"Home sweet home!" Edwin smiled in joy, standing on the entrance to Lastwind.
Zane got off from the back of the cart and looked past the entrance. It was a small village, with 12-14 houses. The village was surrounded by wooden wall and beyond that, lush trees.
"Isn't it great, my village?" Edwin looked back towards Zane. "Now we don't have to sleep on the side of the path anymore hahaha!"
Edwin and Zane had already been on the road for almost a week. They'd hunt from the nearby forests, drink from the streams in the forests and sleep on the side of the path.
"Come on, let's go." Edwin headed inside the village. Zane followed him from the behind.
"Oh Edwin's back!" An old man sitting on a chair in front of his house shouted.
In the next minute, a lot of people got out from the village in surprise and gathered around Edwin. Some kids also came running and clung to his legs.
"Uncle Edwin! What'd you bring us?" the kids asked with sparkling eyes.
"You rascals!" Edwin pulled the cheeks of the kids and turned back. "Zane, can you bring the sack from the cart?"
Zane nodded and headed towards the cart. There was a sack full with miscellaneous items on the cart. Zane picked it up and brought it to Edwin.
"Thank you." Edwin thanked Zane and opened the sack.
"Here you go kids!" He took out some toys and gave them to the kids.
"Yay!!" The kids grabbed the toys and went running, comparing the toys they got and playing with them.
Edwin smiled and looked at the people, "I've brought things for you all too. Come I'll give them to you!"
"Oh you shouldn't have Edwin." An old woman spoke.
"Haha.. It's no trouble, come guys." Edwin started taking out stuff from the sack and giving them to the villagers.
After he was done, he turned to Zane, "Come now, let's go back to my house."
Zane nodded and started following him.
At the end of the village, there was a wooden house with smoke coming out from it's chimney. There was a make-shift stable on the side for the donkey.
Edwin took the donkey to the stable and tied it. "There ya go! I'll bring back food so stay put for now!"
He came back and opened the door. "Come on. Let's head inside."
Zane followed Edwin and headed inside the house.
The house was quite spacious. There was a kitchen and dining space on one corner and a living room with chairs in the middle. On the other corner, there were two rooms.
"Honey, are you home?" A middle-aged woman came out from the kitchen, a spatula on her hand.
"Oh! And who is this young man?" She looked curiously at Zane.
"This is Zane, he is a vagabond, traveling from place to place. I met him by chance on the road and invited him to stay for a few nights before going to Rivenport." Edwin answered.
"A vagabond!? And this young?" The lady was shocked.
"Yes madam." Zane replied, in a respectful tone.
"Oh I forgot to introduce her! Zane, meet my wife, the most beautiful woman in our village, Jannie!" Edwin introduce his wife, a wide grin on his face.
Jannie blushed, "Stop it you! Go on, freshen up you two, you must be hungry. Dinner's almost done!"
"Haha.." Edwin laughed. "Come Zane, I'll show you to your room." Edwin headed towards the rooms. He opened the room to the left and turned to Zane.
"This is where you'll be staying. If you need anything, just tell me or Jannie! You can rest for a bit, I'll see you for dinner." Edwin turned to leave, but he turned towards Zane again. "Oh almost forgot, there's a chest under the bed with some clothes, it'll fit you so you can use them!" he turned and went to the room on the other side.
Zane entered the room and looked around. There was a bed on the corner with the window and a table on the side of the bed. There was nothing much to look at in the room and it was a bit dusty.
He walked towards the bed and threw his bag on it. He looked under the bed and saw a chest.
There were some clothes inside the chest like Edwin said. Zane took out the clothes and laid them on the bed.
*Sniff Sniff* He smell himself.
"Ugh... I really need a bath." Zane went out of the room and towards the kitchen.
"Um.. Ma'am, is there anywhere here I can take a bath?"
"Huh?" Jannie turned towards him. "Oh! It's you. A bath? Hmm, wait for a bit, I'll boil some water for you and you can wipe yourself with a hot towel after dinner. Is that alright for now?"
"That'd be great. Thank you." Zane smiled.
---
After having a great dinner and cleaning himself up, Zane came back to his room, changed his clothes, and finally laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
'What should I do from now?' he sighed.
Standing up from the bed, he reached for his bag on the table. Then he opened the bag and inserted his hand in it and took out the diary.
He looked at the cover of the diary and sighed. "Are you going to tell me anything?"
Then he opened the diary to find that the words in it had not changed since the last he saw it.
[Find the traces of ■■■■■]
'What does this mean! Why can't I read it!?'
Every time Zane tried to read the final word, it turned fuzzy and his head would start to ring.
"Ugh!" He closed the diary, frustration apparent on his face. The diary hadn't changed it's words ever since he left the lab.
Zane took out something from his bag and laid down on the bed again.
He opened his hand to reveal a beautiful hairpin, silver with a blooming flower on the end. He clutched the hairpin and furrowed his eyebrows.
'I've decided, I'll find clues about about the cult of Mayhem. I'll be sure to avenge you, Val.'
He fell sound asleep, clutching the hairpin on his hand, not letting it go even in his sleep.
---
*Chirp Chirp*
Zane opened his eyes to the sound of birds singing outside the house. He jerked up and took in his surroundings for a moment.
"Oh right..." He realized where he was and wiped his face with his palm.
After getting off from the bed and stretching for a bit, he opened the door and headed out the room.
"Oh! You're up Zane?" Edwin put down his cup of tea and smiled at him. "Come, join me for a cup of tea." He pointed towards a chair in the living room.
"You're up? You must've been tired, sleeping till the sun is-" Jannie walked into the living room speaking, but paused after taking a look at Zane.
"Hmm.. Yes.." Zane looked at her, confused.
"Oh..." She came back to reality. "I'll bring you a cup of tea right away." Jannie smiled faintly and ran back to the kitchen.
"What just happened?" Zane looked at Edwin and asked.
"Oh... It's nothing." He replied with a dim face, "Come sit down, I wanna say something to you."
Zane walked over to the chair and sat down on it.
"Right. Zane, I was thinking. Would you like to extend your stay in this village?" Edwin glanced towards Zane, a hopeful look on his face.
He saw Zane looking back at him, a confused look on his face.
"N-Not for long, it's just that, I need some help cutting the woods from the forest. I need to deliver some wood to Rivenport in some time. So, I thought it would be easier if you helped me, then we can go to Rivenport together and you can go on your own after that. It's okay if I'm asking for too much.." He quickly added.
Zane stared at Edwin for a bit and gave a faint smile, "Sure, I can help you."