A loud, sudden noise woke him up. Not understanding what the noise even was at first, he sat upright and immediately regretted it. A wave of pain caused a groan to escape his lips as he crawled out of bed. Someone knocked on his door – that must have been what woke him up in the first place. Dragging his feet, he stumbled toward the door and opened it.

  Sarah was standing in the hallway. A smile dawned on her lips when she saw him.

  “Feeling any better? Everyone’s moved in. Harriet and Laura are cooking dinner. We have an actual kitchen now.” There was audible relief in her voice.

  “I could sleep for an entire day,” Alaric sighed. “But yeah, feeling better. I’ll come down once I get changed.” He gestured at the linen nightshirt he was wearing.

  “Great, I’ll let the others know. Don’t be late.” She spun around and walked off, softly humming a tune.

  Right. He turned around and took a good look at the room.

  It was a large room divided into two sections. The outer wall of the bedchamber curved gently, lined with tall windows that looked out onto the broad balcony. The inner half contained a small desk, an empty bookshelf, and a wide fireplace, with a wooden divider separating the two areas.

  Rugs covered the hardwood floors of both the bedchamber and the entrance room. Once lavish and vibrant, they had long since faded to a dull grey.

  Did she give me the biggest room she found?

  He wasn’t about to protest, but it did seem a bit much. Shaking his head with a quiet chuckle, he approached the high-backed chair and began changing. The linen clothes were comfortable: the tunic fell nearly to his knees, and the woollen leggings were surprisingly easy to move in. He fastened his belt, clipped his sword’s scabbard to it, and walked out of the room.

  The second floor of the castle was mostly empty, save for a few pieces of broken furniture pushed to the sides of the hallways. The thick layer of dust covering the floors had been swept, the tattered and torn rugs taken away.

  “There he is!” Martin’s voice echoed in the hall as he arrived at the ground floor. “Our saviour!” He declared, stepping out from behind a large, reinforced wooden door leading… somewhere.

  Alaric rolled his eyes. “I heard everyone came here safely.”

  “Yes, sir!” Martin smirked. “Alright, come on. Most people started eating already.” He motioned for him to follow, then disappeared behind the large, partially open door.

  Alaric followed him a few steps behind.

  A roar of clapping and people shouting his name stunned him for a moment.

  He had stepped into a large hall with a high, vaulted ceiling. Unlit chandeliers hung from above, and the last rays of sunlight shone through the dyed windows. Several wooden tables had been haphazardly placed near the centre, surrounded by mismatched chairs.

  Everyone was here, sat around the tables. They were cheering his name and clapping.

  Stunned and confused, he froze like a deer in headlights. Blood rushed to his cheeks as his gaze leapt from face to face.

  What?

  “Alright, alright.” Robert’s voice overpowered the others. “Let the poor man eat, or he’ll keel over and die.” The celebrations and shouting slowly died down, and soon Clara emerged from one of the tables to his left.

  “Come on,” she said with a beaming smile as she guided him to a chair and put a bowl in front of him. Aside from the twins, their grandmother and the still wounded Reuban, all of his friends were here. Sarah was helping her son Arthur wipe his hands, while Jason and Lochlan slurped down their food with almost primal hunger. Seeing the faces of people he was better acquainted with helped calm his racing heart.

  “Please don’t do that again, guys…” he muttered, drawing out some chuckles. He turned his gaze to the bowl.

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  It was a simple meat stew. He took the wooden spoon and started eating along with everyone else.

  I never would have thought having a spoon to eat stew with would make me so happy.

  “Can I have your attention please?” Charles’ voice echoed through the hall quite some time later. The numerous conversations going on died out quickly as people turned in their chairs to be able to see.

  He stood on a stool at the far end of the hall.

  “Thank you,” he bowed slightly. “Allow me to begin by thanking Alaric Wright – he risked life and limb to get the mana core we needed to create this Hallowed Ground. This area of safety, without having to rely on the system’s protection. And he paid dearly for it – challenged by the Profaned Knight just before he returned. He still bears the scars of that confrontation.” He paused to let his words sink in, then continued.

  “Alaric also discovered the possibility to create this Hallowed Ground. So, allow me to give a toast as our old home’s safety withers away… to nothing.” He raised a cup. One by one, the others followed.

