Chương 52: Rainy Mood

Gathin was poor at hiding his emotions as he stared at Al. His smirk turned lifeless, his eyes became cold, and his hand wrapped around the knife at his hip. The man was momentarily processing something before it became clear he was prepared to draw the knife — to gut Al. More surprisingly, Al didn't reach for his own greatsword. He seemed perfectly content to allow the man to attack him, his eyes dropping to the floor. Joel knew he only had a second at best to try to calm whatever had Gathin in a fit.

"Ah, I've hunted a few wolves myself," Joel said, quickly stepping between them. He looked at the strung up wolf like it was a precious work of art.

"Nothing of this tremendous size." He glanced to see if Gathin had finally stopped staring daggers at Al. Nope, the glare was there so Joel continued.

"Skinned quite a couple of these. Once, I did three in a week." He dramatically whistled as he looked the wolf up and down.

"If you want to make your life easier, it's better to hang them by their hind legs though. I could help you with that, considering this one's size." He turned and let the offer hang in the air. Gathin stood there, scowling and not saying anything else. His hand still hovered on the knife's hilt, and for a second, it looked like he was going to draw the blade. To Joel's relief, the knight turned back to him and the wolf.

"Hmph, better by the hind legs? I never was much of a hunter," Gathin said, speaking directly to Joel now.

"Very well, let's flip the damn thing arse up then."

"Could you maybe get some more water for the bucket, Al?" Joel jerked his head to the exit, hinting to Al to give the lieutenant some space. It felt bad to urge him out into the rain, but Gathin likely wouldn't talk otherwise. Thankfully, Al took the suggestion and left the tent. He rolled up his sleeves to help Gathin untie the carcass. Laying the wolf across a bloodied table, they tied the hind legs and hoisted the beast back into the air. Joel pointed at its parts around the armpits.

"That's where you'll want to be careful," he said, keeping his tone friendly.

"Skin's thin there. If you don't pull carefully, you'll rip the pelt."

"What about the meat? The villagers have been complaining about my men eating all their chickens. Might as well feed them this, no?"

"If you really want to." Joel winced at that. Gorum had let him try some from the wolves he'd harvested during his first week at the lodge. It was edible, though everything Gorum stewed was, but the musky smell had forever imprinted on his mind.

"I can't guarantee they'll enjoy it." Gathin grunted.

"We'll have to make do. With how little game there is nearby, it'll serve."

"So what are you all doing here?" Joel said, attempting to sound nonchalant. Gathin began skinning the wolf again.

"That be none of your business."

"Fair, but it's strange that a group of armed men, knights or not, plop down at a village like this." Joel could see that Gathin wasn't convinced.

"Listen, I'm just a porter." He thumbed to the tent's exit.

"I'm not like those crazy Freewalkers, who go looking for fights where there isn't. The only way for someone like me to keep my head after all."

"I feel for you." Gathin sliced away at more sinewy connective tissue.

"Especially working for someone as bloodthirsty as him. That's asking for bad luck." Joel couldn't help feeling curious.

"Oh? Really?" He made his eyes go wide for effect and spoke in a hushed tone.

"I haven't known him all that long. You've met before?"

"No. We haven't met." Gathin shook his head solemnly.

"But I've heard of the siege at Aga. I lost a cousin there, who was manning the walls. A sweet lad. Didn't deserve what happened to him. The whole city didn't."

"What happened?"

"Ah, I've heard it being called the most brutal sacking of a city ever. Historical, some call it." The balding knight let out a mirthless laugh.

"Maybe Al was defending the city," Joel suggested softly, gently tugging and peeling back the wolf pelt. The portly man made his disagreement known by spitting on the ground.

"Lorentine mercenary companies arrived to turn the tide and breach the walls. The exact type that your highborn friend would've been with." Joel recalled Al's interactions with Baron Valgruv. Something about the Redcloves, the group that Al served under. He thought better than to mention that here; he was just starting to win the lieutenant over. Time to press a bit.

