After three rounds of wine, the more they drank, the better they felt. They began to talk about the old days of their hometown. Locke could tell that Yoshk missed his two sons. His words were full of teaching Locke how to do things. Locke was also very touched by Yoshk's friendship. He frequently toasted Yoshk as a junior. Locke also had an impression of Yoshk's two sons. When he first joined the army, his eldest son inherited Yoshk's blacksmith shop, while his younger son was still a handyman in the blacksmith shop. But it was this little handyman who forged Locke's first weapon, a short dagger.
The dagger had no wooden handle, only a handle made of coarse linen. It was small and thin, so he had always hidden it in his boots. The dagger also had a story.
When he secretly joined the army at the age of 14, he only brought this dagger with him. At that time, a teenager with a palm-sized dagger to join the army became the butt of jokes and gossip in Quarryton's training camp. Normally, he couldn't join the army without the recommendation of a relative, but Locke was familiar with Quarryton since childhood. Yoshk, who was then the captain of the second squad of the town's barracks, recognized him. In fact, there were only about a thousand people in this town, including the affiliated villages. There were not many people, so everyone saw each other all the time. Apart from half of the women and the rest of the old and weak, there were only about two to three hundred young men who could join the army. Everyone knew who could and who would join the army.
Locke's dagger was made by his son, Yoshk, so he recognized it at a glance. His parents didn't know that Locke had secretly joined the army. Only his sister knew. On that hot night, Locke secretly got out of bed, took his linen clothes, and left their hut in straw sandals. Maybe his sister knew her brother well, or maybe Locke's clumsiness woke her up, but not long after Locke left, his sister, Lia, chased after him in the night.
She knew why her brother had secretly left. He wanted to earn money and do something for the family. He wanted to join the army! In order to prevent his family from starving to death during the drought, in order to prevent himself from being sold to merchants, his younger brother decided to secretly join the army despite his parents' opposition. Once he was accepted into the army, he would not be able to leave on his own! Unless he deserted, which was impossible. His family was still here. Therefore, even if their parents found out later, they could only accept this reality. Moreover, after the younger brother joined the army, he could go to the front line and receive military pay. Their father was too old and weak, so he couldn't respond to the baron's call to join the army. Only the younger brother's age just happened to meet the criteria. For the sake of this family, the younger brother decided to fight with his life.
Looking at her stubborn younger brother, Lia couldn't help but cry. Tears streamed down her cheeks and soaked the skinny girl's face. The fourteen-year-old Locke had a drive and determination. He was not afraid of anything and could endure anything, but he couldn't bear to see his sister cry. He loved his sister more than himself. Under Locke's helpless comfort and persuasion, Lia gradually stopped crying. However, the tear stains at the corners of her eyes made the malnourished, skinny girl look even more gentle and beautiful. She looked at her younger brother, rummaged through every corner of his body and took out more than 20 copper thalers. This was all the money Lia had. She said to Locke in a daze, "Come back alive!"
Locke walked through the night with more than 20 copper thalers given by his sister and arrived at Quarryton early in the morning. He used the remaining money to go to the blacksmith shop in Quarryton, hoping to forge a handy weapon. However, the blacksmith shop owner, Yoshk's eldest son, told him that he couldn't even afford a sword hilt with the money he had. Just when Locke left the blacksmith shop in disappointment, a child about his age rushed out. He was either sympathetic or wanted to make some extra money. He said to Locke, "Twenty copper thalers. I'll use the copper ore and iron ore left over from the hoe to make a dagger for you. Deal?" He then pointed at two or three inconspicuous stones at the entrance of the blacksmith shop.
Locke looked at the pile of yellowish-brown and scarlet stones that were smaller than a fist. After hesitating for a while, he had no choice but to agree. After all, he didn't know the situation in the barracks. He needed a weapon. Otherwise, why would he join the army? To be cannon fodder?
So, Locke had his first weapon, a dagger without a scabbard or hilt. Locke carried the dagger, which was not much bigger than his palm. He had just reached the age limit and joined the army. The next day, Locke's parents hurried to the town with his sister. Looking at Locke training with the others in the barracks, Locke's parents could only sigh with tears in their eyes and accept the reality. This was also the sorrow of the poor commoners. In a natural disaster, the role of manpower was negligible, let alone their family, who had been commoners for generations. They left Locke three big chestnut cakes. Locke knew that his parents used all the leftover food at home to make them. For the next six months, they might only be able to eat tree bark.
Locke's sister untied the linen cloth that wrapped her long hair and handed it to Locke. She still said to him, "Come back alive!" In the evening, Locke's sister supported his parents, who had aged a lot in a day, on the road back to Maple Village. Locke held the linen cloth in his hand tightly and carefully put it away. He was going to wrap it around the dagger so that it would carry his sister's love for him and fight with him.
Looking at the backs of his parents and sister as they left, Locke swore to come back alive. After that, Locke began his two-month training life in the barracks. He trained hard with his captain on the training ground. Age was his disadvantage, but it was also his advantage. He recovered faster than the average adult. It was also at that time that he found out that his neighbour, Hans, had also joined the army. However, he joined to fill his stomach. After two months of training, Locke and the others rushed to the battlefield.
This dagger was a true portrayal of Locke when he first joined the army. It was immature but sharp, young and full of potential. Locke's dagger had witnessed him brush with death time and time again. After the shoddy iron sword issued by the army broke in his first battle, he used this dagger to kill his first enemy. A Shalorian slave soldier who was about his age, about 14 or 15 years old, vomited for an entire day after that battle. However, after that battle, Locke seized a similarly mediocre spear and a pair of boots.
In the battles that followed, Locke's weapons were broken and replaced over and over again until he became what he was today. However, his dagger remained intact. Perhaps it was because he took good care of it, or perhaps it was because Yoshk's youngest son was very skilled. His dagger grew with him. Now, the linen cloth wrapped around the hilt had lost its original colour and was now blood-red. There was his blood and the blood of his enemies. Locke often took out his dagger and looked at it. From the roll of coarse linen, he seemed to smell the fragrance of his sister's hair again.
The ale reminded Yoshk of his son, and also the origin of his dagger. He thought of his sister and parents. The two drank one glass after another, and soon, the second bottle was empty. The ale in Green Palm tasted average, but it had a bit of a kick. Two bottles of ale couldn't make the two drunk, but it made them sentimental.
After downing the last glass of ale, Yoshk suggested they leave. It was getting late, and it was almost dinner time. The Green Palm didn't provide meals, so they had to return to camp. Yoshk had to go back to the camp to have dinner with the baron and the others. Locke and the others would also be patrolling the camp at night. "Uncle, let's go." Locke got up and helped Yoshk with his casual clothes.
After leaving the private room, the two were still depressed because of homesickness. Yoshk was indeed a wily old fox. He quickly adjusted his mood and even joked with Locke to liven up the atmosphere. "You're already 18. Don't tell me you're still a virgin. I think the barmaid is pretty good." He winked at Locke.
"Uncle, don't joke around. How could she like me? Isn't that husband of hers quite capable? He even managed to speak to the baron. " Locke was amused by the joke, and his sadness faded a lot. He didn't know much about the barkeeper, but someone who could see the big picture early on must not be simple.
"Hey, he's just an opportunist. He's just a clown. Would the baron even look at him? " Yoshk obviously knew the barkeeper well. He probably wasn't the only one who thought so. Sigh, what a poor fellow. Locke sighed at the barkeeper he had never met. It seemed that the camp's higher-ups didn't think much of this guy who had defected early on. Then, Locke thought of the charming barmaid. Perhaps it was the influence of alcohol, but his heart suddenly burned.
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