“Who’s knocking?” The girl with the auburn hair tied in a pony tail, draped on her left shoulder, scanned left and right, slightly leaning forward and resting her hands on the hips of her hourglass figure. She scrunched up her freckled face with a glare, “Hey… no one’s here!”
Suran, on the ground, threw up one arm and waved, rubbing his bruised forehead, “No, I’m right here.” He picked himself up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. Behind the girl, the fragrance of food wafted by, causing his mouth to water. Wearing a faded green cloth tunic and a dingy white apron, the red-head stood between him and sustenance.
“Do I know you?” She asked, crossing her arms.
“I believe we met for a brief moment yesterday.”
Squinting her eyes, she pondered for a moment before her eyes grew wide, “Oh, That’s right! I thought you looked familiar. What brings you here?”
“I smelt something nice, and I got carried away following the scent. Sorry for troubling you.”
“Do you mean my cooking by any chance?”
“….Yes, probably.” There was no mistaking the smell of good food was coming from right behind her.
She glanced back for a second and tilted her head to the side, deep in thought, “Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… why don’t you come inside then? I was just making lunch.”
“No, I can’t; I don’t want to impose,” Suran rejected the offer. However, his stomach had a mind of its own and gave out a loud borborygmus.
“See? Your stomach wants to eat. Plus, it’s the least I can do for the guy who saved me.”
“But-”
“Oh shut up and get inside. There’s enough food for both of us anyways.”
“…I-if you insist,” Suran, defeated, walked in behind the girl.
He tripped and almost fell. Regaining his balance, he examined the ground, finding that a dead man’s leg had blocked his path. It was the same corpse from yesterday, completely untouched with the knife still in its throat.
The women had already hopped along and was settling back into the kitchen, oblivious to the dead man on the floor.
“Um, why is this dead guy still here?” Suran stood over the corpse, concerned.
“Oooooooh, that?” She scurried around the kitchen, tending to the various pots and pans and their simmering contents, “I didn’t wanna deal with it, soooo I kind of just left and there and forgot about it…”
“You forgot about a dead body?” Suran worriedly asked, gingerly stepping forward into the messy home.
She let go of the ladle into the pot below and turned to Suran with a scowl, “Give me a break! It’s an honest mistake anyone could make.”
“Yeah, of course.”
At the back of the house attached to the kitchen was a small, wooden dining table. Suran headed over to the table, pulled at the chair, and seated himself with the kitchen in sight. He could hear the sizzling of meat as its juices bubbled and the bubbling and boiling of stew. The red-headed women flew around the kitchen, stirring one pot, throwing spice in another, and cutting fruits, vegetables, and meat.
Gliding across the kitchen, humming, she was completely absorbed in her work. Pausing the hum, “Don’t think I got your name yet, have I?”
“No, you’re right. My name is Suran. Suran Ibrahim.”
“Natalya Korsakova, pleasure to meetcha!
“Likewise.”
“Just sit tight for a moment. Almost done!”
“Got it.”
Suran was just about to recline and relax for once till he noticed the deathly pale women crumpled on the floor by the table. He rubbed his eyes and blinked several times. Still there, and it just wasn’t any random person; Suran was afraid that this women was her mother. Should he mention it to her? Ignore it? No, he could not just let it go. Eating next to a decomposing, decrepit women was not something he was keen on doing.
“Ummm, excuse me?”
“Hmmm?”
“Who is… this person here?” Suran tried to gingerly avoid the subject of the lady being dead, hoping that Natalya would catch on.
“Oh, that’s just my mother! Don’t mind her; she has been very quiet lately.”
Suran simply puckered his lips and nodded. If it was not for the other dead person in the building, he would have thought she was in denial, but now he was not so sure.
“So she has been… quiet? Is she feeling well?
“Yeah. I mean, I guess she is kind of dead, which could be making a difference. She has been outright useless since yesterday, just layin’ around!”
“Then perhaps it would be a good idea to, I dunno, clean up the body? At the very least remove it from the floor along with the other one? It can’t be good allowing this place to be so dirty…”
Natalya spun around from her crockery with fury in her eyes, “ God dammit, don’t you patronize me! Who the hell do you even think you are?! MY MOTHER?!”
