Year 0002, The Imperium
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Erik at the moment was keeping watch outside; he was sitting just at the edge of the cave's mouth, as he was the least injured of the group.
While the rest were treating their injuries, the father and daughter were catching up with each other while also healing their wounds.
An hour had gone by, and it was time for a switch; it was Bren's turn to stand guard.
Suddenly there was a huge disturbance in the forest floor; the trees rustled here and there.
A moment later a 'Grimfang' was being dragged near their area.
The two of them remained alert and then they saw the silhouette of a boy who was dragging the beast with him, and they knew who it was.
It seems like August also have won his side of the battle, against that powerful and scary looking 'Grimfang'.
"Hey Gus is back, he just left that massive 'Grimfang' down below us, he seems to be looking for us. "
Erik alerted the team of his return.
"Gus! "
He called him, then he waved at him and pointed at the direction where they stashed the other Grimfangs.
---
August arrived near their camping ground, dragging the massive Grimfang with him.
He placed it down on the ground, just below their camping spot, a little later Erik called down to him, he waved and then pointed at a certain direction.
It seems like they made it up, they must have left the beasts there, I hope everyone's doing alright.
Looks like he is pointing at the previous place where they last saw that group earlier.
I'll head there a little later, I need to see their current states first.
---
A minute or so later he already got up the cave.
"Hey how is everyone doing ?"
He asked.
"See for your self, we have a bit of surprise "
Said Erik and he wore a grin on his face.
August looked inside the cave, there were a group of people sitting and huddling near the fire pit, nothing seems amiss, Betty and Gel are also there.
And wait.... Gel is talking to big burly man, she seems to be fondly close to him?
---
"Gus! You're back!"
Gel stood up and went to him; she looked all around his body—no wounds, that's good, and he looks fine. She was worried that it may be just like last time.
"Great, you have no injuries this time!"
She smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
August felt a weird tension in the air; the big, burly, gruff-looking man was looking at him intensely.
"Hey, do you know him?"
He whispered to Gel.
"That's my father."
Father??? His heart skipped a beat when he heard that; no wonder he looked at him very intensely; it seems he misunderstood something????
An invisible sweat could only form in August's mind...
---
A second later, he approached the man and introduced himself.
"He...he...hello, sir, my name is August."
He stuttered quite a bit; the man's presence alone made him shiver.
Even when he was just sitting there doing nothing, just staring at him deep in his soul.
He had that massive aura emanating out from him.
August didn't even know why he was more anxious around the man than when he fought the Commander Grimfang.
---
"I am Jonathan Ross, Angeline's father."
He slightly nodded at the boy, as if to affirm something.
This just made August feel awkward, so he slightly smiled. =]
August went near Gel and whispered to her...
"Did you tell your father yet?"
Gel flinched; she understood what that implied.
"No, not yet…"
She answered timidly with a somber look on her face.
Of course she didn't yet; who could be the bearer of such bad news? It certainly won't be him.
He only nodded in understanding.
---
August went around and introduced himself to the other people, and there are also two other children with them, it seems.
After he did his rounds, he announced to the group about his intentions.
"Right, I'm going to go back down and drag the other Grimfangs here.
By the looks of it, we might need to camp out another night in this place; let's return in the morning then. "
"Sure…
Okay…
Got it...
No problem, boss man…"
I guess that is settled then. He went out again; he left his bow and quiver behind since his arrows were all spent.
Before he left, he grabbed Erik with him and told Bren....
"Hey Bren, watch our backs, okay?"
"He he he . . . count on me, big bro."
Eugh ... Big bro again?
Our age gap isn't even that huge, so he still cringed at that thought, even though Bren had been calling him that for the past couple of months.
It's just what he thought, though, and he didn't say it out loud or even show it on his face.
---
They went down and arrived near the huge Grimfang that was lying on the ground.
"He looks pretty dead to me; you sure did not save any arrows for him, huh, Gus?"
Erik poked the dead wolf a couple of times, while August just shrugged it off and then continued walking forward.
