Nathan and Arielle then left the attic. They decided to head home right away and let Grandpa know what they heard. It was around noon and the autumn sun was right above their heads. Nathan walked in the front with Arielle in the back. Nathan felt guilty and he kept blaming himself for his mother's death. "If only I hadn't run to mom, she wouldn't have died," he thought, as the night's events replayed endlessly in his mind. "Moreover, if I just let the green-haired bandit kill me, many children would have been spared."
Arielle was also reminded of that night; of how her grandmother had chased after Nathan, of how her father had rushed toward them, and of how Maya had carried an unconscious Nathan back.
Arielle asked, "Were you there when those knights killed Mom and Grandma?"
"Yes, I was." Nathan responded, his heart feeling as though it had been struck by a hammer. "I am sorry, if only I hadn't run away…"
Arielle swiftly moved in front of Nathan, interrupting him by placing a hand over his mouth and holding up an index finger to signal silence, just as Nathan had done in the attic. Her golden hair shone under the bright midday sun and swayed gently in the breeze as she smiled and said, "I am glad you're ok, Nathan."
Arielle's smile stroke Nathan as his guilt turned into determination. "My younger siblings need me. I can't keep getting depressed," he thought, nodding to Arielle.
Arielle held hands with Nathan as they walked home. Arielle regretted letting go of Nathan that night. She knew that if their father had arrived a second later, Nathan would have joined her mother and grandmother.
Nathan and Arielle walked back home under the midday sun, holding hands with each other. When they got home, they prudently shared with Grandpa what they learned. In summary, Ana and Emily were killed by knights disguised as bandits. Their mission was to kill Ana and other selected targets, who were identified as demons. Their next objective was to kill the children on their journey so that they could kill Nathan. There was also a knight who was making sure no one left the village. Nathan pointed out on a map to Grandpa where the knights and bandits would strike.
"George, huh? Gray hair, Onyx eyes, tanned and forties." Patrick quietly seared their nemesis' information into his memory.
"Thanks Nathan and Arielle. Well done." said Patrick as he examined the map, impressed by his grandchildren. "You really saved us all."
"What should we do Grandpa?" Arielle said with a sense of urgency.
"We're leaving tonight." Patrick said decisively. "I will go ask Harold and Maya to come with us." Then, Patrick looked at Ashley and said, "Behave while grandpa go out for a minute, ok?"
"Ok!" Ashley answered obediently, she had always been timid, unlike Arielle.
"What will happen to the rest of the villagers?" Nathan asked with concern.
"Unfortunately, knowing them, many of them will die; and if not for the two of you, we would have died too." Patrick commented. This was a tight-knit village with strong bonds. He knew that the villagers would definitely try to save the children if they were attacked. Knowing that, the outcome was clear. "Moreover, we cannot hope to defeat the silver armored knight with your father and Harold injured."
In the minds of Nathan and Arielle, their friends' faces flashed. However, Nathan and Arielle could now understand that life can be lost, even Ashley had a good idea that Mom would never come back because of death. They said nothing else. Patrick noticed that they were no longer naive children. Yet, it was not something to be celebrated. If possible, Patrick would have wanted his grandchildren to remain naive for as long as possible, enjoying their childhood.
"The two of you, eat a sandwich and then go looting. Come back by 6pm ok?" Patrick said as he looked toward Nathan and Arielle. "We really need the money." This was another thing that Patrick rather not having the children doing. However, he had no choice.
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"Ok Grandpa." The children responded.
"Grandpa, I have an idea. Let me try it real quick. Follow me," Nathan said as he went to the backyard with Arielle and Patrick following. He climbed up onto a tree-house made by Jonathan using a rope ladder. Standing on the roof of the tree-house, he could see most of the village. All buildings were inside the circular village wall. The town hall was located in the middle of the village, and was a twenty-minute walk away from both the east and west gates. Nathan's home was at the northeast side, between the town hall and the east gate.
"Appraisal." Nathan then began examining the nearby houses and land. "Grandpa, I can use Appraisal on most of the houses in the village, but not those near the west gate."
"Nice. How much time do you need for the furthest house?" Patrick asked, looking amazed.
"Give me a minute." Nathan answered.
