Holy fuck. - probably Sun Tzu

I used to think clumsiness in horror films was unrealistic. Until I experienced this shit. I am navigating a new world clumsily, very clumsily not sure how I survived up to this point, clearly it's not luck.

This is a completely new world with a completely different prospective, I stopped thinking about how fucking irrational and confusing the past month have been and concentrated on driving, and hoping to get to safety before dark.

I don’t want to be wandering the hillsides in the dark. Yet I didn't drive too fast.

We travelled slowly in a steady pace only stopping for me to take a piss, the horse gorilla was slow, and I actually was more hesitant to speed up and accidentally isekai someone else. Plus, I was mentally exhausted and unable to move the mana too fast and speed up the wagon.

The steady pace gave me the time to calm and rearrange my thoughts, after I completed fabricating a back-story in my mind about who I am, just in-case I needed it. I used the extra time practicing my control over my aura, making sure I won't get another seizure, and staying awake until we arrive and sleep in safety.

I learned that my mind can hold back on sleep for a long time as long as I keep it supplied with mana. Yet it can't be awake forever and the longer I keep it running the more likely something bad will happen, and I don't want to discover what, or how mana-biology works in a personal way.

The hills were a lot steeper in this terrain and very confusing than they had seemed in the distance, I did my best to notice the landmarks and remember them as I followed my guide. And to be honest the hills gave me anxiety, after the last time I was inside a hill, that didn't end well.

My blood froze as I remembered the fucking bones and looking at those abyssal eyes looking back. And now I see them all around me in the hills.

How many more monsters like it roam the earth?, hidden in the hills, mountains. Underground?, in mass graves.

Fear gripped my hart and hoped to find people, and to find this village, safety in numbers and amongst my own kind.

As I looked forwards I could finally see it, a small village wall, after getting closer I noticed more details, the Stone wall seemed old yet sturdy, it had some old ward carvings on the rocks forming the wall, and gate. No evidence of fights or attacks, none that I could see, strange.

Few minutes and I will be there.

It looks like a nice peaceful place, finally civilization.

**Inside the 'peaceful' village**

ⴰⴳⵉⵣⵓⵍ Aqisol was having a terrible day, the worst in a long time.

“You will not kill in my village,” Aqisol snarled at the bulky man sitting across from him. “This is my territory, not yours, be a good guest and keep your men in line, or we will have a problem.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, old man” the bandit said in a bored tone. “If one of your peasants had a tragic accident, that’s your issue.”

"It wasn't an accident, your men killed him and kidnapped his son. They tried to make it look like something else, but I went myself and there’s no mistaking the mana residue from the fight"

"Mana residue" the bandit was both bored and smug. "That proves nothing, you're just blaming my men for nothing, how do I know you didn't do it."

Aqisol was sure the bandit was just fucking with him because he was outside the village at the time, “There were no accidents before you came along,” Aqisol was close to exploding from anger, “He was killed by one of your men, I know it was one of yours, a face is missing, I intend to cremate him along with you.” Aqisol ground out.

"Good luck, I’d like to see you try." the bandit give Aqisol an arrogant smile."if you want to start a small war in your little village."

Aqisol really did want to, He wanted to drive the bandits out, back to where they’d come from, or just reduce them to ashes.

The shifters had warned him that bandits might visit him, pushing out from the other camps, having been supposedly grown in population after a new group got kicked out of tamort city a few days prior, and tested their luck with the shifters and almost all died attempting to claim new land.

The problem was in Aqisol, he was old and alone, and there were a dozen bandits in the village. If it came to a proper fight, only Aqisol could walk out from the village alive, only him. If he ignored the people of his village and just fight to win.

That was the problem, he can't fight and defend the villagers at the same time, and be expected to win. Worse he won't be getting support from anyone, the villagers were peasants, mana level almost nonexistent.

