Village Atop the Mountain

I'm greeted by a sun that feels much closer than I'm used to. Towering peaks stand in the distance, but nowhere near as far as they were only a night before. The sounds of children playing and the smell of farm animals build a peaceful atmosphere in this mountain village.

"Mr. Clark!"

Our point of contact jogs over with a basket of grains in her dirt covered arms.

"You appear to be hard at work."

"The old folks were quick to put me back to work once I returned…"

She lets out a dry laugh, one that fails to hide the comfort in her expression. As much as she wants to leave this place and explore, her home never really changes.

"Are you the young man that brought our girl home?"

Behind me, an old man appears from one of the small gatherings around the village. He has grey hair and a slightly hunched back, but that aged body still seems capable of using the garden hoe resting against his shoulder.

"You are correct. However, I'm afraid I required Bailey's assistance for much of the journey."

"Haha! She's a tough one, so don't worry about needing her to pull some of the weight!"

He looks me up and down for a moment, stroking his short beard.

"You don't look much like a knight."

"I get told that a lot. Rest assured, I'm not usually drawn in unconscious."

"Sure hope not! You should have seen her face when you all arrived. Practically begged us to spare a cabin for you!"

"Grandpa!"

The girl in question shuffles around with embarrassment. Her grandfather pats me roughly on the back a few times before taking the basket from Bailey's hands.

"I'll handle this. You should show him the way around!"

"A-Are you sure?"

"Of course! It isn't often that we get young folk from out of town, ones you actually like that is."

"Huh!?"

The old man turns around and laughs as he leaves his flushed granddaughter behind.

"If you ever need anything, Clark, just give us a shout!"

"My goodness…"

Bailey tries her hardest not to look me in the eye as she begins leading Peo and me around town.

"Our village is best known for mountain rye and wool, so much of the land is dedicated to producing those. The sheep are quite fluffy at the moment as we prepare to shear in the summer."

As she had mentioned before, there really isn't much. Fields of grain line most of the visible space and corrals of white sheep take up the remainder. You can also find some subsistence farms around a few of the houses, leaving very little space for many other structures. In total, there are maybe 30 houses in the entire village.

"Sorry that I'm unable to show you anything interesting…"

"No, I find your village to be quite nice. The layout is quite interesting."

This is probably how humans in my world created settlements back in the day. The modern age always organises its land into perfect shapes to create the neighbourhoods and city we've come to know. However, these structures are built out of necessity with no idea of the future. You may have a cluster of houses followed by farmland. Then as the village grows, more space is cleared to construct a few more. This repeated process creates a layout that no architect could ever dream of at the beginning.

Now that we're back at the village centre, I begin making my way back to my temporary lodgings.

"While I enjoyed touring your homeland, I'm afraid that I should begin my work."

"Work? I believe that you still have time before your appointment?"

Bailey follows me inside, where I begin organising the items inside of Peo's large backpack.

"Our activities will be taking place further up the mountain, so I wish to observe the terrain beforehand."

"Are you certain? You may awaken the Stone Titan should you travel too far."

That is my exact target. Obviously I won't be fighting it ahead of schedule, but being prepared is a necessity for a fight that has every resident of this land trembling in fear.

"In regards to the Titan, would you happen to know where it rests? I would like to avoid it if possible."

"That's a difficult question…"

Considering that the mountain itself is home to the Titan, Bailey's troubled expression isn't surprising. However, there must be some kind of location to strike if Norwin intends to fight it.

"Any kind of hint is priceless."

"I suppose there is one place that I can think of…"

She motions for us to follow her out of the building. With everything in our bags in order, I picked up my satchel and Peo her backpack.

"The Titan's minions tend to be fairly active at certain parts of the mountain. We haven't seen exactly where they originate from, but they seem to come from up there."

I block the sun from my eyes as I stare past her pointed finger. After a certain point, there is nowhere higher to look.

"That is quite inconvenient."

"Would you like me to show you the way?"

Out of nowhere, her eyes are filled with determination. We've been through a lot together in such a short time. Traveling with her again wouldn't be so bad, but it comes with too many negative side effects.

"The mountain pass can be fairly dangerous and it's important that you know where the creatures start appearing."

"I cannot allow that."

Bailey flinches at my immediate refusal. Her hands are folded in front of her, but I can see them turning white.

"I don't wish to be rude, but it would be difficult to protect you if anything were to appear. The guilt I would experience were something to happen to you would be too great. Peo and I can hold our own just fine."

"I see…"

Her blue eyes are cast downwards at my words. Making her upset has no benefit, but I cannot pretend as if she would be an advantage on this journey. This does have Titan's involved after all, and our mobility would suffer greatly with Bailey present.

Since I have no more words available for the farm girl, I prepare to leave her as she is. To my surprise, somebody else steps in to comfort her.

"P-Peo?"

"Giant…dangerous."

Peo has a small hand tugging on the pale red dress. Hearing the young beast speak is an occurrence that Bailey did not expect.

"Wait…for us."

"Huh?"

"Hungry…after trip."

"A-Ah!"

Bailey turns and grasps Peo's hand in hers. She is once again filled with energy after gazing into those upturned green eyes.

"Of course I'll have something prepared when you two get back! Look forward to it, okay!"

A head of sandy hair rocks up and down as she nods. Once she is released, the young beast follows me out of the village and onto the mountain trails above.

When the residents are out of earshot, I turn to my side and look at those pointed ears.

"When did you get so good at dealing with people?"

"Watching…C."

I guess she's seen me deal with Duncan enough times to understand the basic idea. Sometimes all you need to do is make the person feel important.

"You learn fast."

"Mhm."

Without any further conversation, we continue up the mountain and leave Cadell behind for now.