The immediate aftermath of me killing Wisgar was silent astonishment, all eyes were going between the scout’s body, and my own face. The double surprise of finding out that I was the target of the attack combined with me quickly silencing the man who had seen my face, and would have no doubt aided in locating me should we have let him free led to all the others having no words to say.
This was a very touchy subject, as I needed to clearly maintain my temporary authority for the moment, along with delivering a satisfactory explanation for my own background along with my actions at this moment. I sheathed my shortsword and took a deep breath to steady myself, many thoughts and emotions running through my mind, making it a tall order for me to think clearly.
I thought that it might be a good idea to come clean to the guys who I have fought with for many months, or in Castos’ case less time but he nevertheless proved himself a trustworthy person. This would have to wait however, until we got away far enough from here, as the absence of the two men who were searching for us and the horse which kept galloping along the road would eventually be found.
“I could not let Wisgar live since he has admitted that he is searching for me, any promises he might have made are not to be believed, this man is an enemy of Backhand Blow, not only because he was searching for me but also because they were after our Captain. There is no guarantee that should I give myself up you all would be spared, as only one of the two forces behind the encounter yesterday wanted me, the other was Duke Novak, and he wouldn’t take too kindly to us who were going to fight in a rebellion…” I began giving my explanation to my squadmates, hoping they could understand the real threat we were all facing.
“But he clearly said they just wanted you, are you some kind of criminal in Hessia?” Cameron asked accusingly, voicing thoughts that were no doubt on everyone’s mind.
“No, I have only ever been in Hessia with Backhand Blow, I have never done anything that would label me as a criminal there…but I am aware of a country that would seek to capture me, but not due to any criminal act” I paused, hoping my sincerity would be conveyed through my words.
“So which country is it? And why do they want to capture you?” Fisk asked, but with a much softer tone than Cameron.
“I’ll explain everything, but it will have to wait until later today, we must first butcher the horse and make ourselves scarce with whatever we might pilfer from these two” I answered, gesturing to the two bodies.
“Once that is done, we can leave and keep heading North-West, hopefully we should make our way out of Netsam in a few days, after which we can decide on what to do next” I explained, but did not order in an authoritative tone, phrasing it more as a suggestion.
The others didn’t immediately move, still unsure about how wise of a plan this was, and some no doubt would have wanted to just tie me up and deliver me to the searching forces, hoping for leniency due to their accomplishment. Everyone was darting glances back and forth, like in a Mexican standoff, awaiting the first move that would be made, either in support of my decision or something much less friendly.
Dorian, the one who I considered my closest friend these past few months moved, but not to the bodies, instead he moved to my side, and put his hand on the hilt of his sword, still in his scabbard. No words needed to be said, everyone understood now that if they wanted to take me it wouldn’t be a fight against one man, but one against two. Dorian’s actions spurred Castos to do the same, which was somewhat unexpected since he knew me the least amount of time. He mirrored Dorian’s actions but on my other side, now it was two who stood by my side.
Dorian’s and Castos’ actions were a tidal wave, which resulted in Fisk, Opie, and Edmund likewise making their way to where I stood, which only left Cameron and Kurt still challenging my authority, but the odds were no longer in their favor. They shared a long look, no words being spoken but the tension steadily rising the longer they remained without answer. I myself felt a bead of sweat go down my temple, before dripping audibly in the much-quieter forest on my armor, like a single raindrop.
When I was about to suggest that these two were free to head out on their own, Cameron broke his gaze with Kurt and laughed, which put me and the five who stood on my side on guard.
“I always thought there was more to you than what you said, your explanation better be worth dealing with not just one but two powerful nobles!” Joked Cameron, before moving to begin butchering the horse.
This task could be accomplished with just one person, but I gestured for Kurt to go help him, and sent the two Westmontian brothers to go help them. I was not looking for efficiency, I was looking for haste. The faster we could get out of here, the better. I myself went to the two dead men and began checking what they had in their possession.
