The bushes' continued trembling and strange noises caught everyone by surprise as a tall figure stepped out into the open. Clad in glinting gold armor from head to toe. Suddenly he began to laugh and said "Ahahaha hello young travelers my name is swordmaster Crusade nice to meet Cha"
Anco, apparently amused by the knight's appearance, burst into laughter, mocking the man's attire. "Who wears that kind of cringy armor, weirdo?"
Despite the obvious Mocking, Crusade's demeanor remained friendly. My father who was standing before us didn't let his guard down and became more wary of the man. As the situation looked like it was about to escalate, I bravely spoke up, asking, "Swordmaster Crusade is it, what were you doing in the bushes?"
The knight's face immediately brightened as he replied, "I apologize for startling you. I got lost after spending the whole day adventuring in the nearby forest. When I caught the scent of food, I made my way here, not meaning to cause any alarm. I simply enjoy exploring and meeting new people, and I hope you can forgive my unintended intrusion."
Swordsman Crusade's explanation sounded believable, yet we couldn't afford to let our guard down. My father, however, was not willing to take any chances. "I'm sorry, Swordmaster Crusade, but I cannot put my family in danger. It's nothing personal, but we don't know anything about you."
Saori echoed her father's sentiments, nodding in agreement. Crusade's expression immediately turned to one of sadness. "I understand, but if you could just spare a small piece of meat, it would go a long way. I've been adventuring all day, and I'm hungry."
My mother then decided to offer a helping hand by suggesting that Swordmaster Crusade could have some of the meat. My father looked at her with disapproval and huffed, "Fine, but once you eat, you leave, got it?"
swordsman crusade's face lit up, and he thanked us for the kindness. As we all settled back around the fire, my father handed Swordmaster Crusade a stick and some meat, which he gladly accepted. Anco took the opportunity to start a conversation with the knight.
"So about adventuring what did you mean
?" Anco asked
Swordmaster Crusade paused for a moment before responding, "I'm an adventurer, I took some requests to hunt a giant python and find some rare herbs, but the forest was so vast and the python so agile that I got lost trying to catch up to it. And I didn't even get a chance to find the herbs I was supposed to gather."
"So, you're really an adventurer? I've heard stories about them, but I never thought I'd meet one in person. Wait... you failed to catch the python and find the herbs? That's terrible. Gosh you're really pathetic for an adventurer," Anco mocked.
Swordmaster crusade didn't reply although I could see he was quite offended by Anco's comment.
As Swordmaster Crusade continued to devour his meal, I became more curious about the mysterious creature he was hunting. "Wait, what's a python?" I interjected.
Anco looked at me with a mix of amusement and annoyance. "Are you stupid or something? A python is a gigantic snake with insane abilities," she said.
I raised my eyebrows at Anco's response. "Okay, but how do you know all this stuff, anyway?" I asked, glancing between Anco and Saori.
Anco rolled her eyes. "That's because every day when I get out of the house, I go out to research cool stuff instead of sitting around the house cleaning like a maid or sleeping like a princess," she said, referring to Saori and me.
As Swordmaster Crusade finished up his meal and prepared to leave, our father grew impatient and began hurrying the knight away. "I'll be going now. I wouldn't want to burden you and your family anymore. Thank you all for your kindness. If we ever cross paths again, feel free to ask me for anything," Swordmaster Crusade said with a bright smile before departing.
Anco abruptly feigned vomiting and stated, "Disgusting," soon our mother and father instructed us to return to the wagon for some much-needed rest. Anco eagerly jumped inside the wagon, indicating she was tired even though she hadn't contributed much during the day. Following Anco, Saori and I climbed into the wagon as well, eager to catch up on some much-needed sleep.
Soon morning arrived and with the noise that followed and the bright light creaking through the little cracks I could tell that my parents had already started to move once more. After waking up early, we heard the wagon's wheels creaking and bumping against the rough road ahead, indicating that our parents were already underway. As the journey continued, Anco's deep sleep turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as she accidentally struck her head against the boards, waking her up with a start.
I couldn't help but chuckle at Anco's misfortune, and thought to myself, "Serves her right after mocking me all the time."
Anco's cry of pain, however, drew Saori's attention. Saori gave her sister a withering look before turning away, prompting an irritated response from Anco.
"You know-it-all! Would you like to hit your head against the boards here hard so you can feel what I feel?" Anco spat, gesturing wildly in our direction.
