When Brax woke up, it was just beginning to dawn. He got up and gathered all his things - clothes, bags, armor. He quietly crept out of the house. He hoped he hadn't woken Lina or her mother.
He put his things down a little way from the door and went to get the saddle, which he had put with his things. Then he led Burinsfel out of the stable. With a simple slap, he released him so he could run around a bit and graze on the fresh grass.
The sun covered the clearing where the modest dwelling stood with its first rays. They warmed Brax's face. The red-tinged sun began to peek out from behind the nearby mountains. It was a beautiful sight. And such little things could please.
He went to the forest to the lake. He undressed and jumped into the water. There was no better early awakening than this. He just swam peacefully for a while, but soon returned to the shore.
Only then did he realize that his hand was still bandaged. He unwound it and stared at his hand in amazement. The wound was almost gone. Only reddish spots remained where Adar's teeth had originally bitten. Lorina was truly an amazing healer. For a moment he wondered if the woman had any magical powers. He had seen wounds that healed quickly before, but this was more than that. His gaze fell on the long, ugly scar on his shoulder. If only he had known it then, the scar might not have been there at all.
As soon as he had dried off, he got dressed and did a quick face wash. He was wide awake and refreshed. So he returned to the house. However, if he intended to chase the bandits today, he had to make sure that the wound on his forearm did not open again. So he put on his gear and grabbed his hammer - the Hammer of Doom, that's what the other mercenaries called his weapon.
He had to smile a little when he remembered his fallen friends. What would they think of Lina?
Jean, the joker, would tease Brax about his horns growing and call him, 'you old goat,' Balcar - called the Hand of Death, would tell him that women only hinder true warriors. Lintiel, the assassin with two long daggers, would wink and smile at him conspiratorially. Senqal, the seducer, would either start giving him advice or try to win her over himself.
If only one of them had stayed alive, then he wouldn't be so bitter and maybe he would understand Lina's constant hints.
But he was getting carried away - it was time for training. He grabbed the hammer with both hands and took a fighting stance. He only had to close his eyes for a moment and he was no longer standing on a peaceful clearing, but in the middle of a raging battle. Around him, mercenaries and soldiers fought with hordes of goblins, ogres, undead, and a host of other monsters. His hands gripped his hammer tightly and swung. With a single blow, he knocked an orc to the ground, spun around, and crushed the shoulder of another.
He shifted from stance to stance, attacking and hiding. He let himself be carried away until his eyes were once again obscured by a bloodthirsty cloud. He crushed, broke and killed. Lina talking about her father flashed through his mind. He became so enraged that he hit the imaginary ogre with all his strength, which was actually a stone that cracked in two under the crushing force of the blow.
He came to his senses again. He breathed deeply to calm himself. He let himself be carried away again. As in every fight. But now he was fine, back to his senses and in the meadow around Lina's house.
Lina was woken up to the next day by Adar licking her face.
"Hmm," she squinted at the light streaming into the room through the window.
The dog was already standing impatiently by the door, wagging its tail. After a while, it barked at Lina, as if telling her to hurry up.
"I'm coming," she yawned and climbed out of bed. "You can't wait to be out, can you?"
Confirming her words, Adar barked and ran out the door into the downstairs room, where Lina's mother was already preparing breakfast.
Lina went to the wall opposite the bed and rinsed her face with water from a bucket. Then she began to dress. She put off her clothes and pulled on men's trousers and a simple loose white shirt, over which she threw a dark green doublet and over that a long brown cloak with a hood. She put on high dark brown boots. She combed her hair and pulled it back with a simple string. She found the bag she had under the bed and put bandages in it, a few bags of herbs, a small bottle of the same liquid that she had treated Brax yesterday, two ointments and went downstairs.
"Good morning, mother," she greeted, quickly biting into the bread her mother had set out on the table.
"Good morning," Lorina replied, pouring tea into a mug.
She looked at her daughter carefully and then asked, "Do you have everything?"
