What makes monsters different from normal animals? The threat they pose they pose to the mortal races? Their anatomical makeup?

The answer is simple. Unlike animals, monsters occasionally spawn from the very earth. Like a pimple bursting out from unclean skin.

The reason for this lies in the creation of the world as we know it. Long ago, two primordial goddesses lived in an empty world. Perhaps out of loneliness, both goddesses gave their lives to create a world from their bodies.

Astreia, the mother of the stars, gave birth to the heavenly plane, stars, and the second generation of gods.

Atla, the mother of the earth, gave birth to the mortal plane, animals, and monsters. Her flesh became the land and her blood became the oceans.

Unlike Astreia’s body, Atla’s body continues to give birth to this day. However, all that can be produced are monsters.

But monsters are simply just living things. Just like animals, there are some that are dangerous, some that are helpful, and some that just exist. Even their bodies perfectly mimic that of other creatures. Yet they are called monsters because of the fear caused by a fraction of their kind. 

It is to the point that modern monsters are referred to as earthspawn by scholars. In truth, there are monsters that are born and monsters that are made.

The time was now around half an hour since the bandits started retreating. When my rookies had entered the village center, the marauders had already made a hasty retreat southwards. Yet this didn’t leave us without problems. The rookies, led by Justin, had been occupied with putting out the uncontrolled fires left in the bandit’s wake. 

As for me, I’m currently getting my wounds tended to inside of the village headman’s house, which was a simple building built from wood, straw, and mud. Apart from me, Zeph and one of the mounted rookies were also being treated as well. 

“The stitches should be done now,” the village headman’s wife said after putting the last lace through the hole in my thigh. “Thanks for being a good patient and not screaming while we were cleaning your wound.”

Well I did feel a bit of pain during the operation, but I no longer know how much it used to hurt. At the very least, this resistance is going to serve me well when I get my arm set. Soon after the headman’s wife was done with my thigh, the local bonesetter came to take care of me.

“Can you help me pull off my armor?” I requested the older man. “Not really possible with how my arm is.”

“You didn’t have to ask,” he told me politely. “It’s part of my job.”

After I nodded my head in thanks, the man began to gently pull off my armor. Before long, my upper body was stripped bare. This was actually a good thing when I looked down at my body. Although I hadn’t noticed during the fighting, a few bruises had cropped up on my body, most likely the result of blows that didn’t pierce my armor. 

“You look pretty battered,” Zeph said nervously.

Compared to me and the rookie who received open wounds, Zeph only bruised her back. Thus she was now resting on the side. I hope she’s not feeling too guilty about what happened. Even though I plan to lecture her later, I don’t want her to feel as though my injuries were her fault. 

Putting on a gentle smile, I attempted to alleviate Zeph’s fear. “Don’t worry about this, I’m fine.”

Zeph simply gave a vague nod before closing her eyes to rest. But before I could worry about that, the bonesetter began to unceremoniously prod at my arm. And after some squeezing and poking, he determined that I had fractured a part of my forearm. Which meant that I would have to wait for him to fashion me an arm splint. 

The process was a somewhat tedious one. The bonesetter propped my arm onto a box like contraption to hold it in place while a team of villagers collaborated on the splint. Ash wood planks and wool were the main materials, while flaxen rope was used to bind the splint together. 

“Thanks for your  help everyone,” I said as they were building the splint. “I really appreciate it.”

“You did save our village,” the carpenter said gruffly. “What type of people would we be if we didn’t at least tend to your injuries?”

He has a really good point. Though I needed to save face so I continued my argument. “You’re absolutely correct. However, I have to say that your skills are just as admirable as your effort.”

“The women are going to love you,” the carpenter snorted. “Any chance you’ll be staying here for at least a night? I gotta make sure to warn my daughter about you.”

“If your daughter looks anything like you then you don’t have to worry,” I said jokingly. “But in all seriousness, my group will be staying at your settlement for quite a while. We don’t know if the bandits might return so we’ll keep guard until forces from the city arrive.”

“Thank goodness,” he replied. “You might not have noticed, but our militiamen were slaughtered by those bandits when they attacked. I’m glad you were there to deliver justice to those bastards.”

