"By the warmth of this campfire, my soldiers and I spent the night. Though we had to contend with the biting chill of early winter and the even sharper night winds, many of the soldiers agreed that wrapping themselves in blankets and cloaks and sitting by the fire was far better than trudging through the cold."
"And so, morning came again. Thanks to keeping the fire alive through the night, we could rise without the creaking of stiff arms and legs. It was a leisurely morning. Everyone warmed their bellies with a soup made from dried vegetables and meat cooked over the still-burning fire, then packed up the campsite and headed deeper into the mountains."
"Breathing out white puffs into the morning air, we passed trees that had shed their leaves, forgetting their green, and walked slowly, searching for the bandits' hideout somewhere in the mountains."
"After traveling some distance, the plan was to set up a campsite as a base and send out scouts to search for traces of the bandits."
"But it wasn't as if we were going to haphazardly scour the entire mountain without a plan. From information gathered from villages and farms plundered by the bandits, stories from an unfortunate coachman who barely survived an encounter with them on the road, and rumors of a suspicious group passing through a village tavern, we pieced together clues. By combining these, we could predict a few likely locations for the bandits' hideout in the mountains."
"And those locations were marked on a map, rolled up and stored in a long leather case tucked inside my coat. Consulting the map, my soldiers and I trudged through the cold, desolate winter mountains until the afternoon."
"By late afternoon, we set up a campsite to serve as our base for tracking the bandits. We built a larger fire than the previous night, set up tents and makeshift barriers to block the wind, and rested while watching the sun set beyond the mountains."
"And so, we spent our second night in the mountains. There was always the chance that bandits, spotting the glow of our campfire from some distant part of the mountain, might launch a night raid. To prepare for this, we added simple wooden palisades and then rested. I recall hearing a few grumbles from the soldiers at that time."
"So, was there an attack by the bandits that night?"
As Leben paused his story to adjust his posture, Reave tossed a few small branches into the campfire and asked.
"Hmm… fortunately, there was no raid. But part of me almost wished the bandits would attack. Even if we'd narrowed it down to a few locations, wandering through the vast mountains of Rensillore would be far more tedious than capturing a few bandits and forcing them to reveal their hideout's location."
"That makes sense." Reave nodded in agreement.
"Hmm. By the way, this… trying to mimic a bard is harder than it looks. I'd love to spin the tale more grandly, but I'm wondering if I should just stick to my usual way of talking. What do you all think?"
Leben wiped the ale from his bearded lips and asked the group gathered around the campfire.
"I'm fine with it." Reave replied.
"If the Sir knight feels comfortable, it'll be easier for us to listen comfortably too~" Kein added.
After locking eyes with Gravel, who nodded and said, "I think you can tell a fine story in your usual tone."
Leben continued his tale of that cold winter day in the mountain campsite.
"Alright then, I'll carry on. Let's start with the morning of the third day."
Leben leaned forward, removing the metal gauntlets from his forearms and hands as he spoke.
"On the morning of the third day, I woke up before dawn. I was feeding a mix of beans and oats to Leska when a young soldier named Nilz approached me. He was a stout, short fellow with a bit of a belly and a face that hadn't yet sprouted a beard. Later, the other soldiers told me that in Cheka, despite his youth, he was known as 'Eye-Piercer Nilz' for his impressive skill as a deer hunter."
"Nilz greeted me that morning and asked where he should scout before the sun rose."
"Wow… a diligent guy."
Reave said, raising an eyebrow in surprise at Nilz's initiative.
"Hahaha. At first, I was puzzled too, but it didn't take long to learn from the other soldiers that his 'scouting' was an excuse to hunt deer."
"Pfft, so that's how it was. We at least took leave to hunt black reindeer. So, did he come back with a deer?"
"Well… Nilz's arrow did hit a deer, but he returned to camp empty-handed."
"Did he miss?"
"Probably just grazed it, and it got away. Happens all the time when hunting."
"Both got away? Nilz said his arrow pierced the deer's neck clean through, and it collapsed after a few steps."
"Huh? Then…"
"It was taken."
"Wolves, maybe?"
"Wolves or a bear?"
