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“For these reasons we would be grateful if you could give us some information.” Opening the scroll fully, Erk shows it to the man in front of him.
“Child? Ehh... No, I haven't seen him, besides with that striking gray hair... no, I'm sure not.” Rel says it with a sincere face that leaves no room for doubt.
"I understand, I appreciate your time.” Not disappointed since he wasn't expecting anything, Erk is about to get back on his horse when Rel stops him.
"But I saw some small footprints a few days ago, perhaps from a child... If I had something to help me remember better..." Extending his hand and with the sarcasm of his words, he makes it clear that it is what he wants.
“I hate this kind of bastard.” Erk approaches again and takes two silver coins out of his bag and deposits them in the man's hand at the same time that he insulted him in his mind.
“If you can prove your information and it’s useful, I will give you a gold coin as a reward. But if instead it's a lie...”
“Of course, of course. I would never lie to a knight.” Rel has a natural smile on his face, if Ezer saw him he would notice the falsehood.
“I have to show some greed so as not to look suspicious, this is the best way to divert them. Hehehe… and I win some coins.” Rel doesn't notice his contradiction since the greed he wanted to pretend was partly real.
“By the way, my name is Relen. Knowing our names is basic to trust.”
“Erk.” His dry reply shows that he doesn't want to talk.
Rel is still pushing and trying to win every second he can though.
"Ooh?" No last name, a knight like you? I thought it was not possible.”
“Be quiet! Do you own your own horse? We can't waste any more time, guide us to the place.” He loses his composure for a second, but then he regains it and deflects the subject perfectly.
“Of course, of course. The faster I have that gold coin the better.” Knowing he can't cross the line any further, Rel readies his horse and moves forward with Erk and the soldier.
Surnames were something that only the nobles possessed, it was not necessary for a peasant who spent his entire life in the fields and died without anyone remembering them. Knights, on the other hand, were usually non-heir sons or people who earned that title on the battlefield.
Erk makes his way through the forest with Relen's guidance reaching a clearing and the base of a hill. The grass was somewhat damp from the recent rains and this added to the heat of the sun made perspiration begin to drain from his forehead.
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Relen gets off the horse and crouches on the ground observing it carefully, Erk noticing this follows his example.
“The rains erased almost everything, but you can see that there was movement... Hmm, I also noticed footprints on the hill, perhaps the rocks protected them from the rain.”
"Yes, definitely one person was here... and not a very big one. Let's go up the hill.” Erk wastes no time mounting his horse and leads the way by following the vague trails and his intuition. It wasn't the first time he was looking for someone, so he had a lot of experience in the field.
A little further back, Relen follows the soldier's rhythm and proposes something strange to him.
“I see you also use a bow, but you have few arrows left. I'll give you some since these sites are dangerous.” He pulls out a handful from his quiver and hands it to him.
The soldier hesitates for a moment, but accepts them acknowledging the fact that he didn't have many left after months in the woods and various encounters with wild animals and beasts.
Almost halfway up the hill they stop, going any further with the horses would be difficult.
"The rocks are removed and there are small footprints... It may have been him."
As Erk crouches down inspecting, Relen suddenly turns his head and listens intently. A few seconds pass, but only the wind can be heard, until something mixes together with the sound of the breez. Relen has a slight smile on the face and hastens his horse to turn in the opposite direction.
"Shit, the gold coin! But there's no time... there's no time, but it's worth it!” Wrestling with himself mentally, Relen decides to act.
“My information was true, so I want my reward.” He can't help rushing his words.
"You're right, I keep what I promised.” He pulls a coin out of his bag and before he could do anything else, Relen snatches it from him, gets on the horse running and then goes in the same direction they came.
Dumbfounded, Erk is still holding out his hand and thinking about what just happened. At that moment, he notices something strange in the environment and remembers the behavior of his guide, to accentuate his concerns, small rocks begin to vibrate.
He looks up and his face pales. Erk runs with all his might until he reaches the horse and pulls the reins as fast as he can, by that time the soldier also noticed what was approaching and being already on his horse it took him less time to go back.
A stampede of almost twenty enormous goats descended on them, the ground was trembling and the horses increased their speed without the riders ordering them to do so. The slope made it difficult for the horses, but not for the adapted goats that jumped from rock to rock when necessary.
For some reason they were all focused on the soldier instead of Erk, and noticing this, he walks away knowing there is nothing more he can do in the situation they find themselves in.
Cold sweat ran down the soldier's back as he turned his head and saw the largest goat almost on top of him, pulling the reins with all his might almost leaving his horse's neck vertical.
The alpha goat, recognizing that the arrows that the soldier had were the same as the one that wounded him a short time ago, does not hesitate and throws the horse together with the rider two meters into the air, when they fall to the ground, the herd follows his example.
In the distance Relen lets out a sigh of relief at the scene.
"I almost didn't make it, but it was worth it." He tosses the gold coin up in the air and then puts it in his pocket. “Eh? Did one manage to escape? Well, at least I did my part, but I can't do more Ezer.”
At that very moment, when the last words left his mouth, a reddish flash exploded in the sky being visible for kilometers.
Erk, who was still galloping away trying to get far from the hill, looks up and his eyes sharpen at the sign.
“Finally!”
He starts heading towards the red light in the sky. But this time not escaping, but hunting.