"Quickly, in here. It's best you stay hidden for now. They might react poorly to an unknown entity like you."
Edvar quickly shuffled out of his house and closed the door behind him, leaving me standing in a small kitchen, lit dimly by the dwindling fire in the corner. The house was clean, and the kitchen was well equipped for such a remote place. Iron pots and pans lined the wall, and a large cast iron wood stove dominated the space. There was even a kitchen sink and a tap. But surely, they couldn't have running water here?
I sat on a nearby stool and amused myself with inspecting the house and its odd items that seemed too advanced for a medieval village, all the while tracking the movements of the villagers in my mind. I was able to make out their Auras, their shapes, very clearly from this distance.
The men had drawn themselves together the best they could considering the short time and their inebriated state. They had re-armed and stood now in the clearing facing the slope where the new guests were approaching from. The women and children had retired to their houses, though i could tell some of the women had armed themselves as well and held every intention of joining the fray.
The six unknown men were now at the edge of the village, just beyond the light of the fires. They paused out of sight and assessed the situation looking in. After a moment, one of the men called out. It was the strong one among the group. I could tell he was strong out of some unknown instinct. He glowed differently to the rest of the men I could make out. His aura was telling me he was stronger than I was, and I needed to be careful.
"Grey of Castle Holm approaches on business. I ask that you stay your weapons as we approach."
His voice was strong and bold. There was no hint of fear or apprehension. Edvar called back in a similar tone.
"Approach, Grey. We mean no harm to Castle Holm."
The six men began forward again and walked into the light. I looked out through the darkened window of Edvars house to assess the situation. The men were all clad in an armour that shone like silver, almost glowing in the low levels of light in the clearing. The man out in front must have been Grey. He stood tall and straight and his bold and handsome middle-aged face never wavered, while his eyes darted around taking note of every detail within the village. I pulled back quickly as I noticed his gaze fly towards Edvars house and the window. Had he noticed me? Could he perhaps have a similar sense to mine?
As Grey came face to face with the villagers he spoke again, with less gusto than before but nevertheless calm and firm.
"What a warm welcome we have received. It would seem you were aware of our arrival?"
Edvar too remained calm as he replied.
"When we realised there were six men approaching, we had no choice but to ready ourselves. We've had some trouble with Bandits you see."
"That is some scout you must have to slip past my detection unnoticed."
There was a pause where neither man looked away from each other. The tension was high and i felt myself readying for an impending clash. Though i owed little to this village, i felt at least some degree of responsibility to fight for them.
"Were you celebrating something before we interrupted you?"
"Yes, you see, some of those bandits I had mentioned made off with a woman and child of our village. We were able to successfully retrieve them and put the bandits to death."
"Oh, Impressive indeed." Grey surveyed the men in front of him once more as if in disbelief that they had killed successfully defeated the bandits.
"And these bandits' bodies. Do you have them?"
"They can be found further up the mountain, perhaps an hour and a half walk."
"Ryan, recover the bodies, at utmost pace."
"Yes Sir." A young soldier pulled his helmet off to reveal a scarred face that seemed it would have been quite handsome prior to a life of battle. Now chisled and cut in many places but still framed by a sharp jawline and a full head of blond hair. He removed his chest armour next and dropped them to the ground with a loud 'CLANG' that pierced the quiet, then crouched slightly.
"Fleet foot" he uttered almost inaudibly. Suddenly with a flash, he was gone from the clearing. I had only just managed to track his movement with my extra sense and in a matter of moments he was beyond my range and moving up the slope towards my earlier battle. Had i left any evidence of myself?
Ten minutes had passed in complete silence before Ryan re-emerged with a grizzly memento in each hand. The severed heads of the two bandits were dropped onto the grass in front of Grey. Ryan saluted, then panting slightly began to re-fit his armour.
Grey bent down and inspected the two heads. The silence and tension were palpable and the air seemed grow still and stale in the clearing that night. No-one dared to talk or move.
With what felt like the release of a cork from a bottle of Champaign, Grey stood again and with a slightly more relaxed demeanour spoke once more.
"Bounties confirmed for both of these men. I'll now draft the sale paperwork."