Lina swallowed a bite of bread and replied, "Yes, I'll just run over and get my sword, bow and arrows."
"I've prepared some food for you," she said, placing the food wrapped in cloth on the table in front of her.
"Thank you, and where is…" she didn't finish, because her eyes widened in shock when she heard a bang, as if something had hit a stone and broken it.
"What was that?" she asked, standing up.
"I have the impression that the young man is trying to break a stone not far from our house," Lorina replied, continuing to prepare breakfast.
Lina curiously peered out the window and caught sight of Brax's figure, moving in some wild dance with the hammer. He brandished it as if someone were attacking him. She watched him for a moment, admiring the grace of the movements with which he was able to move the hammer and his whole body.
"I guess I'd better go backwards," she said, more to herself, and turned away from the window. She
also took a mug of tea from the table and drank it quickly.
"Thank you for the food," she said to her mother and hurried back to her room.
She bent down under the bed and pulled out a one-handed sword, which she strapped to her side. She then girded herself with a quiver of arrows and a bow that she had taken from the closet.
Her mother was already waiting for her under the stairs.
"Be careful and pay close attention to everything and... come back as soon as possible," she said, hugging her.
"Don't worry about me so much. I've done it many times before," Lina replied, also hugging her mother tightly. "I'll be back tomorrow, the day after tomorrow at the latest," the girl promised.
The two of them turned away from each other and Lorina stroked her daughter's cheek.
"You be careful too, mother," Lina smiled.
Lorina smiled too, watching her daughter as she went out the back door and headed for the stable.
There Lina saddled Rillan and fastened a bag of supplies and food to his saddle, as well as a strange wicker basket with a lid for herbs that fit the shape of Rillan's hip.
"Let's ride," she said, patting the horse's neck.
Rillan tossed his head and dug his foreleg into the straw.
As they passed Burinsfel, Lina stroked his side and then stepped out of the stable. She leaned over and caught sight of Brax, who was still practicing. She felt a small pang of sadness as she realized that she probably wouldn't surprise him anymore.
But then she tossed her head and swung herself into the saddle. There was no time for sadness now. She would have preferred not to have to ride past him and to be able to slip away so inconspicuously, but that was not possible. First of all, it felt rude not to even say goodbye, and then she couldn't ride the other way either. If she went the other way, she would be riding for nothing.
So she took a breath and urged Rillan to slowly come out from behind the house.
He was looking at the stone he had just split. He had certainly not lost his impressive strength. It had been almost a year since he had last been in battle. But it was still there, he could still swing.
For a moment he almost felt sorry for those who would stand up to him. He smiled contentedly. They had chosen, and so had he.
He began to count in his mind. He could handle a five-on-one outnumber. With an aggressive fighting style, maybe two more. He would have to swing like hell to keep them from coming. But with the right tactics, he would set the pace of the fight. The problem would be if the bandits had someone with a bow or crossbow on their side. If he knew about them, he would try to quietly eliminate them before the fight. If he noticed them, he had three daggers: at his waist, at his calf in his boot, and a small one in the armband of his right hand. He was very good at throwing them, but it would limit his ability to defend himself with a hammer and waste precious time during which the bandits with melee weapons could attack. The main question, however, was: how many were there in one group?
"Huh," he snorted in amusement, "it doesn't matter - I'll take them all down."
He had been through so much fighting that all those dead would be enough to make a small army. Besides, if he could recruit a few more mercenaries, if there were any in the village, his chances of success would increase considerably. He would have to share the reward with them, but not all of them would survive. At worst, they would at least buy him some time in the fight. Of course, he would do everything he could to protect his comrades, but he knew the truth: not everyone would survive. It was a sad, cruel, uncompromising truth. But if he got too carried away by protecting his comrades, he would get caught instead of them, and that was the last thing he wanted.
He straightened up. That morning's exercise was the thing. Now he just had to say goodbye to Lorina and Lina. Leaving without saying goodbye would be impolite, and they were nice and helpful to him. He had to thank them; he had never come across such people before.
