In the heart of my village, cheers erupted and a trumpet sounded; I thought this quite odd as it was the end of the week and usually there ain’t a soul to be found on those streets. Usually their custom had them sitting around doing nothing, ‘cept for me, I sat around doing nothing while casting a line in the water; of course, this meant I was far off from the village at the time… Not that I cared for the commotion anyhow. “Anything bite?” An aged, rough, and unfamiliar voice called to me; I turned to look, and sure enough there stood a tall ‘n’ lanky elder fellow with a staff in hand and a greying beard on his chin, he had a respectable look nonetheless and I’m not one to be rude, “Nah nothing round this bend, specially not as the days are getting cooler.” I said back, “Hmm, I see. Think maybe all that festive shouting’s scaring off the fish?” He said dryly, “Heh, nothin’ like that; I think they’re celebrating some visitor, not a feast or anything…” I said, half questioning, “Well, its not so much the visitor as much as it is what he has to say. And that, I can assure you, is cause for rejoicing.” He said, sounding strangely knowledgeable, “How do you figure?” He gave a smile and walked in closer, “Why, I’m a prophet of course.” I immediately jumped to my feet! A prophet coming to our little village? “What do you have to say? What’d you come to preach?” I asked, briming with excitement. “… This place, in ten years time, will see great prosperity-“ He suddenly paused, and his eyes fell flat, “It can’t be… Listen closely, this is a revelation for you alone, the time of prosperity will be cut short by thieves. Then afterwards, I see giants rising and towers looming over this town.” A strange feeling welled up in me, fear and excitement mixed in my heart; I stood silent, only for a moment, “But these thieves, these giants, there’ll be a hero to fight them, right? There has to be, there’s always a hero in the end.” He gave a smile, unlike the one before; softer and perhaps a bit anxious, “Aye, there’s always a hero, isn’t there? Indeed, listen and understand this prophecy, wait for and heed these signs. God bless you.” With that, he walked off into the evening to tell them the good news and only the good news, I couldn’t bare to face them knowing the truth. So, I left.

	Ten years to that day, never bothered explaining why I was leaving; they all thought it was some sort of sign that I left soon as the prophet arrived, funny how that works… I probably should’ve stayed around longer, or at least talk to someone other than a prophet about the outside world, you ask the city folk where giants are and you’ll either get laughs or a very plain ‘they’re all dead’. Come to learn prophets aren’t all that respectable either, ‘the era of prophets is over, now it’s the era of charlatans!’ I don’t even know what that means but it doesn’t sound pretty. But there’s one thing that I’ve found, and that’s that hard work is always appreciated; and oh did I find it! “Jim! Boss man wants to see ya!” I rush up to the second floor of the bank where I work, and there I enter the office of my supervisor, a tight room with a large imposing desk in the center (he had always reasoned that ‘constant focus on work was paramount, thus it should be the focus of every room!’). Light crept in from the small window, exposing the piles of paperwork he went through, the shadow edged along his shaved jawline. As always, he wore a tidy wool suit and a merchant’s cap. “Ah, good to see you James.” He said rather warmly, “Uh, its just Jim sir.” I said, “Ah, I see. Jim, take a seat.” I sit down in the simple wooden chair, in contrast to his rather imposing throne of a seat. “I brought you up here to thank you for your hard work, and to offer you a promotion.” He said, unflinchingly, “A promotion sir? But I just work in inventory, a ‘box-pusher’. What’ll I be, an executive box pusher?” I ask, nervously joking; to my surprise he laughs. “Haha! No no, Jim, this is a job I know only you can do. There’s a village not far from here that I’m interested in investing in, but I’m noticing some descrepancies in the numbers and I want you to investigate.” He says, “Descrepancies sir?” I ask, “Yes, to be frank, it looks like there’s something along the lines of fraud or corruption; you seem friendly, hardworking, and most importantly thorough. Plus, you’re from the country, aren’t you? Just go there and get to the bottom of this, this account could be huge.” He says, with a hint of urgency in his voice. At once he hands me a map and a sealed letter, “Go there and rendevous with another agent, you’ll get the details then.” He says this all so quickly and in such a hushed tone that I can hardly hear him, but pretending to understand, armed with various pieces of paper; I headed out.

