Chapter 6

I slept soundly that night, no dreams to disturb me. I woke up early. I still needed to talk to the guards of the city about the goblins and bandits we had run into a few nights ago. I hoped that they would take the ears that I had collected off my hands for a small reward. If not I would have to wait till we got to a city with an adventurers guild and turn them in there. I rolled out of my makeshift bed and told Sora that I was going to head out for a bit to finish off a couple errands that we hadn’t had time to take care of the day before. She said that she would wait at the Inn until I returned. She wanted to enjoy one more bath before we would spend over a week in the wild before we made it to our destination. I left her alone to do as she liked. I made my way down the stairs. I found the Innkeeper and asked if he could tell me where the guards were located. The guard station was located in the center of town and we had apparently passed right by it on our way back the day before. I made my way through town taking in the morning air and just enjoying being in a friendly place. Without all of the worries I had left in my wake back in Lancia. I assumed they would be looking for me but I figured they would mostly think I had stayed in the city. Perhaps I had joined one of the gangs that controlled the city's underground. Even if they thought I had made it out of the city they wouldn't think an orphan with nothing would survive long in the forest. They would think I was already dead at worst so I wasn't too worried about news of what I had done reaching this far out. At least not this soon after the murder was committed. No one would think I could survive out here. I would prove them wrong.

I walked into the guard shack and asked if I could speak to the captain of the guard. They asked what this had to do with. I said “ I have some information about some attacks that happened between here and Lancia.” The guard said. “Alright I’ll tell the captain you’re here but it's up to him if he wants to see you and if he says you need to go then you have to go.” I said “Understood I don’t want to cause your captain any trouble.” The man walked away into a room in the back of the building. He came back in a few minutes and he said, “ The captain will see you. He is interested in what you have to say.” I followed the man into the back room. In the room sat a man. He looked about middle aged. He had a well kept beard and looked rather serious. “ So, you're the one that wants to talk to me?” The captain asked. I said “ Yes, that's me. I think I have some information you may be interested in.” He waved his hand to send the guard away. “ Alright then let's hear what you have to say.” I told him the story of coming across the goblins in the woods that had captured Sora. I also told him of the massacre of the merchants in the woods and finally about the last group of goblins we had seen around our campfire and killed. He listened quietly, not showing too much of what he was feeling on his face. He did however seem troubled by all that I had told him. He said “ Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I can give you a small reward for the goblins you killed there is a standing order from the adventures guild to pay a bounty on any monster slain. Whether it was by an adventurer or not. It will be less than you could have gotten in the Capital but it's what we are allotted to give.” He gave me one bronze coin and five copper coins. “ The bronze is for the big one you killed and it is a copper apiece for the others.” It wasn't much but it was more than I had expected to get. “One last thing before you go. I would ask that if you go into any other small towns along your way and even when you make it to the Capital that you tell them what happened out here. So that they may become aware that the danger is even out here not that far from the Capital or the City of Lancia.” He said. I told him that I would pass on this warning to any towns I came across and would tell the authorities in the capital about the bandit and monster activity. He thanked me and then I left the office.

I started walking back towards the Inn and thinking about any other preparations that we may need to make for our journey. I made it back to the Inn. Sora was sitting in the dining room eating breakfast. I made my way over to her table to join her. The maid came over and set down a plate of food for me. We ate our meal and decided it was time we got our things together and started out on our trip to the capital. We went up stairs and packed up our bags. We put on our new weapons and armor, threw our packs over our shoulders, and made our way towards the door. I found the Innkeeper and told him that we would not be staying another night. He said that was fine and that we were paid up for our rooms and meals so we were free to go. With that settled we headed for the door. We made our way outside and headed towards the gate at the other end of the city. We were making our way towards the capital. It was mostly plains with a few forested areas in between here and the Capital. It would take us about two weeks to make it to the Capital from here as long as we didn't have the same kind of troubles that had plagued us on our previous journey.

We made our way through the gates. Just like in Lancia it is easier getting out then getting in. The guards waved us through and we were on our way. It was a long journey but I wanted to put a little distance between myself and my past crimes. It didn't seem like anyone was looking for me but I didn't want to press my luck. We walked in a companionable silence. The pleasant scenery and the nice weather made for a pretty nice walk. The roads close to town were pretty well kept up. The farther we got away from town the worse the roads would get until we got closer to another town. All roads close to the capital were well cared for but we were far away from there. We stopped at about midday. It was time to make some lunch before we continued on. Jacqueline had set us up with a lot of trail rations. She also packed some meat, fresh fruit and vegetables along with oatmeal and flour for when we found a place to camp for the night. It would make the long days travel more bearable knowing we could look forward to a decent meal every night. We each took out some of the rations. It was basically a hard cracker that stayed good for a long time. It wasn’t great but it beat being hungry. We also each ate an apple as a supplement for the cracker. Just eating the crackers would get old so we wanted to have a little variety while we could.

