“No, no no no. This wasn’t what we agreed on. You said you’d pay me two thousand kroner for this job.”
“Oh, did I? But it seems like the job was far easier than I believed it to be. And you can definitely turn the skin and other remains into profit. I think one thousand three hundred is a fair bounty.”
A young man, around his twenties, with short light brown hair, blue eyes, somewhat handsome face with unkept stubble and fairly tall and masculine figure was standing in front of a house, his helmet hanging on his side and his halberd leaning on the house wall, arguing with an older man with dark hair and smaller posture, who stood in the doorway to the house.
The young man had heavy plate armour on him, which was modified to make travelling with it viable. Nevertheless, it was still heavy, but also imposing and efficient armour.
“Do you even know what you’re talking about? ‘Easy’ my ass, I almost died when fighting that thing. Do you have any idea how hard it is to kill a Chimera?” The young man was almost shouting, thinking this while situation is ridiculous.
“That sounds like your personal issue. Perhaps you should consider teaming up with someone? Might make your work easier.” Answered the older man with an uninterested tone.
“Yeah, and less profitable, too. Now give me the seven hundred you owe me. Otherwise, the good bureaucrats in Vorshawa might be notified to make a surprise tax control here. And then it’s not my business what might happen.” Said the young man with a smile. Although he had no proof of anything illegal happening here, he had a hunch.
“You sure know your way with words, young man. Here, take the two thousand and get out. I don’t need any trouble.”
“Pleasure doing business with you, mayor.” Said the young man with a cheeky voice.
“Likewise, sir Vladislav.” Answered mayor with an irritated tone.
After this exchange, none of the sides wanted to have anything else to do with the other. And so, the mayor went back into his house, while Vladislav put the purse with the money into his bag, put the bag on, stuffed his halberd into a scabbard, put the halberd on his shoulder and left the village.
“What a load of bullshit. ‘Far easier’, that idiot has no idea what he’s talking about. They not only didn’t know what the monster was, but they also had me tramp through marshes for three fucking days, because they couldn’t even tell where they saw the monster last. If only I hadn’t found the manure, I would’ve never thought that it would be Chimera.”
After he vented his frustration, he continued in his monologue only in his head.
It seems that there are far more monsters than ever, huh? Well, not like I don’t understand. After the civil war broke out in the Empire, the monsters have basically free breeding ground. That Chimera near the village only confirms it. But then again, more monsters means more issues which in turn means more work and money for me.
As he walked on the dirty road, he saw a signpost situated on a crossroad.
“So, where did I… of course, Praga. I need to sell the remains.”
The fur, the skin, even the bones – it all should fetch a nice price. The meat won’t stay fresh for so long, so I might just roast it all tonight and sprinkle some salt over it. It will take at most three days to reach Praga, so it might as well suffice.
He turned right on the crossroad, evaluating his profits and what he needs to do. As he walked through the muddy road, he saw the sky darken. It might start raining soon.
“I guess I should find some shelter. After all, don’t want to have the skins get wet. Might lower their value.”
His pace quickened. If he remembered correctly, there should be a large cliff some half an hour from here. It was in a forest clearing near the foot of the beginning mountain range, which he already saw in the distance. He wondered numerous times about what life there is like. Are there any monsters there? Most likely yes, but considering the fact that war rarely touched the few villages that were in the mountains meant that the monsters weren’t able to breed freely, and priests maintained the lands cleansed.
“Oh shit, I forgot to tell him that they need to cleanse the nest.” He exclaimed loudly. He was so surprised by the mayor trying to scam him that he completely forgot about it. “Let’s hope he’s at least a competent dickhead.”
The monsters were the product of the corruption that spread through the land in times of war, but also naturally. That’s why priests of Radegast cleansed the land through prayers and consecration, so that corruption is erased, and monsters can’t breed. It was a cursed way things worked, and no one really knew as to why and how exactly it works. And no one cared enough to find out. That was because human civilization was built around this concept. Many people’s livelihoods depended on the corruption. Not only priests, but also zbrojnoshes, like Vladislav.
