Rex looked at the scene before him, the youngster by the name Owl, had acted arogantly, some would say exceptionally so. 'Orion' quite the sacred name in the village. The last person wielding it was considered the greatest, and most powerfull person to ever appear from their midst. To be precise, Orion was the founder of the village and supposedly a leader of an A rank adventurer party, each member of which founded their own village nearby. Aiming for such an esteemed name was clearly an arrogance of utmost level, especially so if one had not performed a feat of a near miraculuos level during the great hunt. And while the group he was part of had done well, they had neither achieved something trully spectacular, nor saved their peers. On the contrary, they had made quite a grave mistake, only surviving due to the help of a misterious expert. To then have the gall to ask for the name of their founder bestowed upon him? That trully angered both the elders, and everyone else in the village, well, Rex excluded. Thus, both the reprimand and remark coming from the spokesperson of the elders were like quite the humuliating slaps to his face. Even Owl's grandfather, one of the elders sitting at the table was scowling, noever having expected such arrogance from his favourite grandson.
"Well, boy?" the elder asked, clear irritation in his voice heard, dirrected towards the youngster as he hesitated in answering. As the scolw on the elders faces deepened, Owl finaly scrunched his face once more, through gritted teeth responding.
"Amaron." The elders conversed for a moment, and the spokesperson looked at Owl with some displeasure.
"A name almost too good for one as arrogant as you. Though you have earned the point s for it. Owl, son of Iruman and Aleandra, from now on you shall be recognized as Amaron." Once again the village chief recorded the new name as Amaron retrieted to stand amongst the youngster group. Though even as he did so, a few whispers and chuckles could be heard among said group, clearly laughing about the drama that just occured, as well as the embarasment that Amaron must have gone through, causing the youngster in question to try and pin down the perpetrators of the deed, clearly intent on having his revenge later.
And so, one after another, the youngsters were called forth and bestowed their names. Besides Amaron, there was only one more boy who was innitially refused the name he had hoped for, though this refusal was nowhere near as strict as the one Amaron suffered. Though just like him, the other boy recieved a name on his second try. Rex, being considered the less important, due to him being an orphan, as well as percieved as a rather slow individual, was called forth as the last one. The attitudes of the elders had started to change ever since the first orphan was called forth, their gazes much more judging and agreeable. Though probably aware of the fact, none of the orphans aimed high with their names, settling for wha twas considrered a decent name in the eyes of teh village.
"Rat, come forward." the elder spoke. "Hurry up, we dont have all day!" he scolded Rex the moment he started walking forward.
"Well, speak the name!" the elder hurried him, as he barely walked in the center. Unbothered by the old cunt, or anyone else present, for that matter, he simply spoke one word, and turned around as he left the center, walking towards not the group, but his own hut.
"Rex." If he was shown no courtesy, neither would he show any in return, well aware that the hunters cared nothing for the ceremony, as well as the fact that should the need arise, he could just leave a bit sooner than expected. He had realized that he actually did not need to join the group traveling to the city on their next go. He could just tag along with the merchant that would leave at the latest in a day or two.
His choice of name did elicit a barrage of laughter, with most present reaffirming his simplicity and slowness. It was considered in the village that words with less than five letters were those of fools and the like. Four was bad, three was downright supid and weak. And two, it was the name of the fool. One that brings shame upon their whole lineage. The rules did not apply to their animal, or plant and tree names in case of girls, monikers that served as their temporary names.
"Once a rat, always a rat. Even his name starts on the same letter, and is of the same lenght." Amaron exclaimed, clearly in an attempt to overshadow his own embarassing moment in the minds of those present. And while the hunters cared little, there was one among their group who saw this whole ordeal in a different light.
'Stupid old coots.' Oren thought 'Orion himself will one day pale in the presence of Rex and you have the courage and gall to show him contempt? I do wish you luck, for only if he forgets your venomous attitude does this place have a future.'
"INSOLENT!" the elder in charge exclaimed and wanted to tirade on, untill one of the hunters sneered, eliciting a laugh from his compatriots, causing the elder to shut up. "A pot calling the kettle back!"
"And while quite insulted, the eldr had little choice than to turn to his equivalents, as the rest near the table just shrugged and nodded once. The name held no value in the eyes of the elders and Rex had more than enough merit to be named as such."
As the leder stood back up, a disdainfull expression and a sneer appeared on his face, as he spoke."Rat, from today onwards, you shall be named Ra!"
A few gasps escaped the ones present. And while unprecedented, the decree was spoken, even if the other elders had their own scolws marring their aged faces.
"Come, come, chief, record the name, as is tradition." sneered the culprit. Ow sure, his peers would scold him later, but at the end of the day, what was Ra, but an orphan with no future? He had just helped the fool along. Within a few years from now, Ra's spirit will no doubt be whipped into place, teaching him to respect his betters.
