After that, Hagan was invited into the village and was fed, given a place to stay, and received a fresh pair of clothes.
He was introduced to various people as the general rules were explained to him.
"Is there anywhere someone could help me train with a sword, Elder?"
"If you really want, you can head to the barracks near the entrance and have a guard help you."
"Thank you."
With that, night approached and Hagan entered the small cabin he was permitted to use and had a small dinner. Before he went to sleep, he heard the familiar female voice in his head.
"The Gods have… . You need to… ."
Upon hearing this, Hagan was apprehensive. He didn't know what the female voice wanted to tell him as she never finished either sentence.
'I need a name for that voice… but also, what the hell? What does she mean, she never finished.'
Eventually, he pushed it out of his mind and fell asleep. He had a nightmare about his harrowing first day in the Trial, only this time, the dragon was there too. He abruptly woke up and looked around, his breath shaky and heavy.
'Another nightmare. I should talk to someone… or not. Maybe they'll just go away.'
A few moments later, he was startled by a loud banging on his door. Hagan opened the door and saw three men, one seemed to be older and more experienced with combat than the others. He wore a disgusted expression on his face as Hagan opened the door, then he grabbed him by the arm and demanded that Hagan doesn't resist.
Hagan, confused and slightly intimidated, complied and followed the angry man towards the village chiefs house.
On the way there, multiple people stared at him with contempt and others were crying while embracing another. He was confused why the people were suddenly so hostile with him as they were being incredibly nice the previous evening.
Once there, he was led inside and sat at a table with the elder who was sipping on a cup of tea.
"You must take us for fools, young traveler. I showered you with gifts and welcomed you with open arms."
"Um, what? I don't understand, why am I here?"
It was true, not only did it feel like he was about to be interrogated, there were seven guards standing in the room, their hands ready to draw their swords.
"Did something happen last night, Elder?"
"You're really going to play dumb, boy. Alright, let me put this into prospective for you then. You are a leader of a village that has prospered for generations past. Suddenly, a suspicious young man appears in this dreadful forest with no weapons or armor and claims to have survived alone. You decide that although he's a mystery, you allow him to stay in your village. You feed him, put a fresh pair of clothes in his back, you introduce him to various residents, you give him a warm place to sleep. Then, during the night, he kills two people, one was still a young boy, only twelve years old, the other, a close friends of yours, someone you trusted and depended on multiple times.
Now, what would you do next, young man."
Hagan was bewildered.
"I… I would probably interrogate him… and lock him up probably."
The chief looked at the two men standing behind Hagan and waved his hand, then he was struck on the head and passed out.