30 Who is Yed?
The instant Gulfram gave the orders, every man sprang into action without hesitation. There were no complaints, only the faint sounds of acknowledgment and slight reactions.
I noticed that the miners accompanying Roslik and Gulfram swiftly exited the alleyway and returned with a horse-drawn wagon a few dozen minutes later. The wagon was complete with a driver whom I had never met before.
Meanwhile, I stood on the sidelines with my back against the wall, observing their process of loading the two bodies onto the cart with utmost silence and care.
Little Fish also stood beside me, and though I could sense he was attempting to offer comfort by initiating small talk, his words, however, fell on deaf ears as my mind wandered elsewhere. I didn't even hear almost half of what he said.
"Sorry, can you repeat?" I ask, my face flushed with embarrassment and disappointment directed to myself.
Little Fish sighed, but before he could open his mouth to speak, he suddenly turned his head towards something and appeared to point a finger at it.
Huh?
Following the direction of his pointed finger, my eyes fell upon Arde and a couple of others who appeared to be in the process of covering the bodies with cloth and anything else they could find to conceal them.
As everything seemed to be finally completed, I observed Gulfram exchange a few words with the wagon's driver, and in an instant, the wagon departed, the creaking of its wooden wheels audible until the sound gradually faded into the near distance.
I then hurriedly approached Gulfram and abruptly asked the question that had been on my mind for a while.
"Where you take them?" I inquired, making my best effort to speak fluently in Artanian as much as possible.
"A place everybody doesn't know." He plainly responded.
Despite my desire to complain about his lack of a straightforward answer, I eventually decided against it.
Swallowing a lump in my throat, I hesitatingly offered up a question in response to his words, "You know them?"
His eyes gleamed in the moonlight above for a few moments before he abruptly shifted his gaze toward me. With a sigh, he eventually lowered his gaze, a sad expression in his face.
"Yes, I do," he replied, "Both of them were from Yed's group. I met them when they were first sent here."
I raise my eyebrows at this, "Yed's group?" I asked, curiosity welling up inside of me.
He nodded his head at this, "Aye, similar to yours, but instead of Arde, their overseer is a man named Yed."
"N-No, you misunderstand," I scratch my head in frustration, "Of course I know how groups... and overseers work, what I mean is..." I suddenly pause, searching for the next right words in my limited Artanian vocabulary.
"Who are them and Yed, and the, uh... what he will do if he discover this." I finally answered, gesturing towards the blood stains on the ground and the nearby wall.
At this point, the miners Gulfram and Roslik brought with them are diligently working to remove every trace of bloodstains, ensuring that not a single odor or smell lingers. A few miners from our group are also lending a hand in the effort.
"Yed was a former outlaw," Gulfram began, his arms crossed, a finger resting on his chin as he recollected the details. "He's infamous for terrorizing the countryside of Runderdale. Rumors even claim he once beheaded an entire village just because they fell behind on their payments. He and his group arrived here a few years ago after being captured in a fierce but brief battle, if my memory serves me correctly... But one thing I'm certain about is that the curly-haired one that you killed was his brother."
My heart sank at this.
His brother? Does that mean I'll have to live my life here in this quarry alongside someone who holds a grudge against me?
The thought of constantly having to watch my back, no matter the time or day, filled me with fear once again.
But, they won't harm me or seek revenge, as long as they don't find out... right?
Minutes ticked away, and time seemed to blur as we diligently cleaned up the entire area. Once the task was complete, Gulfram and Roslik guided us to the location where the bodies of the two men I had killed were sent for disposal.
My eyes widened in slight surprise as I found myself standing in front of the familiar building where I had first met Roslik. It was the storage building where the pickaxes in the mining area were kept for safekeeping.
"Don't worry, this place strictly falls under my jurisdiction." Roslik gave me a wink and a small smile before guiding us to the rear of the building. I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry, and simply nodded in silence, me and my group trailing behind him.
We arrived at an open space and noticed that the wagon used to transport the two bodies was parked there, but there were no horses in sight, and the wagon's driver was nowhere to be found.
Before I could utter a reaction, Roslik began ordering everyone, but not including me, to start digging and unloading the bodies, his finger also pointed towards a rack containing several rusted shovels.
Without hesitation, everyone leaped into action. More than half seized the shovels and began digging, while the remainder removed the cloths and items used to conceal the bodies before unloading them from the wagon.
Minutes passed, and when the bodies were finally unloaded, the men who had brought them down from the wagon eventually joined the others in digging the hole.
The purpose of the hole they were digging was unmistakable: it would serve as a grave for those two deceased individuals. Although I harbored intense rage and wished for their bodies to be mutilated and dismembered, I recognized the necessity of what had to be done, and I understood it well.
It is even surprising that I still hold so much anger towards two already dead men.
As I watched the men continue to dig tirelessly, my gaze drifted toward Gulfram, who appeared lost in thought. In that moment, a thought suddenly crossed my mind, prompting me to approach him abruptly.
"You done this before?" I ask, standing beside him.
He appeared surprised by my sudden presence and question, causing him to gaze at me for a few moments before eventually sighing and shaking his head.
"If not, then we would probably still be thinking on what we're going to do about the mess you made." he said, scratching his beard.
His words slightly caught me off guard.
"Mess I made?" I made a fake laugh, pointing my finger towards the two bodies lying on the ground, "You think I wanted this?!" I raise my voice, causing some of the miners to turn towards our direction.
At this point, I could feel the flames of anger beginning to stir within me.
Who does this old man think he is? Does he believe he knows everything just because he's the most senior one here?
"I know what you're thinking," he suddenly said, turning his entire body to face me. Suddenly, the air around him felt different, as if I were facing an entirely different person, not Gulfram.
Despite my instincts screaming at me to take a step back, I simply wiped the sweat forming on my face and remained in my place, swallowing the lump that had now once again formed in my throat.
"This could have ended differently," he continued with a hiss, his voice now carrying a tone of disappointment. "We might have already mediated the fight that took place between you and those two men. We could have ensured it wouldn't happen again. We wouldn't have to fear for our lives while walking in the middle of the night or be forced into hiding due to unsettled grudges."
"What-" Before I could finish my words, he suddenly interrupted me.
"All because you wanted to taste blood! Just like those foolish young men who are always the first to join an army when war breaks out!" Gulfram yelled, the disappointment in his voice now transformed into anger.
"Those men tried to fucking force themselves on me!" I found myself surprisingly yelling back at him, though I said the words in English. Fortunately, the difference in language didn't hinder Gulfram a bit from communicating back with me.
"In all my life," Gulfram began, his words spoken in Artanian, "I've witnessed death countless of times, and to be honest, I'm already sick of it."
I attempted to offer a retort, but no words seemed to escape my mouth.
"I despise having to witness people take lives and then living with the weight of that guilt and burden for the rest of their days," he continued. "You know what? damn the mediating, you could have knocked those two out, and I would have delivered the judgment myself." By now, Gulfram had a firm grip on both of my shoulders.
Just what the fuck is going on with him?!
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CHAPTER DONE!!