“T-that’s the point! She’s dead! On the ground! RIGHT HERE!”
“Okay, okay! Chill out, man. I get absorbed in cooking and one thing let to another and I just forgot about her, okay? Anyways, food is ready!
Suran sighed and dragged his hand across his face as Natalya set the table. Item after item, Natalya kept on stacking the wooden table with plates of food. Several pieces of fresh, juicy steak cooked medium rare, steaming mashed potatoes, a beef stew filled with vegetables, chops of savory lamb, and even a warm apple pie topped the spread. For two people, this was a feast.
Natalya placed the last plate occupied by a jelly substance that oozed sugar and a pitcher of water-cooled with ice and announced, “ Table is set! Dig in!”
He went for the meat first, placing a large portion of steak and pouring out a bowl of the stew. Taking a bite of the steak, juices overflowed and dripped on the plate. As he sampled the stew, the chops, and everything else, he could not stop guzzling down the food; he ate uncontrollably. However, he slowed down after a moment, conscious that as a guest he should not be acting as such a glutton. When he stole a glance at Natalya when he was not eating, he was forced to do a double-take.
Natalya was shoving more food down her throat then he thought was physically possible to fit in her throat at a terrifying speed. She even abstained from using utensils, instead using her hands to tear apart the meat and food and devour it promptly. Still, she had to use a spoon to manage the stew, allowing her to retain some semblance of table manners.
“Pardon the rudeness, but do you always eat so… aggressively?”
“Hyup!” She spoke with her mouth chock full of food. Swallowing the last bits of food, she went on, “Yeah it always confuses people how I can eat so much, but I just can’t help it!” Gnawing on a bone, she licked it clean and flicked it away, “For me, not eating good food is the same as not living. Because of that my goal is to eat the best food in the world and cook the best food in the world,” she finished with a wide smile.
Suran could not believe someone of her size could consume so much food. Her hips might be a little of the wide side, and her breasts were definitely above average, but, in-between those two, her stomach was flat as could be, without any sign of flab. Instead of questioning it any further, he focused on filling up. He had seen stranger things already, so witnessing someone skinny gorge down food was the least of his worries.
“Well, I told you my goal, so what about yours?” Natalya spoke in between bites. “There is no way you are from around here with that sandy skin, so you must have something in mind?”
It bothered him that he was sticking out so much due to his appearances, but he opted to think nothing more of it since it wasn’t causing him any real problems so far besides strange looks. “I do have a goal, I suppose…”
Natalya’s eyes lit up, “Oooo! Tell me! Tell me!” She hounded after Suran like an attached puppy.
“It’s hard to explain…” his gaze wandered off, getting lost in thought, “It would be too much trouble to go through it.”
Natalya groaned, “Oh come on! Can’t be that bad, but if you won’t share, at least tell me where you’re from.”
“Okay fine, I’ll tell you what my goal is,” Suran dodged around the subject of his origins and took a moment to compose his thoughts, “The best way I can put it is that I’m trying to find the end to my journey.”
“What’s that suppose to mean?”
“I have been on this odyssey for a very long time, and I want nothing more than to say it’s over.”
“Then all you have to do is get to your destination then, right? Where is it at?”
“That’s the problem; I’m not sure what my destination really is,” Suran replied with a depressed chuckle.
“So if you have no idea where you are going or even where to, then why do you keep going on?” She frowned and tilted her head once more, contemplating his response, “Can’t you just call it quits whenever? Just like buy a house and settle down or something?”
“But that does not end the journey,” Suran leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and clasping his hands, “A journey is not over until you reach the destination. Stopping in the middle only delays it, and if I stop searching, I’ll never find the end.”
Both of them had finishing eating by this point, all the plates cleaned of their contents. Suran enjoyed the steak the most with the jelly dessert a close second.
“You know… I don’t think I really understand this ‘journey’ of yours, but I guess you gotta do whatcha gotta do.”
“Yeah…” Suran signed out, slouching back in his chair. He felt there were no other options.
“Enough of that!” Natalya stretched her arms out in the air, popping out her chest, “So what are your plans now?”
