My senses were awakened by a savory smell. I opened my eyes, barely able to see my surroundings. My body's still drained of energy. What I could recognize was that I was in a cottage.
"Ah, you're awake. You must be hungry. My wife is an amazing cook. Her stew will have you back on your feet soon," the old man said.
"What happened?? How long have I been asleep?" I asked.
"You passed out from exhaustion. You've been resting for half a day," he answered. "Seeing one of them can cause such a reaction alone. For those of us that can see them, that is. Most don't see them unless they want to be seen," he explained.
"What are they?" I asked.
His wife brought a steamy bowl of stew. The aroma is delicious. I dove into it without hesitation.
"They are called Sins. Evil creatures of this world. Those that are aware of their existence are fated to battle them," the man said.
"You mean I will have to fight these things? How do you know all this??" I questioned.
"Hmm, in my youth, I was chosen to combat these things. Most are born with this burden, but those like us. Those who are reincarnated into this world. We must fight them. It's the purpose of our existence," the old man revealed.
"Do you remember your past life from my world?" I stammered.
"Well, I remember my past life in my world, yes. There are many worlds to be reincarnated from. I do know that there aren't many like us these days," the elderly man said.
All this was a lot to consume. The knowledge that others have been reincarnated into this world was helpful. It meant my wife Abigail might remember someday. The question of how I was supposed to fight these things came to mind.
"Those Sins seemed to be hunting me and my sister," I revealed.
This piqued the man's interest as well as concern.
"If that's the case, then you might need something. Sins don't hunt specific targets. Not unless someone has summoned them for that purpose," the elderly man said.
He went to a room in the back. His wife prepares another bowl of stew. I gladly took it and began eating when the old man returned. He had two swords in his hands. One shaped like a holy cross. A great sword or longsword. The other was a broadsword shaped like a holy cross as well.
"These are my blades Sol's Edge and Sun's Blaze. Their divine swords that are blessed. You'll need them if you are to battle them. Only a powerful mage can summon a Sin. You'll need to grow in power to wield these properly," the elderly man said. "You'll develop powers. All the chosen do. That's all an old man like me can do for you," he added.
"I'll take good care of these. Thank you for helping me and for all the knowledge. I know it's going to help me in the future," I said.
His wife brought me a bag and a satchel. "Just a little extra to help you on your journeys," the elderly woman said, smiling.
"Thank you! By the way, I never got your names?" I said.
"Oh, I'm Jacob and this is my wife Maryanne. It's a pleasure to meet another like us," Jacob said.
"Yes, again, thank you for all your help," I said.
With the items they provided me, I departed Jacob and Maryanne's cozy home. Knowing these things are called Sins and can be willingly summoned was vital. They lived on the northwest side of the city, on the Golden River. I could make it back to the Castle by nightfall. Sophitia and Lady Aiko are going to be worried beyond belief. The city was back to normal now that the Sins were gone.
'Did they do something to make everyone disappear?' I was so tired I didn't ask. Still, Jacob would have mentioned something like that. Then again, Maryanne did give me a bag full of things I may find helpful. Maybe there's something inside. I stop a moment and search inside the leather backpack and satchel. A few books that look like dairies, and others that look old, Ancient books. Maryanne is a perfect wife. I bet these books can help me.
____
The gates of the Castle lay ahead. More City Guards were present than usual. 'Probably a response to the disturbance this morning.' I kept my head down as the guards screened everyone. Thankfully, I kept the pass Lady Sophitia received yesterday. More Royal troops have arrived, too. This was looking more and more like a military build-up. All this couldn't be all for House Martindale. This was an issue for later. I need to return to the rest of my party right now.
On my way to our quarters, Lord Huntley. I raise my hood to avoid any recognition. He stops nearby and talks to a Knight.
"Any signs of House Martindale survivors?" Lord Huntley asked.
"No, Milord. Our search so far has yielded little," the Knight said.
"What about the Dukes?? Any word on their intentions?" Lord Huntley questioned.
"I'm afraid there isn't, Milord. Troops are being assembled across the Kingdom. There's no word from King Galen either," the Knight revealed.
"We need to find any survivors first. Before any of Duke Issac's men do," Lord Huntley affirmed.
"If I may, Milord. The boy may be better off on his own at this point. If the report is true, he's awakened his magic prowess. That alone may aid him better," the Knight suggested.
"Still, inform Sir Bishop to continue his search for Count Asa," Lord Huntley ordered.
I confirmed with my ears that Lord Huntley was still loyal to my father and was comforting. His Knight may be right, too. Duke Isaac is looking for any of my family members. We have to press onwards to the north before his forces realize we're here. I wait in the shadows of the hallway for the area to be clear.
