2 Sigil

Some time has passed while Logan began fishing at the lake. His initial encounter with civilization was soon to happen, and it would end up not being exceedingly pretty.

It was after he had caught a few more fish and hauled them with him to sell later.

What he required right now was at least some money for his travels that would follow.

And he already knew that a village should be close by because of that peasant from earlier. No ordinary peasant would otherwise fish at a lake without some cart or the likes to transport the goods. He was confident he could gain some coin there.

The sun was also already setting, and Logan had to secure a place to sleep and start thinking about his first moves after gaining some coin.

But first things first. Logan started walking around the forest for quite some time until he saw some smoke rising into the heavens from afar. It was above a patch of a forested area. That was a great sign that the village was there.

Not long after that and Logan finally entered the village. It is a very crudely built habitat and buildings were far apart from each other. It also was not that big of a place. There were maybe a few hundred men and women in this little settlement.

Looking around for specific buildings, he saw what seemed to be a butcher's home. There was a person processing meats in the bright open. So he went there to try and sell the fish. It should be the right place for making such a trade.

"Greetings," said Logan with a warm smile to the butcher that stopped hacking the meat and stared at him in response.

"What is it, lad?" he asked him back. This man was a lot older than him seen by the patches of white in his hair. So Logan just ignored being called a lad out of manner.

"I got some fish here. I have freshly caught them. So I thought about selling them here. Would you buy them?" Logan was going straight to the point and tried to sell the fish.

The butcher looked at Logan and inspected the fish he was now showing him. About 25 fish were hanging on little strings bundled together.

"The gloss in their eyes is still good. Alright, I will buy them. I will give you 50 copper pennies. Two for each fish."

"Three copper each.", bargained Logan immediately without hesitating.

One should know a loaf of bread was already worth three coppers. This butcher was trying to get the best out of this. And fish and meat were always more valuable than grain. Especially since bread in this era of time was as hard as a stone.

"Not going to happen, kid.", denied the butcher immediately.

But Logan didn't give up quite yet and thought about how to deal with this butcher. Looking at the meats, he saw some of them being dried up into jerky. They were good rations and would come in handy later.

"Three coppers and I buy some of that dried meat over there." Logan pointed at it, and the butcher looked at the pieces he wanted.

Since he was mentioning the currency, with the 75 copper coins that Logan wanted for the fish, he would gain one silver coin and 25 copper coins from this trade. But together with the dried meat, he would end up with 62 copper and a halfpenny.

The halfpenny was worth half a copper coin. The value amount of the different coins could be counted as followed: Two halfpennies made one copper. 56 copper would round up to one silver coin, and 210 silver coins would become one shiny gold coin.

Of course, the gold value had some small differences between kingdoms, but generally, it was about the same amount.

"Hmpf, alright. I will purchase them for that price. They are at least very fresh, and some of them seem relatively big.", snorted the butcher and would pay him the amount he wanted.

Simultaneously, he indicated to him where he could place the fish and started to prepare the money and meat.

[Skill "Bargaining" gained.

Bargaining (Beginner) Level 1: This is the art of buying things without opening your wallet too much. The higher the skill, the better you can bargain with people about prices.

Skill "Haggling" gained.

Haggling (Beginner) Level 1: The art of selling things to get more money out of them. The higher the skill, the better you can supply your goods for horrendous prices.]

Logan placed the fish to the designated area and took the money and meat the butcher handed over.

"One more question, sir. Is there an Inn in this village?", asked Logan now.

"I already wondered. So you are a new face around here. What brings you here into our little village?", answered the butcher with a somewhat suspicious tone now.

"I am on a pilgrimage, so I go from one place to another. I never really know where I am." Logan chuckled a little. "Asking the locals is always the best way to get information, no?" Logan was still smiling at the butcher and didn't bother about being doubted.

It was a normal reaction to be certain. And he also lied so the butcher had all right to be suspicious.

The butcher was somewhat bewildered by the answer. He was somehow convinced that the man was not lying to him. "Well, lad. There is a Tavern to the left there at the end of the dirt road. They also give people a sleeping place if you ask them. But don't go making trouble. I don't want to regret having told you it´s location." It was the answer Logan wanted and also a little warning as well.

"Not going to happen. I will be leaving soon anyway. Thank you for everything.", said Logan and thanked the butcher.

