Chapter 2 - An Escort Mission?

"Ugh, here we go again." I grumbled as I walked out of my home and into the town square, the tired whispers of my fellow villagers signalling the arrival of the new ones.

"Hey, you heard anything about these new guys?" My neighbour Kim, asked as he approached me from his small hut.

"Nope, just that they're supposed to be real strict." I replied with a shrug. "But what's new, right?"

"Yeah, same old, same old," Kim agreed with a sigh. "At least the last group was only here for a few months before that anti-hero took them down."

"Yeah, but how long will it be before another one shows up?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Who knows?" Kim shrugged. "But let's just hope for the best."

"Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. That's how it is in this world." I snorted

As we continued to chat the sound of hooves striding through the ground became prevalent, the new sect finally arrived and we watched as they began setting up shop. The air was tense and I couldn't help but feel like this was going to be another rough ride for the town.

"Well, time for work," I said to Kim as I started to make my way towards the market.

"Good luck with that," he replied with a small smile. "I'll be by later to see if you need any help with the repairs."

I nodded my thanks and continued on my way. It was just another day in the life of a common folk in this place. The market was busy as usual and I went about my business, selling my wares and trying to make a living.

*******

As I was closing up for the day, I heard a commotion coming from the main square. Curiosity getting the better of me, I made my way over to see what was going on.

"Oh, it's just another one of those heroes," I said to myself with a roll of my eyes. They were a common sight in our town, always passing through on their way to the next adventure.

I made my way back to the square, where Kim was simply sitting down drinking a jar of juices. "Another one, huh?"

"Yeah, guess so." I replied with a shrug."They're not even worth paying attention to anymore."

"I hear ya, but at least they provide some entertainment…" Kim said as he chugged down the drink

"If you can call it that." I said with a small smile. "But anyways, how's your day been?"

"Same old, same old" Kim replied with a shrug. "Just try to keep the courtyard clean and make sure the kids are fed."

"Yeah same, just trying to survive." I would say as I chuckled as we continued to chat for a bit, discussing our daily routines and the latest news from around town.

*******

I woke up as the sun was just starting to rise and as I heard the birds singing outside. I stretched my arms and got out of bed, ready to start my day. Heading outside I saw my yardmate neighbour, already up and tending to her garden.

"Hello there and good morning." I said, giving her a polite bow.

"Good morning to you too," she replied with a smile. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

I looked around and had to agree. It was a peaceful day, with not a cloud in the sky. The sun was shining bright, and the breeze was cool and gentle. It was a stark contrast to the usual chaos and violence that we often saw in this world.

"It's so rare to have a peaceful day like this, it's a welcome change." I said, almost in disbelief.

"Yeah you're right, It's almost like a sign of good things to come." She giggled.

I couldn't help but smile at her optimistic hope. It was a refreshing change from the constant negativity and despair that often felt.

"I hope so too, but I don't want to get my hopes up too much. You never know when trouble will come knocking at our door." I'd say as I cracked my neck a bit.

"That's true," she said with a sigh. "But for today, let's just enjoy this peace and quiet. We deserve it after all we've been through."

I couldn't agree more….

We spent the rest of the morning tending to our chores, it's nice not being interrupted while this happens.

"This is just great, it's not often we get to enjoy a break from all the chaos." She said as she leaned onto her broom, chuckling a bit.

"Yeah it's a welcome change, but we know it won't last long." I would say as I stretched my arms.

"Ain't that the truth," she said, shaking her head. "But we can enjoy it while it lasts. I might even take a nap."

You do that, I'll keep an eye on the recent merchants and make sure they don't cause any trouble like last time." I said as I chuckled.

"Thanks man" she said, before heading inside her cottage.

I leaned against the fence and watched as the merchants set up their wares. They seemed friendly enough, but one never knows in this world. I'll keep my guard up just in case.

I made my way downtown to manage my stall, and it was a surprisingly peaceful trip. The merchant group that had stopped by the village was a bit shy when they weren't doing business, not even a single sound could be heard inside their makeshift stalls.