Maybe if he succeeded and killed all the bandits in the area, the locals would accept him among themselves. Why not? He would be the hero who saved them, and maybe they would like the idea of having someone nearby to protect them if more bad guys came.
Besides, he couldn't stop thinking about Lina. She seemed more than accommodating. Did she harbor any affection for him? When he had hugged her yesterday, she hadn't resisted. He could feel her heartbeat and the softness of her hair. But those eyes. Those eyes seemed to see right through him. As if they were diving into him, searching for something. As if they were penetrating the layer of ice he had built up in his mind.
He sighed.
No way. A girl like her was worth more. Somewhere out there, there was a young man who was better for her. Someone who would open his heart to her and love her.
Damn, had he actually thought of the word love? Is this the first time he'd had it in his dictionary?
But it was true. One day Lina would meet a nice, sweet boy, and then they would get married and have children together. She wouldn't marry a stubborn, bloodthirsty bastard like him. It wouldn't make sense. He was steel on the outside, ice on the inside. Normal human feelings didn't affect him. So why couldn't he get her out of his head?
And look at this - Lina.
She was riding Rillan towards him, but... what the hell?
She was dressed as a man, a one-handed sword swinging at her waist, a bow and a quiver of arrows on her back. Was it really her? She wasn't that close yet, but he recognized her.
She looked like she was going to fight. Those were things.
"Would you like to play?" he smiled.
He could give her a few lessons in self-defense, what the hell. She might come in handy someday.
But no, from the way she had one hand on the reins and the other on the hilt of her sword, the bow poised for a quick draw, he figured this girl could defend herself.
"Good morning," Lina greeted, and she had to fight back a smile.
She couldn't help but notice that he was looking at her as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
"I hope you slept well and that… you don't plan on disappearing before my mother looks at your hand," Rillana stopped a short distance away and looked at him.
"I'll be leaving in a moment," he replied, trying to look composed.
He placed the hammerhead on his shoulder in a relaxed pose, his other hand on his hip.
"Don't worry, I was planning on saying goodbye and thanking you. But what are you doing? I thought I was going to be the one snapping throats."
A smile crossed Lina's face: "I'm not doing anything. I don't want to snap throats."
She paused for a moment and then continued: "I'm heading to the Mered Valley. We're running low on herbs. And the ones we need the most grow only there."
She didn't miss Brax's glance at the weapons, so she said: "I have those… in case of an emergency."
"Herbs, then," he frowned. "I guess an emergency means it's not exactly a safe route."
If there were bandits roaming around, no route was safe. If the bad guys were really out there, neither sword nor arrows would help her. He seriously doubted she could fend off a whole group of raiders. She wasn't even wearing any protective gear. A cloak could have blocked an arrow, he'd tried it himself a few times, but that was all. It took perfect reflexes and experience.
Lina frowned at him, because his look said it all.
"Look, I'm not that kind of wood and then another, by emergency I meant emergency. I'm not going to head straight for the bandits. Besides, I've been there a few times already."
She was irritated by the way he looked at her. As if she were a poor, defenseless creature about to be handed over to some monster. She didn't like it when someone, anyone, and maybe he especially, underestimated her.
"I guess we won't see each other again, so… goodbye," she said firmly, though her voice trailed off a little at the last word.
She looked at Brax for a second, then nudged Rillan.
Brax got angry and slammed one half of the stone with all his might. Now there was one half and two quarters.
"Damn girl," he growled.
He led Burinsfel out of the stable and saddled him. He slung his hammer over his side, as he always did, and tied the saddlebags to the saddle.
He entered the house and headed for Lorina.
"I've come to say goodbye, ma'am. Thank you for everything," he bowed.
"Good morning," Lorina looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "Show me your hand," she said sternly.
When Brax reluctantly raised it, she looked at it and said, "Great, almost as if Adar hadn't bitten you."
