We departed the day after, at dawn.
Our destination was Brega, the closest town from the monastery, located on a valley that connected the inner region we were currently located with the costal cities and the Royal Capital.
Normally, the journey would last three to four hours, and the road coasted the mountains, twisting and turning along the way, with the occasional bridge.
The first hour of the journey was almost completely silent: Sasha had found the library in the monastery, the day before, and had spent most of the evening searching for something interesting to read.
I was sure that I had returned all the books to their proper place before departing, but somehow she managed to sneak three back in her pack, and by the time I noticed, we were already too far to turn back.
No, that was a lie I told myself, the truth was, I needed that silence, these last few days had been chaotic at best, and I was still struggling to make sense of it all.
It also gave me time to observe my companion:
She looked no more than twenty, and she acted like a chile at most times, but from time to time she'd speak with the bitter wisdom of past mistakes.
Her past was still a mistery to me: an adventurer from long ago whose name had been forgotten.
It was also unusual for her to have discarded her last name: elvish family names are said to be somewhat prophetic, and she did say she lived with her elvish parent.
In the evening before I tried asking a few times, but she either avoided the question, or simply ignored me.
'That was a good read!'
With those words, she announced the end of my peace, while she stopped to put the book (Across the Sea - A guide to far away counties, Vol. 1) back in her pack, before adding
'Thankfully I borrowed two more'
'You can't say "borrow" if you have no intention on returning them'
'Guilty as charged'
'At least you' re honest... '
'This book was going to waste away there, I'm just giving it a second life, that's all'
She was still in the process of getting another book (Across the Sea - A guide to far away counties, Vol. 2) when I added
'So, what' s the plan, we just barge in on Brega and declare ourselves vampire hunters?'
She looked at me for a brief moment, before dropping her new book back into her pack
'Have you been listening at all? We are taking it slowly: first we reach Brega, then we heroically save them from the eventual undead outbreak, and our fame will do the rest. Easy.'
'And why would they have an undead outbreak just when we get there?'
'Brega sits on a locus of magick, they have all sorts of problems all the time, especially in the graveyards'
'Never heard anything of the sort, are you sure your info isn't outdated by a few hundred years?'
'A good friend of mine, well versed in the arcane, told me that isn't something that a mage can just fix overnight, at most they're just self-sufficent now'
'The more I hear, the less I trust this plan'
'Oh, trust me, last time I had been there, it was so bad that we had to fight for three days straight. The skeletons even started building a catapult, before we could finally put an end to it'
'Wait, how is it even possible that they built something?'
'You clearly don't read enough, all undead are born of a soul that can't let go of past regrets, their emotions are the power that then animates their bodies. Apparently the engineer who built the graveyard really hated the walls, and he was also a siege engineer back in the days'
Speaking as we went, we reached a bend in the road, the mountainside blocking the rest of the road.
'Heeelp!'
Suddenly cried out. We exchanged a knowing nod, before breaking into a sprint.
Before us was a man, cowering away from a single kobold.
Without hesitating, I rushed in front of the traveller, to shield him from the monster.
I had never seen a kobold before, but I heard that they used to infest this mountain range.
It was an ugly beast, around a meter tall, scaly skin covered by makeshift hide clothes, and a crude spear in hand, the creature looked as if a lizard had decided to stand on two feet.
It started saying something in what I could only assume was his language.
But I didn't care for what it had to say, a beast it was and like one it had to die.
Then it suddenly rushed at me, its spear aiming at my feet. Or maybe at the man behind me, who was still on the ground, cowering.
The beast had little skill, and while it was trying to compensate with its ferocity, it wasn't enough: the spear was too low to parry with my sword, so I simply stepped over it with my left foot, and kicked the monster with my right.
That alone was enough to disarm the kobold and send it on the ground.
While it was still recovering from the impact, I rushed in for the killing blow.
As I was delivering the final blow, Sasha saved the monster
'It surrendered, there's no need to kill it!'
She shouted at me, almost angry
I was surprised, both by her action, and by her tone.
The beast fell on the ground and started pleading for its life in an attempt to speak Figuchi
'Please, no die me'
I looked at the beast with disgust.
'My duty is to kill monsters like this'
My face cold and unflinching
'No! Your duty is to protect the people of this land, but you all forget this fact too fast, and instead think only to a mass glory by slaying all you find'
'please no die me!'
'Shut UP!' We both screamed at the kobold.
'You know as well as I do that this creature will try to kill again as soon as we let him free'
'What makes you think so? The stories you heard as a child? The teachings you so fervently adhere to?! This kobold is just hungry, give it an apple and it'll just go away'
'But that doesn't mean he'll stop attacking travellers'
'So what if it does? What's wrong with trying to survive?! You destroy its house, burn its fields, and then think you're some kind of hero for saving a person from the problem you caused in the first place!'
I didn't know what to respond, the thought of these creatures having... homes, so strange.
I turned away, looking for the person we just saved, and was almost surprised to find him behind me, a few steps away, awkwardly waiting for our argument to finish.
'Excuse me kind adventurers'
Now that the argument seemed over, he decided to speak up.
He looked around forty, human, with a big backpack and costly clothes which were now soiled with dust and dirt
'I must thank you for saving my life, how will I ever be able to repay your gratitude?'
'Think nothing of it, I just did what was right'
This was how I usually would have responded, but the recent conversation left me with a doubt: was it really right? What was "right" in the end?
