JAIME FONTOYA

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While everyone was distracted from the roasting boar, I noticed Hanzo, Yumi, and Toya slip away. I suspected that they had more bows and possibly more equipment.

I excused myself, shutting off my gates and trailing them. They were wary, always looking back to make sure they weren’t being followed. They walked in circles, trying to throw off anyone before heading into the storage building.

I hid behind the hut across and waited until they rushed out. They didn’t have their bows and arrows either so they must’ve stored them in there.

I went into the storage building, which was used to store all their wheat and food. I rummaged around but found no bows or arrows.

They must’ve hidden it!

Of course. Why would they just leave it behind and risk us stumbling upon it?

I lifted up a latch I noticed on the floor. The trap door led to a cellar underneath the storage building. But instead of a wine room or pantry, the cellar was an armoury.

There were spears. Not sticks with a sharpened end. Actual spears made of fine-crafted wood and spearheads made of cold-rolled steel. There were numerous pieces of equipment—helms, chest pieces, and shoulder pads. There were well-made bows and a thousand arrows. War hammers, maces, flails, even pistols and dozens of boxes of ammunition.

Woah! Why are they hiding this? We can easily higher our chances of beating the bandits if we have these.

The other sentinels need to know about this.

I returned the storage room to the way it was and headed back to the middle of the village. The woodcutters were back by this point and were waiting for the roasted pig to be served.

“Is it true that you killed that thing?” Mondatta asked when she noticed me. “It’s three times bigger than you.”

“Yeah, with this sword.”

“Ha! That’s impressive.”

Once the pig was roasted, I picked out the kidney and a handful of meat with crispy skin just like Roxanne suggested. The kidney had a strong earthy flavour and didn’t taste anything like bacon. I switched it with Roxanne for more meat. She devoured the kidney like it was nothing and even Roxy was begging her sister for a piece.

Do they actually think roasted kidney is a delicacy?

The seven of us sat in a circle a good distance from the rest of the village. We surrounded a fire that kept us warm from the rising night.

“How’s the timber collecting going?” Ilias asked.

“Surprisingly, we’re moving at a good pace,” Tony said. “The villagers work harder when we’re there. We’ll have everything we need in a week. Less if we work faster.”

“The problem is moving the timber back here,” Mondatta mentioned. “If we pair up the villagers and have them carry logs back here, it’ll take an entire day.”

“Half a day,” Ilias said. “I can help. I have a spell a friend taught me—Stone Free. They’re earth hands that can do most of the heavy lifting.”

“We’ll split up the logs in the village and separate them so it’s easier to build the walls.”

“Enough about us. You were reading the entire day,” Mondatta mentioned. “You found anything useful?”

Ilias shook his head. “Not any that we haven’t thought of yet.”

“Anything, though?”

“Throwing rocks down the walls would be good, but we don’t have enough time to build battlements along the perimeter. And we’re digging trenches to prevent them from riding up to the walls in the first place.”

“Our plan is to let them through a chokepoint from the main road.” Mondatta pointed at where the chokepoint would be “We can build battlements there and throw rocks.”

“There was also a story about how the defenders of a city snuck out through the sewers and attacked the attackers from behind. So with the combined efforts of the defenders on the walls and the ones that snuck out, they managed to win a losing battle.

“But this place has no sewers.” Mondatta crunched down on the crispy skin. “And there’s no time to dig tunnels. Especially since we’re already building a wall and digging a trench that we’re filling up with water.”

“We also have to train the farmers how to fight,” Roxanne reminded. “Anyone can use a spear, but not everyone has the spirit to use it.”

“Hey, Boss,” Tony said. “When are we going to start training the villagers?”

Askeladd swallowed what he was chewing. “Once the wall is built. I know we’re losing a lot of time, but we need as many men as possible chopping wood, building the walls, and digging the trenches.”

“That makes sense, but it does scare me that we’ll only have about a month or so to train them.”

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“Less than,” Roxy pointed out. “Remember, we’re spending at least three days harvesting.”

Mondatta washed down her meal with water. “Is that even enough though? It might be if we had good gear, but we have nothing but wooden sticks.”

“Hehehe,” I giggled.

Ilias gave me the side eye. “Why are you snickering?”

I stood up. “So you know how you guys were surprised because I took down a boar three times as big as me?”

They nodded.

“That’s not the only surprise I have.” I pointed towards the direction of the storage building. “Follow me, soldiers! Bwahahahaha!”

They didn’t follow me immediately. Instead, they sat down for another couple of minutes to finish eating before reluctantly following my lead.

“Jaime, this is the storage building. Why are we here?” Ilias questioned.

“You’re supposed to be the smart one, but it looks like the farmers have deceived you too.”

After they followed me inside, they were wondering why I had taken them here. They looked worried because if the farmers found us here, they’d accuse us of theft.

Suddenly, Hanzo rushed into the room. “Hey, hey, you guys aren’t supposed to be here. The others will think you’re stealing our stuff.”

“We’re not stealing your stuff.”

“Please—”

“Shhh!” I pressed a finger to his mouth. “We came here to help you fight, so I think it’s paramount that no secrets are kept.”

