Several houses of the village were surrounded by small fields of crops that were ready for harvest. As a result, some of the men were currently working outside and immediately noticed the two of us coming from the depths of the forest. Although they were still far away from us, I clearly saw their buzzing and hesitation at our sight. Some of the men then moved backward in the direction of the rest of the village, while three others with the most impressive builds strolled towards us. I squinted at this sight, but Nila did not stop, which meant there was no space for me to back off.
The tallest man and visually the oldest came forward and extended his hand towards Nila. He cautiously said, "It's you again, elf. Do you need more food?"
"Rude as always, Derek," she sighed while shaking the man's hand. "But you are right, we need food and preferably a carriage to the city of Wiskoschia. Is there anyone who is planning to go there?"
"You are right in time. We are collecting the harvest, and old man Zanuff will go to the city in a few days to trade our goods. But may I ask, who is this young fellow?"
He suddenly directed his heavy gaze at me. I stood my ground, but his muscular body indicated the clear disadvantage I had if it came to fighting. I involuntarily stepped back, to which two other men laughed heartily and pulled Derek towards them by his shoulders.
"Come on, Derek, can't you see that you are scaring this boy?"
"If he is with Nila, then he should not be a problem for us."
Derek shook off their hands and turned away, but waved his arm for us to follow him. "I am just being cautious. In the end, this bastard Dusk got lost around this forest."
As their chat continued, my soul nearly left my body, and I froze in place. Right now, he had mentioned my name, as if he was fully aware of what I had done. Fully aware of my crimes! I peeked over at Nila, whose listless expression had now turned into a curious one with a hint of doubt. She looked at me, but once our eyes met, her gaze ran onto Derek's back, and she asked, "Dusk?"
"Yeah, that arsonist bastard from Wülgenville… he killed the family of Na- a member of our community."
Immediately, Nila's teasing expression dropped, giving way to the stone-cold one she had shown when we first met. I clenched my fists, and cold sweat ran down my spine. This was not good. Nila knew my name, and it would not be difficult to put two and two together. How in the world did news about my doings spread so fast? Wasn't this a medieval world where hillbillies such as them should be out of the loop about what happened in cities and the outskirts?
"Is that so?" Nila finally said, but her tone was not sincere. There was no resemblance of surprise coming from her. Derek turned his head to us, revealing eyes full of determination, and he finished his explanation or rather a threat, "If I ever catch him in this village, I swear to Farhen that I will behead him on the spot."
Nila slowly nodded, "It will be very unfortunate for this Dusk fellow."
Suddenly, Derek stopped and landed his eyes on me. He narrowed his brows and asked, "You look pale, is something the matter?"
I tried to swallow the coarse lump in my throat and answered quietly, "This is just… awful. To think that someone would do such a thing."
For the rest of the stroll, no one said a word. We walked slowly, first by the field of wheat or some kind of similar grain, past farmer houses, and onto the road that stretched through the whole village. From up the forest, this place had looked quite dull and small, but once I ended up in the middle of busy pathways, I realized how wrong my assumption had been. Houses were rather long but short, their windows did not contain glass, but instead, they were sealed with white cloth, although some were open. While men were mostly working outside, tending to crops, cattle, and doing other forms of hard labour, women were busy cleaning their houses, cooking, and watching over infants. The older kids were running around the town, chasing roosters or playing tag. Upon seeing us, they all crowded around the farmers and especially Nila.
"Lady mage is here!", "You are so pretty!", "Can you show us your tricks?" were some of the things I overheard from their babbling. Nila did not seem to listen to them; she was facing the ground with fingers up her chin, most likely considering what she was told about me. There was no helping it; all this time, she had been helping a criminal whose name was seemingly known all around the Schöltum region now.
I huffed at their futile effort of seeking her attention, but then suddenly, she raised her staff and murmured, "Polaris."
