9 On The Way to Orario...Hopefully
Third Person Pov
Open clear skies with no clouds in sight. Birds flying around. Everything seems very peaceful. However, where is our glorious MC?
Well, he's being his usual lovable self, a.k.a., someone's annoyance. We take our eyes off the sky and zoom in to the roads below. We find ourselves in a wagon filled with supplies being pulled by a couple of horses. And it's driver about to strangle his passenger. Why, you might ask? Well...
? Pov
Deep breaths, Robert. Think of calming thoughts. You can't kill the idiot; you owe him, remember. Just a couple more hours until Orario. You can do this. In and out. In and out
After a couple minutes of deep breathing, I start to feel better, and I can't help but smile and say, "Huh, I think I'm ok," yet I spoke too soon.
"Oh, that's great; that means you're ready to hear another song."
OH, THAT'S IT!
Odr Pov
(Play On the Road Again)
"One, two, a one, two, three, four
On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is making music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been"
"Hey" someone says but I can't hear them from my awesome singing.
"Seein' things that I may never see again
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turning our way
And our way
Is on the road again
I just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world keep turning our way
And our way"
"HEY" I heard him that time but I want to finish my song so I just keep going.
"Is on the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road" "SHUT UP"
I stopped playing on my small wooden guitar and looked up at the merchant who's giving me a ride to Orario. "What you don't like my song? I thought I'd play something to pass the time."
The driver with a pulsing vein says, "You've been singing for 2 hours straight."
Have I? "Well, can you blame me? It's a beautiful day outside. The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and on days like this, I can't help but play a song." I start to pluck at the strings of my little wooden guitar.
"No, none of that, oh, so help me. I will stop this carriage and kick you out."
"Oh, come, Bob." "For the last time, it's Robert, not Bob." "You can't tell me the music doesn't help relieve the boredom of looking at a road for hours on end."
"Oh no, it did. The first day, I let you hitch a ride. It's been three days since then. I'm sick of the music. I just want a nice quiet day where I can just listen to the horses gallop, not your irritating voice."
"Bob," "Robert," "my songs are not that bad. How else are you supposed to relieve the boredom on these long journeys?
"By being absolutely quiet and using your imagination." He sighs but looks back on the road. "I wonder what kind of God I pissed off in my past life to end up with you."
"Oh, come on, don't say that; we're friends. These past 3 days have been special. I thought we had started to bond. And didn't I save your supplies when we met?"
"That is the only reason why I haven't kicked your sorry excuse of an ass out of my cart. I don't understand how I ever got into this situation that would lead me to you or you to me."
I quickly put down my guitar and clapped my hands. "Oh goodie, I been waiting for you to say that. Would you like to hear my story about how I ended up here? As in your cart?"
"Against my better judgment, but if it stops you from playing more music, go right ahead. I'm quite curious what you were doing beforehand."
"Ok, let me tell you the epic tale of the greatest journey ever to reach Orario."
"I'm already regretting it and contemplating driving my horses off a cliff. Just to do the world a favor by getting rid of you."
"Hush now; it's story time. While I regale you with this fantastic story, I'm going to reminisce by having a flashback."
"What the hell is a flas-"
Conveniently Placed Flashback (A week and 5 days ago)
It's been almost two days since I left Rudra's cabin. I think I'm almost out of the god-forsaken Wishe Forest. To think I would get lost, not literally a couple hours in. I shouldn't have taken that shortcut through the woods; I should have just gone around the perimeter. Would have saved the hassle of navigating through the dense forest.
I also shouldn't have taken directions from that squirrel. I knew I shouldn't have given him a lift after he fell from that tree. I just played along to pass the time. But if I ever see the squirrel again, it's so on.
Oh well, what's done is done, I guess. I take out my map, "Hmmmmm, after leaving the woods, I should be able to reach a settlement in a day. Probably restock supplies and get a better map instead of this one. I'm also running out of the jerky I made. "Poor, poor piglet, the boar. He never saw it coming," I say, while eating a piece of jerky I took out.
After walking probably for another hour or so, I finally breached the perimeter of the trees and saw the open fields. I pulled out the compass that was in my bag. "If I left the woods in the right direction and didn't get turned around, I should be able to reach the next town if I head northwest. In the direction of Orario. If anything, I can go east to the coastal body of water and hit the port towns."
Nodding to myself, I start walking again. Staying optimistic, I couldn't help but say "What possibly can go wrong". What I forgot at the moment, just from finally leaving the woods, was the most important rule of all. Which has future me probably facepalming and would want to smacked me about now.
