I was born and raised in this small, no-name town. We''re a fairly tight-knit community, led by the village elder. My father raised me as a mercenary from a young age. It''s all I know. Ever since his death, I''ve been trying to help the folk as much as possible, and doing jobs whenever posted on the board in the town square. Recently, the board''s been vacant for so long that spiders have woven webs on it. Thankfully, there was a request posted this morning for coin and food as a reward. Naturally, I took it. As I prepare to leave town in a moment, the elder stops me.


    "Jakub! Oh how good it is to see you, my boy!" He calls out with his arms open. His back is hunched as always, but his smile as bright as ever stretching across his balding, oval face.


    Usually, when he''s this chipper, it means he wants something from me. He''s a sweet old man, but he''s very easy to read. If he''s not asking me for something, he defaults to just talking about my late father and asking me how I am as if I''m still grieving. I don''t really mind it, but I do wish we had different conversations every now and then.


    "Good morning, elder!" I wave at him. "I see you''re in good spirits today."


    "Ah, same old same old." He replies with a chuckle as he approaches me. "I see you''ve got your blade on you. Are you off to take care of a job?"


    "That''s right, why? Do you need me for something?"


    "I see... Jan and Mark have unfortunately fallen ill so I was hoping you could help with the rebuilding."


    There was an unusual storm that passed a few days ago. A few of the homes were damaged so the town''s been busy rebuilding.


    "I see. I''d love to help, but unfortunately, this is a pretty urgent job and the sooner I take care of it the better." I reply with a blunt tone


    After a brief silence, the elder speaks, "Right, well... I won''t keep ya," he says as he dismissively waves his hand before turning away.


    "I''m sorry. I''ll help as soon as I''m done."


    The elder stops and turns his head to glance at me, "That is if you come back. Just be careful out there, I don''t want you to end up like your father. God forbid," he finishes as he starts walking away.


    I shrug. He loves mentioning my father when I''m off for a job. Sometimes, it''s with a reassuring tone as if I''m still grieving and need comfort. Other times he uses my father''s death as a way to show his worry. I''m still unsure how to feel about it. I''m grateful for his concern, and I''m definitely sad about my father. But it''s been a few years already.


    As I turn back around, Jan''s boy, no older than ten, stops me.


    "Hey mister! Could you help me find my friend? We''re playing hide and seek, but I can''t find him! I''ve searched everywhere!" He begs.


    "I''m sorry Jack, I am busy right now," I say with a soft tone. "I''m sure you''ll find your friend soon."


    "But..." He utters with a frown.


    I nod with a smile and start to walk away. I feel the guilt gnawing at me for leaving him like this, but I really can''t keep stopping for everyone. I have my own things to do.


    I find jobs in the town square on a board where the townspeople put up various jobs ranging from a simple item search to hunting a specific person. Two days ago, some bandits have set up camp west of town and have already threatened our hunters so I assume one of them have posted this job to drive them away on the board. According to the posting, there''s at least three of them so I''ll have to resolve this as peacefully as possible.


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    I finally leave town.


    After a few minutes of walking through the woods, I finally spot an encampment, but there doesn''t seem to be anyone there. I crouch near the bushes and look around for any signs of the bandits. I suddenly hear a distant cackling laugh to my right. I wait for a few seconds, then make my way closer to the camp while laying low. I get behind another bush and survey the general area where I heard the laughter from. I don''t recognise the laugh, so it''s possible it''s from one of the bandits. I slowly continue to make my way towards the camp and once I make it, I hear a high pitched male voice behind me, "W-who the fuck are you?"


    I turn around and put my hand on my sheathed sword''s handle.


    "And who are you? Why have you set up camp here?" I ask in reply.


    "None of ya f-fuckin'' business!"


    I look behind me to see if any of the others are around, but see that it''s clear.


    "L-leave me the fuck alone!" He yaps out while drawing his dagger with haste.


    I draw my sword in response and get in my ready position. I''m not sure whether I should just go for it, but I don''t want to potentially fight all of them if they suddenly come back. I study him and he seems to be very inexperienced—poor posture, trembling, no stance and his feet are too close together. This should be quick if we get to it.


    We stand there for a bit, just looking at eachother for a while as if we''re waiting on a signal to fight.


    I look behind me once more and again, nothing.


    When I turned back around I see him charging at me with his dagger in the air. He shouts a sort of battle cry as he approaches me. I lower myself and lunge at him, immediately piercing his stomach. He leans on my sword and myself. He coughs and drops his dagger. I slowly lower ourselves down to the ground then slide him off my sword. He flops on his back, his white tunic covered in his blood. He tries to utter something, but it just sounds like gargling. By this point, it''s safe to assume he''s dead.


    I turn around to survey the area, but again, nothing. I wipe my sword with my sleeve, then sheathe it. I start walking towards the area of the laughter from before until I hear some rustling. I stop and try to peer over the tall weeds and bushes. Suddenly, I see a young man covered in blood holding a decapitated head come out. His hair short and blonde like hay, his face devoid of facial hair and strong cheekbones. I certainly have never seen a man look like this before.


    I immediately grab my sword''s handle and prepare for anything. Before I could say anything, the man shouts with his arms up, "Hey hey woah! I am not one of them!"


    I don''t recognise him so he''s for sure not from town. I wonder why he''s not assuming that I''m one of them. I decide to press him, "How come you''re not assuming that I am one of them?"


    "Well frankly, you look a bit too clean and well-fed to be one of them." He quickly responds.


    "Right... Who are you then? Where are you from?" I ask in reply.


    "My name is Louis. I am not from around here. I was travelling eastward along the road north from here and these assholes stopped and threatened me!"


    "I see. What''s the deal with the uhm... head?" I ask as I lower my weapon.


    Louis drops his arms as he looks at the decapitated head being held up with his hand by the hair.


    "Oh, yeah that you can ignore," he chuckles as he drops the head on the floor.


    "Did you kill all of them?"


    "Uh... Yeah. There were two of them that ganged up on me."


    "Did you absolutely have to take one of their heads off?" I ask as I sheathe my sword.


    "No, but they really pissed me off. This one especially. What an ass," he answers. hen starts mocking, "Stop right there! Give us all your coin! As if that would work, what a bunch of fools."


    He wipes his hands on his trousers then continues, "I might''ve went a bit overboard, but what''s in the past is in the past."


    I look at him with a neutral expression. I can''t help but feel like he''s someone to keep an eye on if he plans to stick around. He seems to be a bit unhinged. I decide to ask, "What are you planning now? Are you going to continue your travels?"


    "That''s right. The sooner I arrive to Greenwater, the better." He replies as we start to walk towards the road.


    "Greenwater? I''m not familiar, where is that?"


    "Really? It''s not too far from here. I''ll arrive by the midafternoon if I depart on horse."


    "From now? So around six hours I wager."


    "Probably, yeah..." He nods. His voice had a hint of uncertainty.


    "And do you have a horse?" I ask.


    "I do."


    After a brief pause, he continues, "Well actually, not anymore."