Chapter 112: Calm Before The Storm
By the time the sun disappeared behind the horizon, the evacuation of Riverwood was well underway.
Several wagonloads of food and supplies had already been sent back towards the Whitemane estate, accompanied by dozens of villagers.
Most of the livestock and the remaining villagers would follow tomorrow.
For now, however, there was little more they could do.
As darkness settled over Riverwood, the soldiers and knights gathered in the fields outside the village.
Before long, dozens of small campfires illuminated the area.
Roderic sat around one of those fires alongside his four retainers and Edmund.
’’Mhm,’’ he mumbled, nodding. ’’These are good.’’
He happily ripped another chunk of meat off his skewer.
Edmund let out a chuckle beside him.
’’The second one will be ready soon,’’ he said, twirling the skewers above the fire slightly.
Roderic immediately raised his thumb, his mouth still full.
As he chewed, his gaze wandered across the fire.
All four of his retainers sat unusually straight, slowly eating their food without saying a word.
Roderic raised an eyebrow.
’The fuck’s wrong with them?’ he thought. ’They worked hard and must be starving...’
For a few seconds, he watched them while devouring the last bits of meat from his skewer.
Then it clicked.
’Oh, of course. It’s that nonsense again.’
They were sitting and eating with the noble they had sworn their loyalty to.
None of them seemed to have any idea how they were supposed to act.
Roderic swallowed his food.
’’Relax and eat,’’ he said. ’’I really don’t care about all the noble formalities and stuff.’’
The four exchanged glances.
Frederic was the first to loosen up, though only slightly.
The others followed soon after, finally paying more attention to their food than how they were sitting.
Roderic helplessly dragged a hand across his face.
’These guys...’ he thought.
Just then, Edmund pulled another skewer out of the ground.
Roderic snapped out of his thoughts and gracefully accepted it.
For a while, nobody spoke.
Only the crackling of burning wood and distant conversations from the other campfires filled the silence.
Every now and then, laughter erupted from one of the nearby fires, followed by someone shouting for the others to keep it down.
Finally, as Roderic finished his second skewer, he let out another deep sigh.
’’Alright,’’ he started, pointing his charred stick at them. ’’There’s something we have to talk about.’’
The four immediately looked towards him.
Before any of them could even say anything, Roderic continued.
’’I know you’ve all been training incredibly hard. But I want you to mentally prepare yourselves for the upcoming weeks.’’
Their expressions slowly became more serious.
’’It won’t be easy, but you’ll have to make your first kills during this war.’’
His gaze briefly flickered towards Frederic.
’’Well... most of you.’’
Frederic’s expression twisted slightly.
Even so, he didn’t say a word.
The other three, however, instantly glanced towards him.
’’I need you to remember one thing,’’ Roderic continued. ’’If you falter, hesitate or let your guard down during the war, you will lose your life.’’
For a moment, everything fell silent.
Then Paul stood up, a hand placed firmly on his chest.
’’I won’t hesitate,’’ he said firmly.
There wasn’t even a trace of uncertainty in his voice.
Roderic raised an eyebrow before shifting his attention towards John.
John remained quiet for a few seconds, his eyes fixed on the flames.
’’Neither will I,’’ he eventually said. ’’I’ll do what I have to do.’’
Roderic nodded approvingly.
He didn’t mind them thinking it through in the slightest.
’Taking a life isn’t supposed to be something casual, after all,’ he thought. ’Besides, I’d rather they think about it now than on the battlefield.’
Then his gaze shifted over towards Peter.
The young man hesitated as he glanced down at his hands.
’’I...’’ he started. ’’I’ll do what I signed up for.’’
His gaze snapped up as he clenched his fists.
’’I-if I may ask,’’ he said. ’’Is it much different from killing an animal?’’
Roderic blinked.
For a moment, he wasn’t entirely sure how to answer.
’’Yes and no,’’ he finally replied. ’’The blade cuts through skin and hide all the same.’’
He paused for a moment.
’’But animals don’t beg once they’ve been injured.’’
Peter visibly stiffened.
Roderic didn’t elaborate any further on it either.
This was something that could only be experienced firsthand.
’They’ll understand soon enough,’ he thought. ’The most dangerous enemy is one that opens his mouth.’
After a moment, he glanced back at Frederic.
The young man was clearly shaken up a bit, but unlike two months ago, it seemed he’d steeled himself.
’’Take good care of them when the fighting starts,’’ he said. ’’I’m sure we won’t always be together on the battlefield.’’
Frederic snapped out of his thoughts and nodded firmly.
’’Of course, my lord,’’ he said.
Satisfaction flashed across Roderic’s face.
Without another thought, he stood up and picked up another skewer.
’’I’ll see you all tomorrow,’’ he said, raising his hand.
With that, he walked away towards the town.
...
Before long, Roderic found himself inside a room in an inn.
With everything dark outside, he couldn’t help but glance up at the star-filled sky.
’Is there anything else I could’ve done?’ he thought. ’Anything more I could’ve prepared?’
Even after several seconds, no answer came to mind.
Roderic remained by the window anyway.
His gaze slowly moved down, sweeping across the silent village outside.
’These people depend on me now... isn’t that different from the past.’
Roderic rested his arms against the windowsill.
His mind wandered off to all kinds of unwanted memories he hadn’t thought about in a long time.
No matter how much he tried pushing them away... they just kept coming.
Roderic let out a quiet sigh and shook his head.
’No point thinking about that now,’ he thought. ’It’s all in the past.’
He forced his attention back to the village.
Like that, Roderic remained there for another hour, enjoying the silence and the beautiful medieval sight.