Utterly Mad

Continued:

The arrogant nobleman strode to the front of the dining hall and gave a shout for attention, not a soul paid him any until the Guard Captain stepped up to the front himself and let out a bellowing shout.
"PAY ATTENTION!"
The room grew silent as everyone turned their attention to the Guard Captain.
Richard stepped forward then and snapped his fingers in the air like the pompous person he was.
"I'm glad you all decided to pay attention to your betters."
A few people in the crowd grunted with disapproval.

Richard stroked his black mustache as he spoke.
"As you are all aware, Patch plants begin to grow at about this time of year, they are useful for our medical staff in fighting off infections due to wounds. Therefore we will be asking for volunteers to go out and search for Patch plants tomorrow."
The room was quiet for a few moments as people muttered and spoke to eachother, it was reasonably safe outside of Fortress so long as one was smart, but this was basically menial labor and most of the people around Fortress tried to avoid that.
The Guard Captain, Malcom, stepped forward a bit. "Of course I will be coming and I will also be bringing the Pack and Stone along with me.
The infamous Guard Pack, a vicious set of large dogs trained for years in the art of killing or at the very least incapacitating. Stone was a little less vicious, he was the senior of Wile by only four years and had been training with Malcom to eventually succeed him as Guard Captain.

Wile glanced around the people near him, a couple seemed reluctant as if they didn't quite want to wander, and then a whisper breathed into his ear.
"You want to go with me?"
Winter was whispering into his ear, he couldn't help but shiver slightly before nodding and whispering back
"Sure, never hurts to work my legs out."
She gave him a smile and then raised her hand to volunteer, Wile did the same.

Richard let out a yawn as he pointed at Wile and Winter as well as a couple of other people who had raised their hands.
"Alright, then. Four or so should be enough."

Winter began to scoot back towards her seat but before she could Roland grabbed at her wrist and gave her another hug.
"Be careful deary, don't stray too far from the Guards."
"Don't worry Grandpapa, I will stay near the Guards."
Roland nodded solemnly and let her go, he leaned over and coughed into his hand, but in the cough Wile thought he caught hold of some words.

The Baron took his seat once more and Malcom began to make patrols about to the volunteers.
"Wile, sleep early, eat early, meet us at the Entrance of Kings before dawn's first light, we'll have further instructions then."
The towering figure that was Malcom strode away, his chainmail clinking slightly as he walked.

Another tall figure was stepping behind Malcom, but stopped for a moment to glance at Wile.
"Aren't you a little young to be gatherer?" the voice spoke, the tone was sarcastic and Wile could identify Stone from anywhere."
"Depends, aren't you a little old to be a watchdog?" he replied with a smirk.
Stone nodded, gave Wile a pat on the shoulder and wandered off to follow his master.

Dinner was finished and everyone returned to their tasks, Wile didn't have much to do, he went to the Fortress library and listened to groups of scribes debate their ideas to one another, he always found them interesting and they were the source of most of his education.

After that was done, Wile strolled over to the Dormitory's where he lived, he didn't have his own room as many of the Fortress dwellers did. After all, orphans didn't need their own rooms. He was taken care of though in his room and at day's end when he returned he always found it cleaned and tidy. He missed his parents dearly, the Rot plague that had been stopped by Stalmos had not saved all. It was a miracle really that Wile himself was alive, but the cure had come just in time to save him and many others.
"But not everyone." he sighed as he buried himself into his pillow and pulled the quilts up to his shoulders.

As he drifted off into sleep, the only thing he could think of was tomorrow's mission, a chance to be helpful for Fortress and to finally do something meaningful and productive. That and the words Roland had so covertly shifted into his ear.
"Keep her safe."