The fugitives

The next morning, Mia insisted that we accompany the adventurer group to the village - just in case something went wrong, she wanted to be there.

I carried the body of the deceased group member on my shoulders and took the lead. It didn't bother me, even though it extended our travel time.

Mia joined the three remaining adventurers and began talking to them.

Initially, they seemed a bit reserved, but Mia was an experienced healer who had worked in the village for many years, dealing with a variety of people and injuries.

"How do you like it in Bergwacht?" I heard her ask.

Lise, one of the group members, replied, "It's okay, but I expected it to be better."

Mia looked surprised. "Why, what don't you like?"

"I fled with my..." Lise paused, as if considering whether to say the right thing.

Mia didn't push her, just smiled, encouraging Lise to continue. "I... I fled with my father and little sister and now we can't stay, maybe..."

I was surprised but let Mia continue.

"Fled... my condolences," Mia comforted and continued with a respectful smile. "But I must admit, I'm a little glad that the village of Bergwacht has gained such a good reputation."

Lise looked up at Mia and shook her head. "No need for pity; we're better now. While Bergwacht now has a good reputation, it wasn't our original goal."

"Too bad," I heard Mia say with a slightly disappointed voice but still conveyed a sense of understanding and seriousness, „but can I ask why you maybe can't stay?"

They continued talking, but I couldn't understand as I jumped to a nearby mountain to see how far it still was. Four valleys.

When I landed again, I heard Lise continue her story.

"We're originally from Goldhaven; my parents had a small fishing business, and we were doing well..." She paused, a lump visible in her throat.

Mia said nothing and just waited patiently. In the meantime, Bernd joined me.

"If you want, I can tell you my side of the story."

I looked at him surprised. Was there a conflict? I wondered.

"I can see you're interested!" he said awkwardly and looked up to me.

"You're right!" I agreed. "If you'd be so kind."

"You saved our lives; it's the least I can do," he smiled. "So, Goldhaven, that's where our journey started."

"One moment," I interrupted him. "What is Goldhaven?"

He looked at me surprised. "Seriously? Aren't you from the Sun Kingdom?"

I shrugged and scratched my head thoughtfully.

I heard a small sigh, but Bernd began to explain, "Goldhaven is the most prominent port city of the Sun Kingdom, considered the second capital alongside Sun Gate."

I nodded in agreement.

He glanced at me briefly and continued, "Goldhaven is located on the south-west coast, facing the sea which belongs to Atlantis."

He made a short break and continued: "In recent years, there was peace between the two kingdoms, which allowed the trade port to flourish. However, our new king, Ludwig XI, did not renew the peace treaty and wants the former territory back."

"Former territory?" I asked cluelessly.

I truly realized how much I had lived under a rock. I had seen individual maps and heard stories, but most of my time was spent on training.

"So, I don't know everything myself; it was before my birth. But my father told me that Atlantis always wanted a piece of land because they are an island kingdom. And since the Sun Kingdom borders their sea, there have been long-standing conflicts."

"Ah, so at some point, there was an agreement, and now Ludwig XI wants it back, causing war in Goldhaven because Atlantis is defending themselves?"

"Not quite!" He exclaimed, then he whispered, "There's no war yet, but there's a rumor that our queen was murdered by Atlantis warriors, and that's the reason and authorization for Ludwig to wage war."

He shrugged. "Out of fear, many left the port city, and crime increased. Lise's mother, one day was... and killed."

"And then you also fled?"

"Exactly!" he agreed. "Not as planned to Sun Gate but to Bergwacht." He patted his chest. "Ben, Eva, and I were already adventurers in Goldhaven. We were friends since childhood and promised Lise that we could protect her and her family on the way to the capital. But the city was full and because Bergwacht was promising we decided to move till here."

"And that's how you ended up here?" I concluded

"Kind of! There was a rumor that soon only at least C-level adventurers and their families would be allowed to stay in Bergwacht, which stressed Lise. Her dad is too old, her brother too young, so she decided to be an adventurer herself."

„Ah, and you helped her to get stronger quickly?" I asked, „so that she and her family can stay?"

Bernd nodded.

I briefly processed all the information and scratched my head thoughtfully.

"Do you have a family too?" I asked Bernd out of the blue.

A sad glimmer passed over his face; his eyes wobbled briefly, and he said with a broken voice, "Eva was my family."

He put on his smile again, said; „Excuse me, I have to speak with Ben about something." and moved away from me.

I scratched my head. That was probably not an appropriate question.

…

"Leo!" I heard Mia's voice.

I turned around. "What's up?"

"Can we start setting up the camp for the night?"

I looked at the sky and saw that it was just afternoon, so I looked at her questioningly. "We can still climb one more mountain, which they should manage."

"That's true, Leo, but I think they're emotionally exhausted."

I shrugged, looked at the three strangers and took off my rucksack, which plopped loudly on the floor.

I gently laid Eva down and covered her with a blanket.

Even if I didn't see that they were exhausted, I trusted Mia, so we set up a camp.

As the sun was just setting, a gentle breeze blew through the valley, rustling the trees. Individual insects were driven away by the smoke from the crackling fire.

The scent of pine, flowers, and smoke filled my nose.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. A delicious smell wafted from the pot, and I was already looking forward to the meal.

My mouth watered.

No one spoke.

Mia leaned against me, and Bernd didn't seem to be in a cheerful mood since my question. He tried to cover it up with a smile, but you could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Haa," I sighed and spoke up, "Bernd, I'm sorry for the insensitive question earlier."

His gaze shifted from the fire to me. His painful smile revealed his feelings. "It's okay. It... it's, I don't know how to say it. But it's like your words threw me into reality."

His eyes began to moisten. "I'm going to sleep!" he said and quickly disappeared into the tent.

Mia sat up and looked at me questioningly.

I smiled and shrugged.

"Do you want a bowl?" I asked the group and stood up to fill them.

While I filled four bowls, I heard sobbing carried by the wind. Internally, I sighed at my behavior.

I didn't know why, but somehow everything was easier with Mia, but with others… I hurt them.

I shook my head a little.

We ate silently and went into our respective tents.

Mia cuddled up to me, looked up at me, and asked, "Do you think my parents are okay?"

"Of course!" I ruffled her hair. "And if not...!" I grinned belligerently.

"Stop it!" Mia said angrily and gave me a slap on the stomach.

"What's wrong?"

"That doesn't suit you," she replied.

"What doesn't suit me?"

"This face."

"Haha!" I laughed insecurely. "I don't know. Just today, I hurt someone innocent. Is that the friendly, as you describe me? Even though I vowed to myself that…"

After saying that, I was surprised. I had never spoken so openly about my inner conflict. "Sorry..." I started.

Mia interrupted me by sitting up abruptly, and instead of laughing or being happy that I opened up to her, she replied, "Just because you're insensitive to other people doesn't mean you're unfriendly! If you were unfriendly, we wouldn't be lying here like this, wouldn't be accompanying the three to the village, and you wouldn't be agonizing over what you did and whether it hurt someone!"

I scratched my head and looked deep into Mia's fiery blue eyes.

"If you say so..."

"I mean it...!" Then she leaned forward and gave me a kiss.

…

We slept peacefully. And since I had cuddled a bit with Mia, my mana was deactivated.

*Boom Boom Boom* echoed through the night.

The earth shook, and a shadow cast over our tents.