37 Agocester Village
The Athina Kingdom was very large, and Kozáni was just a small town in the middle of its vast lands.
In the past, Victor Shieldman believed that he was too old to be exploring this world. His body no longer responded as well as it used to and his legs tired easily.
However, Victor suddenly found himself compelled to travel again, because he wanted answers as to what exactly was happening to him. Dying and going back in time was not a very common type of ability - in fact, Victor, even with his vast experience, had never heard of such a thing, not even the possibility of it. He needed explanations as to what or who was causing it and why.
Therefore, Victor needed to find someone who knew about strange powers and someone he could trust. He wouldn't be able to tell people directly with words, but whoever he had in mind was so astute that he could understand anyway. To find this specific person, Victor needed to travel to Klento, a large coastal town to the south-east of Kozáni.
Shortly after Wanda left Kozáni for Yulshire, the city where the "Golden Sun Guild" was based, Victor paid with his last silver coins for a coachman to take him to Agocester.
Agocester was the nearest village to Kozáni and was halfway to Klento. If he had wanted to go straight to Klento, he would have had to pay twice as much, ten silver coins, equivalent to one gold coin, and he didn't have that kind of money.
Victor could have stayed a few more days in Kozáni, collecting this money, and then gone to Klento, but as well as wanting to get out of this city as soon as possible, he preferred working in a village to earn money rather than in a big city, because, although the missions paid less, there were fewer hunters competing for them.
The ride with the coachman was uneventful for the most part, but the man in charge of the reins was a little annoyed by all Victor's silence and was afraid that Victor didn't like him.
With a little sweat dripping down his forehead, he looked at Victor, saw the white-haired hunter's serious countenance, swallowed and said:
"Sir, excuse me for intruding, but are you going to the festival in Agocester?"
Victor looked at the cart driver. "Festival?"
"Yes, I'm talking about the Bonfire Festival. It's become a tradition in recent years."
"Oh, no, definitely not. I just want to do some work, get some money and go to Klento."
'Work?' The man wondered internally, but with the corners of his eyes he scrutinized Victor a little.
Victor Shieldman was wearing dark clothes and a black cloak to protect himself from the early winter cold. The coachman looked back and saw that all Victor's luggage was a small bag and a sword, so he finally connected the dots.
'He's a hunter... But old like that? Isn't he dangerous?' The man frowned and thought to himself, but wisely decided not to share his prejudices.
In this world, it was unusual to see hunters who were over forty, and Victor, thanks to his white hair, looked much older than others his age.
Although the coachman didn't say anything, Victor could feel the judgmental look on his face, but he didn't mind. Victor didn't think he was that old, and for someone of forty-seven he looked very well-groomed, except for the white hairs all over his face.
'Maybe I should shave off my beard to rejuvenate it. Victor pondered, but, remembering how red his face used to be in the cold, quickly gave up the idea.
It only took a few hours to reach Agocester, which was located in a mountainous region to the southeast.
The village was notable for its stone houses with slate roofs, dotted with chimneys that exhaled soft smoke on cold days. The buildings in Agocester had a traditional architecture, with simpler façades and windows framed by hand-embroidered curtains, which was quite different from the many wooden buildings that existed even in the cities, because the foamed wood held the heat inside the houses better.
Agocester's winding streets intertwined in a tangle of alleys, all leading to an ornate square with a water fountain, but now it was turned off and the water was still. Above this fountain was a large stone statue of a man, whose name was detailed on a metal plaque.
[In memory of the Hero Elban and all the people he saved].
Elban was a handsome man with an athletic build and, like every hero, he had a kind smile on his face, even though he was just a statue now.
Upon disembarking in this square and saying goodbye to the coachman, Victor stared at the statue for a few minutes and then started walking, his cloak fluttering.
The sun was almost setting over the horizon, and Victor needed to find a cheap place to spend the night, which might not be easy because of the Bonfire Festival. However, walking through the higher streets of Agocester, Victor noticed something that began to bother him.
Being a more centrally located village between two large cities, Agocester should be much more crowded and busy than Serenity had ever been, especially with a festival so close, but there were only a few people walking around, which was strange.
Anyway, Victor decided not to think too much about it for the moment and concentrated on his search for a hotel.
Walking a couple more streets, he found a modest inn, where he was greeted kindly by the hotelier, a middle-aged man with kind eyes, a warm smile and thick-rimmed glasses that made his eyes look quite large.
"Good evening, sir. How can I help you?" The hotelier asked with his hands clasped together.
"Good evening. How much does it cost to spend the night?"
"Ten bronze coins or one silver coin, whichever you prefer to pay."
Victor opened his right hand and showed eight bronze coins. "That's all I have on me."
The hotelier's smile immediately closed, but after a few seconds he took the coins from Victor's hand and began to assess them with his large ones to check that they were real. Then he sighed wearily and said:
"All right, you can have a room for one night, but you won't get breakfast."
Unperturbed, Victor nodded in agreement.
The hotelier opened the wooden box behind him and took out one of the many keys. "Here it is. You'll take Room 03, which is exactly to the right of this first corridor." He pointed to the corridor on Victor's left.
The hunter put the bags on his back with his sword, took the key and thanked him. However, after taking a few steps towards the corridor, he stopped and turned around.
The hotelier, who was beginning to jot something down in his notebook, looked at Victor over the lenses of his glasses and, looking dissatisfied, asked:
"Is there anything else you need, sir?"
"I have a question. The man who brought me to this village said there was going to be a festival, so I figured there would be few rooms available, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
The hotelier was surprised by Victor's question and decided to let off some steam. "Well, yes, you've been informed correctly. We'll have the Bonfire Festival in two days, or rather we would. The locals are too scared to celebrate and all the farms and villages nearby have heard the rumor. I'm afraid business will be bad this year."
"What rumor are you talking about?"
"About..." The hotelier was about to speak, but gave up.
If Victor, who was his only customer that night, got scared too, Victor might give up on the idea of spending the night and want his money back.
"Never mind, it's too late to talk about these things. You need to rest, right? Anyway, you used to be a hunter in your youth, didn't you? I can see it in the way you talk and act. If you're really curious about it, ask around at the tavern or the guild."
