"Please, take it." Urien said, holding up his hand. "We"re happy to help."Jack slowly drew the sweeping blade from its scabbard. It felt abnormally light as he did so, as if it were made out of something like a lighter aluminum, rather than iron or steel. As it left the sheath and settled into his hand, he couldn"t shake the sensation that the blade felt almost alive. Looking along the blade length, he noticed for the first time the faint rippling lines in the blade. It looked a bit like the old Damascus steel blades he"d read about when he was studying medieval history.
After a moment, he slid the blade back out of sight, and set about fastening the scabbard to his belt.
"Now that that"s taken care of, we have preparations to make." Urien said. He turned to Farien.
"Since you will be staying behind, and will have the sick and wounded to look after, hand-pick the fighters you want to stay with the camp. Whatever twelve you don"t select will be coming with us. Does that seem fair to you?" He said.
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Farien nodded. "If your mind is made up to go, then then I can accept that."
"Good. That being the case, get started. The sooner you"ve sorted out who is coming, the longer we will have to prep and plan." Urien replied.
"Got it." Farien said, standing. He nodded to Jack and the others before walking out of the room.
After the fur flap dropped behind him, Urien turned to Farlo and asked "What guild help can we expect?"
"Hard to say for sure. Best case scenario, the Circle of Seven, House Pendragon, and the Stout Brothers should all be present, as well as some lesser guilds and freelancers. Worst case scenario, half that. Maybe even less. We won"t know until they arrive for sure." Farlo replied.
"That"s not particularly rea.s.suring." Urien said, grimacing.
"Most adventurers only care for fame, fortune, and fornication. It"s hard to get a firm commitment from them when none of the three can be readily expected from whatever they"re being asked to do." Farlo said.
"Well, let"s hope some of them are motivated by something greater, then." Abigail said.
"So, how can we help? You know, besides the obvious." Jack asked.
"Abbie and I will handle the Company" preparations, and Father will handle guild matters. The best thing you can do is to make whatever personal preparations you deem necessary before the coming fight. We will be ready to depart at dawn tomorrow. If you have any other special advantages or allies we don"t know about, now would be the time to get them in order." Urien said.
"Alright." Jack said, nodding. He wasn"t really sure what else he could bring to the table, but a visit to the Terminal would be in order, at the very least.
Urien stood, helping Abigail to her feet. The two of them departed through the fur-covered doorway, leaving Jack and Rose alone with Farlo, who was appraising Jack with a peculiar expression that made Jack uncomfortable.
After a moment, Farlo shifted in his seat, leaning back into the chair with a casualness that he"d not displayed previously in front of the others. After he did so, his face shifted into a wide grin.
"I gotta say, Jack. You"re not exactly what I expected. The previous heros of legend were a lot more... heroic looking." He said.
Jack started, and he stared at Farlo. "I"m sorry, what?"
Farlo grinned even wider. "So, how is old Frumpkin doing these days? Is he still as big an a.s.shole as ever?"