  
  "Hold your tongue, Iris. If it weren't for this man, we wouldn't be here talking today," the other person says, an older man who is checking the horses. You shift your glare to him. It wasn't just you.
  
  "Please. This man had backup even then. Did you only hear the children's tales, Oliver?" the woman, Iris, asks. "If it weren't for his friends, I'm sure he'd have died not far into his journey." Well, at least she has her facts straight.
  
  "Both of you, shut your damn mouths," you say, stepping forward. "Whatever your thoughts on me are, I'm the real deal, and we're here to finish a war." You turn to the man, Oliver. "I assume you're our driver?"
  
  "Aye, I am. I'll take you as far as the border. There, you'll be on your own. Kishak's capital, Ornislov, is only a couple miles out. You should reach there in no time if you stay off the roads and don't stop for anything."
  
  "Right," you nod. You head towards the wagon, motioning for Miller and Iris to follow you. "Come on. Don't have all day." You climb into back, and they follow. After a moment, the wagon begins moving towards the border. You stay silent for a moment, assessing Iris, before speaking up. "I did this with Miller so you should be no different: what are you bringing to the table?"
  
  Iris scoffs. "I spent my whole life training at the Academy in Loren. I enlisted with the military when I came of age, and I've seen my fair share of battles. I can also speak fluent Kishak, so if you need a translation just ask me."
  
  "That'll come in handy. How quick are you at casting?"
  
  "I can get a fireball off before you can blink."
  
  "Good enough for me." You pause, then consider something. "How'd you know about my friends? There's not exactly much documentation on the real story."
  
  "You five passed through Loren twenty years ago, right? You helped the Academy secure a magical artifact while you were in the area."
  
  "... Yeah, we were. What about it?"
  
  "I was there. I was about seven at the time, and got to meet one of your friends. The mage woman."
  
  Your face darkens. "Is that so?"
  
  "Yeah. She was nice. Told me about the quest you all were on, even gave me pointers on how to be a good mage." A faint smile appears on Iris' face as she recalls your friend, Grace. "Even told me not to fall for some jarheaded fighter boy. I think it's obvious who she was talking about." Her smile shifts to a frown. "A shame what happened to her... I know I was being rude, but I want you to know that I am sorry for your lo-"
  
  "Can it. I don't want your sympathy."
  
  Iris glares at you, before shaking her head slightly and averting her gaze. The rest of the ride is silent, and before long the wagon stops. Oliver's voice pipes up from the front, "There's a gap here between the outposts. If you keep pushing through the fields you should reach some woods, head through there and just keep going forward. Eventually, you'll get to Ornislov."
  
  "Right," you say, climbing out of the wagon. Miller and Iris join you, and you see the wagon off as Oliver turns it around and begins driving back.
  
  You're beginning the march to the forest when Miller stops you. "I know a way to Ornislov that's faster, and bypasses the forest. However, it's much riskier and involves traveling out in the open. If we're lucky we'll get there much quicker."
  
  You consider it. Miller warns that it's risky, but you're used to high risks. Maybe this path is worth a try?
  > say "No, we'll take the path that was suggested. Let's get going."
  Miller nods. "Alright. We don't know of any outposts in those woods, so we should be able to get through undetected." With those words, the three of you continue on to the woods. You walk through the fields without incidence, and get to the edge of the forest in record time.
  
  The three of you march through it, keeping an eye out. You're there for about an hour, continuing to march on, when you hear voices up ahead. The three of you stop in your tracks and get down low, listening. The voices are speaking Kishak. You turn to face your companions. "Can I get a translation?" you ask.
  
  Iris nods, and listens to the voices. Her face goes pale. "... They're talking about how boring it is to be in an outpost in the middle of the woods." You and Miller share a look of surprise, then turn to face the direction of the voices again. A new outpost, one that the military didn't know about.
  
  Miller pipes up. "We go around it as slowly and carefully as we can."
  
  Iris shakes her head. "It can't be that many. We go in there and light them up."
  
  Looks like it's up to you to decide what to do.
  > we'll go around like Miller suggested.
  You shake your head at Iris. "That's a damn stupid idea. We go around it like Miller suggested, keep low to the ground. If we're lucky, they won't see us."
  
  Miller nods in approval, while Iris scoffs. The three of you keep low as you move to head around the voices. As you push through the greenery, you notice the outpost. It's large and well-fortified; surprising, considering its location. Must be some sort of well-kept or something of the sort. There's a dozen Kishak soldiers wandering around, keeping an eye out.
  
  The three of you continue walking. There's a few times when you're sure you'll be spotted, but soon enough you manage to move far away enough from the outpost that you can walk normally again. Your team releases a collective sigh of relief that you're out of there. The three of you continue through the forest without incident.
  
  After a few hours of walking, you arrive at Ornislov a couple of hours into the night. The city is more like a giant fortress, surrounded by walls on all sides with no obvious entry points aside from the gates. Miller leads you around the city walls, to a sewer grate. "This is how we got in last time. Come on, get in." You and Iris crawl through the grate as Miller holds it open. He climbs in after you, shutting it.
  
  Iris summons a fireball in her hand, keeping it held out to illuminate the area. The sewer tunnel stretches on for what seems like miles. There's a few latters every couple of yards, likely leading up into the city streets. Miller takes the lead again, walking past several ladders until he stops in front of one. "This is it. Above is a warehouse, where all the supplies are kept. There's guards around, so we'll have to take them out."
  
  You and Iris nod. "Let's go."