As my two sisters continued arguing, I felt an intense bout of excitement. I marched up to our parents, eager to know more about our upcoming stops, and asked with a smile, "Mom, where are we going today?"
My mother responded, "We're going to Whisk Town to have some food, and maybe gather some supplies. We'll be there soon."
My excitement skyrocketed, and I asked, "But Mom, when will we reach Berlynne?"
"About another three days," she replied.
The idea of our journey becoming even more exciting filled me with glee, and I exclaimed, "Well, I guess our journey will be even more exciting! I'm getting goosebumps already!"
As we arrived in Whisk Town, my mother wasted no time in taking us to a tavern. Saori expressed some concern, saying, "Mother, can't we eat somewhere else? Taverns are apparently full of 'ghetto' people, and I'd hate to be around them."
Anco immediately jumped in with a mocking tone, "Of course, the princess wouldn't want to be around people like that. She might catch their disease. Idiot."
Not wanting to let Anco's insult slide, I defended Saori, saying, "I think Saori would be fine. Besides, we've already had some experience with someone like that back home. She's quite immune to the ghetto disease now so no need to worry Anco."
Anco's face turned red with anger, but my mother stepped in and said, "Come on now, you have to eat."
As we entered the tavern, I was immediately taken aback by the atmosphere. Loud noises filled my ears, as people clinked glasses, shouting, singing, and doing bizarre things. I noticed women in revealing outfits, and realized that this was indeed a rough place.
I then realized something "Mother, where's Father?" I asked.
"Ahh, he went to go buy some food and gather some supplies for the wagon, so by the time we're back at the wagon, he'll be there," my mother replied.
My mother then went to order food for us while we found a table to sit at. Watching the people and activities around us go by while we waited for our food. At one point, I noticed a young girl with a collar around her neck, and I immediately leaned over to Saori to ask about it.
"Saori, why does that girl have a collar on?"
Before Saori could answer, Anco piped up, "Hmm, seems like you all don't know about that. It means she's a slave. Children or adults who aren't rich can put themselves into slavery just to get some food and better treatment, or most times they're forced into slavery."
Hearing this, I was quite surprised. I never knew that slavery was still a thing, let alone in a place like this. As I sat there in shock, Saori's eyes became watery, and she said, "Poor people, slavery is such a bad thing."
Anco rolled her eyes and our mother approached the table, placing our food in front of us. "Kids, I know this place is rowdy, but it's the cheapest place we can get something to eat, okay?"
We all nodded in agreement, and soon found ourselves feasting on roasted potatoes with rabbit stew – one of my favorite meats. It had been a while since I'd had rabbit, and the taste was definitely worth the wait.
After finishing our meals we left the rowdy tavern. Even after leaving I could see that Saori was still pensive after hearing Anco's comments about slavery. I felt a tinge of sadness as well, but knew there was nothing I could do about it.
Reaching where the wagon was we entered it, we were greeted by our father, who was munching on an apple. As soon as he saw us, he asked with a chuckle, "Back already?"
We nodded and gave a smile and he started the wagon, ready to get moving once again. As we sat in the wagon, I tried to lighten the mood "Saori, who is your favorite god or goddess?"
Without hesitation, Saori replied, "Uvelia, the goddess of love."
With a smile, I responded, "I'm more of an Inas or Zedos guy myself. Inas is the god of magic, and Zedos is the highest of the gods, known as the god of creation."
Saori nodded to what I had said and smiled. I knew that it made sense for someone as kind and loving as saori to have chosen Uvelia as her favorite god.
Anco, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, then demanded to be included. I rolled my eyes and set her a challenge. "Alright, Anco, name all seven gods for me."
Anco looked confused and admitted that she couldn't remember. When I pointed out her strange lack of knowledge, Anco responded curtly that she didn't need to know about the gods.
As the days went by, we continued talking about the gods and goddesses, laughing at Anco and sharing our knowledge and opinions. As the Wagon drew closer to Berlynne, our excitement only grew, and we couldn't wait for our journey to come to an end. The thought of exploring the city and discovering its wonders was enough to keep us going, even on the long and often bumpy ride. Every morning, we woke up with renewed enthusiasm, and every night, we went to bed eager for the next day to come. As we drew closer, the city loomed larger in our imaginations, and our excitement reached a fever pitch. We were almost there, and we couldn't wait to see what lay ahead.