The sharpening of swords could be heard as the small group moved along the tree line. The second platoon had already left, so they put their plan to work. Tristan, Maddie, and the Hounds all moved quietly as they watched the camp from a distance.

"I will stay back here and fire an arrow while you lot run like Gorlog is at your heels. I'll pick off any archers so they can't shoot you down." Maddie explained. The others nodded in agreement.

"Make sure to spread out. It'll make it look like there's more of us then there really is." Willy added on.

"Ready?" Maddie asked. Tristan and the Hounds positioned themselves to run as Maddie drew back her longbow, letting the arrow fly. It hit the post MJ had been tyed to, since it happened to be conveniently in the centre of the camp.

"Run!" Maddie hissed. Yelling could be heard in the distance as the men caught sight of Maddie's arrow. They gathered up their weapons and Hounds began to run.

"What are you doing?!?" Maddie barked at Tristan. Once the others were out of sight with the men on their heels, Tristan took off towards the now empty camp. Maddie rolled her eyes, ignoring him, and running after the others.

***

"I think we lost Tristan!" Emmy told Willy. Willy glanced around, finally noticing that Tristan was in fact gone.

"Do you think the Arridians got him?" He asked.

"Let's hope so." Quint scoffed. Willy glared at him.

"Come on, the men won't be far behind." He grabbed Emmy's hand, and pulled her farther. Shouting could be heard again in the distance. The Hounds ran once more, drawing the men away from the camp site.

"What exactly are we going to do now?" Boyd asked his skirl. Willy turned to Emmy, who's eyes widened.

"We didn't exactly plan out this far." She said. Boyd glared at her.

"Really? You decided to storm a camp where we're out numbered five to one, and you didn't have a plan on how to defeat them?"

"Shut up! I'm not the practical one in the crew!" She retorted.

"I thought girls were suppose to be smart." This comment earned him a punch in the arm from Emmy.

"I don't know. We'll just have to figure something out." She said.

"Yes, that would be nice." He sneered. They were running for their lives, so none of them questioned Boyd's logic or tone of voice.

"Let's just hope Maddie has a plan." Javat suggested.

***

Tristan made his way through the empty camp after ditching the Hounds and Maddie to fight the rest of the army. He felt slightly guilty, but he had something he was dying to settle. His hand went to the hilt of his sword and he drew it, holding it at hip level as he searched the camp. He finally caught sight of the command tent, where Jackson staggered out with a bottle of ale in his hands.

"Who are you?" He barked.

"Tristan Ulfson." He said. Jackson gave him a sarcastic look.

"And who's that?" He asked, dumbly.

"No one. Now pick up your sword." Tristan sneered. Jackson eyed him curiously, but dropped the bottle still, and pulling his sword out of it's sheath.

"You can't beat me. You're just a boy." Jackson laughed. Tristan ignored him, and threw an overhand cut at the Wakir. Jackson staggered back in surprise and held his sword up awkwardly to defend himself. Tristan let out a series of strokes that Jackson barely deflected. Each one weakening his defence. Jackson began to back up, and he tripped over a rock on the ground, making him dazed for a second. Just a second was all Tristan needed. He plunged his blade into Jackson's heart, watching as Jackson's face contorted in a look of surprise. He struggled to breathe, and Tristan pulled his blade out.

"I promised to avenge my mother, and now I have." Tristan said gruffly. Jackson's eyes rolled back in his head, and he let out a shuddering breath before falling to the ground.

***

When Maddie reached the Hounds, they were battling the platoons, many fighting two at a time. Many of the men lay on the ground, wounded or dead. She joined in on the fight with her saxe knife and throwing knife.

"Great plan by the way." She called out to Willy, who was fighting an Arridian.

"It was Emmy's plan!" He scoffed, dodging the man's blade. Emmy simply rolled her eyes as she wounded a man in shoulder.

There was only a few men left, and they quickly retreated after they saw the force the Skandians had.

"Let's go find Tristan." Emmy said once she sheathed her sword.

"Must we?" Quint asked. They all glared at him and headed back towards the Arridan camp.

"Wait! There is something moving." Boyd pointed out to where a distant figure could be seen making it's way towards them. Maddie drew her last arrow. She was ready to fire, when Willy stopped her.

"Stop, that's Tristan." Willy told her. She nodded once and put her arrow away. When he reached them he was grinning, and everyone glared at him.

"To much of a cowered to face a fight?" Boyd scoffed. Tristan rolled his eyes.

"While you lot were running, I actually made some progress." He said.

"Which would be?" Willy asked curiously.

"I put this whole Jackson thing to rest. He won't be bugging us again in this life time."

"You killed Jackson!?!" Emmy exclaimed. He nodded, proud of himself.

"He was too drunk to even hold his sword correctly." He laughed. "Hopefully these Arridians will leave us to rebuild out town in peace."

***

I'm ending this book soon. It's time. I was struggling with a way to kill off Jackson, and I thought, why not make Tristan kill him to avenge his mother! My brain thinks really weirdly. It's the first day back to school, so I have total memory lost of like everything. I had nothing to do in study hall, so I had time to write this chapter. Maybe one or two more chapters. Please comment and vote!

~Avis