After two days of traveling, Edvard finally managed to find a walled settlement. While the journey had been easier due to the forest becoming less dense, it was still a forest. Beasts were almost everywhere, and while Edvard wasn't scared. Having come to learn that they are just normal beasts, he was still wary. Not having any ideas of where the next village or hamlet might be, Edvard had kept to the river. Assuming that villages should be founded near to a water source. It was also the only way he could see the knight having managed to find the hamlet of Zaselak. There were no roads, heck there weren't even clear paths between the villages. The locals might know how to get from hamlet to hamlet, but anyone else would quickly become lost. 'I hope no bullshit happens.' Edvard thought as he looked at the shabby wooden walls. They would not withstand much, but they should give the citizens a place to hide should a fight happen. Though Edvard doubted it w

'Viscount, just how low is this noble in the hierarchy?' Edvard thought but asked, "What war effort, why fight when you can't even care for your people. Shouldn't they come first?" "My friend, I do not know where you are from, but that is not a common thought. The kingdom comes first, with the church second. Only then can we start looking to ourselves." "So, commoners are just slaves to serve your ends?" Edvard pressed without any tack. Causing Boris's fist to twitch and his will to keep his word quickly disappearing. Seeing the noble not replying Edvard sighed as he realized this was really the viewpoint of the locals. "What war are you fighting? I came across a small village in the woods, destroyed by knights. Why would you kill your own people?" Edvard continued to press, relations were already sour so he didn't feel like hiding his feelings behind a facade. Hearing this Boris sighed again and wondered which village had ended up under such

Aneko finally regained her senses after a few hours in her cell. Looking around she tried to make sense of what had happened. The pain had made her blank out after being pulled out of Kurburi's home. 'Did he betray me?' She shook her head as she felt this was unlikely. It was more likely that he was forced to explain why he was asking strange questions. She couldn't blame him for answering to the authorities. 'I shouldn't have asked him to do that.' She mumbled, grumbling as she tried to sit up. 'My arm...' Gritting her teeth, she did what she could to get it popped back into place. Her shouts filled the cell, followed by a few whimpers as she slumped back down on her bed. 'What now?' She wondered while fighting the pain, soon falling asleep from lethargy. She woke thanks to the clatter of keys, looking up she saw a dwarf opening the cell door and bringing her food and water. She didn't move right away, instead, she just glared at the dwarf wh

After escaping the pursuit of the soldiers, Edvard did not leave in search of another village. Instead, he stayed in the forest for a while and observed the daily interactions of those living there. Trying to better understand what people did, how they lived. Mostly he saw the villagers taking care of their fields, with some taking care of the grazing animals. In general, a group of twenty to forty older men would head to the river not that far from Kirkwall. Returning at night with fish. Very few would go into the woods to hunt. Edvard also tried to look at what was going on inside the village, however, the walls made this quite difficult. However, he could observe the guards, and as he did he found that most of them would often slack off. While they didn't do anything as excessive as drinking or playing cards as Edvard had read about in stories when he was young, they did group together and chat. Their shifts were normally a total of two hours at a

Edvard could clearly see that this was Boris's father, despite having normal-looking brown hair unlike his son's. Edvard also knew that this man had not fought in the battle. He had stayed behind the villagers even, simply looking on from his high vantage point atop the horse. There were even four knights standing beside him. Evidently his protectors, yet their help would have been far more appreciated at the gate. "Father this is Edvard." Boris quickly jumped in and replied. "The man who killed Zoran? Guards, arrest this man!" The man shouted, his bodyguards taking a step forward but nothing more. None of them wished to die for a simple command, especially when their lord's son seemed to be against the order. They also felt it was wrong to arrest this man after his help. What was the murder he had done compared to the lives of the entire village? "Father! He just saved our village!" Boris shouted, jumping between the elite knights of their ma