As the sun set, a cloaked man walked into a village, the cloak blending seamlessly with the fading light. The village was tranquil, its gravel roads illuminated by flickering lanterns. The man walked through the town, greeting the people of the village. He looked up and saw a tavern that was still open. Approaching the door, he heard boisterous men inside the crowded bar, downing ales like water while the servers replenished their drinks. Approaching the bartender, the cloaked man removed his cloak, revealing his reddish hair. The bartender was an average-looking older man with gray strands on his beard along with short gray hair.

"Good evening, sir," said the traveler as he pulled up a chair. "I'll just have water, please."

"Right away, sir," said the bartender as he reached for water. "That will be two copper," said the bartender as he placed the glass on the table while the man handed over the necessary money. "May I ask your name?"

"My name is Morgan Hughes," said Morgan, placing his cup down.

"And may I know your name?" Morgan asked.

"My name is Hakeem," said the bartender. "I have a question for you, Morgan. Why in the world are you carrying such a massive sword?"

"This is my longsword," Morgan said, smiling as he looked into the intricate designs on its golden hilt.

Hakeem placed the copper in front of Morgan, gesturing kindly. "It is on the house. Welcome to Harleaf."

Morgan placed a gold piece on the table. "Give everyone a round, then."

Hakeem smiled, and then he took a breath in. "EVERYONE! WE GOT A ROUND!"

The tavern erupted into cheers as servers hurried to the table to replenish ale. Everyone approached Morgan and thanked him.

"Is there a celebration that no one told me about?" Morgan inquired.

One of the men, a stocky fellow with a short brown beard and a bald head, spoke up. "We've finished dealing with our crops; it's time to celebrate," said the man.

"Winter is almost upon us," Morgan remarked, his brow furrowing.

"Why are you in such a rush?" Hakeem said, placing his hand on the visitor's shoulder. "You can stay a little while longer. You seemed like a good man to have here." The tavern goers smiled as the smell of ale could be present throughout the area.

"I do appreciate the compliment," Morgan said as he reached into his cloak. He found and placed a gold medal on the table. Around it was etched ‘Monster Hunter’. “I am out on a job. It is very time-dependent, so I can not waste time in situations that could be deemed unnecessary.”

“My apologies, sir,” Hakeem said, bowing his head to the swordsman. “I thank you for your service in protecting our people.”

"No problem," Morgan said with a smirk. "I was not trying to be rude. It's just an important mission I'm on."

"Can you share any details?" one of the men in the background asked. “We've only had one monster situation in our quiet village, if you can even call it one.”

"Don't tell me we're still on about that. It's been a year since then," said a drunk blonde-haired man, his head bobbing around. "Joseph was proven innocent. Are you still not believing him?"

“What is your problem, Jay?” the man said to the drunk. “I think it is complete bullshit that he got away with it. No monster corpse was in the house, and he was covered in blood.”

Jay stepped in with a clenched fist and punched the man straight in the face. He fell off his chair, and Jay tried to get on top to continue the beatdown. “Joseph is a good kid,” Jay yelled between wrathful punches to the man. Other men in the tavern grabbed at Jay, yanking him off of the man and escorting him out of the building while others picked up the victim to follow in pursuit. 

"Guess he had too much to drink, huh?" Hakeem said, cleaning one of the cups. "Just so you know, sir, in our village, fighting is permitted, but killing may result in punishment, depending on the circumstances," he explained.

"That makes perfect sense. More places should adopt that policy," Morgan said while sipping his water.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Hakeem said, placing another cup of water in front of the man.

"That's perfectly fine," Morgan said, turning to the bartender. "But could you tell me, who is Joseph?"

Hakeem glanced at one of the bartenders, a slender woman balancing a tray of ale. Hakeem displayed a smoking pipe, and the woman nodded in understanding. Outside, Hakeem lit the pipe and drew a long drag before he started speaking. The smoke smelled herbal, and his expression was stone. However, his eyes told a different story.

"Joseph's family was respected members of our community," Hakeem clarified as he took another puff. "His mother worked with our town's doctor, and his father was a farmer like the rest of us. They attempted to have a child at least four times, but each time, the child died at birth," he explained solemnly, placing his hand over his face. “That was until Joseph came along. We were all so very happy for that couple after enduring the burying of their four previous children.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Morgan placed his hand on Hakeem’s shoulder, remarking, “They sound like wonderful people for being that determined.”

"Yes, they were amazing people," Hakeem continued, composing himself with Morgan giving him a sympathetic look with his hazel eyes. "Then one night, about a year ago now, a monster attacked their farm down the road and slaughtered everyone except Joseph."

"Huh, that is strange," Morgan said, staring at Hakeem with a raised eyebrow. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I'm surprised that a monster would spare everyone else but him. Usually, monsters aren't foolish enough to let one person live unless Joseph somehow kills it."

"The thing is, he did kill it, to the village’s knowledge," Hakeem said, exhaling smoke, which blended in with the grays of his beard. "The problem is, when we found him, there was no body of the monster, and Joseph was covered in blood. He had no memory after seeing the monster kill his brother, and many people assumed that he killed his family. However, we held a trial for him, and the mayor found him innocent due to lack of evidence. However, most people disagreed and would not help him on his family’s farm. He had to sell part of it to the Ingo family, the richest family other than the mayor. Since he didn't have to manage the farm anymore, he mainly took odd jobs in the area to maintain the house. To help, I provided him some meals in the morning before I opened."