The bandit he had to talk to, mervan, wasn’t even the true leader, Just the face. Aqisol was pretty sure he’d been sent by the other bandit camps, yet he didn't know why. Not completely.

Aqisol walked past at least twelve men with heavy armor and long words with some flintlocks sprinkled between them on his way out of the house,

the flintlock were the bandit’s assurance against all the rare aura users, men and monsters, given their mana deficiency they were depended on the flintlock's.

He walked home, As soon as he closed the door he relaxed some of his iron self-control and let his aura slip out, heating the room in moments, and taking all his clothes off, and stomping down the stairs to the very deep basement and radiating heat like a fire-less human torch.

The basement was actually an enclosed chamber built like a furnace, for moments like this, moments of anger.

He could have kept his clothes on, and with a bit of restraint protected his clothes from the heat, but this isn't the time for restraint, He stopped in the center of the room and the fire-less heat he was holding exploded out of him. Like a microwave, he turned the room into a small sample of hell.

After he let loose the anger and frustration.

He sighed and closed his eyes, forcing his aura to calm, a swirl of mana and a bit of fire pulling it back into the smaller, more manageable size before he stepped outside the basement, to the real world and started thinking how to strategically commit mass-murder.

The morning passed, as Aqisol found his center and calmed, he sat in a chair outside his home looking at the two houses near his home, his time of meditation ended when he noticed a runner heading his way, he was a villager not a bandit, he came from the wall with news, interrupting his plotting on how to murder a bunch of bandits.

"Inquisitor Aqisol, there are travelers approaching the village" the news of travelers heading for the village, made Aqisol tense up, 'is it more bandits?'.

Moments later, Aqisol was on the wall looking at the travelers.

'Is that jasper's boy ⴰⵎⴰⵔⴰ amara, and who is in that box,' the very expensive looking box. Aqisol mind actually froze for a moment looking at the box on wheels. 'No, it can't be, what kind of noble!, why use that much for a wagon?', with his life experience as an inquisitor, he observed the wagon and its supplies, then the answer came to his mind immediately 'a noble at war.'

Aqisol just discovered a new problem in his life.

Aqisol didn't know it yet, but the moment that wagon came in sight his life was forever changed

If Aqisol had only known what the future holds, the consequences, the clusterfuck to be. He might have killed himself after trying to kill the occupant inside that wagon, or just lost hope and walked away, but he didn't know. How could he have known. He was about to start a dance with the devil, a misinformed devil.

***

Amarys

****

It looks like a nice peaceful place, finally civilization.

I smiled and guided gypsy towards the village gate, as we approached the doors opened and a man was standing outside the walls the kid went to him and after getting close he jumped out from the saddle and started running towards the man and didn't slow down until he impacted him, then embraced him with a strong hug.

As I approached in my wagon, I heard the tears in his voice as he talked, "they killed him."

"Yes, yes, I know my boy, I know. They will pay for it even if it costs me my life." the old man responded in a fatherly voice.

'Ohh shit, this place is not so peaceful.' I thought to myself.

I parked close but not too close to them, and from the inside of gypsy, I could see the old man in his 50s, looking back at me, after he finished his words to the kid.

I powered down the wagon and turned in my seat before exiting I sipped some mana and then I hid the bottle, stopped the mana condenser and exited the gypsy.

"Aqisol this is my savior, he killed the two bastards that took me."

This Aqisol looked at me for a moment, measuring me, not sure what he was looking fore.

Then he spoke, "thank you for saving amara, and bringing him home". He spoke as he offered a handshake, and I took it.

Our aura's clashed, it was as if his aura had a fever, yet the skin of his hands was cold. This strange handshake was strange until my aura shot an electric spark, impacting his aura.

His eyes showed interest and strangely seemed happy?.

I spoke to him, "your welcome, my name is amarys, a wandering scholar."

"A scholar, how did you get that wagon?." he seemed more confused than suspicious.

"That’s none of your business.", I spoke firmly, clarifying the nature of our relationship to him.

