They still left the manor through the same west gate as before, but now, instead of heading for the Daim Village, which was west of the manor, they headed north for the Shallow Lake Village. He was accompanied by Leo and Elaria and two new guards whose names he didn’t have a chance to learn.
“Leo, I was meant to ask, did we compensate the previous two guard’s families in any way?” With a scornful face, remembering the two guards who sacrificed themselves so he could live, Josh asked.
“No, Milord,” he replied.
“I want to make sure you compensate their families with two gold coins if they have any of family alive. If not, donate to the orphanage on their behalf,” Josh said, looking at the road.
That’s the least I could do for men who literally gave their lives for mine.
“But, Milord, you know the state of our finances as well as I do,” Leo replied disagreeing with his order.
“That’s an order, Leo,” Josh said in an angry voice, standing his ground.
Leo grunted in affirmation.
While they were riding the carriage, Josh couldn’t help but appreciate the beautiful nature that was yet-to-be-heavily touched by a human. The serfs he was seeing, were working hard at now visibly green fields. This part also seemed to use the Norfolk method for farming rather than the traditional two-way method.
“How long it takes for the crops they are growing to grow,” Josh asked.
This time, it was Elaria who answered, “It takes around four to five months from planting to harvesting,” she said without even for a second raising her gaze from the book she was reading.
As the carriage rolled into the village of Shallow Lake, the first of many sights that greeted them was the rundown state of buildings. Many of the houses looked as if a stronger gust of wind would blow them over, and the few villagers who were not out working in the fields were eyeing our carriage with suspicion and wariness. We didn’t need to look for the village chief, as she noticed our carriage and came to us herself.
The village chief was very young. She was wearing a simple brown woolen dress and an apron. She was pretty short for her height, with a round face and rosy cheeks. Her thick blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun.
She bowed after approaching the carriage. “Welcome, Milords, to our humble village,” she said with her head still facing the ground.
Leo replied, “Rise up, child. Lead us somewhere inside where we can sit down and have a talk.”
Josh couldn’t help but ask, “Why is everything so…” He paused for a second, looking for a word to describe the village “Ruined.”
The young girl was stuttering as she answered “M-milord, it’s the goblins?”
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Of course, it’s the goblins.
He wanted to ask her to explain here and now, but his mentor just shook her head, not approving of him making a public spectacle.
I guess I’ll wait till we get inside.
The young village chief led them to one of the bigger houses in the village. It seemed to have not been touched by goblins yet, as it looked in a normal state compared to other houses in the village.
After leading us inside the house, she showed us a room where the village chief probably resided. Not daring to take a seat, she pointed at the seats and asked, “Would you like some tea, Milords?”
“The tea will wait. I have some questions,” Josh replied, his eyes burning with anger.
Elaria interrupted with a chant [Mens Serena]. Then scolded Josh, “Remember, emotions lead to magic, and you can't use magic as you are now.”
As soon as the spell hit Josh, his grimace of anger melted into a serene, tranquil mind.
“Milord, I thought it was known. The goblins have been attacking our village for over a year now,” the young village chief said while eyeing Leo, not daring to meet Josh’s gaze.
“Leo, care to explain?” Josh didn’t miss how she was eyeing his steward and asked him.
Leo sighed.
“Milord, I feel you are not ready for it,” he said.
Elaria threw Leo a filthy glance, expecting him to explain everything.
“Where do I even begin…” Leo said as he sat down. “The previous Lord Reid Daim was a 3rd circle knight, same as I am. About six months ago, he was requested assistance from the previous village chief of the Shallow Lake Village to deal with goblins. As goblins are usually very easy to deal with for any knight or mage above 2nd circle, he didn't take the problem seriously enough and thought it was an easy way to save his people.” Leo took a deep breath.
“Lord Reid was brave… but naïve. He had never seen a proper goblin town, and sadly enough, that’s what he was dealing with when he marched into the cavern on the other side of Shallow Lake. The whole entourage consisting of fifty guards, two 3rd circle knights, and four 2nd circle squires were slaughtered, with only four guards that managing to escape,” he paused for a brief moment with clear pain in his eyes. “The survivors including me knew that we can’t do anything about it as it’s a whole goblin town and not a village, and our Lord being dead, together with the count refusing our request for assistance. Thought that the best we could do was make a deal in which we pay tribute to them every month, and they stop kidnapping and attacking our villages.” Leo finished telling the story.
Josh was shocked, not believing that the same goblins that Leo managed to slaughter like harmless children managed to slay a whole squadron that had two people as strong as Leo and another fifty to serve as support.
That’s way above my pay grade.
“Elaria, thoughts?” Forgetting the honorifics, Josh asked his mentor.
Elaria didn’t even notice that Josh didn’t address her by honorifics as she was deep in her thoughts. “Hard to say. I would need to know how large the goblin town is, where it is located, and everything about it, but if it’s a proper goblin town, I alone won’t be enough to deal with it,” she said.
The new village chief, who never introduced herself yet, decided to butt in.
“We know a lot about it! We can help you!” She shouted at them with a ray of hope in her eyes.
“Go on,” Josh replied.
“M-milord,” she just realized how she had addressed them previously. “Forgive me for my manners, but I know a couple of hunters who had multiple skirmishes with goblins. They will definitely be of great help.”
“Perfect, lead us to these hunters,” Josh replied.
***
They approached the hunter's hut, which was located on the edge of Shallow Lake.
The hut itself looked relatively good compared to the buildings inside the village. Smoke drifting from the chimney indicated that someone was inside.
Leo knocked on the hut's doors after they approached it. Josh and Elaria stood further back, and the village Chief, who they learned was the previous chief’s granddaughter, named Mel, stood just beside the steward.
They heard rustling inside as soon as they knocked on the hut’s doors. Soon enough, the door opened, revealing a middle-aged man with a rugged face and a bushy beard. His greasy dark black hair was tied back into a ponytail, with hints of grey hair here and there, showing his experience.
With a deep and husky voice, he hushed them inside.
Animal pelts lined the floors and walls inside the hut, trapping warmth within the hut. To the left of the entrance, a cluttered table held an array of hunters' tools. Directly ahead, a small fireplace was cooking the hunters' dinner.
“What brings you to my humble home,” he said with a lack of fear.
When Leo was about to lash out about him not showing proper respect as he was addressing a noble, Josh interrupted him. “We’ve heard that you had multiple skirmishes with the goblins that live north of the lake. We came here to ask for your assistance in getting rid of those goblins.”
With a raised eyebrow, the hunter sighed and replied, “Where do I even begin…”