Upon mention of the militia, all of the villagers in the room cast gloomy looks. As of right now, the village headman was actually working with Justin and the other rookies to identify the dead and give them proper burials. 

Once my splint was finished, I rested inside of the headman’s house for a while, until the homeowner came to fetch me. However, I noticed that the headman’s face was serious and rigid. I can only hope that things won’t be too grim for the village. 

“I apologize but I would like to speak to the knight in private,” the headman requested as he motioned for me to follow. 

“Not a knight, but I guess I’m pretty close,” I said while I exited the house behind him. 

Unfortunately for me, every step I took caused a probing pain in my thigh. It wasn’t a serious pain, but it was definitely annoying for me.

“So why did you call me out by myself?” I asked the headman when we were away from prying eyes. 

He looked at me with heavy eyes and gave an exhausted sigh. “Those bandits weren’t just any bandits. I knew them.”

“What do you mean?” I asked while narrowing my eyes. 

“Some of them were from a neighboring village,” the headman said while clenching his knuckles. “When I saw some of the corpses, I was reminded of people I knew from the settlement. But that isn’t what convinced me. I actually knew one of them personally, the mounted bandit that you killed. He was the son of a wealthy farmer in the nearby village. Before today, the last thing I heard about him was that he had been promoted for distinguishing himself in the Stygian army during the war.”

“So he was on the losing side,” I remarked while the headman nodded sadly. “Do you think that he and some of his comrades resorted to crime after deserting?” 

“That’s my best guess,” the headman replied. “They must have merged with at least another group, since there were southerners among their dead.”

“But why are you telling me this?” I asked the man.

“I need your opinion on something,” he replied gloomily. “As of now, the citizens don’t know about the identity of the bandits. And I think it should stay that way.”

“You don’t want to create tension with the nearby settlement right?” I asked him. 

“Correct,” he answered. “However, it is necessary to investigate the nearby village to see if they were aiding the bandits.”

“I agree,” I responded. “But I’m guessing that you don’t want to inform the citizens about this unless it’s proven.”

“I’m not sure if I even want them to ever know,” he sighed. “What good is revenge if it can’t feed us? Now don’t get me wrong, I want justice. But I don’t want my people to get distracted by hatred. We lost five healthy militiamen to the bandit attack. They weren’t just our defense, but they were vital because they hunted and tended the fields.”

“Will your settlement be able to survive without them?” I asked firmly. 

“We will,” he answered. “It will be hard, but we’ll be able to make it. Especially because our food storages have been left unharmed.”

“Do you have any plans for the family’s of the deceased?” I wondered. 

“We’ll support them as best as we can,” he assured me. “We are a community after all.”

“That’s good,” I replied. “On the topic of the dead, do you have any plans for distributing the belongings of the deceased?”

“Of course,” he answered. “The family’s of the militia will be given charge of their belongings. As for the bandits, I will leave that up to you.”

Soon after, he led me to the area where the corpses were being dealt with. There, two piles of bodies were present. Five bodies on one side and twelve on the other side. The militiamen were still neatly laid on the ground while the bandits had been tossed into a heap. 

Additionally, a few of the rookies were stripping the bandits of their belongings and piling the goods on the side. Most of the items were pieces of armor, weapons, as well as coin, jewelry, and other trinkets. 

“Does your village just barter?” I asked the headman. “Or do you also trade with coin?”

“We mostly barter,” he answered. “But we’re not strangers to using currency. Why do you ask?”

“I’m considering giving your village the money and other trinkets,” I told him. “We’ll just keep the arms and armor. And before you start arguing, I’d like to remind you that we’ll be staying in your settlement until you receive military aid from the city. So we won’t exactly be helping your food stores.”

“I understand,” the headman replied. “We’ll use the money to buy food, do repairs, and assist the families of the deceased in that case.”

Once the rookies were done stripping the bandits of their belongings, they built a large funeral pyre in an area where the wind blew away from the village. There, they unceremoniously heaped the bodies into the fire. It was also fortunate that my rookies weren’t from around here since none of them recognized the identity of the bandits. 

