"So, if I may ask, how did you end up like this?" I waved to the camp and the now cut ropes.
Dale sighed and hung his head. "I was leading this lot away from their village, which had just been attacked by goblins. I'd thought they wouldn't chase us, and well, they struck at night and I was only able to kill two before they overwhelmed me."
"You did your best," One of the villagers said.
"I did, but it was not good enough," Dale replied. "Thank the gods you came along, are you two perhaps headed to the capital for the guild clash?"
I shook my head. "Guild clash? We've heard of it, but we don't know much about it."
I could have told the truth or at least a bit of it, and said we were strangers in this land, but that might have raised a few questions I wasn't ready to answer, and this way I could get some information on this guild clash, whatever it was.
"Oh, so you two are from outside of the kingdom?" He asked, and both Erza and I nodded.
He smiled. "Well, you're in luck, I'm from the capital, and I can lead you there. Also well, by the way, you took care of those goblins, I wouldn't mind having you two along just in case anymore show up."
The other people around us nodded their heads vigorously. They clearly weren't keen on the idea of running into more goblins.
"We'll take you up on that offer," I said. "How long do expect it to take?"
"A day, maybe two at most," He said. "We've got rations and some other goods in these bags that should last us till then, and we can also do some foraging if need be."
"Well then, we'll follow your lead," I said.
That had turned out better than I expected. Not only had we found some locals, but they'd had agreed to take us to the capital of the country I assumed we were in, and along the way, I could sneak in some questions, maybe find out more about this guild clash. Erza and I didn't have any real objectives, so what better than to check out something that was called guild clash.
The villagers led by Dale walked at a much slower pass than Erza or I had when we'd been headed towards them, but it wasn't too slow. Erza and I for the most part just kept watch around us, though it was clear Erza knew better than I did. Her eyes moved rapidly around her surroundings, and she seemed to be able to tell a normal forest sound from an abnormal one. I just kept an eye on the trees. I didn't imagine goblins were the stealthy type if these ones were anything like those in fiction I'd read, then again it could always be different here.
"So, Dale, can you tell me more about this guild clash?" I asked.
"Of course," He replied. "It's an event in which all the guilds from the nearby kingdoms and of course our kingdom of Pyrok, meet in one of the capitals to hold a two-week-long festival. There is the main tournament between the guilds and the other festivities, and celebrations. It happens every five years, so it's a major event for the people, especially for the kingdom that is hosting the clash. Nobles, merchants, and the greatest warriors and mages will be traveling to that kingdom."
"I see," I replied. "Was this just a coincidence, or had we dropped here just in time for this event? Because it sounded like the perfect thing to take part in, and potentially get me more tickets.
"Can only guilds enter?" I asked.
"For the main competition you have to be part of a guild," He said. "Why, do you want to take part?'
I shrugged. "Perhaps."
"Well the event doesn't happen for another week and from what I've seen you two do, you could join a guild, especially her." He motioned over to Erza. "I've seen few if anybody fight like her."
"Yeah she's one of a kind," I replied.
I'd have to think on it, but it seemed that I know had a goal in mind or at least a destination. The capital, and the guild clash. To get more tickets I needed to spend time in the world and accomplish certain feats. Participating in a guild clash certainly felt like something that would get me more tickers, and more tickets meant more power and more allies.
I felt a smile creep up my face. I couldn't wait to get to the capital.