Then he walked to the left side where he was lead. It didn't take long and he soon came across a building where he could hear more noise coming from than from the other ones around it.

Entering regularly through the door like any normal person and looking around, Logan saw some people sitting merrily around tables with meals and drinks. Enjoying their time.

Some of them started to look at him for a moment and went back to their business after only seeing some average guy enter. Luckily Logan was dressed very commonly and looked like a poor traveler. So he didn't get much attention.

Moving on he sat at a free seat, and a tavern maiden with long brown hair approached him after she served another cup of ale to other customers.

"What may I bring you, sir?", she asked politely.

"A warm meal and ale, please. And a place to stay the night." Logan's green eyes traveled over the woman's body from the bottom to the top. He had to admit this woman displayed an attractive figure. After ogling her up for a while, he stayed put at her eyes and ultimately replied to her question.

The maiden was surprised how handsome this man was after having a closer look. She was even stunned for a second. And a slight blush appeared while she perceived him looking at her body just a moment ago.

But she came back to her senses and smiled in acknowledgment after his words. "A hearty meal, an ale and a place to stay would amount to 12 copper, sir."

Logan nodded in agreement and handed her his silver coin. The tavern maiden took the money and walked away to prepare everything.

It didn't take long, and she brought him his meal and beverage. She also placed the change into a little bag for him.

Logan was a little surprised that his money came back with a money pouch now. So he looked at the woman with a raised brow.

"I noticed that sir carries his money in his pockets. It is much better to carry it in a pouch. This one is a gift. It is not of high quality, so it is cheap. Don't worry. Now, enjoy your meal.", she smiled at him and explained why she did it. Then with a bow, she was about to leave.

It looks like this woman took a liking to him. So Logan smiled back and thanked her. "Thank you. That is very kind of you."

The tavern maiden walked away very happily and from time to time still glanced over to him while he was devouring his meal.

What Logan had to scrutinize was the quality of the food. It tasted somewhat bland. It looks like he had to invent or spur on development in this area at some point. And another thing was there was no real cutlery in this era.

There was one wooden spoon for the soup, but it made the bland soup taste even weirder. It now had a woody aftertaste. But maybe it was because Logan was undead now. So he just swallowed his pampered heart and started to break apart the bread and finish his meal.

While he was eating, he could listen in on some conversations. And just as fate would have it. A peasant was talking with other people around a table about a certain event.

"Stop spouting nonsense, you idiot. Who would believe you such a thing."

"I tell you it is real! There was a corpse crawling out of the lake! It burst into flames and then a man appeared! The devil I tell ya!"

"And you also want to tell us now that this corpse or the devil as you call it just let you run?"

The men remained silent because he could not argue against those words.

Logan had a bright smile on his face while he listened. So rumors already spread to some extent.

Then the tavern doors opened again, and a few shady looking people entered. To be precise, it was eight men. What one could immediately see was they were equipped with swords around their waists and had leather armor surrounding their bodies.

They weren't ordinary people. Even the atmosphere in the tavern immediately became colder. Logan only looked up through his peripheral vision without raising his head.

"Hey, why the gloomy looks? Did you all not miss us?", Said a guy who seemed to be the leader of this little gang. It looked like those people were already here once and that it was not a joyful meeting.

They went ahead and walked to a broader table where they stared down at some people that were sitting there already.

"Get your arses down from there. Now!", One of the bandits ordered and even threw the meals the people had from the table to the ground. The people had no other choice but to obey.

Sitting down, they started laughing profusely like a group of hyena. "Hey, tavern bitch! Bring us ale!", shouted the leader again.

The tavern maiden that brought Logan his meal was afraid and hesitantly approached. No wonder about that since what those guys did was very primitive - even barbaric.

"Look at this bitch. She is so shy that she hides! Come to think of it. We haven't seen you around here. You are new, and your body looks very nice. Come here."

The guy that started talking grabbed her and pulled her to the group. They smacked her butt, grabbed and jerked her on their laps and even started fondling her breasts as if she was their toy.

They enjoyed humiliating a woman and Logan watched all this with cold eyes. Merely remembering the interaction with her from a moment ago made him angry. That those bandits were ravaging such a kind woman was enough reason to get rid of these scum.