	The various roadsigns and twisting paths seem so alien to me, it really has been a long time since I’ve left the city. I can’t hardly read half the names on this map; but at least I can match them up by the looks of them. Its just then, with all this going through my mind, that I see a tree marking a fork in the road… And its just then that I see the same silly carving I made on it when I was little, heh, never thought that would come in handy. I take another glance at the map to identify landmarks and the road I’m on and then I freeze, this isn’t just ‘out in the country’, this is my village. I cringe a little, and think back to that old prophecy; but putting all that behind me, I press on, I need to meet with this ‘agent’ and get this job done. Walking ahead, I spot another traveler on the road; a young disheveled looking man, he has a bit of a hunchback and starts lurching towards me. “Uh, hello there, I’m Jim…” Could this be the ‘agent’? He comes closer and eyes me suspiciously, “What brings you round ‘ere? Eh?” He questions me, “I’m waiting for someone, I don’t really know when but it’ll be somewhere around here.” I feel increasingly nervous, as my answer didn’t seem to satisfy him, “Anyone else coming along with ya? Or will it be just the two o’ you?” Just as I’m about to answer him, I pause and consider, why wouldn’t the agent know this? Are they just testing me? “Uh, none of your business to be honest; why don’t ya just head on your way.” To this, he gave no response, his face soured slightly however; its then that he pulls out a knife. “We own the trade on this ‘ere road, if you aren’t gonna cough up who you’re wit’ den you’ll be coughin’ up blood!” My hands start shaking, “I’m alone I swear! Don’t hurt me.” To that he gives a smile, and brings the knife closer to my throat, “Hand over your money, do it quickly and quietly.” Reluctantly, I toss him what little I have; I would’ve never thought these roads would be dangerous… With that I go on my way, but then he calls out to me, “Hey! That there letter… Who’s it from what’s it for?” Fear pangs in my heart, if I break the seal then the job’s ruined, more importantly I have to wonder just what some ruffian wants with a letter. “Uh eh um…” I try to speak, to come up with a lie, only stutters come out. He points his knife at me, “Toss it ‘ere! Uhf-” Suddenly, a lance blindsides him; the mystery rider who came to my rescue turns to me, “Get on, they are more in hiding.” Still stunned, it takes me a second before I head over to their horse, my brief delay gave the ruffians time to encircle us. “Oy knighty, hand o’er the lad and there won’t be uh pro-lem” The rider whispers to me in an oddly feminine voice, “Get me my crossbow, slowly.” I slip it out of her bag, and at that moment the rider charges through a break in their circle; before they can even get off another word she sends a man to the ground and turns around to fire at another. They attempt to encircle us again, to which she responds with a flurry of blows; finally evading the thick of it she dashes us to town.

	As soon as we arrive, she takes off her helmet to reveal messy curls of red hair; she turns to me and gives a freckled smile, “What were you thinking going alone down that road?” She sounds more motherly than accusatory, I can’t help but feel dumbfounded. “I guess you’re still in shock, come, let’s have a drink.” We sit down at an ‘inn’ that I distinctly remember being a friend’s house. To say it was cluttered and crowded would be an understatement. Nonetheless, she sits us at the bar and gets cozy; her confidence relaxes me a bit. “Two spiced ales please.” She calls out, then she turns to me and whispers, “Smile like I’m telling you a story… Those men that attacked you are part of a crime ring that I’ve been personally investigating, initially I thought they were just- oh thank you- eh hmm, I thought they were just common thieves right? Turns out, they’re connected, and I mean deep.” She takes a pause to sip her drink, eyeing the bar, I briefly follow her gaze before she nudges me, “You have the letter, right?” I slip it over wordlessly, “Heh, you’re a natural; now, where was I… Connections, yes, these people are nobles; well, not the goons, but ya know, the leaders.” I try to hide my confusion, “Nobles? But why?” She frowns and nudges me again, “Smile, remember what I said? Anyway, yes, that’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out; but well, because I’m a knight, I can’t just go around asking about what the lord’s been up to.” An eerie feeling grows in my stomach, but I keep my feelings hidden, “So you want me to…” She nods, “Ask around, see if you can find anyone who knows something; I’ll be waiting at the stables.” With that, I know exactly where to head, and most importantly who to talk to; I walk up the stairs, go to the last door in the hall, and give the secret knock. “… Jim?” My old friend George says,
“Of course its me, let me in damn it!”