He winced and seemed to understand my intention. "Sorry, kid, I didn't mean to question you on your personal matters, it is just an old habit."

"Yes, bad habits can be tricky to get rid of, like bandits." I told him. as i remembered the two dead body's still rotting in the forest.

"Are they still in the village", amara asked in a fearful voice.

they?, I blinked at this question and looked from this, Aqisol and to amara. I was very interested in the answer.

"Yes, they are, don't worry, I am working on a plan." Aqisol responded, crushing my hope for a calm day.

"What plan?", a voice asked.

Aqisol tensed and turned to look at the younger, bigger and clearly assholish man. The bandit walked as if he owned the planet, he was followed by five men.

The boss smiled and looked at us, he eyed amara with a bit of surprise and then me with more interest, and then the gypsy, he completely concentrated his attention on it. I didn't like that.

I wondered, why is he eyeballing the gypsy with a strange greedy look?, I figured they are rare yet not worth this much attention. It can't be used without mana, and mana is expensive, so it's useless to most people.

One of them spoke, "Is that aluminum?".

Another answered. "No, it can't be!, that's too much on display, it must be a coating."

I had a bad feeling about this, so I started powering up my body, worming up my aura.

The big boss bandit spoke, looking at me, his voice had a danger's vibe in it. "That's an interesting wagon" he looked at me and came to the right conclusion, it's my wagon. "How did You get that beauty?" he asked and pointed at gypsy.

"Like I said before, That’s none of your business.", I spoke as firmly as before.

"Kid, you should be showing more respect to your elders" one of the irrelevant five men spoke. I ignored his existence. The bandit boss couldn't suppress a snicker after he noticed how I ignored his men. It made him smile.

Aqisol

"mervan, don't touch his property, the boy has teeth." Aqisol told the bandits.

"I can see that, who are you, what's your tribe name or is it a house." he asked me.

"I am the one who keeps a list and spends his life checking it off. Now get away from my wagon or die", to be perfectly honest with myself, I wasn't showing off my power because I want to, I was nervous and losing control over it. That's why I started electrifying the air.

My aura rumbled with power, electricity danced around me, I was sure I was showing I had bad control over my mana and aura, yet the chaotic nature of lightning probably hid that fact from them.

The bandits took a step back, "so no tribe, yet an active core this young!", mervan looked at me then Aqisol then back to me with suspicion."this is a bad plan Aqisol, the consequences—"

That angered Aqisol.

"Consequences, don't talk to me about consequences you fucking savage, consequences or not you would still be dead."

They had a standoff, their aura's rippling with small amounts of mana. and then they would clash. there was no elemental control in the aura's this wasn't a fight. it was an aura measuring contest.

I was the only one using large amounts of mana in my aura to shield myself from them, and that seemed to make them both uncomfortable.

They eyed each-other and me. both not sure what I will do.

Mervan, seemed to do some math fast, and then he just smiled!, "maybe we should all take a brake, and start over later in a better time."

"Yes we should." Aqisol agreed.

Mervan and his group started walking away into the village and eyeing my wagon, and me.

Strangely there was no fight, after all that aura huffing and puffing, the atmosphere was anticlimactic.

"It ended peacefully, with my luck that's unusual", I spoke and kept my eyes on the retreating bandits.

"This time it did", Aqisol responded.

"How are you living with those parasites", I asked.

"We have an understanding"

I turned to look at him, "a what!".

"If the bandits attacked the villagers, they’d have to deal with me, if I attack them, the villagers pay the price. It's a stalemate."

He deflated and seemed to age.

"Keeping them from taking the village girls was a difficult task on its own." he added

"How did it work, they are bandits!, and things were actually quiet?" I asked

"Until they risked it, something changed in my absence. I don't know what or why." he looked at amara, and I understood. "This has the stink of something bigger than just a bunch of bandits using my village as an inn, there are softer targets out there, so why here, why us." Aqisol asked.

