Chapter 21 – Training Camp
Looking around, it was clear that only Kwame's friends were feeling the intensity of that man's gaze.
Watching the visitors, the man standing behind Gabriel spoke to them.
"Good night visitors. I'm Jonas, the second leader of Yurei village. If you have no ill intentions towards our people, you will be welcome to stay. Is everything understood?"
Kwame looked at everyone while they answered by nodding their heads. "We understand, Mr. Jonas. It is an honor to meet you and Mr. Gabriel. We only wish to find a place to wait for the winter to pass. We'll bring you no trouble and can help with whatever the village needs."
The blond man held the little girl's for a second and waved his hand to the man next to him. With that movement, it was as if a release valve was opened, and all pressure was gone. The movement was so simple and fluid that it took a few seconds for their breathing to come back to normal.
"That is enough, Jonas, they are our guests now. That is not how we treat our guests, is it? You must have had a difficult journey here. Please feel free to sit and enjoy a meal with us." Gabriel pointed to a few empty slots at his table and the surrounding ones.
Dinner went without another episode. It was as if those two men had completely changed after their first two interactions. Smiling and laughing about the stories everyone shared, they felt like two kitties in the skin of dragons.
The daughter was extremely curious about the visitors. She was about the same age as Bryn. With olive eyes and sugar-brown skin, she looked nothing like her father. She asked to hear stories, their names, and powers. At one point she pulled Zara's tail in the middle of dinner, making the Catwoman jump scared.
Little by little, the tension everyone felt had passed. After sharing an amazing meal, they thanked both men for their hospitality and left for the caravan.
"Daniel, you saw the little girl's neckless, right?"
"Of course… I believe it is not that we weren't able to appraise them, but they hold items not allowing us to do so…"
"Even if that is the case, those are rare items. Also, you felt the pressure in the hall. It might take us all to hold that man, let alone the main elder Gabriel."
"Tell me about it, at some points I had to look at him to check if he was still there, it was as if my senses ignored his existence."
"One thing is for sure; we are both at risk, but extremely safe while we stay at the village." Said Kaelar interrupting the two.
That night, all of them slept, considering what the next few months amount to be.
While the party members were invited to a banquet in the main hall of the village, Bryn and the others were asked to eat with most of the village at the square. They had prepared a whole wild bore above the fire.
Bryn had heard about such techniques of barbecue in the Americas, but he had never tasted it before. It looked like an easy method of preparation, and the taste was incredible.
Meeting people from the village, Bryn could tell that they were different from other interactions he ever had. All the villagers felt as powerful as the guards at the farm. After training with the caravan for the past weeks, he could tell that those were not ordinary citizens.
Unlike at the main hall, there were no warnings or attrition at the square. Quite the opposite, everyone was happy and excited about the newcomers. Bryn one more time had so much to eat that he passed out without a sound before realizing it.
On the next morning, Kwame went to Bryn's tent before sunrise. Arriving, the faun was still fast asleep with a cloth wrapped around his chest and upper body. He had a few others, creating a place for his head and small horns to rest. Kwame lightly touched Bryn's hooves and said, "Bryn, it is time to wake up. Before training today, we are going to meet with the village elder."
Yawning and rubbing his sleepy eyes, he replied; "Good morning, Mr. Kwame. Sure, Whatever you say, but can't it be a little later?" He turned to the other side as he tried covering his ears with the pieces of cloth.
"We cannot. The person you are about to meet is the one responsible for our well-being for the next few months, we must be respectful…"
"If you say so"
The young faun slowly got out of bed. He changed his clothes and left the tent. As the tent opened, a chilling breeze touched Bryn's neck.
"Nothing like a freezing autumn morning… Training is going to be a nightmare in the next few months, I can tell…"
"What are you mumbling about, Bryn? Come, we're going to be late."
"Yes, Mr. Kwame, let's go."
As the two arrived in front of the main building, Jonas was sitting outside. Sitting on a small wooden stool, he stood there waiting for the two, holding a stick made of a tree branch.
"Good morning, Kwame, May I ask what are you doing here?"
Being a career executive, Bryn could tell that the man in front of him right now was challenging Kwame.
"What is going on, this man's killing intent is off the charts…"
"Good morning, Mr. Jonas. As I mentioned to you and Mr. Gabriel, our caravan has been doing training exercises to keep sharpening our skills. Mr. Gabriel seemed to like what I said and asked me who was responsible for the idea, so I would like to make the introductions." Lowering his head towards Jonas, Kwame answered the man standing in front of them.
"This is the first time I see Mr. Kwame being so mindful of his words and body language… Only two things create such a strong change in your ways… Utmost respect and fear, maybe both as well…"
"I see… But where is the person responsible, all I see is you and a baby faun…"
"I'll have you know that I'm almost nine years old, you know…"
"This is Bryn Mr. Jonas. He is the one responsible for our training, since he joined our caravan, a few of us unlocked a few skills and increased the speed of our developments."
