Chapter 8

Three weeks pass by like a blur and we’re just a couple of days away from Mountain’s Toil. We don’t run into any more strange things thankfully but we do start running into people. It started about a week ago but we ran into our first person after all the hardship we’ve faced. Excited to finally talk with another person, we called out to them and they ran away. I think it was a middle aged man but I couldn’t really tell. We started chasing him for some reason and when we realized what we were doing, we stopped. After that first encounter, we started seeing two or three people every day, all of them looking destitute and traveling south as well. Just like the man who ran away from us, most of the people we saw ran from us as well. Admittedly, I am covered with leather armor and I’m holding an axe with a shield and Wraine is carrying a huge iron longsword but we’re kids, what harm can we do?

There were some people who didn’t run away when they saw us, but those people already seemed dead. Lifeless eyes, hunched shoulders, covered in dirt and grime, just moving along with everyone else. Ah, these are refugees. At least that’s what Wraine called them. He also said even though both of us have faced hardship, we still had each other to depend on but others weren’t as lucky and lost everything and everyone close to them.

We’re still about half of a day’s walk from Mountain’s Toil when we stop to camp for the night. Sitting around the campfire, we plan out what we’re going to say if any town guard asks us questions. We’re both from Misanth and when our village was attacked, we ran away into the woods and stayed there for a day. Thinking the coast was clear, we went back to the village to look for any survivors and found everyone dead. Remembering a secret hiding spot in the woods that Wraine’s dad, Alain, might’ve gone to, we went to the hiding spot and found his dad dead along with two dead Ribierian soldiers to explain the weapons and armor. Without anyone to help us, we traveled south, surviving off the land and planning to head towards Midriver, where Wraine has an uncle.

It took me a long damn time to come up with such an intricate story. I even weaved in a lot of true details because I learned from the farm that if you want to get out of trouble by telling a lie, it had to have parts that were true and others could check that it was true. In this case, Misanth did get attacked and burned down. Wraine’s dad did kill a soldier by himself, what was adding one more going to change? We did get our equipment off of two dead Ribierian soldiers. They were in different places across the peninsula, but they were indeed dead. Finally, we did survive off the land with Wraine’s knowledge he learned from his woodcutter father. If this doesn’t work, I don’t know what would.

“Wait, do you think we could get stopped at the gates by guards looking for deserters?” Wraine asked.

“The problem is that we don’t have enough information to work with right now. If Aldore and every one of his attendants died during the ambush then that’s great for us. That would be the best case scenario for us because the ledgers with our information on them would be lost. We’re using different names right now which is good but our descriptions are still in there. Do you remember lining up at Vilnau and giving them your name while they wrote something down on paper?”

“I do. I couldn’t read what he was writing and the one who took my information was Sir Serra so he was probably writing in Formal anyways.”

“Okay, the one who took my information mumbled something about my hair while writing which makes me think he was writing down what I looked like. You could probably get by no problem because dark brown hair is pretty common but I’m kind of fucked. If the guards start asking about us being in the army or anything like that then we need to run even if that means going back up north. Also, did they ask you for any other information? All they asked from me was my name and the village I was from.”

“No, it was the same for me. I thought they would have asked for my dad’s name or something but they didn’t. It felt like they didn’t really give a shit about us and just wanted to get through everyone quickly. I think that’s good for me though, at least I can use my dad’s name.”

“Yeah, they were assholes about it. So even though we took a short detour going back to Misanth before coming here, we still moved pretty quickly with just the two of us and we made our own route going south. Sir Serra said our march should have taken around two months to get here but we got here in half the time. That makes me think if they’re still alive, they might still be coming here, they’re just slower than us. If that’s the case, then we need to get into Mountain’s Toil fast and then leave quickly as well. When we get into the town tomorrow, we’ll try to find information without outing ourselves.”

“Alright, get to sleep soon, we might need it for tomorrow.” Wraine says as he finds a spot in the dirt next to fire before lying down on it. I turn in for the night as well and start thinking about things I could do in case things go wrong before drifting off to sleep.

It’s the middle of the night when I’m awoken by rustling noises right next to where I’m sleeping. The fire is still going and next to Wraine’s sleeping figure, there’s a dark figure with his back towards me standing over him, looking through the sack which holds our food. Looking at where I put my axe before sleeping, both my axe and shield are gone. This motherfucker. Looking for anything else, I spot a rock the size of my fist next to my foot and I look around as quietly as I can, checking for anyone else that might be a partner. Looks clear to me. I look towards Wraine and see him still sleeping peacefully. This motherfucker. Looking for his longsword, I see it still lying beside him. Did I look like the easier one? Slowly and silently sitting up until my hand can grab the rock, I clench it hard in my hand as I slowly stand up. We’re incredibly lucky Wraine’s sack is filled with so much random stuff otherwise the thief would have left by now. Once I’m on my feet, I can tell the thief is taller than me but I can still reach his head and thus I raise the rock in my hand while slowly creeping forward.

