»Hello, sleepyhead we're back.«

A familiar voice woke Vern up and when he opened his eyes he saw Alvyn's head poking through the entrance of the tent.

»It really wasn't necessary to wake him up«, commented Ezra from the distance.

As Vern realized the situation, he was surprised at first that he had slept until noon. However, he noticed that he hadn't, since the sunlight entering the tent was dim, like on an early morning.

»You're already back?«, asked Vern surprised, after he had left his tent.

»Yeah«, said Bertio, who was helping Ezra reignite the campfire. »We planned to stay longer, but then the monsters started behaving weirdly, so we decided to call it quits.«

»Really … ?«, said Vern and gulped. He had a pretty good idea what Bertio was talking about, and he hoped they wouldn't connect it to him.

It seemed like he needed to answer a looming question rather soon. Should he tell them about what had happened to him? If so, when and – most importantly – how?

»Come, join us«, beckoned Alvyn him over, while he, Kieran, and Irina were taking their gear off to clean it. »We are going to tell you every single detail, you want to hear about.«

»Like how you almost burned done the entire forest just to show off?«, interjected Kieran, and Alvyn immediately gave him the evil eye.

»I totally didn't. He's totally exaggerating. Trust me, Vern!«

»So I totally didn't need to extinguish your flames? They would have done that by themselves you say?«, Kieran doubled down and giggled.

»Nah, I had it all totally under control«, Alvyn assured Vern, who sat down beside them. »You know Kieran, we shouldn't bore Vern with the non–exciting parts where we weren't fighting anything.«

»So, who of you had the most kills?«, asked Vern, trying to start some more banter.

Alvyn and Kieran looked at each other before there glanced over toward Irina, who was silently cleaning the mud off her breastplate.

As she noticed the ensuing silence, she looked up. »That would be me.«

Vern looked over to Alvyn and tauntingly raised his eyebrows.

»Alright, listen«, he said annoyed. »That isn't a fair comparison. Not at all. You see, her weapon just shreds through everything from range. How are you supposed to compete against that?«

Kieran nodded to underline Alvyn's point and added: »However, I think out of the two of us, I had the most.«

»Ah no, I definitely disagree. I had the first boar, then the fox, the two other–«

»Wait«, interjected Kieran. »You're counting those that I assisted you with as full kills? That's not how it works.«

»What do you mean? Of course, that's how it works. Killing blow equals kill.«

»No. See, I've been to more bailiwicks than you've been to, rookie. And I tell you're not calculating them like that.«

As they continued arguing about the assistance they gave each other for every kill and their respective translation into kill points, Irina approached Vern.

She had finished cleaning already while the others were spending their time talking. »So, Vern, may I tell you about our adventure?«

Kieran and Alvyn went silent and proceeded to work on their gear as they realized Irina had already finished.

»Yes. I would like to hear about it.«

Vern enjoyed listening to her voice as she described their excursion, only getting interrupted a few times by the other two adding some minor details.

When she got close to the end, Rewalt called them over for breakfast.

They had brought some of the spoils from their exploration with them, including a copious amount of meat, which promised yet another delicious breakfast.

After they had started eating, Vern casually asked: »So why did you come back earlier than planned? You said something about the monsters behaving strangely?«

He looked at Bertio, who nodded but didn't answer as his mouth was full.

»Well, at first … the first day, to be precise, went as expected«, replied Rewalt in his stead. »We encountered about two dozen monsters or so, mostly isolated from each other, as usual. However, when nighttime came around, we noticed a lot more commotion in the forest. At first, we thought we would get attacked by a large group … you know that kind of incident that would have probably made mincemeat out of us or worse things such as-«

»Rewalt, don't digress into your weird fantasies, please«, interrupted Ezra and bit into a chunk of meat.

»Ah yes, sure. I just wanted to emphasize how we felt in this situation … anyways, where was I … right. So we heard all this noise, expected the worst, and were ready to fight for hours. However, it seemed like the monsters weren't coming at us but went somewhere else. We even spotted several groups of them running in the same direction. They didn't even care about us, well we also didn't force them to engage in the first place, but still, very strange indeed.«

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

He paused and took a bite. »So we decided to leave, as we didn't want them to turn back and potentially overwhelm us with their massive numbers. That would have certainly killed all of us in the most gruesome ways imaginable. Trampled to death, the body pierced and …«

Rewalt stopped when he noticed Ezra glaring at him. »Anyway, we decided to play it safe. Kieran also told me on the way back, that you three had already seen some weirdly behaving boars the day before. There might be something here to investigate. So we will report it and that's it for us.«

Vern nodded and was glad that they, on the one hand, hadn't encountered the army of monsters on their way back and, on the other, that they still didn't suspect him to be the cause.

That said though, Vern had noticed some glances from Kieran and Alvyn, who might harbor some suspicion.

But Vern knew he would probably have to tell them sooner or later – at the latest when they were about to explore a bailiwick together.

He finished the parts of his meat he liked, leaving behind parts that had too much fat for his taste.

Without thinking about it, he offered the rest of the plate to Irina, who sat close by.

She looked at him in confusion, as did everyone else. Only at that point, Vern realized that he had messed up.

»Oh, thanks a lot. I like the greasy parts the most«, broke Irina the silence, after she had inspected the plate.

»Oh … yes … I´ve seen you enjoy them the most … and I don't … so that's how I knew …«, babbled Vern, avoiding all eye contact from the others and just stared into the fire instead.