As I set up my little shops as I greeted some of the other vendors, exchanging small talk about the weather and how business had been. I couldn't help but have suspicions about what had brought them to our little village, and what they were really after.

Despite my curiosity, I tried to push these thoughts out of my mind and focus on the task at hand. After all, it wasn't my place to question the comings and goings of strangers.

As the day wore on, more and more people came to the market, browsing the stalls and haggling with the vendors. The merchant group finally stepped out of their huddle, making their rounds and trying to drum up business. I watched as they went from stall to stall, their confident and friendly demeanour a stark contrast to the shyness they had shown earlier.

It was always best to be cautious, after all you never know when a sect might come into town or when a bandit would attack but for now, it seemed like it was just a peaceful day.

As I was closing up shop, I couldn't help but notice something strange. The merchant group that had stopped by our village was selling some really expensive stuff, their equipment and weaponry was made well refined and high-quality. It kinda dawned on me that they must have some pretty good connections to be able to afford selling such items.

As I made my way back to my courtyard, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about these merchants. It was just a feeling, but it was there nonetheless. I couldn't help but think about it as I settled into bed for the night.

"What the fuck!?" I bolted upright in my bed, the sound of clashing weapons and the loud explosions of canons ringing in my ears. I stumbled out of bed, grabbing my shoddy wooden cane and making my way to the door. I cracked it open and peered outside, and what I saw made my heart stop.

The village was now a warzone, with bodies littering the streets and buildings in flames. I could see men in dark armour, wielding hand held cannons, firing indiscriminately at anything that moved.

Panic started to set in, as I realised that I was in the middle of a battle I had no business being in. I stumbled back, tripping over my own feet and falling to the floor. I scrambled to get back up, but a strong hand grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Don't go outside, you'll get yourself killed" My neighbour said firmly as she came out behind me, She pulled me inside and pushed me down into a chair. "Just stay here and stay quiet, I'll go see what's happening."

I could only nod, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what was happening. Was this the work of the sect that the town was under? Or had an anti-hero finally shown up to fight back against their rule again?

I could not tell but I should have known, peaceful days always had forewarned conclusions after all. I gulped down my breath and simply waited inside, as the collision between solid ground and foreign metal collided with each other outside.

As the sounds disappeared I breathed out, as I tried to catch my breath. I'd slowly stand from the seat I was put in, slowly creeking the door open as I checked outside.

The smoke from the battle had begun to clear, and I could see the aftermath of what had happened. Bodies littered the streets, and buildings were either in ruins or on fire.

My neighbour, seeing my door creaking open, walked back shaking her head. "It was an escort mission." She said, her voice filled with anger. "The merchant group was being protected by those men in dark armour."

"An escort mission?" I repeated, trying to process. "Why didn't we know about this sooner?"

"Because we're just a small village," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "We're not important enough to be informed of these things."

I cursed under my breath. "Of course, no wonder it was such a peaceful day. We were just caught in the middle of it."

"Yeah," she said, her tone bitter. "We're just lucky to have made it out alive."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, lost in our thoughts. The reality of what had just happened was starting to sink in, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of anger and frustration.

"This is just ridiculous," I finally said, breaking the silence. "When will it end?"

"I don't know" She said, sounding just as defeated as I felt. "But one thing's for sure, we need to be more aware of what's happening around us."

I nodded in agreement, still feeling the weight of what had just happened. "Yeah, we do." I breathed out. "We definitely do."

*******

'Goddamnit…how did brother find us?' I thought as I sat down in the rubble of a fallen building, staring at the destruction the battle had sought.

'I should have known…no matter how much we needed, stopping even for a day was detrimental' Sighing I'd stand once more as I heard the footsteps of the inhabitants of this place.

'Lets see…the compensation for this will be expensive—' I would wonder before I slowly moved my eyes to the villagers, I would slightly tilt my head as I looked at them.

I watched as the villagers walked through the ruins of their homes, seemingly unfazed by the destruction and death around them as they walked through.