NEVER EVER TEMP MURPHY'S LAW. Because he's a vindictive asshole who will get you when you least expect it.
A Week and 3 Days Ago
I can't help but frown about my current situation. 'Fuck you past me'. Why, you might ask? Well
"You keep your hands where I can see them and drop all your valuables. And we might let you live."
That's right I'm being mugged. From what I can see, there's a total of three bandits. And what I presumed was the leader a couple feet in front of me holding a sword up, the other two are a couple feet behind him. 'Idiots should surround me instead of staying in my eyesight.'
They don't give off the same pressure I felt from Rudra, so I don't think they have a Falna. I don't know how; I just have a feeling. It might be through living and surviving an actual adventurer that I picked up the keen ability to tell if someone has a falna.
"Hey asshole, did you hear what I said? Drop the shit or we start getting rough." Well, I know who my first victim is. I discreetly reach into my pockets, grabbing a handful of what's inside, and start to put my hands up.
"Okay, okay, it's kind of difficult if I have to keep my hands up; I can't remove my stuff."
"Fine, don't move," he says, coming closer.
'Wait' I watch him come closer. 'A little bit more'
'Now' I suddenly jumped back and pointed behind them and screamed all panic like, "OH MY GODS, MONSTER BEHIND YOU!" They get startled and turn around. 'Morons.'
Idiot 1: "Huh, there is nothing there."
Idiot 2: "Big Bro, I don't see anything."
Lead Idiot: "What the hell? There's no monster. You little shit" he says, turning around. "No more, Mr.Nic" I don't even let him finish. I quickly run and get into his personal space, throwing what was in my hand and screaming "pocket sand". Hitting his eyes
"Ahhhh, my eyes!" He drops his sword to rub them. Well, he's distracted. I quickly pick up his fallen sword and use the pummel to hit him in the throat. He falls to his knees, gasping. I casually start to walk past him but hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out.
While the other two are stunned watching their leader fall unconscious, I started to stretch my hands a bit, cracking my neck. I look at the two and try to remember the feeling Rudra had when expressing killing intent. I don't know if it worked or not, but when I looked at them, they flinched. They're still getting ready to fight.
"One down. Two to go. Who's next?" I say it without any humor, intimidating them.
Idiot 1 and idiot 2 look at each other. They don't know what to do. I quickly pull out my short dagger for my side and dual-wield the bandits leader short sword in my right hand and the dagger in my left. Since they're not going to do anything, I start running to them, not giving them the chance to get ready.
I quickly met the one that was closer on the right. I quickly threw my dagger at his head. He panics and tries to block it with his sword, barely making it. He lets out of breath of relief. Well, unlucky for him, I'm already there and swing my sword on top of his, making it vibrate from the impact. Stunning his arms. I quickly use my other hand to grab his wrist and twist it, making him release the sword. And then I Spartan kicked his chest, making him fall. He falls onto his back, now out of breath.
The last one is shaking uncontrollably while watching his friends fall one by one. I pick up the other guy's sword and casually start to walk to him. He tries his best to put his sword up in defiance. I stopped a couple feet away from him.
"I'll give you one chance to start running. Unless you want to join your friends on the ground."
He looks between me and the other guys. One was still struggling to catch his breath, and the other was unconscious. He quickly drops his sword as well and turns to run away. Abandoning his friends.
I snorted, dropping both stolen swords. I looked down. "Huh, how lucky, a rock!" I casually toss it up and down, getting a feel for it. I get into the classic pitcher pose, both hands around the rock, one leg slightly up. I begin reciting magic words just for this moment that I once read in a fanfic.
"O' child of earth, born from earth and thriving from earth, take flight from my hand and smite my enemy."
Lining up the shot, I release the stone with a picture-perfect baseball pitch. Casting the almighty spell.
"Rock Throw!" I casually cover the top of my eyes, blocking the sun, to watch it go. The rock travels past the short distance in an instant and hits the bandit squarely on the back of his head.
"OW!!!"
"Nice." I casually start to walk over. I find the last idiot clutching his head on the ground. When I got there, he looked up with tears in his eyes, but I didn't give him a second to say anything. I kick him across the face, knocking his ass out as well. "That's two." I start to drag him back by his foot, letting his head hit every rock there is.
Making it back to the second idiot who starts to get back to his feet. The minute I'm by his side, I just slug him across his face, sending him to Lala Land like his cohorts, "and then there was none."
