Eritance - Chapter 7
I seethed with rage inside, at the thought of being done in by the power of the wealthy. This corruption sickened me to no end. It was this corrupt value system that kept Ross from having a chance at survival. As I burned with rage inside. I told myself that I would change things for myself. That one day I would be able to stand on my own. That I wouldn’t need to rely on these rich bastards for survival any longer.
With that, I had an unpleasant dinner without an appetite and the next day I began preparing for the journey to the capital. The first thing that was done is that the lord had me choose from the mansion’s armory to find a suitable set of equipment for me. “You shall be equipped with the best available, so as to ensure my daughter is safe” the lord began, “of course, it is just a loan, so don’t become to attached to it”. With that, I searched for something that wouldn’t be too cumbersome for me. After all, I wasn’t a beast of a man like Ross was. Inside the armory there were all sorts of armors made of different materials. Racks covered in mithril, steel, and even adamant armor sets lined the room. However, they all seemed a bit too heavy for me. As I looked through the lighter sections of armor, I stumbled across various chainmail and jerkins. I noticed, though, one jerkin that stood out. As soon as I saw it, something inside drew me to it. It seemed like this was the perfect armor for me. It was light-weight and being made of leather it would still offer protection. When the lord saw me looking at it, he said with a disappointed look on his face “are you trying to die? My daughter needs more protection than someone wearing an old leather jerkin with cracks in it”.
What the lord had said was true, there were better jerkins out in the room, of a much higher quality than this black leather with cracks webbing through it. However, something inside my told me that this one was the best for me. I thought that it might be that my experience as a hunter instinctual guided me towards choosing the right fit for my body. “This one is the only one I will accept” I insisted, “if I have to do this, I should be able to do it in my style”. The lord seemed amused at my attitude and said, “You’ve got guts. I’ll give you that. Okay, you’ll be with fifteen other guards anyways. You’re only going as extra insurance”. With that I immediately put the black leather jerkin on over my white tunic and the fit was perfect. It was almost as if this armor had been made for me. It felt as if I wasn’t wearing anything at all, and my movements were completely unhindered.
“You know, if you like this trash equipment that much, you can keep it, I was planning on getting rid of it anyways” the lord said as he casually tossed me a short sword. “Strap up and go help load the carriages”. I sheathed the sword in my new sheath and walked out to where the carriages were being loaded.
Outside, the carriages were being loaded with many different goods. I saw fruits, and dried goods, blankets, as well as other items to make the journey more comfortable-for the lord’s daughter that is. The carriages were also loaded with oils and extra weapons and ammunition so as to maintain our weapons and armor as we traveled to and from the capital. As I walked over I casually saw a medium sized chest on the ground and casually picked it up. “What are you, some kind of freak?” one of the nearby guards exclaimed. “That chest is filled with silver from the mine, how are you able to carry it by yourself? That should be at least a two-man job”. I was confused at this, because the chest didn’t f eel heavy, and I was aware of my own strength, being quite normal for a young farm hand. I awkwardly shifted around as I didn’t know what to do. In the end, I decided to silently load the chest onto one of the carriages and move smaller items.
I wasn’t sure where this newfound strength had come from, but I smiled inwardly and told myself that, this new strength would be the foundation on which I build my freedom from the lord in the future. For now, however, there was not much I could do but go along with his whims.
After the carriages were loaded with the supplies the lord’s daughter left the mansion and got into her private carriage. There were no words she exchanged with the soldiers or even with me, her personal guard. She had a slender appearance, and long black hair. She light brown eyes, and a stern gaze. For the trip she wore a simple pale-blue silk dress. She wordlessly entered the carriage and I was left standing their awkwardly. “You didn’t think you’d be riding with the lord’s daughter, did you?” asked the guard from earlier. “You may be her ‘personal guard’ but that doesn’t mean you are of a high enough standing to ride with her. Besides, you need to sit with the driver of the carriage, how can you guard somebody from inside the carriage?”.
I grumbled silently to myself, it seems that being the personal guard of the lord’s daughter really didn’t come with any benefits. I thought that I might at least be able to have a more comfortable seat. The total journey was expected to take around 3 months or so. I never thought that I would ride on the hard driver’s seat the whole time keeping a look out for the lord’s imaginary enemies. With a sigh in my heart, we finished the preparations and set out on the road.
The days that passed were uneventful, at least for the first two weeks or so. However, all of that changed when a peculiar roar was heard one day as we were traveling. “Guoooooooooooooooooo!” came the voice of a certain orc chieftain. “We’ve finally caught up to the scent of the relic!” he yelled. “Kill them all! Find the relic. Find me my relic” the orc shouted again. With that, 8 orcs with spears jumped out ambushing the carriages. One orc was much larger and imposing than the others.
and so the journey begins with a bang!