In front of Lionel was a burning village - his village. He could see the inhabitants running around screaming as armed men chased and cut them down. Plenty of corpses were already littering the roads. Even the ones who tried to make a break for the hills got slaughtered by the raiders on horseback.
Lionel stood by the entrance to the forest in complete petrification. Thankfully, because he was quick-witted from young, he managed to pull himself together in a couple of moments. When he finally snapped to, his thoughts were already spinning around what to do next.
Although he did not have many fond memories of the village, it did not mean that he was absolutely hateful of it. Among all the bad ones there were some people who genuinely cared about him and provided warmth, like elder Faf as well as uncle Glin and aunt Hermi.
At the same time, Lionel understood that there was nothing he could do, and running into that mess would only spell his pointless death. Taking several seconds to deliberate he decided to save what he was able to.
He turned around and was about to rush back to the forest when suddenly the punishment for wasting time arrived. With heavy footsteps, a man appeared next to Lionel before he could react.
The smell of a sweaty body, unwashed for who knows how many days reached his nose. Lionel stared at the owner of the odor. Surprisingly the man was shorter than him with an average face and brown hair, a body covered in leather armor. However, be it in years or the muscles, he had Lionel outmatched.
While Lionel was still observing, the man let a grin spread over his face as he spoke and gestured with his ax. To him, a kid like Lionel did not equate an actual opponent, and this was clear to see from his carelessness
"It seems like we had missed a little rat. Thankfully, I decided to be a bit more dutiful today."
As the bandit spoke, Lionel's body was shaking from being stared at by him. It was the same feeling as the time he met a wolf in the forest. That presence of danger which paralyzed him back then seemed to have returned.
Yet, now he was older and more experienced, so he knew that he had to act and not stand still if he wanted to live. That is why he followed his instinct and lunged at the bandit while drawing his dagger.
At first, the raider seemed taken aback, but after seeing how amateurishly Lionel was swinging at him, he grinned at took a step back. The dagger missed by a large margin without even inconveniencing the raider.
Failing his attack, Lionel lost his balance and had to take a moment to readjust his footing. This was more than enough time for the raider to counter-attack.
"Fighting is not game you brat."
The bandit swung his ax nonchalantly while throwing insults towards him, however, the might in his swing was no joke. Staring at the incoming attack Lionel clumsily tried to parry. Unfortunately, he was not skilled enough, nor strong enough. All he managed was to not get hurt while getting knocked to the ground.
After experiencing the difference of battle strength between him and his opponent Lionel stopped trying to fight back and made a dash back into the forest as soon as he got up.
This seemed to anger the raider because Lionel could hear his furious shouts from behind him as he began to chase him.
"You little rat, where do you think you are going? Today none of you will escape from here alive."
Following Lionel, the ruffian broke into a sprint himself. He appeared to be keen on finishing him off even if he had to put some effort into it. Unknown to Lionel, these bandits always operated on the basis of never leaving anyone alive, to escape the notice of the empire as much as possible.
Lionel, on the other hand, was running with all his strength. His mind was in a complete disarray. All he was doing with any thinking power he still had las was trying to figure out how he could escape this situation.
By the time he entered the slightly deeper part of the woods, Lionel had already gotten a better grasp on his situation. The time he won by running and the adrenaline setting in allowed him to see a clearer picture.
Outrunning an athletic person like that bandit was impossible for someone as scrawny as him. Which meant that there were only two other ways for him to survive. Either to outmaneuver him using the natural terrain or to get rid of his pursuer.
The first option was unfortunately impossible. The bandit would have long since caught up with him by the time he reached deep enough in the forest, where the terrain became tricky enough.
The second option on the other hand, although not impossible, it was difficult in its own regard. Lionel could try to fight the bandit again, but he knew that the chances of winning were very low.
Luckily, Lionel knew that in this forest existed traps laid by his village's hunter. And to not have accidents happen, the hunter had informed the entire village of their whereabouts. Most of them were simple and not useful against someone as big as the bandit, but there was one close enough that might do the job.
Lionel began to sprint with renewed vigor. The forest's foliage crunched under his feet. Twigs snapped and the wildlife got spooked by the chase. However, even when his lungs were burning as if on fire he persevered and continued to dash.
By the time Lionel reached the spot with the pitfall, even the bandit behind him was somewhat out of breath. He had long since stooped spouting threats and conserved his energy to run. This made Lionel feel more confident about his plan. Since this meant that the bandit might become a bit careless due to his exhaustion.
When he finally saw and arrived at the big fallen tree log which marked where the trap laid, Lionel used most of his remaining strength to leap from atop of the log, over the spot where the trap should be.
Thankfully no animal has triggered it from the last time it was reset. Seeing that the trap could still be used, the last worry in his mind disappeared. When he reached the opposite side of the trap with his lunge he collapsed, acting as if he had no more strength to run.
