Grodno is about 2 hours away. I should leave now to get there before noon. Talking to Braun brought back some unpleasant memories. The inquisition... those bastards with the name Solar on their lips murdered my village. All because of that stupid prophecy. All because of the conjunction. The prophecy says that once every 100 years, all the planets align. It is the day of the solstice, when the divinity escapes from the gods and its fragments fall upon the world. The fragments of divinity seek untainted souls, the souls of newborns. Therefore... the gods, in their cowardice, cursed newborns born on the day of the planetary conjunction. 99% of these beings die at birth... and the remaining 1% are murdered by the inquisitions. My curse... the destruction of my family, all because I was born on that damn day. My parents, once wealthy merchants, hid us in the countryside, but it was not enough. When I was eight, the Inquisition came. They killed everyone... and I... was unlucky enough to survive. Well, maybe it's their bad luck that they didn't die that day. This time... they will beg for death.
Sometimes, when I act on unbridled anger... my heart beats unnaturally fast... and mana pours out of my body. If I believe the prophecy... it would be divinity. A fragment of divinity in my body. My senses sharpen, my strength increases. And an aura, alm
ost visible to the naked eye, emanates from my body... if only I could control it. If only I could have saved my parents that day... but I couldn't. And I will never make that mistake again.
"Breathe," I said quietly. Calm down.
When I enter a state of awakening, I attract attention. Cursed beasts sense me, people sensitive to magic as well. I have to calm down. I have a mission to accomplish.
I turned to Benek. I noticed that he was looking at me anxiously.
"Relax, buddy. I'm sorry about that. Here!" I said, throwing him a piece of the broken core of another beast. "Enjoy."
Benek didn't hesitate and swallowed the core. His fur glowed and his eyes sparkled for a moment. When a cursed beast eats the core of another creature, it gains strength. They are hard to come by and worth a lot, but Benek needs them. He needs them so that, if anything happens, he can survive.
It is sometimes easy to overlook the core, especially when it is broken. It loses its luster and the energy that radiates from it disappears. However, deep inside, it retains some of its power. It is not easy to spot them, but my cursed eyes can do it. By looking at an object... by straining my eyes, I can see its history. Its attributes, its power... even its durability. For some reason, I cannot always do it, and some objects seem to be 'empty' or 'hazy'. To achieve my goal, I need to train this skill. I need to see more. Perhaps with time, I will even be able to see people's secrets. What they are capable of and what they have done... with time, I will be able to find my family's murderers. If only... then my revenge will be inevitable.
After a long walk, I reached a slightly greener grove. This is where villagers and herbalists gather plants. The magical beasts do not venture this close, so the people of Grodno are not afraid.
"It's okay, Benny. Wait in front of the grove. Thanks for your help. Thanks to you, it's easier to move around and avoid the damn beasts," I whispered.
It's true. Benny's sense of smell allows him to blaze trails and avoid the beasts, and his scent scares away those weaker than him. He's a great guide.
Benek is an intelligent creature. He seems to understand human speech... or at least simple commands. He knows he has to wait and keep watch. And he will do this task even though he doesn't like it.
At this point, I only trust two beings. One is an old drunkard, and the other is a damned beast. Damn, I have fallen so low. I thought to laugh to myself.
Grodno is a small settlement. Maybe 80 or 100 people live there. I've never counted them, but that's what the locals say. You could say it's a dirty hole, but... they have pretty good beer. That's right - beer. Since Grodno is quite close to the trail, there is an inn here. And not just any inn. The best in the area. Well, not that I've ever been to any other. But the locals say it's the best. I usually 'work' in this inn. I steal. But no job is dishonorable. I do pay taxes. To the innkeeper, of course. Although one-eyed Pierce, as the name suggests, has only one eye, it is a damn good one. When I was just a youngster, he caught me stealing. Since then, I have been paying him tax. The damned miser... Not only do I leave a lot of money for food and drink at his place, but I also pay him tax on every job. Well, it's better than the dungeons. I was damn lucky he didn't turn me in.
Apart from the innkeeper's eagle eye, Pierce always had a sense of humor, there's not much to do. There is a small marketplace where the locals and sometimes traveling merchants sell their goods. And there is a small chapel. The chapel belongs to Morte. One of the big 20. The god of death. I have been tempted many times to burn the place down, but the old priest seems to be a good man, unlike others in his profession. And the villagers find solace in that. Besides, someone has to bury them. And that's what Morte's priests are for. For now, let them stay. For now.
Officially, Braun and I are hunters. Sometimes we bring animal skins or fragments of magic cores here. Of course, it's just a cover, but without it, we wouldn't be able to show our faces here. That's why we put on this theatrical performance.
"Oh, Frei! Got anything interesting? How about a silver fox's fang? Or the corpse of a dream spider?" snorted a drunken voice.
"Oh, yes, yes. How about a unicorn's horn or a nymph's tits?" acknowledged another drunk.
"Twins..." I said irritably.
Morgan and Arthur. Twins. Self-proclaimed guards of Grodno. Or rather, drunkards and slackers. Well... you could say they are useful. They are quite tall and well-built, and their faces are intimidating. Sometimes rowdies wander off the trail. And when they end up in the village and cause trouble, the twins can solve it. Maybe that's why the village headman pays them. They are almost always drinking and loafing around, but sometimes they are useful.
"Piss off," I replied. 'All I want to do today is have a quiet drink. That's it.' -..
"Well, well, well..." said Morgan. "You, what the fuck are you wearing?" - Arthur asked. "What kind of dress is that?" they said in one voice, laughing.
"It's not a dress, it's a robe, you idiot. Anyway... never mind." I said as I passed them and headed towards the tavern.
They said something else under their breath, but I ignored it and continued walking. When I passed the twins and the wooden fence, I found myself in Grodno. It is a poor village, but you could say that I grew up here. Braun took me here quite often. You could say it was my only window to the world. After a moment of reflection, I moved on, passing more wooden huts. Although I didn't know everyone here well, because even here they treated us as strangers, I recognized most, if not all, of the residents by their faces. You could even say that I have a kind of friend here. And speaking of him...
I felt a touch on my waist near my pouch. He's no novice. The movement was fast and confident. He could have managed it with almost anyone. Almost. Not with a thief.
I turned quickly, caught my opponent wrist, twisted it and threw him to the ground.
"Well, hello, redhead. You should practice a bit more before you take on a professional." I said, still twisting his wrist.
There was a guy a year younger than me below me. He had red hair and was quite small. He was shorter and thinner than me. He was potentially a better thief, but I was the one who showed him what it was all about.
"Ow ow ow! Let me the fuck go, Frei. I'm just joking," he said painfully.
"Ha. Ha." I replied with a straight face.
I got up slowly, dusted myself off and shook his hand.
"Long time no see, Han," I said with a smile.
"Yeah... Ouch," he said, still feeling the pain.
"Okay, stop crying, princess, we have beer to drink," I laughed.
"Yeah... but tonight you're buying. It's compensation," he said with a smile.
"Of course, after all, I was a little too harsh," I replied.
How wrong Han was... he was very wrong. As I fell, I picked up some Solars from him. And although I hate Solar and his name, I love the currency named after him.
"Today you pay..." I whispered.
"What are you saying?" Han said.
"Nothing... nothing. haha."