About a thousand years ago, there was one kingdom. It didn't really have a name but it was ruled by a monarchy. Like most kingdoms, the heirs to the throne were first born sons. But one day, the current king's wife had four sons… quadruplets. Unsure of what to do, he divided the land into four sections. North, south, east, and west. The brothers who owned these portions of the kingdom never saw eye to eye and eventually they all split into their own disunited kingdoms. Hatred brew among the brothers and their descendants, wars broke out over the past millennia. The Northern and Southern kingdoms became the strongest of the four, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not defeat the West. Meanwhile, the East, the quietest of the kingdoms, waited.
*****
I awoke to shuffling. I was still pretty drowsy after last night. I used up a lot of mana and physical energy from running and casting spells. I was confused as to why I had woken up but then I saw the cause: Orlah. She was trying to escape.
"Oh no you don't!"
I grabbed her shirt and she squealed like the pig she was.
She looked at me with terrified ears and screamed, "What are you going to do to me? Kill me?! Are you going to have your way with me?!"
I stood up, holding her like a mother cat carrying her kitten.
"No."
"You monster! You'll never– no?"
My answer had taken her by surprise. I looked at her confused face and sighed.
"I need answers. And I also need help at the same time."
I dropped her on the ground and she made a little "oof". I would've found it cute if I did not have so much contempt for her.
"Look," I said. "I know there's something bigger going on that you're not telling me about. The trial told me more than enough. I got killed because of you."
At my trial, she provided false documentation saying I was working with the north and I had planned on destroying the guild in exchange for becoming rich in the Western Kingdom. The amount of detail and planning she used was unnatural.
"Don't you mean 'nearly got killed because of you'? You're not dead yet."
"No, I did die… over one hundred and fifty times."
As I said this, I realized this was the first time I made it to the fourth day. Alive. I wasn't sent back after my vision faded. Had I won? No, I haven't won. I still have business to take care of. I have no intention of dying again now that I am free from the loop.
"That's not possible! Once you're dead, you don't come back."
"Whatever," I said. "I don't exactly understand it myself, but forget I said anything. Anyways, what's going on? Spill it."
Orlah didn't respond. She just glared at me. Her useful, blissful face was now soured. Then she looked away from me. I sighed. There's not much I can do. I'm not gonna torture her, it's not that important to know… yet. I may have been careless. I should've probably learned as much as I could, but I didn't. My heart wouldn't allow it.
"Alright, we're going," I said.
I lifted Orlah up and carried her over my shoulders.
"Wait, where?!"
"West."
As I hoisted onto my shoulders, I noticed a sparkle gleaming from her left hand.
"Hold, what is this?"
Orlah tried her hardest to not let me have whatever it was, but after a few minutes of struggling, I managed to get what it was. A ring… and it was not just any ring! It was the wedding ring I had bought her! I'd forgotten about this thing already, since it's been well over a year for me. For her, it hadn't been a week since the incident.
"Still holding onto this, huh?"
"Give it back!"
Orlah squirmed on my shoulder, desperately trying to grab the ring. I pulled it away from her, making sure to keep it out of her reach. She made sounds of agitation as I examined it, the ring just out of her grasp. I pocketed it as she growled. I don't know exactly why, but I had a feeling this little thing would eventually become useful. Maybe I could sell it. It's not like I had many possessions anymore except for the clothes on my skin. All of my valuables were back in the village. I looked up into the morning sky. It was still fairly early in the day, so I knew which direction I needed to go.
I couldn't dawdle, as who knows how long it will be until the village folk travel out here. I'm not sure I would have the energy to fight them off this time, considering how much mana last night's battles made me expend. I carried Orlah's light body (despite her protests), trekking through the grassy fields that had never been expanded upon. Even though there was a road leading into the Western Kingdom, I decided not to take it. The risk of doing so was too great, I couldn't afford to get caught now that I had broken the loop.
I had no way of telling time other than the sun's position, but soon enough, my stomach growled. And so did Orlah's. I wasn't too concerned about hunger, since the nearby forest was about only an hour's walk from where I was at. I decided to take a little detour from my westward travel since I needed food. When I arrived at the forest, Orlah had finally calmed down a little bit. I decided to take the noose that I bound her wrists with and I tied her to a nearby tree.
"Hey, don't leave me here!" she yelped as I walked away.
"Don't be stupid, I'm not gonna. I still need you for something. Only reason you're still alive."
Orlah's face contorted from anger to anger and confusion. I don't blame her, she doesn't exactly know what's been going on. My distance gradually increased, until she was mostly out of sight. I shouldn't have done this, but I wasted some time admiring the trees. They were so beautiful. The fresh air filled my lungs and drops of golden sunlight poured down through the leaves. When I finished that, I scoured the forest, looking for any good prey. I felt a little rusty in my stealth skills, considering that again, I'd been stuck in a time loop for over a year. New sights like these were refreshing.
A squirrel came into my line of sight. I readied myself, preparing to cast magic.
"Hyaaaaaaa!" I yelled.
I launched a ball of fire just a little smaller than the size of my fist. The unsuspecting critter didn't notice it until it was too late, it couldn't even scream before it was over. I hated killing it, but this was where I was at now. I ran over to my prey to grab it as soon as I could, and I made sure the fire wouldn't burn it to a crisp. Controlling such magic, especially against living beings, isn't easy.
I spent a good chunk of time skinning and cooking the little thing. Orlah's face winced with disgust as I prepared it. Clearly, she had been privileged in her life to have not seen such things. I needed no pots or pans. My fire magic was enough to cook the little thing. I was quite proud of myself once I had finished the deed. I've done this before in my adventuring days where I'd hunt and kill, but never have I done it with such efficiency.
Squirrel meat was a taste I was not used to. Back in the village, I would buy jerky for extended trips. The thing was only a morsel, but it was much better than the gruel back at the jail. The taste reminded me of chicken meat, as well as rabbit at the same time. The hind leg quarters were particularly tasteful. Orlah looked at me as if I was a wild animal as I gobbled the critter down, spitting out any bones that came in my tongue's path.
Once I was done, I picked up Orlah and began my journey again when…
An elk charged at me. And it wasn't little by any means. It was huge, standing about as tall as me even without the antlers. I readied my magic when…
Swoosh.
A yellow-tipped arrow crossed my vision, narrowly hitting my head. The elk's throat was pierced, gushing out blood like rain. I turned around to see who had fired the shot. A man with a slender yet tall composure. His face was refined, with distinct stubble covering it. I immediately recognized that face. It was Clyde.