"Because if you do not, I will not stay mine." Said a man with bright blue hair as he stepped through the crowd. His hair threw Edvard off for a moment, Edvard was certain that hair dying shouldn't be a thing, so it must be this man's natural hair.
On his back, the young man had a greatsword and while he was not in armor his clothing was heaps and bounds better than those around. Yet, the design choice was just as terrible. A bloody rose atop orange clothing, a sight that made Edvard nearly puke.
"And who are you? Did you see the entire escapade? These guards first asked for a bribe to let me in. Then, when I brought what I could, they declared me a thief." Edvard replied.
His blade was on the slouched guard's neck who was still shivering in pain from the kick. But dared not move thanks to the blade.
"I give you my word I will reprimand him, and of course you will be allowed to keep your catch."
"I don't care, who are you to make such promises?" Edvard replied, placing pressure onto his sword and causing the guard to tremble in fear.
"Boris Stojakovic, the son of the lord of Kirkwall. Now please, stay your hand!" The noble replied.
"How do I know you will keep your promise? I already killed one, why should I not just kill this one and run?" Edvard replied, ready to do just that.
He did not think that they would forgive one death, he also saw no reason to try and stay here any longer. Things had already gone South.
Yet, he still wanted to learn more about this world and this was a unique case he would not be able to gather data on as easily later on. He felt confident he would be able to escape from the village no matter what, hence he felt confident to push this supposed noble.
Boris was clearly trained. Not well trained, but trained. If he had the experience to back up his training was left to be seen.
While Edvard had no training, he had years and years of experience fighting against fully armored orcs. His technique was basic, barbaric even. But his prowess was great regardless.
"I will hunt you down if you do," Boris replied, shocked that this stranger was still not backing down.
It was expected from someone who would kill a guard without hesitation, however, the young noble had never had someone defy him before.
"Do you think you are capable?" Edvard asked, kicking the kneeling guard who had tried to move his hand to a hidden dagger at his back.
"See this! He still thinking of attacking me even though I am in the right!" Edvard shouted, making sure everyone realized what was going on.
"Vinko, stop that! I know you are angry, but I am trying to save your life!" Boris shouted as he realized why the stranger had suddenly kicked the guard.
The blade now lay by the guard's side for all to see.
The subtle movement had been missed by most, but not the knife suddenly appearing in vision. Having failed to realize the implication of Vinko's subtle movements, Boris realized he might not be the strange man's equal.
"So then, I ask again. How can I confirm you will keep your word? Your guards clearly do not keep theirs!" Edvard repeated without any shame, turning Boris red in embarrassment and rage.
"I'll swear in the name of our god. Is that good enough?" Boris replied as he did his best to hide his fury.
Raising an eye in surprise Edvard relented, "If you are willing to go that far, I will accept. No need to actually do so." Edvard knew how serious this was to the people of Eskrat, the promise itself was assurance enough.
Someone swearing in the name of their god, in public or private, was even stronger than the bond of blood. If they broke such a promise they would be cast down as a heretic and hunted by the church. Branded forever as one not to be trusted.
The brand was not something they could escape. If the rumors that the villagers of Zaselak had shared were to be believed, then an upside-down gray laurel would appear on the heretic's forehead. Showing to all that the person is a heretic.
"Thank you," Boris replied as he saw Edvard withdraw his sword.
Taking note of its quality as Edvard wiped it clean on his cloak. Boris assumed that it is just a noble blade as he was but a poor lord of a poor village. Few would be able to tell that it was a blade forged by the Vespes.
"Why would you go so far for a commoner?" Edvard asked after storing his blade, but still keeping an eye on everyone and ready to act should the need arise.
Vinko, the guard, grasped the ground in anger. Wishing to strike at Edvard. He did not, only because Lord Boris had given his word, if he did anything now then he would likely die even if he succeeded.
"Because, I would prefer to give out just punishment and not let a stranger declare what they feel the punishment should be," Boris replied.
"Alright then, can I leave now?" Edvard found the answer a typical one, not expecting that the guard would actually be punished later.