They arrived at the scene a moment later, while making sure that there were no other beasts lurking nearby.
When they were sure that there were none, they dragged the other two Grimfang with them.
Though Erik at the moment could only barely drag the other one, he gritted his teeth; he was using all of his strength to do so.
The beast was as tall as him; it was at least 6 ft tall, while he was around 5'10, and August was around 5'8 now.
The beast was also as heavy; it was 250 kg each.
It was built for speed and agility, and its muscles felt lean; it was very athletic and strong; its sheer bite force alone could rip a person's extremities and head in a single bite.
It was even a miracle that they managed to kill it.
Now that he thought about it, they were pretty lucky to even kill one, let alone three of the beasts.
And the one that August fought was way stronger than the ones that they fought.
It was at least ten times stronger and it was even bigger than the other two that they fought, were combined.
So how strong could August actually be, if he managed to solo kill it all by himself?
He didn't even need their help to deal with it and he had no life threatening injuries with him this time.
He could only wonder in thought and marvel at their saviors strength.
---
Seeing that Erik was strugling with the wolf carcass he was dragging, he offered to drag it instead and let him be their look out instead.
At first Erik hesistated for a bit, but a moment later he could no longer feel his arms, so he could only let go of it.
*Haa haaa haaaa..
He was panting heavily, he was more exhausted right now, than when they were still fighting with the dead beasts.
"Are you good?"
August asked, he was worried for Erik, it was a surprise to him that Erik even managed to pull the weight of the other beast, it was almost triple his weight.
"Ye ... ah ... how ... how are you so strong Gus?"
August stopped on his tracks while dragging two of the wolf in both hands, then he looked at Erik and smiled.
"Well, maybe I was a god back then"
He jokingly said, and a little while later they both laughed, it was ridiculous to even think that a god would descend down the mortal world, let alone take the body of a child.
Erik could only shake his head at this statement.
And August shrugged his shoulders, and they continued walking towards the other 'Grimfang.'
When they arrived, August thought of what to do with the bodies and how they would drag them back home tomorrow.
---
In another part of the forest, the 'Grimfangs' pack that they belonged to didn't know it yet, but one of their strongest members had already died.
They are one of the bottom-tier packs that existed in the 'Lonelywood Forests' region; their territory mostly encompasses the northern edge of the forest.
And it wouldn't be until later, during the first week of the winter season, that they would be able to track the whereabouts of the culprits who killed their packmates.
It would be too late by then.
---
Later that night everyone gathered at the firepit.
August had brought a fresh batch of meat for their dinner; it was a solo [Lvl 1 Boarat] who wandered near this area.
It was enough for all of them to eat for the night.
He was the one who even offered to cook for their meal, but the women in the group interjected and made him rest.
So he took their offer and rested while they cooked their meals.
Erik was the one to butcher the beast; some parts of the Boarat were roasted, and some were put into the soup; it was all seasoned with the remaining spices that they brought.
The aroma wafted through their nose as a gust of wind entered the cave.
They were already drooling at that point, ready to devour the meat in front of them.
Some of them were even sneakily trying to grab a piece, but the women glared at them, and they stopped.
When it was fully cooked, they divided it amongst themselves, and they began to eat.
People were chatting with each other; they were talking about what happened to them and how they got there.
August was just there, looking at the jovial atmosphere and warm faces of the people who surrounded the fire pit.
He had hoped to experience this kind of thing once more with the people he loved.
But sadly, they are no longer there with him.
His mood turned a bit sour and somber at the thought.
Before he could get any sadder and lost his appetite, he continued eating his portion of the food as he didn't want to waste it.
He remembered back then, when he didn't finish his food, that his mother gave him hell.
She never let him waste a single part of the food that had been prepared at the table.
She said that it was a blessing to eat the food on their table; it was hunted and killed to become their sustenance; it also had a life once, and they must respect it and honor it as the ones who killed it.
A single tear almost fell down his face when he remembered that there were other people with him.