In mere seconds after Lionel, the bandit also reached the log. Seeing his pray's situation he let out a weary laugh as he climbed over the log. With clear anger and frustration on both his face and in his voice, he spoke.
"It seems like you are finally done. You wasted more than enough of my time. I will skin you like an animal for what you made me go through. When I'm done with you... "
While still mid-sentence, the ground gave in beneath where the bandit stepped on and with a scream he fell down, letting out a thump as he hit the ground. Immediately some groans began to ring out from inside of the pitfall.
Seeing his success, Lionel stood up as he took several deep breaths. While he did so, a smile crept on to his face. He could barely hold in his excitement due to his victory. When he gained back a bit of strength he even decided to go have a look at the trapped bandit.
Unfortunately, this was his mistake. Due to his lack of caution, it was too late when he noticed the bandit jump and reach for his leg. He seemed to have been waiting for Lionel to get closer to pull him down.
As the bandit's hand grasped around his shin, Lionel felt a tug. The bandit began to drag Lionel towards the hole after the later lost his foothold. Out of instinct, Lionel tried to stop himself from getting dragged down. His elbows and back got bruised as he but his weight backward.
Yet the bandit's strength was too strong and he was beginning to lose grasp. Seeing this Lionel did the only thing he could think of, he raised the dagger which he was still holding in his hand and stabbed towards him.
His hunting experience seemed to have helped him this time because his dagger easily found itself into the bandit's neck, hitting a vital artery. Lionel felt warm blood stain his hand, the arm previously holding him lose its strength and soon after he saw the bandit's body slump.
Not only that, but he also felt something warm transfer from the bandit to himself. In shock, Lionel released the dagger and kicked the bandit's corpse away from himself. As the bandit fell to the ground Lionel pulled himself up and with no hesitation once again broke out into a run.
His destination this time was another pitfall further in the forest. He thought that he could use that pit to hide and gather his frantic thoughts as he rested. The only question was, what if the trap had already been sprung?
If the top of the trap was not usable anymore, the only choice he would be left with was going deeper into the forest. He did not want to take the risk of wandering on the outskirts in case the bandits came to search for their comrade, but he also did not fancy facing off against wild animals.
Luckily for Lionel, after reaching the area, he saw that the trap had still not caught anything. He then dexterously crawled beneath the cover of the pitfall and lowered himself down to the bottom.
Finally, in somewhat of a safe space Lionel could relax and organize his thoughts. The attack on the village, his first time killing a person, all of these things had given him a shock.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
He managed to pull himself together and think only due to the warmth still lingering inside his body. He then tried to recall what it could be, but even after several minutes of wondering the only conclusion Lionel could come to was what elder Faf had once told him.
He said that every person and living being in the world had something called levels, which dictated how strong they were. And after killing something the killer would gain some energy that helped raise his own level. The amount depended on how strong of a being you killed.
Lionel had hunted small animals on various occasions, but they were much too weak to give the feeling of warmth he was experiencing right now. Not to mention that becoming an adventuring or some kind of city guard for whom this would be important to, was too far for him. Especially since according to elder Faf you needed something called a status card to see your level.
These circumstances made it so levels were not on Lionel's main agenda. However, this current experience with the laws of the world opened up a completely new door to Lionel right now.
He could swear that he felt himself become slightly fitter even as he rested. For a moment he had even forgotten the problematic situation he was in due to his small ecstasy, but the dull pain from his bruises soon returned him to reality.
After casting a look at his injuries, Lionel scrambled for the pouches on his waist and with two of his fingers scooped up a bit of the herbal medicine inside them. The smell was overwhelming, and when the medicine touched his bruises it stung, however, he knew how effective they were, and that he had to do this to stop the wound from becoming infected.
When he was done treating his injuries, he sank back into contemplation. There were too many things that happened today and he had to decide what he will do if he survives this tragedy.
He would most likely not be able to live like he used to. But was he prepared to become an adventurer? The fight with the bandit made him second-guess himself. Having faced the threat of death, he now understood how heavily he would his life by becoming an adventurer.
With a sigh, Lionel decided to try and sleep so he could relieve his exhaustion. After he wakes up he will go and try to take look at the village, after which he will make his decision.
The night's rest was not disruptive, but quite shallow. He could not stop the anxiety from making his sleep unrestful. He would at moments be woken up by either animal sounds or distant shouts all night long.
Lionel went to sleep way earlier than normal, so when he was done with his sleep it was still dark. He climbed out of the hole and stretched himself. His treated wounds were not hurting anymore thanks to the medicine. Furthermore, his mind was also feeling much better than yesterday.
After taking a look around and seeing that there were no problems with the surroundings he began to move. However, his first destination was not the village, but the trap he killed the bandit at.
