The Anvil (89 page)

That
night
Tom
and
his
friends
sat
around
a
fire
playing
music
and
singing
,
but
as
the
moon
began
to
rise
Caleb
stood
up
quickly
said
farewell
and
went
to
his
tent
.
Tom
looked
at
the
moon
and
,
just
as
he
guessed
,
it
was
full
.
The
next
day
Tom
met
his
troop
,
led
them
on
a
run
and
told
them
they
would
be
getting
special
shields
in
a
few
days
.
Then
he
asked
another
troop
to
train
with
them
,
had
his
troop
form
up
and
took
his
place
.
They
began
the
training
exercise
and
soon
Tom
’
s
troop
was
defeated
.

Tom
thought
for
a
moment
,
wondering
why
they
had
been
defeated
.
Obviously
the
Anvil
had
only
just
training
in
this
fighting
style
,
but
even
then
they
should
have
lasted
longer
.

He
had
them
do
it
again
,
this
time
he
sat
on
the
side
and
watched
.
Soon
he
found
out
why
they
had
been
defeated
,
while
the
shields
were
up
no
one
had
a
good
view
so
Tom
couldn
’
t
see
what
was
happening
outside
his
immediate
area
.
He
decided
he
would
stay
back
and
direct
the
troop
and
reinforce
wherever
needed
,
only
then
the
lines
wouldn
’
t
be
even
.

He
would
need
one
more
man
but
that
was
no
problem
,
he
could
ask
for
another
man
after
training
.

It
would
also
be
easier
for
him
,
as
he
would
not
need
to
start
training
with
the
sword
,
he
could
just
use
his
axe
.
Tom
then
had
the
Anvil
run
out
,
in
the
lines
,
to
a
new
place
.
He
told
them
what
he
was
planning
and
was
glad
they
all
accepted
it
.
Then
he
had
everyone
divide
into
groups
of
two
,
he
set
up
a
course
.

Since
they
would
be
working
as
a
team
in
The
Anvil
he
had
decided
to
put
them
through
a
course
of
teamwork
and
trust
exercises
.
He
had
groups
go
to
different
areas
and
told
each
group
what
they
would
do
.
One
area
the
groups
would
take
turns
being
carried
,
another
would
do
trust
falls
,
another
put
blindfolds
on
one
man
and
the
other
guide
them
through
the
course
he
had
set
up
along
with
some
other
things
.

Soon
all
around
Tom
his
men
were
doing
various
activities
.
After
a
few
minutes
he
had
everyone
switch
to
a
different
area
.
They
continued
doing
these
activities
until
lunch
,
when
Tom
released
them
to
go
eat
and
then
he
flew
up
to
the
castle
.

He
landed
in
the
courtyard
and
made
his
way
to
the
command
room
,
knocked
and
walked
in
.
The
King
quickly
accepted
his
request
for
another
man
and
saw
the
reason
behind
Tom
’
s
newest
plan
.

Afterwards
Tom
flew
down
and
ate
lunch
with
his
men
and
after
a
while
Caleb
walked
up
to
him
,
sat
down
and
started
eating
. “
This
morning
has
been
busy
,
some
guy
decided
he
wanted
special
shields
for
his
troop
,
I
have
been
making
them
all
morning
.”
he
said
and
smiled
,
knowing
Tom
was
the
one
who
had
requested
the
shields
.

“
Sorry
,
I
guess
I
just
like
big
shields
.
How
long
until
the
shields
are
ready
?”
Tom
asked
and
Caleb
thought
for
a
moment
“
I
’
d
say
about
one
more
day
.”
Tom
nodded
and
finished
eating
.

While
Tom
was
checking
on
the
shields
the
rest
of
the
Anvil
was
meeting
the
newest
member
,
a
young
man
a
little
older
than
Tom
.

After
a
few
minutes
Tom
walked
up
to
them
and
one
man
told
him
the
new
member
was
here
.
The
young
man
stepped
out
from
the
group
and
Tom
smiled
as
he
recognized
Tyler
,
the
young
man
he
had
trained
with
in
Blangto
.

“
Welcome
to
the
Anvil
,
Tyler
.”
Tom
said
then
began
rearranging
the
troop
to
fit
Tyler
.
He
moved
a
man
from
the
second
line
up
to
Tom
’
s
old
spot
and
put
Tyler
in
the
man
’
s
spot
.