Chapter 8: Chapter 8
"My name is Konlan." The traveller stated.
Henry and Gullard exchanged a long glance. The subtext of this silent conversation was clear to both men.
Seconds ticked by as the brothers-in-arms wordlessly stared at the individual who called himself Konlan. After nearly a minute, the tense atmosphere was broken by two sharp sword cries.
The waists of both men became heavy with the weight of a blades nestled in it's sheath.
Henry and Gullard had made their choice. If the stranger in front of them were to bring harm to Ludwin, then they would personally accept responsibility. Even if it meant certain death.
"What happened to you traveller, how have you found yourself here in Ludwin? I know my town well, it cannot be found on any maps." Gullard questioned.
Taking a closer look at the stranger on their doorstep, both guards experienced a variety of emotions.
The traveler's clothes were torn beyond recognition and any color had bleached out from them long ago. Long hair fell across either side of his neck and a faint smell of smoke drifted across from his tall figure.
It was only now that he was stood still, that Gullard and Henry noticed the traveler's stature. He was a small giant, his biceps as thick as tree trunks and his broad back held straight.
The huge boar on his shoulder had previously made it difficult to judge his size, but now the two guards became acutely aware of how this giant towered over them.
Through the tears in his clothing, Gullard glimpsed rippling tightly packed muscle that seemed to cover every inch of the stranger's body.
He couldn't help but feel a strong twinge of jealousy. Not only was the stranger in front of him blessed with an extraordinarily handsome face, he was also gifted with incredible natural strength. On the battlefield a giant such as he would be worth the lives of a hundred men.
Gullard knew that no amount of training could narrow the chasm between him and this fierce stranger.
"My convoy, we were attacked, they took everything.
I have wandered aimlessly in that wretched forest for weeks. I scavenged what I could but their arrows scorched everything we carried.
All I have is my knife and the rags on my back. I hope to trade my hunt with your people for supplies and a warm place to stay the night."
The stranger's tale was one that appealed to the humanity and empathy in the guards' hearts.
This story had been carefully crafted by Konlan to increase the guards' trust in him. By giving minimal details he allowed the two guards to fill in any gaps with their own assumptions.
As for attempting to confirm the validity of his story; this was just not possible.
Entering into the deep forests to search for the ruins of a merchant convoy, no hunter in their right mind would take on this mission. The line between courage and foolishness was often blurred, however in this case the line was clear.
There were far more painless ways to commit suicide. Ones that didn't involve been torn limb from limb by hungry beasts.
With an oafish grin on his face Henry stepped forwards and threw his arm over the stranger's shoulder, "Aye, my sister runs a good inn. Although you might want to buy ya' self a new set of briefs before your cock hangs out!"
Despite the strong body odour that assailed his superhuman senses, Konlan felt a touch of warmth from the guard's actions. Day after day, week after week he had longed for just the tiniest reminder that there was still good in the human heart. Finally he had found the thing he'd been searching for.
"Thank you." He said, holding back the emotions that threatened to spill out.
Henry grinned wider, revealing a set of chipped yellow teeth, "It's not a problem. Fact if you knocked on the right doors I'm sure that some very lovely ladies would be happy to put you up for the night, free of charge for a man such as yourself."
The crude humor made Konlan smile, "I wouldn't want any strange noises to keep you up at night my new friend, I'll have to decline that offer."
The joke immediately caused Henry to chuckle slyly. A loud snort on his left then drew Henry's attention to his comrade trying and failing to maintain a serious face.
Henry's laughter doubled and tripled in volume, "Not so fucking proper are you now ol' Gull?"
Konlan's presence was almost immediately forgotten as the two men hurled increasingly vicious insults at one another.
After several minutes and an astonishingly broad vocabulary of colorful language, the guards reluctantly turned their attention back to their visitor.
Not waiting to hear his companion's reply Henry heartily patted Konlan on the shoulder and lead him through the village gates, "I'll have Lopan take the rest of my shift! Someone needs to show our new guest around and putting the lad through your shitty conversation skills might make him run back to that fucking forest!"
Konlan heard the teeth of the man referred to as Gull grind together in frustration. It wasn't difficult to see that he was furious at his brother's cunning ploy to escape work.
"Fine, send Lopan, it'll be nice to have a conversation with someone who's not got pig shit for brains."
The harsh words rolled off Henry's signature roguish grin, "Enjoy the rest of your shift ya' dumb cock! See you at sundown, might pay a visit to that just lovely wife of yours. In fact, I might even bring along our new friend!"
The implications behind Henry's words made Gullard shake with rage.
"Come on Konlan, let's get you a new pair of briefs!" Henry announced gleefully, relishing his clear victory over his companion.
Before Gullard could overcome his rage and come up with a retort, Henry and Konlan were already a few dozen meters away. Under Henry's insistent urging their rapid footsteps stirred up a cloud of dust behind them.
A sudden gust of wind washed sent this cloud of dust straight into Gullard's open mouth.
"That boar of yours is worth a few hundred oren, you don't see ones like that very often. It's a shame none of those young noble fools are visiting, they'd practically trip over each other fighting for the chance to pour out their coin-purses for a creature of that size." Henry spoke. Although his words contained a rare hint of intelligence, his hands were constantly pulling and prodding at various parts of the boar's body.
Konlan nodded his head "That's great, where can I sell this-"
A roar in the distance interrupted his sentence.
"I'm going to fucking kill you Henry!"
Konlan looked over to see an even more stupidly joyous grin than normal spread to either side of Henry's face. His lips were pulled so tautly that they seemed about to crack.
"Now that my friend, is entertainment."
Weekly Power Status
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