"There’s literally nothing here, only the dead zones some farming lands and a forest. That’s why we established a village here!," amara added.

Okay now I have lore and some facts. I need to choose a side.

"Whatever the reason, they need to go, or I do." I told them.

Amara looked at me, and I saw it in his eye's, is that dissatisfaction!?, that motherfucker. He didn't say shit about bandits in the village. Did he....

Aqisol interrupted my thinking.

"This isn't a place for talking, let's go in, Amara get your beast," Aqisol looked at me, "you are welcome to join us at my home we have much to discuss."

"Yes, we do, I will accept your hospitality."

Aqisol looked at my wagon worried," I have a safe place for your wagon in my house, it shouldn't be left unguarded."

"Thank you for considering it", yeah, unguarded, no, thanks I am sleeping in it no matter what, "I will drive it in, and follow you."

After that I entered gypsy, I closed the door, made sure I can grab my weapons if I needed and started to follow Aqisol.

There is history here, a story.

The long houses were made of stone, some big, others small and carved with wards. I made a mental note to get a copy of the wards and figure out what they do.

His house was built like a cabin and had adjacent large structure like garage, Aqisol opened the door's, and I drove in and the horse thing followed.

We entered the house from a door connecting it to what I called the garage, I wasn't going to ask why they build it or what they called it, I had a bigger fish on my mind. The house was warmer on the inside, Aqisol guided us to his kitchen.

"You boys must be hungry. Sit, sit, food will be served soon." we did, and in silence we watched him, starting a fire and worming up soup and bread I noticed the flour traces on the table and realized he must have made it himself.

One big house for one old man, I wasn't interested in why he was alone, my attention was on the future, and Amara that little shit. I don't like getting played by a kid, he could have traveled alone, but he dragged me with him without telling me about the bandits. He took advantage of my kind, hart. I won't show him I found out, let's play stupid and see what he will do.

Aqisol served the food on the table, and I started eating first.

After we all started to eat in silence, I slowed down and talked to Aqisol

"I don't know much, but I can only guess that the situation has changed and they can't be as stupid as I would like them to be, no, we make plans and the enemy makes plans." I said.

I could see Aqisol approval, he nodded agreeing with me. "Indeed it has."

"What can you tell me." I asked as I looked him in the eyes.

"I don’t have the numbers to stop them, they are well armed and compared to my men their collective mana is denser, basically I am fighting alone, would you be willing to lend me a helping hand in my hour of need." Aqisol said.

Collective mana?, oh shit, now I need to puzzle out what people say without showing ignorance.

"You're asking me to make enemies, and risk my life for what?," I responded shamelessly, and realistically.

"I am no longer an inquisitor, yet still I have friends, and connections on the mainland, and information that can be useful to a new noble house."

What's an inquisitor?, and why did he assume i was forming my own noble house!. I considered what he said and started to see the possible benefits if I didn't misinterpret his value.

"I am forming my own foundation, I need support structures, would your village be willing to be a part of that foundation." I asked.

"Help me free my village, and we will be a part of your foundation, I can see the unusual dense mana in your aura, as for your aura it's not the best I have seen, yet it holds promise." he looked at me with the eyes of an instructor. "You could be very powerful, if you play your cards right."

I considered him, obviously I owe him nothing, and I had no obligation to do anything, yet if I can get a foot hold or a base even if it's temporary hell if I can just have someone to talk to, loneliness can be unhealthy, that can be worth something.

"Tell me your plan, and if it's a good one, I will help yet if it's too dangerous, I can't risk my life for you."

he smiled and responded in a calm voice.

"I understand, I only need an opening, and I will handle most of them, just help me protect my people, I can't be everywhere." his face went cold and hard "even if I can't save them all I want to lower the number of", he didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need to.

I nodded and noticed the quiet snake, amara. He was eating and looking from me to Aqisol.

What do you know?, you little shit. It all started when his dad was killed.