Fletch was undecided, only a few people were moving quickly to flee the Village.
"Bring them with us." Zao Zhan looked at the people again, he started speaking in a tone he always heard his Father use when he would scold him and his Brother. "People, these assholes won't stop with meat and money, most of you have already lost your homes. Winter is coming, Children are also targets for these lowlifes. I don't want to do this but I'm asking you all to leave with me." He paused to take his breath but only one and continued. "This place isn't safe and there is a bigger city somewhere, come with me. This place doesn't do us any good. You've lost your property and have been losing your dignity all this time. Isn't it better to face the World with honor in your hearts, instead of waiting to be the next victim of those people."
Zhan kept an eye on the children. "You should all pack your things, if it isn't nailed down grab it. If you can't carry it, hand it off to someone that can. If your hands are full, pick what's important and lets go. By tomorrow morning I'm leaving this dump and you should too." Looking over at Fletch, Zao Zhan had never thought this would be the turn of events, all he wanted to do was feed some starving kids. It was like watching his own brother go hungry and he couldn't do it. His stomach growled.
Fletch trembled, 'Just who was this kid?' He sized Zhan up then saw the other villagers. "This, our paths might very well separate when we get to safety. My children are what's most important to me, if this is some half-cocked scheme I won't go quietly."
Zao Zhan grabbed his things and walked back to the Fletcher workshop. After looking around he noticed a Red Quiver and asked Fletch about it.
"Its made of Drake scales, if you have arrows pulled from it, they will be set ablaze. My wife learned archery from her clan but she was forbidden to teach others. We respected their wishes and that is the keepsake from my wife's clan. The Red Mist Canyon is poison Sect by nature but they stumbled across the means to make magical items long ago. This is probably worth quite a bit, I had planned to give it to my children when they are older. I don't think that any of them have an interest in hunting though. You should take it, you've saved our children. I know my wife wouldn't mind, given your actions." Fletch handed the Quiver back to Zhan.
Placing the Quiver onto his pack, Zhan went out and inspected the Cart he'd seen pushed to the roadside. Then, he went out to the forest and returned with some sturdy saplings to cut replacement wheel spokes. He wanted to get these people out faster and children take small steps.
Fixing the Cart was all he could do to pass the time efficiently.
About three hours later, the Suns were setting and the wheel on the Cart was in fair shape. After grabbing a mule from one of the families on the trip the children got into the wagon and everyone else followed behind. They were leaving their quiet town. Some cried, while most just looked disheartened. All of them chose hope, and they set out down the road. They would not stop until the night of the next day, The thugs would surely return and kill anyone they saw.
There were few in this world that mattered to Zao Zhan, his Brother, his Mother, his Father. Set out on a Quest for his slice of life, Zhan had geared his life to honoring family. Having traveled for almost 5 weeks with the village, they managed to get by with a minimal loss. One of the Elders fell ill along the way, sadly the winter months were not kind to Herbalists. No one was able to get a potion of healing or detoxification. The children were the most saddened. The Elder that passed had been the one to tell stories, they would all laugh and giggle when he would make sound effects with his mouth. The Elder left a Daughter, Wife, and Son behind; The Wife, Abbey was always happy to cook. Her son, Marque was always into mischief when they were living in the village.
With no worries other than the journey, the Elder's Daughter Rachael had been the one who talked the most. She had spent a lot of time with her Father and the families that came along. Most of her free time was used to memorize the Stories the Children would fawn over. Not having her own experiences in life until their journey had begun, she could only do so much.
The hardships they faced were not few, often times the water would freeze; Feeding the animals was especially difficult when that would happen. Gathering food wasn't too difficult to take into consideration since there were so many and because they had a bit of dry meat as well as foods to begin with, hunting made up for the bulk of their meals. Over the course of the journey nearly all the children now looked like a pack of wild wolves, they were covered in furs and hungry as they ran in packs to chase down rabbits.
One evening during a hunt, children began to play again in the fields while they traveled. The laughter was a nice reprieve from the constant gaze upon the horizon. With so many people in their caravan, the road seemed endless but they never felt alone.
At night the group made camp, by day they were on foot.
With the Suns at their backs, there were a lot less problems with Beasts and Bandits.
Giving thanks to Gods and Ancestors was a form of passage for travelers at a local Shrine. Noticing the rooftop from the distance, the group was happy to stop for a break. They dismounted the Cart and made their way up the path leading to the Shrines entrance.
