"Paladin Incoming!" "Make way for the Blessed Knight and Steed!"Notify the Duchess she has a noble visitor! And be quick about it, they're running faster than the wind. Give her a minute's warning."Approaching the camp of the Empire Army, Ben could tell he was spotted, and people were going to make a fuss. The two heralds that ran out and blew horns was a big clue. He'd hoped his earlier encounter had been some elaborate joke. It wasn't.He had crossed paths with two Couriers scouting ahead of the Duchess's army. One was Hernando Franklin, a sixth or seventh cousin that he had met once. The other was Shasti Brownhaven, a fun loving woman from a small village by Wolfsburg. He spent an evening drinking with her and several others, and she'd been anything but serious. The next morning they'd fought side by side against a rogue Aquamancer and his pet Well-Elemental.Both came up to him at the run, stopped in front of him, and saluted, then slightly inclined their heads. Hernando spoke first, "Sir, good to see you again. Any orders for us?" Shasti was uncharacteristically silent.Ben looked at the two of them, "Carry on with your current orders. But, Hernando? No need for formality, we're family. And Shasti? Same with you. We all work the same job."Hernando looked sheepish but happy, "Thank you, sir...uh, Benjamin. Sir Benjamin?"Ben sighed, "Ben or Benjamin is fine. We're family after all. And that goes for you as well, Shasti. We've fought back to back."She took a deep breath, "That was then, sir. I'm proud to have fought with you, but I'm not going to presume upon that. You deserve my respect, and that comes with treating you properly."Ben looked from one to the other, "True, but these are trouble times. Danger is around every corner. In the heat of battle there isn't time for the niceties of court. So how about we compromise? Out in the field, I'm just Ben, another Courier like the two of you, and at Court or around the nobility we use all the proper names and share a wink and a nudge now and then?"Shasti Saluted, "As you say, Sir Benjamin." Ben was about to say something as the woman's face broke into a grin and she chuckled, "Sorry, couldn't resist...Ben.""Good, now, I'm going to head on and find the Duchess. The tail end of the enemy forces is about twenty miles ahead. Keep an eye out for stragglers, and ambushes. Not all the army is mounted and those that can't keep up may be willing to take a couple of handsome heads." The two Couriers nodded, straining not to salute, and rode off, talking to each other animatedly. Ben and Goodboy had raced to find the Duchess.Riding into camp, he saw all heads turn his way and a clear lane open up before him that led to the largest tents with the most banners. He idly wondered about how bad of an idea it was to say 'The General is HERE!' It had certainly made his and Chartok's job much easier. A second later he saw the corollary to his new position: 'Paladin over here!'But, he was used to being a target as a Courier, and he'd become very good at avoiding ambushes and dodging spells. His new upgrade gave him a far better chance to survive when he didn't dodge.Far fewer people than expected recoiled away from the sight of Goodboy, mostly soldiers who had fought against Snarlfangs and managed to survive. He'd had a long talk with his new partner about not eating people. Sadly, he didn't know if Goodboy agreed with him or not when he let out a 'woof'. But so far, there had been no trouble other than a few adverse reactions from the curious crowd. Ahead of him, Duchess Claudia appeared. She was dressed in her riding leathers she normally wore as part of the Red Company, and a dozen members of that company, along with two heavily armored bodyguards, were accompanying her. Ben couldn't resist doing a forward dismount with a full flip, sticking the landing and bowing low with a sweep of his hat. If he had to stand out, he'd do it with style. "Courier Benjamin of the House of Franklin, reporting, your excellency. I have interesting news about the sudden change in the war.""Glad to hear it. I'm happy for the sudden miracle and warm weather, but I need to know what's going on. I've been told you were on a secret mission assisting someone called the Champion of Sedgewick."Ben spoke with his Courier's voice, pitching his words to carry. He owed Chartok that much. "As you say, I was acting as scout and squire to the Champion of Sedgewick, assisted my partner here, who is known as Goodboy. The Champion sought to drive Winter from the lands of the North, and hold back the cold, snowy weather. With a series of daring raids, we caused quite a bit of chaos in their backfield, and took out many of their supplies. When we learned of Baron Pinchpenny's possible betrayal, we hastened north and waged a guerilla war against her company of Rime Knights and Ice Wizards. This lead to a tense standoff between the Winter General and the Baron, each blaming the other for the deeds of the crafty Champion. At the critical moment, the Champion bravely leaped