章 10: Village (Part 1)
[POV AQUILES VIRIDIUM – YEAR 271]
Today marked exactly 13 days since Aquiles and Ser Rodrik had been traveling, and the days had passed in a repetitive manner. During the day, they rode, and at night, they rested. Or at least Ser Rodrik rested. Aquiles always took advantage of dusk to train in the use of his powers and also to hunt.
As the days passed and he trained with his powers, he began to gain greater control over his strength. Now, whenever he had the chance, he trained his magic until his mana reservoir was depleted. As he trained, Aquiles' magic began to evolve by leaps and bounds and started to become more refined. The first time Aquiles conjured a fireball, he needed to chant hundreds of times and wasted a substantial amount of mana. However, now he only needed to chant 9 times until the magic was conjured, and mana wastage also decreased considerably, allowing him to conjure 15 fireballs before his mana reservoir was emptied. Furthermore, his mana reservoir had also expanded, at least a little.
"The night is approaching, should we set up camp?" Aquiles asked; he was already tired of riding. Ser Rodrik, in turn, shook his head negatively and said, "We won't camp tonight, further ahead, on that hill, there is a village where we can spend the night. Staying there will be much better than sleeping on the hard, cold ground!" He spoke while pointing ahead with his index finger.
Ser Rodrik pulled the reins of his garron and guided it off the road towards the small hill on the right side of the road, Aquiles followed him, and both began to climb. It didn't take them long to reach the top. As soon as Aquiles reached the top of the hill, a view of the first houses of the village appeared before his eyes. It was a simple village, with wooden and thatched houses, and a wooden fence enclosing the place.
As Aquiles and Ser Rodrik slowly approached the village, a man on horseback quickly approached them, stopping them from continuing forward by halting his horse in front of the two. Immediately after preventing them from advancing, the man questioned them in a suspicious and rude tone: "Outsiders, who are you and where do you come from?"
Ser Rodrik didn't like the man's way of speaking and responded with a bit of anger and scorn in his voice: "Is this how you greet visitors? I am Ser Rodrik Cassel, and we are coming from Winterfell!"
"From Winterfell?" The man's face seemed to light up. "Thank the Gods you received our message. My name is Cedric, and I am the chief of the village. If you permit me to ask, where are the rest of the reinforcements?" Cedric inquired in a respectful tone, but at the same time with urgency.
Cedric is a man 1.67 meters tall, with a lean and slender build. His hair is black and falls disorderly over his forehead, framing a pale face with black and deep eyes. A thick, also black beard adorns his face, covering part of it and descending to the level of his neck. Wrapped in a sturdy cloak of dark fabric, resistant to the sharp gusts of wind, Cedric protects himself from the relentless weather. Under the cloak, he wears a thick woolen garment, providing insulation against the penetrating cold. Dark and sturdy pants, combined with robust leather boots, and a small and simple leather armor complete his attire.
"What message? And what reinforcements are you talking about?" Ser Rodrik was completely confused, not understanding anything of what the man was saying.
"It's been a few days since we sent a raven with a plea for help, reporting that a group of bandits tried to invade the village. Aren't you here to help us deal with them?" Cedric's tone seemed uncertain as he questioned, his previous expression of joy was replaced by one of confusion.
Ser Rodrik brought his hands to his temples as if he were thinking, moments later he seemed to have a moment of understanding and asked, "When did you send the raven?"
"About 10 or 11 days ago!" Cedric answered honestly.
"I see," thought Ser Rodrik silently, and then replied with an understanding tone, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, friend. But we left Winterfell 13 days ago headed for White Harbor, we didn't know you needed help, and we didn't come to assist you, we're just passing through."
The man's face sank as he looked down, shaking his head in dismay, gripping the horse's reins tightly to vent his frustration; Aquiles noticed the man's fingers trembling despite the glove.
"If you're not here to help, you should leave immediately before the bandits reappear, or you might end up accidentally involved in our fight," Cedric exclaimed with disappointment and a hint of irritation.
"You're closer to White Harbor than Winterfell, why didn't you ask for help from Lord Manderly and chose to seek help from Lord Stark?" Ser Rodrik asked in a confused tone, unable to understand; White Harbor was only 3 days downriver, while Winterfell was 13 days away.
Cedric spat and then spat on the ground. "Do you think we didn't try to ask Lord Manderly for help?" Cedric scoffed. "That fat bastard doesn't even bother to respond to the ravens we send!"
"Watch your language, peasant. Lord Manderly is a noble," Ser Rodrik warned sternly, and the man seemed about to reply, but Aquiles intervened first, saying, "Perhaps we can help, Ser Rodrik!" Aquiles had long been eager to test his powers in a fight. Obviously, he wouldn't use his magic or other flashy powers; he would limit himself to testing his {Extreme Human} ability in a real fight.
Upon hearing Aquiles' proposal, Ser Rodrik turned to him and asked, "You have a sword, but do you know how to fight?"
"I can defend myself!" Aquiles affirmed confidently. The truth was that he didn't know how to handle a sword, but in his previous life, his parents had put him in three fights since he was 5 years old: Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, and Kickboxing. When he died, he was almost 40 years old, which meant nearly 35 years of unarmed combat training. Additionally, Aquiles had spent two years of his life in the army due to his country's mandatory military recruitment.
"Cedric, tell us how many bandits attacked the village!" Ser Rodrik requested, stating that he would only decide whether to stay or not after learning how many enemies they would have to face.
"The first time they attacked, they caught us off guard with 10 people. The second time, they brought 15 people, but even with some difficulty, we managed to repel them and make them retreat. We had some men seriously injured on our side, but fortunately, no one died during the confrontation. I think we were lucky that they didn't attack us again until now," Cedric replied, still vividly recalling the battle.
A serious expression appeared on Ser Rodrik's face as he pondered silently: "Perhaps they haven't attacked yet because they're recovering from the previous battle." After reflecting for a moment, Ser Rodrik inquired, "How many men capable of fighting do you have?"
"Previously, we had 30, but 14 of them were severely injured in the last bandit attack and are currently bedridden," Cedric spoke with a touch of melancholy as he recalled the wounded. Aquiles widened his eyes for a moment in surprise upon hearing that only 15 bandits managed to confront 30 men and still severely injure 14 of them. However, upon carefully examining the man in front of him, he realized that Cedric looked more like a farmer than a soldier.
"With my skills, it's quite unlikely that I'll end up dead, but the same can't be said for Ser Rodrik, so it's better if he decides," Aquiles thought, waiting for the knight to decide whether he would fight or not. Aquiles considered himself a good person, but not an idealistic fool who believed he had to defend every life or that all lives had the same value. For Aquiles, his own life was worth 10,000 times more than anyone else's, so if Ser Rodrik decided not to fight and just move on, Aquiles wouldn't hesitate to leave the village even knowing they would probably die.
Ser Rodrik remained lost in thought for a moment, pondering his chances of victory, and then responded confidently, "Allow us to spend the night in your homes, and we will fight alongside you!"
Cedric's face lit up with joy, and he exclaimed, "Of course, certainly! We will prepare our best lodging for you!" Cedric then began to lead the two towards the village, and the man in charge of the fence opened the wooden gate for their passage. As Aquiles walked through the village, he noticed that the residents watched them with mixed expressions of fear and concern on their faces.
Cedric led the two to a wooden house with a thatched roof. "You two can wait here in this house; I will instruct the women to provide food and drink," Cedric said, but Ser Rodrik raised his hand and intervened, saying, "Just water is enough; we already have food, and getting drunk will hinder us in combat if the bandits attack!"
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