Zbrojnosh was a person who travelled the land and took on bounties and contracts as a way of making a living. There weren’t many zbrojnoshes in the world, as it was a dangerous craft, but, ironically enough, they were in high demand. Most of the zbrojnoshes were either naïve adventurers, psychopaths, or people who lost everything and had nothing else to do. Which of these was Vladislav? Who knows. Perhaps a bit of everything.
Anyway, the point is that no one had the courage to find out the reason corruption even exists in fear of destroying the carefully built balance on which this world was dependent.
“That reminds me, I heard that the Emperor will also arrive in Praga soon. Something about a successful campaign against the nordmen.”
The Bohmian Empire was fractured by a civil war between the rightful ruler, Vaclaw IV., and a revolting general Zikmund. Some noblemen and other notables feared that the young and inexperienced Emperor will be too weak to lead such a vast Empire, so they supported Zikmund. Vaclaw turned out to be a great military leader and commander though, proving that he is more than capable of leading the Empire. He also proved that he is ruthless and authoritative when he executed seven nobles that originally supported Zikmund and tried to run back to Vaclaw. This, among other things, meant that the civil war will rage on until one side is defeated, even though the original goal is basically non-existent.
“I always loathed politics, but this is on another level.” Proclaimed Vladislav with a Yawn. He was starting to feel tired.
As Vladislav continued his journey, his armour clanked in the background. He observed the forest side of the road, looking for a path that lead to his shelter. Meanwhile, he could feel the rain begin to drop.
“Maybe I should buy a horse someday.”
Such a wishful thinking. Someday he might even save enough for a horse. But then what? He would have to feed the horse, he would have to pay for the saddle, horseshoes… These things weren’t cheap, and they weren’t a one-time payment too.
“Yeah, no. My feet are enough for me.”
And when he had to travel long distances, he could always take a carriage. As the raining started to be stronger, he put a cape over his head and a cloak over his bag. He hurried up, the sound of his armour clanking became even louder. As he approached the path that would take him off the road into the forest, he began to hear voices. Two, perhaps three men were talking – to each other or to someone. In the rainfall, he recognized four figures. Three bigger ones – presumably men, and one smaller – either a boy or perhaps a young woman.
“Now now, sweetie, don’t be so shy. Me and my brothers would make for a good company, don’t you think? You can simply come with us, and we’ll have a great time AND we’ll let you keep everything you have, or we don’t. Simple as that.” Said one of the men. Vladislav was grossed out by his speech.
“You scum!” cried the woman, who wore a cape over her head.
Vladislav saw the situation and decided that it would be easiest to just sneak by as if nothing was happening. After all, this wasn’t his business and he couldn’t care less for some random lass he met on the road, especially considering the trouble she brought with her.
As he began to prowl towards the forest, one certain thing stopped him. It was the extremely loud sound his armour made.
Of course, I can’t sneak around with this heavy armour.
The only other option he had was to walk by them as if nothing was happening, hoping they won’t bother him.
Yeah, as if that would work.
The thugs wouldn’t miss another robbing opportunity like that. He had no choice but to go and help the poor maiden in distress. He took his helmet from the belt on which it hanged and put it on his head. He then removed the scabbard from his halberd and put it onto his belt. Then, with the halberd leaning on his shoulder, he approached the group.
“Come on, missy, our patience is running thin.”
“Yeah, so just be a good girl and come with us.”
“Get away from me, you scoundrel!”
Another retort made by the woman. It seemed like she decided to resist until the end.
Vladislav didn’t want to fight, originally, but when it came to it, he had a knack for killing vermin like these three. He hated their very beings with burning passion. His bag made a thump and a splash as he dropped it onto the muddy road.
“Hey, you, who the hell are you? I didn’t think anyone else would be that unlucky to travel this road.”
“Heh. You lot are the ones that are unlucky.”
“Huh? A bit arrogant, don’t you think? Maybe we should teach you some courtesy?”
