3 The Quiet Village

The days in the village were filled with chores. We milked cows, weeded gardens, and helped villagers with odds and ends. The villagers didn't have much, but they were happy. Everyone ate together for lunch, chatting about what work needed to be done the next day. Things were peaceful to the point of boredom. The routine became second nature by the end of the first month. The elder couple who had taken me in treated me like their own. Margaret fussed over me constantly while the old man was always trying to get a chuckle. Every night we would sit down for dinner and talk about how the day went. Margaret always listened to our stories with fascination. Her warm smile had been something reassuring in my life lately. I felt normal, I wasn't fighting for my food or wondering where I was going to sleep at night. The only thing I miss was the stars. I used to sit under the open sky and count them till I fell asleep. Every once in a while I would sneak out and lay on a bale of hay. I wondered if this is what my father wanted for me, a quiet life, in a quiet village. Little did I know that quiet times never lasted long, that peace was always a sword thrust away from being broken. A bugle ripped the quiet night air.

"Demon beasts!" A guard yelled as he ran house to house. Soon all the villagers had gathered around Herbert.

"Protect the women and children! Till our last breaths boys!" He yelled raising his pitchfork.

I walked up to him.

"Rudy stay here with Margaret please." He asked.

The man looked terrified despite his brave words. His hands shook as he gripped his pitchfork.

"Let me handle this you protect Margaret. I will be ok I promise." I said taking the pitchfork.

He looked like he wanted to protest but stopped when he saw my face. I turned away walking towards the front of the village. A large group of goblins had gathered in front of the village. A large orc goblin stood at the front. His grey skin hid under leather armor. A twisted-looking cleave was held in his right hand. He was barking at the smaller green goblins. The goblins looked terrified of the much larger orc goblin.

"Hey, can you goblins bicker somewhere else? You're bothering this village!" I yelled catching the orc goblins' attention.

He turned towards me and yelled. The green goblins charged. I sighed but quickly dispatched them. Their green blood soaked the ground. The orc goblin huffed and circled me, swinging his blade left to right. What a show-off I thought. He charged me with a wild swing, I deflected his blow to the dirt. His sword shattered my pitchfork. I grabbed his arm and drove my knee into his elbow. He dropped the blade howling in pain. He viciously swung his now broken arm as a club. I kicked his left leg from under him. Driving his face into the dirt with my free hand. His dark blue blood flowed free from his nose as he struggled to stand up. I grabbed his face and lifted the creature into the air. Though bigger than goblins, orc goblins only come up to shoulder height on humans. They have large curled tusks at each side of their mouth. This one proceeded to try and gore me. I grabbed him by the neck and squeezed. My anger taking control. The orc goblin's eyes bulged as he scratched at my wrists, his legs flailing against my body as he struggled. My grip only got tighter. In minutes he stopped struggling. The villagers had watched in horror as I completely decimated the large group. I saw the fear in their eyes, in my heart I knew it was time for me to move on. My peaceful life had been shattered yet again by demon beasts. I sighed and made the walk to the elder's home. His face told me everything. His face was etched in fear. Margaret only looked away as I gathered my things.

"You know, I thought at least you two would be different," I said with sadness.

Margaret looked like she wanted to say something but Herbert stopped her.

I shook my head in disappointment. I walked past the goblin bodies and the village. The beaten dirt path seemed to be my only friend. I walked until the sun came up. I made camp in a grove of trees near the dirt path. My heart hurt for the second time in my life. Humans were the weird ones, not me. I was a survivor. My thoughts carried me to sleep. I was woken midday by the sound of horses. A large carriage was besieged by dire wolves. The driver was fearlessly trying to keep the carriage from tipping over as someone tried fighting off the dire wolves. I sighed, something in me refused to let them suffer. I started running and caught up to them. I tackled one wolf, stabbing it with my knife as we tumbled into the dirt. I stood up and repeated till they were all dead. The carriage stopped. A group of people rushed out to thank me.

"You're fast mister." A small kid said running up to me.

"Thank you, young man, I am Derek Crosbane. This is my wife Synthia and my son Merrik. Where are you heading to?" The older man with them asked.

"The nearest town I guess," I replied not knowing how to answer him.

"Ah, you must be going to the adventurers guild," Derek said with a smile.

"Yeah, that's exactly where I was going." I lied.

They offered me a ride into Typhoon city with them. I gladly accepted since it would be a long walk. The carriage was bumpy, yet there was room for the four of us. A swordsman rode on top while the carriage driver drove. We arrived at the city before sundown.