The vilgers cheered as the hooded boy entered the vilge, their appuse filled with joy at his accomplishment. Yet, some remained silent, fear gripping them at the sight of his bloodied form.
Despite this, they all shared a collective sense of relief—finally, they were safe.
A warrior approached him and bowed. “Thank you! We will take care of the bodies,” other warriors followed him, throwing a wave at the boy. They would be collecting the bodies and lining them up for a while just outside the vilge; the other knights might have come back for their dead.
Simon just nodded in response.
‘He syed them like they were monsters!’ was how the vilgers and warriors described the massacre. ‘He looks like a party supporter!’ one of the vilgers whispered.
“Anything you need?” Kaleo asked as he stopped and turned.
“Um, would it be alright if I use your water well? I’m a bit of a mess,” he kept his head low, and only his lower face could be seen.
“I will guide you! So follow me!” Kaleo answered instantly. He guided the hooded boy to the closest one from the entrance of the settlement.
There, Simon began removing his cloak, lowered his bag, and removed his upper clothes.
He then drew water from the well and began cleaning his face and then his things.
The vilgers crowded him.
Though young, he possessed a tempered body, his skin unmarred by even a single scratch—a rare sight. Most striking of all, his eyes remained closed. Yet he moved with precise confidence, and those watching marveled at how he did it.
‘How can he move with his eyes closed?’
‘Can he see us?’
‘He is blind?’
Different murmurs flourished in their mind. A visitor would always stir the vilge like it was their entertainment.
Simon remained nonchant to the stares and murmurs around him. Rather, another idea formed in his mind. ‘If I could control the water through the bde, I could use it to clean my things,’ he thought, ‘How about drinking it? Would it be safe?’ he wondered lost in thought as he mechanically cleaned his equipment. ‘But trying that right now would draw attention. Better not to show my weapon.’
He was searching for clues about his birth; the st thing he wanted was trouble.
With another bucket of water spshed, he shook himself like a dog trying to dry off, then pulled a fresh set of clothes from his pack and dressed.
‘They are still watching me… they are weird,’ Simon thought as he felt the stares, but it was also a perfect opportunity for him. He then grabbed and opened his bag.
“I’d like to trade some meat for vegetables and fruit,” he said, and started ying out wrapped cuts one by one.
The offer caused a small stir in the vilge. It was a rare chance to taste new fvors, and vilgers began to move about. Food in the vilge was centralized; whatever was kept in storage was shared among everyone.
“Everyone, please just have a line and-” Kaleo tried to defuse the excitement but the vilgers just rushed to have good look at Simon’s food collection.
Simon still have some dried fish and a lump of different kinds of meat from the Umbra Forest.
Once he had the amount of greenery he wanted, he secured the newly acquired bundles in his backpack. He draped his wet cloak over one of his swords, then hoisted the rge bag onto his shoulder.
It would dry under the sun, and his backpack was made of water-resistant material with patches of animal and monster skins.
He approached one of the vilgers, the same guy who had led him to the well. He tapped his back, but he was quickly spoken to before he could even ask. “Why did you come here again?” A common question for travelers who ventured to the far end of the frontiers.
The boy gnced at the other vilgers; they seemed to be pressing the same man with questions about him.
“I'm looking for my mother... I was born here,” he said, hiding his eyes with his hood, only his mouth effectively visible.
“So you are one of us!?” Kaleo said with surprise, looking at Simon from head to toe, but unlike the usual traits of the vilgers, brown hair and brown eyes, the boy didn’t dispy any of them.
The boy had dark emerald hair, and it was impossible to check his eyes to confirm, and it would be rude to ask him to open them up.
“Are you sure?” Kaleo had to say it, one of the female vilgers hit his back.
“You should meet the vilge doctors; they have all the records!” She smiled before spping Kaleo’s back the second time. “Kaleo can guide you there!” She was nonchant about Kaleo’s grunt.
“I see... thank you.” The boy, Simon, respectfully bowed.
“Hannah! How about you guide her yourself!” But another smack hit him in the back. “Ouch! Ah, my day off…” Kaleo sighed heavily while he was rubbing his lower back.
Guided by the same hunter, Simon began walking around the vilge. The settlers of the outpost were surprisingly friendly; they waved and greeted him as he passed. Some of them even started cooking some of Simon’s traded meat.
‘I could have lived here,’ Simon thought. If his mother truly had been one of the vilgers, then this pce might have been his home. The idea made him gnce around, searching—especially for a woman who might resemble a mother.
Kaleo noticed the spark of excitement in him.“Don’t get your hopes up. One to three vilgers die every year. We may look friendly, but monsters attack us often.”He turned to Simon. “Just saying.”
“I could live with that,” Simon replied.
Kaleo looked genuinely surprised. “I see. Then what will you do if your mother is dead?”
“I don’t know,” Simon answered.
A trace of bloodlust leaked from him—not directed at Kaleo.Still, it sent a chill down the young hunter’s back.
“Sorry. I’ll shut up,” Kaleo said.
He gnced away, guilt creeping in. A child this far at the ends of the world, looking for his mother… what a crazy story.
After a moment, he spoke again, staring ahead.“Sometimes the answer is the journey, not the person itself.”
“You said you’d shut up,” the boy retorted.
Still, Low murmurs spread through the vilge as the settlers began to specute about the attack. It was strange indeed—a company of knights targeting a remote frontier vilge.