As the bandits noticed him, the woman also turned around. But he didn’t care. One of the men was walking straight at him, sword in hand. He had a light armour - some kind of gambeson, leather boots and bracers and a padded cap as a helmet. Truly a brigand.
How foolish. A sword against a halberd?
Just as the bandit entered Vladislav’s range, he took an offensive stance, his feet digging into the ground, and holding his halberd in both hands, he stabbed and then he swinged. I took no more than few seconds and the bandit lay dead on the road, his gut spilling out. He couldn’t even do anything on that range. Vladislav left his stance and looked straight onto the other two brigands. One of them had an axe and the other had a spear. In both cases, the best armour they had was some leather jacket they probably stole. Nothing to be scared of.
The woman saw how he made short work of one of the brigands but wasn’t sure what to think. After all, one couldn’t be sure whether Vladislav brought rescue or just another trouble. But Vladislav paid her no mind. The other two brigands understood that if they go one by one, they only get killed, so they both encroached onto Vladislav, meaning to overwhelm him.
Vladislav, this time, took a defensive stance. He felt the fatigue from today taking its toll on him. When he killed that Chimera, he wanted to get out of that village as soon as possible, so he didn’t sleep. Perhaps that was a mistake. He had his doubts, but he believed in the sharpness of his mind and in cleanness of his moves.
The brigand with a spear was on the left, the one with an axe on the right. As they approached, Vladislav suddenly swung his halberd like an axe from left to right, meaning to catch at least one of them by surprise. As the brigands were shocked from the sudden attack, Vladislav stopped the swing, and instead use the halberd as a spear, stabbing the axe-brigand. He then felt a surge of nausea and weakness. His sleep deprivation was getting the better of him. Before he could jump away or pull the halberd from the brigand and defend himself, the spear-brigand was already on the move, preparing to stab Vladislav thanks to the length of the spear. Before Vladislav realized his mistake, it was too late. As he was preparing to take the stab, hoping his armour would stop it, he saw the woman in the background doing some weird moves. And then, all of a sudden, ice spike poked through the leather helmet the brigand had, sending him flying some meter or two away from Vladislav.
He was surprised by this turn of events. The woman hurried to Vladislav, who was already taking his helmet off and putting it onto his belt. He heard the wet sounds of her steps as the rain continued.
“Are you hurt?” asked the woman loudly. From her voice, she was in her late teens, perhaps around twenty. She wasn’t very tall, shorter than Vladislav by at least a head.
Vladislav put the scabbard onto his halberd and turned his head to face the woman, who still had her cape on her head, so he couldn’t see her face. Putting his cape on too, he answered.
“I’m alright. What about you? No injuries?”
“Only mental ones. I never thought that they would ambush me here.”
Vladislav was dumbstruck. Was she stupid? Travelling the roads alone and being surprised over a few bandits? It was true that this road was normally safe, but still…
“You should take care. The roads are dangerous, and brigands aren’t the biggest threat here.” Said Vladislav as he scavenged the dead bandits for any valuables.
“Thank you. And also, thank you for saving me. I don’t know what would happen to me if you weren’t here.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Vladislav knew exactly what would happen to her. He has seen such poor souls several times already and he didn’t want anyone to suffer the same.
“No problem. As long as you’re alright. Well then, stay safe, bye.”
Vladislav, having taken the few kroner the bandits had and having retrieved his bag, was trying to continue his journey and began to leave.
“Wait, wait a moment, please!”
He turned around as he heard the woman shout.
“What is it?”
“Are you perhaps travelling to Praga?”
Vladislav had no way out of this. After all, no one would believe him if he said he wasn’t travelling to Praga on this road. After all, it was the capital of the Bohmian Empire.
“Yes, I am. Do you need something?”
“Could you perhaps take me with you? I lost all my supplies some days ago, and I am unsure which way to go. Please?”
Vladislav wasn’t keen on the idea. He didn’t want any additional burden with him. Just from one look, that woman meant trouble. But he also couldn’t really leave her there. It would haunt him until his death.