With a collective sigh that seemed to not only come from the villagers but the very forest itself, the soldiers stood at ease and the villagers relaxed their shoulders. Grey pulled a fountain pen from somewhere in his armour and a roll of paper was placed on a nearby table by one of the armoured squad. Taking a seat Grey beckoned towards the villagers to do the same. A fight had been avoided, and a sense of calm had washed over me. I slumped back down into the stool in the kitchen and continued to watch over the scene in my mind.
A couple of the villagers had even gone as far as to start drinking again and small chatter had broken out once more. After a few more minutes Grey tucked his pen back into his armour and inspected his writing under the fire light.
"Good." he confirmed and handed the parchment to Edvar sitting opposite.
"This all looks good to me."
With that, Grey opened a small pouch at his waste and pulled two small, square pieces of metal and placed them down on the timber. Edvar picked them up in turn and after a brief inspection, pocketed them, nodded and thanked Grey.
"Now that the pleasantries are sorted i must get on to business. We are in search of a small party from Castle Holm who are due to return tomorrow. We're to be an escort for the final leg of the journey, however, it would seem we've missed them. Have you any sign of them?"
"None at all I'm afraid."
"So, it would seem. We followed the tracks from the road in hope, but it would appear nothing more than these two." he gestured towards the severed heads still laying lifeless nearby.
"Well with that, we best be on our way."
"I'm sorry we couldn't have been of more help."
"Not to worry. I'm sure the party is quite fine.... Oh, and one more thing before we depart. I'd like to talk to the person hiding in that house over there."
My heart nearly leapt from my chest when i heard the words. Actually, it seems i don't have a heart. I was panicked to say the least. So, he had noticed me after all. I stood slowly and carefully. I knew it was no use to pretend i wasn't here and the villagers wouldn't risk lying and potentially their lives for my sake. I stepped through the doorway and approached the soldiers slowly. As the light illuminated my body and face, the soldiers gasped and drew their weapons. All but Grey were on edge and ready for battle.
He surveyed me closely from head to toe and after a brief moment raised a hand behind him and signalled to the soldiers to lower their weapons, though none of them fully re-sheathed.
"I imagine it was you who dispatched of these two bandits?"
I nodded and keeping my voice as steady as i was able, ventured an introduction.
"Hello, i am Selwyn."
Grey didn't reply with an introduction himself and instead pushed forward with an interrogation.
"And what are you?"
"I am a plant... well a plant man."
"Curious, I've never heard of such a thing yet here you are, branches, leaves and all."
"I'm not exactly sure myself Mr Grey."
"Do you mean these villagers any harm?"
Edvar spoke out for me before i could answer.
"He does not. He saved the lives of two of our own and even carried them back for us. we owe Selwyn a great debt."
Seeming satisfied, Grey nodded and signalled his men to move out.
"We'll dispatch a squad here once we arrive at Castle Holm. It would seem there is a Bandit infestation that needs exterminating."
The men in unison put away their weapons and without another word marched off back the way they had come. After a few minutes, I gave the "all clear", as the soldiers and Grey left my range of detection, the villagers erupted once more in conversation.
"Man, that was scary"
"Wow that Grey guy was handsome"
"Did you see how fast that one guy could move."
"They're finally going to clear out the Bandits!"
The villagers began to drink and laugh again before long, and the merry atmosphere returned as the women and children rejoined the feast and festivities. I too was glad a fight hadn't broken out as I was fairly certain that I would have died at the hands of that troop.
"Mug"
I transformed just in time for the next round of drink pouring and pushed the thought of battle out of my mind once more.
***
Further on down the hill, the group of soldiers had reached the road once more. To their left lay the forest and hillside they had climbed from, to the right, the forest had opened to a valley with a large lake, snaking off into the horizon. Of course, it was too dark to currently make out as the soldier trudged on.
"Sir, should we have killed that thing back there?" Ryan asked as he followed on in the footsteps of his Captain. A practice taught to soldiers of Castle Holm to help hide squad numbers to any would be pursuers.
"It's best to er on the side of caution with an unknown like that. You never know what kind of surprises they might have up their sleave. The monster can wait. For now, we need to get back on Klanes' trail. I'll be quite annoyed if this opportunity passes by and i have to wait even longer to kill him."
"Understood Sir."