Vol marched down the path towards them, almost hoping for a fight. He knew it was foolishness to want it. He knew certain death awaited him if he were to challenge so many trained men – men that could fire on him from a distance with their bows before he even got close – but his bloodlust would hardly listen to him. The Yarmdon blood rang thickly through his veins.
"Woah there," the guard held out an arm to halt him as he approached the gates. "What's your business in Nookhaven, traveller?"
"Trading in some furs," Vol said, gesturing to the rolls that were sticking out of his pack. He'd been using them to keep him warm for the past couple of nights, but they were still in mighty fine condition. In weather like this, furs of that quality would have no shortage of buyers.
"Is that right?" The guard asked, looking at him with undisguised hostility. "And what's with that blood on your trousers and coat, eh? What's that slice there? That a sword cut?" He grabbed at the flap of loose fur where one of the lawmen had sliced through to illustrate his point.
"Messy kill," Vol said. "Deer."
"Deer, was it?" The guard asked, clearly unconvinced. "And what did you do? Spend the night inside of it? Where's the meat anyway? Where's the skin?"
"Wolves got it," Vol said, simply. He glanced at the guardsman as he said that, looking him full in the eye. The man flinched. Vol recalled the effects of his decreased charisma. He wondered if that would work to his advantage. But the fear quickly faded from the guardsman's eyes, and it was replaced by a look of annoyance.
"Don't be giving me the stink eye, lad. You're right suspicious, you are. That bastard Oliver went and burned Bolrif to the ground just the other day he did. Earl's orders – and they make sense to me – we're to be on the lookout for spies," the guard said.
The other guardsman cut into the conversation with a yawn. "Be a stupid fuckin' spy to send, that. The lad's bigger than an ox, and covered in red like a fuckin' tomato. Be daft as a brush to expect that to get through. Wave the lad on, Usar, we'll switch out the shift and get ourselves some warm cider, aye?"
"I dunno…" The guardsman said, unconvinced. He eyed Vol with undisguised suspicion. It wasn't just the blood on his trousers, Vol didn't think. It was as though his entire being set the guard on edge.
!! SYSTEM ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: CURRENT SITUATION IS DERIVED, IN PART, BECAUSE OF DECREASED CHARISMA.
'But how do I increase it?' Vol thought. For his other stats, the System had given him quests to improve them. That hadn't been true for charisma. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Some of the quests served to decrease his charisma.
"Come on, let's go, I'm pissin' freezing. You're just on edge 'cos of Oliver. But relax, he's already been sighted a few days march east of Bolrif. He isn't getting towards us anytime soon. Loosen up, Usar, let's goooo," the other guardsman was already walking away, as he dragged his friend by the shoulder. He didn't so much as glance at Vol. Vol found himself particularly thankful for that.
He glanced up, to see three guardsmen with bows looking down over the top of the wall, wondering what the fuss was about.
Finally, Usar relented.
"I suppose. It has been a long day… Well, I suppose I'll let you through. Just know I've got my eye on you."
Vol dared not say anything, lest he change his mind. The more he spoke, the more he seemed to make people suspicious of him. He was an absolutely awful talker. A lifetime of quietness was serving him poorly there.
He stepped through the gates of the town, as the archers continued to watch him from the top of their wall.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT!
QUEST COMPLETE: REACH NOOKHAVEN
REWARDS DELIVERED:
+3 STAMINA
+1 GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
+2 AGILITY
The announcement from the System did much to offset the built-up tension from the confrontation with the guards. He'd made it in, despite his worries. Now it came for the easy part – buy some clothes, buy some supplies, and move on before they could notice him.
Nookhaven's layout was easily decipherable, at least for Vol, after growing up in Bolrif. The layouts of the two towns were rather similar. Nookhaven wasn't built right next to the river like Bolrif was, but come spring and summer, the barges would still travel up it, and carts would be waiting to receive the goods, before bringing them to Nookhaven. Because of that, despite not being right next to the river, it was a river-trading town in its own right.
The buildings were of the same long-house style that was found in Bolrif, with thatched roofs, and thick logs making up the main structure, and wooden panels doing what they could with the rest, with mud mixtures slathered in the gaps to try and make a barrier between themselves and the cold air.
Most of the long houses on the way into the city bore the tell-tale wooden shop signs, a few of them dangling from ropes, so that they swayed in the cold wind.
It was pictures that denoted their purpose for the most part. A tankard for the local tavern, with a few glyphs underneath it to specify what it was. Glyphs that Vol could now read with ease.
He glanced at the rows of different signs, his strides long and quick. With every person that he passed on the street, eyes drifted towards his bloodied legs. Guardsman patrolled the snow-packed roads in pairs, and Vol did his best to avoid them as he went, even going as far as to change streets when he saw them coming. He wasn't about to risk a second confrontation when he'd so narrowly avoided the first.