The rest of the night was uneventful, thankfully, and Aedan set off early in the morning to continue his trek to the nearest village. According to the system, he had approximately 30 miles to go. Based on his experiences, very few predators were active in the early morning, so he used that to his advantage by dropping Stealth and opting to go for a full-speed approach. Discounting the times he had to dodge major brush, his estimations implied he would arrive in about two hours at most. For fun, he started using the surroundings to improve his speed, kicking off of trees to clear brush, swinging over small creeks with branches and vines, and even jumping through branches if needed. As a result, he got a new skill again.

"Even this is a skill? I didn't see this one before. I just saw actual people doing this in the game and just figured they could do it for real. Convenient!" Aedan smiled, as if learning a secret he'd never known. With the new skill, his speed increased a little further.

After over 90 minutes of running, the young man began to hear the sounds of flowing water. "System, is there a river near Dawncairn?"

"The Dustpoint River runs directly alongside the village."

Aedan absently nodded, "Good." He continued onward for another mile before the line of trees ended, leaving only fields. "Well there goes my cover... kidding." Now that he didn't have to worry too much predators, he decided to just walk the rest of the distance once he found a road, taking in the seas of wheat and the open fields of grass. Twice during his journey, a big dog ran over, barking aggressively. Knowing they were farm dogs and were protecting their land, he gave them a wide berth, letting them know he wasn't going on their land. Both reduced to just warning growls until he passed.

Soon, he saw the village, a peaceful medieval hamlet along the riverside. A handful of guards patrolled the area, two at the entrance along the road he was traveling. One of them stepped forward and called Aedan over. "A lone traveler with nothing but clothes stands out, young man. Mind identifying yourself for me?"

Aedan nodded, "My name is Aedan, sir. I got separated from my traveling party a few days back during a bandit raid on the caravan and lost all of my gear. I've been lost in the woods since, and when I found the caravan, it had been destroyed and nothing was left. I think it's been... three days since, so about a week. Thankfully, I've lived in the woods before, so I didn't get in any tussles with the wildlife or eat anything wrong."

"It's fortunate that you survived. I'd heard that bandits roamed further south between here and Knightligh. Welcome to Dawncairn, young man. Head to the other end of the village along this road and you'll find the inn, the Farmer's Rest. Talk to the owner, Erik, he'll help you get on your feet. Tell him Marcus sent you."

"Thank you, sir." He bowed politely and began heading towards the inn. Along the way he saw several children, some dogs and villagers going about their day. A patchwork ball rolled towards him and stopped at his feet, and a group of kids ran over before stopping cautiously. When one timidly asked if they could have it back, he smiled and decided to entertain them a little. He'd spent some time playing soccer, or football, when he was younger, and he still knew how to do it, so he said, "Watch this," and started juggling the ball. He started slowly but started picking up the pace, adding in knees, shoulders, head, chest, and eventually the back. When they were all deeply engrossed, he grinned and gave it a hard kick straight up, then stopped and stood in place as it flew up. When they thought it would hit him in the head, he leaned back, letting it roll down his torso and down his leg, where it hit the curve of his foot and flew up at just the right angle to fly over and land at the feet of the one who'd asked. He then over-dramatically bowed as they cheered, "I'm still a bit rusty, but I'm glad you liked it." After giving them a few pointers on the tricks, he said that they could try passing it back and forth without letting it touch the ground for a challenge. Once they thanked him and went back to playing, he grinned and continued, noticing the smiles from nearby villagers.

___

Not long later, Aedan reached the old inn, the Farmer's Rest. A quaint building with a well-built thatched roof facing the Dustpoint River, the inn was the second largest building in town, following the town hall that doubled as a warehouse and shelter. Despite its size, it was clear it had very few guests. Instead, it appeared to cater mostly to the locals and to the occasional merchant caravan. As Aedan stepped inside, a handful of people looked his way, including the barkeep, giving him a watchful eye as he made his way to the bar.

The barkeep, a middle-aged human covered in scars and missing two fingers on his left hand, eventually moved down the bar to the young Rogue, "You're a new face 'round these parts, son."

"After being stuck in the woods for a week after a bandit raid, I'm happy to see people again. I've been told to find the owner, Eric."

"You're lookin' at him, son. Eric Sawyer, owner and proprietor of this here Farmer's Rest Inn. Who sent you my way?"

"One of the village guards, said his name was Marcus."

"Marcus, huh? If he sent you, then you must've passed in his eyes. I reckon he sent you here because I'm the helpful sort."

Aedan chuckled, "He said that you'd 'get me back on my feet."

"That sly... He's not wrong. Curse that bastard, he knows I can't turn down someone in need. Must be from our days in the army together." Eric rubbed the back of his head with his right hand as he groaned, "So I can figure out how to help you, I need to know what you can do, son."