Chapter Twenty Two: A Merc’s Life

“I’m not here to judge ye, or to enforce any nonsense rules. I was just pokin ye for my own enjoyment. This ain’t my land. It’s the wilds. No one owns it. I was just out here hunting for wild mushrooms.”

The old woman had finally introduced herself. She said her name was Dilly, and that she lived in a house not far away.

“Those of us who live out here,” she explained over a cup of tea that she had brewed after they finished eating.

“…we have our own rules, our own common sense. Life out here is precious. It don’t matter what nation you come from, or what status you have. If you see someone who needs helpin, you help, cause if ye don’t, it’s the same as killin em yerself.”

The dogs were relaxing by the fire, and Rook was still guarded, but his impression of the strange old woman was much better after she had introduced him to roasted fish.

“That said, it’s mighty unusual to see a young sapling like ye, out here by yourself. Frankly, I’m surprised you made it out this far alive. It takes a lot of skill and experience to survive out here in the wilds, but, don’t be offended, mind ye, I don’t see ye havin much of either.”

She cackled at her insult, while Rook felt a strike to his pride. He wanted to defend himself. He knew he wasn’t qualified to be out here, but it’s not like he had a choice.

As if she could read his mind, she caught his eyes with a serious expression.

“You rightly did well by making it this far, but I don’t suppose ye would be willin to share yer story with an old crone? Maybe I can be a strength to ye?”

Rook’s mind raced. What should he say? How much could he trust her?

［Not a damn bit. Never trust a stranger. Haven’t you ever heard the term stranger danger? Just make something up.］

“I… I was with some mercenaries. I am… was, I was their porter.”

“Hmmm. I see. I’m guessing something went wrong?” Dilly said, nodding.

“Ambush… there was an ambush… bandits. Bandits, they…”

He stopped speaking. He stared into the fire

“I see. But ye got away? All by yerself?”

Rook nodded without looking up.

“How long ago was that?”

“Three… four? Three or four days ago…”

“Really?” Dilly was shocked. A simple porter survived in the wilds for more than three days alone? That was preposterous.

Rook nodded again.

“What about the mercs? And the bandits? What happened to them?”

“Ummm. None of them… They all… a few of the bandits ran away. I think they were hurt, but… the…”

“It’s okay. yer party was caught off guard by bandits, fought them off, and nicked some, but they were injured and didn’t make it. Ye were left alone, so ye grabbed what ye could, and ran into the forest. Since then ye been hidin and runnin, till ye made it here. Something like that?”

Rook stared at the woman now, shocked by the accurate retelling of his flight.

“Yeah… that’s right. How did—“

“Ah, that’s easy. It’s written all over ye. Bandit’s they dress different from hunters and mercs. Hunters, they wear strong defensive gear, thicker armor. Mercenary’s, they always have lots of utility tools. Like that defective warding stone, ye got. Bandits, well, they just focus on fightin quick. That gear yer wearin. Light, fast, and useless in a fight.”

Rook felt a little ill after. Being told he was dressed like a bandit. Of course, he knew that. He had found these clothes in the loot dropped by a bandit, after all.

It was frustrating. There were so many basic things he did not know. Things that will be trouble if he isn’t careful around other people.

Rook’s head shot up.

“What do you mean defective?”

Dilly kicked the stone next to the fire.

“Ye didn’t know? Course ye didn’t. This thing is tweaked. It’l scare away the weakuns, so that’s fine. But it’s leakin mana bad. A good tracker could see it from half a mountain away. How do ye think I found ye?”

Rook stared in horror at the warding stone. Luckily, he hadn’t started using it until he had moved far away from the campsite.

“Obi? Did you know?”

［No! I had no idea. How did this old lady… She must be able to use detect, or something like it.］

As Rook stared at the stone, mouth gaping like the fish he had just eaten, Dilly laughed and pounded her knee.

“Ye really are a green one. Ye got some luck on ye too. I bet ye never thought an old crone like this one would be the one to track ye down, eh?”

Rook blinked at the woman, laughing heartily at his expense. His brain told him he should be afraid, but the emotion he truly felt now was shame. He felt like a fool now. After making it this far, he was so proud of what he had managed to do so far, but now it felt like he had been blundering through the forest like an idiot and only survived by sheer luck.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

［Well, I’m glad you finally realize how dumb you truly are. If it weren’t for me, you would have been wolf poop that first night.］

“So… when you found me in the tree…” Rook looked down, crestfallen.

“Ye did a good enough job hidin, but ye leave a path even a rookie tracker could follow.”

Dilly started to point out things in the camp, a footprint in the sand, a pattern in the grass, and several others, including some bent branches in the tree he had hid in.

［Damn, so that’s how she knew where you were.］

Rook was flabbergasted. She looked like a simple old lady, but she saw everything and missed nothing, from his movements, to his clothing.

“Well, yer not so bad. Actually, ye might even have some talent. But this old lady may not look like much, but back in the day, she was the best scout in the Stormhaven merc guild.”

Rook was shocked. The only mercenaries he had ever met were tough, scary types like the Verity mercenary troupe. This playful and eccentric woman was so far from that image that it seemed impossible. Still, it was hard to deny that her tracking skills were real. She had even found him while he was using invisibility.

“Alas, that was many years ago. This one retired long before ye were even born, I would guess.” Dilly let out a small sigh and smiled wistfully, as though recalling a pleasant memory.

“Now my boys are out there, doing the good work.”

Rook glanced at the two large dogs now lazing at the feet of their master. Dilly saw that and again gave a loud and boisterous laugh.

