Trial did not walk like a man escorting a guest.
He walked like a man escorting a threat.
Lux followed him through Bracken Vale with slow, careful steps, forcing his body to keep pace despite the tight pull of bandages and the dull ache in his leg. Each time he limped, he felt eyes on him. Villagers stood in doorways and near the well, pretending to talk while their attention stayed fixed on his bloody leather and the rusty sword hanging at his side.
Kad stayed close, a half step behind Lux's shoulder. Kas walked on the other side, silent and watchful. Lasa trailed farther back, arms wrapped around herself as if she could hold her fear in place.
Trial led them to the largest house near the center of the village. It was not grand, but it was solid. Thicker walls. Cleaner timber. A carved post at the entrance marked with simple symbols Lux did not recognize.
A guard opened the door before Trial knocked, as if they had been waiting for him.
Inside, warmth wrapped around Lux, along with the smell of cooked grain and wood smoke. The room held a long table, chairs worn smooth from years of use, and a hearth where embers glowed under ash. Two oil lamps burned on hooks along the wall. Everything here felt like stability purchased with effort.
An older man sat at the table, hands folded, posture straight. His hair was gray, his face lined, but his eyes were sharp and awake. He looked up as Trial entered, then his gaze slid to Lux.
For a moment, Lux felt the same pressure he used to feel in the office when a manager called him into a meeting. The difference was that in the office, mistakes cost reputation. Here, mistakes could cost shelter. Or a head.
Trial stopped and spoke first. "Headman, this is the stranger. He arrived with Kad's wagon."
The older man did not react immediately. He studied Lux from head to toe, pausing on the sword, the blood, the bandages.
"Name," the headman said.
Lux swallowed. "Lux."
"Sit," the headman said, and gestured to a chair on the opposite side of the table.
Lux lowered himself carefully. The chair creaked under his weight. He placed his hands on the tabletop, palms down, as if showing he carried no hidden weapon there. His heart beat too fast, but his face stayed as neutral as he could make it.
Kad and Kas remained standing behind him. Lasa hovered near the doorway.
The headman looked at Trial. "Report."
Trial's voice was calm, controlled. "Kad, Kas, and Lasa were attacked on the road. Goblins. Three small ones and a brute. Lux intervened. They survived."
The headman's eyes moved to Kad. "You confirm."
Kad nodded. "Yes. Without him, we would be dead."
Kas added, rough and blunt, "He fought like a cornered animal. But he fought."
The headman's gaze returned to Lux. "Why did you intervene," he asked.
Lux hesitated. The truth was messy. He had intervened because he could not stand doing nothing. Because the rule inside him had offered power for blood. Because he needed people, and people were an entry into survival.
He chose the simplest answer.
"Because they were going to die," Lux said.
The headman held his stare for a long moment. Then he asked, "Where are you from."
The room felt smaller.
Lux's tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.
If he said the truth, no one would believe him. If he lied badly, they would throw him out. Or worse. Trial's warning echoed in his mind. Tell the truth, or leave.
Lux decided to tell a truth, just not the whole one.
"I do not remember," Lux said carefully. "I woke in the forest with these clothes and this sword. I walked until I found the road. That is all."
Kas shifted, as if he wanted to argue, but Kad shot him a look.
Trial's eyes narrowed. "Convenient."
Lux met his gaze. "Do you think I would choose this."
Trial did not answer.
The headman raised a hand slightly, and the room settled again. He leaned forward, fingers still folded.
"Strange things happen in the woods," the headman said slowly. "Not often. But they do." His eyes flicked to Lux's bandages. "You are injured. You are armed. You are alone."
Lux did not speak.
The headman continued, "If you are telling the truth, then you are a victim of the forest, same as many others. If you are lying, then you are something else. A spy. A thief. A troublemaker."
Lux felt cold sweat gather at his spine.
The headman's gaze sharpened. "Do you know what goblins are."
"Yes," Lux said, and the word surprised him with how easily it came. He knew what they were now. He had seen their teeth. He had smelled their blood.
"Have you fought them before today," the headman asked.
Lux shook his head. "No."
Trial let out a short breath, almost a laugh without humor. "Yet he kills like he has."
Lux forced his hands to stay flat on the table. He could feel the hidden symbol piece in his pouch like a stone pressing against his skin. He did not want to reveal it. Not yet.