I spent the 10 minutes stacking them. I get up, wiping my hands. "Now what?" Hmmmm, as a practitioner who believes in the saying "Return kindness with kindness, however, if they dare to throw a stone at you, make sure you launch a meteor back at them." Or whatever the saying goes. I probably remembered it wrong or butchered it. Whatever the sentiment, it still stands.
I started to crack my back. Since they thought they could rob me, I'll make sure to take everything they own, its only right. I spend the next couple minutes rummaging through their stuff, from the bags they had to their person to what else they had on their body.
Some knives, take.
Oh bags of Valis about 100,000, hello yes, take.
Two maps, definitely, take
... are those smoke bombs? What a bunch of idiots not using it! For sure, I took those and some matches they had.
After spending 30 minutes finding everything that I thought was valuable enough for me,I just stuffed it into my backpack. I get back up after looking through the last bag. I look at the leader and notice the fancy coat. It reminds me of that black coat of midnight that Kirito had from Sword Art Online. I nod to myself, "Yeah, I'm definitely stealing this sweet ass coat." Not caring where he got it, I strip it off of him and put it on. "Well, would you look at that, a perfect fit?" I start to check myself out.
I look at the unconscious idiot trio that I just tied up with the rope they had. Should I just wait for them to wake up or just leave? I pull out a coin and say, "Heads I wait for them to wake up; tails leave them as is." I flip the coin high. "Come on, tail. Give me an excuse to leave." I catch the coin in my right hand and flip it on top of my left. I lift my hand up and see... heads. "Omori Dammit" seems like I'm going to get some answers out of them anyway.
I wait 20 minutes. I take out a bottle of alcohol I found, and I start pouring it on their faces one by one. They start coughing and sputtering around.
Lead Idiot: "What happened?"
Idiot 2: "Hey, why are we tied up?"
Idiot 3: "God, my head hurts."
I cough into my fist to get their attention. They look over to me and I say, "Well, glad you guys can join me; I got a couple questions for you."
They look at each other and start simultaneously cursing me. Even hear the head idiot yelling, "Hey, thats my coat!"
I sigh and pick up one of the swords, shutting them up. "First off, my coat now. Now look, I want to do this the easy way, but if you guys won't cooperate, we're going to do it the fun way."
They stay silent for a couple seconds. However, Idiot 2 couldn't help but ask, "What's the fun way?" If the other two weren't tied up, I bet they would facepalm.
I can't help but smile, but to them, it looks like a smile belonging to a psychopath. "I'm glad you asked. I'm going to beat you guys up black and blue until you feel like cooperating. Doesn't that sound fun?"
The same idiot speaks again, "Um, not really?" Causing the other two to groan. Idiot 3 tries to kick the other one. "Shut up!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I think there was a misunderstanding when I said fun. I meant me. For you guys, not so much. Once again, last chance."
The head idiot told me, "Go screw yourself, Pig, we're not telling you shit." He even had the audacity to spit on my face.
I wipe it off. I start to crack my knuckles, walking menacingly to the idiot who spit on me. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this more than I should. I'm going to start hitting you now, and I don't know when I'm going to stop."
He just looks defiantly at me and says, "Go ahead, bastard, do your worst."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "Call me, sir."
I spent the next 10 minutes just punching his face repeatedly. I pulled back my fist for another punch, but I asked him, "Are you going to cooperate now or do we have to continue?"
He coughs and says weakly, "No."
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you. No, what?"
"No Sir. I'll be good."
After hearing what I want and having fun, I just let him go. His face has swollen black eyes and lips. It kind of reminds me of Naruto after taking a beating from Karui.
I look at the other two, who are shaking with fear. "Do you two want any of this, or are you going to cooperate?" They shake their heads rapidly.
"Sir, no, we're good. We will be glad to answer all your questions." Idiot 2 says quickly. You know this one isn't that bad.
"Yeah, yeah. There is no need for violence; I prefer the peaceful method." Number 3 adds on.
I roll my eyes at how easy it was to scare them into submitting. I look at them and say, 'Huh, remind me of the three stooges'
"You know what? I've been calling you guys idiots in my head. From now on, you're going to be what I call you." I point to the guy who I just beat up. "Your name will be Moe now." I turned to idiot 3, the chubby one, "Your Shemp," and I turned to the last one, who's probably the easiest to get along with since he was answering my questions. "Finally, you, Larry."
Larry couldn't help himself. "Um, sir, we actually have names."
"Oh, is the name I gave you not good enough for you?" I look pointedly at him.