Two money pouches were a welcome addition, the waterskin was already claimed from the horse saddle, but there was also some dry bread in the saddle bag as well. Castos had his eyes on the superior armor the two scouts wore, but I dispelled any thoughts that he should take him with a single hypothetical.
Should someone who recognized the emblem on this armor come across you, and find that you were not in service to Duke Novak, how do you think such an encounter would go down? This eliminated most pieces of armor except for the greaves and vambraces. Something Castos didn’t even wear, so I saw no issue with him taking them.
The other pieces of armor were taken off from the two corpses, and flung deep into the forest, in multiple directions. If a wild beast would come across the two corpses, I wanted it to have the freedom to eat as much of them as possible, without something metallic making the meal difficult.
Wisgar’s boots were claimed by Edmund who was growing out of the ones he was currently using, but Elric’s were even better quality than mine so I took them for myself, throwing my old pair far away to join the pieces of armor. Their clothes were torn where necessary, making a crude sack to carry the meat which was steadily being cut off from the horse. The swords were taken as well, they were slightly too long for infantry, but were still worth something to a blacksmith should we choose to sell them.
Dorian and Opie had no qualms about carrying the extra weight on their sword-belts, leaving nothing else of value that I could see with the two dead cavalrymen. It took a bit longer to divest the horse of any usable meat, but once that was done the saddle-bag and the sack made from the dead men’s clothes was filled up with many kilograms of meat, allowing us to continue on our path.
The smell of the meat was not exactly appetizing, but that could be solved once we cooked it up properly, although that might have to wait until the following day. For now I broke the pieces of bread in the saddle bag into even pieces, and gave them out among us hungry souls. We made decent progress in our walk through the forest, but conversation was almost non-existent due to the heavy weight of today’s events and newly acquired information.
I was thankful for Dorian who would occasionally give me a reassuring pat on the shoulder when I would begin to overthink things, my thoughts turning dangerous, planning ways to dispose of Cameron and Kurt pre-emptively. Whatever the two might think of me now, I owed it to them to explain why such a terrible thing had befallen the whole band, even if verifiable information was hard to come by.
As day was beginning to turn to night, we came across a sizable hole in the ground, next to an elevated patch of land. We were nowhere near a mountain range at the moment, so this kind of cave-like hole made me think that it was the lair of some slumbering beast, or that it was a man-made shelter for less savory members of society.
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I held up my hand, using a hunting gesture that Castos had taught all of us, which wordlessly conveyed the meaning of ‘stop and be quiet’. I closed my eyes, using my sorcery to check if there was any unusual movement of arcane power in the cave, but after three minutes of observation I couldn’t spot anything unusual.
I carefully began to move into the cave, telling the others to remain still while I checked what this place was. What I discovered was definitely a human dwelling, with some empty sacks and of a few straw beds littering the floor, and even a used torch secured to the wall of the cave deeper inside. There was no sign of recent inhabitants, leading me to believe that this was a bandit hideout at some point, but long abandoned by the looks of it. Animals and beasts made off with anything that was edible, although a few bones of unknown origin were stored in a pile in one of the corners.
Now that I knew that it was all safe, I went back outside at a normal walking speed, and told everyone to come inside as it was where we would be spending the night. Everyone walked inside cautiously, not entirely believing that things were safe, but this cave didn’t stretch too far in, it looked natural in places but unnatural in others. This was perhaps a smaller natural cave that had been expanded to make space for more things, to an naked eye at the very least.
Everyone wished to sit down, but they were waiting for me to post a look-out at the entrance before they were willing to sit. I said that it was not necessary for the moment, as I wanted everyone to be present for what I was about to tell them. This made everyone nervous, but also interested to hear what I could have done that set the Kingdom of Hessia onto me, not expecting the massive bombshell that I was about to drop onto them.
When everyone made themselves as comfortable as they could, in sitting positions on the cave floor or on the straw beds, I began by asking them if they heard of the events that happened in Jenusia more than one-and-a-half years ago. Cameron, Fisk, Kurt, and Castos replied in the positive, describing the news of ‘God’s Messengers’ that had graced the Jenusian Empire, with many a sermon proclaiming this as a great omen for all of humanity.