"What about your catch?" Boris asked, though he already knew it didn't matter to this stranger seeing his blade and skill.
The deer was not even of that great quality, it was too small, yet too big. Not the soft meat of a fawn, nor the size of a proper doe.
"I only killed it for the extortion, I don't care." Edvard replied in spite, making sure his voice was loud enough to let all those spectating hear.
His words and how he said it caused flew of whispers to ensue. Causing Boris's face twitched as he realized the stranger was not going to let that go.
"Why don't I show you around?" Boris offered, but Edvard quickly shook his head in denial.
"I do not wish to be monitored." With that he started walking, the crowd around them parting in fear as they saw the blood staining his cloak and face.
Upon entering the town Edvard realized that it was truly not a well-kept place. The entire area stank of sewage, most of the people in the town were dirty and the roads were mostly mud roads.
He did not even pass the first building before Boris caught up to Edvard.
"I am sorry, you said you did not want to be monitored, but you have to be," Boris said as soon as he saw Edvard glancing at him.
"Fine… Tell me why the condition of this town is so terrible." Edvard asked, causing Boris to sigh.
"It is common, only towns and cities have the financial capital to clean their streets regularly. Other than my family, no nobles are in this village."
"We see little trade, are often troubled by monsters, and we have to pay war taxes. Honestly, most of our coin goes to the Viscount to support the war effort. Or to get monster hunters to clear a part of the forest."
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'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
Two pulled out daggers, the other a normal longsword. Edvard ran right towards the one with the longsword, aiming for the man's blade as he was still struggling to recover from the surprise and get a good grip on his weapon. Edvard's attack sent the man's blade into the air and opened him up for more attacks. With no hesitation Edvard struck through the man's side, spinning around to place this now wounded cloaked figure between him and one of the dagger wielders. His new opponent was surprised not just by Edvard's actions, but also that her friend had been disarmed so easily. Watching Edvard's every move, she faltered between trying to save her friend or going for their attacker. Seeing her hesitation Edvard swung his blade at the wounded man. Seeing this, she rushed to block the attack and save the man. Edvard smiled as he jumped back and thrust his sword towards her. She was quickly put at a disadvantage as she had to both protect herself a
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
An artificially made table and chair of roots and leaves held a Vespes and his cup of tea. He was relaxing in the midday sun while enjoying this cup of tea. Unbothered by the hundreds of monsters that now surrounded him. Slimes were the first to have arrived from their hiding, creatures known to always stay in the shadows and out of sight. They had no combat ability to speak of and were the vultures of the monster world. After them had come beasts, at first those newly awakened. But as time continued to pass even true monsters appeared, including now even orcs and a few trolls. The monsters did not fight each other, at least not to eat or anything like that. However, they would fight to get as near to the Vespes. But not for him, rather, they wanted to be as near as possible to the dark-skinned human who lay on a bed of roots and leaves. {"It seems that you have finally awakened."} Tariël smiled and offered the sleepy man a cup of tea. "Wha- w
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
The knights from the manor worked together to face their foe, two against one. The church instead fought one on one, with almost the same results. Coming up from the back Edvard observed this and wondered if he should rush in to help. He would much rather just stay back and observe, not wishing to be surrounded by orcs. He had learned the hard way that it was a good way to die. His arrows were quickly running out and then he would have to act. By the time he had managed to pick off 5 more orcs and run out of arrows, the orcs had broken through the knight's line. Edvard half wanted to leave the village to their own devices at this point, however, hearing the fear-filled cries from behind the walls. Thinking of all the innocent children who would be slaughtered. He fought his instinct to run and instead charged. Jumping up as he reached the orcs, Edvard sliced the back of its neck. Nearly beheading the orc and sending blood into the air. The orc
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