He just gulps, "No, no, I like Larry; it's a good name. You know what? From now on, I'm Larry." I couldn't help but pat him on the head.
"I'm glad you like your new name, Larry," after I take a couple steps back to look at all of them. "Let's start with an easy one. Why the hell did you think it was a good idea to rob me?"
Larry and Shemp look nervous. They look at Moe, wondering what to say. Moe looks at me and sighs. "Fine, it's a long story."
"Well, we have time."
A little while later, Moe finished telling me the circumstances that led them to rob me.
"So to sum up, you three are brothers who recently lost your home to a fire and had nothing left. Since then, you guys have had trouble finding work. You got so desperate that you decided to rob passing travelers who were heading to town. Is that right?"
Shemp try to defend themselves. "Look, we get it. What we did was horrible, but we never actually killed anyone. We were just going to take your stuff and leave. And the nearest town is only an hour from here, so you would have been fine."
"Yet, look how that turned out. Here's a question for you: What happens if you were to Rob someone you shouldn't Rob like me? What happens if you idiots rob, let's say, an adventurer? You know those with those falnas. They would have destroyed you, maybe even killed. Snapped each of you like a twig."
Larry, oh, poor sweet Larry asked me, "Um, sir, are you by chance, an adventurer?" Probably thinking that I am once since I took them out easily.
Well, it's not like they're going to find out, and it's better to make sure they don't have any ideas. "Yes, I am in fact, an adventurer, actually level 2. You all are lucky that I held back a lot, so as not to kill you. I could tell right away that you guys don't have the Falna. Now what to do with you guys?" I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt because they literally suck as bandits with no skills whatsoever. Or I'm literally underestimating the training I receive from that sadistic old man.
Since they already told me the nearest town is literally an hour from here, I honestly don't have any more questions for them. I clap my hands to get their attention. "I'm going to give you guys the benefit of doubt and believe your shady story. I'm going to give you two choices: either drag all three of you into town and let the authorities handle you. Or I'm going to write down on a piece of paper that you guys have, of a friend of mine who lives 3 days out from here. If you're serious about redeeming yourselves and actually working to make a living, I know a kind and gentle old man who will probably be willing to help you." For the last one, I tried all my might not to laugh as I lied through my teeth. "I'll give you a letter to give him explaining your circumstances."
"Just like that?" Moe asked me skeptically.
"Big bro, why are you trying to annoy the guy who's literally giving us a chance to walk away?" Larry complains to him. Maybe I should have been more nice to Larry instead of kicking him in the chest.
"Be quiet." He snaps at poor Larry. I'm going to give him only that one. If he does it again, he gets another beating. He looks back at me and says, "How do you know we're actually going to stop robbing people and actually try to change? There's no way you're naive enough to just let us go."
I crouched down just to look him in the eye. "You're right; I don't know if you'll change. However, I can tell that you somewhat care for your two brothers behind. You want to make sure they are safe and alive. Hell, you didn't even have to ask me the question; you could have just said yes and just left. I wouldn't know. You just questioning it is enough for me to know that there's a part of you that wants to stop robbing. Or you're just a freaking idiot. Let me give you an incentive though, next time you rob someone, you might not be lucky; you might run into someone who's more ruthless and stronger than me and who doesn't know how to hold back, and that will be it for you. I want you to remember this moment: every time you think of stealing, there's always a chance you might fuck with the wrong guy." That shut him up.
I quickly take out a sheet of paper and a pencil I still have from Rudra. I begin to write a quick letter to explain the situation. I folded up and put my name on top, just the last name. I start to walk to Larry, carrying a sword.
He starts to shiver. "Sir, what are you doing? I thought you were letting us go." I raised the sword high, and he closed his eyes. "Please, gently, and make it quick." I slashed down, cutting the ropes. He opens his eyes, seeing his freedom.
"Look, Larry, out of the three of you, you're the one I can tolerate the most. So I'm going to give you this letter. You're going to carry it with you if you decide to give it to my acquaintance. That's only if you choose to salvage your lives and actually do something with them. I think you and Shemp can convince your brother to lead a better life."
He cautiously takes the letter. "Ok," I grab his hand, making him flitch. "I'm trusting you, Larry, don't read it. If I find out you read it, I will hunt you guys down if that's the last thing I do. Do you understand me?"
"YES SIR, I UNDERSTAND! You can trust me." I let him go.