Then she turned and handed him a piece of bread and cheese.
"A little more food and you can go."
"Thank you."
He accepted the food, but something didn't feel right to him, he had to ask.
"What can you tell me about the Mered Valley?"
The woman looked at him curiously. "Why are you interested?"
"I saw Lina dressed for war. I owe your family something. I can't bear the thought of anything happening to her if I could have prevented it," he answered truthfully.
He had seen many people die. Most of them either deserved it or fought voluntarily. Lina was not one of them.
Lorina looked at him kindly: "That's very kind of you, but I doubt Lina would like it. She doesn't like to be underestimated. Besides, she's not going to war. She probably told you she was going there for the herbs. That's true. And she must have told you she'd been there several times before, which is also true."
Lorina turned and began to spread out the herbs she had hanging above the fireplace on the table.
"I don't like her and I don't like her going away like this, but she's an adult. And she can take care of herself. My father and her father deserved that, so you don't have to worry."
"Besides," she said, turning around, "even if she had an escort this time, she'll go alone again next time."
"So the best I can do is secure the entire area," he sighed. "I guess it's time to talk to the mayor, get some information, and start cleaning up… How do I get to the village?"
The woman sighed too: "The same direction Lina went, just turn left after half a mile. There's a path that widens into a road after a few hundred meters, just follow it and that's how you get to the village."
"Thank you," he nodded and straightened up. "I guess this is goodbye. Thank you for everything, Lorina."
The woman laughed: "But boy, you shouldn't say goodbye. You never know if we'll see each other again. Rather, see you later and you're welcome."
Brax nodded somewhat absently and left. Burinsfel stood obediently by the door. When he was saddled, he knew he shouldn't move away.
He swung himself into the saddle and grabbed the bridle. He turned his horse and gave it a gentle nudge to indicate that it was time to set off.
He followed Lorin's advice and headed in the same direction as Lina had first.
The sun was already high in the sky, encompassing the world with its rays. Brax's armor was gleaming and it was starting to get hot. But hey, better prepared than surprised. Besides, he had long since gotten used to it.
At the edge of the clearing, Burinsfel stopped and turned. He took one last look at the clearing where Lorin's house stood.
For once he felt like a man and not a meat cleaver that people would use and then look down on because it was a 'barbaric tool.'
He spurred his horse on and set off. He didn't push Burinsfel, he let him go at his own pace, which was now a gentle trot. He was already carrying enough weight—Brax in full gear and all his belongings. He didn't feel the need to push his horse unless he really had to.
He began to look around. This time he wasn't enjoying the sun, the forest, or any of the other beauties of nature. This time he was looking around with the alertness of a beast on the hunt.
It wasn't far to the village, but he might still run into a group of bandits on a rampage. He hoped in his heart that he wouldn't run into any. He would prefer to check into the village first and leave his belongings behind, so that he would only have his weapon and equipment with him.
He looked around for the path Lorin had mentioned - he didn't want to miss it.
Lina had reached the lake and was about to continue on, but a familiar sound warned her that she wasn't alone.
"I hear you," she said, stopping Rillan and turning.
She looked at Adar, her eyebrows raised, as he reluctantly approached her.
"I know you want to come with me, but you can't. You have to stay with my mother. Who else could protect her when she's alone with her grandfather?" Lina said in a calm voice.
Adar whined, but then barked and jerked his head up.
"Good boy, I know I can count on you," Lina smiled.
Adar barked again, and then he turned and ran back to the house. The girl looked in his direction for a moment, but then she spurred Rillan on and started down the path.
She wondered if he would still be there when Adar returned.
"Stop it!" she shouted to herself. "This is not the time for this!" she shook her head to clear all thoughts of Brax.
In a moment she was off the path and into a meadow that stretched a mile down the river that fed the lake.
She pressed her horse closer to her neck and enjoyed the wind whistling around her. She breathed deeply, concentrating only on Rillan's regular breathing and the rhythmic movements of his body beneath her.