One day before autumn, my friends and I, along with other residents of Pattimura village, had gathered, crowding the main street of the village to welcome the arrival of a group of adventurers led by Einar.
"Open the gate!" shouted a soldier from atop the wall.
When the group of adventurers walked into the village, I never expected what I saw now. Last night, I remember that we were still having fun together, in front of the warmth of the campfire, looking at Donovan who was very drunk and Margaretha who was fighting with Einar. But all I see now is Donovan, who has lost one of his arms and an eye, his body covered in wounds, walking with his head down listlessly next to a special carriage for corpses.
"Donovan?" I called as soon as he walked past me. I called him with the intention of asking what had happened, I'm sure all the villagers wanted to know what happened to the adventurers.
The atmosphere was too tense for a welcome. This was very strange, I could see all the adventurers from Einar's group, they were covered in quite big wounds, but what was strange was that I couldn't find Einar and Margaretha, usually they always walked in the front position as leaders.
His glazed eyes turned to me, stopping in his tracks, "I'm sorry, Isaac!" Donovan said. "Einar... Margaretha...."
I tried not to believe my bad thoughts, but the face Donovan showed me said it all. Moreover, I have never seen Donovan express like this, up until now he has always been a cheerful person, entering the city while drinking wine from his bottle.
"Welcome back, fellow adventurers!" shouted an old man riding a white horse. Behind him was a large army; Royal knights and wizards. At a glance, me and everyone around here realized that they were not just random people, especially as the person on the horse was the mayor of this village. "This may be a hard day for you, but I feel happy because I can still see your faces today. I have received the message you conveyed."
Donovan smiled at me before he went over to the Mayor.
"Mr. Mayor!"
"Donovan!" The mayor gave Donovan a warm hug while laughing, but when he realized the condition of Donovan's body his expression changed. "You look really bad Comrade, what happened? I want to hear a more detailed explanation from you."
It's hard for Donovan to explain. I've never seen Donovan act like that, usually he always tells everything straightforwardly and confidently, he never even feels pressured when talking to people in high positions.
The Mayor sighed, "Okay, don't worry Comrade! We can discuss this at my place in private. Now let's first treat the injured and let's bury these fallen heroes in peace!" he said then gave orders to the troops behind him to open the way, after which he and Donovan walked together in silence.
However, I still don't believe it, I really don't want to believe it and hope that what I think is a mistake. I ran through the guard of the troops, thanks to my training with Einar my body became agile and was able to dodge the troops who were trying to catch me. Ignoring the screams from the troops telling me to immediately get off the train, with all my confused thoughts I stood on top of the corpse carriage and opened a cloth that covered the corpse's entire body.
My heartbeat seemed to stop beating, everything I was thinking about suddenly went blank, and for some reason it was very difficult to breathe. I saw the bodies of Einar and Margaretha lying, with terrible wounds that made me feel sick as soon as I saw them. For a moment there was an image of Einar arguing with Margaretha, Einar teaching me how to sword, Margaretha teaching me how to use magic, them laughing together in front of the campfire... and I recalled the moments where Einar was shocked when he found out I can feel a wave.
"Get down from up there, kid!"
Not realizing that the troops had forcibly removed me from the train, until I realized that my tears were streaming down my face and I couldn't control the feeling of nausea, I vomited the contents of my stomach in front of a large audience.
"Mr. Donovan, sorry we will immediately get rid of this boy-"
"It's okay, I know this kid. Let me talk to him." Donovan put his hand on my shoulder, we looked at each other. "Isaac, Einar and Margaretha left me something for you."
Donovan put a necklace around my neck, tying it tightly. He gave me a necklace shaped like a horn and a shield. This is the necklace that Einar and Margaretha often wear.
"Even until the last moment, Einar and Margaretha still believed in you." Donovan smiled. "They said that if they don't care what you become in the future, the most important thing is to never forget that you are human. And you also have to remember that apart from the two of them, I and the other adventurers also trust you very much and consider you as our family."
Hearing this made me unable to hold back my tears. I hugged Donovan tightly, screamed very loudly, and cried like a baby who had lost his parents.
A long time ago, Einar once told me that this horn-shaped necklace was a gift from his father. He was very happy when his father gave him the necklace. Apart from being a sign of maturity, the necklace was also a sign that his father had recognized his abilities on the battlefield. And for his extraordinary abilities, his father also gave him the name Ironside.
Then for Margaretha's necklace, I don't know what the history and meaning of her necklace is. Margaretha very rarely talks about her past or life story. But sometimes I always hear that she really hates war and curses everyone who is crazy about war. She also always curses the gods and goddesses for unknown reasons.
However, based on her hatred of war, I'm pretty sure that something terrible might have happened in her past.
"I hope that all creatures in this universe live in harmony together, sitting at the same dining table and laughing at something simple. Without paying attention to the mistakes that their ancestors have made," this is Margaretha hope.