"Good, I want you to wait 20 minutes before you free your brothers so you can keep your swords. I'm going to start heading to town. And just know, if I hear any words or descriptions of you three idiots still up to your shenanigans, I promise each and every one of you, I will shove your head up the other one ass and I'll let you decide who gets to be in the middle." That sends a shiver down all three of their spines, and they start shaking their heads. Promising me they're not going to do anything. I spent the next 5 minutes giving them directions to the old man's home.
20 minutes later, I left them. Well, if they follow through, it's Rudra's problem now. I start to chuckle. "I hope they try to rob him or be a smartass with him. He's going to destroy them. I hope he gets my letter. Or the next time I see him, he won't stop bitching."
Half an hour later, give or take, I finally make it into town. "Finally, I'm most definitely going to crash at the inn and take a bath." I located nearest inn and use some of the money I took from the three stooges to pay for a night? I get the key to my room. I drop my stuff in the corner and just crash onto the bed. After almost 4 days of walking, I'm so tired. I'm just going to close my eyes for a couple hours.
The Next Day 12 hours later
I groggly get up, trying to open my eyes. "How long was I asleep?" I start to stretch and get my coat and my stuff. There's no way I'm leaving my precious grimoire alone. I went downstairs and asked the innkeeper how long I had been out. He told me he hadn't seen me since yesterday for more than 12 hours. Damn, I must have been really exhausted.
I spend the rest of the day gathering supplies with the Stooge's valis, such as preservable travel food and water. While walking around, I noticed this neat wood carver with nice antiques. The thing that caught my eye was this small wooden ukulele guitar thing. It has a nice wooden texture with five strings. I know I shouldn't get it, but I just want it. I used to play when I was younger, and just seeing it brings back memories.
"How much for this?" I point to the wooden guitar.
"10,000 Valis," a bald old man, probably the owner, told me.
"10,000—that's too much. I'll give you 5,000." Trying to haggle the price; I might have money or valis now, but I'm still cheap and want to save as much as I can.
"I took painstaking time to carve this out and string it up; it is not worth 5,000. I lower it 9,500"
"6,000"
"8,500"
"6,500"
"Enough, how about this, since you wanted it so badly? If you can play me a nice tune, I'll give it to you for 7,500. Deal?"
"If I can play something you actually like, can I have it for 7,000?"
"Fine, let's see what you got," he hands me the guitar. I start to pluck the strings, thinking of what to play. I begin to reminisce about when I used to play for the kids back home. And at the moment, I remember a particular memory of a song that they used to like.
Play Over the Rainbow
Song by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
I start playing the strings, producing a nice melody. I know I said I would just play him a tune. But as I get lost in the music, I can't help but start to sing.
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby, oh
I didn't notice, but a crowd started to gather around. Men, women, children, and the elderly all come to hear where the sound is coming from. They'll come because they heard something pleasant and got curious. I didn't even notice because I had my eye closed and tried to remember a picture from a long time long ago.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dream of
Dreams really do come true-ooh-ooh
Someday I'll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops that's where
You'll find me, oh
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dream that you dare to
Oh why, oh why can't I? I
Someday I'll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top that's where you'll find me
I'm almost at the end. If I were to open my eyes, I would see families shedding tears. Some nod their heads along to the rhythm. Others are just holding their loved ones close.
Oh, somewhere over the rainbow way up high
And the dream that you dare to
Why, oh why can't I? I
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ah-ah-eh-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
I played the last note of the guitar, and I finally opened my eyes, and I got startled to see a crowd. "Um, hi." They all start clapping and praising me. Asking for another song. I just awkwardly scratched the back of my head.
"Okay, all of you get lost. I'm trying to run a business here, scram." The woodcarver waves away from the people. They start to complain; they want to hear another song, but the old man isn't having it. He takes up a broom, saying that if they don't leave, he's going to start whacking and swinging. A lot of the people start grumbling, but it seems like they're used to the old man.
'Geez, what is with the old people in this world? Why are they so violent?' I watched him go back to the counter and pick up the guitar that I had put back down after he got up. "Here," he says. I take out my valis. He puts up a hand and says, "No need. After what you just did, I think this would be better off with you. Even if you were a bit off-tune, you showed me something wonderful."
I look at him with a frown, but regardless of what he said, I left exactly 7,000 on the table and take the guitar. " I'm sorry, sir, but I'm going to follow through on what we agreed on. I know you value your work, and I want to show you that I do too. It reminds me of home, you know, so I'm grateful. If I ever have the time and come back to this town, maybe I'll buy something else or play you another song. See you around." As I start to walk you away, I can faintly hear him say, "cheeky brat."
