"What are you doing here, sir?" Irene called to Samson who was walking with a horse.
By that point, Sir Gunnar had made it to the wall segment where the horses were. As he tried to find the rope ladders that went up to the top, his eyebrows lowered when his hands met nothing.
"Where are the ladders?" Gunnar asked before more chatter could ensue.
"Ah..." Irene trailed off a bit embarrassed. "I didn’t want anyone to sneak up on us. I was getting tired and wondered if we might fall asleep."
"Speak for yourself," Leif defended himself. "I didn’t once say that I was tired."
"But look at you," Irene argued.
"Enough," Gunnar said before they could get into one of their pointless arguments.
Shortly after, Irene dropped down the two ladders while Leif dumped the rest of his waterskin over the fire. The two apprentices were summoned to the ground and they both dutifully stood before Sir Gunnar despite how tired they actually were.
"Is everything alright?" Irene wondered. "Traveling this late at night before the monsters are culled for the season..."
She trailed off, hoping not to impose but hoping they understood she was only worried.
"An old mercenary and a mage," Samson justified. "We’ll be just fine."
It was good enough for the apprentice and she shrugged.
"Actually, we were traveling so late because I am eager to see if this can aid your father in his work before you are forced to do the monster culling in the first place," Stanley interjected. "I have seen it done before just a bit... worse. I have been researching this particular topic and believe I have the best possible solution."
He was rambling but gave no indication about what specifically he was talking about until Samson went to his horse and pulled a long box from one of the saddlebags.
Since it had to do with her father, Irene was attentive and she stepped closer to see what was happening.
Samson handed her the box and Stanley continued to light up their surroundings with his mana.
"What is this?" Irene asked, hesitantly.
After witnessing her father attending early morning practices every day and his frustration coming dangerously close to exploding each time he slashed his sword and it didn’t hit as accurately as it normally would have, she was accepting any sort of help. The entire situation was far beyond her means. Even her twenty-year-old self wouldn’t know what to do in that situation.
Before she could get a good look, Gunnar spoke up.
"Perhaps we ought to have this conversation indoors," he suggested. "It’s a bit cold to be doing this here and the apprentices are nearly off of their duties for the morning."
"Right," Samson responded. "Then take care of that for me, Iro."
She nodded dutifully before she and Leif went to their horses.
"In the meantime, I will retrieve the others and relieve them of their duties," he explained. "Meet me in the sitting room near the dining hall. There is a fire there lit all night long in this season."
"I will lead the way," Irene suggested. "We will be able to put your horses in some of the extra spaces as well."
The group got back onto their horses for the remainder of the journey towards the Duke’s Tower. Luckily, there was also another apprentice just arriving and he told the others he would handle the horses because Sir Gunnar told him the others had things to attend to. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
Always grateful for the knight’s foresight when it came to these things, Irene hugged her horse goodbye before she led the blacksmith and mage into the back entrance. Leif was insistent on staying at her side because he wanted to know what was in the box just as badly as her.
Of course, by that point, her father was asleep so he likely wouldn’t be able to see what was in the box for a few hours either, but she was happy to be able to see whatever it was first.
Once everyone was in the sitting room, the box was placed on a table in the middle of the room.
Samson helped Irene open the box and what was revealed to her caused her to gasp. She then faced the box to the others so they could see what was inside.
Cushioned by straw, there was a prosthetic hand made of iron. It wasn’t until Sir Gunnar took a candle from one of the other tables and brought it to where Irene had opened the box that she saw the finer details.
The hand was eerily lifelike in the way that it had nails carved into the outer fingertips. There were even joints and a series of pulleys that would allow the fingers to move as needed. Next to the thumb, it seemed there were buttons to control its position. It was big enough to go all the way to her father’s elbow and there were leather straps that would help it hold onto his arm more securely.
Not only was the arm in the box, but nestled underneath were papers and Irene gently pulled them out so they wouldn’t tear.
To her surprise, there were sketches and measurements in numbers and letters she didn’t understand. It must have been the language Stanley used when he was conjuring spells. There was such precision and thoughtfulness put into it that it pulled at her heartstrings a little bit.
"This is..." Irene didn’t have the words for a moment. Her father meant a lot to her because he was her father, but each day the knights lamented about how awful it would be to not have Sir Arthur in the knighthood. She was finally starting to understand just how important he was to a large number of people. "This is so wonderful. She admitted. If it helps him wield a sword as he did before, it will be a miracle."
However, it was to Stanley’s surprise that Irene stood up and she walked towards him. The apprentice then bent in half and bowed at the man.
"Thank you, Stanley," she said. "I owe you everything."
Stanley was uncomfortable with the compliment and he pulled his robes tighter over his body.
"Well..." he resisted. "We will have to see if it works before you thank me ."
She stood up and smiled then turned to Sir Gunnar.
"Please wake me up if father catches wind of this before I’m up for the day," she requested. "I want to see my father try it on."
"Of course," Gunnar agreed immediately. "I will be sure you’re the first person we call before the box is even opened again."
While she was dreading the monster culling ahead of them, she found a silver lining of something to look forward to. Perhaps it would even aid in her father’s participation in the monster culling during that time as well.