The first thing I perceived while waking up was a dim array of light beams peering through the tent canvas. I didn't remember going camping, and there wouldn't be any opportunities to do so for months to come because the engineering course and work together took up all the time I had left on the weekends. A few moments later, the situation set in: Oh yeah, I reincarnated. I hoped that all that ordeal was just a bad dream. I started having a mild panic attack at the strange place I found myself in and the lack of direction.

A reasonable approach was to go along with the Aureni family since trying to strike it alone would end in disaster much more quickly. No matter what I wanted to do further. All this thinking made me reminisce about the people I had left behind, which made me even more upset. Why do I have to be such a reckless moron all the time? After several more minutes of sulking, I decided enough was enough.

With a heave, I got up and began dressing. The whole thing was an ordeal as I was still confused about what went where and how each piece was attached; the numerous buttons were particularly annoying. Once dressed, I slipped my shoes on; they were made of leather, thick on the bottom and thin on the sides, a simple yet practical pair of footwear.

Getting out of the tent partition, I noticed the empty half where two soldiers had slept. It still had some of the men's equipment laying about. I had been supposed to take the whole tent to myself. But upon discovering that almost everyone else would be sleeping under the sky, I refused to sleep in the tent. After some discussion, Ion convinced me to split the tent and have two soldiers sleep in the other half. The talk about prestige being critical for nobles ultimately won me over. Still dubious of such concepts, it made sense to my sleep-deprived mind last night, so I had agreed. My discomfort at sleeping in the open couldn't be ruled out either.

Outside, I could see a pot of stew boiling over a campfire. We had travelled nonstop the whole night and the following day to get further ahead of the Osulimani invasion of the Vlachian kingdom. Everyone was tired and needed a hot meal; cold rations were unpleasant and hard to stomach, even on the best days.

I approached The campfire and the stew. I gave it a good sniff, and it made my stomach growl. I had not eaten before going to sleep as I was too tired and weary from travelling. It was a simple affair composed of some vegetables, none of which I could recognise, and some venison and sausages.

Our stop was roughly one hundred kilometres away from Dragoș city. It was far enough that the invasion was no longer an imminent threat, Just about a quarter of the way back home. An additional few days until we arrived at the border forts of Maldavia and into the Maldavian hilly plains.

Through subtle prodding and not-so-subtle questions, I learned that The Aureni fiefs were a collection of underwhelming fortresses, cities and villages. With the largest city's population of fifteen thousand, Upon hearing the numbers, I couldn't help but be disappointed. Letting some of my disappointment show had irritated Ion. He then proceeded to give me a lecture about comparing metropolitan cities and Boyar fiefs.

The main seat of power Of the Aureni Boyar is the White Fortress city on the shores of the Dniester estuary. I found out that the city was the only major trading and military installation left on the coast of the Maldavian kingdom; this had elevated the city's importance in my eyes greatly. It also suggested that the fief might be a target for intrigue. The only saving grace is that the Lord of Chila had defected to the Osulimani, meaning they would be sated for some time.

I was partially glad of the previous heirs' disinterest in anything to do with rulership and his inheritance. Since asking such basic questions didn't raise any suspicions, it was clear he had been a disappointment. In retrospect, it might have been expected for a boy at sixteen, but I was sceptical.

My musings were interrupted by a bowl of steaming hot stew placed in front of my face. Looking up, I could see a troubled smile on the face of Ion holding out the bowl towards me.

“Cosmin, you need to eat something to keep going.”

I had refused to eat any of the provisions during our travel from Dragoș City. I had not felt hungry during the voyage, plus the food was thoroughly unappetising, and I couldn’t stomach any of it primarily due to all the stress I had been subjected to.

On our travels, the scout had spotted several groups of mercenaries and conscripts marching towards Dragoș city. Giving them a wide birth allowed us to travel unmolested since, even with the men we had, it wouldn't be wise to interact with mercenary bands numbering several hundred.

Accepting the bowl of stew, I gave it a sniff and began to dig into the hearty meal. It was the best damn thing I had ever eaten in a long time. After a few bites, I had a massive hunger pang, enough that I needed to grimace in pain. Lowering the bowl, I saw our house guard lining up to get some more stew after they had eaten the first servings already. The stew was delicious; it consisted of some forged plants from the forest along with some kind of root vegetables similar to carrots and a generous amount of venison and organ meats from the deer that had fallen prey to our ranger in the night.

After the meal, the guards started playing a game with what seemed to resemble playing cards. I was surprised to see playing cards in such a situation, but after looking at them, I thought they were similar to modern playing cards, with the same symbols stamped on their face. It was somewhat surprising to see such trinkets in a place so unfamiliar. With my interests peeked, I approached the men and requested they explain the rules and allow me to play a round. With some grumbling about who was going to win, they stopped playing, and one of the more sociable men gave me a quick explanation of the game; he was interrupted quite often when talking about strategies since most men seemed to have their own, but the squabble died down with an annoyed remark from my part. With all that done, I played one round of their game and got utterly decimated. After the lacklustre demonstration, I called it quits to the guards' laughter.

Soon, it was time to pack up and begin our travels back home once again; the packing up of the camp was fast and efficient. It surprised me how a few dozen men could all move so assuredly and efficiently without so much as a question or complaint. It demonstrated discipline much more than I had seen a large group of people have. The one camping trip I had been on ended with a tent stuffed with rubbish in the back of the car since no one brought any rubbish bags with them classic beginner mistake.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Once again, on horse, we were moving at a consistent pace. The hours seemed to pass at a leisurely pace. The atmosphere was far more relaxed; the men's chatter was a nice distraction from the monotony. I was surprised at how gossipy a group of men could get. Soon, a long day of rough roads and scenic views of the medieval landscape was about to end. The sun was quickly approaching the horizon again.