I decided to spend another day in town before I headed off. I acquired a smaller map that shows a direct route from here to Orario.
The next day, I set off. I pull out the guitar that I strapped to the side of my bag. I start randomly playing notes while I walk. "At least I won't be bored." I start to hum while strumming along.
3 Days Ago
For the next week, nothing actually eventful happened. I stopped in two more towns to restock my supplies and spend a day resting.
"If I don't hitch a ride soon, it's probably going to take me another week to get there. I knew I shouldn't have goofed around in the towns I stopped by."
I can't help but cradle my head and groan into it. But I snapped my head up when I started to hear a man yelling.
"BACK YOU FURRED MENACES. I SAID, "BACK." It seems like someone's in trouble. I pick up the pace to see what the issue is. In a couple seconds, I saw the problem. I saw a cart overturned and boxes scattered about. It looks like one of those carts pulled by horses. However, that's not the main problem.
I tried to assess the situation as quickly as possible. I see a man waving a spear amateurishly along, trying to wave off three, from what I can tell Kobold. 'Well shit'. It seems like he's trapped with his back to the cart, with the monster quickly approaching.
'Well, it's not Gobta, but for the first monster I slay, they will do; however, I got to be smart about this. Good thing they haven't noticed me.' I quickly make up a plan, not even thinking about running away.
I drop my bag, hoping it will be fine. I need all the freedom I can get. I quickly pulled out a knive I took from the Stooges. I aim for the middle Kobold. Once again, I recited a spell slightly modified in my head to help me focus.
'O' child of metal, born from earth and forged from earth, take flight from my hand and pierce my enemy.'
'Knife throw' after it leaves my hand, I start running, pulling out the iron sword Rudra gave me. There is no time to waste.
I pay attention to both the knife and the trio of kobolds. I think they start to hear the noise. The middle one starts to turn around, but it's already too late. The knife sinks straight into its forehead, sending it down to the ground.
It startled the other two, who wondered what happened to their comrade. I'm almost there, but I yelled to the guy, "What the hell are you waiting for? Stab one of them while they're distracted." He gets surprised by my voice and fumbles with the spear. 'Goddammit'
No matter, I'm quickly there while the kobolds finally regain their wits; I was already there. Not stopping for a second, I use my speed that I built up to body check, with the one on the right taking him and me to the ground.
The one that was on the left tries to get me, but finally the guy contributes, whacking the shaft of his spear across the monster dog's face, stunning it momentarily. Not thinking for a second and trusting my temporary alley. I quickly pull out my dagger and start to stab multiple times at the face of the kobold I'm sitting on top of. It tries to fight back by scratching at me, landing some shallow cuts on my arm. However, after the third stab wound to the face, it stops moving. I leave my dagger buried inside, just in case. 'Lesson 5: Make sure your opponent is down and won't be getting back up'
"HELP!!!," snapping my head to the side. I see the spearman trapped on the floor, raising the spear up as a makes shift shield, trying to block the Kobolt from ripping his face off. It's mouth-biting onto the spear's shaft, trying to snap it in half. 'probably took offense to the blow to the head'
I quickly get off the dead kobold and rush over. Using both hands on my sword, I quickly approach it from the back and swing like I'm chopping wood, aiming for its neck. While it's currently distracted and in a compromised position.
My sword swings down, entering the back of its neck; however, instead of going all the way through and lobbying its head off like I imagined, it instead stops halfway. Well, it got the job done, stopping its struggle with the spearman. "Huh, not what I wanted. However, just in case," pulling the sword out of its neck with a little effort. Just to make sure it's dead as well, I swing the sword again in the same place, this time taking its head off. The body falls to the floor, but the head stays attached to the spear with his teeth clenched onto it. The man I just saved quickly let's go of the spear, and started to crawl away.
After killing the third one, I looked around to make sure there were no more. While keeping my eye on the man, who is currently shaking, I walk back to my bag, grabbing it. I walk right back, drop it next to him, and take out a roll of bandages that I got from town. I wrap them around my scratched arms, stopping the bleeding.
I look down at the man who's probably coming to terms with his near death. I give him a couple minutes to get it together. I spent the next 20 minutes walking over to each kobold. Retrieving my weapons and playing amateur surgeon by ripping out the magic stones located in their chests. I'm going to be honest; if someone was watching, they would see me mutilate their corpses since I had no idea what I was doing. Retrieving the stones from each and pocketing them, I watched morbidly how they puffed up and disappeared. "Neat"
I walked back to the guy who was cradling his head. I bent down to look him in the eye, pulled back my hand, and slapped him across the face, stunning him. He looks back at me, rubbing his cheek. "What the hell? What was that for?"
