Chapter 10: Civil

Two men walked through the town in the dusk moonlight. Their shoes met the soil road as they moved, sending dull sounds of steps into the air and leaving prints with each impact. Soft lights shone brightly onto the street through the neighboring houses, but, one by one, their lights were extinguished to signal the end of the family’s day. Many houses were still, exhausted from the day of revelry, while some still made merry into the night. Clamoring from these houses often excited a yell from the nearby residents to quiet down, but their anger was ignored and brushed away.

It was Eluc’s first time seeing a village before. From the people still walking the streets while talking or even those angry at the celebrators for their behavior, he could tell there was a strong sense of community here. As the two men pass others, they would wave at Arthur in greeting or even join him for a few quick moments to speak. Arthur mostly listened, giving the odd nod to the other, but the smile on his face showed that he enjoyed the interaction.

After a burly man in an apron with soot covering his face finished his conversation with Arthur, he patted the soldier on his back and walked away to enter one of the larger residences in the village.

“That’s Pheon, odd name but one of the good folk,” Arthur said, watching the man close his door. “Didn’t even join the party today, too busy fixing the tools from the harvest.”

“He seems like a good guy if a bit solemn,” Eluc said. Throughout the entire talk, what the two discussed was entirely business-related. Pheon had fixed two reapers that lost their heads to the grains and four swords that were rusted from sitting in the warehouse for too many years.

“Aye, he’s been that way since his wife passed a few years ago. Lost his passion for life, I’m afraid. Visit him tomorrow. He can fix up some of your shabby equipment for you.”

Eluc looked down at his clothing. Sure, the stitching on his wolf cloak was terrible and his clothes looked a tad dirty, but nothing on him looked particularly terrible. However, if someone like Arthur noticed something wrong, he should take the advice seriously.

Arthur continued after Eluc stayed silent, “How long were ye planning on staying in Blavix? There ain’t much here, but it's a homely place.”

“Probably a few days or so to get my bearings and find out where I need to go next,” Eluc responded. Despite how comfortable the place was, he still had a goal he wanted to accomplish and should at least start finding clues before spending an excessive amount of time in leisure. He doubted there would be any in this small village so he should first go somewhere larger.

“That should be fine. We’ll let ye borrow the Guest House for yer stay,” Arthur said, pointing to the far corner of the neighborhood at a solitary house.” To be honest, no one’s ever stayed in it since we built it so the children use it as a gathering place to play games. It's in good condition.”

Eluc stopped his pace when he saw Arthur do the same at an intersection. He was just a random stranger to this rural hamlet, but they had long prepared for someone like him to stop and rest on their journey. Feeling his heart warm from the kindness of this small village, he could not stop himself from giving Arthur a heartfelt, “Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it,” he responded. “It’s what any good man would do. My house is down here, so if ye need anything during yer stay, let me know.”

With that, Arthur waved goodbye after pointing out the correct house to Eluc once more. Eluc watched the soldier walk down the street and enter his house. After he saw the candlelight flickering through his window fade to dark, he walked to the temporary abode he was given.

The walk was no more than a minute before Eluc found himself in front of the house. Compared to most of the rundown houses in the village, this one was pristine in condition. He much preferred the graffiti from the children on the wooden walls compared to weather stains. It gave the unmatched character in the village.

Eluc placed his hand on the door and pushed it open with a creak. As it opened, he heard the sounds of panicked shuffles along with hard thumps against the flooring from inside. Confused, Eluc’s hand turned the dark blue as a light came into existence in front of him. [Illuminate], much like its name, brightened up the entire exterior, much to the hatred of Eluc’s pupils.

Against the radiant light that brightened the room, he could now see a child running from the bed to the backdoor before he was stopped in his tracks. The boy snapped his head to meet Eluc’s eyes, a look of fear in his green eyes. Once he saw who it was, fear turned to relief and then into confusion.

“Ah,” the child started, “I thought you were my parents coming to find me. Who are you?” It seemed the boy quickly adapted or was innately curious, as the sight of a stranger in this small community didn’t faze him in the slightest. Instead, a smile that spread to his eyes was now on his face.

“Just a visitor, staying for a few days,” Eluc said, satisfying the child’s curiosity. “I was told I could sleep here in the Guest House, but I wasn’t told there would be a kid already using it.”

A look of understanding passed the child’s face, “You’ve made it to the right house, but we haven’t had a visitor in so long! You’ll be the talk of the town.” The child only became more excited at the thought. “I wasn’t ready to sleep just yet, so I snuck out to play here.”

Eluc shook his head, “Wouldn’t your parents worry that you are gone? You should hurry back.”

The mischievous smile leaving the kid’s face became a pout as he crossed his arms. “Fine,” he said, “but in exchange, you’ll have to tell me all about the outside world tomorrow!”

Given he had no memories of the outside world except the forest, Eluc didn’t give it any more thought before accepting the deal. The child raised a fist in accomplishment as if he just won a lottery and ran to the door to leave, before turning back as if he forgot something.