›Hahaha, that was so creepy. I don't even want to know what they are thinking now‹, commented Velvet and kept laughing at him.

›Shut up. I didn't mean to … it was just out of habit.‹

Velvet jumped out of his body and rolled around on the ground, passing through the fire and the body of the others repeatedly as he kept mocking him.

›Seriously, stop it! It's so irritating when you do that, and I'm the only one who can see you …‹

The foxed stopped and stood up from the ground. Would he actually behave sensibly for once?

Just as Vern thought about it, the fox poked his head through Irina's body at him and asked: ›I'm sorry, what am I not supposed to do?‹

Vern glared at him, realizing a second later it wasn't a great idea when his eyes met Irina's.

Instantly, he averted his gaze and pretended to choke on something.

He swore that he would find a way to punish this cheeky fox, no matter what.

After finishing breakfast, they started to disassemble the camp and loaded everything on the wagons again. In the afternoon, they finally left the campsite with all three carriages, heading towards the royal capital.

While Alvyn slept in the back, Vern leaned against a box in the front, pondering how to move forward.

Unfortunately, he had already changed the timeline, and they were much earlier on their way than last time, which would already impact the future course of events significantly.

So Vern had to be careful not to accidentally miss out on important incidents because of that.

›Hey Velvet, are you there?‹

After a moment of silence, he answered.

›So now you want to talk to me again after you've ignored me for hours?‹

›Well, I hope you realize that that was your fault entirely. Do you really want me to get in trouble like that?‹

›Trouble? That's definitely an overstatement. However, some trouble does sound exciting. After all, I am still quite bored …‹

Vern didn't like this kind of answer but left it at that for now.

›When we reach the royal capital in a few days, there is plenty to see. So I hope you can endure as long.‹

›That should be possible, I suppose. Anyway, so what's the actual reason you started to talk to me again.‹

›I just wanted to smooth things over, however, now that you insist, I was wondering what's your opinion on telling the others about what happened to me?‹

›So you want me to make the decision? I definitely approve of asking me first as I harbor wisdom of uncountable years‹, the fox said pridefully, and Vern let it pass since he needed his opinion.

›So let's see. What are the downside and dangers of telling someone? For one, you might get diagnosed as crazy, potentially possessed, depending on how much you say. So you might get locked away or killed, which I am not that fond of. Seeing the same area for years again is definitely a no-no. You might also alter future events, which would make your memories quite useless. Not even mentioning all the other unforeseeable consequences.

Concerning potential upsides … I don't see any, at least for now.‹

Velvet had essentially come to a similar conclusion.

›I guess you're spot one. It just feels so uncomfortable being in this situation in the first place. I feel like I constantly lie and deceive everyone around me. I don't know if I can keep doing that for long …‹

›Yes, but that really isn't a reason in itself to tell anyone. Just you're own weakness talking, nothing more.‹

Hearing these words, Vern sighed in resignation. What had happened that he now conversed with a fox, who didn't even have any consideration whatsoever?

›I guess I'll need to teach you some manners‹, replied Vern threateningly.

›Oh, I'd like to see you try.‹

For the next three days, they traveled the road, only pausing when the horses required rest. At the dawn of the fourth day, they reached the gates of the royal capital. After they had passed them, the convoy split up, heading to their respective lodgings.

»I don't think your father has arrived yet since we're about a day earlier than anticipated. Either way, he will want to speak to the two of you to decide the future course of action.«

»Yes, we understand«, answered Alvyn moving around restlessly.

As they stopped in front of a large mansion, lying just outside the city center, Ezra turned around and looked at the two boys.

»Don't do anything reckless, while you're alone.« Her gaze was fixed on Alvyn longer than it was on Vern.

»Yeah, we get it. Don't worry. We wouldn't do anything that could bring shame to our teacher«, said Vern and slightly bowed his head, totally not desperate to finally be free of her supervision.

While they wished Ezra farewell, a male servant appeared at the gate and guided them in.

»Lord von Feuerstein is set to arrive in the capital tomorrow morning. If anything comes up, please feel free to let me know.«

»That's alright, we can make do on our own.« After Alvyn had dismissed him, he turned to Vern and nudged him. »You alright? You were so quiet the whole way back.«

»Yeah, sorry. Just a bit tired from the trip and all. Always so draining.« He rubbed his back.

»Hahaha, yeah me too. You know, I convinced the other two, I mean Kieran and Irina, to take you along on our next bailiwick excursion … but don't tell anyone … might not be an official one.« He winked.

Vern smiled. »Thanks. That really means a lot to me.«

»Uh, oh, don't say it like that. It's just … you'll have obligations … acting as an arbiter for who gets credited for kills … of course, totally no favoritism towards your brother.« He patted Vern on the back. »So I am going to get my stuff sorted out for now. Polish the leather and all. Don't want Ezra to have reason to chastise me.«

»Yes, probably a good idea.« Vern grinned. »I'll be heading out and have a look around the city, walking or the travel fatigue.«

»Sounds good. Just be back by evening. Or else I'll give you house arrest.« Waving his index fingers to emphasize, he tried to be serious.

»Yes, my lord. I'll try to accommodate your every wish.«

They burst into laughter before they each went their way.

Vern located the servant and acquired a map of the city that would help him navigate. Then he left the mansion to hopefully make some progress.