The five of us combined managed to give Dorian, Opie, and Edmund a shortened version of this, so that they would have some context when it came to what I was going to say next. I began by saying that I did not come from Euphelia, and that the place where I came from was very far away, more than they could even imagine. Trying to explain that every star we see in the sky is a sun, and that every planet, this one included, orbits around the sun and not the other way round was very difficult. I gave up on it once I was met with skepticism regarding the fact that the planet we were on now, was round and not flat.
All they would need to know was that I did not come from anywhere they have ever heard of, not speaking a language they have never heard of either. I was one of these ‘God’s Messengers’ summoned to Jenusia, along with over three hundred others, most of whom were similar in age to me. The Jenusian Emperor and his government kept a tight leash on us once we arrived, and it didn’t sit well with me to live by other’s plans the remainder of my life. When all of us were visiting the city of Volde for a celebration, the group I was traveling with was attacked by bandits.
Up to that point I was hiding my skills to an extent, and when I was met with this life-or-death situation, I chose to reveal my powers and fight off the bandits for my own safety and that of my friends. But I knew that once word got back to Krilos of my capabilities, I would be forced into playing the part of a Jenusian pawn, and decided to escape from the country entirely. After some unpleasant circumstances I found myself in Verorum, with very little money, and only my skills and knowledge at my disposal.
I thought the sound of steady employment with the prospect of not remaining in one place suited my needs, and Alula found me in front of the mercenary guild in that city, after which point I met everyone but Castos. Kurt, Fisk, and Cameron tried to poke holes in my story, and I replied honestly where I could, hoping that honesty was the best policy in this situation.
The others came in with questions here and there, some asking me if I truly spoke to the gods when I did my meditations, but I said categorically that never have I spoken to any gods, and that in my home world I was an ordinary student, not some blessed individual. I didn’t exactly feel blessed most of the time either… quite the opposite. The destruction of the vast majority of Backhand Blow was just the most recent in a series of troubles that had befallen me in life.
Kurt was the most skeptical of my whole tale, but he himself understood that his and Cameron’s homeland of Hessia was subservient to the giant to the West, so that would explain why Wisgar said that Hessia was looking for me. His last demand was for me to prove in some way that what I was saying was true, something he probably expected was impossible under present circumstances.
It was at this moment that I stuck out my finger, and after only a few seconds a small flame appeared, illuminating the now-dark cave, giving the location an esoteric feeling. The others were too focused on my finger, many not understanding what exactly was happening.
“Many who were summoned were tested in the Jenusian Magisterium for magical aptitude, and it was then that I found out that I was capable of sorcery. I didn’t pass my test intentionally, so I was not given any proper instruction in it, but that gave me a greater freedom of movement than those who passed…” I explained slowly, the others still focused on the flame on the tip of my finger.
“So you’re a sorcerer?” Asked Fisk, the first to stop being mesmerized.
“An untrained one I gue-” I began to answer, before Dorian interrupted.
“SO THAT’S WHY YOU CAN MOVE SO FAST! I SWEAR SOMETIMES I BEGAN TO THINK THAT YOU WEREN’T EVEN HUMAN WHEN WE SPAR” Dorian shouted, pointing a finger at my own.
The absurdity of the situation made something in my mind break, and I began to laugh the hardest I ever have in my entire life, the stress of the recent days finally oozing out. Everyone else joined in, even Kurt who must have found Dorian’s anger at my ‘cheating’ amusing, and after everyone settled down, I pushed a gust of wind at Dorian, who was staring my way in mock anger.
The others didn’t expect this, but I casually explained that wind sorcery was how I was able to move faster than normally, and that the Sylrift Swordmaster who trained me was using the same technique although subconsciously. This led to a tangent of me answering what I knew of the connection between swordsmanship and sorcery, answering that I didn’t know if all swordmasters were capable of sorcery, but the only one I have ever seen was.