He shrugged, “Just keep moving forward, I guess. I spoke with the captain of the knights, Greyson, and he recommended I visit the adventures guild in Valcadia. It’s my only lead so I plan on heading over next.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“Then it’s settled! We leave tomorrow.”
Suran was taken aback by the comment, “Wait, what? What do you mean ‘we’?”
“Do I have to spell it out for you? I will come with you! Never been to Valcadia so I really want to go and see what type of food and ingredients they have there,” at the mention of food, her entire body shuddered uncontrollably.
“No, I mean why. I just met you, so it is kind of crazy for me to think you would just want to up and travel with me just like that.”
“As I said, my goal, which actually makes sense, is to find the best dishes and ingredients and cook the best food, and being stuck in this shitty town won’t get me anywhere. My mom is dead, my house is in ruins, and my small cropland we destroyed last week by a two-headed Beaor. I have been looking for an excuse to leave, and now I have one!”
“I guess that’s fine, but I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to come with me anyways. Greyson said adventuring was a dangerous profession, and I would not want to bring you – or anyone – into danger if I could help it.”
“But danger is where the best food is! I’m coming with you whether you like it or not, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. If you are going to be an adventure and run around, then I’ll just follow you!” Natalya was sitting happily in her chair, swaying side to side.
“Alright, I guess we leave tomorrow then,” he consented, realizing nothing he said would stop her.
“Great! I’ll start preparing my things.” Natalya began to scurry around rummaging through her items then stopping, “Hold up. Before I start packing, what do you have on hand?”
“What do I have? I go the clothes on my back, the sword at my hip, and 15 silver coins. Also, would you mind telling me how much 15 silver coins are worth?”
“That ain’t much and 15 silver coins? Hmmmmm, that is 1,500 copper coins.”
Suran signed and facepalmed, “No, I want to know what I can buy with 15 silver coins.”
“Oooh, you should have just asked! 15 silver coins would be a few days at an inn, maybe a week tops. Just know that the going price for a loaf of bread is five copper coins. Figure it out from there.”
“Five copper coins is a loaf of bread?” Suran found that piece of information satisfactory as he could simply use that to convert the values from his past to this new currency. “Could you breakdown the currency system for me?”
“Sure. 100 copper coins is one silver coin and 100 silver is one gold coin. There is a crystal coin above gold but no one uses it but big banks and kings.”
“Interesting. Is there anything I need to know beside currency?”
“Nothing I can think of. I’ve never left Alnwick and my education isn’t the best. I had some schooling by the Church, but when my father left, I had to take care of the fields with my mother to get by. If you want good information, just hit the town because I don’t got much. That knight you mentioned might give you some more, even the tavern. I wont be done packing for a while so just come back tomorrow morning!”
“Alright, see you then.” Suran got up from the chair, and excused himself from the house, leaving the two corpses and the crazy read-head behind. With Natalya packing and no more information to glean from her, he opted to seek out Greyson once more. Even though Greyson did not intend to mean any harm, Suran felt slightly uncomfortable conversing with him, but, at this time, he was the best person to talk to.
With the bright sun beginning to slowly dip down towards to the horizon, Suran picked up his pace, trotting over to the town center. He was just in time too, as Greyson and his companions were wrapping it up for the day.
“Look who it is!” Greyson gleefully exclaimed, walking over to Suran and giving him an immobilizing bear hug.
“G-good to see you too…” Suran managed to gasp out, finding it difficult to breathe.
Greyson promptly let go of Suran, “Sorry about that, got little carried away.”
“No worries.”
“Do what do I owe the pleasure of entertaining you again?”
“I finished eating lunch and had some free time before the end of the day. I decided to follow your advice and visit Valcadia and make an inquiry at the adventurer’s guild. But, since im leaving tomorrow, I had nothing to do for the rest of the day so I though it would be a good idea to swing by here again.”
“Hahahaha, I’m glad you are following my advice. I promise it’s the right choice. As you can see, we are bringing the construction efforts to a close for the day and we were just about to run some drills and practice,” Greyson lowered his gaze, fixated on the sword on Suran’s belt, “seeing that you yourself have a sword, would you care to join us?”