“ There should be a monastery Ahead of us right after that hillock. Everyone would appreciate it if you requested a stay for the night. We will also have to let them know of the invasion.” Said Ion in a matter-of-fact tone

Once we were at the monastery's gates, the sun had nearly fully set; some rays of light were emitted from the distant horizon, allowing for some visibility enough to not require torches for the time being.

Taking the lead with ion to my right side, I knocked on the monastery gate. After a quiet moment, I heard an annoyed older man yell.

“Who is it at this hour ?”

“Cosmin of The Aureni family. And I Request housing for one night for me and my men. I also have some important news from the West.”

“Housing and news, hmm “, I heard the man murmur from behind the gate.

After a few minutes, a slot in the gate opened, and a lantern-holding older man peered through the gap at us, giving us a good once-over. Happy with what he saw, he opened the gate, and we were greeted by the visage of a dozen monks in black robes.

“Greetings to Cosmin of the Aureni. Come this way. I will lead you to the visitors' lodge.”

Saying so, the older man holding the lantern turned around and began making his way; standing there for a second, I admired the architecture. I started to follow the man as we made our way slowly.

”May I know your name, Father?”

“ I am Father Pompiliu. The Father of this monastery, What news do you bring?”

“There is an Osulimani invasion of the Vlachian realm. Dragoș City will be besieged soon, according to lord Dragoș.”

” Haha, funny how the Father works sending the heathens to fight the devil's pawn; hopefully, they kill each other and make the world a better place.”

The comment made me stumble for a second; quickly gaining my balance, I gave the

Father Pompiliu had an incredulous look. The father had been Half facing me when he said that, and he saw me stumble; giving me a mischievous grin, he began to speak.

”No matter how secretive the sinners think they are, the Father reveals all; we of the faith are aware of the taint of Dragoș but sadly powerless to do anything. We can call on no inquisitors, and the king is too terrified to act against Dragoș.”

The Father said this while making eye contact. I felt an intense pressure to look away or some other subconscious sign of submission, but I fought through it. It was very uncomfortable and strange. I felt like the father was staring at my soul through my eyes, leaving me naked and easily understood. After the stare, the father closed his eyes for a few seconds and began again.

”I can tell a good man when I see one, and you, Cosmin, are a good man, so good that it will hurt you most often. You would be a good brother in the Faith because of that.”

” I.. I.”

”No need to decline so easily. The Father allows for free will. You will always have a place in the monastery.”

”Thank you, Father, for the offer.”

”Mind my words, son, the world will burn you to ash, but never let the temptation bring you to the other side since only ruination awaits there.”

The Father turned around and began making his way to the Lodge. I was quite displeased with the Father's strange comportment and menacing premonitions. Also, I couldn't imagine dedicating myself to a nonexistent god for a lifetime. Well, in retrospect, he might exist after all minding the place I found myself in.

I was rattled and deep in thought. I didn't even notice when we arrived at the lodge, and the men began setting up in the lodge. Ion snapped me out, and I started making my way to one of the single beds. I quickly took off a few of the accessories I had on me, making sure to place them in an orderly manner on the tiny nightstand. By the time I was done, I could already hear some of the men snoring. Surprisingly, there were more than enough beds, about two-score beds in the room, most of them bunks.

I thought about my situation, the future and what had happened over the last few days. I couldn't fall asleep like I did the past few days. Thinking about my parents and my dog Snappy, I could not fall asleep for what felt like a few hours. The mens snoring didn't help, but my mind was racing a mile a minute. It went on for a while. Once sleep claimed me, I didn't even realise.

The night had been a dreamless one. Waking up in a strange room again, I began to look around. I realised that one of the monks had opened the door. He was holding two sticks. I was quite confused about what they could be for. He then began banging them together with great vigour. A loud half-minute later and a few annoyed shouts from the guards for the noise to stop. Everyone was awake, already dressing and getting ready for the day.

”Weapons are not allowed to be carried in the monastery. Please leave them behind. Follow me for the morning liturgy.”

I quickly found Ion and approached him. He gave me a reassuring nod and indicated for me to lead in following the monk. I did so, and he brought us to the main prayer room. The room was adorned with many icons of different religious figures from the bible. There were sculpted figures and ornaments everywhere. The ceiling was high, and the room was cross-shaped. Once the prayer was done, Father Pompiliu told everyone that we would be treated to a meal before they would see us on our way.

The canteen was a simple and modest affair. It easily fits all of us, including one-score of monks.

The meal was a simple vegetable and meat soup. It was surprisingly delicious, especially combined with the freshly baked bread; it was one of the best meals I had ever had.

Ion pulled me aside and told me it would be a good idea to donate some money to the monastery to thank them for their hospitality. Then he gave me a small bag. Curious, I opened it and peeked inside. There were maybe half a dozen silver. Once it was time to leave, I gave the bag to Father Pompiliu. He glanced at me strangely for a second as he held the bag. I informed him that it was a donation to the monastery. With a flourish, he gave it to one of the monks, thanked me and bid us goodbye and safe travels.

After an hour or so of travel, Ion spoke up.

”Cosmin, for your knowledge, in the future, donations are dropped in a donation box and not given directly to a monk. Doing so can be interpreted as a bribe or an insult.”

”Akdnoledged,” I said sheepishly.