Strega Valley...
In a nameless forest
...
It was noontime and the autumn sun was high up in the sky, shining brightly through the yellowing forest canopy as a man dressed in dirtied torn clothing rode through on a chestnut-coloured steed.
The said man looked very weak and fatigue, seemingly from an extended period of lacking sleep. His face looked weary and his blond hair dishevelled and dirtied with brown smudges, loamy dirt and dried leaves.
Despite the dark circles under his eyes and the putrid smell wafting off his body due to the fact that he had not taken a bath in days, it was clear that he would have been a very charming looking man, if only he had taken a proper bath and dressed in cleaner clothes, given his handsome facial features and the tell-tale signs of his once wonderful physique.
But now after many days of fleeing, starvation and the lack of proper personal hygiene, he looked nothing more than someone more suited to be found in a refugee camp for war victims.
. . . . .
Sean rode on for a few hours before deciding to stop for a rest at the foot of one small spring. The spring seemed to have originated from somewhere up among the mountains of the impassable mountain range but he couldn't tell which one it was.
He was currently lost after fleeing from the pursuit of Drake and the remaining knights that turned against him and couldn't tell where exactly he was. Drake really seemed to want his life for that 'little' incident that happened three years ago and didn't plan on letting him escape even after pursuing him for several days.
Sean was still thanking the seven gods that he decided to purchase that 'divine sun' vial from the Alchemist workshop of the sanctuary of scrolls a while back and that he had it on his body to actually use it.
When he encountered the merchant helping the creator of the 'divine sun' pitch the product to his fellow knights he was at first sceptical of the exaggerated claims that those seemingly inconspicuous porcelain bottles could be equivalent to an extra life, he still decided to buy it since at most it would only cost him ten copper Tehs.
When he brought it back to the castle and tested it the effect wasn't particularly bad, being able to distract the men the tested it on mid-battle, but neither was it particularly good, so he soon forgot all about and rarely used it, only keeping it on his person as some sort of protective talisman.
Given the items mediocracy, he only kept because he was of the opinion that what use would a lifesaver be if he just dumped it in the corner to gather dust, even if it only cost him 10 Tehs a piece.
But now he was glad he bought it because that is the only reason he was still alive. That night, While Drake continued his tirade on how he ruined some 'sl*ts' life, he was racking his brain crazily for a plan on how to escape their encirclement, but he envisioned defeat at every turn.
He for once in a long time in his life felt what it was like to experience despair when he realized he had almost no chance of surviving the predicament until he remembered the 'divine sun' he purchased.
He was hesitant at first whether to attempt to use it or not, but he quickly gritted his teeth and stopped hesitating as he decided to use it regardless of the results. Sean was aware that if he did nothing he would still die, but if he at least attempted to try something their the possibility that he might survive.
He delayed drake by spouting those heartfelt words of advice before following the instructions he remembered the merchant give him when he eventually bought the products.
So to Sean's delightful surprise, the 'divine sun' worked even better in the moonlit darkness, giving him enough time to take a limping sprint for his life to the nearest horse and flee from his traitorous subordinates.
Sadly despite the divine sun's effectiveness, he didn't manage to dissuade drake from seeking his life, but seemingly stoked the fire in Drake's heart and goaded him to be even more persistent in his pursuit.
It wasn't until after a couple of days of relentless pursuing did Drake finally give up on his pursuit and return seemingly so as not to lose the wealth they looted to the remaining knights.
But now that Drake had stopped chasing him, Sean had apparently lost his sense of direction in this forest of yellowing trees.
The only thing he was sure of was that this stream in front of him most probably flowed into the Strega river since a large majority of the streams do. Trying his luck, he plans on following the water downstream to river Strega to re-orientate his sense of direction before heading against the flow towards Quilton.
He dismounted from his steed and took wobbly steps to the slow following stream before falling to his knees at the edge of the body of water. Scooping a palm-full of water he drank in low slurping noises as he filled his already dehydrated body with water.