After we finished up our little meal we started back on the trail. We had passed a couple of other travelers going towards town. We had also been passed by a merchant traveling towards the Capital. It was a nice change seeing other people on the road. One step at a time we made our way closer to our goal. We talked about joining the adventurers guild and maybe finding trainers to teach us more about our weapons so that our new life adventuring would not be cut too short. The life of an adventurer was hard, but with decent equipment and some proper training we should be able to make our own way in the guild. We continued on until the sun started to dip below the horizon. It was time to set up camp and start a fire so that we could cook our supper. We decided to split up the chores. She would set up our tent and sleeping rolls. While I would collect firewood and get started on cooking the food. We had some pork that had been salted to protect it from spoiling. I cut out a few hucks and seared it in our new pan. I threw in some carrots and potatoes to add a little variety and took out a loaf of bread to cut chunks out of it to pair with our meal. Sora came over and sat across from me by the fire while I finished cooking. When it was done I scooped out equal portions onto plates. We tucked into our meal with gusto. It was pretty good, not as good as the food at the Inn had been but still better than what I thought I would be able to put together.

We finished our meal and chatted about the day's travel. She agreed that it was pleasant that there were other people traveling the same road as us and the road being maintained really helped with the walking. We decided that early tomorrow morning we would practice with our new weapons. Neither of us was well versed in combat so we needed the practice. We needed to be ready in case more trouble awaited us farther down the road. There was little we could teach each other about using our weapons, but at least we could get a feel for them. With the plan for tomorrow settled we talked for a while and then climbed into our sleeping rolls. I laid there thinking about where my life had led and what I was going to do with it. I had come from nothing and now I had a chance to be something more. To lead a life of adventure. With these thoughts I drifted off to sleep.

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The darkness surrounded me. I was in the void. I couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything. I could vaguely remember seeing something like this before. I then felt a presence press down on me. I had felt this before I was sure of it. That was when the red eyes appeared. Everything slid into place. I had seen this before. I had this very dream a couple nights ago. This time it was different. A rumbling voice sounded out from the void “ So you can finally hear me. I have wanted to speak with you ever since you picked up the necklace. I am trapped in the necklace you see and my hope is that with time you may be able to help release me.” I could barely muster up the courage to reply but I said “ I don’t want anything to do with releasing something that was trapped away in a necklace. When something is imprisoned there is usually a good reason.” The voice replied “ Don’t be that way. I can offer you power in exchange for my freedom and don’t act like you are innocent. I have seen in your memories what you are capable of. You didn't care much for Sloan when you killed him in exchange for your own freedom.” That I could not dispute. I had killed him with no thought to his life. All I could think of was my own freedom. “Be that as it may. I did that for my own sake and I care nothing for you. You say you are a prisoner of the necklace then should I not just throw the thing away and be rid of you?” I asked pointedly. “No, you can’t. I need your help to get out of here. If you help me then I will. Help you. Think about it if you want. I’m out of time for tonight. I will visit you in a dream when I have regained some of my strength. It may take a while. Communicating like this is very taxing on my power. I can't even reveal my true form to you. Think it over if you must Alex of Lancia. I will await your answer.” With that the voice disappeared.

I slept the rest of the night without disturbance. I woke up when the sun hit my eyes and I could still remember what had been said by the thing in the darkness. I didn’t know if I would take it up on its offer but the promise of power did seem tempting to me. I would consider all of my options for now. I didn’t want to rush into helping some evil mister escape. If I could learn more of its motivations I might have an easier time deciding. We got up from our beds and Sora said she would cook breakfast if I would put away all of the camping gear. I agreed and started tearing down camp. I had decided to keep my dream to myself. She didn’t need to know about that at this time. If I knew I could trust her I would tell her but until that time it would remain a secret. We ate our breakfast of oatmeal with some fruit mixed in for flavor. After we were done we finished packing up and then it was time to try out our new weapons.

