Volume 01 - Chapter 1: A Chance Meeting Between Man and Blade (Part 03)

What awaits my waking eyes is a quiet darkness. Faint moonlight trickles through the window along with a chilly night breeze. I ease out of bed and grab my bag, along with the handful of letters. After bidding my room farewell, I step into the hallway and listen for footsteps or muffled words suggesting someone is still awake, but find none.

Tiptoeing to my siblings’ rooms, I place letters before each door. Two for this one, another three here, and the last pair here. I head downstairs, cringing at every creaking floorboard. After placing my parents’ letters on the kitchen table, I slip outside through the side entrance; it makes the least noise.

Safe. Now to face Excalibur’s wrath. I creep through the black of night toward the stables, sparse rays of moonlight poking through thick clouds offering little help. After trudging through several mushy objects and tripping over a sand pile, I enter through the back. Horses neigh in surprise but soon fall silent. Running a hand along the wall, I find and ease open the hay room door.

“Hey, it’s me, Leo,” I whisper, not expecting a reply. If I were her, I’d have left a long time ago.

“…You.” The low growl of a blood-hungry beast echoes.

“…Sorry for the wait.”

“Sorry? Were you truly sorry, you wouldn’t have lied about when you would return.” She steps close.

“I didn’t lie…didn’t mean to lie. Certain circumstances prevented me from returning until dark.”

“Those being?”

“Well…” I tell her, keeping the part where I fell asleep to myself.

“A stomachache? That was your best idea?”

“What would you have done? Anything worse and my sister would’ve forced some nasty medicine down my throat. Anything less and my father would’ve had me tilling till sunrise.”

“Fine. But don’t think I’ll forget the agony you put me through, servant boy.”

“It couldn’t have been that bad. Did you at least take a nap?”

“A nap?!” She grabs my shirt collar. “Not ten minutes after you left did someone enter this room. I had to bury myself in this awful, stinking pile of hay. Then, they began to gather hay from the pile, forcing me to burrow even further. Whoever she was started singing the same four verses of some silly song over and over in the most ear-piercing tone I’ve ever heard. She didn’t leave for at least two hours! And! Mere seconds after that, those horrible beasts started mooing and neighing incessantly. I couldn’t have slept if I wanted to!” Scoffing, she pushes me.

“…Sounds pretty bad.”

“Obviously! I suggest you prepare yourself for the same level of suffering as punishment.”

“H-How about I make it up to you instead?”

“In what way?”

“I’ll do whatever you ask for a whole day. Sound good?” That one always works on my sisters.

“No. You’re my sworn servant. I can tell you what to do anytime I want.”

“…Right. Well, please take your time to think of some recompense that doesn’t lead to my pain. For now, let’s go. Can you see?”

“Well enough to leave this horrible place behind.” Picking hay from her clothes, she follows after me to the fields.

Thinning clouds unveil a beaming half-moon. Excalibur walks past me and turns, her raven hair glimmering under the moonlight.

“Am I right to assume you’ve given no thought regarding our next destination?” She leans forward, index finger leveled at my forehead.

“You’d assume correctly.”

“Idiot. Don’t sound so proud. You had plenty of time. Surely you formed at least one plan of action.”

“No. I don’t know where we’re supposed to go. You’ve provided zero details about anything.”

“I told you enough. My fragments were scattered across the land; we need to collect them.”

“Ok, but where? Do we pick a random direction and hope we’ll bump into one?”

“Of course not.” She rubs her chin. “Have you gotten wind of any strange happenings or rumors as of late?”

“…Such as?”

“Earthquakes, snow in summertime, monster sightings, anything abnormal.”

“Not a one. And what do you mean ‘monster’?”

“What else? Freaks of nature, products of alchemical mishaps, dragons, hydras, three-headed dogs, you know.”

“No, I don’t. This country isn’t home to anything so fantastical.”

Her eyes widen. “How…wait…what year is it?”

“One-hundred-fifty. Of this country’s calendar, that is. As for the rest of the world, well, I’m not too sure, but it should be three-thousand-something.”

“So much time has…that explains why I…no matter. You seriously haven’t heard of such monsters?”

“I’ve read about dragons, but those only exist in storybooks.”

“Perhaps now, but not in the past. The last time I was awake, such creatures were everywhere, tormenting anyone unlucky enough to encounter one. Count yourself blessed this era hasn’t had to deal with such horrors.”

“…If you say so. Anyhow, we need to leave.” The sooner we leave the village, the better.

“Not until we know where we’re going. Where can we gather information? You may not have heard of anything out of the ordinary, but others might’ve.”

“The nearest town, I guess. It’s about an hour’s walk from here.”

“Is it a large town?”

“No, but it’s along a trading route. Merchants and travelers from all over Halivaara pass through every day. We’ll can talk to all sorts of people.”

“Hali-what?”

“Ha-li-vaa-ra. Here. Where we are now. One of the kingdom’s five provinces.”

“…Which kingdom?”

“Huh? There must be a limit to your cluelessness.”

“Watch it, servant boy. That lake didn’t exactly come with a library. Just answer my questions.”

“Sure. We’re in the kingdom of Seiren.”

“Thank you. While I’d prefer not to rely on the inferior mental prowess of a farmhand, I’ll need you to answer several questions regarding this era.”

“…I’ll do what I can. But this farmhand knows a whole lot more than you might imagine. Whenever I wasn’t planting potatoes, moving sand piles, or playing with my siblings, I was studying current events, geography, and history.” Meaning, I squeezed in two hours of studying a week at best.

“Planning your escape?” She smirks.

“S-So what if I was?” I turn, point north. “Let’s head to Gamaloth. That’s the name of the trading hub.”

“An acceptable first step. Get going, servant boy.” She flicks her head, hands on her hips.

Suppressing a sigh, I walk away from home and into the darkness. Excalibur follows, wearing an expression of curiosity and confusion. At least some of my knowledge will finally be put to use…