“One thousand kroner when we arrive in Praga. If you can promise me that, I will.”
The woman was clearly taken aback. Vladislav wasn’t sure whether it was due to the amount or really just his proposal.
“Of course. I can promise you that much. One thousand kroner. We have a deal.”
“Great. Then come with me. There’s a shelter nearby where we can rest and wait out the rain.” Said Vladislav as he started walking. The woman simply followed him without a word.
They continued walking on the road for a while, until they reached a small, barely noticeable path that led into the forest. Signalling the woman to follow him, Vladislav took the path and took off his cape once they were in the forest, as trees sheltered them from the rain.
“By the way, could you tell me your name?” asked the woman from behind Vladislav.
Vladislav turned around.
“Why?” he asked, seemingly uninterested.
“What do you mean, why? We’ll travel together for a few days at least. Isn’t it natural to at least know each other’s names?” said the woman as if it was common knowledge.
Vladislav frowned.
“Is it? I haven’t travelled with a company for several years now, so I’m not sure.” Said Vladislav in such a tone that the woman wasn’t sure whether he was joking or not.
“You haven’t? I thought zbrojnoshes tend to work in groups.” Proclaimed the woman confidently.
Vladislav was surprised at her retort. He once again turned around.
“You sure know your stuff huh? What are you, a mage?” he asked, even though he was pretty sure of the answer.
“You saw that ice spike and didn’t realize? Of course I am. I even studied at a university.” Said the woman, pressing her hand on her chest in pride.
“In Krakuw?” asked Vladislav. After all, he wouldn’t be surprised if that was true. It was the most famous magic university in the Empire.
“Oooh, it seems you’re not as dumb as most zbrojnoshes are. Do you perhaps know how to read and write? Have you perhaps studied somewhere too?” asked the woman, still wearing her cape, with a curious voice.
“I can write and read well enough, thank you. I wouldn’t be able to read my contracts, would I?” answered Vladislav, with a tired voice.
“I see. That makes sense. And the education? Surely, you must’ve learned all this somewhere, didn’t you?” continued the woman with an energetic voice.
Some painful memories threatened to resurface in Vladislav’s mind, but he pushed them away. He was already used to it.
“Do you think I would be a zbrojnosh if I had some fancy education? What reason could’ve pushed me to choose a life full of blood and mud over some cushy job in the city?” answered Vladislav, clearly not wanting to continue the discussion.
“That makes sense. Hmmm, interesting.” Said the woman, seemingly content with his answer.
Not in a mood to pursue this topic further, Vladislav rather quickly changed it, before the woman could ask other questions.
She really is a talkative one, even though it didn’t seem that way in the beginning.
“So anyway, you wanted to know my name, right? I’m Vladislav, zbrojnosh.” said Vladislav with a much brighter tone than before. He stopped walking and looked straight on the woman, expecting her to also introduce herself. After a short while, she began to talk.
“I’m Maria, the mage. Nice to meet you, Vladislav.” Answered Maria, taking off her cape. Vladislav could finally see what she looked like, and he was stunned. From under the cape small, yet cute, even beautiful face with fair and light skin, blue eyes and blond, almost golden hair emerged. Vladislav couldn’t take his eyes off her. But only for a moment. Once that moment ended, he straightened his posture and calmed himself.
“Nice to meet you too, Maria.” He said and offered her his hand. She took it without hesitation and shook it.
--
Once they arrived under the cliff, Maria was charmed by the place.
“This is astonishing! I have never seen anything like this!”
Vladislav was surprised by this.
“Have you not? How come? Aren’t you travelling?”
Maria blushed a bit, perhaps embarrassed by the reason.
“Well, actually, this is my first time travelling alone. My father worries about me a lot. He only allowed this one time because the road here was supposed to be safe. Seems it wasn’t.”
“No, it was. I have never come across any brigands on this road until now. By the way, from the way they spoke, it sounded like they were waiting for you. Do you know anything about that? Also, who even is your father?”
Vladislav was uneasy by this newfound information. It looked like the girl was more trouble than it was worth.