The headman looked at Trial. "You already questioned him," he said.
Trial's jaw tightened. "Only enough to confirm he was not babbling."
"And," the headman said, "did you find proof of ill intent."
Trial did not answer immediately.
"No," Trial admitted, and the word sounded like it tasted bitter.
The headman nodded once, then turned back to Lux.
"You may stay in Bracken Vale for now," he said. "Three days."
Lux blinked. Relief hit him so hard his chest hurt.
The headman lifted a finger, not allowing the relief to settle. "You will follow rules. Trial will tell you them. You will not leave the village armed unless you are given permission. You will not start fights. You will work for your food and bed."
Lux nodded quickly. "I will."
Trial's expression remained hard. "And if he breaks rules."
The headman's voice stayed calm. "Then he leaves. Or you remove him."
Silence returned, heavier than before.
Lux forced himself to breathe slowly.
The headman's gaze softened slightly, not into kindness, but into something practical. "Kad says you saved them," he said. "So I will not repay that by throwing you into the woods bleeding. But I will not risk this village for a stranger either."
Lux understood.
This was not mercy. It was balance.
The headman leaned back. "Now," he said, "tell me what you saw on the road. Anything unusual."
Lux hesitated, then spoke. "There was a larger goblin. Not like the others. Smarter. Stronger. It used a human blade."
Kad nodded. "That is true. A brute."
The headman's eyes tightened. "We have heard of them."
Trial crossed his arms. "They have been appearing more. And the small ones are bolder."
Kas muttered, "They planned that ambush."
The headman's mouth became a thin line. "We lost two travelers last week. Same road. No survivors." He looked at Lux. "You were lucky. Or… something else."
Lux held his gaze and said nothing.
The headman looked down at the table, thinking. Then he spoke again. "If goblins are organizing, then Bracken Vale will not remain untouched. We have enough guards to defend the palisade, but not enough to hunt deep. Not without losing men."
Trial's eyes flicked to Lux, then away.
Lux felt it, the shift in the room. The weight of possibility.
The headman's gaze returned to Lux, measuring. "You are capable," he said. "Or at least you can survive a fight. When you are healed enough to walk without falling, you will speak with Trial about work that keeps you near the village. Small tasks first. We will see what you are."
Lux swallowed. "Understood."
Trial stepped forward. "Then we are done here."
The headman nodded once. "Kad, Kas, Lasa. You have done well. Rest. Eat. You will receive coin from the storehouse for the goods you lost."
Relief crossed Lasa's face so sharply it almost looked like pain.
Kad bowed his head. "Thank you, headman."
Kas grunted approval.
Trial turned and gestured toward the door. Lux pushed himself up, wincing as his leg protested. He kept his posture steady and followed.
Outside, the evening light had shifted again. The village sounds had softened into the quiet rhythm of people preparing for night.
Trial stopped just beyond the doorway and faced Lux.
His eyes were cold, not cruel, but unwilling to be fooled.
"Three days," Trial said. "Do not make me regret it."
Lux met his gaze. "I will not."
Trial leaned closer, voice low. "You say you woke in the forest. That may even be true. But I have seen men lie with honest eyes."
Lux's fingers curled slightly at his side. "Then watch me," he said, voice equally low.
Trial's stare held him for a long moment.
Then Trial stepped back. "You will sleep in the storehouse loft," he said. "Kad will show you. You will eat what you earn. Tomorrow, you do not leave the palisade."
Lux nodded.
Trial turned and walked away, armor catching the last light.
Lux stood there for a moment, letting the tension drain from his shoulders. Kad approached and placed a hand on Lux's arm gently.
"You did well," Kad murmured.
Lux's laugh came out short and rough. "I lied."
Kad's expression stayed steady. "You survived. In Bracken Vale, people do what they must."
Lux looked toward the darkening horizon, toward the forest line beyond the palisade.
Somewhere out there, goblins moved through trees like shadows.
Somewhere out there, the reason he had been pulled into this world waited, patient and unseen.
Lux tightened his grip on the strap of his pouch, feeling the hidden symbol piece press against him like a secret heartbeat.
Three days.
He had been given a place to stand.
Now he had to prove he deserved it.