“That's very kind of you," Morgan said, briefly resting his hand on his chin before his eyes widened. "Can I meet him? I have an idea."

“You can,” Hakeem said nervously. “Is it what I think it is?”

"No, I'm not going to kill him," Morgan said, glancing behind him and past Hakeem. "So I'm only going to tell you this because you will keep asking me. My mission is to see a young kid wanting to join the ranks, and my plan was maybe to recruit Joseph to give him a better life."

Hakeem placed his hand on Morgan’s back. “You can stay here for the night, free of charge. We'll go see him in the morning.”

Morgan nodded, and they both returned to the tavern. They spent the rest of the night drinking, sharing stories, and enjoying each other's company. Morgan excused himself and then went upstairs to the rooms. Hakeem quickly followed him to show the newcomer to his room. Morgan took off his cloak and set it down on the chair, revealing flame tattoos across his arms. He retrieved a notebook from his bag and wrote paragraphs by candlelight. He quickly got up and gathered his belongings. Light beamed into the room several hours later and hit Morgan in the face. He descended the stairs to find Hakeem preparing food, with the aroma of seasonings and a hint of smoke filling Morgan’s nose.

"What are you making?" Morgan asked, matching his steps with the rhythm of his words.

"I am cutting up some meat for the boy," Hakeem said as he slashed his knife into a slab of beef, "then I am going to give him a dozen eggs."

"Growing boy?" Morgan inquired as he settled near the counter, watching Hakeem work at the food.

"You will see for yourself later, swordsman," Hakeem said jokingly. Both men chuckled while Hakeem continued prepping the meat.

"Do you want me to clean up the room?" Morgan asked, gesturing towards the stairs. "I already have my stuff with me."

"It's fine," Hakeem replied. "I'll ask one of the servers to clean it up when I return."

Morgan nodded as Hakeem placed his knife down on the counter. After searching around the counter, Hakeem grabbed a bag and placed the meat into it. Then, he reached for the same crate for the eggs. Morgan got up and walked to hold the door for the man. Hakeem walked out, and both headed down the road. The sun had partially risen, casting its light over the village. Slowly, the villagers emerged from their wooden houses to begin their day of work on the farm. As the men walked down the street, the villagers gave them a look of disgust with their eyes, following the two down the road.

"As you can see, most of the town does not like it when people try to help the boy," Hakeem chuckled as the morning wind tossed his beard between his steps. “But I don't care, and since I'm the only tavern in the village, they've got to come to me anyway."

The men continued their walk. Down the road, there was a farm with a smaller house nearby. Two men were engaged in conversation; one was dressed in silk clothes, while the other wore more ragged attire and towered over the former. The man in the ragged clothes looked defeated as his head looked closer to the ground.

"Is that tall guy Joseph?" Morgan asked, pointing towards the taller man. Hakeem nodded, and Morgan shook his head. "How old is the boy?"

"He's fifteen years old," Hakeem said nonchalantly. Morgan's mouth dropped upon hearing this, his eyes widening. "I told you he was a big boy," Hakeem chuckled, his eyes squinting from laughter.

They approached the men near the front of the house, and the man in silk turned to face the approaching duo. "Hakeem, I see you're on another courier run," the man laughed. "Who the hell is this guy?"

"He's a visitor, Joaquin," Hakeem said as he shrugged his shoulders to better hold the food. "He wants to speak with Joseph."

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope this traveler can give Joseph a place to live because I bought out the house," Joaquin said as he dangled a document in front of the two men's faces.

"My name is Morgan," Morgan said with a firm tone as he stepped forward. "I suggest you leave and let us talk to him." Joaquin attempted to speak, but Morgan reached for his sword, which caused Joaquing to coward as his lips closed. "That's what I thought. Now go away, please. You already got what you need."

Hakeem glared at Joaquin, prompting him to leave begrudgingly. Then, he shifted his eyes to the boy. "Joseph, this is Morgan, and he wants to help you out."

Joseph looked at Morgan and then approached the man. As Joseph approached the swordsman, more of his physical traits became apparent. His tanned skin bore scars across his body, his unkempt black hair partially obscuring his face, with a small scar visible under his left eye. Despite towering over Morgan with his height, he didn't appear much heavier than him.

 "Hey, Joseph," Morgan said, extending his hand. Joseph shook it firmly, and Morgan felt the strength in the boy's grip. "You've got a firm grip." 

"Everyone has told me that," Joseph said bluntly. "My father always told me to give a firm handshake to everyone." 

"Your father must be a great man," Morgan remarked. 

"He was a great father," Joseph said, his expression turning solemn for a moment. "What do you want to tell me anyway?"

 "I want you to come alongside me on my journey, but I need permission from your family," Morgan said, looking up at the boy.

 Joseph turned and headed towards the house. Morgan followed him to see a set of tombstones. Eight were scattered behind the house, and the wind blew the grass surrounding the cut pieces of stone. Morgan took his sword and solemnly pierced it into the ground. Then he squatted down and began to pray. After some time, he got up and looked Joseph in the eyes. Morgan reached for his medal and revealed it to Joseph. His eyes grew in curiosity as he stared closer at the medal. “Joseph, do you want to be a monster hunter?” Morgan asked.