The Anvil (98 page)

The
man
took
the
dagger
out
,
bandaged
the
wound
and
carried
him
to
the
medical
tent
.
Tom
woke
suddenly
and
began
to
get
up
,
putting
some
weight
on
his
arm
.
Instantly
pain
shot
through
his
body
from
his
shoulder
.

I
have
got
to
stop
hurting
myself
he
thought
and
began
looking
at
his
surroundings
.
It
was
a
normal
medical
tent
,
with
lines
of
beds
against
the
walls
.
He
looked
to
his
left
and
saw
Alex
laying
asleep
in
his
bed
,
a
long
bloody
bandage
on
his
side
.

He
looked
right
and
saw
Joseph
,
a
line
leader
from
the
Anvil
.
Tom
looked
around
and
swung
his
legs
off
the
bed
and
tried
to
stand
up
.
He
regretted
it
as
his
head
swam
,
a
flash
of
pain
shot
through
his
broken
leg
and
he
collapsed
back
on
his
bed
.

Two
healers
rushed
over
and
made
sure
he
was
fine
.
He
woke
a
few
hours
later
and
this
time
simply
called
for
a
healer
,
instead
of
trying
to
get
up
himself
.
They
told
him
he
had
been
found
in
the
middle
of
puddles
of
acid
and
scorch
marks
,
along
with
Gontal
and
his
dragon
’
s
bodies
.

The
memory
came
back
to
him
and
just
to
make
sure
he
lifts
his
arm
as
the
healer
turns
away
.
He
closed
his
eyes
and
focused
,
when
he
opened
them
he
saw
the
arm
of
a
wolf
.

He
quickly
changed
his
arm
back
as
the
healer
turned
back
around
.
He
asks
how
long
he
would
have
to
stay
,
but
the
healer
said
he
could
go
whenever
.
Tom
swung
his
legs
over
the
bed
and
tried
to
stand
again
with
some
crutches
.
He
sat
back
down
for
a
moment
then
slowly
rose
.

He
walked
over
to
Alex
who
was
waking
up
slightly
. “
I
guess
I
am
not
the
only
one
who
gets
hurt
now
.”
Tom
says
with
a
weak
grin
.

Alex
smiled
back
“
No
,
I
guess
that
is
one
thing
I
forgot
to
teach
you
.”
and
with
that
Alex
went
back
to
sleep
.
Tom
walked
out
of
the
tent
and
went
back
to
his
.

Two
days
later
Alex
is
able
to
walk
around
and
King
Frederick
calls
an
assembly
.
Tom
and
Alex
walk
together
down
to
the
parade
ground
with
the
rest
of
the
army
.

The
king
walks
to
the
raised
platform
and
begins
speaking
,
thanking
the
men
for
their
service
.
He
finishes
thanking
the
army
as
a
whole
and
calls
units
and
individuals
to
come
forward
and
get
awards
. “
Now
,
for
probably
the
greatest
unit
,
the
Anvil
.”
Alex
nudges
Tom
to
walk
up
with
the
rest
of
the
Anvil
,
who
were
standing
behind
him
.

They
walked
to
the
platform
and
were
thanked
and
given
awards
.
Tom
began
walking
down
with
his
men
when
the
king
motioned
for
him
to
stop
and
come
back
. “
Finally
,
the
mastermind
,
leader
and
trainer
of
the
Anvil
,
Thomas
Welton
.
Not
only
did
he
train
the
Anvil
,
but
he
somehow
managed
to
kill
Gontal
and
his
dragon
single
handedly
,
only
getting
stabbed
in
the
shoulder
by
a
cheap
shot
and
a
broken
leg
.
For
Thomas
,
I
award
the
Gold
Flame
,
the
highest
award
of
bravery
and
strength
.”
Tom
stood
,
stunned
,
as
the
king
himself
handed
him
the
amulet
.

The
king
shook
his
hand
and
thanked
him
again
,
then
let
him
join
his
men
.
The
general
assembly
soon
came
to
an
end
,
but
King
Frederick
asked
Tom
and
a
few
others
to
stay
after
.

The
king
approached
Tom
“
I
have
decided
to
give
you
a
choice
.
You
can
continue
to
train
as
a
Dragon
Guardian
or
you
can
continue
training
and
commanding
the
Anvil
.
You
,
along
with
the
Anvil
,
would
be
part
of
the
Castle
Arstan
guard
.
You
would
not
be
able
to
continue
both
.
I
’
m
sorry
,
but
you
need
to
choose
.”
King
Frederick
waited
as
Tom
thought
a
moment
.