'You are too kind, sir, and madam too, how about this, if you ever find yourself in Woodsburgh, come visit me at my shop, "The Red Anvil" and I'll make you both a special price'
'If we ever pass there we-'
'Of course we' ll visit, but instead of a special price, how about you spread the word of how you got saved by this duo of adventurers, both kind and skilled?'
Sasha had finished whatever she was doing behind my back and decided to take over the conversation
'But of course, that much was a given. Oh, but how rude of me, I forgot the introductions: I am Jago Bonvia, pleased to meet you both'
'And we are Sasha and Tovarek'
'Say, Sasha, dear, it wouldn't feel right to leave you with just words and promises after you saved my life, please accept a token of my gratitude'
And he handed a few gold coins, enough to live confortably for a week
'Ah, we could never...'
She said, but her hands were already taking the coins and counting them.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, we parted ways, as Jago was going the direction opposite to us, going back home after a relatively quick stay in Brega.
'What happened to the beast?'
I asked, once the merchant had gone out of sight
'The kobold'
'Whatever, what happened to it?'
'I gave him some of my rations and let him go. His name is Guk, by the way'
I let out an exasperated sigh
'You made friends with it?'
'He was surprisingly calm after his defeat. Apparently he considers himself our property now'
'Great, a pet kobold'
She ignored my cold remark, and remained cheerful as ever
'Yes, it's a first one for me as well, you know?'
'Did you also ask him why was he attacking a human?'
'I don't need to ask that. He was alone: his clan was probably destroyed by some wannabe hero, and he had no other choice'
'How can you be so sure?'
'I've read a book once, that spoke about the customs of what you consider "lesser races", or monsters'
There was a small pause in her voice, that led me to belive she wasn't telling me the whole story, but I let her continue.
'When it comes to kobolds, they eat mostly fruit and berries, and while they don't usually farm, they can forage for themselves. Sometimes they might steal livestock off a nearby farm, but unless they found a bigger creature to venerate, they rarely eat meat'
'And why couldn't he forage for himself'
'Well, he had a spear, so he's a fighter, he probably doesn't know what's edible'
'They have roles as well?'
'Well, of course. I told you, they're more advanced than you'd think'
The rest of the journey was hardly as exciting, but I had much to think about.
From time to time "Guk" would poking his little head from behind a tree, but it was clearly scared by my presence, never coming closer.
I decided to take my time studying his behaviour.
More than anything it would remind me of a stray dog who had been offered some scraps, and now was hoping for more.
Out of the blue I simply approached Sasha, who was busy carving some sort of symbol out of a piece of wood she found on the ground.
'About that kobold...'
'Guk'
'Yes, Guk. I understand that it might be our fault if he's so desperate, but at this point, was it really mercy, letting him live? He'll just starve in a few days'
'Maybe. Or maybe not. For the time being he will accompany us up until Brega, then he'll do what he thinks right'
'And what if he kills somebody?'
'I could say the same about the merchant, and yet you don't care if he does'
'It's not the same'
'It is to me. I only try to save as many lives as I can, but I am not responsible for what they do after'
'What about animals?'
'As long as nothing is wasted, I'm not against killing animals. At least the mindless ones'
'Where do you draw the line, then?'
'That's a difficult question'
She paused a bit, deep in thought before resuming
'Once upon a time I used to think that killing to survive was reason enough. My survival meant that others had to die, either in self defense, or to feed. It was the nature of things.
Then I realized that my life was just the same as anybody else. If I wanted to live, so did the others.
Some times it can't be avoided, some beasts can't be reasoned with, but all the rest I refuse to kill.
Maybe one day I'll tell you the full story, but for now let's settle with just that'
'Is that why on this journey you want to focus on the Undead?'
'Correct. Those creatures are dead already, and their soul is trapped either by its own regret, unable to move on, or by a curse. By putting them to rest, we save both the living and the dead'
'I'm surprised you don't want to fulfill each skeleton's regret or something'
'Maybe calling it a regret is wrong, it becomes an obsession. Seeing it fulfilled would just enrage them. They're beyond saving, beyond reasoning'
At last the journey was approaching its end, and we could see some houses in the distance.
I had seen Brega many times already, but the city must have looked strange to a newcomer:
The main road that connected the two sides of the nation was full of stables, inns and shops, its architectures as varied as the races that lived at the bottom of the valley.
Humans, Elves, Dwarfs and Halflings, all lived there.
There were some minor groups of half-orcs, and I've heard that a orcish tavern recently opened, but they were a minority.
But as impressive as the variety of the valley was, on the slopes of the mountains, the two sides of Upper Brega were far more impressive.
On our left, on the West side, a full-fledged dwarvish town, with stone buildings and houses, some of them carved from the very mountain face, and some might have been underground, even.
The gray stones were adorned with gold and iron that gleamed brightly, even from a distance.
The city was compact and didn't spread too large, preferring instead to go over multiple levels, connected by bridges, sometimes as wide as the main streets.
On the other side, the East side lazily sat.
Almost fully inhabited by Halflings, it was full of wooden buildings, but no building ever had a second floor. Some chimneys were sprouting off the ground itself, as most preferred their house to be underground, or at least covered with dirt and grass.
Around every house and building, fields, which left next to no space for the small dirt roads.
It was over three times the size of the West side, and, according to the records, housed less than one third of the total population of Brega, beside being almost than two thirds the area.
After the city was in sight, I lost track of Guk, who was probably too scared to come this close to a settlement.
I still had my reservations against the plan, but the excitement Sasha was exuding was contagious.
Confidently, we entered the city.