Lionel wanted to see if the raiders found the corpse, and if they had not, he would take back the dagger he left behind and loot whatever the man had on him.
After a jog lasting several minutes, he reached the spot which seemed undisturbed from yesterday. Looking down the hole he saw the grizzly scene he had left there. Overnight the bandit's blood pooled at the bottom of the hole and submerged half of the corpse.
Staring at this, Lionel felt a bit unwell but pulling himself together he put his effort into trying to fish out the body from the hole. Unfortunately, although he managed to get the body out, his efforts of trying to not get dirty were not accomplished. His boots and parts of his clothes were now stained in red.
While feeling a bit frustrated due to the smell of the blood Lionel began patting down the bandit's body. Besides his own rusty dagger, he found the ax which the bandit had wielded, a better quality dagger, 7 silver coins and some worthless knick-knacks.
Lionel gleefully took the silver and the dagger, however, the ax made him frown a bit. It was too unwieldy for someone as weak as him, but after some thought, he still took it to sell at a later date.
The bandit's armor had also been stripped by Lionel after he discerned it to still be in a usable condition. In the end, all which was left after his search was a naked body and some junk.
After getting everything he needed Lionel did not dally and headed straight to the village after leaving the body to decompose. But even though the raiders have most likely left, he still took some precautions and crept up on the forest's outskirts stealthily.
Thankfully the bandits did indeed leave, however, the carnage they left was not a pretty sight. The village had been left in smoldering ruin. Only some building had still retained a semblance to what they looked like before while others were already no more than charcoal and ashes.
With heavy steps, Lionel headed towards the village entrance. It did not take him long to sight plenty of bodies laying on the ground. Most of them were out in the open with guts spilled all over the floor while the rest had burned to a crisp inside the buildings.
He gagged a bit at the sight. if he had not been used to seeing animal offal he would have probably thrown up. But even then, the corpses of familiar people made his blood go cold.
Lionel took the whole morning to look around the village. While doing so he saw that some of the people like the village blacksmith and hunter tried to fight back. There were several unfamiliar corpses on the roads, but most of them were already stripped of all the valuables.
He also saw elder Faf who died with a stoic look on his face in the village hall. He must have been the same brave old man like always, even when confronted by bandits.
Jenna the pretty girl he had a small crush on and thought he would marry if his dream wasn't fulfilled, was also laying next to one of the buildings. He did not even want to imagine what they have done to her before she died. For the young women of the village, the fact that the raiders were not taking prisoners might have been a blessing.
At the center of the village, in the house which belonged to uncle Glin and aunt Hermi, Lionel saw two burning corpses in an embrace. This scene even further soured Lionel's mood due to him knowing who they were.
When he was done inspecting the village it was already late morning. Lionel sat on a rock and started at what was left of the village with slight melancholy in his green eyes. Only when the sun reached high noon did he begin moving again.
After making a round around the village he knew that he did not have any other choices than to leave the village. To prepare for this journey he went around scavaging for supplies.
Thankfully, although bandits had taken a lot of stuff, they were in a hurry and could not carry everything. There were things that survived the fire like some food, various clothes, sacks and such.
Also, Lionel not only had his own hidden savings but also knew the staches of several other people which were too difficult to find for bandits. With all of it, he managed to pool 12 gold coins, 32 silver coins, and 141 copper coins. If he could sell the furs he had scavenged from the village he could also earn a little bit more.
Finished with his searching, Lionel began another task he wanted to complete before leaving. He started to gather all the corpses of the town and any lumber which could be used for a pyre.
Leaving all the corpses to rot did not sit well with Lionel. Burning the bodies felt much more appropriate. He could have buried them but it would have taken way too much time, so he had to make do with cremation.
It took a good part of the day to make all the necessary preparations. When he was finished it was already too late to start his journey, so while standing in front of the bodies, which were laying slightly outside the village, he lit the wood and watched as the fire spread over the dead.
Flame consumed everything in its path, dying quite a large chunk of ground in red. Lionel stood at the side solemnly watching all of this happen. This night was going to be a long one for Lionel.
He spent a good while watching all the people he had known in his life turn to ash while contemplating his future. When the sun finally rose there was barely anything left besides bones and ash, Lionel unfortunately barely got a wink of sleep.
Right before leaving he took his last look at the site where the ravaging fire had burned and looked down at his old, rusty dagger. Then, after a moment of apprehension, he stabbed his dagger into the ash.
It was the last thing on him that had a significant connection to this place and should be left here, at least that was what he thought. Only by doing this would he have peace of mind on his journey.
"I will be going now. Rest in peace."
After mumbling some words Lionel turned towards the north and began his journey. A journey that would lead him to places and adventures he had never dared to imagine.