In the quiet darkness of night, the growl of Lilis little stomach could be heard. Above her, in the night sky, the clouds slowly were departing and letting the moons bright light shine upon her path. For an unknown amount of time, she had been on a constant running pace and now her legs were aching and her run had turned into a sluggish walk.
With each step she took her legs hurt and her body wanted to stop, but her mind stayed strong, it told her to keep on moving and to never quit and never surrender. She rubbed her hazy eyes lazily and looked into the dark distance lit only by the moonlight. Then she spotted something.
Up ahead, she could see the forest end and vast fields of something beginning. A light of hope was lit in her heart and she once more pushed herself onwards to see the sight better. As she came closer she realized that indeed they were fields, but not just any field but vast fields of wheat by the looks of them. In front of her for the next couple of hundred or so meters, there was nothing but fields of wheat.
Stopping there at the line where the forest ended and the fields of wheat began she started to observe her surroundings. Looking at the scenery around her she could see a decent-sized river on her left, hilly terrain covered by trees to her right and up ahead next to the road there was a line of bushes and behind the bushes, she could have sworn that she saw the shapes of hoses and some light that was definitely not coming from the moon.
With caution, she started walking down the road closer to the long rows of bushes that stretched to both sides. Coming in closer she could see that behind the bushes were a few more small fields of wheat that then led to what seemed like small wooden walls made out of logs that had their edges sharpened to a point. And there in front of her just a little bit down the road, there seemed to be a tall wooden gate. In the darkness, all she could see was the outlines of the things and no more so she wasnt sure, but nonetheless she pressed onwards.
Walking even closer the sight became even clearer and her eyes widened in excitement. Finally, she had found civilization, although this seemed to be nothing more than a medieval farming village it was still a good start. But there was also a sense of caution in the back of her head as the village did seem oddly quiet and dark. Slowly picking up the pace her sluggish walking quickly turned into a sprint as her legs were once more filled with adrenaline.
Coming in front of the gate she stopped and listened, finally she could hear the voices of people on the other side and smell the smells of fresh homemade foods. Her small nose sniffed the air and its many delicious smells that consisted of meat and vegetables mixed in with some fish and most importantly actual fresh bread. Her mouth drooled as she smelled the scent and her stomach growled. Sure she could have eaten all her berries to ease her hunger, but honestly, she was completely over eating berries at this point. For the past 6 winters, her food had been too simple and too full of berries to her liking.
Placing her hands on the smooth wooden gate she then pushed with all her might. The gate felt solid and heavy to her and it wasnt budging at all. There must have been something blocking the gate on the other side, she thought. In annoyance, she pouted at the gate and looked for another way inside. The gate was too smooth for her to climb and too tall to climb over. Going in front of the walls she looked at the individual logs. Each of the logs had a small round portion of them sticking out which gave her hope. Maybe she could use that to climb up.
Or more specifically she would have attempted to climb the wall if only she could have found a good grip on the wood somewhere. To her great disappointment, she just couldnt seem to find any place to grab onto. In disappointment, she shook her head and tossed this idea into the trash bin section of her mind. Thinking further on this problem she then remembered some climbing videos she had seen in her previous life.
In those videos. people could climb pretty much anything as long as they could create some leverage on something. Those people could even climb smooth large pillars by simply placing their hands on the pillars side and by pressing their hands hard against the pillar they could create leverage like that. After that, they would simply go up inch by inch and use their legs as well if possible.
Just like in those videos, she spread out her hands and pressed hard against the wood as if she were trying to crush something in between her hands. She could feel her little chest muscles bulge as she did this and then she was lifted slightly off the ground with her face hugging the wall. With all her might she kept on pressing and managed to lift her legs up against the wall. She could feel the burn in her muscles and the sweat starting to form as she then attempted to move her right hand up, But as she did so she lost control and fell on her little ass.
With her many plans coming to a disappointing end she then went on to her final plan and most daring plan of all. Walking in front of the wooden gate she took in a deep breath of air and started to yell pleadingly.
"Please let me in! Please I beg of you open this gate! You can even have my strawberries if you let me in! Please just open up!"
Then she waited for a response, but there was no response. Most likely it was as she had feared the people in the village were simply being too loud for anyone to hear her small yells.
Seeing no other choice Lili started banging her little fists at the gate as she kept on yelling and screaming for somebody to come and open up the gate.
" Please let me in! Please let me in right now! Fuking hell let me in you bastards! Doesnt this village have any gate guards, holy shit! Let me in right now or I'm going to scream! No answer? Well here goes! Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Fucking shit Iiiiiiiiiiii!"
For an entire minute, she kept on screaming until a dogs bark came from the other side of the gate followed by some mans yelling.
"Jesus Christ Fenton stop! Fucking hell, whats making that noise?"
Then she heard the dog go quiet and the sounds of somebody climbing a wooden ladder up to the wall could be heard. Then the mans dark figure came into view on her right side atop the wall. In a rough brutish old mans voice, the man yelled to her.
