Gerard returned as promised in less than twenty minutes, carrying a shirt and pair of pants neatly placed on a rack. Ethan noted he also had two pouches under his arm. The tailor put the pouches on the table and motioned Ethan to the rack, saying, “Please, try them on. And leave the stuff you have on now in the changing room. I will take care to burn it later on.”
Ethan chuckled and grabbed the clothes, making it to the room in question and shutting the curtain behind himself. He quickly dropped his pants and shirt in the corner and pulled the new articles on. I should have gotten some underpants as well, he thought.
Turning around and checking the new garments out in the mirror, Ethan marveled at the wonderful job Gerard had done in such a short time. The clothes fit him perfectly without being too tight or hanging, and he felt that, finally, he would fit in a lot easier with the people of Willow, even if he still towered over them. At least the bloodied barbarian look is gone. Damn, I look like some young master, Ethan thought, looking over the clothes the tailor had made.
Despite his initial reservations about wearing a pair of leather pants, he was glad that the tailor talked him into it, as they fit him just like his favorite jeans. After all, it is not weird if everyone is wearing them, he thought, checking out the beautiful white shirt and marveling at its softness.
Done with the initial inspection, he opened the curtain and said, “Mr. Gerard, you have outdone yourself. They are perfect.”
The man smiled and bowed slightly, saying, “I live to serve, Mr. Ethan. Now, I must say you do look like a nobleman on his finest day.”
Ethan blushed slightly, not used to the attention of people selling him clothes, and added, “There is just one thing I forgot to mention before. Em, how to say this? You do make some underpants as well, right?”
The man laughed and motioned toward one of the packs on the table and said, “That I do. I thought you might inquire about them, so I took it upon myself and put a pair together with the other things. They are on the house.”
Ethan smiled and shook his hand, “It is a pleasure doing business with you, Mr.Gerard. Tell me, do you have a shop in Veer as well?”
The man shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, I do not. Though my brother does, he and Alfie are friends, so Alfie might be able to introduce you. Has his shop right next to Alfie’s.”
Ethan nodded, “Thank you, I will see that I find him once I get to Veer. Now I must take my leave. Madam Elaine mentioned something about an early dinner, and I must admit - I am starving.”
Gerard gave Ethan a knowing smile and said, “No worries on my account, Mr.Ethan. See that you treat her to a fine meal. You certainly will be dressed for the part. It had been long before she made a new friend. And a guilder at that.”
Ethan nodded, as clueless as he was, and collected the two parcels on the table, saying his goodbyes and exiting the tailor’s shop back on the familiar market street. Once outside, his ears and nose were hit with smells and sounds of a Renaissance fare. Ethan closed his eyes for a moment and basked in the cacophony of sounds made by civilization.
Just as Ethan was about to turn to the left, to make his way back to the inn he came from, the hubbub of the market was interrupted by a scream. His ears perked up as he listened to the cries coming from around a corner where he stood.
Ethan remembered how similar sounds came from the clearing next to the castle, and he was powerless to do anything then. The hooded figures outnumbered him one to too many. So he took off in a run, storing his purchases in his storage space. Then, making his way through a crowd of onlookers, some angrily elbowing him for his troubles, Ethan found where the sound was coming from.
As Ethan approached the square, his heart raced at sight before him. A chaotic scene unfolded, with a carriage that must have belonged to some noble surrounded by a vicious gang of bandits. The air was thick with tension and fear as he noticed two women inside the carriage crying for help. Ethan noted that no horses, coachmen, or even guards were around to pull the carriage away and rescue them.
Ethan counted around eight bandits, a motley crew dressed in tattered clothing and wielding rusty swords and crude axes. Their faces were twisted in savage grins, eager to plunder the rich spoils that awaited them inside the vehicle. Yet, Ethan could see the glint of greed in their eyes as they closed in on their prey.
The market square was a bustling activity hub, with vendors hawking their wares and shoppers jostling for space. But now, all eyes were fixed on the unfolding drama before them. Ethan felt anger bubble inside him as he realized the gravity of the situation and that no one was moving on to help the pair of women.
“What the hell are you standing around for?” Ethan asked the nearby onlookers, seeing that everyone was fixated on the scene and waiting to see how it would play out.
All the while, the ladies were huddled inside, their faces pale with terror, crying for help. Ethan could see the beads of sweat on their foreheads as they clung to each other for comfort.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Seeing that no one was planning to do anything, Ethan conjured his sword, making the people in his nearby vicinity back away, and advanced. Meanwhile, a bandit leaning inside the carriage barked, “C’mon now, ladies, Victor has some unfulfilled needs. Hurry up! What is the hold-up? Come out now!”
Just as the man leaned back and was about to chop into the carriage door using the axe in his hand, Ethan jumped high up and flew, landing a kick straight to the bandit’s jaw, despite the other men surrounding him. The kick pushed the man’s head straight into the carriage’s door, knocking him out cold.