Men in robes came out, their stagger was noticed immediately, it looked as if they were up to no good. If smiles were cheap and honesty was priceless, these men were broke, dead Broke. Sullen eyes and exposed teeth welcomed the small group to make tribute. The remaining members of their party were mostly children, a few elders and mothers remained to keep watch. Entering the threshold, they all noticed the smell of rust and a broken bench to the side; Everything inside their surroundings spoke of something vile and unrestrained.
Putting a few coins in the shrine and they had given their last copper to pay tribute and turned to leave. Something felt off and none of them could pray in piece. With their offerings, they had already completed what they had entered for.
Surprised by the swiftness of the visit, one of the robed men ran in front of the group to attempt stop them. "Travelers, stay a while... we can share respite and tales of adventure." A toothy grin and sharp eyes beamed at the clothes of the women that had stepped aside.
It didn't take long for the entire group of refugees to realize that the men in robes were killers, outcasts of society. There was not quarter when it came to robbers and bandits. It was not normal for people to be unarmed within a shrine and they had taken advantage of it. "You're choosing to show faith and compassion and giving to the gods; What should be worrisome about that? Sorry, we don't have time to stay." The woman finished speaking but immediately started to scream as the first man grabbed at her waist, pulled at the gown she was wearing and tore it apart, exposing her figure.
Everyone's heart was racing, some were even poised to take action, Zao Zhan especially.
The woman who had been assaulted first was Rachael, her soft peaks tossed as she tried to close her the remnants of gown and cower. The villagers had been through quite a lot, still there was nothing they could do in the face of danger. They could only accept the fates decisions and roll the dice.
However, things were different.
{"You dare?"} A voice boomed and a Golden Light consumed the Thugs entirely. With an effortless sentence, the gang of bandits had been snuffed out with nothing remaining.
In an instant, not even their clothes remained.
{"Travelers, rejoice. You are safe. Rust is a terrible color for the world, Begin anew and travel well. My blessings upon you for your faith, I bestow you good fortune. May your road be flat and your feet light. Child, Adventurer, This is for you. True Men are few in this World."} With a fading echo, the golden light dimmed to the size of a pebble. Inside the light pillar, a small flicker sheened in the dancing beam.
Zhan took it gently. Reaching his hand out, A ring appeared. It was simple and flexible, no matter how it twisted it looked like it could never broke. With the ring on his finger he wondered how it worked, what it was for.
As if his thoughts were known, the voice came into his head. {"Just think and you can put things inside, or take them out.. so long as they fit, of course." The voice giggled and faded away, Childlike.
Zhan repeated the words, "Think and put things in? What is that suppose to mean?"
He was speaking aloud, Rachael and Marque cried out in alarm and grabbed Zao Zhan's hand, looking at the ring they smiled upon his 'Good Fortune.'
The Mysterious Light had given him a spacial ring.
In it, he could store whatever he liked. "All you have to do is think about it, anything your holding can be taken out or put into the ring. Most of the time a spacial ring can only hold a few weapons at best, How much space is inside?"
Thankful that he had gotten something so special. Zhan looked at Rachael and said, "About four Carts."
Rachael fell on her ass, it was cute but she was shocked. "Are you serious? Anything past a meter is considered precious beyond words, Elders would fight over something like that tooth and nail. Wxactly why did the Light give you this ring? Uggh, I guess it doesn't matter, Lets get out of here.. my boots are getting ruined by all this ash." She was a little jealous but happy for Zhan, his good fortune was theirs at the moment.
Getting back on the cart, the rest of the villagers were unaware of what had just happened. They didn't need to know. Rachael had not lost her dignity, just being exposed didn't leave her with the will to die but she was a little embarrassed.
Traveling further along the road, another cart was pushed to the side of the road. It was smoldering and covered in the blood of the original owners of the robes that the thugs were wearing.
Zhan couldn't leave a group of dead priests near the roadside, he piled their naked corpses into the half-burned cart and used the Drake scale quiver to strike a torch and re-ignite the remains.
The women covering the faces of the children as they passed and the group made their way to the town in the distance.
It was Portano, The Capital City of Err. People would get lost inside, the houses built so closely most couldn't have a garden and your neighbors nightly pleasures might ruin your own.
Some gangs were present, they mostly ran smuggling rings.
People, plants, animals.. all of them were tightly controlled. It was banned to slaughter the River Birds but their bladders could heal many common battlefield wounds. With such a huge population of the birds in the area, they were the National Symbol of Health. Only King Wang Wei could issue the order for the death of one of the River Birds. They never flew, they swam. Thought to be a lame bird, many hunters were annoyed when the birds would leap into the rivers to escape. Catching a fish would be easier at times if the birds didn't steal your prize.