As for the distribution of gear, there were thirteen rookies splitting the equipment of the twelve bandits, Zeph and I abstaining from the loot. Among the rookies, Justin and the two mounted sellswords had the highest priority. The mounted two had helped distract the bandits while Justin led the critical effort to put out the fires. Thus Justin received the bandit captain’s horse, while the captain’s sword and chainmail were split between the two mounted rookies. I also had to do some mediating during the distribution, but things went well overall, every one of my students being able to improve their equipment. 

Unfortunately, I also found out that my own horse had been injured during the fighting. The injuries were mostly light punctures and scrapes on the back half of the horse. And although it was nothing serious, I felt saddened that my trusty companion was injured. 

Later that night, we had a big feast which the whole village participated in. The food was quite good: smoked sausages, ham, cabbage soup, and freshly baked bread. However, it was a solemn event. It wasn’t a celebration, it was a funeral. 

During the time we were burning the bandit’s corpses, the villagers were busy cremating their own. It seemed that the custom here was to dress and clean the dead before a priest/priestess prays for them. After which, the dead would then be cremated and their ashes buried. Although cities tend to have a priest/priestess of Mania, the goddess of death, to conduct these rituals, most rural settlements just have their local religious minister do it. In this case, the local priestess of Sol conducted the ceremony. 

Once we were finished eating, nearly everyone retired for the night, apart from some sellswords that I had posted to keep a nightwatch. 

As for how we were billeted, our band of mercenaries were distributed amongst the village families. The more troublesome rookies were separated and placed under the care of more capable citizens, while everyone else got to pick and choose. 

I, along with Zeph, stayed at the house of the civilian pair we had rescued during the fighting. The family of two consisted of a mother in her thirties and her young son who was around the age of 10. But the tragedy was that the father was one of the militiamen who died defending the village. Worse, the family had no blood ties to the village, the couple having emigrated here after the war. 

And although Zeph and I thought it would be better to stay at the house of another family, the mother, Helen, was very insistent on housing her saviors. It turned out to be a good choice however, since the house was fairly spacious compared to most of the houses in the village. 

The house was one big room with plenty of space that wasn’t occupied by livestock, something that could be considered luxurious for peasants. After convincing Helen that she and Zeph should share the main bed, and that I was adamant on sleeping in a bedroll, I was almost able to go to sleep. Almost.

“Excuse me, but can you help me with something?” Helen asked me before I could slip into my sheets.

“What do you need?” I asked curiously.

With a downcast look, Helen turned her head to peer at her son. “My child has been having a hard time since what happened today. Normally both me and my husband would tell him nightime stories before he sleeps. I had offered to tell him a story, but he said he wanted his father.”

Helen had pretty much broken down by the end, tears streaming from her face. I felt uncomfortable to say the least. Why did I have to be roped into something like this? Of all the people here, I would hardly consider myself kind or emotionally intelligent. Though the other option was Zeph, so I think that’s the issue.

“I wish Sekh was here,” I complained inside my head. 

But I couldn’t just back away from a situation like this. So I put on a gentle face and began to brush the tears off Helen’s face. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

After leaving Helen for Zeph to take care of, I walked over to the boy who was now laying on his small personal bed. 

“I miss my dad,” he said glumly. 

I felt a pull on my heartstrings when I heard those words. Yet I was also glad that he had begun to accept what had happened, since it saves me from having to explain the concept of mortality to a child. 

“I know,” I told him gently. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

The two of us went uncomfortably silent for a bit until the boy spoke up again. “You were the really brave soldier on the horse, right?.”

“Yes,” I replied. “But I think your father was braver.”

“You think so?” he asked with teary eyes. 

I sat down on the bed and began to rub his head. “Of course. Say you want to hear a story?”

“What’s it about?” the kid questioned. 

“It’s a story from my homeland about a great hero,” I answered. 

The young boy nodded as he wiped the tears from his eyes. 

Putting on my best storyteller voice, I began to tell him a tale I had heard since my childhood. “A long time ago when the gods had just left the mortal realm, there was a warrior called Amiran. At that time, there were many tribes that lived in Fars, and among them were Amiran’s people. But Amiran’s people had many enemies and were chased from their homes along the Enki river. So for many years, they traveled in search of a place to live. Eventually, Amiran received a vision that his people would find refuge in the mountainous lands northwest of Fars. And after some time, they reached the land that is now the Marches. But there was a problem. The land was filled with monsters.”