Watching the thief’s every movement, I can feel my heart racing as I inch closer, step by step. Once I’m about five feet behind him and I’m sure I can reach him with a lunge, he turns around. “Wraine! Stab him while his back is turned!” I scream at the top of my lungs as I lunge at him, coming down with the rock aimed at his head. It actually works and when he hears what I yell, he turns to look at the still sleeping Wraine giving me a chance to bash him on the right side of his head with the rock. Taking the hit, he reels backwards and I follow up, hitting the same spot again, ignoring the pain coming from my right hand. I don’t know where the thief put my axe and shield but I’m glad he didn’t have them on him. Taking the second hit sends the thief to the ground and I follow him, hitting him again in the middle of his face, screaming Wraine’s name the whole time. The third hit seems to knock the thief out and I start wondering whether I should keep going and finish him off. By this time, Wraine finally wakes up and scrambles to his feet, grabbing the longsword at the same time.

“What happened!? What happened!? Who is that!?”

“It’s a fucking thief, he took my axe and shield and he was looking through your sack, probably trying to find money. I think I knocked him out but I’m not sure. Should I hit him again?”

“What the fuck, I don’t know. Do it, I guess, just make sure you don’t kill him.”

“I don’t know if it’ll kill him or not if I hit him again. How do you tell if he’s alright or barely alive?”

“Fuck if I know, check his breathing or something.”

“Fuck no I’m not checking his breathing. You check his breathing.”

“Hey, you’re the one who beat him half to death with a rock. He’s your responsibility, you have to do it.”

“There’s no fucking way I’m doing it alright. Fuck, I think I knocked him out. Where’s my axe and shield though? You look for them and I’m keeping an eye on him.”

“Alright, yeah, I like that. They’re over here, next to where I was sleeping. Fuck, he was right next to me wasn’t he?”

“I have no fucking idea how you could sleep through all that. I’m over here fighting for my goddamn life and you just sleep through the whole thing. What if he slit your throat while you were sleeping? You’re so fucking lucky I’m here holy shit.”

Walking over to where my axe and shield are while still keeping an eye on the thief, I throw away the rock and pick up my axe. My hand is bloodied but I don’t have the time to take care of it right now. Walking back to where the thief is, I can see that he’s pretty young. Barely older than us but his face is covered with a messy beard. He has dark brown hair that’s starting to thin at the front and has a beard that’s the same color. I can’t see the rest of his face very well because of the blood but I can see his chest rising and falling, thank the gods. He’s dressed in linens and has leather boots on. Wait a second, those look familiar. Looking down, I can see my bare feet. Okay, that’s great, well, I guess Wraine isn’t the only heavy sleeper here. Kicking the thief in his leg while calling him a piece of shit in my mind, I carefully reach down and take off the boots, putting them back on my feet.

“He stole your fucking boots while you were sleeping and you’re making fun of me for staying asleep during all that. Hilarious.”

“Not another fucking word, I don’t want to hear it.”

Motioning for Wraine to come closer and keep his sword raised, I start to pat down the man’s clothes, seeing if he has anything else of ours. Feeling around his waist, I find a small linen pouch tied to his pants. Untying the pouch and opening it, I spot several brown coins inside along with a white coin. Passing the pouch to Wraine, I ask him, “What do you think?”

“What, you want to take it? He did try stealing from us first. But what if he goes to the town guard and tells them we stole his money?”

“What if he still goes to the town guard anyways and says we attacked him while he was asleep and took his axe, shield, and sword?”

“Shit… would the town guards believe an adult over two kids?”

“Not sure. Do we risk the chance?”

“What else can we even do? Kill him?”

“That is an option.” I reply flatly.

“Fuck off. You’re kidding me. If we get caught, they’ll execute us.”

“What are the other options? We bring him with us to the town guard and hope they’ll believe us over him. Or we let him go and go to Mountain’s Toil tomorrow, report him to the guards and hope he doesn’t lie that we robbed him. Or we just slit his throat right now, no one finds out and we can keep his money too. It’s pretty obvious to me which one’s the best choice, but if you don’t want to do it then we’ll keep thinking.”

“How are you alright with killing him? I get it, he robbed us and he could have killed us in our sleep, but he didn’t. You have to admit, if he took your boots and you slept through it, he could have slit your throat with your axe in your sleep too. I don’t think we can kill him knowing that, at least I can’t. It’d kill me inside if we did it.”

“... Alright, you win. I’ll agree with it. What do we do then? Killing him is off the table but do we take him to the guards or do we let him go?”

“It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about doing what’s right or wrong. I think we have to bring him with us to the town guards, if he gets there first and spews a bunch of bullshit and then we get there, we'll have to sort through all his bullshit to prove our innocence.”