Landing in the bandit’s place and shoving him out of the way, Ethan looked in the carriage momentarily and noted a couple of young women peering at him with tearful eyes. Then, he turned around and ducked, just in time, avoiding a swing from one of the men wielding a large wooden club aimed at his head.
He swiped at the man’s legs in an awkward kick and knocked him off his feet, jumping right up to take his place. Just as he was about to advance to the next bandit, one of them grabbed him by his new shirt and ripped it right off, revealing his tattooed back.
The women behind him gasped, but Ethan did not pay them much mind and counted that he had six more foes to beat. The bandits sized him up, looking at his towering figure and then at their downed comrades.
Ethan smiled and asked, “Now, lads. What do you say? Run along and call it a day?Or do we have a little scrap before you go? Up to you.”
The bandits looked at him for a moment and scrambled to collect their defeated comrades. Then, just as they were leaving, one of them, a middle-aged man with a scar under his lip, said with venom in his voice, “Victor will not forget this, you barbarian. Just wait. We will find you soon enough."
Ethan nodded to him and responded, smiling, “That's just all right with me. See that you do.” Then the men pulled back and vanished, walking quickly through the parting crowd of onlookers.
Ethan looked around and bellowed to the crowd of onlookers, “That is it, folks. The show is over. Thank you for no help whatsoever.” The people murmured something and started dispersing, some throwing Ethan unkind gestures as he waited for them to leave. Then he turned around to face the two ladies, surprised to see they had stopped crying and just stared at him.
“Um, sorry? Are you all right?” he asked awkwardly, noticing that he was still naked at the top, his shirt ripped off. The women looked at each other, and Ethan seized the chance to pull a shirt from his storage space and quickly equip it. Then, they turned their gazes back on him in sync, shock apparent at his lack of shirt being rectified.
“Emm, hello. Thank you for saving us from those vile men when no one else would,” the one with blonde hair and bright blue expressive eyes said. Ethan noticed her delicate nose, narrow jawline, and high cheekbones and thought, That sure looks like a noble.
The other girl added quickly, “I am Lady Alice Darcey, and this is Lady Claire Shelford from Veer. Might we have your name, kind sir?” Ethan saw that she was a stark contrast to the blonde Claire and had dark brown hair and eyes, giving him a sultry look, having regained her confidence a lot quicker than the first girl.
Ethan blinked at the formal speech they were using and said, “Emm, Ethan. Ethan Jorgeson.” He approached the carriage and offered his hand for an awkward shake, the women accepting it. Once introductions were done, he peered inside and noted that the floor was littered with empty wine bottles, and the women smelled slightly of strawberry-themed alcohol.
“What happened?” he asked, looking at the women and the carriage.
“A usual act of thievery, as you can see. We visited Willow and got some pillows before the craziness of the ball took over and met some bandits. Those uncultured vultures, the lot of them,” Alice said and angrily kicked the empty bottles.
Claire put a calming hand on her shoulder and shook her head, gazing back at Ethan. “Mr. Jorgeson,” she began, “would you mind me asking - are you a guilder?”
Ethan nodded and said, “Just so. Sorry that I barged in like that. I thought the guard would take care of things, but alas…” He looked around and saw that the people had returned to their haggling, and no one was paying them any mind.
“Do you always travel alone? Or is there a guard or something?” he asked, turning back to them.
“No, there is our butler, Benson, the useless thing. Went off to the place selling the nicest pillows we wanted to get. It is a damn shame they are sold out constantly in Veer, and we had to visit this excuse of a town,” Alice said, peering around to the sides.
Claire butted in, asking, “Ethan, may I call you that?” He nodded in confirmation. “If you are a guilder, your team must be somewhere around, right? Maybe you would escort us back to Veer?”
Ethan shook his head, “No, we were separated in the forest and agreed to meet back there. I am waiting for the caravan to leave tomorrow and be on my way.”
“Oh, same us then,” Claire confirmed. “You would not mind traveling with us?”
Ethan looked at the expectant gaze and scratched the back of his head, “Em, I would not. But I have an arrangement today. Besides, what about your butler? And the horses?”
“The what? Horses?” Claire asked, a dumbfounded look on her face.
“Well, yes,” Ethan confirmed. “What or who is going to pull the carriage otherwise?
Claire chuckled and said, ”It is a Landau carriage. It drives itself and is well protected. So no one can catch up to it when we go at full speed. Unless we ran out of acme tokens, that is.”
Ethan raised his eyebrows, “No horses? Seriously?”
Claire laughed and said, “What are horses? You are not from these parts, are you?” Their exchange was interrupted by a yell coming from across the square. “Oj! You!” A gang of thirty or so people, carrying various swords, clubs, and daggers, started walking toward the carriage.
“Yes, you. You huge fuck. What the hell did you do to my brother?”
Ethan eyed the man noting a stark resemblance to the one he had knocked out a moment prior with a kick to the face. Then he noticed the small crowd of angry friends he had brought with him and turned around to face the ladies once more.
“Ladies, it looks like I might take you up on your offer after all,” he said, jumping in the carriage.