“Did he fight them?” the boy interrupted.

“Absolutely,” I replied. “With the aid of his trusty companions, Amiran cleansed the land of monsters. For years, he and his allies clashed against creatures like direwolves and rock vultures. But one day, he reached a mountain where a dragon lived. The dragon was a giant snake that had venom which could kill anything it touched. Yet Amiran was undeterred. Using his wits, Amiran snuck up behind the monster and caused a rockslide that crushed the beast. But the dragon was spiteful to the very end. As it was dying, it shot its venom in an attempt of revenge. And Amiran was struck in the eye by the dragon’s venom.”

“Did he die?” the boy asked anxiously. 

“He did,” I answered. “But Amiran’s death was not in vain. Because he had slain the dragon, the monsters in the marches all fled from the lands in fear. So in a way, he gave his life to give his people a better life.”

“Like my father,” the child concluded.

Well I had specifically chosen this story because of that parallel. And it seems to have paid off. The young boy had pretty much calmed down and soon fell asleep. The rest of us followed his example shortly after and slipped into slumber as well. 

The following day, I quickly set my rookies to work. Three of our number rode off to Damask on swift horses to inform the Doux about what had transpired. As for the rest of us, we spent our time helping the village out with various tasks. Some rookies were assigned to patrol the surrounding land, some hunted game to provide extra food, and the rest helped repair damaged buildings and strengthen the village defenses.

In particular, I had taken charge of bolstering the village’s palisade which had been damaged during the raid. And despite the fact that I had an injured arm, I was helping the whole time by moving materials and issuing commands. Well the main reason that I was doing physical labor was to encourage the rookies to follow my example, which worked quite well. 

It was during this time that Zeph approached me with a somber look. 

“Iblis, I want to apologize for what happened yesterday,” she said while looking at the ground. “It’s all my fault that you got injured.”

That’s mostly accurate in my opinion, but I don’t think I should be so blunt with her. Worse, I had lost most of my desire to lecture her at this point. 

“It’s alright Zeph,” I consoled her. “Your decision was certainly rash, but we managed to pull through. I’m just a bit injured while Helen and her son are safe. So although you need to be more careful next time, your heart is in the right place.”

Suddenly Zeph began to cry uncontrollably. And I started to panic. I didn’t want anyone to put forth untrue accusations due to a situation like this. Thus I ended up having to brush her head and wipe away her tears until she calmed down.

“Do you still remember the time we first met?” she asked after she finished crying. 

“Yeah, what about it?” I responded.

“Then do you know why I was so angry when I placed third in the tournament?” she continued.

“Because you have a giant ego?” I suggested.

Zeph turned and glared at me, though there was some gentleness in her eyes. “No, that’s not it. It’s because I was lucky during the tournament.”

“You’re going to have to explain that to me,” I told her. 

“Well I was lucky because I performed better than usual,” Zeph began. “All the shots I made exceeded my expectations. I thought I would have won first. But then I saw the scores. And it just made me feel so inferior. That even with luck on my side, I could hardly compete with you and Garrick.”

“So that’s what it was about,” I sighed. “Well you do realize that me and Garrick aren’t run of the mill archers. After all, I was among the best youth archers in the Marches and Garrick must have been quite special as well. So comparing yourself to us isn’t quite so fair.”

“Uh huh,” Zeph muttered, obviously unconvinced. 

“But what you didn’t notice is that we saw you as an equal,” I pointed out to Zeph. “Your skills were obvious from the get go. And out of everyone else there, I only ever considered you and Garrick to be a threat.”

“Sure…” Zeph replied. 

Yet when I looked down at her face, I saw a glimmer of happiness. Perhaps one day she’ll be able to better understand her own strengths and weaknesses. And perhaps I’ll have to help her get there. But I wasn’t opposed to the thought of it, not at all. 

The following days went by without anything notable. The rookies continued with their work and we kept waiting for forces from the city. During that time, I helped with construction and also played around with the children, particularly Helen’s son Nico. 

