This prison isn't much of a puzzle, Vi concluded, After a thorough examination that lasted many fortnights, the prison is, quite truly, complete shit.
After all, he just escaped. His friends dead, his mother's death a mystery, his father cynical, all Vi wants now is just freedom. But where to? Rutsk Fort. The Fort of thieves, murderers, and bandits alike. Afterward, perhaps Vagabond City, a very large camp hidden in the Bolinwood province. Eslientia and the neighboring counties are known to attract crowds of outlaws, so blending in is no problem. But after blending in, what then?
Thieving, perhaps murdering. Pillaging and everything in between. Vi has no will to incite revolt or rebellion, he only wants to live a life. A good one isn't necessary, it just needs to be a life.
So as Vi sprints through roads and fields away from his certain doom, all he can think about is living. There's no need to be virtuous or glorious. The world is full of mystery and lies, strangeness and questions. The question of his mother will never be answered. The answer will always stay hidden underneath stone.
"Shit!" Vi yelped, tripping over an unfortunate soul. He tumbled violently to the ground, his sprint having been too quick for his own good.
"Ah!" the other, now on the ground, exclaimed in reply, tumbling alike.
"Sorry, kid," Vi apologized, quickly rising to his feet and trying to dash away.
"Wait, sire," the boy on the ground pleaded, "Please, wait."844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtmoLJv3e2
"I'm in a hurry." Annoyance crept onto his visage. He couldn't be lollygagging while there might be guards chasing after him.
"Sire, I understand. You run from guards, no?" Vi slightly cursed, wondering just who the hell this kid is. "My father was the Bear, sire. I am with the Barking Knights now, as he requested I run when we were attacked on the road, sire. Do you not remember me, Sire Eslient?"844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJjz604ymP
Well shit! Vi thought. "Yes, boy," he answered, "I remember you as Daron's son. The bastard child?"
"Yes, sire." Vi grabbed the boy's hand and helped him up. "Thank you, sire. Now, sire, the Knights are kind and would take you in. They have long hated Eslientia, so they would not hesitate to aid an ex-convict just for spite against Eslientia. Please, come to the cabin."844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDwdPI59wj
"Wait, this is north of the city?" The boy nodded. "Damn, I meant to go south to Rutsk."844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7hAHw770pR
"We can smuggle you to the fort, if you want, sire."844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlo9UK9TbEF
"Good man, you are. Take me to your master knights. I am weak and starving."
"Of course, sire. Please, come." The boy struggled to support the weak man, but coupled with Vi's very light weight, as no food had been in his belly very often, it was bearable.844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIAI6R66Fi
Trudging through the cool breeze of spring, they made their way to the Barking Lodge.
Once near, a knight puffing smoke outside looked at the pair with worry. Now who is this poor sod? he pondered, Surely the kid would explain, I'm sure.
The knight hailed the convict and the squire with a wave of the hand.
"Hail!" the knight greeted from afar. With no response, he repeated, "I said, wes heill, fellows! Ahoj! Hej! Hallo!" Still no response. "I swear I haven't heard you speak, boy, and yet do you not speak the common language, nor the languages of the neighboring countries?"
"Hail, Sire Gansson, Knight of the Forest and Barking Lodges, I—"844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFvRZOg3Bb
"Woah, there, squire." He walked nearer to the two struggling persons, losing the distance between them. "No need for formality. Now, boy, who is this?"
"My name is Vi," Vi answered the knight, "born a scoundrel and now a bandit that has terrorized Eslientia alongside my deceased comrades in the Greu Hill Bears. I am the only one to escape, and I'm sure the old Eslient is furious at my cunning."
"Oh." Damn, the knight thought, this child has some balls to be dragging a bandit here! But yet, he is against Eslientia, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, or rather tool. "Yes, good. Come, come, scoundrel. We'll take you in, for dishonoring Eslientia. We will want to hear your story, but after you've had some soup. Come inside." The three of them reached the door, pushing it open with a creak, and discovered the homey inside of the lodge.844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ53hSVseQ67
"Gansson," a fellow knight complained, "give me some of that damn tobacco, will you? And—" He halted his voice, seeing what was before him. "And shit, who is this, now!"
"A convict of the Eslientum prison, sir. And no, my tobacco is mine, and your yours."
"First off, damn you." A smile widened on the old man's face. "Secondly, welcome, lowly waste! We always welcome enemies of the green-haired fool! Really, take a seat and have some food. Don't hesitate."
"Ah," the squire sighed, "You may not enjoy his story, sire, if he told the truth."844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6l4bUWgFVH
"What's not to enjoy about a thief of brigand making 'Master' Eslient's life hell?"
"Sire, with all do respect, that is for him to dispose." The older man made a skeptical look, but dismissed it all the same.844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19gPGePbQj
"Nay, with that. Any news is good news." He turned to Vi. "Now eat, man! This may be your last meal, after all, what with the surprising tracking skill of the Eslientum town guard!"
Sitting on a wooden chair, taking a loaf of bread and requesting a bowl of soup with a grunt, Vi enjoyed the gluttony after so many days in prison, being fed only a few times any several days. The only reason he isn't completely malnourished and exhausted might be because of the rats and cockroaches he ate, but he isn't worried. A good healer could take any disease out of him. Even the squire, with Western blood, might be an adept healer yet! Such is the practice of Western tradition.
After devouring a meal to put a a barbarian from the Northeast to shame, Vi allowed the bread, soup, and fowl to settle in his stomach. he began wondering what parts of his tale to tell the knights. He should start with the simple facts: he was a bandit in the Greu Hill Bears, he led many raids of many Eslientian guard patrols, and he hated Dei Eslient with a passion to break the sun. Then he should tell the tale of the prison; oh, what a gruesome tale, indeed! Losing his friends, his brothers and sisters, watching everyone rot, tortured by the vile torture master! Many bloody, starving nights were spent laying across the stone floor or sprawled across the torture table. The spells and curses the torture master would use, oh, absolutely horrific! Vi Eslient is a man of bravery and confidence, but now he knows he would fear falling into that dungeon again. There, true nightmares await.
"Will you tell the tale, sire?" the child-squire asked, "The Knights are waiting, sire. I advice, sire, with all due respect, to stop pondering and speak."844Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3bqAtMCi8
"Yes, of course, young squire." Vi rose, turned his chair around, and slouched against its smooth, wooden surface. He took a breath, and began his story.
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