The surroundings quieted down, and what felt like a moment ago now felt like forever.
'I am feeling an adrenaline rush; this is not good; I am getting nervous. What is also worse, according to the system, this guy is more robust than Andrew, which is unfavorable to us.'
And after what felt like an hour, Andrew starts shouting, "I asked you a que!" However, Andrew was cut short.
"It is a misunderstanding! I live in the shed up ahead and keep to myself. However! This person here came pestering and asking for food! I could barely sustain my needs, and I told him to go somewhere else, but he wouldn't! It escalated, and suddenly he dashed me with a sword! I was just lucky to react in time and defend myself! I managed to steal his sword and stab him! Look, he even cut my arm!" He says and turns his right arm towards us where we can see a cut wound, not too deep nor too shallow.
"Lies of a murderer, you filthy traitors are running south. You people abandon your lord, women, and children and seek to leech off our grains, our wine, and our women. You belong in the ground alongside the one you killed, traitor!" Andrew spats on the hard soil beneath his steed.
The stranger is visibly angry at Andrew's taunts.
"You know nothing of me!" the stranger is visibly angry at Andrew's insult, and our situation does not get any better.
Yet, at that moment, I see the body on the ground moving a little bit.
"Wait! Andrew, stand down."
"Lucious! The situation is dangerous, don't interfere!" Andrew shouts back.
"I know! But wait! You stranger, what is your name." I ask.
"The name is Brutus, but why does it matter to you? You want to know my name before we fight?"
According to the system, his name is indeed Brutus, which means the system somehow knows the name beforehand, and if the system is correct, then the man before me is not trying to hide his identity either.
"If you could outmatch an armed individual and even take his sword, why did you have to stab him? Couldn't you have let him go? You had the strength and capability to do so, so why didn't you?"
It took Brutus a couple of seconds to respond, most likely to make a solid argument. However, what I got instead was a crude and yet sound argument.
"It's a dog-eat-dog world, boy. The man was desperate enough to kill; what would make him stop coming back, and maybe at that time, he would lash out when I would be at my weakest. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but you wouldn't know that since you are well off enough to have an escort."
Of course, what did I expect? It's not the luxurious life of 2063. These people are real, the situation and harsh life are real, and they are just trying to live day by day.
"Cough! Cough! It is true; I was just, cough!" The man on the ground coughs some blood.
"Cough! I was hungry, and someone, cough, in town told me the person living here had some food, even some honey." The man starts crying.
"It does not matter anym, cough, I lost everything to the barbarians, now at least I will get to meet my wife and children, cough." The man coughs a bit more before going silent.
"I guess your innocence has been proven; however, you two are still thieves in my eyes." Andrew declares.
"I can, cough, still hear you fucker! Cough." He says one last time before all three of us visibly see the man take his last breath.
I fully realize my situation for the first time since getting to this place. My previous life is gone; as Brutus said, it is a dog-eat-dog world. I should be happy being born into a monarchy, or else I would maybe have lived and died like him, a sword through my gut.
"Well, he proved my innocence; even if I did kill him, it was by self-defense. Now it has all been cleared, I would like to mind my own business and for you to leave." He turns his back and starts walking towards his shed.
"Yes, and we should too, Lucious."
"Wait, Brutus! I am sorry for the misunderstanding! But I want to ask you about something he said."
"Hmm, what about it?"
"He said that you had honey, is it true? I don't want to take or buy it; I just wanted to ask how you came by it."
Brutus once again looks at me for quite a while, "yes, I found a beehive along with the proximity of the forest; it was quite high up, and it took me a couple throws to get some pieces down. Afterward, I collected and extracted what I could from it. But why does it matter to you?"
"The next time you come by one of these beehives, please come to my home and tell me; I will pay you just for finding it."
"I will think about it," Brutus replies as he walks back towards his shed.
After a few minutes, I get off my steed and start walking toward the deceased; I pick up a good-sized rock and lay it next to his foot. I pick up another rock, place it next to the previous one, and continue.
"Lucious, what are you doing?" Andrew asks curiously.
"I have been thinking, Andrew, and I have come to a conclusion," I say as I continue picking and placing rocks.
"Let me help."
"No, Andrew, this man lived in my city, he was my responsibility, and I failed him." I continue picking rocks and placing them.
"This man loved his family and, in turn, was most likely loved back. He is not my brother, neither my cousin nor my friend. However, he eats from the same soil as I eat; he drinks from the same river as I drink.; just as the barbarians did to him, they could do to you or me. I will forever honor and be indebted to him for the rest of my life. He and Brutus have shown me the cruel world we live in at its fullest." I stand up straight, done placing the rocks.
"Here lies a father, a husband, and a thief," I speak quietly above the makeshift burial. "Okay, let's go back." I mount my steed and start head back to the city.
Andrew looks quietly at my back and starts mounting; as such, we are both on course towards the city.
'It looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me. I need to get the economy going, and I will need to do something about the barbarians from the north. At the current rate, this kingdom will not last; I need to gather more information about this enemy, and I will have to make some allies as well.'
'However, how am I going to reach these goals when I am just 12 years old, and nobody will be taking me seriously. That's my biggest issue at the moment.
…
Sometime later, Brutus returns to the place of confrontation; he had caught a glimpse of the young lord doing something to the diseased, but what exactly Brutus didn't know.
However, upon nearing the diseased, he was appalled. Never in his wildest dream did he think that the young boy would give an honorable burial to a person he did not know and a thief on top of it.
Brutus knelt and touched one of the stones, 'I am sorry, I didn't mean to take your life, I wanted these hands to create, but it looks like they only know how to destroy and take.' And gets back up and walks back to the shed.
Inside the shed isn't anything impressive. However, two jars of honey and some bread are on the table, along with a red gem. Brutus goes over to his makeshift bed and lifts it; underneath is a hidden cabinet, and inside lay two swords and a red-dyed shield.
'Yes, I have only known how to take lives all my life. But maybe, just maybe, I might see something different with this child, Lucious. He sure is peculiar.'
He equips his two swords and shield; he hides the honey and bread and takes the red gem with him outside the shed. Once outside, he looks over at the city. 'Now then, let me find this boy some beehives. Why he only wants the location, I don't know. Usually, one would only like to buy a jar or two of honey; it Is expensive since it is hard to come by and even more challenging to extract. Not to mention the stings and whatnot that follow.