I kicked open the trap door and led them to the armoury that had been hiding underground.

Mondatta grinded her teeth. “What is this?!”

“You were worried that the farmers would have to fight with wooden sticks and no armour. If the bandits saw us wearing these, we’ll demoralize them.” I put on a helmet that was way bigger than my head. “Armour, weapons, bows. Look, Susan, there are even extra pistols and bullets for you. Hanzo and the other two hunters have good aim, maybe you can teach them how to wield a pistol.”

The other sentinels weren’t celebrating my find. In fact, they clenched fists and bared teeth as silence drowned the room. Hanzo was in the corner with his imaginary tail between his legs.

I knew hiding this stuff was greedy, but they were scared of us stealing them. Besides, I found all this stuff pretty early on. Why does everyone look so mad?

“Hey, what’s with the mood?..” I asked. “This is good, is it not?”

“Jaime…” Ilias said, his voice cracking. “These gears are from warriors and adventurers.”

“Uh-huh.”

“No, you don’t understand. This stuff wasn’t traded for. These are spoils.”

Roxanne placed her hand on the pommel of her sword. “These farmers killed unsuspecting adventurers for these. They ambushed wounded warriors during wars. Look, there’s even recent military gear here.”

Oh… but… No, I’m just a kid. I don’t have any right to speak out. I don’t have any knowledge or experience of being hunted down. Ilias took the State Jynxist Exam, so maybe he has a right. But I’m just a sheltered girl who glorified fighting.

“My father told me stories about how he and his platoon were speared down by farmers,” Mondatta vented. For a moment, I thought she was about to summon Zenyatta. “His brother in arms died to farmers.”

Tony cocked his pistol, keeping it in its holster as he leaned in the corner adjacent to Hanzo. “Same with me, except I experienced it first-hand. I was part of a mercenary group once. Our mercenary group wasn’t made up of bandits. But we were chased down all the same. None of us died, but still—that fear of being prey—it’s something that sticks with a person forever.”

“My sister and I do a lot of adventuring,” Roxanne said. “But there are times when we had to spend the night outside because villagers would chase us out of their villages. It’s not the same, but it’s something.”

The gunslinger tsked, continuing to eye Hanzo. “I feel like killing them now.”

Ilias’ eyes were pulled together. He didn’t say anything, but his stare and silence spoke a thousand words.

I was the only one who couldn’t be angry, so Hanzo looked to me for help. I broke eye contact and stared at my feet.

Mondatta shook her head. “I’m leaving tomorrow. I ain’t fighting for people that would’ve killed my father.”

I looked at her. “Wait, what? You can’t possibly mean that.”

“She does and so do I,” Tony said. “I’m a man who’s always trying to improve his skill. I wanted to climb as high as I could. I decided to help people who couldn’t climb on their own. But I ain’t helping people who are willing to kick me down so they can be even higher.”

Roxy looked at her sister for answers. “Sis?”

“Roxy and I will find another way to make money,” Roxanne said. “I don’t want to stay in a village that would’ve killed me if the circumstances were different.”

“But you need money to cross the desert,” I said. “What about that?”

“We’ll manage.”

“Jaime, we’re going to leave tomorrow too,” Ilias said simply.

“But—”

“It’s not worth it. If four of us leave, we’ll surely lose to the bandits. Especially with Messina, Vienna, and Florence. We won’t stand a chance.”

“Boss?” Tony asked. “What about you? Why don’t we all head back to Shoya together?”

Askleadd stayed quiet as we waited for him to answer. He had his back turned to us this entire time. He finally turned around.

“Farmers aren’t saints. They are devils,” he said. “This isn’t the only hidden cellar they have. I bet they have more in other houses. They convinced us to fight for them because they have no money. But they have hidden money. They do. They are full of lies.”

Hanzo continued to gaze at the floor.

“And you’re right, they hunt adventurers, soldiers, and warriors like ourselves.” Askeladd had tears coming down his face. “But do you know why they became devils? Because they had to. It’s because of us. We underpay them, we raid their villages, burn their houses and fields, steal their crops, enslave them, kidnap their children, and if they refuse, we kill them. It’s our fault why they’re the way they are. This gear is nothing compared to the millions of unmarked graves of farmers. Nothing compared to what they go through.”

He raised Hanzo’s chin so they were eye to eye.

“I’m staying. Even if I’m writing my death sentence by doing so.”

No one said anything. We simply stood where we were, taking in what Askeladd said. He wiped the tears off his cheeks as if the words he spoke were from experience.

Unless…

“Askeladd…” I said, putting my hand on his. “You were once a farmer, weren’t you?”

He smiled at me, wiping his tears. He left the six of us inside the cellar. We hadn’t even noticed, but the village had congregated outside the storage room. They all had looks of worry on their faces.

So this is why they were trying to keep this hidden.

The gathering parted to let Akira walk through. He climbed down the stairs and went right up to us. “What’s wrong?”

The tight grip Ilias had around his staff loosened. Roxanne let the hand that was resting on her sword’s pommel fall to her side. Roxy eased her shoulders. Mondatta studied the gear within the cellar for a long while before sighing.

Tony uncocked his pistol and shrugged off the chief. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”