I stepped back slightly, "It was pretty crazy wasn't it?"
He smiled slightly, "Yeah it was and you were a little crazy yourself too."
"Speak for yourself Rolf. It was shear insanity you coming back through that press to get me."
He shrugged his shoulder with a wry grin, "Somebody's got to look out for you."
"I know and you do a good job of it. I want you to stay here at Thunder Ridge Rolf."
He nodded and said, "I like the place. It's a good spot to settle down I think." Somewhat more reluctantly he divulged, "I've been seeing a widow woman. She doesn't mind about the arm. She lost her husband in the fighting and she's got a couple of young kids that need a provider. It should work out for us I think. The Creator's been good to me Roric, ever since that day when you waited for me and helped me to escape from the arena. You see, I was raised up as a kid not very far from here, but I rebelled against my parents. I killed a man over a foolish squabble when I was fifteen and I fled the Valley Lands. I broke my parent's hearts by what I had done. I heard later that they died shortly after I ran away. They were both older when they had me, but I blame myself for them dying. I thought the Creator had forsaken me until I met you. Thank you for bringing me home Roric."
I'd always suspected that Rolf's ancestry was rooted in the Valley Lands. "The Creator is good my friend, even when we don't deserve it, He blesses us and uses us to accomplish more than we're capable of, if we just let Him."
We walked out of the barn to a spot we could see over the valley below and for miles beyond. "Are any of my other friends alive?" I asked not really wanting to hear the answer.
"No." Rolf said softly and I nodded my head, as I felt the loss of my friends keenly in my heart.
Rolf looked over at me, "Are you content in this place Roric?"
"Not yet, but I hope to be soon."
"When are you going for her?"
Not much slipped by Rolf, "The end of the week."
He nodded looking back out at the valley, "I'll have Flin saddled and ready for you."
I smiled slightly, "What! You're not going along to baby sit me?"
"I think you can handle yourself. The question is will you be able to handle her?" Rolf said knowingly and I had to admit that he might have a point.