"Look, you need to get your shit together. If you have a mental breakdown, who knows what else may come along? We got so lucky that I had the element of surprise, or it may have turned out differently. So put your big boy pants on and get it together."
He frowns, 'Good, better than him panicking'. He pushed me away a bit and tried to get up. I stand up easily and offer him a hand. He looks at it, still frowning, probably from the slap. Reluctantly, he grabs my hand, and I pull him up. After letting him go, I started to walk back to my stuff, but I heard him question me. "It didn't seem like you had any trouble with them. In fact, you seem to make it look easy."
"First off, like I said before, I only got them because I surprised them, and you helped with distracting one of them. Do remember, though, that they were only surface monsters, nowhere near as strong as the actual dungeon ones. If we were actually surrounded by those, oh, I think we would be walking away with more than light injuries." 'Especially since I still don't have a Falna.'
He just sighs and turns to his cart that's on its side. Putting my backpack back on and putting my weapons away, I walk right by his side and also look at it. I turn to my left, offering my right hand, "Names Friggs," and introducing myself. 'I just shared a wonderful bonding moment of almost dying. The polite thing to do is atleast learn his name.'
He looks down at my hand once again but just shakes his head, grabbing it with his right. "Robert." After shaking twice, we both let go and just looked back at the cart.
After a couple minutes, I began speaking since it was getting awkward: "So, Bob, I can see the wheels aren't damaged. Do you need help turning it back?" I offered since there's no point in just standing around.
He's eye twitches. "I said my name was Robert." Shaking his head helplessly, he raised one hand and pointed to the cart. "If it's not too much trouble."
So we both spent the next half an hour trying to level it, getting it back on four wheels. While we were doing that, I asked him a couple questions. Such as what happened to get his cart like this, and why the hell was he traveling alone?
Apparently, he was actually traveling with other people he had hired to protect his cart. However, while traveling, they were passing by when suddenly a group of kobolds appeared. Startling the horses, making them panic, causing the cart to overturn. Expecting his guards to actually do their jobs and protect him. In fact, they instead ran away screaming, saying they were only hired to deal with people, not monsters.
He told me he was left speechless, screaming that they were cowards. But he didn't have time to worry about that, seeing as the Kobold were approaching quickly. One of the guards he hired dropped his spears on the floor. He quickly picked it up and brandished them as a last attempt to scare the monster off. And the rest is history.
After we get done fixing the cart, I turn to him and ask, "Now what?"
"Now? I'd be most grateful if you could help me get my two horses back; they ran off that way." He starts running, and I probably see two things running in circles in an open field.
I can't help but sigh, contemplating just leaving. I shake my head, cursing being a nice person. I start to jog after him, following his lead and trying to catch the horses. "What a day."
Two hours of horse rangling later
"So what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" I hear Robert ask me as he rings the horses back into their harnesses.
After offering to help load his cart while he takes care of the horses, I work to put back the supplies that fell off. After jumping off to get another box, I replied back to his question, "I'm actually headed to Orario, in fact. I have been traveling for almost 2 weeks on foot. I got probably a little while more to get there."
"Oh, trying to be an adventurer? A lot of people nowadays are doing that."
"Yeah, something like that, I guess," I say while finishing loading everything.
Robert claps his hands after securing the horses back on the cart. He steps back and just looks at his cart for a couple seconds. He turns to me, then back to the cart, and then back to me. "You know I'm actually headed there. To Orario, I mean, I'm a merchant, if you couldn't tell," he gestures to his carts filled with boxes and bags. "I'm actually traveling back and forth to deliver exported goods. After all you did, to help me out, the least I can do is offer you a lift."
I look surprised. How lucky. "Are you sure?"
He waves me off. "Yeah, again, it's the least I can do. And you seem strong; it'll be like having a bodyguard. After the last people I hired abandoned me, I could do with some protection. Also, it would be nice to have some company; it gets lonely traveling back and forth." He gets in the driver's seat and pulls on the reins. He looks to me and says, "Well, what are you waiting for? Get into the back. I don't have all day."
I can't help but give him a grateful smile. "I'm coming. I'm coming."
I hop inside the wagon and take a seat. "Hey, do you mind if I play something while we hit the road?"
Robert shrugs his shoulders while grabbing the reins tied to the horses. "Knock yourself out. I actually like music and wouldn't mind hearing a song or two." He will soon regret saying that.