After a few tense minutes, no one else was nearby. Carefully, I make my way to the quarters. Sophitia's and my mother's voices came from within. Everyone made it back safely. I crack the door quietly and slip inside. Before I could close the door, my sister grappled me from behind. I managed to turn around to face her when our Mom hugged both of us. Their ample tits press up against my chest. I couldn't get a word in with all the sobbing and crying.
"Alright, I'm fine. Calm down, okay," I said.
"Don't even run off on your own again!" Sophia wept.
"You're supposed to be my responsible Honey buns," Lady Aiko said.
I couldn't respond to all the kisses on the cheeks. Gwen and Leia were here staring. I quickly ended the ordeal.
"We need to go now. Lord Huntley is looking for us, but so are the Duke's forces. Pack your things fast. More troops are on the way here," I revealed.
"Then we must make haste to my grandparents' sanctuary in the north. No one knows of it other than myself and my mother. We'll be safe there for a while," Lady Aiko stated.
"That's why you need us to guide you through the Deep Forest??" Gwen asked.
"The Golden Forest separates the northernmost region of the Golden Peninsula. The Royal Army will have a hard time tracking anyone in there," I said.
"What will you do once you get there?" Erendriel asked.
"Once we get there safely, I can worry about that. We just need to get there first," I said.
Everyone gathers the equipment and supplies. Most of the preparations must have been done while I was unconscious, and it showed. Gwen and Leia moved with the quiet efficiency of people who had packed under pressure before, checking straps and buckles with practiced hands, redistributing weight between the satchels without needing to speak about it. Sophitia had already rolled and secured our shared bedroll, and she pressed a dry set of clothes into my hands without a word. My wet ones were still clinging to me like a second skin. I changed quickly, grateful for the dry wool against my shoulders, and felt the weight of Sol's Edge and Sun's Blaze settle across my back where I'd rigged the harness Jacob's wife had included in the satchel — as though Maryanne had known exactly what I'd be carrying out of that cottage.
Lady Aiko was at the window, dressed for the road rather than the court for the first time since I'd known her, her traveling cloak a deep charcoal grey that would swallow what little moonlight reached the alley below. She had done her hair simply and efficiently, and the difference it made was unsettling — she looked younger and more dangerous at once. Her expression when she turned away from the window was composed in the way that cost something to maintain.
The real hardships were about to begin in earnest.
Running from the Royal Army and Duke Isaac was dangerous and challenging enough on its own. I'd already had a taste of how fast Lord Huntley's net could draw tight around a city, and the Duke's men were presumably less concerned with subtlety. Two separate factions hunting a single party through populated territory — the math on that wasn't favorable no matter how I ran it. And that was the part I understood.
Surviving a trek through the Golden Forest off the river or road presented an entirely new world of dangers. I'd heard the name spoken with different weights since we arrived — sometimes with reverence, the way people speak about a cathedral, and sometimes with the particular quiet that settles over a conversation when no one wants to be the first to say something unlucky. The forest didn't operate by the logic of the lands around it. The valleys went deep and strange, and the canopy closed overhead so completely that navigating by sun or stars became a matter of luck rather than skill. Sun forests — those patches where the light broke through in long golden columns and the undergrowth grew thick and almost luminous — could look identical to one another for miles in every direction. We could get lost in the endless valleys and sun forests, and being lost in the Golden Forest wasn't the quiet inconvenience it would have been somewhere else. It was a final condition.
Then there were the animals. Not ordinary animals — or not only ordinary animals. The region had things in it that didn't have clean names in any bestiary I'd been able to read since arriving in this world. Gwen had mentioned something in passing two nights ago that she hadn't finished describing, and I hadn't pushed her, which told me more than the unfinished sentence itself. I filed it away with the rest of the inventory of things I needed to understand and didn't yet.
What I was mainly worried about was the unknown. The honest, shapeless category of it. Many go into this forest and never return. I didn't dare let myself think too long about the rumors of elven enclaves, or the worse legends beneath those rumors — the ones that existed in the space between what people said openly and what they said after dark with their voices low. Legends had a way of being true in this world in a way they hadn't been where I came from. The Sins had taught me that this morning with brutal efficiency.
We had to survive this trek. That was the only fact worth holding onto right now. Get out of the city before the net drew tight. Get into the forest before anyone with a torch and a mandate could follow us through the gates. Get to Lady Aiko's grandparents' sanctuary before the forest, the army, the Duke, or whatever else this world decided to throw at us made that impossible.
I looked around the room one last time. Took stock of the people in it. Sophitia catching my eye and holding it for a half-second — that look that passed between us like a current. Aiko with her jaw set and her cloak fastened. Gwen and Leia already near the door. Erendriel quiet in the corner, watching all of us with those careful eyes.
"Alright," I said. "Let's move."
Then, there were the various wild animals and beasts that inhabited the lands. What I'm mainly worried about is the unknown. Many go into this forest and never return. Even with guides, we could meet our end. I didn't dare think about the rumors of eleven enclaves or worse legends. We had to survive this trek.