“Alright alright…” He fumbles with the lock and pulls me in. “Its been ages man, great to see you! What’s the rush for?”
“I can’t explain, I just need to know now everything you know about these outlaws that’ve been running this place.” Suddenly, his entire countenance drops like he’s terribly ill, “Jim… Come on, I can’t say that, those guys are keeping me in business.” I glare at him, and his sadness turns to anger, “So what, you leave for almost a decade without saying goodbye, and when you come back its just to spit on us?” I put my hand on his shoulder, “I’m not coming to put you down, I’m coming to help you!”
“Yeah? Then where were you man! Why did you go?” That stupid prophecy comes to mind again and immense regret floods over me, “I can’t tell you…” I say, “Why not!” He explodes at me, I take a step back… “Because, well, George, I was afraid. You remember that prophet who came and promised us all prosperity? Well, he told me a different story, and it terrified me; I still can’t shake the feeling.” He turned away from me, “Fine, I understand, their hideout’s at the windmill; but you didn’t hear this from me and I never want to see you again.” Even though neither of us said it, we both knew what the real issue was; we both always wanted to be heroes. I did what I needed to do, but I knew it was nothing more than a slap to the face to my friend.

	“Alright, they’re hiding at the windmill, if we ambush them now we might be able to catch ‘em off guard.” I said to the knight, “Good, here’s a sword… And a horse.” She hands them over to me and sizes me up, “Guess you’ll have to go without armor, heh. You know how to ride, right?” I frown, “I grew up on a ranch.” She laughed and climbed up on her horse, I did likewise, “Say, I never did get your name, I’m Jim; figured we should at least get acquainted before we do this.” I said to her, “Well, I’m Val, nice to meet you Jim.” She said, “Val, like the hero?” I give her a smile, “Yeah, like the hero.” After a while of riding, Val slows down and spies the windmill in the distance, “Get down; there’s bound to be sentries…” It seemed awfully silly to go through the trouble of getting a horse only to dismount within a couple of minutes, yet I obliged. She began crawling and I followed, “You have much experience fighting?” She asked, “Um, I had a brief stint as a guard and I got in a lot of fights as a kid.” She snorts, “Not the kinda fight experience I would like, but it’ll make due.” By the time we close in, the sun’s rolled over the horizon, having crawled uphill for over an hour I suddenly began to appreciate the mercifully swift ride here. Val gives a signal and points to a watchman, I take the crossbow out of her bag and start winding it… Then Val pulls me down and points to another watchman, “Crap, we’re surrounded… At least they haven’t spotted us-“ Suddenly her eyes light up, “Jim, you see that stray flour bag?” I have no idea what she’s planning, but my interest is piqued… “Get in it and make your way to the grain silo next to the windmill, you should be able to slip right past the guard there without notice; once you’re there, check what they’re storing and then when you hear my signal try to crawl up the grain shoot.” Yeah… Sure… “Why don’t you try that and I’ll distract them.” She gives me a blank look, “Because you’d die, its not too difficult anyway; I’ve done something similar in a sewer.” I’m absolutely incredulous! Wait… “Something similar in a sewer… You aren’t talking about…” I said, she sighs, “Yes, the siege of Wolfzhold; I’m not just named after Val the hero.” She has to be lying, no, the stories they were… “Completely outrageous right? Val the legendary hero, who fought dragons, saved kingdoms, travelled the world world is now a knight in some dingy little village.” I was too enthralled to be mad that she insulted my hometown, “I’m honestly shocked you actually exist! I thought the stories were just fairy tales…” She shrugs, “Most of them were wildly exagerrated, I never fought ‘dragons’ per se; or rather, I did, only they didn’t fly or breathe fire.” I think a bit, “So, river crocodiles? Well, even if that’s the case; why did you quit to become a knight?” She turns to me, “Money, not a lot of money in being a hero; now get in the bag, you’re wasting our time.”  