“I will take you up on that offer,” Suran replied satisfied nod. Practicing sword skills against a professional knight is an opportunity that might not come up again. Adventuring was a profession he had no idea about, and he wanted to be prepared for anything that it would require of him.
Suran and the knights traveled to a small encampment just outside of town, where rows of tents were set up. It had an eerie feel to it as there were so few knights compared to the plethora of tents. A solemn reminder of the casualties. At the center of the camp was a clear, empty field.
Knights began to pair off and spread out across the open green. Suran was left with Greyson as his partner. Together, they settled in the center of the field, and Greyson instructed Suran to draw his sword.
“Oh my, what a gorgeous sword that is! Greyson exclaimed, eyes wide. He even stepped up to take a closer look at the intricacies of the blade. “Where did you get such a masterpiece?”
“To be honest, I came across it accidentally just the other day.”
Greyson grinned like a school kid and shook his had at Suran, “That is some crazy luck, to come across two treasures in such a short time span!”
Two treasures? What two treasures, Suran thought to himself.
“Enough of the chit-chat! Lets get to work. Show me what you got!” Greyson readied himself and his sword.
Suran was again on the ground after his fifth attempt at dueling Greyson. Each time he was out maneuvered by the finesse and skill in which Greyson carried himself. Greyson lumbered over to Suran and reached out his hand to assist Suran back up.
“Maybe we should tone it down a little bit,” he asked Suran with a chuckle, “Tell me, how much do you know about handling a sword?”
Suran was slightly out of breath, and sweat was starting to bead down his head after his futile attempts, “Absolutely nothing.”
“I figured as much. You seemed to know how to move around in the middle of a fight, but you were using your sword completely wrong. Teaching you some of the basics will help out much more.”
“I would appreciate that, but wouldn’t that slow down your practice?”
“Of course not!” Greyson laughed at the question, “Refining the basics is one of the best practices someone could do. Without a good foundation, you won’t get anywhere.”
On that note, the two shifted gears, and Greyson assumed a more mentor-like role, coaching Suran on the different sword stances, running drills on positioning and parrying, and explaining the theory and practical application of the variety of strikes available for a swordsmen. Greyson worked Suran hard without break, drilling him as any proper captain would do.
Suran sprawled out on the grass, exhausted from the training regiment Greyson had made him endure. Even the battle yesterday did not leave him so drained.
“Is that all you got? It’s only been five hours!” Greyson taunted Suran overhead.
“Sorry, I think that is about all I can manage for now.”
Greyson gave out a hearty laugh, “It’s time for dinner anyways. Care to join us?”
“Please,” Suran gasped out, more thirsty than he was actually hungry. Getting up from the ground, he followed Greyson.
On the menu was a simple porridge. While the knights lapped it up as if it was some luxury, Suran found it tasteless compared to the magnificent meal he had the pleasure of enjoying earlier. The gathered knights grew rowdy as bottle of wine were broken out under the starry night.
“Want a drink?” Greyson proposed to Suran, stretching out a cup filled with an alcoholic beverage.
“No thanks. Drinking is not my thing,” Suran pushed the cup back towards him.
“Suit yourself,” Greyson tilted his head back and chugged down the drink. “So you heading out to Valcadia tomorrow?”
“Correct,” Suran replied, leaning back to gaze at the stars and planets in the sky.
“Wish I could go to the capital. Been a long time since I last been there.”
“Why can’t you go?”
“For starters we have to help rebuild the town, but the real reason is that we have orders to head out west towards the Novgarad border. Relations have been rough recently with those barbaric bastards, and the king is beefing up the border to prepare for the worst.”
“So that’s how it is…”
Conversation died down after that. One by one the knights began to return to their tents and sleep. Greyson offered Suran if he wanted to use his superior captain’s tent, but Suran declined. Parting ways with Greyson, he departed the camp and headed back towards the tree. There was something about the aged tree on top of the hill that attracted Suran to it. Under the blanket of the stars, he went over everything that had happened in the last two days, from the intense skirmishes he fought in to the peculiar magic he witnessed to the odd people he encountered. It was a strange world to Suran, but even among so many unknowns, he felt as ease. With his belly stuffed and his muscles sores, he returned to sleep under the old tree to prepare for the new day.