The supposed thief chuckled nervously as he approached Josef and the captain.

This man was surprisingly subtle in his actions until now, considering his massive build. His big arms spoke of his many years of hard work. Even compared to other villagers, his clothes looked old and tattered, clearly having been worn for a long time.

Displeased at being followed Josef unhappily looked up towards the man, who seemed to search for the right words. Only after the young scribe’s loud coughing did this man realize his blunder.

His foolish lough exposed his crooked teeth before he deeply bowed towards Josef.

“Forgive me, o mightiest of all of lords. I am David. I own this humble small little smithy down the road here.”

As soon as David began to speak, Josef had to turn his head away. The unmistakably smell of alcohol tortured his nose. The young scribe was already thinking about slamming this waste before him to the ground and going on with his day.

The still bowing David naturally didn’t know that he already displeased the proud Zrathras warrior as he continued:

“I heard the mighty, handsome lord needs a place to stay. My wife used to own the post stable here and it is still good. It’s surely the best place to stay in our village.”

“Hmph. Is this why you followed us? What? Maybe you want to rob us in our sleep in this stable of yours?”

The dirty smith bowed even deeper as sweat formed on his head.

“I would never dare, never dare. Please. I just… I… Please, just come with me my lord.”

Naturally Josef didn’t fear for his safety at all. He looked towards the captain, who only shrugged his shoulders.

Thinking about the ever-lowering sun, the young man decided to accept David’s offer. They didn’t have that many options anyways.

Hearing Josef’s acknowledgment, David let out a long breath. He stood up with obvious elation on his face, as he led Josef down the road.

A short while later the three men stood before an old stable. Everyone could tell at a glance that this post stable was way past its prime.

It was separated into a stable part without any horses and an inn part without any guests. Although the whole building looked old and worn out, one could still tell that a few important beams had been renewed some time.

Next to this stable Josef also spotted an old smithy. Obviously, it belonged to David. If the smithy at the town entrance was a sharp sword, however, David’s comparatively seemed like a dull kitchen knife. Josef was certain business hadn’t been good here.

Nevertheless, David proudly introduced the smithy and stable as he led Josef and the captain inside.

According to him this village had been a lot more prosperous under the previous lord. Travelers near and far had heard of their “Rosenstall”, as his wife named her stable. Many post carts would even take a small detour to stay here.

As he observed his surroundings, Josef had to admit that David might not even be lying. The seating area looked spacious, still adorned with all kinds of decorations.

Even a hunting trophy won by his lord could be spotted on the wall. This should already be enough to prove the good reputation of this inn.

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A short counter separated the guests from the kitchen. Only the empty cups lying around here and there told the new arrivals about years of neglection.

The poor chair cracked loudly as the captain‘s weight bore down on it.

David swept the sweat from his forehead with a nervous chuckle. It might have ended badly for him, had the chair not been able to hold his guest’s weight. Not wanting any trouble, the smith hastily excused himself, trying to find some food for the two men.

Finally, alone, the captain rubbed his eyes before looking at Josef, who gazed out the window.

“Sir. Can you tell me what we are doing here?”

“Hmm? What do you mean? We will sleep here and travel on tomorrow.”

“Are we really this carefree? What about the attack earlier?”

“Since there was no follow-up, we should be fine by now. Furthermore, what do you want us to do? Have you seen any enemies?”

The captain didn’t like their situation, but sadly he had no explanation for what happened today. He threw Josef a displeased look, deciding to end this topic here.

After a few moments of silence, the captain began speaking again:

“So… this Sophia. She caught your eye?”

Seeing Josef gritting his teeth, the captain knew he got the upper hand. For some reason this always worked against the young scribe. The old veteran let out a hearty laughter as the two men waited for Daniel to bring them some food.

A few minutes later the smith and cook multi-talent finally came in with a big pot. With a happy smile he slammed it on the table before quickly taking out two bowls and spoons.

“Here, eat while it’s still hot. This is my wife’s famous stew. I’m not as good as her, but it’s still tasty.”

With an expectant smile David stayed at the side as the captain began to fill both their bowls.

Josef looked down at his foul smelling meal, wondering if this brown substance was really considered edible. Along his journey he had to eat a lot of low-quality food, but this really appeared to be the worst.

While Josef was hesitating, he observed the captain, who began to eat without worries. Slightly relieved the young scribe also scooped some stew, slowly bringing it towards his mouth.

The strange blend of smells almost made him throw his spoon away. As it got closer towards his mouth, Josef grew more and more reluctant.

Looking perfectly normal to others, Josef already saw himself shivering in his mind.

Finaly the spoon entered his mouth as he tentatively bit the undiscernible food.

David could only marble at the poise and elegance this lord upheld even during something so simple as eating.

Meanwhile Josef only held himself back from beating up David due to his years of harsh training. How could anyone ever call this garbage tasty?!

His slaves at home might even break free from their restrictions and rebel if he presented them with this “food”.

“How do you like it, mighty lord? I haven’t promised too much, right? Back then our stew sold in the hundreds!”

Probably because everyone served it to their horses, you idiot!

Despite having such thoughts Josef calmly answered:

“You are right, this is probably the best stew I ever had.”

Even the captain was surprised hearing this high praise. Suddenly he doubted his own tastebuds. He was used to poor food, so it wasn’t that hard for him to force this stew down. However, Josef really seemed to like it?

The young scribe almost rolled his eyes at the foolishly smiling David and the baffled captain. Was it so hard to understand that he never ate stew before? Whatever…

“If only my wife would be here to see this…”

With a low sigh Daniel suddenly got a cup of beer from somewhere as he drank with a melancholic look. Josef observed the old smith and had the urge to run away.

Judging from his gaze it was clear Daniel would begin to tell a story in 3… 2… 1…

“You know, your lordship. My Rosi was the most beautiful woman in the whole village. Everybody tried to woe her when we grew up…”

As soon as David began to tell his story, Josef instantly zoned out. He just mindlessly continued to eat his stew, questioning why he would ever decide to come here.

Only the captain listened on with relish. He had a soft spot for these sorts of stories written by life.

When told amongst his soldiers, embellished by the cracking of their bonfire, those stories created those special moments worth living for.

After they finished eating, the captain quickly brought some beer for himself and Josef. David on the other hand already had a few cups. This only furthered the urge to tell his story, as he finally arrived at the time when the new lord arrived.

From that day on no visitors arrived at their village anymore. On top of that the new lord even opened a luxurious smithy. It seemed as if the Rottal family especially came to drive him and his wife out of business.

David also tried to argue with the new lord multiple times, but he didn’t gain anything.

Only after the old lord died and his children had to take over did a few loyal old villagers remember him. From then on, he had at least had some sales from time to time.

But when the plague hit a few years ago everything turned for the worst…