"From the looks of it, I might need several minutes for the furthest ones, but I only needed about 5 seconds for your house. However, I can only see the total value of what's inside the buildings, but not what or where the individual valuables are." Nathan said while looking at the hologram generated by the Appraisal spell.
"That is fine. To be able to cast it on buildings so far away is already a feat in itself. Arielle and I can go on-site and treasure hunt with our Appraisals." Patrick responded.
"Oh, Grandpa, you're so poor," Nathan commented as he looked at the Appraisal results.
"Haha, Grandpa is poor." said Ashley as Arielle also laughed.
"Grandpa isn't poor. I just moved all of the valuables into the wagon. I was packing up this morning." Patrick explained. Even though he was getting laughed at, a part of him was glad that the girls could still laugh. "Would you mark down which houses we should visit on a map?"
"Got it Grandpa!" said Nathan.
"Come back down and eat first." Patrick said.
"Inherited Passive Skill: Hawkeye. It seems that he inherited my Night Vision too." Patrick thought as he went back to the house for a map. "Such a nice combination with Appraisal."
Then, Patrick went out to talk with Maya while Nathan and Arielle prepared lunch. Patrick and Maya decided to meet up at 10pm and leave the village at 12am tonight. Patrick came back very soon after to have lunch with the children. It was 1pm afternoon when they finished lunch. After which, Nathan started working on Appraisal while Patrick and Arielle went out and loot the houses with the most cash and jewelry. They finished at around 5pm. Arielle learned a lot from Patrick about looting.
"We're rich!" Arielle said, exhilarated.
"Yes, this is very efficient. We have enough money to buy around three apartments in the capital now." Patrick was also excited. "Ok, now, let's have dinner."
Meanwhile, Ashley was busy taking care of Henry as Patrick, Nathan, and Arielle worked outside. She was not very good at putting Henry to sleep. So, the toddler had his afternoon nap later than usual and was napping now. Nathan was enervated from using Appraisal for three hours straight, so he was napping at the sofa when Arielle and Patrick returned. Arielle prepared dinner with Ashley while Patrick tended to Jonathan.
"Your fever is finally starting to come down." Patrick said gladly. "But you still need to rest."
Jonathan nodded, Patrick's herbal medicine and paste had antibiotic, painkilling and sedating effects. He went back to his bed to rest after he used the bathroom.
The family had chicken and vegetable congee for dinner.
"I never thought Russell would be so wealthy." Patrick said, dumbfounded. "His clothes were always in tatters and he lived in such a worn down house too."
"Grandpa, do you mean that green house with the door that fell down when I pushed it?" Arielle asked, she was very surprised by the door.
"No. I think Grandpa meant the house which lawn was never maintained and even had a snake inside." Nathan said, he was astonished by the value of the snake shown by Appraisal.
"No, it was the house with a fallen tree on it," Patrick said, he was still astounded by the fact that the house was standing.
"Oh that one." Arielle said, unimpressed by Grandpa's answer. "Yes, but he wasn't the wealthiest."
"Right, but for someone like that, I thought he would be penniless." Patrick tried to make his point.
After a day of successful looting, the family's conversations grew more lively.
After dinner, Ashley played with Henry while Nathan and Arielle packed up the utensils, kitchenware and the rest of the luggage while Patrick prepared the wagon.
Patrick readied two horses and a wagon for transportation. The covered wagon, of very high quality, was taken from a merchant who had passed away in the raid. It was 15 feet long, featuring 3 pairs of wheels installed with premium shock absorbers. The front bottom trunk of the wagon had a freezer, which stored food for the family. Most luggage were put in the front of the wagon on top of the freezer. In the back, Patrick prepared two folding bunk beds on each side of the wagon, totaling four beds. Then, he put Henry's crib in the middle of the four beds and stabilized it with ropes.
"Let's see... Clothes, diapers, toilet paper, soap, tooth brush, bath towels, food, toys, essential tools, spare wagon parts, a water barrel…" Patrick was double checking the check list.
"Don't forget the money and the jewels." said Arielle. She seemed proud to have looted so much money together with her Grandpa.
"Yes, of course. You did very well today Arielle. Thank you for helping me out," Patrick patted Arielle's head with a smile.