"It's simple, tell me what the hell is going on in this kingdom. And don't skimp on any details, I want to figure out my next move.”, ‘Stumbling about without knowing will just keep putting me in the spotlight.’ Edvard replied, knowing that every time he asked something basic people would know he wasn't a native. He could try and play it like he was from a different kingdom, but he didn't even know what other kingdoms there were. So, if anyone had knowledge of them, he would quickly be exposed. "How can you know nothing?" Boris asked in utter confusion. "It doesn't matter, just tell me what is going on. Let's start with your village and your rank as nobles." "Well… That is quite embarrassing, we aren't true nobles…" Boris paused as he said this. "You see, in some cases, such as the one with my great-grandfather. A knight who has earned a great deal of merits will be given a village as a reward for their service. Normally it would be a well-est
It was like this energy was a part of him, yet it was clearly a foreign substance. Apparently, the first step to learning how to become a knight was channeling it into a blade. Most swords made for knights were made of special magical metals and enchanted. The glow that Edvard had seen so often was the process of the metal being filled with ether. Activating its magical properties, and naturally, the effects of the enchantments. Edvard’s blade was apparently different from the norm. It did not glow when he pushed the strange energy into it. Though, Edvard suspected that was because the amount he could gather and focus was too little to affect the magnificent blade. While Edvard still had a thing or two to nit-pick about regarding the Vespes prince, he had to accept that he was only alive thanks to the prince’s ‘gifts’. While hell, the illusion had truly prepared him for the harshness that this world was filled with. “Can you teach me how you form spells?” Edvard asked. “I can’t be
Edvard stirred, his entire body afire. Grimacing, the previous events slowly came back to him. ‘So, I survived…’“Careful now.” Abigail instructed, bringing a cup to his mouth and having him take a few small sips.The herbal tea helped soothe the blazing fire in his throat, sadly it did little for the rest of the flames. Trying to force out any words caused his chest to explode in pain, so he remained quiet. Taking sips as Abigail offered them.“I can’t believe how reckless you were.” Abigail said, Edvard noticing that they were in the shade of some tree. The gentle sound of a stream was barely audible. “I really thought you were going to die on me when you didn’t stir for two days.”Unable to form any words, Edvard simply held his peace. Listening as Abigail detailed what had happened after he had lost consciousness. Atop the horse, she had rushed with him along the main road, heading deeper into the kingdom. Stopping long after night had arrived.That night, she had cleaned most of
“He made it…” Edvard forced out these words as he continued to shoot arrow after arrow. No longer was it possible to keep the rooftop clear of orcs. The best he could do was kill them as they gathered their footing.The continuous pulling of his bow was showing its strain on his untrained body. His shoulder acts, his fingers burned, and his arm trembled. Yet, he pushed on. He had to. He couldn’t die here.He still needed to find Yawen. He still needed to find a way home.The screams from below had long since died. The knights had fought valiantly. But valiance was not enough to turn the tide of a battle.“Are we going to die like this?” Abigail asked, forcing herself to stay calm and take deep, steady breaths. Collecting her focus and doing her best to gather the ether in the surrounding. Thanks to overusing magic and a lack of sleep, her mind was already foggy. Yet, she pushed on.“That… isn’t… part… of… the plan.” Edvard replied between the twang of his bow. Luckily, he had more tha
Edvard took a deep breath and calmed his heart. Abigail was next to him, responsible for blasting any orcs who made it to the roof, back to the ground. She was still tired. Unlike Edvard, she had no sudden recovery thanks to a strange magical sword.Yet, she was determined. She took deep, steady breaths, focusing on the surrounding and doing her best to remain calm. The destruction of her hometown had certainly sent her heart into shock. She was ready to accept that none of her family had made it out.Even so, she had many friends in the town. She hoped and prayed that some of them might still be alive.“You ready?” Edvard asked, his targets in his sights.“Yes, let’s do this!” Abigail replied, determined to fight to the last. Even if their mission ended up unsuccessful, she wanted to kill as many of these damned orcs as possible before her dying breath.“Right.” Taking another deep breath, Edvard could feel a strange energy filling his lungs. Distributing itself to the rose patterns
