When I woke up the next morning, I noticed that Woody was not there, carving something as usual. I stood up, washed my face and went outside. It was eerily quiet. I took a stroll around the village but couldn't find anyone. It was as if the whole population of the village evaporated. I walked and walked, until I arrived at the central part of the village.
I saw that all the people were gathered there and waiting for something. I was bewildered and asked out loud "What is going on?". The people around the central plaza, turned towards me and silence filled the air. Trek came out of the crowd to the front and smiled. He said "We were waiting for you. We all gathered here, to welcome back my grandson. Come, let us celebrate!".
This felt weird. 'No one told me about that. What if, I just stayed in the hut till afternoon, would they just sit here? Waiting like this? Why wouldn't Woody wait for me and tell me?' I though. I took a few steps forward and the people started smiling and saying "Welcome back" or something equivalent.
I joined the group and saw tables that surrounded the Village Stone. On it was food, drinks and whatnot. I asked "Why didn't you guys tell me?". Trek said "We wanted for it to be a surprise of sorts. Come join us, we will celebrate today like never!". I thought 'He seems quite enthusiastic. These people are a bit weird but so far, my instincts are not kicking in. I guess it should be fine'.
I sat down next to Trek, while other people also found their own spots. Trek said "Here. A toast, for the return of my grandson!" and all cheered. I didn't know how to behave myself really. I didn't know these people and although they seemed to be my family, they were also strangers. The questions from the previous day, resurfaced and I was lost in my thoughts.
Then I heard "Nex, tell us more about your adventure up to here!". It was the voice of Ricky. He acted differently than before, as if looking at an older brother. It was a weird feeling and besides, I didn't know where to start. 'Should I tell them about everything? or just some major points? I don't know' I thought. Trek saw my expression and said "You don't have to lay out all the things you did past those years. Just give us some interesting things you saw and experienced". I nodded my head and began.
"So, I learned about crafting since age of 16, it was after my parents passed away. I wasn't doing badly and I liked what I did. Couple of years later, I fell in love with a woman". At that point I could hear some "Oooooh" sounds made by older people as well as Trek. I continued "But, she just wanted to use me. She stole the heirloom that my parents left for me and ran away. I was.." then Trek interrupted me "What heirloom did you lose?".
I said "The sword that father and mother left for me. They said to keep it safe but I was young and stupid. I wanted to impress a girl and gave it to her...". "BOOOM!" the table we were sitting at broke into pieces. Trek was furious, he said "Did you get that sword back?". I shook my head and said "No. I never found her and I never searched either. It was just a sword".
Some people started to hold Trek down while his anger rose even more. The atmosphere changed by a 180 degrees. People had hostile looks on their faces, when they looked at me and my instincts were telling me to run. I stood up and distanced myself from the group. Trek was mad already due to my words and said "You bastard! A filthy spawn of that Raz and to think my daughter ran away with that filth!".
'I knew something was wrong with these people. It seems this really is my family but that is not necessarily a good thing. No wonder we lived so far away. My parents ran away from here but why did he get so pissed about that sword?' I thought. I had no answer to that question but I knew, I couldn't stay here any longer. My instincts were telling me to run!
I backed away more and more while Trek still spouted angry comments. "You good for nothing filth. You should be skinned alive! Boiled in water and then chopped into pieces!". The people seemed to realise that I was getting further and further away, so without waiting any longer, I sprinted towards the exit.
"Catch that bastard!", "Don't let him get away!", "He has be sacrificed anyway". When I heard the last comment, I was terrified. 'What the fuck did they want to do to me? Sacrifice? To what? These people are lunatics, no wonder mother and father left this place and went far away!' I thought and ran at my full speed.
There were arrows, spears and whatnot flying at me. I calculated their behaviours and used the Natural Path skill to the maximum, in order to run and avoid the attacks. I couldn't stay there, I had to get out of there and into the forest. The forest would at least, provide some cover and means of escape!
I ran past the entrance and I felt that something was wrong. My instincts were telling me that something was coming from behind, fast! I jumped to the left. "Screech!". What passed me, was an arrow that was going so fast, it was making screeching sound as it flew.
'This is bad. Woody's skills are on par with that sword woman. I wouldn't be surprised, if she was one of them as well' I thought and ran as fast as I could, while utilising the Natural Path skill. When I was in the forest, the people that could attack me, were those that had ranged weapons but fortunately, they didn't excell at speed. I was worried that someone who did, would chase me but no one was faster than me from that group. Woody was the most terrifying opponent, his archery skills were beyond those of that Eterian I met and she lived for over 100 years.
There were currently 4 people chasing me, including Woody. All of them had bows but the archery skills of the other 3 people, were much worse compared to those of Woody. I decided to sacrifice some of my daggers and try to eliminate the 3 weaker opponents. With my daggers ready, I released two of them, while utilising the Natural Path skill. The daggers were on target, until two arrows knocked them off the course.
'That bastard is just too good with that bow' I thought and then, I heard Woody shouting "Fall back guys! He has the means to kill you with one dagger! I will chase him alone!". The others didn't seem to disagree and fell back. I was relieved but at the same time shocked. 'This guy can judge my skill very well and not only that, he believes that he can catch me by himself. This is bad' I thought.
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