In Leben's eyes, he saw two arrows lodged in the seat of the wagon and Burro, trembling and lying beside it. The two horses pulling the wagon were startled by the sudden sound of arrows, rearing up on their hind legs and letting out uneasy whinnies. And there, blocking the front of the wagon, stood a group of unidentified figures.
"Whoo~! Look at the knight, all high and mighty!"
One of the figures blocking the wagon let out a whistle as he spoke.
They were the kind of people travelers or merchants most often encountered on the road. Bandits, robbers, brigands, highwaymen—different names for them depending on the situation.
Wearing tattered clothes and greasy leather armor that gleamed with oil, some held axes while others gripped bows, sneering at Leben and Leska, who had ridden up to meet them.
"Ha ha ha! Let's see… one, two, three… not many of 'em, huh? What's in that wagon? Mana stones? Or maybe silver?"
"Why bother asking? Anything coming from Slerom's gotta be mana stones or silver. Heh heh heh."
The conversation between two of the bandits blocking Burro's wagon carried over.
"You're right about our wagon carrying mana stones, but I'm not sure about the one behind us."
Leben said, slowly urging Leska closer to the bandits.
"Doesn't matter what's in it! We're taking it all anyway!"
"Ke ke ke ke!"
Ignoring the mocking laughter of the bandits, which rang out like the cawing of crows, Leben edged closer.
Leska snorted, shaking head and breathing heavily, while Leben gently patted the horse's neck with the hand not holding the sword.
Unlike Leben's calm demeanor, Leska's aggressive movements made several bandits feel threatened. They pointed spears and axes at him, forming a loose circle around him.
"Hmm… Bandits, how about running away?"
Leben, looking down at the bandits aiming their weapons at him from below, spoke in a leisurely tone.
At the same moment, Gravel, from Diara's wagon, held back the others who were about to rush toward the front wagon. He simply said, 'That knight alone is more than enough,' adding that they should trust him and watch for a moment. He quietly observed the scene unfolding ahead from atop his horse.
"Hey, old man! You think you can take on all of us just because you're wearing some shoddy armor and acting all calm?"
"Heh heh heh! He must be out of his mind!"
"Let's finish this quick and get back. It's been a while since we had horse meat… urgh!"
Thud!
A heavy impact echoed. In an instant, Leska spun around, and one of the bandits was struck by the horse's hind legs, sent flying past a tree and into a thicket of grass far off the road.
"What? What's going on?"
The surrounding bandits, caught off guard by the unexpected attack, turned to look in the direction their comrade had flown. In that moment, Leska spun again, biting the wrist of a bandit holding an axe and lifting him into the air.
"Arghhh!"
With a fierce rear, Leska raised front hooves high, then slammed the bandit held in the horse's jaws onto the ground.
Meanwhile, Leben, riding atop Leska, moved in sync with the spin. The knight swung the sword at the neck of a bandit who stood dumbfounded, unaware of what was happening.
With added momentum, Leben's sword cleanly severed the bandit's head.
"Urgh!"
"Run!"
"Get out of here!"
As the bandit's head hit the ground with a thud and rolled, the remaining bandits, witnessing the scene, began scrambling into the depths of the forest in a panic.
"Leska, that's enough. Let them go now."
Leben said, stroking Leska's mane as the horse still held a fleeing bandit's shoulder in its jaws, snorting excitedly..
"Ha ha ha! Burro, old man, it's been a while since we ran into bandits, and you dodged those arrows pretty well!"
Leben approached the wagon, looking at Burro, who was crouched and hiding beneath the seat.
"You're supposed to guard the wagon, not wander off somewhere!"
Burro stood, shaking his clenched fist above his head, his voice filled with anger.
"Ha ha ha, my apologies, old man Burro. At least I didn't go off to see your wife's face, so that's something, right?"
"I even saw my late wife coming to greet me for a moment... you idiot wandering knight!"
Burro sat back down, yanking an arrow from the wagon's seat as he spoke.
*****
After the brief encounter with the bandits, the two wagons continued along the forest path. The sun set, and night fell.
They gathered branches to build a fire, set up a tent to block the wind, and sat together around the glowing red flames of the campfire.
Nia, already asleep, lay with Nia's head resting on Leska's prone body. Burro, Leben, Reave, and Kein shared fruit wine—the traveler's closest friend—taken from Burro's wagon, as they talked.
"So, that day, I was lucky enough to catch a black reindeer and managed to bring it to the grand market to sell."
"That Reru didn't miss a single scratch to haggle the price down."
"Yeah, I nearly ended up walking away with just a pair of leather shoes instead of gold coins."
The two reminisced about their time at the great market.