“You’ll find out when we reach Praga, I believe. A girl can keep a bit of privacy, can’t she?”
Vladislav sighed.
“Alright then. Keep your secrets.”
After that, Vladislav put down his bag and helmet and started to gather some wood for a fire. Meanwhile, Maria sat down on the ground and watched Vladislav as he was gathering the firewood.
“Do you need any help?” asked Maria when she observed Vladislav as he was building a campfire.
“I might. Can you light this wood on fire? It’s wet, as expected. Can’t light it.”
“Sure, leave it to me.” Answered Maria cheerfully. It seemed she was happy she could help.
She crouched next to the campfire Vladislav built and put her hand over it. In a short while, sparks began to rattle out of the campfire and then, suddenly, the wood was on fire. Having found success, Maria smiled widely.
“It’s done.” She said and turned around to look on Vladislav, who was observing with interest.
“Ooh, nicely done. You’re quite useful, aren’t you? I might take you with me on journeys as a companion.” Said Vladislav with a smile and a hint of sarcasm. Sarcasm which Maria didn’t notice. At first, she blushed when hearing the proposal, but then she exclaimed happily.
“Really? You would?”
This caught Vladislav off guard. He didn’t expect an answer like this.
“Oh, no, I was joking.” He said. “I can’t take you with me. Your father is clearly waiting for you, whoever he might be. Life of a zbrojnosh isn’t for people like you, who still have loving and caring family.” Explained Vladislav with an uneasy smile.
It seemed as though this answer saddened her, but she understood what Vladislav meant very well.
“Of course. You’re right. I should firstly ask my father what he thinks of this.”
But she didn’t lose hope. For some reason, she wanted to travel around the world in the same way zbrojnoshes did, even though it was so dangerous. No, perhaps it was exactly because it was so dangerous. Or perhaps she didn’t know the dangers yet. Out of the three types of people, she would be the naïve adventurer.
“Sure, whatever you like.”
Vladislav gave up trying to argue with her. After all, he was pretty confident her wishes won’t come true.
--
“Perhaps you should take those wet clothes off? Don’t want you getting sick.” Told Vladislav to Maria as he himself was taking off his armour pieces. Her eyes were stuck on him as he was removing the armour. When he noticed the stare, he returned it, making Maria blush.
What a weird woman.
“Do you wear anything under that armour?” she asked suddenly. Vladislav only stared incredulously.
“Do you have any idea how it would hurt if I didn’t? I have a padded gambeson under my plate armour. It’s enough to fill the gaps between the plates.”
“Oh, okay.” So she answered, but her curious stare didn’t end there. It seemed like there was something else she wanted to ask.
“Something else you wanna ask?” said Vladislav as he was taking off his chest piece. “I won’t bite you. Just ask and I’ll answer if I can.” He was a bit annoyed by the constant stare. Perhaps even embarrassed.
“Well, I was just curious about your weapon. You don’t see zbrojnoshes using halberds that often. Is it good?” she asked, once again with a curiosity in her voice. She really was some city girl.
Vladislav put away his chest piece and moved onto the legs.
“Of course it is good. It’s great even. It has reach, it has multiple ways one can use it, and it’s so rare that almost no one knows how to fight against a halberd. My only issue would be that it’s kind of a pain dragging it around. But I can live with that.” Answered Vladislav, releasing the straps that attached the piece of armour on his leg.
“But in books you always read of heroes using swords, axes or perhaps maces. Halberd is something used by a common soldier, isn’t it?” inquired Maria more.
“But I am no hero. And if a common soldier uses it, doesn’t it only mean it’s good?” answered Vladislav, relieving his leg of the final piece of armour he had on. Then he put the armour onto a pile and put it away. After that he rummaged through his bag, and he pulled a pile of something wrapped with a cloth.
Maria didn’t answer, as it seemed she was deep in thought. Meanwhile, Vladislav unwrapped the pile, revealing a large amount of meat.
“Cooked or roasted?” he asked. It was as if Maria didn’t hear him.