As I crawl past the guards, the conversation weighs heavily on my mind, at the moment I have no idea how to process it; so I just push it to the back of my mind. After creeping past the door, I enter the grain silo only to find it totally empty; only dust marks remain, just what happened here? My thoughts are disrupted by a piercing cry and the sound of Val’s horse charging the windmill, I swiftly collect myself and start to climb… Its tight, terribly tight, and the smell of cheap copper assaults my nose, the fact that Val is apparently tilting her lance at the structure support me helps little! Regardless, I persevere and even the top floor, drawing my sword; but the room is totally dark save a glimer of moonlight from the window. “Anyone here? Show yourself!” I call out, a dark figure lurks around the corner and darts his eyes at me, his armor shimmers dangerously in the light. “Don’t you know this is private property?” He dryly jokes, then draws his steel. I take a step back and then realize I’m back against a wall… Not good… Where are you Val? “Put away that thing before you hurt yourself, I have no wish to kill you.” He says, somehow he’s not convincing me. I stick my sword out, blindly, “You put your sword away and tell me what you’re doing here!” I said, and in that moment he lunged forward, I try to lash back at him but I’m swiftly disarmed. He kicks my sword away and trains his blade to my throat, “Who’s with you and how many are there?” He interrogates me, I find myself fearfully reminded of my earlier encounter, I could lie but unless Val arrives soon or can continue her charade… I’m done for. As for who I’m with? No matter what I tell him, the investigation’s ruined. He steps closer in, the moonlight hits his hardened eyes, “I should’ve figured, this is a suicide attack after all, you won’t tell me a thing right?” He then moves his sword over to my shoulder, “You don’t even care if I kill, but how about being a cripple, hmm? I cut this tendon, you’ll never work again.” He presses the blade in closer, accentuating his point; I wince, “Wait wait! Uh, don’t do it, I’ll tell you what you need to know.” I say, trying to buy a few seconds of time, “Then talk.” He says, cold as ice, as the point of his sword breaches my skin. “Uh, alright, the local lord sent me… He wanted me to see what you were hiding here…” I point to my entry-way as evidence. He digs his sword deeper, “You haven’t told me how many, or why that madman on the horse came, don’t try to tell me you didn’t know about them.” I start shaking from the pain, “Ugh.. Alright… There’s, there’s only one more with me. Val!” He pulls back his sword and quickly turns, just then, Val strikes him and pushes him away from me. “Jim, get out of here!” “Val, I can’t, my shoulder’s wounded…” The leader of the thieves mercilessly batters Val, Val tries to keep him away from me, which he in turn uses to pin her to a corner. I get back up on my feet and try to look for the exit, only to then hear more ruffians heading up the steps. Val stares into my eyes and she catches his sword in an overhead parry, “Jim!” She kicks her bag to me and I know what to do, I dive for the bag, pull out the crossbow… And finish the deed, a direct hit. Val collapses, and I run to her; she pulls me in, “Jim, your shoulder cough cough take this…” She hands me some bandages, “Sorry if they’re a little dirty, but they should be dry.” I quickly wipe up my wound and start wrapping it, but I keep focused on her, “Val, where did you get these? Are you okay?..” My god… Her ribs… I turn away, “Its not your fault, he hit an old wound, if I were in my prime…” She says while barely breathing, I can’t hold back my tears , “There are going to be men up here any moment, Jim, go back down the grain shoot alone and I can hold them back. Take this brooch as proof the nobles were involved… But before you go, I want you to know that… I didn’t quit being a hero because of the money, I didn’t start because of prophecy, I wanted to save everyone; but I couldn’t, I couldn’t be a hero because I didn’t want to die…” She said, “No! Val, you were my hero! You saved me, twice!” I say to her, as I start to crawl down the grain shoot, I see her crawl to her feet to face the ruffians, but she shoots me one last smile and told me this, “Jim, you can be a hero.”