into the fight upon the battlements of Northguard, and destroyed the ancient artifact known as the Casket of Stolen Summers, releasing those purloined seasons back into the world. Northguard is destroyed, along with General Glacia, the Winter Council, and all of the Rime Knights. A great victory, but not without cost, as the Champion of Sedgewick gave his own life to save us all."There was a scattering of applause that swelled until people were cheering. The Duchess waited until the cheering calmed, then raised a hand. "It sounds like we need to remember this Champion's sacrifice."Ben bowed. "It would be an honor to help with that. We are constructing a statue to the Champion in Sedgewick, but I'm sure he'd love a second somewhere in Wolfsburg."She grinned at that. "And give me a chance to get rid of one of the ugly wastes of space that immortalize some forgotten noble who donated gold to one of Carl's ancestors. Consider it done. But now, brave Paladin, I need to get a report from you in a more private setting." She looked at Goodboy, "I assume he doesn't mind laying outside? I'm sure we can find something for him to chew on. There is an oversized Butcher somewhere in camp that can help with that?"She turned, gesturing for him to follow to the largest of tents that fronted a small courtyard where a long line of soldiers were stepping up to get a bowl of soup and a plate of sausages from Ozzy and a mug of something alcoholic Suzette was pouring from kegs behind a makeshift bar. Suzette waved and yelled, "Looking good." Ozzy raised an eyebrow with a grin, and kept ladling out soup to the last few soldiers in line. The Duchess seemed content to wait for that to finish. "I've got a few officers coming, and I'd like to have both Suzette and Ozzy attend as well when our newest Paladin gives his report."Ben had heard the rumblings from Goodboy's stomach for the last half hour. A hungry Snarlfang was always more of a threat than a well fed one. "I would request a large tub of water for my mount, and another of food. And I stress that he is a carnivore by nature."Ozzy looked at Goodboy, "Well, let's see if he likes tripe soup and a pile of smoked brisket and hell hams." Goodboy seemed unsure about the Butcher until the meat came out of his bag, and then he had an amazing change in attitude. Two half barrels were brought, one for water, and the other was filled from Ozzy's cauldron. The meat was piled nearby. Goodboy happily began devouring in the food, hambones and all, showing off the power of his jaws and sharp, glistening white teeth. Within a few minutes he had a full belly and was casually gnawing on some large soup bones Ozzy produced. Ben felt comfortable leaving him outside the tent, even if the soldiers nearby were a bit nervous.Without preamble, the Duchess said, "That was a nice speech outside. How much of it was true? And was this Champion really Chartok, the Wolf of the Hollywood? I got the start of the story from these two."Ben was happily drinking a glass of wine, and chewing on a loaf of bread and some cheese from a nearby table. "All true, and I left out a lot of the parts no one was going to believe.""Such as an army of undead wolves? Do we have to worry about them now?""Nope, and thank the gods for that. Chartok killed and raised nearly every wolf, warg, or Snarlfang that Winter had left. It was how we were so successful at causing them problems. He literally had an army at his command, and one that followed his orders perfectly and didn't care if they died. They're all gone now. When Chartok destroyed the Casket, the blast was so intense it melted the stones of the castle and scattered them across the countryside. Nothing survived. And the undead nearest me underwent a strange change, reverting to normal, the Necromantic spells stripped from them. Some were clinging to life, but died from their wounds. Goodboy being the one exception, and you can put that down to an act of god."Suzette asked, "Act of god, or Act of a Goddess?"Ben gave her a small salute, "You're right, and I stand corrected. I tried to save him, and asked for help. The Maid of Orleans answered. We're figuring it all out still, but I've gotten a promotion."Claudia said, "A well earned one, Sir Benjamin. I'm sure you're going to be even busier than before. For now, I need to hear this story of yours, and we can recount the tale of our last few battles to fill you in. Then, I want some counsel on where we go from here. I want to push those barbarians back to where they came from, and not let them scatter and give us a bandit problem for the next six generations."Ben started to speak, but was interrupted by a small commotion outside, and then Rolly stepped into the tent, Squirmy sitting on his shoulder. "That's going to be a problem, there are more of them on the way, with wagons and a ton of women and children." Then he saw the table of food Ben had been raiding and walked over, grabbing a platter and sitting on the ground. "With an army of Jotun pushing them along in front of them."