Above our heads, a sphere of light formed, the same that had floated above Nila's tent in the forest. Not just kids, but also the farmers and all other villagers nearby, glanced at Nila and the sphere in bewilderment. Polaris slowly descended to the ground, and one of the kids swiftly kicked it away, taunting others to seek it. Two farmers laughed at this sight, even Derek broke a smile and pointed in the direction of the hut that appeared to be the most isolated building in the village.
"Drop your items off in that house. You can also stay the night there. Once you are done, either consult Zanuff about the carriage or come to me if you need food. Rest for today, and I will assign your task tomorrow."
"Pragmatic as always, no wonder you became the chief at such a young age."
Derek sighed and crossed his arms, "I am at an age to have grandkids, so you know."
Nila broke a smile, but it immediately faded once her eyes caught sight of me. "I see, but for me, you are still a kid."
"Yeah, you, old hag, did not change whatsoever either. Anyway, if you want to visit the church, the priest is still well and sound."
"Good to hear."
Finally, Derek departed while waving to us. The two other farmers followed his lead while we headed towards the hut. I did not expect her to know this village. In the end, she was the one who had said that elves were solitary creatures, so why would she bother to bond with country people in the middle of nowhere?
"For how long have you known them?" I asked casually, to which Nila coldly replied, "20 or so years, I happened to stumble upon this village quite a lot."
Her pace suddenly increased, and she barged into the house without waiting for me. I narrowed my brows but let it go without saying a word. She had all the rights to be mad about my lies, and I was a tiny bit thankful that she did not snitch on me. Though, I really couldn't help but wonder what was going on in her head. In her place, I would have immediately announced my name, leaving me to the mercy of those hillbillies. She was not dumb enough to doubt my crimes, right? So what could be her motives to keep my identity a secret? I should be very cautious from now on. If they knew about Dusk, then they must also know about Simon, my cover-up name I used to deceive the Crawley family.
I followed Nila and entered the hut as well, but she was nowhere to be seen in the hallway. I stepped further into the house, observing the wooden furniture that was covered with dust. This whole thing was just one giant room with no kitchen to speak of, and as a result, I immediately noticed Nila, who was sitting on the bed.
"What will you do now?" I asked while coming closer with caution. Her staff was on the bed, but I remembered how Michael had summoned a fireball with his hands alone. A staff was not a requirement to use magic; perhaps, it was necessary for control and more complex spells. But if she was going to kill me, then she could do it with the same fire or wind that she used the other day. Thus, my hand was clenching her own knife in my pocket, in case things turned ugly.
She slowly turned to me and tilted her head to the side, "Why did you lie to me?"
"About what exactly?"
"You said that you fell from that cliff because of betrayal, but now I feel like it happened because you were captured by guards, that's how you got shot, correct?"
I nodded slowly and said, "Indeed, that's what happened to me."
She sighed and turned her head to the side, "Then you will be useless in battle after all, how unfortunate."
"Huh?" I raised my brow and held my mouth open for a second before speaking, "Wait, no, I did kill that darewolf! But whatever! Are you concerned about my made-up story and not the fact that I… pillaged and killed?"
"It is concerning, yes, but there is nothing I can do about it. I am not the one to discipline you."
Her expression suddenly became melancholic as she lightly lowered her head to face her hands. I squinted at this sudden change in the air and presented a blunt question.
"Have you ever killed humans?"
She narrowed her brows and replied, "I did, long ago, but it is none of your concern. I can't trust you with words now. After we are done with the journey to the Dlayla region, it would be better to part our ways."
She turned away from me completely and fiddled in her suitcase without actually taking anything out of it. I huffed at her words and stamped my foot, but I did not say anything. Instead, I just left her alone and went outside. Just what was the problem with this woman? I did not want to travel with her further, either. My only goal was to escape the Schöltum region anyway, thus there was no point in trying to anger me with this statement! You were useless anyway, Nila. I would be better off travelling alone!