"Ha! I'm jealous of you young folks. I don't have the energy to chase wild beasts anymore. All I can do now is haul goods on this wagon instead of using my legs."
Burro said, downing the wine in his glass in one gulp. He dipped his glass into the open barrel, then turned to Leben.
"Leben, you're always saying you're so young… How about it? Why don't you learn to hunt with these two young fellas?"
"A bow or crossbow's too much trouble. Are you already drunk, old man Burro? Worrying about the future of this wandering knight?"
"You two must have known each other for a long time." Kein said.
"Too long, it's practically rotting."
Burro replied, his cheeks flushed with drunkenness. Then, leaning against a tree behind him, he clutched the glass resting on his belly with both hands and fell asleep.
"The night's just waking up, and this old man's already out cold… Isn't that a bit too early?"
Leben looked around the campfire and up at the night sky, speaking to the others.
"Since you all enjoyed the reindeer hunting story, how about this wandering knight Leben tells you a tale from far-off Ves-Dinas, east of Rensillore?"
"Oh? Sounds good. Tell us!"
"Gravel over there loves hearing new stories."
Kein said, and Gravel nodded with a smile, signaling his agreement.
"You're from the Huld kingdom, right? That's far east. It's an honor to share a story with you." Leben said.
"I'll listen well, Sir Leben."
Gravel replied, giving a slight bow.
"Then I'll begin. They say anyone with wine can become a bard, but let's see if I have that talent. You all can judge."
Leben emptied his glass, meeting the eyes of the group gathered to hear his story. Sensing their anticipation, his voice took on a different tone, and the tale of Leben the bard began.
"Hmm… If my memory serves, this was about six years ago, in winter. It was when I, a wandering knight, temporarily set aside my shield with the purple iris emblem and served under Baron Sarrt, known as the Manticore of Chekka, in a small corner of Rensillore."
Leben showed the group the purple flower emblem etched in blue on his gauntlet.
"I don't know if you're aware, but winters in Rensillore are cold. Not as harsh as the frontiers of Kirvia further east, but cold enough to steal the warmth from the hungry and sick."
"And in winter, the bandits, running low on food, get even more brazen. So, I was ordered to join a handful of the baron's soldiers to hunt down a band of bandits deep in the Rowin Mountains, east of Chekka. To the old Manticore, Baron Sarrt, those bandits in the deep mountains were always a headache."
"There were over fifty bandits, by rough estimate, and all I was given were fifteen soldiers. Well, 'soldiers' is generous—they were more like townsfolk I had to turn into soldiers."
"Ugh, that's rough. Even for a baron…"
Reave interjected, reacting to Leben's story, giving him a moment to pour more wine from the barrel and take a bite of the meat roasting by the fire.
"Ha ha ha! At least their equipment was decent. The bowstrings hadn't been used in ages and needed replacing, but the spearheads were sharp, and the helmets were sturdy, without a dent."
"That's something, at least." Reave said.
"I'll continue then. I'm not used to speaking so formally, but tonight, this Leben's decided to be a storyteller."
"Ha ha! We're listening, Sir Knight."
Reave said, pouring wine into Leben's glass.
"Ahem! Ahem! Alright, let's continue. Hmm… Yes, I should start with when we began training the soldiers."
"Before heading out to take down the bandits, I had to train the soldiers. Out of the fifteen, over ten had never even shot a bow. A pair of brothers who worked the barley fields outside the village said they could handle a spear, and we had two hunters, which was a relief. But thrusting a spear at a boar or shooting an arrow at a deer is a far cry from facing a man, so training was necessary…"
"But we barely had time for training before the baron rushed us out. So, woefully unprepared, I set out with my fifteen soldiers to find the bandits' stronghold. Thankfully, no snow fell, and the wind wasn't too harsh, so we left Chekka with light hearts, at least."
Leben gazed into the crackling campfire, a bittersweet smile crossing his face as he recalled the memory.
"On the first day out of Chekka, the soldiers and I climbed a relatively gentle, long hill toward the mountains. Unlike the city, the wind blowing over the hill was bitterly cold. Fortunately, we'd brought patched-together fur cloaks from the baron's storehouse, so we were set to endure the cold winter nights."
"With that small worry eased, we kept marching toward the mountains until sunset. Riding Leska up the hill, I had little to complain about beyond the occasional cold gust, but the soldiers following me weren't so lucky."
"We had two horses carrying enough food and water for a while, but climbing rugged mountain paths in heavy armor and with spare weapons was still exhausting. So that day, I chose a suitable spot to set up camp a bit early."
Leben paused, sifting through the box of old memories, pulling out the moments spent with the soldiers that night. Meeting the sparkling eyes of his audience, lit by the campfire's glow, he took a sip of wine and continued his tale.