บท 23: Older Than Their Mother
Willy and his team were seasoned argonauts and well known in Kilverstead. Every year around harvest they would come to guard the town. They were forced into the role begrudgingly by Grechid Gantz the matriarch of Gia's family and a particularly nasty woman. While the team did not like Grechid they did all want to support Gia and Kilverstead. This year has been particularly busy, both in the number of visitors to the town and in monster sightings. Most of them were false alarms but a few times they found a goblin which was quickly dispatched.
The sun was finally cresting the mountain peak and the group began their patrol. It was later in the day than they would usually start but they were up all night tracking down a hobgoblin. It turned out to be another false alarm which they had suspected from the start. Even more upsettingly, the group missed the breakfast prepared by Galin, who was Gia's younger brother and the best chef in the village.
They always start their patrol by surveying the outskirts of the forest to the north. Monsters often travel down from around the mountain now that the season's are changing and they prepare for winter. As they all arrive at the start point of the patrol, Bruiser the great dane cynocephali lets out a loud yawn as he takes a seat on a downed log. The rest of the group formed a half circle around the tired dog-man as they prepared for the rest of the day.
"I am getting too old for all of this walking around." Bruiser said as he pats his knees. "They had us up all night chasing shadows. We should just take a break today."
"You aren't that old." Evan responds as he yawns as well. "But maybe he is right. I vote we check the traps and go get some more rest."
"How about a half day? We check the traps. Do two laps around the town and call it a day. Tomorrow we'll take a full day off. We have been patrolling everyday." Willy said as he placed an arm around Evan's shoulder.
"I'll talk to my grandmother about it when we get back home." Gia said as she looked around into the forest. "You know how she can be if she thinks we aren't doing anything. She will scold my family for raising such a 'lazy daughter' again."
"No offense but that old lady is evil." Bruiser said as he pulled out his grimoire and started reading.
"She has her challenges but we only have to deal with it for a few more weeks and then we are free." Gia said in agreement. "Sorry about this guys, I know you are only doing this because of my stupid family drama."
"Yep." Evan and Bruiser said in unison while nodding.
"Guys!" Gia pouts you didn't have to agree so readily.
"What, we are only doing this because of you and because it is you who asked." Evan said as he turned to her. "That is what teammates do, even for ungrateful grandmothers that are definitely evil."
"We all know the reason why you decided to come along." Bruiser said as he flipped a page in his book.
"That Silvia girl, right?" Willy said with a sly smile. "Is that why you want a day off? Did you ask her on a date?"
"N-no that's not the reason! We are just friends." Evan said while spinning out of Willy's arm.
"Just be careful, women from this town are feisty." Willy laughed. "You will think they are nice and sweet but that's how they hook you."
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Gia said. "Don't tell him that!"
"It means he may need some pointers." Bruiser said while he turned the page of his book.
"Can we just get started with the patrol?" Evan asked red in the face.
The group continued on their patrol checking the traps in the outskirts of the town. They weren't expecting to see anything out of the ordinary. In fact this had been one of the quietest years in terms of actual beast encounters in the area. Evan takes the lead as they approached one of the traps which appears to be a typical animal snare but with a barbed chain instead of rope.
"Looks fine. A few animals passed by so I will replace the bait" Evan said.
"Great, just a few more to go." Bruiser says.
"Why didn't the animals set off the trap?" Willy asked.
"Thanks to Bruiser's enchantment a creature would have to have a certain amount of mana to set it off." Evan said as he placed fresh bait. "We aren't trying to trap a comnancer, or wild dog the locals can handle that. Monsters typically have more mana than a normal animal."
"People shouldn't set it off either, well, unless they go messing with it." Bruiser added.
As the group continued they saw something they didn't expect. Two people that seemed to have appeared from nowhere were walking towards the town. It wasn't unusual to see travelers this time of year but something about them seemed different. They had a small travelers bag but not much else and their equipment looked from a distance very well maintained. Willy noted that the town was going to be alight with gossip by the time they got done with their patrol.
The man was dressed in plate armor with no helm and a long cloak that hid his weapons. His companion was a woman in long and dated mage robes but most impressively she was an elf. Elves are exceedingly rare in Mighthand and having one enter the town with an armed escort seemed worth investigating after the traps were all secured. The two groups did not cross as Willy and his team continued on round the fields to the next trap location.
"Hey guys! Good morning Auntie!" A young voice called out.
The group turned around and saw three young children running up to them. The children were all around ten years old and from the Gerolt family, the same as Gia. Each of the six main families had a naming convention that their surnames would begin with the same letter as the family name. So it was easy to tell who belonged to which family just by hearing their first or last name. The three children were Gia's nephews named Grimie, Guchal, Ghermau. They would always run up and embrace her in a big hug every morning when she saw them.
"Just don't let them get any closer over here." Evan said as he fiddled with the trap.
"Yeah of course." Gia says.
"Did you guys see those two weird travelers?" Grimie asked.
"The guy in the armor looks strong, are they argonauts?" Ghermau said right after without giving anyone time to respond.
"The lady is pretty." Guchal said.
"Eww!" Grimie says. "She is old like ma."
"That is not nice to say." Gia responds a little hurt because she is older than their mother. "And yes we saw the travelers. We are going to talk to them after we finish patrolling."
The boys stayed with Gia asking more questions about who she thinks would win in a fight between Willy and the guy in armor. A question which prompted Willy to step up and tell them a story of how he defeated a vampire in single combat. A feat not many can claim and is all the more impressive out here where monsters like them are known to be one of the strongest an Argonaut can encounter. He of course stretched the definition of single combat since the vampire was already damaged from fighting his team before he finished it off. It isn't long before the boys are all but certain that he would win a fight against anyone.
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