However, it was around the third night that something unusual happened. When I woke up in the middle of the night for water, I noticed that Helen was gone. And like any normal person, I went to go look for her. 

Fortunately, I found her leaning on the garden fence right by the house. Yet in the pale moonlight, I could see the trickle of tears down her face. 

“Um, what’s wrong?” I asked when I walked up to her. 

Helen almost jumped when she heard my voice, but calmed down when she turned around and saw my face. “It’s nothing, just a mother worrying about her child.”

“I see,” I said to reassure her of my presence. 

“You know, my son seems really fond of you,” she told me as I began to lean on the fence. 

“Okay…” I said uneasily.

I’m really not liking the direction of this. There’s a genuine possibility that she might ask me to be a surrogate father. It’s not like I’m opposed to helping someone out, but I have no intentions of going that far. And what would I get in return? Even if she offers herself to me, that’s not even something I want. 

“I know that you’re a busy person, but can you please visit from time to time?” she requested. 

“Oh, that’s fine,” I said while breathing out a sigh of relief. “By the way, how are things looking for your family?”

“Not good,” Helen replied flatly.

“Is the help from your neighbors not going to be enough?” I asked.

“Maybe,” Helen answered. “The situation isn’t quite so simple. My son and I won’t be able to contribute much labor. And with how things are in the settlement, I don’t know if they can sustain us.”

“Actually, I’ll be requesting that the Doux send aid to this village,” I informed her. 

“Will he even listen to you?” Helen asked glumly.

“I just need to convince his administration,” I told her. “Plus the issue with those bandits will put heavy pressure on the Doux from the central government.”

“I hope it works,” she said wistfully. 

Soon after, the two of us went back to sleep. The next morning, I noticed that Helen seemed a bit more energetic than before. And although I would like to give myself a pat on the back, I knew that I had a lot of work ahead of me. 

Later around noon that day, we saw a company of riders on the horizon. When they got closer, I could see that they were soldiers belonging to the Doux of Damask. Their leader was none other than Captain Gallus. 

“You look really beat up,” Gallus remarked when he saw me. 

“That’s an astute observation,” I replied. “So you want me to give you a report of the situation?”

“Yes,” Gallus answered. 

For a while, I detailed the events that had transpired, including the issue regarding the bandits’ possible ties to a nearby settlement. The whole time I spoke, Gallus just silently listened while occasionally nodding. 

“I’ll get to work right away,” Gallus said when I was done talking. “I recommend that you go back to Damask to get some rest. The Bureau manager girl also seemed really concerned when she heard about what happened, so you probably shouldn’t dawdle.”

“Thanks,” I replied. “Since the Doux doesn’t seem to be doing his job, I think we’re going to be working together quite a bit in the future.”

“Seems like it,” Gallus snorted.

Since I didn’t want to further burden the settlement with billeting the rookies, I quickly mobilized everyone to leave before evening. But before we left the village, my students and I decided to say our goodbyes to the people who housed us for those four days.

“You’re leaving already?” Nico asked me after I was finished talking with his mother.

“Sorry, but I have a lot of work to do,” I said while stooping down to rub the boy’s head. 

“Will you come back to visit then?” he questioned me while tugging at my shirt.

Looks like his mom was right when she said how he got attached to me. And although I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this, I decided to make the best of the situation. “Of course. But only if you’re a good boy.”

“I am a good boy,” Nico asserted. 

“Then promise me that you’ll make your mom happy,” I said while gripping his shoulder.

Like I had hoped, Nico looked me right in the eye and held up his right hand in a fist. “I promise. I’ll work super hard to help her and everyone else. So promise me that you’ll visit, big brother.”

“It’s a deal then,” I chuckled as I stood up. “And I promise that I’ll teach you to use a bow someday.”

As I was walking away, I looked back to see the family waving at me. Helen had tears in her eyes, while her son stood resolutely at her side. And when I turned back around, I could see that Zeph was beaming at me. 

“You really do have your moments,” Zeph said warmly as we were walking to our horses. 

Of all times, why does she have to get all affectionate now. She hasn’t even gotten Sekh’s approval. 

“You say it like it’s rare,” I said with a wry smile. 

Yet even so, I was glad to hear those words from her.