  00:00

  THE PROFANED LEGION’S INFLUENCE HAS DESTROYED THE HALLOWED GROUND

  People gasped, some looking at the closed doors frantically.

  “The church served us well, but thanks to Alaric’s efforts, we now have a new home. A roof above our heads, and a second, stronger chance for safety. As long as this white light glows in our halls and walls, we are safe.” He pointed at the silver lines of metal lining the edges of the hall.

  His words seemed to quell the people’s fear somewhat. They sat back down, turning their gazes to him.

  “However, our challenges are not over. We now face new challenges – and this time, we will all contribute to solving them. Alaric and our team of protectors have been doing an incredible job, and they will continue to do so. The rest of us will now turn this place into a home for all of us. I call for a meeting tomorrow, at ten o’clock. But until then, eat, celebrate, and give yourselves plenty of time to rest and recover. Thank you!”

  ***

  “That was a good speech.” He approached the man leaning against the parapets. “I was surprised, actually.”

  Charles glanced over his shoulder. “Thank you.” He turned away, casting his gaze into the distance. The sun was just now dawning, so most of the castle was still asleep. They were alone on the walls. “I meant every word. You risked your life.”

  “The gamble paid off, right?” He also leaned his elbows on the parapets, then groaned as a wave of pain spread across his back. “We’re alive.” He grimaced.

  “That we are.” Charles scowled. “You mentioned a plant – something that the Bloodrose Witch used to heal the wounds Wyrdflame caused. Do you think we could find it?”

  “We have to, we’re down our best fighters.” He admitted with a sigh. “We need Ava and Jason.”

  “We also need you back at your best.” Charles scowled, looking at him over from head to toe. “You’re in no state to fight right now.”

  Well, yeah. “She didn’t write where we can find that plant though. We’ll need to look for it pretty much everywhere.” He glanced down as someone walked into the courtyard, holding two large empty buckets, and put them on the ground, next to the wall. “But we have bigger problems, don’t we? Water. Food.”

  Charles expression darkened. “The castle is great in every other way. I can’t begin to tell you how much I had missed to sleep in an actual bed, but water and food will become real problems really fast. I’ll have a meeting with everyone in a few hours, begin dividing work to make sure we get the most done outside while we still have daylight, but we need some real solutions quickly.”

  “The area Robert and the others hunted in is too far away now, right?”

  The other man nodded. “They won’t make it back before sundown even if they leave at the crack of dawn. What do you recon we should do?”

  Alaric scowled, his forehead scrunched as he rubbed his palm with his hand. “We can forage in the woods for a while. A week or two, maybe more, so let’s put that aside for now.”

  “Focus on the water?” Charles tilted his head. “Alright. Do you think we can build a waterway?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I… maybe? If we’re very lucky with the soil, the terrain… the lake would need to be higher than the castle for it to work. Plus, it’s a pretty long distance. It would take… weeks. Hell, months.”

  Charles pursed his lips. “How long do you reckon we’ll stay here?”

  His question gave him pause. Knowing that life as they knew it was gone, and this was their new normal was a hard pill to swallow. “We don’t have anywhere else to go, right?” He eventually asked with a grimace.

  “Yeah. We have our own Hallowed Ground. A castle. We can stay here. Try to thrive.” Charles turned his gaze to meet Alaric’s. “I’m sick of playing to the whims of the system. This was a solution we found. It wasn’t hinted to us. We weren’t led to it. So… let’s make it ours fully.”

  That’s a nice thought, but… He realised he didn’t want to complete that thought. “Someone needs to check if the castle has a cistern somewhere.”

  “Yeah.” Charles smiled. “I’ll have someone get on that. Martin seems to understand working the land, and construction. Why don’t you take him to check out the lake? I’d love to know if we can bring the water to us.” He spun around and rushed back inside, clearly excited about it all.

  Alaric watched him leave in silence. It was odd and awkward. Charles acted like what they said to each other hadn’t ever happened. As if everything was perfectly fine.

  So we’re just going to sweep it all under the rug? It didn’t feel like the best solution to him, but he didn’t have the strength or patience to try and solve the underlying issues. Not now. He shook his head and headed inside too.