“My name’s Dendrick. What’s yours, sir?”

“Eluc,” he responded honestly.

The child closed his eyes, committing the name to memory before running out the door. He didn’t forget to remind Eluc about tomorrow as he scurried away in what Eluc was sure was the direction towards his house.

Now finally able to rest, Eluc took off his equipment for the day, unlatching his cloak and taking off his backpack which he threw on the ground. He rested his sword and scabbard against the nightstand while hanging his bow on a convenient hook built into the wall. He then folded his clothes and neatly laid out his armor before collapsing into the bed with a large exhale of breath.

His mind drifted to the events of the past few days to those of just a few moments ago. He laughed at how he had trouble understanding Arthur through his accent, but he supposed he would get used to it as most of the village probably spoke in the same way. Though Dendrick lacking an accent in such a close-knit village was somewhat odd, he thought no more about it as his mind turned dark. He felt comfortable for the first time in his life.

♢ ♢ ♢

Running through the woods, Eluc fell to his knees into the moist soil. He raised his hands, looking at the still-wet blood covering his palms and fingers. He dipped his hands into the water, scrubbing hard to get rid of the gore that was stuck to his skin and under his nails. Despite his efforts, his hands never washed themselves of blood which only got denser as he tried to rub it away. He cursed under his breath in a frenzy, wondering why it wouldn’t leave his hands. He looked closer into the river, but the darkness completely obscured his vision, rendering him blind.

♢ ♢ ♢

Eluc woke up with the sun shining on his face. Its bright rays shone through the open window, lighting up the entire room in a morning glow, from the bedsheets to his armor. His eyes opened slowly while he enjoyed the sounds of the distant river and birds tweeting away through the door. Nature’s tune had him in a trance as he enjoyed the moment in a way he was unable to so far.

Little time passed before he found out why the window was open to wake him. Taking turns, a child’s head would stealthily peek into the window before switching with the one next in line. Eluc jolted awake, scaring off the kid whose turn it was. He listened to the group run away as they yelled and giggled about being caught. Shaking his head, Eluc stood up to stretch before dressing and arming himself.

Ten leisure minutes later, he walked out the door. The village had recovered from the night of drinking and was now working like any other day. Families greeted one another on their way out of their homes and went along towards their respective jobs to start the day’s work. Bearded lumberjacks in burlap clothing carried their heavy axes to cut down trees for the village while their wives would send them off and begin carrying water and tailoring worn clothes. Rambunctious children would interrupt their mother’s focus and would be playfully yelled at to leave the house and play with the neighbors.

Walking along the street towards the center of the hamlet, others walking the same roads would welcome him and give a brilliant smile. Eluc’s trained ears would hear whispers from distant voices every so often. When he would turn to meet eyes with the speaker, they would stop and give an embarrassed wave and smile back. He could only assume he was the gossip of the town.

Once he reached the Square of the village, he saw a child sitting alone on one of the tables, appearing to be waiting for someone. Using their fingernails, they were drawing in the shoddy wooden table while giggling to themselves. At first, they were just drawing animals, but it instead turned into improper sketches that their parents would surely punish them for. Noticing someone walking towards, they stopped to raise their head and smiled as they jumped from their seat.

“You’re awake! How did you enjoy your night’s stay at Blavix, sir?” The blonde boy held his hands behind his back as he walked in front of Eluc.

Eluc thought why this child was speaking to him, but then remembered about the boy who was holed up in the Guest House last night. He nearly forgot in his exhausted stupor.

“It was the most relaxed I’ve been in recent days," Eluc said, narrowing his eyes at Dendrick. "Until I found out I was being spied on by the village children.”

Nervous and twisting his leg in the dirt on the balls of his feet, Dendrick said, “I told them not to bother you, but they were just so excited about a foreigner being here they didn’t listen to me!”

A laugh left Eluc’s mouth, “It’s fine, they would’ve found out soon anyways. Blavix really doesn't get much traffic does it?” It was time for Eluc to learn about where he was.

“No, sir,” he started. “We are on the farthest corner of the Vineal Kingdom, so no one ever comes through here. Even to reach other nations, there are plenty of better routes.” The boy suddenly halted any further words, “Or so I’ve heard.”

Eluc looked at the boy’s shifting eyes but decided to not press him harder. “Is there anyone in the village that knows more about these routes and ‘nations?’” If he could find someone with this kind of knowledge, he would know where to take his first steps on this journey.

Dendrick opened his mouth to speak but closed it after another thought. He stood quiet for a moment before saying, “Arthur. He used to be a soldier for some city in Vinea so he probably knows.”

“Thanks,” Eluc said with a smile. “Now, what was it you wanted to ask about?”

Dendrick raised his lowered head, changing the anxious frown on his face to a thrilled smile. He had a skip in his step as he walked beside Eluc, both of them walking in the direction towards Arthur’s home.