Luckily he managed to return to his senses, and he wiped it off without any of the happy people that gathered there noticing it.
He didn't want to ruin the atmosphere that night.
---
After they finished the hearty evening meal, the people began preparing their sleeping spots.
When it was done, the men decided on who should take the first watch while they rotated in sleeping.
August was about to volunteer along with Bren.
But Red interrupted his thought and volunteered along with Christopher to take first watch.
When it was decided, the others went to sleep while the two of them positioned themselves on the mouth of the cave.
---
When they noticed that everyone had fallen asleep, the other two began to chatter and lowered their voices.
"I can't believe we survived that encounter this morning."
Red said, while Chris replied to him.
"Yeah, and the children who came to help us ... they managed to take one of the beasts down themselves, right, and another one even helped us?
What is more surprising is that August kid; he took down the strongest one by himself. "
Red nodded in agreement; he looked at the back to see if everyone was still asleep. When he was reassured that they were, he replied.
"Yeah right like how? That thing was even stronger than the one we faced before at that time, it was like 10 times way stronger.
And he returned here without a single life threatening wound, he maybe has some scratches and maybe a bit tired but that's it.
Like look at that thing down there, its massive it must have weighed like a lot right?
And you mean to tell me he dragged it all by himself all they way there to over here after all that? "
Christopher was also very shocked and stunned at that, when the kid named Erik announced that August was back and was dragging that hulking beast.
"Seriously its ridiculous, but it is the ireffutable truth isn't it."
When August and Erik went for the other two beasts carcass they saw him drag the other two with him with ease, like it was nothing.
They remained silent after a long time, they were wondering what happened during the day and the marvels that they saw, until the next people took their shift.
---
It was morning now and as usual August woke up early, he made a stretch and began walking to the other guards who were the last to keep watch, he was planning to do some light exercises.
It was Erik and Gel's dad who was stationed there.
Jonathan was suprised that he was awake again already they were the previous shift.
But to Erik it was a normal thing, he had already gotten used to it for the couple of months that they've been together with him.
"Is that normal? "
Jonathan asked Erik, he was curious about the lads unusual actions.
"Yes sir, he does that every morning, same time every day, except during summer he woke even earlier and we have to get dragged along with him.
He is gonna do his routine today I think, you'll be surprised by his consistency when you see it everday, it makes you want to do it yourself also, I mean we all did follow him.
We did ask him what it was for, but mainly it was a normal thing in their village, and he said it was the main reason he got stronger."
"I see."
Jonathan replied.
He looked back at the boy who was stretching outside, and a moment later, the other kids, including his daughter, also woke up and joined him, and then even Erik, who he just talked to.
After they stretched, they began running outside and doing other things; they even briefly practiced swinging, stabbing, and bashing their weapons, and then they sparred.
When they were done, the sun didn't even begin to shine yet; it was still trying to peek at the world down below.
They went back in the cave and began to pack their bedrolls, gear, and other stuff that they brought with them.
---
August and the others were now done packing their stuff up.
They went down the cave again and waited for the other group there; a little later, everyone got down and joined them.
August discussed their plans for today while heading back to the village.
When he was done, everyone just nodded.
"Alright, as planned, I will drag the bigger Grimfang with me, while you can take the other two. Gel and Betty would flank Auntie Theressa and the kids.
While Erik would scout ahead of us and alert us of any danger. "
They began moving as soon as he finished, and they began their trek back to the village while carefully avoiding any unnecessary trouble along the way.
There were a few Boarats who were stupid enough to charge at them; they were dealt with rather quickly, and they saw the boy in action.
They could only leave the carcasses there as they were already encumbered by the Grimfangs carcass.
The predators could only thank them for their generosity.
It was already nighttime when they arrived at the outskirts of the village walls, since they had to take mini breaks and eat breakfast and lunch while also fighting with the beasts who approached them.
When they entered the village, it was too dark already.
But like a thorn has been pulled out of them, they could now finally breathe in relief.
It was still the same before as when they left it, but they are now in the comfort of their home ...