The bandit's discussion and their plans for the the near future

"Ah! Already? Time flies," he mused. Well, I should thank you in advance, then." He bowed ever so slightly. Come on, elder, there's really no need for such things. I have come to live in this village, and in the future, it will be my home. It should be that thank you for allowing us to continue living here," Gresvin said with a smile.

The elder wanted to argue further regarding who was in debt to whom but was shut down by Gresvin before he even could; the elder could only nod in defeat.

They did not discuss it much further, and Gresvin went to train. He had done what he wanted to do, and now he had to go back to do what he must—train.

Meanwhile, the villagers slowly but surely helped the warriors build a few more watchtower buildings around the village. Gresvin had given them the task for one reason: He intended to construct a wall in the near future, and these fortifications would be precisely what was needed to safeguard the village.

Gresvin had no intention of leaving the village so open and undefended.

***

Meanwhile, around 10 miles east of Coedwig. Near a large lake.

The three men who had left the village of Coedwig earlier in the day had arrived at a lake. They were only a few hundred meters from the shoreline.

The lake was quite large, and from Marcus's point of view, even standing on a hill looking from above the lake, he could not see the other side. At first, when one of the warriors spotted the large mass of water, they thought they had found the Tyrrhenian Sea.

But when they neared the water, they realized it was just one massive body of water. When Marcus saw the lake, he had ordered one of the men accompanying him to make notes of its location.

And now they found themselves once more standing on top of a small hill a few hundred meters away from the shoreline.

One of the men, Morgan, spoke with excitement: "Leader, the Lord would be overjoyed by our findings. We should return as soon as possible." 

Marcus gazed over the lake, nodding in agreement at Morgan's words, "Indeed, but we should try and gather more information regarding the area near here. If there are suitable locations we can use as shelters, where resources could be found, and what dangers may appear, I believe that the Lord would be more welcoming to a full set of information rather than just a location." 

The two warriors, Morgan and Manon, looked at one another. It was not wrong to say they wanted to return to quickly deliver the report, but it was also fitting for them to write a more detailed account of the surroundings. 

They had been too excited to return and deliver the good news that they forgot that the amount of uncertainties leading up to the shoreline was immense.

Marcus glanced at the two warriors and could not help but sigh in relief: 'I am more thankful for them to want to return as quickly as possible rather than rushing towards the lake in carelessness.' He had thought that the two men would show the complete opposite thoughts.

Rushing back home is far safer than rushing into the unknown. Marcus was fully prepared to scold them, but it seemed that there was no need for him to do such things.

"Mm, good. Let's get moving, then. The more we can gather about the lake, the better the Lord will be able to prepare for the future. We should make sure our information is accurate," he told the two warriors before slowly making his way down.

He needed to cross a large amount of grassland to arrive at the lake; thankfully for them, the lake was surrounded by more plains than woods and forests. This meant they would be able to spot danger further away and better scan and observe the shores for any settlements that may appear along the lake.

They treaded in between the long grass of the plains without much difficulty. The long green grass was higher than expected and reached all the way to their thighs, but it proved to be relatively easy to traverse. Marcus was in the lead while the two warriors, Morgan and Manon, kept a watchful eye on the surroundings; they left the path tracking to Marcus.

The trio moved swiftly and soon reached the shore of the lake, their eyes landing on the shimmering blue that spread out before them. "Gather some water in the satchel. We will bring it back to the village and let the Lord decide." Marcus ordered with some excitement laced in his tone. If this water can be used, then we can solve our water crisis. The only problem is the distance,' he pondered.

The distance between the village and the lake is not that far, but if one were to travel on foot, it would take almost four hours to arrive at the lake. 

Marcus shook his head; he would leave the decisions to Gresvin; his only priority would be to follow Gresvin's command.While Marcus was deep in thought, Manon spoke softly, "Look over there!" he gestured to a few figures to their right in the distance. "Quick, hide!" Marcus ordered, and the trio jumped back into the grass.

Although the grass was not extremely tall, they were able to blend in by crouching. Marcus made sure that he was hidden while making room for him to look between the grass.

The silhouettes came closer and closer to the trio; they were walking down the shoreline. "Two men, clad in rough leather and pieces of chain mail. Both have short daggers on their hips," he softly whispered to the two behind him.

"Are they part of a bandit group, you reckon?" Manon asked curiously. "From the clothes and weapons they wear, I am inclined to think so indeed," Marcus answered with a serious expression.

The tall grass would not save the trio if the two bandits were to walk past them; they would be discovered almost instantly; the only reason they were still hidden was that the two bandits were relatively far away.