“Hmm, okay. Count how many coins are in that pouch and memorize that number. If he was willing to steal from us, there’s a good chance he stole these coins too. At the same time, start memorizing all the stuff we have, what it’s made of, how damaged it is, and if there’s anything really unique about it is good too.”

“Oh, I get it. Okay, I’ll do it.”

“When he wakes up, try to hide all the stuff from him too just in case. Remember, this is your choice, if it goes bad it’s on you.”

“Fuck off. It’s our choice, you even agreed with what I was saying. You remember, we’re in this together no matter what.”

Even though it is still the middle of the night, I won’t be able to get back to sleep. After what just happened, my body is fully awake now. As I sit beside the fire waiting for dawn, I wonder to myself if this is the right decision. I also wonder since when have I become so bloodthirsty that I was willing to slit the thief’s throat as my first choice. While these thoughts keep swirling in my mind, the sun comes up and the thief is still knocked out. I slap him a few times with no response and Wraine goes to the nearby stream bringing back some water in his cupped hands before splashing it in the thief’s face. The man wakes with a start, blowing out the water that went in his nose.

“What’s going on? What’s happening?” The man asks, turning his head left and right frantically. What a deep fucking voice, holy fuck.

“You’re a fucking thief, that’s what happened. Now get on your fucking feet, we’re taking you to Mountain’s Toil and we’ll let the guards deal with you, old man.” I seethed through grit teeth while pointing my axe at him.

“Wait, wait, wait. There’s been a misunderstanding.” He says as he puts his hands up trying to show his innocence. “For one, I’m not that old, this coming winter will be my 23rd. That’s still pretty damn young if I do say so myself. Although I don’t blame you for thinking I’m older than I am, I was cursed by a damn witch when I was a child and have been trying to find a cure for my hair loss since. Let me introduce myself, my name is Gregory and I am a powerful warlock. Last night was a bit of a blur but I can promise you, I, the great Gregory the blessed warlock, am not a thief. I am a lot of things, such as a prophet for an ancient, forgotten, and nameless god, and a master diviner that can see your future for a small price of course, and I can even heal the most serious of injuries using special, forgotten healing magic. But a thief? No, no, no, that’s impossible.” The man, apparently named Gregory, spewed word vomit out of his mouth without stopping once. My mouth is wide open and I look at Wraine wondering what he thought. Seeing his mouth wide open too and his eyes blinking rapidly as if in disbelief, I think our thoughts should be about the same.

“I… I don’t even know where to start with you. You’re goddamn insane. You’ve lost your fucking mind and you don’t even realize it yet. Wait, actually, maybe you do. You’re lying, aren’t you? I get it, this is an act, you act crazy as all hells and maybe we feel bad and don’t turn you in. Did you think that would work? Fuck off, we’re not idiots. Now get your feet moving before I put this axe in your skull.” I threatened with my axe raised high.

“Wait, wait, wait. Look, my fellow Nasaarans, there’s no need for this between fellow countrymen. I understand, we’ve all been forced to undergo a trial. My village was attacked by Ribierians as well. I even predicted the attack with my divinations but no one would listen to me and when the village was attacked, I could only fend off the great demon that had contracted with the Ribierian heretics. I even suffered a mortal wound from one of the soldiers and I nearly lost my life. But fortunately for me, the god I worship is all powerful and saved me from the soldier by sending a swarm of blood drinking insects at him, sucking his blood dry. Afterwards, I was able to heal myself using my own, powerful, secret healing magic. You should have seen it, a gigantic wound from a blade stretched from my left shoulder to my right hip and it was deep enough that you could nearly see my heart. But worry not, not even a scar is left after healing myself. Take a look.” Gregory spewed his vomit once again but this time he took off his shirt to reveal… nothing but his hairy torso. I’ve had enough.

“Okay buddy, let’s keep talking in Mountain’s Toil.” I say with exhaustion as I kick him on the ass in the direction of the town. I cannot take anymore of his bullshit and for half a day, I half heartedly respond with wow and that’s amazing and tell me more. The entire time he never stopped talking and I’m actually amazed that he’s managed to talk this long, walk this far, all without stopping once or even needing a drink of water. He even asked about his coin pouch and I told him he didn’t need to worry about it anymore. Once we come close to the outskirts of Mountain’s Toll, we’re able to see the gigantic mountains right behind the town as well as a huge closed stone gate right in the center of stone walls stretching farther than I can see. I can see innumerable people wandering about, sitting down, and even sleeping to the left and right of the gate, keeping the space right in front of it empty. In that empty space I can see what I think are guards covered in leather armor and holding spears milling about. The guards see us from afar and start approaching us when Gregory runs towards them screaming, “Help! Help! These thieves stole my weapons and my money before hitting me with a rock!” This actual motherfucker.