Oren glanced towards the dirrection Rex had left, not even bothered to hear whatever decision would be made, well aware of just how nonexistant the place was in the youngsters eyes, made his own decision. Instead of joining the feast that would follow, celebrating the new names of the new addults of the village, he rose to his feet, earning the attention of the rest of the hunters. He spat in the dirrection of the elders, and while aimed not too far from his feet, in front of the hunters group, the intent was obvious among his compatriots.
"The benevolent spirit spits on you." With those words said, he turned around and left the village square as well. And while teh story had been taken as mostly a joke during the last evening of the hunt, going so far as to be spread among the youth, the other hunters ahd seen the seriousness with which Oren retold the storry. He had even doubled down and said that he saw it, as delivered the two incomprehensible shots that saved the group that was surrounded by Borcs. Whne questioned furtherm he simply said that he was under no liberty to speak any more, an oath given to the spirit, in exchange for the lives of the saved ones, as well as his own.
So when Oren spat at the elders, clearly displeased with the old coots actions, invoking the name of the saviour of many within the group, the gravity of the situation became obviously clear to them. Oren had chosen to tell his friends who had saved them, just as Rex had predicted he would, even if it was not neccessary due to the destroyed arrows arousing many questions. With Oren walking away, the rest of the hunters followed suit. Even Rilem did so, a small smile adorning his face.
'Knew the kid was special.' The leader of the great hunt thought to himself as he joined his compatriots. The obvious departure of the hunters caused the villagers to narrow their eyes, the sign was not boding well for them in the slightest. While no longer a permanent residents of the village, said hunters were contributing quite a bit towards its stability and prosperity, and such a united displeasure towards the elder, as justified as it was, had not been seen ever before. The consequences might be more far reaching than anyone could predict.
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While the rest of the village feasted and celebrated the end of th great hunt, Rex had already finished his daily space storage expansion ritual, and had laid to early rest. And the hunters, they gathered around their own campfire, as question after question was asked to Oren, who replied as much as he could, not divulging any secrets he believed he had about Rex. And yes, the hunters called him Rex too, each and ever one of them. Some gratefull for their own lives, others for the lives of their friends and comrades.
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Rex woke up early in the morning, as he usually did, and after a short preperation, he exited his shack, prepeared to do some fishing to secure his breakfast.
"Yo kid." He recieved an unexpected greeting from Rilem. "Come, join us for breakfast. Thats the least we can offer."
"Oren cracked eh?"
"Heh, yea, hes a softy at heart."
"Figures." Rex replied as he nodded his head for the older man to lead the way. In just a few minutes time the two had reached the hunters campfire, where teh smell of a fragnant stew was spreading around. He was greeted by the entire group, who bowed their heads to him and thanked for the assistance he had provided them.
"Ha ha ha ha. You know, for men who live most of their lives in the forests, chasing their prey with smiles on your faces, like savages, you are a good bunch. Though that should come to anyone as no suprise. Nature is cruel, but fair. Most of the time anyways. She takes as much as she gives, at times more, in each dirrection, but she is always true to its own nature. No need to worry of a knife in the back, is there?" Rex laughed at the straightforwardness of the goup, not seeing a single envious look directed his way, all aware just how shitty his condition had been after twe two arrows.
"Well, since you know anyways. Two requests from me I suppose. Lets keep my involment a secret fomr outsiders shall we? And as for the second, help Oren out to get two new arrows, will ya? T'was a sacrifice for your safety after all."
A round of laughter resounded around the campfire, the mood being rather good. As they ate the stew, no one brought up the events of yesterday, asuming it to be an unpleasant subject, untill Oren himself questioned.
"What about the old coot?"
"Hmm, who?" Rex scrunched his brow, a questioning look on his face.
"He probably means the elder that acted out." replied Rilem.
"If you smell the stink of shit, like old and terribly stinky one, when you are out in the forest, do you go in search of it, to sniff it more and apreciate the grotesque nature of it, or go on with your day, forgeting it as if it had never existed?" and seeing their slight smirks and knowing looks, he added "Exactly, why get shit on your hands when the stink alone is enough to not want to stick around."
A moment later he added "Once I am an adventurer, my words to Oren stand. Should he need some serious ass saving, or you fellas for that matter, since we know just how much of a softie he is, you know how to contact me." After which he prompty told the same thing he had to Oren, regarding his choice of name for the adventurer card.
"By the way, a nice word to the trader there for me fellas?" Rex asked as he remembered something, once the breakfast was done and the hunter group was prepearing to leave. Rex had noticed a merchant was exiting the village gate, as small and pathetic it was.
"What is it?"
"Wanted to hitch a ride with the merchant. Need the guide to city to start my climb."
"Sure thing man. The sooner you start, the sooner we will have a reliable backup, should worse comes to bear." replied Rilem.