“Hey, you. I am asking you something. Cooked or roasted?”
He finally got her attention. She turned her head a bit and looked at him with a face that showed that she had no idea what he asked. Her blue eyes sparkled as they reflected the fire.
“The meat. Do you want it cooked or roasted?”
“Oh, roasted please.” She answered without hesitation. But as she looked on the meat more closely, she became sceptical. “What kind of meat is that? I don’t think I ever saw such a crimson colour.”
“It’s from Chimera.” Answered Vladislav calmly, putting the meat onto the small, portable grill he had in his bag. Then he sprinkled some salt on the meat, patiently observing the roasting meat.
“Chimera? Where did you even get that?” asked Maria in a surprise. Of course, meat from Chimera wasn’t something one could usually come across.
Vladislav looked at her. “Killed her this morning. Took the most tender meat I could find in her. The beast is huge.” Of course, he couldn’t take everything from the monster, so he only took the best-quality meat, skin, hide, whatever he could.
“You killed a Chimera? Alone?” asked Maria incredulously. It was a big feat.
“I did. But despite that, they still tried to scam me out of my money. Dickheads.” Answered Vladislav, remembering the exchange he had this morning. “Could you watch the meat for a while? I need to look at the skins, to see if they got wet.” He told Maria as he looked at her. “Also, you should really take those clothes off. As I said, it would be hard to travel should you catch something.”
Maria, once again, blushed. “But what will I wear then?” she asked reluctantly. She had a cloak on her, so Vladislav didn’t really know what she wore under that, but he was sure it must’ve gotten wet. She took the cloak off, which revealed a somewhat fancy uniform-like dress with an insignia of Krakuw.
Vladislav knew something was wrong with that.
“Don’t tell me you not only travelled in your academy uniform, but you also wear only one layer?”
Maria, seemingly embarrassed, only nodded.
“You really are some sheltered maiden, aren’t you?” said Vladislav with a sigh. Then he once again rummaged through his bag, taking out some old rags that he meant as a dry change for himself.
“Here, take these. Go ahead and change, I’ll turn around and look on the skins. Watch the meat so it doesn’t get burned.”
Maria, still blushing, accepted the clothes. Vladislav was turned around, tending to the skins.
Good, it looks like they’re dry. Might as well keep them in the bag then.
He rolled the skins and put them back into his bag. From behind, he heard the rustling of clothes, which made him feel nervous for some reason.
The man’s mind is amazing. Just a while ago, I killed two people without even batting an eye, yet it takes one pretty girl for me to feel this way. Astonishing.
He grumbled to himself while trying to calm down. It was perhaps due to his low exposure to such situations that he felt this way. After all, hunting down monsters your whole life and living from contract to contract left little time and money for him to enjoy himself. And even if he had the money, he’d probably dismiss the opportunity as a waste of coin.
“Are you done yet? What about the meat?” asked Vladislav in order to break the nervosity.
“Ah, yes, you can turn around.” Said Maria with a startled voice. And Vladislav did so quickly in order to check on the meat.
“Yeah, I can turn it around now.” Said Vladislav to reaffirm his thoughts, flipping the meat. “It will be done in another ten minutes or so.” He said to Maria, looking at her. She sat down on the grass close to the fireplace. The clothes he borrowed her were too big, so it looked baggy on her, but that had its own charm.
“Okay then.” Answered Maria, seemingly starting to get comfortable. But then she realized something. “Wait, what about you? You don’t have anything to change into, right?”
As she asked that, Vladislav was already taking off his gambeson. “I don’t mind. Showing my skin isn’t enough to embarrass me.” He answered, already half naked.
Me being half naked doesn’t embarrass me, but a girl changing behind me does. Funny, isn’t it? He thought.
Taking off his gambeson revealed a muscular body with few scars, some small, some bigger. One in particular stood out, as it was across his whole stomach. Maria looked on his chest, blushing but curious.
“How did you get these scars?” she asked. A foolish question, Vladislav thought.
“In fights.” He answered bluntly and clearly. After all, it should be obvious.