" The hell was that screaming about? Oi, who are you? State your name and purpose!"
Looking up at the man she could see the outline of him in the darkness and by the looks of it he seemed to be holding something that seemed like a bow in his hands. Seeing this Lili felt nervous as sweat started forming on her face as she stutteringly came up with a response.
"I-I, I, I am Lili. I'm j-just, just a traveler looking for a place to stay the night. Thats all sir."
The man didnt speak immediately as he seemed to be looking for something in the darkness behind her. Then he turned to her and said.
"Whats a little kid like you doing out here in the middle of the night? The nearest village is over 40 kilometers away. Are you an orphan or something? Where are your parents?"
Hearing the mans words made Lili gasp a little in shock. If the nearest village was so far away then just how few people actually lived in these lands. To her amazement, she had truly made the right choice by picking the right side. If she had gone left then she wasnt sure if she could have actually made it to civilization before sunrise.
Pushing these thoughts away she honestly answered the man by saying.
"No sir I'm not an orphan. I do have a father and a home in the woods. It's just that I have never seen my father or much of anybody for that matter so I got a bit lonely and wanted to see what the rest of the world looks like. Thats all sir I swear."
In response, the mans tone of voice seemed to turn softer as he said.
"And, whats your fathers name then? You know that at least dont you? Is he from this village? Maybe I can help you find him?"
Hearing the mans question made her feel sad. Sure she couldnt quite yet truthfully say that she was an orphan as she hadnt seen her father die, but she for sure was a lonely neglected child without any parental figures in her life. In the end her situation in this life didnt differ much from her previous life which made her feel a bit depressed. Saddened by these thoughts Lili shook her head and said.
"No, I dont know his name or where he is, but I'm sure that his going to find me one day."
The man seemed to be doing the sign of the cross as he then tossed a rope down the wall and said.
"I see well come up quickly its not safe for you out there."
Seeing the rope she didnt hesitate to run to it and start climbing the wall. Although it did seem quite strange, why couldnt he just open the gate? Coming close to the top of the wall she felt the man grab her cloak and start to lift her. Surprised by this Lili screamed like a little girl.
"Kyaahh!"
The man acted as if he was lifting nothing but a light 15-kilogram bag of rise as he easily pulled her up the wall and into his arms and then set her down next to him. The man placed a gentle but rough hand upon her head as he crouched down almost to her eye level and spoke again.
"Are you ok little miss? I didnt scare you did I?"
Looking at the man Lili could see that his hair was gray and messy, his teeth were crooked and his skin dirty. The man also smelled a little of sweat and even worse was his breath which stank like rotten eggs. Dressed in some dirty medieval peasant clothes that had multiple patches on it didnt do any favours to his appearance either.
Honestly, she felt like pushing this disgusting man away and she probably would have if it wasnt for the mans kind looking small green eyes. Despite his rough appearance the old man did have a comforting air of an old grandpa around him that made her feel at ease.
Despite this, she felt great annoyance towards the old man because of his words as she then said.
"I'm a boy, not a girl. And no I wasnt scared, that shout you heard was just a slip of the tongue. It happens sometimes to me, I cant help it."
The old grandpa seemed confused at her words as he looked her up and down several times and then said.
"I see. Well, you have an interesting name for a boy then Lili. But I will not judge you for it. I myself am called Alcott Alsfield but most people here in this village just call me Old Man Al. Feel free to do the same."
Hearing his words Lilis head turned downwards in thought. Wait his right, isnt it extremely strange for me to call myself Lili and yet say that I'm a boy and at the same time I also look like a girl? If you think of it its like I'm asking to be teased for my name and appearance.
Feeling conflicted over her own thoughts she looked to the Old Man Al and was about to speak, but the old man had already stood up and started some kind of an introduction of the village as he then said.
"Well anyway, I think you are already quite eager to see the village so I will not keep you for long. Instead, let me have the pleasure of bitting you welcome to our little village of Einsway."
Looking into the village Lili couldnt see much as a lot of it was covered in darkness. But what she could see was about 20 or so clusters of small lightless buildings that were all small one-story buildings with wooden walls and roofs made of straw. These buildings seemed to be the typical type of medieval buildings from the very early period of history something like the Dark Ages she would say.
Each cluster of buildings was built into a square formation with a small courtyard in the middle and a small entrance to the courtyard there. No large windows were pointing to the outside and no doors either, the only way in was through the main outdoor entrance. Around the outsides of the houses, there were grassy fields that seemed like they had been eaten by some animals.
On the far end of the long oval-shaped village, she could see another gate where there was also some dark figure with a bow standing guard. Also there in the far corner of the village, there seemed to be a decently large windmill that if she recalled correctly was called a tower mill. The sight of it made her feel extremely confused, to her knowledge tower mills were an invention of the late 13th century. How could such a thing be here in this village that seemed to belong to the Dark Ages?