The group headed towards the merchant as Rex rushed back home, quickly gathering what little things he had. And while he no longer had the swords and bow of the hunt, the ten arrows here his, earned for each of his felled animals. In no time at all he was ready and closed in on the hunter group, who had easily managed to convince the trader. Rex was large enough, and with the light amount of hear he ad with him, would be quite the boon to the safety of the merchant as he traveled, while adding little to no weight to the total sum of his carriage.
"Well, hop on young man." signaled the middle aged merchant. "Ill be countin on ya muscle to pull us through any trouble."
"Aye sir." rex nodded as he placed his wrapped cloth on the carriage and took a seat next to the merchant.
"Thanks fellas. You know how to reach me." Rex waved the hunters off as the merchant urged his carriage on its way. While aware of the events last night, the middle aged man knew little of the villages inhabitants, nor did he care for their drama. He trusted the hunters more than the villagers, much to the same train of thought that Rex had expressed recently. And if the hunters vouched for the young man, who was he to refuse free help, making their travel much safer than he innitially would expect. And he would soon be trully gratefull he had done as he did, listening to the hunters request.
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As the carriage slowly strolled down the barely maintained dirt road, connecting the village with a few others, Rex had a slight smile on his face. 'Ha, the irony. To think that they would use a name of an egyptian sun god as an insult. hilarious.' he thought in his mind, though his focus was on their surroundings. They had traveled for about a couple hours, before the merchant suddenly asked.
"No offence kiddo, but were you not supposed to be mute or something?" he asked, a question that had been racking his mind for the duration of their journey, however short it was. He had heard some talks about the slow and simple fool on the outskirts of the village.
"And you believe everything that you hear sir?" Rex chuckled. "I simply dont like to waste words on fools too full of themselves."
"Heh" the merchant smiled at the comment "I suppose there is truth to that."
With that, the surroundings once again descended into silence, only the sound of the wheels sometimes bumping on something along the way, or an occasional neigh from the horse drawing the carriage. Some time later, Rex shot his head to the left side of the carriage as his eyes narrowed.
"We've got company incoming." he spoke as he gripped his spear in preperation of the incoming ambushers. He could also see some random wood pieces stacked on the 'road' ahead, blocking their advance further.
"I will interept the attackers. Looks like a goblin raiding party. Stick close to the carriage and dont get off." He ordered the merchant as he hopped of the nearly stopped cariage, having reached the roadblock. Just moments later, from the brushes emerbed a goblin, wearing some rags and a poor makeshit shield in its hand, as well as a rusted shiv in the other. Just mere moments later, the next one followed, and then the next, and the next after that.
Rex did not wait for the entire group to get out into the opening where they could use their numerical advantage, as small as they were, thus he shot forward arriving before the emerging goblins in just a few seconds, a time frame during which yet another, slightly fatter goblin got through. Unfortunately for said goblin, it was met with the business end of Rex spear, piercing its neck the moment it straightened up and tried to shrugg off the leaves that had stuck to it. The rest of the goblins, being teh coward that they were, did not try to intercept the charge, waiting for an opportunity to exploit the attackers openings, however little their simple brains could.
A spear stabbed into the flesh of their fellow boglin seemed like a perfect opportunity, as a couple of the goblins launched forward, only to be suprised by Rex's step forward, notching the spear on his hip, pulling it slightly backwards, allowing it to leave the now slumping body of the fat goblin, and with a sharp twist of his entire body, the spear was twisted along, brutally smashing into the two mugs of the rushing goblins. A loud smack resounded throughout the claering as the two were launched away in different dirrections. Two different thuds resounded, and a single gurgle and wailing followed, quickly silenced as Rex then dashed to the position of thewailing goblin, quickly piercing its heart, silencing the bastard.
Just moment after, he masterfully twirled his spear, deflecting a shoddy arrow that had flown in his dirrection. 'Even a goblin archer? So more than twenty little shits then. Good to know.' he quickly reasoned as he found a rock, the size of his fist, thathe picked up and infusing a small amount of mana into his arm, he flung it, aiming in the direction where he was shot at, having already discovered the the place where the little 'sniper' shit was hiding. A moment later, the sound of a rather loud crunch resounded, even as more goblins were shuffling through the brushes, though now in a more panicked and semi frenzied state.
Once again, Rex closed the distance, using every advantage that he had. The superior reach due to the choice of weapon, the supperior skill that he wielded the weapon with, masterfully redirecting the trajectories of his thrusts and slams with the spears bladed tip, riddling the goblins with injuries, the poor makeshif shield not fullfilling their role one bit. With his quick and masterfull actions, in only another ten minutes, the last of the attacking goblins fell under the relentless assault of his spear. Quickly scanning their surroundings, and finding that there were no other attackers around, he signalled to the merchant to start clearing the blockage, and another ten minutes or so later, with the assistance of Rex, they were once again on their way forward to their destination- the city of Valrun.