“No, I mean, aren’t you the same age as me? These scars, you look as if you were a zbrojnosh for several years now. How old are you?” asked Maria loudly. It did seem strange, a young man with so many scars.
“I began when I was sixteen, so it might be like five to six years. I think.” Answered Vladislav, apparently not sure himself. “I stopped counting my age when I turned eighteen. I might be twenty-one or twenty-two. Something like that.” He said it as if it was nothing, seemingly not caring enough. He put the gambeson close to the fire so it would dry overnight. He then began to take off his trousers too.
But Maria didn’t want to stop the conversation there. “You were sixteen when you started? What about your parents? Siblings? Friends? Anyone?” she asked, not realizing the danger of the area she was treading into. Vladislav looked on her with a serious expression which relayed the message clearly. Stop asking.
Maria understood, but she didn’t want to stop here. After all, perhaps she could help him somehow.
“But, I mean, you’re just a year older than me, yet the way you live is so different. That’s just sad.”
Vladislav didn’t mean to be mean, but it was hard for him to talk about his past. His personal reasons simply didn’t let him.
“It’s nothing complicated. My parents died early, and I had to make a living somehow. And here I am.” He answered, smiling. For some reason, he didn’t want her to be sad. And even though this was a crude way to stray away from the topic, it seemed she took the bait.
Finally, the meat has been fully roasted, so he split it with a knife and they began to eat. Meanwhile, Vladislav put another meat on the grill. As they ate, the clothes that lay around them slowly dried off.
“Who would’ve thought that Chimera really has such a tender meat.” Said Vladislav. He really was surprised at how good it was. Maria agreed with a nod while stuffing herself with the meat. As they ate, the rain stopped and what remained was only a dark and moist night. As Vladislav put another piece of meat onto the grill and sprinkled some salt on it, Maria asked curiously.
“Are you still going to eat?”
“No, of course not. It’s for preservation. Roasting or cooking the meat makes it last longer. The salt helps that too.” He explained to Maria, who was listening intently.
“Ah, I see. Interesting.” said Maria, her curiosity satisfied.
For a while, they continued chatting around the fireplace until the meat was done. Even after that they continued for at least an hour. Vladislav learned that Maria, despite being a city girl was very intelligent and charming woman who knew a lot about the world. And Maria learned that Vladislav was more educated than he looked, having knowledge not only about politics, but also biology, history, culture and few other topics. This only deepened her curiosity about him, but it was too late to continue any discussion.
“I think we ought to sleep. A long day awaits us tomorrow.” Said Vladislav. “You take the first watch. Wake me up in two hours.” He said, as he stood up and went a bit away. Maria was not only surprised by the sudden responsibility she got, but also by Vladislav, who suddenly stopped some ten metres away and knelt. He put his hands together and began praying.
So he’s a believer in Radegast? Thought Maria as she observed him for several minutes. After that, he bowed and then stood up and returned.
“Didn’t expect you to be a follower of Radegast. I thought most zbrojnoshes were men of their own rules.” Said Maria teasingly.
“You’re not wrong, but a man like me needs someone to guide him in life.” Answered Vladislav. It was a common reason as to why people were religious. Maria simply smiled.
“Well then, good night. You have two hours.” said Maria. “Anything I should do during the watch?”
“Just keep the fire alive, that should be enough. Maybe you can gather some more wood for me? Just so we have a steady supply.” Said Vladislav after thinking for a moment.
“Alright!” proclaimed Maria cheerfully. She really was a nice person, thought Vladislav as he went to sleep. He actually enjoyed the time he spent with her. It was a long time ago since he had talked to someone this much. He usually kept all things on professional level and acted as if he had no interest in socialization, but in reality, he wanted to talk to people. Alas, his profession wasn’t something that allowed him this wish. He thought back to when he ‘offered’ Maria to travel with him. He said it as a joke, but perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, having someone by his side. Especially a pretty mage.
As he rolled his thoughts over in his head, he slowly but steadily began to drift into sleep.