We stood across from one another about ten feet apart. We both had our swords drawn. We came at each other slowly. We didn’t want any injuries so we just touched the blades together at less than half speed. We looked like flailing fish. Neither of us had any combat training. After an hour of touching our swords together we had a better understanding of our weapons and decided that it was enough for today but we needed to make this a part of our daily routine in the hopes we would improve somewhat. We sheathed our swords and slung our packs over our shoulders. We headed down the road the way we had been going yesterday. While walking we talked about our sword practice if it could even be called that. We walked along and a few times we got passed by merchants on horse drawn carts. There weren’t any people traveling the other way today it seemed. Today went much the same as the day before. We stopped at noon to eat a light lunch. We talked a bit while we ate, neither of us comfortable enough with the other to reveal much about our past. She knew I was from Lancia and I knew she was from Sakura but other than that I had only told her I was an orphan and hadn’t had the best childhood. She had reciprocated by telling me a little about being a lesser noble and about the structure of the Sakura Empire. It was led by a Kitsune all of whom are female. They were the only Empire I knew of that was led by an Empress instead of a King or Emperor. I didn’t understand much about the beast-kin. All I really knew was that they existed and pretty much nothing else. I had lived a very sheltered life in the Church. Much of the information that would be considered common knowledge I had no idea about. Sora wouldn’t share much information though. It seemed that her trust in me was equal to mine in her. Which is to say almost nonexistent. I’d have her back in a fight and would help if she needed me to but I wasn’t going to spread my secrets and I didn’t expect her to either. We kept walking until it was almost dark out. It was time to set up camp again and see about getting some supper cooking. I helped Sora set up our tent and sleeping rolls were set back off the road in a clump of trees. The hope was that if someone came along they wouldn't see the fire and would just keep going. We made a pot of vegetable soup. We wanted to conserve what meat we had to last us until we could make it to another town. With the soup we had some of our hard crackers to fill out the meal.It wasn't long after we finished our meal that we decided to turn in for the night. I didn’t expect to be visited by the being in the darkness tonight so I layed down and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. I woke up with a start. Sora woke me up by shaking my arm. She held a hand over my mouth and made a shushing gesture. She leaned in and whispered “ I hear something out there.” I strained my ears and could hear dog-like noises coming from not far away.She said “The smell of food must have lured them in.” “What are they?” I asked with concern in my voice. She said “Kobolds I think. Small reptilian creatures that smell and sound like dogs. I’ve read about them in books. They usually stay underground. It's very strange that they appeared in a place like this. With my keener sense of smell and hearing they woke me up. We should sneak out of our tent and set up an ambush for them.” I agreed and we slipped out of our tent and tried to make our way silently through the trees where the Kobolds were.

We made it to a little clearing where a group of what looked like toddler sized lizards were standing. There were six of them. They each held a little spear and had a knife at their waist. We decided to split up. We would come in from opposite sides in a hole to take them by surprise. We each readied our swords. We decided that Sora would give the signal when we were going to attack. She walked around to her side of the clearing, keeping well hidden. She made the sound of an owl hooting which I took as my cue and I jumped out. The kobolds were clearly surprised. Though they looked like they were used to working as a group. All six of them approached me. They had not seen Sora coming from the rear; that was good we would use that to our advantage. I moved in on the one closest to me with my sword raised. I swung my sword in a wide arc but was deflected by two other kobolds moving in to shield their companion. This was going to be more difficult than I had anticipated. They grouped up on me and jabbed their spears in my direction. I barely managed to dodge the multiple strikes. That was when Sora made her move, snuck up behind the kobold that was farthest away from me and stabbed him straight through the back. It was dead instantly. The shock of that took some of the attention off of me and I was able to kill one of the kobolds that had been attacking me. The kobolds split into pairs with two coming for each of us. With the number dwindled down and their number advantage gone we traded blows with them. The two before me tried to rush me with their spears and take me out in one go. I rolled to the side avoiding the strike and came off the ground and tackled one of them. Once I had my substantially bigger body on top of the kobold I took my dagger out and stabbed the monster right through its tiny brain. The one that I had left to fight came at me again with its spear. This time I wasn't quick enough to avoid the spear thrust and it nicked me on the leg. It was just a glancing blow so it was nothing to worry about. We had bandages in our packs so I could be fixed up whenever we were done with the fight. Sora was having better luck then I had. She was deftly avoiding every strike while making little cuts of her own. It was like they couldn’t even touch her. She slowly whittled them down till they could no longer fight back and then she put them out of their misery. We met up after we were done with our respective battles and congratulated each other on a job well done. We had both learned a lot from this fight. She learned that it was better for her to dodge around an attacker and get in slight wounds tiring them out then it was going for flashy kills like I had. She had managed to avoid injury all together while I had received a minor wound to the leg. We collect the tails of the kobolds to take in as proof of our kills. We used the monsters on bags to carry those in to not dirty our own. When we got back to camp Sora offered to clean and bandage my wound. I agreed to let her help me and after that was taken care of we decided we would go back to sleep. We doubted anyone or anything would approach after the slaughter we had administered to the kobolds not too far away. We relished in our victory and with the thought of days to come I drifted off to sleep.