Don't go looking...

[Maxmars]

...
Keep it going, Max… looking forward to Part III.

I have to confess, I found my deliberate exclusion of names to have been a mistake. 
I wanted to experiment with that because it felt 'novel' (God! I hate that word) to me. 
A sort of "I wonder if I can pull that off?" personal challenge. 
In retrospect, it only makes a lengthier narrative more difficult to write... 
I probably won't ever do that again. 

In fact, if this were a single piece, I would likely go back and insert names to fill the voids left by their absence.
I re-read my work and always find faults and flaws... not being trained in writing makes this exercise similar to being a bit 'lost in the woods'... making it harder for myself was not a particularly good idea.  DI is blessed with many true writers... and I am only fumbling around behind them...  decisions like not using names shows that off.

I want to thank you for your kind feedback...  It helps me greatly to assess my part in the telling of this story.  These stories always make me feel like I am only the teller, that they would exists without me... that they write themselves... I'm just trying to do them justice (and often falling more or less short.)

(That old sword is a personal addition of my own, I later thought he could have found a hammer, a crowbar, or some repurposed tool... but the old sword was a kind of echo of my own life.  It's not meant to be a standout component of the story... but if offers the potential call-back of something within the story itself:  "There is no magic weapon.")

I'd best not elaborate now... part III is brewing... and the time for 'adding' ingredients has passed.  Except maybe a little salt, or pepper.