The sun was slowly vanishing beyond the horizon when Josef spotted their destination. A few houses appeared next to the small stream they had been following.

Long shadows gave the old looking village a mysterious feel. Only a single road connected these houses to the wider world.

Small paths, which were simply formed by the villager’s footsteps and carts, crossed here and there.

A few women were happily talking as they returned with their baskets. They had been washing clothes the whole day and were now ready to cook their husbands some dinner.

On some fields surrounding the village, multiple men worked hard as they hurried to gather their crops before winter arrived.

Observing a bit more, Josef raised his brows in surprise. Loud hammering noises reached his ear. Following these sounds, Josef noticed not only one, but two smithies in this remote village.

It had to be known that a good smith was highly sought after. It would have already been considered luxurious to have even one smithy in such a small village.

Suddenly a weird chill ran down Josef’s spine. As he thought more and more about it, he realized, that this village should have been under his jurisdiction as a tax collector.

Why then, has no one ever mentioned this place to him? It seemed like this village was unknown to the outside world.

With doubts appearing in his mind, Josef turned towards Sophia:

“Sophia? Do you have many visitors here?”

The young woman looked startled as Josef’s question distracted her from her earlier worries.

“Visitors? No. Basically never.”

“Not even a tax collector? Or army recruiter?”

“No. They don’t come here ever since this land has been bought by another lord.”

“Bought? Are you sure?”

Josef couldn’t make light of this situation. After all, not everyone could just buy land. Furthermore, did his lord even have a reason to sell?

“Of course. A few years ago, the Rottal family came and bought the land as far as you can see. They showed us an official seal and everything.”

Noticing Josef’s doubting eyes, Sophia hesitated for a moment, before continuing:

“If you want to know more you can ask the Rottals. They live in the big smithy over there. Sadly, their parents already died a few years ago.”

Now Josef at least heard an explanation for the two smithies. However, something still sounded fishy about this situation.

The young man soon put his questions to the back of his mind. If he really wanted to know more, he would have to ask his lord.

While talking their group slowly arrived at the village entrance. Their unlikely combination of villagers and soldiers soon garnered some attention.

Josef let his eyes roam around as he watched the gathering crowd. Poorly dressed peasants warily observed them. A few women began to drag their children back into their houses.

His lips slightly curling upwards, Josef grew satisfied with the effect his aura still had on these weak beings. He raised his head as he listened to the whispering crowd.

“Look it’s Georg and Sophia.”

“What are those soldiers doing here?”

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“What happened to Sophia? Did those soldiers hurt her?”

“That must be it. We haven’t seen any soldiers in so long.”

“Do you think the old lord remembered our small village? Maybe he wants to take it back.”

“Quickly hide the kids. And don’t do anything stupid.”

Josef’s smile stiffed.

Meanwhile Georg was quickly scanning the crowd, searching for their miracle doctor.

“What are you all standing around for? Where is Lilly?”, the old man yelled.

Suddenly the crowd parted as a crisp voice reached everyone’s ears.

“I’m here!”

Involuntarily Josef’s eyes turned towards the young woman hurrying over. He drew a sharp breath as the doctor greeted him in a swift manner.

Who would have thought that such a extraordinary person could be hidden in this small village?

The young scribe wasn’t awed by her fiery red hair, ending in white tips. He also wasn’t awed by her youthful body or her skin, which looked way to healthy considering her circumstances.

Although the young doctor was definitely a beauty among humans, Josef would consider this her biggest flaw – she was human.

No, what made Josef observe Lilly closer, was his instinct as a warrior of the Zrathras clan. He couldn’t understand why, but this girl gave him a strange feeling.

This feeling was somehow ambivalent. This young woman didn’t pose any danger to Josef, but he felt as it she contained a terrifying potential to do so one day.

As Josef’s mind drifted, Lilly didn’t wait for him to greet her back. Her elder brother was technically the lord of this land, so she simply greeted this scribe out of habit, not obligation.

With some worry on her face the young doctor turned towards her best friend. Noticing the conflicted look on Sophia’s face, Lilly fought to hold back a tear.

She quickly took a step forward. Taking Sophia’s hand into hers, Lilly spoke comfortingly:

“Don’t worry, big sister. It’s not as bad as it looks. With my help you will soon be fine!”

The surrounding crowd let out a few sighs as they watched those two strong women comfort each other. Suddenly a loud thud sounded. Lilly looked shocked at Georg, who just fell to his knees.

Not knowing how many tears he had even left, Georg once again cried as he pleaded:

“Lilly. I know you and Sophia are as close as sisters. Please, you have to help her. She is my everything. I can’t bear to watch her living in pain.”

“Father! What are you doing? Quickly get up. Please don’t pressure Lilly. I’m at fault for getting hurt.”

Hearing such considerate words coming from his daughter only made Georg feel even worse. He naturally blamed himself for not running faster, prompting his daughter to safe him.

He also knew that pressuring Lilly wouldn’t help in their situation, but how could he keep a rational mind now.

Luckily an old friend of Georg came from the crowd at his point. He helped the latter up and dragged him towards the side, giving Lilly more place to work.

The young doctor quickly thanked him, before addressing the soldiers:

“Thank you for your help, everyone. Can I ask you to bring Sophia to my place, please?”

Before the soldiers could answer, Josef’s voice sounded over:

“You take care of Sophia and help the doctor if necessary. The captain and I will look for a place to stay.”

With those words the young scribe walked forward, quickly followed by the captain.

The surrounding crowd didn’t dare to block his way as the stayed by the roadside.

Josef left Sophia to the doctor without worry. He felt a lot better, now that he let go of this responsibility. The genius warrior couldn’t deny that he felt some guilt towards the young woman.

Strolling down the street, Josef had little time to study the simple wooden houses around him, before he felt a pair of eyes following him.

Although he hated this feeling, Josef still had to pretend not to notice anything. Seemingly by coincidence he led the captain close to multiple houses, easily hiding from view.

However, as soon as they were back on the road, someone kept following them again.

Annoyance quickly spread in Josef’s mind. Who would have thought that someone had the audacity to observe him in this rundown village?

And who would have thought that his incompetent guard captain didn’t even notice it?

Josef grit his teeth until he suddenly spoke up:

“Ok, we won’t find any place to stay by strolling around and those villagers seem to avoid us like the plague. Why don’t you just ask someone in that big house over there?”

The captain followed Josef’s pointing finger with a puzzled look. Certainly, this house was a little bit bigger than others, but it didn’t have anything special otherwise.

However, just as the captains’ eyes landed on this house, he spotted a panicked movement next to it. Someone took back a step in surprise, colliding with the wall.

The seasoned veteran quickly understood what was going on. Somone had actually been observing them from the shadows.

Angry about the audacity of some people, the captain let out a loud roar:

“You there! Sneaky thief! What are you doing?”

Josef rolled his eyes at the captain’s low perception. How could this man ever keep anyone save? Josef could probably steal the clothes from the captain’s body without the latter noticing.

Contrary to the battle-hardened warrior, however, the sneaky looking man was obviously surprised about this sudden turnaround.

Just now he was still happily using his knowledge of the village’s layout to his advantage in order to muster these newcomers. In the next moment both of them suddenly turned his direction.

His plan was to figure out more about these outsiders. He had to know if they would help him with his problem, but now he could only gamble.