The City lights were few as the suns set into the city walls. Candlelight could be seen from a few homes which meant that not everyone there was poor. "Who could pay to read at night, more importantly, they could read." Casting his eyes to the front, Zhan noticed a row of soldiers wearing light leather armors with bows. Curious, he walked to the group and tried to ask some questions without sounding insistent.
"Pardon me, Might I trouble you to ask what these soldiers do? I am new to the area and do not wish to offend." Zao Zhan tried playing the politician, he was the leader of his band of refugees and missteps could cost them their lives.
"What good manners you have, lad. Your parents did well. We are the Wolf Brigade, we hunt anything that threatens the City. The Guards take care of inside but we take care of the outside. We are here to pick up more ammunition and our Supplier has broken fingers. He managed to piss off the barkeep, little bastard never stood a chance. I mean, who hits on a plank-chested loli." Apparently the Wolf Brigade was not pleased about having to stay in town, he seemed to be more at ease with an open area.
Wolf Brigade was an accurate name, to be like the wolf.. running free.
"A Fletcher, Can we offer you our service? We would only ask for fair compensation." Zao Zhan looked back at his cart and the people he had with him. They all looked at Zhan with curiousity
The Archer noticed this as well, and said "Your people make Arrows? okay, sure. What do 'I' have to lose, it will be your head if you waste materials, come this way." Leading the group to a nearby tent, the supplies to make the arrows had been arranged previously, the broken fingered man probably wanted to take his time so he could drink more.
"Lets get started." Fletch grabbed his children and since they were already familiar with how he worked, they each grabbed a group of 10 adults and gave quick explanations. With more than twenty people pushing the arrows out, they might just make enough for a rest at the inn and a resupply on food.
The arrows amounted to about twelve hundred, if the archers retrieved arrows and didn't waste them, they would probably have more than they needed for the week.
A few hours had passed just like that.
When they were all finished,the Archer returned with a sack of silver. "This is what we were going to pay the other Fletch, he's lucky we didn't hang him for welshing on his agreement." The Archer looked Zhan over again, he had the bow slung over his shoulder the whole time but so did many other people. "I see you have a bow, can you hit a far target?" Pointing at the bow on Zao Zhan's back, the Archer inquired.
Most Children didn't have an interest in things like warfare, Hunting and killing. Some of the Nobles who ran Government Affairs would play with a Bow but rarely would anyone take it seriously it at such an age.
"Yes, my Father never taught me but me and my brother would always throw things at each other and so I can hit a flying object." Its not like he wanted to lie but he couldn't just say 'NO, I'm new' as the leader of the group. Shying away from the question Zhan eyed the armor on the Archer and asked "Can I know your name?" He kept an interest in the archer but it seemed like the archer was already interested in him.
"See that sign up the road? Hit it from here and I'll treat everyone here to some soup. Do that and you'll earn Dinner and my name." The Archer pointed and gave Zao Zhan a few arrows from the stack they had just made. If nothing else, it was a test of their work.
Zao Zhan had only fired the Bow a few times to date.
Notching the arrow and raising his view to include the target he drew the bowstring. With a crisp release, he saw the arrow fly. It narrowly tagged the corner of the sign. Zao Zhan put his hand on top of his head and fumbled with his hair in awkwardness. "Sorry, I missed the middle of the target"
"Pretty good, that's about average for new comers. You say your family can Fletch? Do you want a job with the Wolf Brigade? No one will force you to stay if you decide to leave without causing problems. And the pay is good, we also train you." The deal kept getting better and Zao Zhan gulped a mouthful of saliva down while listening to the Archer's words.
Looking at the Archer he asked, "What's your name?" Zao Zhan still didn't know what to call the man.
"My name is Yan Lowe. I live over there, see that red house on the corner" The city had a lot of red houses.. Zhan was laughing inside.
Looking back at Lowe, Zao Zhan thought about it. He had been making the decisions for these people for the past few months. He might as well take the responsibility and choose the direction again. "Deal. By the way, How much money are we talking? and Where can we sleep?"
"Details little brother, tell me your name and your story while we figure it out." Yan Lowe led him to a Tent. "Commander, we have a new recruit, I already shot tested him. He can draw a Bow." Shouting out to his Commanding Officer, Lowe draped his arm across Zhan's shoulders and they walked into the tent.
It made Zhan nervous.
"Zao Zhan greets Commander!" Zao Zhan put his arms to his side and Kowtowed like his father had taught him. He tried to emulate Yan Lowe's performance and enthusiasm but it was very forced.
"Good, Good" With two goods The Commander had high expectations of Zao Zhan. "Lets get down to business shall we."
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