Reave and Kein grew more intrigued as Leben spoke of the hunt, pressing him for details.
"Haha, sorry! The story keeps turning into a riddle. And no, it wasn't wolves or a bear."
"Then what was it?"
"A creature of the forest, a Strigoi, or so I was told. I later learned it's a monster that drinks the blood of the living to steal their life force, jealous of the breath of the living. Ever heard of it?"
Leben looked at Reave and Kein.
"Strigoi? Never heard of it." Reave said.
"Me neither…" Kein added.
"I was just like you two until an old soldier named Moil explained it to me. I asked Nilz the same thing. It's not some ancient legend, but something that's been spotted around Rensillore for a few years now."
"Not that it's as common as goblins or the bandits we met earlier today. It's mostly herbalists, hunters, or lumberjacks in the mountains who've encountered Strigoi. They've found the remains of unfortunate animals or travelers attacked at night, or impatient merchants who met their end. That's how the name of this monster, whatever it is, started spreading."
"Oh? Did you hear that, Gravel? If you ever travel to the eastern Rensillore region near Ves-Dinas, watch out for Strigoi."
Reave called out to Gravel across the campfire. Knowing Gravel and Iris could likely handle a hundred Strigoi without issue, Reave's warning was more playful than serious, almost as if he pitied any Strigoi that crossed their path.
"Haha, I'll keep that in mind." Gravel replied.
Leben's story continued.
"So, Nilz rushed back to the campsite and told me that while scouting the area I'd assigned, his eyes and mind were stolen by the thought of a deer grazing somewhere in the early dawn. With cautious steps, he headed into the mountains. Not long after, he spotted a small white-tailed deer near a mountain pass."
"Ho? Even if it's a common white-tailed deer, it's not something you just stumble upon when you want. That Nilz was lucky."
Kein remarked, sharing his hunting knowledge and giving Leben a brief moment to wet his dry lips and throat.
"Really? I don't know much about hunting, so I didn't realize how lucky that was. Anyway, let's continue from when Nilz spotted the deer."
Leben straightened his hunched back, stretched an arm forward as if drawing a bow, and began recounting the story Nilz had shared with him.
"Nilz said he took a deep breath, held it, aimed at the deer, and released the arrow. It sliced through the air and struck the deer's neck. Before he could celebrate the deer's collapse, a monster appeared out of nowhere and pounced on it."
"It had pale skin, arms so long they dragged on the ground, tipped with sharp claws that gripped the fallen deer. Its mouth, lined with jagged teeth, tore into the deer's flesh. Nilz watched from a distance."
"But since he told you this story, doesn't that mean he escaped the Strigoi without being spotted?" Reave asked, quick to catch on.
"Hm? Is that how it works? Haha! I was about to describe how Nilz ran back to camp with agility that didn't match his bulk, but I guess I slipped up."
"Oh well, I'll leave that part to the imagination of our listeners and move on to when Nilz returned to camp and told me about the monster he encountered."
With an awkward smile, Leben scratched his bearded chin, took a sip from his ale-filled mug, exhaled deeply, and continued.
"When Nilz returned to the campsite… well, he looked exhausted. Sweat dripped down his forehead and cheeks as if he'd been caught in a downpour. With panting breaths, he kept repeating the words Strigoi and 'monster,' his wide eyes trying to explain what he'd just experienced."
Leben closed his eyes, furrowed his brow as if recalling the moment vividly, and went on.
"So, I handed this frantic scout a bottle of ale I'd been saving, told him to breathe slowly, wipe his sweat, and explain what he saw—what this Strigoi was."
"After a big gulp, Nilz's cheeks flushed red. Once he'd calmed down a bit, I sat him down nearby and asked him to tell me what happened."
"Since you all know what he said, I'll skip ahead to the campsite after sundown."
"How about we continue tomorrow? It's not too late, but if we keep going like this, you two might be riding with a nasty hangover tomorrow."
Diara stood, looking at Reave and Kein, their faces flushed and eyes half-closed from the ale.
And so, the first performance of a wandering knight dreaming of being a bard came to an end. The coachmen of the two wagons, the knight and soldiers guarding them, and the adventurers all fell asleep.