I understood why they wanted to know, the idea of them being able to develop skills similar to my own must have appealed to them, just as it had to me all those months ago when I discovered I was capable of feats that went against my earthly logic. The discussion then turned to what I wanted to do, the others believing my tale in its entirety, and this question put me in a bind since I didn’t actually know that answer for sure.
“I don’t have a specific answer for you, but I can tell you what my vague feelings are regarding the future. I only want to be free and choose to live my own life, and not have that choice pushed upon me from above” I paused, the others nodding along with my sentiment. “But Jenusia doesn’t seem to want to let me go, I had seen a wanted notice for me in mercenary guilds, which used the name Leon, the name I went by among my friends from Earth. My actual name was Lev, but Leon was just the nickname which everyone else used for me, so in a sense you guys are the ones using my real name, not some alias.” I explained, which was met with smiles all around.
“If the Jenusians want to pick a fight with me, then I will most surely lose. I am just one man who has certain unusual talents, and the knowledge of my own world stored in my head. I suppose that I could head further East, try and run away from the watchful eye of Jenusia, but something tells me that no matter where I go, I will be living free on borrowed time…” I ended my answer, hoping the others could understand my feelings.
The others seemed happy that I had chosen to answer all of their questions, and divulge information which I had been keeping secret up to that point. The danger of them informing others of this was there, but so had the trust between myself and the others in my squad been strengthened. Castos in particular took it upon himself to empathize with me, explaining that he had chosen to become a mercenary for the relative freedom that came along with the dangerous profession.
Everyone else had an element of that when making this choice, and the others began sharing things that we didn’t know about one another in a night that was tumultuous, but was equally healing. Castos was the only one of us who wasn’t hiding anything about his background, he was very open with those who were open to him, and we all knew his background as a hunter who had to leave Fano Village due to there being too many hunters already.
Kurt, Edmund, and Opie had very similar backgrounds, coming from farming villages where they too took off to find their own way in the world, not due to any concerns of there being ‘too many mouths to feed’, but because they sought adventure and wealth.
Dorian had the most amusing story of all of us, he had fallen in love with a girl who lived in the same town as him in Yas, but she spurned his advances and chose to marry his best friend at the time instead. In a fit of rage, he almost decided to kill them both, but his father restrained him, and told him to go outside and calm his head. He left the house as ordered, but instead stole his father’s horse and ride South-East, which was how he ended up being recruited by Backhand Blow in Hessia.
Cameron was born into a village which sent many of their own men to work as bandits, bringing back the spoils to share among the village which was their home base in Hessia. When he grew old enough he didn’t think that it was a line of work which he wanted to continue in, and left them on good terms, joining up with the band much earlier than the rest of us.
Fisk was the most shocking, he explained that his family were merchants, and used to run a very successful merchant guild based in Jenusia. His family was originally from Westmont, but settled in Jenusia due to the larger market. Many years before I came to live in Krilos, he lived there too, but his father offended some noble who used his power and influence to ruin his father’s business, something the other guilds participated in.
When they went bankrupt, his father committed suicide, leaving his mother and Fisk alone and almost destitute. When he was fourteen his mother told him to leave her, as it was difficult for a widow to find another husband to take care of her, even more so when there was an existing child from a previous marriage. He understood his mother’s position, and thought he would be able to work in another guild with his great education and business acumen. His face and identity were known however, so no guild in Krilos or anywhere else in Jenusia would hire him, fearing ire from the Jenusian noble who his father had offended.
He chose to head east, hoping his fortunes would change when he left the country, and met Edmund and Opie who were having troubles speaking Rahlian in Western Euphelia. Since his family originally spoke Aswang just like the two brothers did, he helped them out, befriending them in the process. He was eventually convinced to join the mercenary band they served in, and that was how he ended up in Backhand Blow.
None of us slept at all that night, continuing our discussion in the dark until the darkness began to fade away, the skies outside turning orange-pink. The dawn brought with it a feeling of reassurance for all of us, we now knew one another much better, and as we left the cave to continue our journey, I truly believed that things would turn out alright.