“Not the dogs, ye fool. I got two sons, big as mountains, both of em.”

Rook strangely remembered Pig. He thought that Pig would have been in heaven if her ever met Dilly. The boy loved asking questions about everything, and had dreams of travel, and adventure.

Perhaps Rook also was like that, when he had been much younger. It was hard to remember. His life on the ranch seemed to extend for his entire life, though he knew he had not been born there. He had long since given up any fantasies of leaving to travel to faraway nations and ancient cities. Maybe he had given up hope entirely.

He didn’t exactly trust this old woman, but she didn’t seem to mean him ill fortune. Certainly, with a single word to her companions, he would be reduced to bloody scraps between the teeth and claws of those two giant dogs.

“You… were a mercenary?”

“Aye. Long ago. Now, I’m just the crazy old crone living out my retirement. Right, you were with a party. Did ye know the name of the group?”

Rook paused. He knew that he should not give anything away that could connect him to the events in the forest, but he felt that she could see through any lies he told easily.

［Don’t…］

He made up his mind.

“Verity… the Verity mercenary troupe.”

［Shit!］

“Ah! Presia’s gang. Yes…” a cloud appeared over the old woman’s face.

“Shame…” she spat into the fire with a serious look on her face.

“Bandits, huh? If I ever get those—“

The old woman continued, growling and uttering curses that shocked Rook in their details and descriptive nature.

“Oh, sorry, boy. It’s not yer fault. It’s the party’s responsibility to protect the porter, not the other way around. They knew that. No one would blame ye. That said, ye might want to change your clothes before hitting a civilized society.”

Rook almost protested that he didn’t have anything else to wear, but managed to hold his tongue.

This woman was strange, but her mind and observation were sharp, dangerously so. She had figured out what had happened from just a few statements, and who he was with a glance. He felt exposed and vulnerable.

At the same time, he was jealous of the woman. He coveted the ease and confidence she had, venturing out into the forest of her own volition. Her knowledge and experience was exactly what Rook lacked in order to ensure his safety.

“So… what are ye planning to do? Are ye headin for Stormhaven?”

Rook looked down into the fire. He had already said too much. He was sure it wasn’t a good idea to tell her too much about his plans as well.

“Aich! Fine. Ye don’t have to tell me where yer goin. Tell ye what. I’ll put ye up for a few days and show you how to travel through the wilds proper. As ye are now, you’ll walk right through a bear’s den by nightfall. How ye made it this far is…”

Rook blinked in surprise. Was she offering to…

［Be careful. I think there is a story about witches in forests who take your children into their homes, only to cook them into stew, or bake them into a pie. Actually, there are a lot of those stories. Maybe it’s not such a good idea…］

Rook hesitated. This was a stranger. He might be feeling some trust just because her food was so good. What if this is a trap? But why would she bother?

He was horribly conflicted. Part of him said he should head back in the opposite direction now that he had been caught. The other part desperately wanted to rest and learn from this woman, things like how to make roasted fish, and how to hide properly.

［Think with your stomach. Isn’t that how all animals get caught in traps?］

While he sat there paralyzed with indecision, the woman stood up and brushed herself off.

“Come on. First things first. Let me show you how to properly clean up a camp.”

Rook mindlessly followed her orders. She had him pull out a small shovel from the camp equipment. He hadn’t noticed it, but she asked for it with such confidence that he checked without thinking, and sure enough, there was exactly what she was looking for.

She had him dig a deep hole to bury the food waste, then dug another near the river where he buried the coals and burnt wood from the fire.

She ordered him around with simple commands until every trace of his simple and clumsy campsite was gone. She showed him how to clean the cooking gear, and stow the tent and other equipment for easy storage into his soul space.

It was a lot of things, but Rook didn’t mind. He paid attention, as he wanted to be able to do this on his own in the future. This was a veteran mercenary, a scout, no less. He couldn’t think of a better teacher to learn how to survive alone in the forest from.

Her orders were direct, and she didn’t explain anything, but the steps were easy to follow and remember, and when he was done, he was impressed with the results.

Despite all the extra steps, the camp had completely disappeared in a surprisingly short amount of time. He was also confident now that no one who came across this place would recognize he had ever camped here, even if they came through as soon as he left.

“Well. What’s the plan?” Dilly asked, turning to walk back into the forest.

Rook had made up his mind. It was risky, but he needed to get better prepared. This was something he might regret in the future, but if he turned it down now, he was certain he would also regret it.

“Would you… teach me?” He asked shyly.

“I will. But it won’t be fer free. Ye have to work to earn yer keep. Come! We’ll try it for a few days, see if ye can be taught.”

With that decided, she turned and walked into the trees. Rook followed, making sure to stay a short set distance behind her. He noticed that she seemed to move normally, like someone taking a leisurely stroll through the trees, but she left behind no footprints. There were no bent branches or snapped twigs. She moved without a trace, or even any sound, and it was as effortless to her as breathing.

Paying close attention, he tried to copy her movements as much as possible, to mixed success. She moved through the trees like a ghost.

It was nearly dark when they reached their destination. He really hadn’t expected anything, but when he saw her house for the first time, he was speechless.

They walked up a barely visible path in a ravine formed by two steep hillsides on both sides. It was a slow incline, finally ending at the top of a hill. There, they entered a small clearing, protected on both sides by rocky cliffs, and at the end of the clearing was a large house, the ocean clearly visible in the distance.

The house was neat and large, made entirely from wood, with two floors, each the size of Rhaeger’s ranch house. He wondered if she lived here alone. There was easily enough space for several families of people.

“Here we are. Welcome to my humble abode.”