- I've got to go, Churno. says Roderick as he slowly gets up from his seat
Roderick passes by the group of mercenaries, opens the door of the tavern, and exits it
- What's gotten into him? says Churno with confusion
[With Roderick]
{Roderick}
" Another war? It's only been five years since the last one! This is bad! Small villages like Ragseem that are close to the borders between the two kingdoms at war are always the first ones to get attacked. If a war is really coming, then we need to be ready and prepared."
[A little while later when Roderick finally arrives at his house]
Roderick opens the door of the house and enters it. Both Enzo and Leas dash toward him out of nowhere
- Really? says Roderick when he sees his two sons dashing towards him
Enzo jumps up, raises his wooden sword, and swings it down at his father but Roderick breaks the sword with his index finger. As for Leas, he goes for his father's left leg and swings his wooden sword at it but the wooden sword breaks as soon as it makes contact with Roderick's left leg
- For real!? says Enzo with anger when he lands back down and looks at his broken wooden sword
- I already told you that they would simply break. says Leas while looking at his wooden sword
- Are you two done messing around now? asks Yvelt who came out of the kitchen
- You knew they were going to do this? Roderick asks his wife with a smile
- How did you know? asks Yvelt with a sarcastic tone of voice alongside a smile
Roderick pats the head of his sons
- Now you two go sit down at the table. he says. I believe it's time to eat
The family sits down and starts to eat, however, Roderick seems to be preoccupied and Yvelt quickly notices it and addresses it
- Is everything ok, Roderick? asks Yvelt
Enzo and Leas both look at their father with curiosity
Roderick stares at Yvelt for a little bit then smiles
- It's nothing. he replies with a smile
[After they are done eating, in Roderick and Yvelt's room]
- I waited just like you wanted. says Yvelt. What is happening and why couldn't you say it in front of the boys?
- Before coming here, I was at Churno's tavern. says Roderick. And when I was there Churno told me that the army is currently recruiting.
- Are you saying that you want to-
- No. says Roderick before she finishes her phrase
Roderick sits down on their bed
- Why do you think that they started recruiting people all of a sudden? Roderick asks to Yvelt while staring into her eyes
Yvelt thinks for a bit then her eyes widen. She turns and looks at Roderick
- No way, right? she says with a smile of disbelief
Roderick nods
- A war is coming. says Roderick. I don't know when but a war is making its way toward us
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- Are you sure!? asks Yvelt with a raising tone. It's only been five years since the last one!
Roderick gets up and grabs Yvelt by the arms
- Calm down. he says calmly
- How can I stay calm!? We both know what happens to villages that are located near the borders like Ragseem. she replies. They are the first places to get attacked and the kingdom never does anything to protect small villages
- That's why we need to make sure that everyone in the village is ready. says Roderick firmly. Tomorrow, I will meet with the village chief and I will talk to him about what we should do
Yvelt closes her eyes and exhales
- You're right. she says. We need to stay calm and use our experience to make sure that nothing happens to this village
Roderick nods. He lets go of Yvelt and heads toward the door of their room
- Where are you going? asks Yvelt
- I need to make sure that my skills haven't gotten too rusty and bring them back to the level at which they were before. says Roderick as he gets out of the room
Yvelt nods and heads to the desk next to their bed. She sits down, opens a drawer, and takes out a pen and a piece of paper from it
- I can count on Roderick for the battle part but not so much when it comes to the strategical part. says Yvelt as she starts drawing the village of Ragseem. So, I'll take care of that part
[With Roderick who has been running through a forest for the past 2 hours]
- I am not as fast as I used to be. says Roderick with a frown. I don't even know how much time we've got left before the war starts.
Roderick stops when he sees multiple shadows moving around
- What's this? he mumbles
In front of him, a pile of bodies, puddles of blood, and bandits sitting around a fire that were celebrating the gains of their attack by drinking alcohol
- I guess that's one way to quickly sharpen my skills. he mumbles
A bandit gets up to pee and heads towards a tree. Roderick quickly comes out of the tree and quickly slashes the neck of a bandit before anybody sees him and drags the body into a bush
- What was that? says another bandit
- What are you talking about? asks another
- I just heard something. says the bandit who talked first
The other bandit hits him on the shoulder while laughing
- WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO SCARE, HUH!? says the second bandit. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
{Roderick}
" There are four of them left if I exclude the one I just killed. The problem is that I can't see their chief. Did they do this without their chief? That would mean that their hideout isn't too far from here. Looks like I've been getting complacent. I used to get rid of any bandits that would get near Ragseem but because they weren't coming near anymore I stopped patrolling around Ragseem these past 2 years."
- Isn't he taking too long? says the third bandit
- Maybe he went to take a dump too! says the fourth while laughing
The three other bandits start laughing as they continue to drink. All of a sudden, a knife flies through the fourth bandit's neck and lodges itself into the eyes of the first one
- GAAAAAAAAHHHH! yells the first bandit while hesitating to take out the knife
The two other bandits quickly get up but Roderick dashes at them and stabs the second one. He quickly takes out his sword and downward slashes the third one. He walks toward the first one who is rolling around in pain on the ground and finishes him off
- I need to find their hideout. says Roderick while taking out the fire
Roderick lowers himself and looks at the ground where he can clearly see the steps that the bandits took
- Luckily-
Roderick turns his head to the side and as he does so, the bushes next to Roderick start to make small movements.
- WHAT THE HELL!? yells a bandit who came back from a little excursion
- It seems like there is still someone to guide me to their hideout. finishes Roderick while getting up
[ A Few Moments Later In Front Of A Huge Barrier Made Of Wood]
Roderick arrives in front of the gate while dragging the bandit that he caught earlier
- How much time have you been here? asks Roderick as he looks at the barrier of wood
- It has been a year and a half since we settled here. answers the bandit while shaking
Upon taking a closer look at the bandit, it was pretty obvious that Roderick had subjected him to torture to get the answers that he wanted. The bandit has many small cuts which were obviously inflicted by a blade recently since blood was still coming out from them. He also has three missing fingers on his right hand and to finish it up, his left eye is missing.
- How many people are there in your whole group of bandits? asks Roderick after putting his hand on his sword hilt
- In total, I would say that there are at least 200 people in total. the bandits answer quickly
- I see. says Roderick. Thank you for your services. says Roderick while unsheathing his sword
- Hu-
Roderick cuts the head of the bandit clean off his neck and after doing so, he starts walking toward the door of the giant barrier of wood. Two bandits on top of the barrier made of wood notice Roderick
- WHO ARE YOU?! asks one of the bandits while yelling because of all the noise going on in the back
Roderick starts running toward the door
- What the hell? says the other bandit with a smile
- Is he drunk? asks the other bandit with a mocking tone
All of a sudden Roderick appears in the air and the second bandit's head goes flying. The blood of the second bandits splatters all over the face of the first one. The bandit falls on his ass and while trembling asks
- Who... WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?!?
- That's something you don't need to know. replies Roderick as he cuts of the head of the bandit
Roderick looks at the inside of the hideout and sees at least 300 bandits in there. He simply sighs
- This'll be a busy night. he says after sighing