William held his breath as he heard Master Horsling's last words. He stared at the man without blinking. His heart was beating fast.
"You … are different," said Master Horsling. "There is something in you, which I haven't felt in a long time, and makes me dare to lend you my dagger. But, I don't need to give you more bullshit, do I?" The man laughed. "Yeah, well, you go. Be careful."
William sat thinking about it. On the one hand, he wanted to ask further, but on the other hand, he was afraid that he would be influenced again by Master Horsling's words.
Finally, he answered politely, "Thank you."
He suddenly felt bad for having spoken so loudly to him.
"Is there something you're still worried about, son?"
"No. I just … have to go. My friend is waiting."
"Your friend?"
"Muriel."
"Muriel?"
"Yes, she is in front."
"A girl? Your friend is a girl? And she is in front of my shop?" Master Horsling's expression turned annoyed. "Why don't you bring her in? Silly boy, what were you thinking, huh? Leaving her outside alone like that?"
"I'm just afraid someone recognizes him here with me."
Master Horsling gave William a sharp look. "Okay, I see what you mean. You don't want anything to happen to her."
"Yes."
"What are you going to do now?"
"I … maybe we split up here. I'd better run north while she gets home, and hopefully, nothing will happen to her."
Master Horsling took a deep breath. "Are you sure?"
"I don't know. I just want her to be safe."
"What scares you?"
"Mornitz. The man in the black robe. I was afraid that one day he would come to the workshop. If I'm not around, I can't protect Muriel and her father."
"You should be more worried about yourself."
William froze.
"Do you work in a workshop?" asked the bar owner again.
"With Bortez."
"I know Bortez. Good person. Alright, here's my suggestion. You're right, you go north until it's safe. Whereas I will take Muriel now, and my friends will take care of her and her father later. If a foreigner comes to your village I will definitely hear it, and do something about it. You don't have to worry. I assure you, if Mornitz knew I was protecting Bortez and his daughter, he wouldn't dare do anything to them. But you, since you've killed someone, I can't be of much help. Sorry, I've made you go through this. If you want to blame me, I understand."
William shook his head. "Everything that has happened was my decision. I won't blame you anymore. And you have been a great help to me if you were willing to look after Muriel and his father. I thank you, sir."
"Because I made you like this, it becomes my debt," said the tavern owner. "I think … after this conversation I can consider you a friend. I'm doing this as a friend."
William took Master Horsling to see Muriel. William briefly explained his plan to the girl, then the two parted ways.
It all happened so fast, as if it was just a normal everyday occurrence, that they might only be apart for a little while.
Muriel only had time to say, "Be careful."
While William only had time to reply with, "I'll see you later."
Then he left the girl.
It wasn't until William had walked quite a distance down the dark path to the river that he felt something bothering him, which saddened him in the end. After this, he had to go as far north as possible. He didn't know when he could return to his village and meet Muriel again. Maybe he should have said something more meaningful to her.
One by one, everything flashed through his mind. He wanted to tell Muriel that he should also be careful. He also wanted to tell the girl to always obey her father's words, but if she has a desire, don't hesitate to say it. William also wanted to tell Muriel not to cry anymore, and that everything would be fine. Unfortunately, this only occurred to him now. As much as William wanted to say all that, he couldn't come back.
The sound of the river rushing brought him back from all his thoughts. He brushed the grass carefully. A boat that he was supposed to be on with Rogas was still moored by the river, but the man was not there.
William looked around. The four bandit corpses that were supposed to be lying around were also missing. His heart was beating fast.
What happened while he was gone?
"Rogas," he whispered. "Rogas!"
"Shhh," the man hissed. His annoying face appeared from behind the bushes. "Don't be so loud."
"There's no one else here," said William.
"Still, you have to be careful!" Rogas grumbled.
William saw that the man was carrying the swords that the bandits had previously owned. He was sure, not only swords, but Rogas must have also stolen other things from them.
"There could be people who walk here at night and then suddenly appear," continued Rogas. "Fortunately I had the bodies hidden."
"Where?"
Rogas glanced at the row of rocks behind the bushes. The place was quite far from the trail. It was great that Rogas was able to drag all the corpses all the way there. Wasn't his leg hurt? William saw that the man's right thigh had been bandaged to cover his wound.
"Sooner or later people will find the bodies," said William nervously. "You think they'll know we did this?"
"No, unless you brag about it all over the place." Rogas glanced suspiciously. "After killing more than one bandit, people usually become arrogant and ramble on. Did you tell someone?"
"No," answered William. For now, he didn't want Rogas to know that he had spoken too much to Mr. Horsling.
"Good. That means only Mornitz and his gang know about this. And the girl," said Rogas, throwing things onto the boat. "So now you have to pray that she doesn't talk like that to other people."
"Muriel wouldn't do that!"
Rogas smirked. He pushed his boat into the river. "In my opinion, you have nothing to fear. One day people might find out about these bodies and suspect you. You suddenly disappeared from your village, right? Most people won't care, but eventually, someone will suspect you and associate you with the bodies found here. But once they find out, you've come a long way, so what are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid! Just annoyed! I had a nice life in the village, and now everything has changed!"
"So what? Do you want to blame someone else, or yourself?" Rogas jumped onto the boat and stretched out his hand to grab William. As soon as William boarded Rogas immediately gave him an oar. "Life changes, at some point, whether you like it or not. Just face it, and be grateful, because you are still given life. That's all that matters."