"Sweet, I know the perfect song. It's called 'On the Road Again." I start strumming the strings, and I open my mouth to sing one, if not countless, songs for the next couple days.
Present
"That's my story. You know the rest." I look up at the sky and see that the sun's going down. "Man, it seems like I was talking for a couple hours."
"You have; honestly, it wasn't a bad story. I mean, it was interesting how you dealt with the bandits and were kind enough to let them go. I finally learned where you got that god-forsaken shitty guitar from."
"This shitty guitar, as you call it, is a work of art. Do you not see the details and how much work went into making this? I don't know how he was able to carve it so well to produce such nice sounds."
"Well, whatever, after this, I can go a long while without hearing any more music. By the way, we're almost there. After we pass this hill, you'll probably be able to see the walls of Orario.
"What where?" I put my stuff down and climbed all the way to the front of the cart, leaning over the edge to the rider's seat and putting my hands on Bob's shoulders to get a better view.
"Hey careful!!!" However, I just ignore him. We're almost at the edge. I anxiously wait while the horses pull us around. After we get by, I get a glimpse, even if it's far away. I can make out the giant walls that surround the city. I can even see the tower of Babel.
I can't help but smile and be excited. It's right there, just waiting for me. Letting go of Bob's shoulders. I stand up straight, putting one foot on the edge of the cart and pointing one finger ahead. "Let's go, Bob. Go faster. Orario awaits us."
"For the last time, It's Robert, and will you sit your ass down before you fall off? Orario isn't going anywhere." He pauses, realizing something. "You know what? Why don't you stand even higher? Hell, why don't you stand right by the edge?" He says probably hoping I'll fall off now. Jerk.
Even he can't ruin my mood. In an hour or two, I'll set foot in the city, where I'll strive to reach my goals. The beginning of my adventure
'Orario, Odr Friggs has Arrived.' I thought to myself. Finally settling down and sitting back in my seat, I wrapped my hands behind my head and leaned against the side of the cart to look at the sky.
"Hey Bob, can you wake me up when we get there?" I get a half-hearted reply of sure whatever. I close my eyes to rest. While I listen to the gentle sound of the wind and the horses, I slowly drifted off to sleep.
'I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.' Was the last thing I had on my mind before I was out like a light.
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? Pov
High above on the tallest tower in the world, right on top of the most dangerous place. We close in on the near top, in one of the windows. We can clearly see someone leaning against the window. Drinking a glass of wine.
Looking out at the sunset longingly.
"Oh Odr, my love, Where are you? I longed for you so much." They say it emotionally, with a sad look in their eyes.
However, the tone of voice starts to get a little possessive. "I can't wait to find you. I will shower you with all my love, my dear sweet Odr. Only I, alone, am enough for you and no one else. Just as no one else will be enough for me except you. I'll make sure to get rid of any and all obstacles that stand in our way of love." They say this while crushing the glass in their hands and spilling the contents.
After watching the liquid flow from their hands with no emotion in their eyes, they let out a sign. Looking out into the sky one more time.
Once again, their voice is soft, endearing, lovingly even. However, hidden underneath it all, is an unquenchable, burning madness for love.
"So please, my love, don't keep me waiting."
Unknowingly sending a chill down the spine of someone whose name happens to be the same as the person they really desire most in the world. Who in fact is heading their way. Now the question is, how much longer until they meet?
End Prologue
A/n
(About 8000 Words, New Best)
Well, there you go. The prologue is over. The Journey from Rudra cabin to Orario, from bandits to monsters all wrapped up in a conveniently placed flashback.
The next volume takes place in Orario, and Odr searches for a familia. Don't worry, it won't be long.
Did any of you guys enjoy the songs, though? Like the small cooking segment in the last chapter. Should I add more like them to the story?
Also, I dropped a few hints about our MC's past. I wonder if anyone picks up on it.
And the last bit: I wonder who the mystery voice was. (Noted the sarcasm.) You all get three guesses; the first two don't count. I would be really disappointed if you got it wrong. Before any one ask they won't meet face to face for awhile. Also, they don't know anything about our MC. So let's see how long Odr can avoid them.
So Stay Tuned. My Dear Readers
Side Note
I'm going to take a break on writing for a bit, so no chapter next week. It's because I have a big project for work to do.
Also I'll I'm going to rewatch the series. So I can get a better understanding of all the characters personalities so I can write them better.
I Hope you guys can wait patiently. I wanted to give you all a heads up so you all don't think I abandoned the story.