"I imagine you and your knights aren't such savages."

"Heavens, no. Though I can't truly vouch for all of them." Joel raised a brow.

"Why not? This isn't your band of men?"

"No, we're from all over. Rhostan, Yullia, Lorent. Four hells, we even have some Marchers." Gathin tossed him a grubby cloth to wipe his hands.

"Most of them are wandering or hedge knights. They're a step above the riff raff."

"Is that why all of you coated over your banners?" Gathin clicked his tongue.

"That didn't go over well with the men, but when offered double pay, you'd be mad to turn the coin down due to a little paint. After all, the count—" He sat up straight, catching himself mid-sentence. His eyes narrowed at Joel.

"You've caught me prattling mindlessly." Joel shrugged as he cleaned his hands.

"I'm just a porter." Gathin harrumphed, though it sounded like he was more disappointed in himself.

"Well, you tell your employers that there will be nothing untoward happening to Dagalt's villagers." He dabbed the sweat on his brow.

"If anything, we're here to help. So tell your nosy Freewalkers that." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. From what Joel could tell, Gathin was being honest. However, that still didn't explain one thing that he'd been pondering for a while.

"Where's your captain and the rest of your men?" Gathin's deep frown returned, which told Joel that he'd pressed his luck too much.

"Like I said, that's our business, not yours or those Freewalkers. It should be enough that I gave you my word regarding the villagers. And if it ain't, then that's too bad." The knight waved at Joel to leave his tent. Joel didn't have to be told twice. Nodding a polite farewell, he exited the tent into the downpour that was taking place outside. The storm had swept in fiercely as most of the men in camp had gone into their tents for shelter.

He spotted Al, who was no more than a couple feet away, their horses in hand and rain plinking into the water bucket at his feet. Even with his good looks, Al had a bleak appearance in the rainstorm. He hadn't bothered putting his cloak's hood up, so his golden hair grouped together in wet clumps. Furthermore, his ever present smile had disappeared as he stared at the muddy ground in front of him, clearly not having noticed Joel yet. It was a state that Joel had never seen the former knight in.

The only other instance that came close was during their little stand-off with Wirbald, back under Wardenhal's mines, but even that was intensity, not this.

"Hey, you good?" Joel asked, breaking Al out of whatever reverie he was in.

"Oh, Joel. I'm fine," Al replied with a hastiness that implied otherwise. He handed the reins of Joel's horse over as they walked in the loud rain.

"Were you able to get anything out of the lieutenant?" Well, they'd mostly talked about that siege of Aga, but it wasn't necessary to bring all of that up.

"It was like you said, these folk seem fine. Gathin promised that his men aren't here to cause the village any trouble. Seems like some nobleman got them up here." Mild surprise crept onto Al's rain-soaked face.

"With their banners covered?" Joel gave a small shrug as they exited the camp's field.

"Something about getting paid double?" He pointed back to the rest of the tents.

"Supposedly the knights are from all over. I wasn't able to get much more out of him."

"What about the captain and the rest of the men? Half of those tents are empty."

"I tried to fish for that, but he shut that down quickly, and then kicked me out."

"Unfortunate," Al sighed.

"Perhaps Siv and Alis are having better success with the elder." The rain pelted them as they trudged up the dirt path to the humble village, a tiny bundle of houses that looked like they were huddling around each other. Though Joel was tempted to ask Al about his Tour, the siege, and the Redcloves, they both walked quietly. Strangely, it felt more tense to say anything about this to Al, much more so than trying to coax information out of Gathin. Joel knew he couldn't hold it against the former knight.

He glanced at his [Status], laid out on a translucent screen that only he could see. He definitely couldn't hold it against Al for keeping his secrets. After all, Joel had a few of his own, so they continued to lead their horses in silence, the drizzle replacing conversation. Dagalt was a deceptively larger village than it looked, an illusion from how closely and well clustered the buildings were to each other.

