Two days later, the situation at home calmed down. Mark stopped being aggressive towards me, but Antek, every time we met, looked at me with clear hostility. He was definitely not happy with how things had turned out. It was hard to say how he had taken Ksawery's death—after all, he was his brother and childhood playmate. On the other hand, his disappearance meant we started receiving larger portions of food.
Aniela, however, took the hardest hit. She was completely devastated, walking around the house like a shadow. She still couldn't come to terms with the death of her youngest son. Most of her duties were taken over by Izabela, who, although not as deeply affected by the tragedy, was mainly grateful that her son had survived.
I told everyone that I had "accidentally" found two young hares and decided to raise them. After all, sooner or later, they would find out, and such news brought a little joy to our home. When they grew up, we could make a stew from them.
That day everything seemed calm, until something strange happened. As I was going out to feed the hares, I heard noise coming from the center of the village. Curious, I stepped outside and saw a group of strangers surrounded by several onlookers.
I approached, unable to suppress my curiosity, and then I saw their appearance – they looked like they had stepped straight out of a fantasy book!
There were five of them. They wore light leather armor with metal elements. Two had swords at their belts, one carried two sabers, another had an axe resting on his shoulder, and the last one carried a shield and sword on his back. They moved agilely, like cats. Every movement showed precise balance and perfect control of their bodies, ready to act at any moment. Compared to the peasants from the village, these people looked like real warriors.
They were standing in front of the village chief's house. Out of curiosity, I joined the group of onlookers, waiting to see what would happen next.
While I was still mesmerized by their professionalism, the blonde man with two sabers bent over and vomited on the village chief's door.
"Congratulations, Tom," one of the strangers said flatly. "We've really made an impression on the locals again."
"Give me some water," Tom replied, holding his mouth. "I'm about to vomit my guts out."
"If the kid can't drink, then he shouldn't drink," commented the one with the axe.
"Go fuck yourself, Oleg," Tom retorted.
And then the charm shattered. What kind of bunch of idiots are these?
"Boys, no need to get worked up," the one with the shield tried to calm them. "Today's just a reconnaissance."
"So what if it's just reconnaissance, David?" Oleg threw in. "With him in this state, we won't accomplish shit…"
"It's just one mutant," David replied, trying to deescalate the situation.
Mutant?
"I don't want to die because of some kid whose balls haven't dropped yet."
I doubted Oleg was the most liked person on the team.
"Scared, big guy?"
"What?!" Oleg reacted, grabbing for his weapon.
"Compensating for something else with that axe?" Tom shot back.
Oh, Tom, I respect that. I truly respect that.
"You got an iron deficiency under those ribs, pup?"
"You want another scar to…" Tom's retort was interrupted by more vomiting.
What an elegant way to end a conversation.
The man with the sword and shield, who stood a little aside, was called David. His face and behavior suggested that he was some kind of leader. He had dark blonde hair and was middle-aged. His face was full of wrinkles, revealing the hardships of life. He was about 190 cm tall, muscular, although not as massive as the next guy.
Oleg was a towering colossus over two meters tall, with arms the size of loafs of bread. I doubted swinging an axe posed any challenge for him. He had no hair on his head, and his face was marked by a horizontal scar that ran from his ear to his mouth, giving him the look of someone you'd better not approach.
Tom was completely different – young, very young. He was no older than sixteen or seventeen. His blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, making him look even more youthful. He was of average height and had a friendly appearance, although it was hard to judge his skills. If someone his age ended up in a team of adventurers, they must be really talented.
The other two were twins around twenty years old, whose names I didn't catch. They had black hair, amber eyes, and were of average height. One wore a sword on his left, the other on his right.
After a moment of waiting, the village chief came out of the house and invited them inside. No one bothered to wipe the door.
From their conversation, interrupted by vomiting, it seemed they had come to hunt the wolf that had eaten Ksawery. However, their behavior didn't inspire trust in me – I doubted they were capable of completing the task.
About an hour later, they left the village chief's house and headed toward the hut on the edge of the forest – the worst place I knew. They were probably gathering information, and old Jan might know something about the local wildlife.
I turned back to the house. I wasn't nosy enough to follow them, and especially didn't want to go to that idiot's house.
That evening, as usual, I practiced reading and writing with Izabela when Mark returned.
"Mark, the adventurers came to the village," Aniela greeted him.
"They weren't in a hurry," he replied irritably.
"What happened again?" Aniela asked.
"Uncle, is it bad that they came?" I asked.
"No, but on the field, they said another boy has gone missing."
Another victim of the wolf?
"Those assholes don't care about peasants, so why should they hurry…"
"Don't talk like that, Mark. What would we have done without them?"
"Nothing, but Lord Mongrow would get lower taxes, and that's worse than the death of a man."
So the name of the owner of this village is Mongrow. Good to remember.
"The important thing is that they're here," Aniela added, though her voice sounded less certain.
"Antek, Ball," Mark said, getting our attention. "The adventurers set up camp at the edge of the forest. They asked about you, go see them tomorrow."
They probably wanted to get acquainted with the local wildlife before starting the hunt. This could be my chance. I decided not to ask Aldona about magic – she lives in the same village. But strangers are another matter. In a few days, they wouldn't be here anyway, so I didn't care what they thought of me. Maybe, in exchange for information about the wolf, they'd give me some answers?