´Hey, system. Can you summon my army outside the village and transfer them here?´

[Host, that is possible. Should I activate the summoning? Do note that these soldiers will stay with you until you cancel the summon or they die.]

´Do it...´

[Affirmative. I am activating the Summons.

*Summons*

Current Evaluation: Little Bandit Group

---Army---

- Retinue: 0

- Land: 10 light Infantry (10 Swordsmen Infantry, Intermediate Level 1)

- Fleet: No Fleet

Summoning 10 Swordsmen.]

Logan remained silent and waited. Most people even tried avoiding this out of fear and left the tavern in a haste.

With every second passing these guys became more shameless and the anger Logan felt was building up.

The tavern maiden already had her clothes ripped apart. Her body was entirely open for all people to see. And only just when these guys nearly raped the maiden in front of everyone, another ten people entered the tavern.

They were all equipped with light chainmail armor and iron swords. Their helmets concealed their faces somewhat. The single thing that was instantly seen was the sigil on their round wooden shields and surcoats they wore over the chainmail.

It was a fiery Red Eagle spreading its wings with three black colored Svarga over its head like a crown. The symbol for the god Svarog.

Logan only snorted slightly after sighting it. So his sigil was already predetermined. At least it was not half bad.

The bandits immediately got agitated and looked at the new people that entered.

But what they could not know were these soldiers already had their swords unsheathed and approached them with the intent to kill.

Some of the bandits could unsheath and raise their swords trying to defend themselves, but in the end, the bandits were overrun by this kind of sneak attack from his soldiers. That´s what happens when you concentrate on wielding your dicks more than your swords. You won't have the time to react.

If it was any other time and Logan wouldn't be so angry, he would start laughing at those guys that fought with their pants down. But right now he just looked at it with a gaze of deserved judgment.

It didn't take very long, and the last guy got his head decapitated. With that, every single one of the bandits was mercilessly killed without exception. And no soldier of his got remotely hurt.

[System level up. Gained 8 souls.]

The people in the tavern were all frightened and thought they would die as well but the soldiers sheathed their swords, and one of them even approached Logan. He saluted in front of him.

It was an apparent salute. The soldier placed his sword hand that was made into a fist to the left side of his chest and remained straight like a tree, looking at Logan.

Logan looked back at him and slowly stood up from his chair. Then he approached the soldier and patted his left shoulder once. With that, the soldier moved again and left the tavern together with the others.

After his little army, that was more of a bandit group it seems, left the tavern, only then did Logan approach the tavern maiden that was still pretty shocked by all these events. Her teary face still was present but, to his surprise, there was a also a determined glimmer in her expression.

He put on a warm smile on his face. "I hope you are well. Scum like these should never roam the lands."

His words were right — no mercy for the cruel.

The maiden only reacted with a dazed look at first, but she soon got tears in her eyes again and started crying loudly. The other people in the tavern equally were surprised by that. All immediately had a thought in their heads. A noble! This guy was a noble in disguise! He saved us!

But what made that thought vanish was the next action Logan did. He started searching the dead bodies and took all the money that they had on themselves. There was not much to be found. These guys were terrible and miserable at the same time.

All in all, he now had 13 Silver coins and 34 copper pennies. He also took off one of their swords and hung it around his waist. Now he had a weapon to use. He should train with it later.

A Bandit! He is a bandit himself! That was what the people believed right now after observing his actions. Their opinions changed pretty instantly. Only empathy towards the poor woman remained.

"Where can I sleep for the night?", He asked the tavern owner after going back to him. After all, he did pay for a night.

The tavern owner looked at him with sweat trickling down his forehead. Looking at the corpses that were still lying around in his tavern he felt like messing around with this guy was an ill omen. But he still had the feeling he could communicate with him usually.

"...It is upstairs. Can I request your lordship to take care of the...deceased?", answered the owner and also asked about the corpses.

Logan looked back at the corpses and nodded.

For a brief moment, Logan walked outside the Tavern to talk with his soldiers and returned merely to go upstairs to his room and get some sleep. His soldiers came back inside as well and picked up the corpses.

They hauled them outside where they ignited them with fire to not spread diseases. At least that was what someone from Logans´s world would think.

But when nothing but white powdery ash remained of them, it was doubtful if that was still the case. Logan was unkind enough not to allow them a burial. And he, under no circumstances, would carry out such a thing for such scum.