While interested by this her thoughts were soon taken elsewhere as the old man pointed at the largest building in the village situated in the center of the village. This building was only three stories tall and fully made of wood, but compared to everything else it seemed like a luxury mansion. The building even had actually lanterns around it to create some light. It looked just like some old Medieval Inn from the Midleages, with its three chimneys and white walls mixed in with wood.
Looking at this large building Lili then heard the old man explain.
"That there is our village pride and joy, The Dancing Dragon Inn. If you're looking for a place to stay then thats where you'll find it, they are also always looking for little helpers so you might even be able to find yourself some work there.
The building was actually just recently upgraded by the orders of the lord. Now It also works as a messenger post. You see this is a halfway point between two large towns and our village chief is called Ein, so thats why we call this village Einsway You see."
Rubbing her dainty little hands against her chin Lili couldnt help but feel that there was certainly something off about this place. In a way, this place didnt seem to fit the picture she had of a normal medieval town. Why were all the buildings built into square formations with little to no access inside except for one single opening? In wonder, she spoke to the old man and said.
"Old Man Al, why is it that your village is built so defensively? Even though this is such a small place you still have these walls and men like you guarding them. Are you perhaps under some kind of threat here? Is this a safe place to be?"
Hearing this the old man Al turned to her with a serious look and said.
"I see so nobody has ever told you?"
Raising an eyebrow at this question Lili simply shook her head as the old man pulled up his shirt sleeve and revealed multiple scars hidden there that seemed like they had been done by blades. Then he pulled down his sleeve and said.
"Bandits Lili, bandits. All these scars are from bandits that roam these woods. Times have been tough around here recently because of the war in the north so many have turned to crime. Luckily there are brave young knights roaming around these lands in search of those bastards, but I would not travel away from home if I were you. If those bandits spot you then you are as good as gone, they aint going to hesitate to put a chain around your neck and brand you as a slave, so be careful when traveling alone. But dont worry this village is safe for now. We have some outsiders staying at the Inn but they seemed just fine."
Lilis eyes turned wide in horror as she asked.
"What do you mean people get enslaved? Isnt that illegal?"
Placing a hand on her head the old man laughed and said.
"Hahaha, what do you mean illegal? It has always been legal. Its one of the most common forms of punishment here for any criminals. You see once a criminal gets their slave mark they lose all their rights. If a slave escapes and is seen wandering around without their master then its everyones responsibility to see that person reported to the guards or see that slave arrested."
Shocked by this Lili couldnt help but say.
"What? But thats wrong, how can you just assume that somebody is guilty by their slave mark? What if somebody is taken against their will and then branded by a slave mark, wouldnt that just cause massive amounts of kidnappings to take place then?"
One more the old man laughed and said.
"Indeed, but you see most people have large families and many relatives, plus a lot of friends and if they can prove that you are not indeed a criminal worthy of being a slave. Then the one that placed the slave mark will be sentenced to death. So no one that dares to do such foolish things usually, but kids like you are a whole other thing. Thats why I'm warning you to not go out there on the road alone. Its best If you try and build an honest life here in the village if you can. We are always open to welcoming new people to our village if they are good honest hard-working people."
Hearing all of this Lili couldnt help but shiver slightly at the thought of slavery. But luckily for her, she wasnt an ordinary little helpless girl. She was a former Police Officer and a fighter. This primitive medieval world could not hold her down, she was no doubt destined for greatness and lots of money. Maybe once she became somebody of great importance she could then make a change to this primitive world. With these thoughts in the back of her mind, Lili just scoffed at the old mans words and said.
"Dont worry old man. I'm a lot tougher than I might look like. You'll see."
The old man just laughed and said.
"Hahaha, sure kid. I like your attitude, lets just hope it doesnt come and bite you, hahaha. I say feel free to do as you please. Just remember no stealing or entering buildings without permission or there will be trouble. And, dont worry about my dog Fenton, his a good boy."
Nodding her head Lili thanked the man for his advice and started to climb down the ladders down to the grass below where she could see what looked like an Old English Sheepdog waving its furry tail.
Stepping down onto the grass she was immediately met with the dogs sniffing and licking. The dog was so big that it almost came to her chest height and seemed absolutely massive compared to her, especially with its thick fur coat. After giving the dog a few pats on its head it seemed to quickly lose interest as it just walked away to an open patch of grass and lay down.
Feeling happy with this brief interaction with the dog. Lili then felt her stomach growl once more reminding her of what she came here for. As she started heading towards the Dancing Dragon Inn, she then heard the Old Man Al shouting.
"Have fun little Miss, I wish you the best of luck!"
hearing this Lilis eyebrow rose as she wondered why was he all of a sudden calling her little miss again, she didnt correct her own words did she? Maybe the old mans memory was just that short? Shrugging her shoulders at this thought she just waved him goodbye and headed for the Inn.