"Are you sure you want to leave now?" The elderly man asked. "You could wait here till the morning"
They've reached the next town earlier than expected and Bell had informed the old man that he will will be moving on.
"I want to walk to the next town before nightfalls, then find a carriage to the capital, or as far as my money can reach"
"I won't stop you, but you should consider your sister" The man said, pointing at Ryu who just stood there motionlessly. "She can't see and you'll be putting her in more danger by walking through the forest!"
Bell paused, he was thinking going to the capital so much that he had forgotten about Ryu's condition. And apart from that, they were also possiblity of them being attacked by bandits.
"Don't worry about me big brother, I can still walk" Ryu held her brother's hand and gently pulled him.
"Are you sure?" Bell asked and held her hand tighter.
"Hmm" Ryu nodded.
Ryu always had an expressionless look on her face that made it impossible to read, so Bell couldn't tell if she wanted to encourage him or she was trying not to be a burden to him.
"Okay then, let..."
"Wait boy" the old man stopped Bell and gave him a piece of paper. Bell opened it and saw a roughly drawn map of the state. "It's a map of Hilda, the line shows the way to the capital, Maria" He pointed at a spot on the map. "We're here"
"Thank you, I'll remember all that you did for me" Bell said and held his sister arm.
"No need kid, just make sure you stay on the path. Get going if you want to get there early!"
"Sure. Thanks for everything" Bell waved and continued walking to the next town.
.
.
.
It would take about a few hours to get there, or at least before dark and he could stay at an inn till the next day. But, the path between the town and the next is a huge forest, and he jas heard about people being attack by monsters. If they get attacked, he won't be able to protect himself, let alone Ryu.
'Don't worry about it, it's going to be fine' at least that was what he told himself.
He could hire an adventurer to escort them but that will cost them a lot and he didn't have anything to coin to spare. Not to talk about the fact that the money was clearly not enough to fed them and find a place to stay even he manage to get to the capital, maybe he shouldn't have gave his mother eight thousand.
But he knew he did the right thing, he was not sure if he'll be able to earn immediately he reach the capital, so it was better if she had enough till he's able to settle down.
He kept pondering on his thoughts, unknowingly missing a turn and walking into the forest, Ryu on the other hand couldn't see, so she blindly followed Bell deeper into the forest.
They walked for a while before Ryu suddenly stopped walking, and pulled Bell back, almost making him fall to the ground.
"Big brother, someone is watching us" Ryu said, her voice was a little bit higher than a whisper.
"Huh?" Bell turned to look at his surroundings. 'WE ARE LOST!'
He didn't realize when they miss a turn, he quickly tried to retract his step but his sister wouldn't move from the spot she was standing.
"Come on, Ryu" Bell said and tried to pull her but she was surprisingly stronger than him.
"Someone is watching us" She repeated.
Bell looked around but couldn't see anything, to him everything looked normal.
"I don't see anyone around. You're just imagining things"
"No, someone is really watching us. From there"
Ryu informed and pointed to somewhere behind him. Bell turned to look at what she was making a fuss about when a monster suddenly slashed his cheek with a dagger.
Bell fell to the ground from shock and began to tremble as he held his cheek and felt blood slowly flowing out of the injury
"Big brother, what is it!?"
Ryu asked but Bell didn't answer, he was too shock to speak.
'Monsters are suppose to be in a dungeon, so what the hell is a monster doing here?!'
The monster was about four feet tall with green skin and few pieces of rags for clothing. A goblin!!!.
"Big brother!?" Ryu called to him and held his shirt. "Please, tell me what is going on!"
Bell quickly recovered from his shock, he quickly stood up and used his body as a shield for Ryu while she held tightly to his shirt.
"I... It's a monster, but don't freak out"
Fortunately, he had carried the hatchet the old man had gave to him. He gently pulled out the hatchet and pointed it at the goblin who just growled at him as saliva drops out of it's mouth.
Ryu was unexpectedly calm, or so he had thought. Her expressionless face didn't give off anything but her hands were shaking as she tightly held her brother's shirt.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you" Bell assured her. "I want you to do something for me"
"What... Is it?"
"Just stay still, no matter what, don't move. Even if you get scared don't try to run just stand still, that way I could easily protect you. Do you understand?"
Ryu nodded continuously, trying to hide her fear.
Bell turned to the goblin who just stood there like it was waiting for them to finish with their final moments.
It's just a goblin, he could do it. He has fought a lot of goblin in video games, their attacks are mostly based on speed.
"Okay monster, let's see what you've got" Bell said trying to sound confident.
"There are more!" Ryu said and two more goblin suddenly jumped out from the bush there were hiding.
'There are more!'
The other two wore the same clothing as the first one, each one was armed with clubs but the third one wore a leather chestplate.
They all stood surrounding Bell and Ryu, growling at each other as if they were planning something or decided who is going to kill them.
"Just stay still" Bell reminded Ryu and she nodded.
The first goblin rushed at him with it's dagger.
**CLASH!!!**
**CLANK!!!**
Bell was able to block the attack with the hatchet but it broke.
'How strong are this things!'
Due to the metal braking, the goblin lost it's momentum and slipped forward. Bell quickly turned to the wooden handle and strike it against it's stomach, causing it to cough blood and dropping it's dagger, Bell raised the handle above his head and slammed it on the goblin head and it fell on the ground and died instantly.