The roses imprinting themselves into Edvard caused him to glow. Abigail gasped in awe at the sight, his entire body lighting up like he was some sort of angel. Until it all vanished, leaving only faint outlines of the roses. Like fading tattoos.“A-are you alright?” Abigail asked.“I feel great!” Edvard replied with a warm smile. Filled to the brim with energy and more confident than ever. “Let’s go see if the town is still holding out.”Edvard took the lead. The two followed the path created by the orcs when they had chased Edvard, having cut down all plants in their way, allowed the two to move swiftly and in an almost straight line. Their return taking them no time at all.Smoke was the first thing they noticed upon exiting the forest.“Ahhh—” Edvard moved quickly, stopping Abigail from making any further sounds.“Look carefully, the smoke isn’t acting normal. I think someone is controlling it to give cover to survivors.” Once he was sure she wasn’t about to shout in concern, Eldri
Edvard slowly stirred, fighting the sleepiness that filled his entire body. He fought to simply stay conscious. Sleep was a tempting mistress, but his years in the illusion taught him never to let sleep dull his sense. He needed to confirm the situation. The last thing he recalled was seeing Abigail among the carnage.Abigail was sitting near a fire, her clothes a mess of blood and tears, having used her clothes as bandages for Edvard's wounds. Forcing himself upright, Edvard smiled. She was a beautiful girl, far too young for him, but he could at least enjoy the sight as the fire illuminated her hair. Her hair was no longer a shiny bright green but rather a deep dark green. Yet it was still enchanting as a shine would come through as the flames of the fire played in the wind. Edvard was lying atop some large leaves, close enough for the fire’s heat to reach him. His own clothes were tattered, his toning muscles reflecting the light of the fire. A few more months, and he would be at
As the despair grew and the atmosphere became heavier, it was all too clear that no one thought victory was possible. They had sacrificed so much just to stall the orcs on the walls yet here they were. Some had been optimistic, believing they could stop the orcs in their tracks. Sadly, even the wilds gate where the orcs had attacked in rage had managed little against the far lesser number of orcs. The other gates had lost far more and killed far less, this fact added to the heavy air of despair that filled the air. None were still optimistic. Everyone understood just how terrifying their enemy was. In their retreat they had not given up. A number had taken shelter in the abandoned homes. While some of those were praying not to be found like cowards, most were waiting. Waiting for the movement to strike. When they could make the largest difference while sacrificing themselves. For if they were to die, they would have it be in an effort to save their families. Sadly, even this was
The rivers going through Erendale had done nothing to slow the orcs. They had not even needed to deviate to the bridges to cross them. The rivers were after all not that deep nor that strong.As a result, all three gates had been assaulted with little difference in timing. Locking everyone inside the town with no way to escape. The orcs ramming the gates protected underneath their shield of fireproof logs.Jaune looked at the charging orcs with a slight smile, they had been truly bothered by the orcs’ patience thus far. The gates would not last long, they needed to thin the orcs on the walls before falling back to the keep. Sadly, the keep could not hold everyone. Some had to die here first, they could only retreat once it was clear that the walls were lost and after enough had died. It was terrible but it was their best bet. The attack had simply come too fast.Luckily, now it appeared that the orcs would indeed scale the walls, all thanks to Edvard. And to top it off he had taken ha
Edvard could feel that his body lacked the strength to fight on. Lacked the basic energy required for him to move. He had long since started running on fumes fuelled by his will, and even his mind was becoming foggy. As he was slipping on towards sleep, a welcomed sleep. The eternal sleep, Edvard’s mind flashed with his Yawen’s gentle smile. His body recalled her warm embrace. Her tender love. This flash of memories long past filled him with endless warmth and strength. It soared through him as he realized that she could very well be somewhere on this planet. He prayed that her situation was better, but if it was not. ‘I cannot allow that to happen!’ Edvard looked at the charging orc, his determination like fire. His will and bloodlust so strong that the orc paused for just a second, a second was enough. Edvard stood next to the orc, his sword dripping with blood. Taking a deep breath, he recalled this smell, he relished it. He suddenly recalled his last moments in that hell. ‘I s