Once they'd gotten near enough, the dirt path changed into cobbled stone, ancient and weather-worn but well-maintained. It was the opposite of the village's buildings, which were bigger than he'd anticipated. They were all nearly two-stories tall and some even had tiled roofs, a true rarity in a rural hamlet. The main plaza, where Alis and Siv were waiting under an umbrella, had a stone well that rivaled most Joel'd seen in Wardenhal.

"Where'd you get that?" Joel said as they met, pointing at the umbrella.

"Oh, this? Just a little gift from Wassel. The sweet old man didn't want us to get soaked." Alis eyed the two of them, completely drenched, with a bemused smile.

"The two of you look terrible." Her eyes caught Joel's crimson hands, left over from the skinning.

"Is that blood, Joel? You didn't hurt anyone, right?" She looked between the two of them. Joel sensed that Al wasn't in a talkative mood, so he answered.

"No, we didn't hurt anyone."

"Then are you hurt?" Siv asked, reaching for his amulet.

"No, no, no. Nothing like that. I was just helping the lieutenant skin a wolf." The two siblings blinked at him.

"It's a whole thing," Joel sighed.

"We didn't get much." He was delicate about telling what they'd learned from Gathin. There was no point in bringing up how the knight was willing to shank Al. So he kept it strictly on topic, only mentioning what was absolutely necessary. He knew he'd done the right thing when, after he'd finished explaining, Al gave him a subtle nod of thanks.

"He didn't mention which count, huh?" Siv said, tutting.

"I believe this is House Avenhart's land?"

"Who cares? That still won't tell us why they're here." Alis lifted the umbrella so Al and Joel could try to squeeze in and join them. It didn't really do much.

"And the elder didn't give you any hint as to why?" Joel asked, turning to make sure that his face would be spared the onslaught of rain.

"He mentioned that a few people have disappeared, but that they hadn't yet petitioned their baron or Freewalkers yet," Alis said.

"So the knights aren't here to find those missing folk."

"But they could be here because of what may have made the villagers go missing," Al said, finally speaking up.

"That's what Alis and I deemed likely as well," Siv said.

"You're certain that the elder isn't lying? About not knowing why the knights are here?" Joel hated to ask, but it only felt prudent.

"Alis has a way with the elderly." Siv chuckled, shaking his head.

"Trust me, he wasn't lying."

"What! I can't help it if he says I look like his granddaughter."

"Sister, the old man was half blind."

"You're half blind!" she retorted back. They all looked at Siv with his eye-patch. Then they erupted in laughter, heartfelt and loud enough to drown out the storm. It took three cracks of thunder to simmer them down, as if the sky was telling them to shut up. Nevertheless, they all smiled while cramped under the umbrella.

"What about the missing people? Did the elder shed any light in that regard?" Al asked, ever vigilant. He finally pulled the hood of his cloak up against the rain. The downpour was extra annoying when the other half of one's body wasn't getting soaked.

"Well, he mentioned three folks have disappeared. Two from the lumber mill and their local priest. They've been gone for a few days, but no one knows exactly why. Wassel said that's why he considered going to petition the baron. Also…" Alis glanced at Siv like she was signalling him to take over.

"We'll be staying at the priest's chapel for the night. The elder provided spare keys." Siv produced the set of keys from his pocket and jingled them.

"Sleeping on pews…" Al massaged his neck.

"Anything will be better than a small tent in a storm," Siv pointed out. Joel had to agree as the wind had begun picking up and whipping the rain down now.

"Okay, chapel it is," Al relented.

"Then let's hurry." Alis started moving, holding the umbrella high. Tucking close to them, she tried to keep them all out of the rainstorm until she wiggled her nose. She turned to Joel and promptly pushed him out of the umbrella's shelter.

"Hey, what gives?"

"You smell like a wet dog." Alis held up a hand to stop him from rejoining the group. Both Al and Siv were playfully smirking at each other as Alis shooed Joel away.

"You need a longer rinse before we get to the chapel." Joel sniffed himself as he followed them. It wasn't that bad, right?