After drinking his fill he washed his face of the grim and dirt covering it before pulling off his clothes to wash his body.
Pulling off his clothes a horrific-looking, but stitched gash at his waist became visible.
The wound appeared to be an inch wide, crudely stitched with what appears to be dead ants. Sean waddled into the stream until he was waist-deep and let the water run over the site of the injury as small fingerlings picked off the scabs and dried blood on the wound.
After cleaning the wound he washed his shirt in the water before ripping some into rags and turning them into crude bandages to cover up his wounds. He then waddled out of the stream and to let his remaining clothes dry.
Sean sat quietly on the ground before deciding to rest his back on the ground a few meters from the stream as unknowingly fell asleep from prolonged exhaustion.
. . . . .
A few hours later in the evening, the calmness in the forest was broken by the sound of footsteps crunching down heavily on tree branches.
The unnatural noise made the horse neigh uncomfortably which woke Sean up from his stupor.
"Is that a horse?" A hoarse voice asked somewhere in the distance.
"I think so, and there seems to be someone lying on the ground." Another replied
Realising he had been discovered Sean hurriedly tried to return to his horse and flee. His injury was quite significant and he sure he could not defend himself if someone decided to take advantage of his current situation.
He wisely didn't consider that the newcomers might be friendly because he knew that for someone to appear so deep in this forest it was almost certain they weren't going to be good individuals, but suspicions were confirmed almost immediately.
"Catch her!" One of the newcomers shouted. Sean heard the sound of a number of footsteps heading his way.
He tried to reach his horse but his injury greatly slowed him down delaying him from reaching his horse in time. Just as he was about to mount it he felt a strong hand grab him from behind, pulling him roughly off his steed.
He fell heavily to the ground almost hurting himself in the process as he was made to face his new captors.
They were three men, all dressed in cheap loincloth and armed with clubs and short iron swords with menacing expressions on their faces.
Towering above him they eyed Sean's formerly toned body, which now appeared quite delicate and feminine as a result of being malnourished, with maniacal expressions.
Living off wild herbs and the occasional fruit made him lose a lot of weight and made him appear almost androgynous as Levi did on a normal day. So with his delicate frame and shoulder-length blond hair, rather than a man he looked more like an absurdly tall, flat-chested teenage girl suffering from anorexia.
"FU*K! DON'T TOUCH ME! I'm a von Greifenberg!" Sean blurted out in fear as he felt the evil intentions in their lecherous gazes, so much so that he didn't consider the effect of his words he said until he blurted them out.
Just seeing the blatant lust being directed at him made a shiver run down his spine. While he had always been proud of his looks, his narcissistic tendencies certainly didn't extend to such self-harming aspects in life.
The men paused briefly when they heard his masculine voice as if considering whether they should proceed with their previous thoughts or not. Just as they were about to just go with the flow one of them spoke up as if remembering something important.
"Wait! you said you are a von Greifenberg?"
"N-no," Sean stuttered still reeling in fear. Hearing the way the question was phrased, he now hoped they didn't believe him earlier.
The other men looked to Sean dubiously as they also seemed to remember something important. After contemplating for a while they looked back at each other before giving faint nods.
"I...."
Just as Sean was about to try to reason with them he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head before starting to fall unconscious. But just as he was about to lose his consciousness he heard one of the three say laughingly to the others.
"Don't damage him too much, I am sure the big boss would be interested in this pretty lad. But before that, I suggest that we have a little fun with our friend here, Or what do you think brothers?"
Remaining Bandits: Hehehe...
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A.N.:
If you are worried about "Yaoi" don't worry I have no such fetish.
Just consider this chapter as Sean repaying karma for that innocent girl that he ruined a while back because I personally believe no deed should go unnoticed, regardless if it is good or just downright evil.
Anno is and will always remain kingdom building at its core.
-fun fact- I am straight and honestly, yaoi gives me cringes, so you can expect to see NO explicit scenes of that nature in future.
enjoy!