Hearing the man in front of him, one of Jonas's eyebrows furrowed upwards, looking a second time at the faun. Bryn could tell the man was now appraising him.
"Amazing, how long has it been since you partook in the ritual?"
"I took it about half a year ago, Mr. Jonas." Since Kwame is being so respectful, I should not continue to provoke him like an 8-year-old would…
"Good for you, both can come inside, Gabriel was eating breakfast with his son and daughter."
As the three of them entered, Bryn realized he could not appraise anything inside the main hall. That was a first for him, usually, he could not appraise others because of his low level, but inanimate objects were not much of a problem. So far, the only objects he failed to appraise were items worn by people stronger than himself.
He also saw a blond-haired man, sitting at a table wearing the simplest clothing Bryn could imagine. His eyes looked like the sky on a sunny day without clouds. Looking at him, Bryn felt a sense of peace difficult to describe. Next to him were two more people. Looking at them, Bryn rubbed his eyes for a moment.
One of them reminded Bryn of Eamon, a memory that confused him for the last couple of years. Never knew where to put the good memories of his friend in the middle of all the others regarding his family.
The kid was also blond like the father, the resemblance was clear and direct. The difference to Eamon was clear, though. He was a bit younger than his friend, as well as much stronger than him.
On the other side of the man was a young girl, eyes locked in Bryn's direction. As their eyes met, Bryn was startled to realize that she had very few matching traces of the man next to her. Her skin was much darker, her eyes reminded him of a rainforest or a dark emerald gem. As he looked at the young girl in front of him, she exclaimed.
"You have 2 horns and hooves! Dad, why don't I have horns like he does?"
Gabriel looked at the young faun in front of him and then at his daughter. "He is a faun sweety. Fauns are a species with traces of both humans and big-horn sheep or goats. We do not have them as you know…"
"Hmm, can I touch them?"
"They are my horns, thank you very much." Said Bryn while putting his hand up above his horns.
"Sweety, we have guests. Mr. Kwame, good morning. May I know the reason for your visit?"
"Good morning Mr. Gabriel. The reason for my visit is one of our conversations yesterday sir. You asked who was responsible for incentivizing our caravan to daily train, I would like to introduce Bryn to you, sir." He held Bryn's shoulder and pushed him forward a little bit.
Gabriel looked at Jonas and without saying anything he understood that Kwame was serious.
"Young faun, my name is Gabriel, and I'm the village elder and these are my son and daughter, Luca and Michele. Please come closer. Would you like to eat something?"
"Good morning, Mr. Gabriel, I'm Bryn. As for your invitation, I would love to eat something. Thank you."
"Please sit. Luca, please help young Bryn with a plate of food and a bit of coffee."
The older kid on one of his sides got up and started to go around the table.
"Tell me, young Bryn, how come a person as strong as Kwame over here is receiving training advice from a level one faun?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure myself…" [Being honest was important, despite knowing that he had a much better understanding than this world about the science behind training…]
"Interesting, could you elaborate on how your situation came to be?..."
As both talked, Kwame was more and more impressed with Bryn's posture. The kid was talking with one of the stronger people Kwame had ever seen and was holding his ground on the conversation as if they were equals. All Kwame could think was how amazing it must be to be 8 years old and level 1 on top of that.
"I believe I understand your methods. Would you mind if I joined your training camp for today?"
"I wanna do it too!!" Yelled the young lady next to him.
Kwame face almost fell to the ground at what he was listening to. His coffee spilled from his mouth, almost reaching the table. "Sorry," he said, as he tried to compose himself.
"Of course, you can Mr. Gabriel and Miss, but I must warn you… I'm still not able to properly create training schedules for Mr. Kwame and his party members, I'm not sure if I would do a good enough job for you as well…"
"Do not worry about it, I'll trust myself to you."
"It is decided then. We'll start in a few minutes, since I ate, I should wait at least one hour before starting anything."
"Hmm, ok. We'll meet you at the square…"
As both Bryn and Kwame left, Gabriel kept talking and playing with Jonas, Luca, and Michele.
Kwame was still processing the entire conversation. He couldn't understand what Gabriel had to gain from participating. Someone who reached his level of strength didn't need pointers, he had a grasp on how to increase his overall power, status, levels, or skills.
"Bryn, Mr. Gabriel liked you… Please do your best today."
"Do not worry, Mr. Kwame, it will be as if nothing changed."
After getting ready for today's training, Bryn left his tent towards the square. Arriving there was Mr. Gabriel, followed by Jonas, Luca, and Michele.
"Hello again everyone, thank you for your presence. Since everyone in the caravan is still not used to the village, I would like you to accompany me near the stables where we settled yesterday. Please follow me."
As they walked, Kwame got more and more nervous.