"What is it boss?" One of my men asked, following my gaze.

"They're just... I thought for sure they'd come to us, angry about what happened. But it's like we don't even exist to them." I responded.

"Maybe they're in shock," another one of my men suggested. "They've just lost everything, maybe they don't even know what to do yet."

I nodded but still, it was strange. I had been in this line of work long enough to know that when things like this happened, there was usually some sort of confrontation. But here, the villagers were just going about their business, cleaning up bloodstains and rubble as they moved the deceased.

"Well, we can't just stand around here," I said, turning to my men. "We need to start helping out, or at least offer to pay for the repairs. We're the reason this happened, after all."

My men nodded, right after we started to make our way towards the nearest group of villagers. As we approached, one of them finally looked up and saw us.

"Don't worry about it." the villager said with his voice dry and devoid of emotion. "This happens from time to time, we'll rebuild."

I was taken aback from the sudden response from a question I had not said yet. "Still, let us help in any way we can." I would say as I offered a hand to them.

The villager simply nodded, and turned back to his work. And with that, we were dismissed, left to stand there in silence as the villagers went about cleaning the destruction calmy. It was a strange eerie feeling.

The next few days were a blur as we threw ourselves into helping the villagers rebuild their homes and lives. We carried heavy loads of supplies, worked alongside them to clear rubble, and did anything we could to help. But despite all the work, the eerie feeling never quite left me.

I couldn't shake the strange way the villagers had reacted when we first approached them. The lack of anger or bitterness was unsettling, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going through their minds. Had they simply accepted that this was the way things were? Did they not care who was responsible for the destruction?

As the days passed and our work was done, it was time for us to move on. We said our goodbyes to the villagers and started to pack up our belongings. As I mounted my horse, I turned to take one last look at the small town.

"Hey boss, you okay?" one of my men asked, noticing my lingering gaze.

"I'm just... I don't know, it's just strange," I said, shaking my head. "These people have lost everything, yet they're still moving on like it's just another day."

"I know, it's hard to understand." He said, patting my shoulder. "But they're survivors, they've probably been through this before. They'll rebuild and move on, stronger than before."

I nodded, still feeling uneasy. I couldn't help but feel that we were missing something, some piece of the puzzle that would make sense of everything. But as we rode away from the village, I had to let it go. There were other battles to be fought and missions to complete.

As we disappeared into the distance, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this story than met the eye. And I couldn't help but wonder if we'd ever find out what it was.

*****

I went back to my usual routine of rebuilding the village, working alongside my neighbours. Some of them commented on the fact that we had forgotten to put on our facade for the merchant group, but others didn't care. Some even joked about how funny the merchant group and their leader looked, with expressions of obviously having an eerie feeling.

"Hey, did you see the look on the boss's face?" one of my friends chuckled. "She looked like she'd just seen a ghost."

"Ha! Yeah, I know," I laughed, putting up a new piece of a wall. "She probably thought she was in for a big fight, but she didn't know what she was dealing with."

"That's for sure." Another friend chimed in as she tagged in for me. "We've been through this too many times to even bother getting worked up about it anymore."

I nodded as I laughed. For us, this was just another day in the life of a small village that often found itself caught in the crossfire of larger battles. It was just part of the job, and we took it all in stride.

"Still, I'm glad they offered to help." I said as I took a seat down on the ground and stretched, taking a break from the rebuilding."It always helps to have a little extra hand when it comes to getting everything back in order."

"Yeah, I guess that's true." They replied, wiping sweat from his forehead. "But We'll be doing this all over again sooner or later."

I sighed, but nodded once more. It was the sad reality of our lives, but it was what it was. We would just keep rebuilding, no matter how many times we had to do it.

As the day went on and the work continued, I couldn't shake the feeling that the merchant group and their leader were still watching us from a distance. I couldn't help but wonder what they thought of us, of the way we carried on so calmly despite the destruction around us. It didn't matter much though, We would keep going, rebuilding our homes and our lives, just as we had done countless times before.