“Well, the thing is that we need you to be bait.” Gwaine said with a less than sympathetic smile.

“Bait?” I asked, unsure of why it was me. They had an entire army to use as bait so why me?

“Our plan is to send our archers into the woods and wait for them to send out their golems. Once they do, you’ll face them along with several of our men and take out as many as you can while also keeping them away from the woods. The archers will then hit the encampment by surprise and set their supplies ablaze. Once that is done we’ll send in the cavalry and take them in the confusion.” Arthur explained.

“A solid plan but I must ask. How many men will I have to help me fight off the golems’?” I asked. Arthur sighed a bit as if he was about to give me some terrible news about a family member dying or something.

“We can only spare fifty men to help you…” Arthur said in a way that made him sound like he knew I would be against it.

“Fifty! That’s it? The last wave was around five hundred. The sword I was given may be able to kill those things with a single touch but that doesn’t mean I can fight that many off on my own.” I complained with a bit of shock and annoyance in my voice.

Arthur sat down in one of the empty chairs around the table and rubbed his temples. He looked tired and worn out. The hairs on his head seemed to be greying by the second as if the stress was too much for him he just sighed. With a look that went from worried and sympathetic he changed it to that of a more demanding face.

“We can only spare fifty at the moment. You beat me in a fair fight and I can take on a hundred regular men on my own. So I assume that would mean you can do better. Now, I expect that you do as I command Sir Micheal, or would you rather wait here and watch men die meaninglessly?” he said in a demanding tone befitting of a King as he reclined back in his chair and put his hand to his chin.

I couldn’t win. The face he gave me and the tone in which he told me to do this was far too scary for me to fight it. Even Oberon seemed less scary and Arthur was traumatized by him. I don’t know what that says but to say the least I felt like I wouldn’t leave this room alive if I refused any further.

“Of course. Which of the men will be joining me?” I asked as if I was about to go on a secret mission for a special unit of the military. Which technically I was.

“We’ll have you introduced in a couple of hours. For now, since you have accepted this job you should rest.” Arthur said. The other’s nodded and I took my leave. Waiting outside the building was Medea who looked like she was a bit scared.

“You okay?” I asked her.

“I am just a bit tired. Though are you going to be fine fighting that many golems’ at once?” she asked with a concerned look. I squatted down a bit to get to eye level with her so that she could see that I wasn’t lying.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. Just go get some sleep. I’m pretty sure that Arthur will let you take one of the beds in the barracks for a few hours.” I replied before walking off to find somewhere where I could lay down. I would have also asked to sleep in the barracks but it would be rather embarrassing to reenter the war room and ask that so I’ll just deal with whatever spot I can find.

Having found the same spot I had slept the night before I reclined against the pillar of the fort and slowly drifted off to sleep. The next thing I knew I was awoken by the common feeling of rain hitting my face. Opening my eyes I looked up to see that it had begun to sprinkle. Before I could get up though the rain turned from a sprinkle into a sudden downpour. I was shocked at the sudden weather change and made my way to the barracks where several of the knights were already gathered. Not because of the rain but because they were receiving orders.

Looking around I saw that Arthur was standing on the table explaining the same plan that he had told me earlier. It was then that a lone knight ran into the room drenched in water and looking worried. Everyone turned to face the man as if on cue. Catching his breath he heaved out a series of words that even I with my cursed mask couldn’t understand.

“What is it man?” Arthur said with a demanding tone.

“More golems’ are coming this way!” the knight finally said.

“Good. The archers are already in the forest. Everyone here is to follow Sir Micheal. He will lead you down. Gwaine, you are to go ready the cavalry. I’ll be right behind you.” Arthur said. Gwaine nodded and went out one of the side doors to the stable while all of the knights just stared at me as if they were expecting me to say something noble.

“Come on, the longer we wait here the more ground they cover.” I said and went out of the building into the storming rain. The knights all followed me out the door of the war room and to the main gate of the fort. At the sight of us the gate guards began opening the gate so that we could leave. Beyond the gate I saw not a hundred, not five hundred, but nearly seven hundred of the golem creatures. The sight of it made my heart skip a beat from fear but I kept on.