“Now, can we talk about that dream of yours?”

I opened my eyes. They didn’t want to cooperate, but the bright morning sun beaming through the window forced them open. Yusha stood over me, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she looked at me with worried eyes. I sat up on my mattress and rubbed out the last bit of sleep in my eyes and looked at her head on.

“It... was something else. Really odd. There... were shadows everywhere. People running. Monsters chasing them. Then I fought some... giant shadowy monster.”

“Did you win?”

I shook my head. “Don’t think so. Even though it was larger than me... I stood my ground. The dream ended after I tried to block a slash from his claw.”

“Interesting.” Yusha placed a hand to her chin and tapped her foot against the ground. “Unfortunately, I’m not a Cleric. So I don’t have much insight on what that dream could possibly mean. All I know that it must have some kind of importance behind it if one of Govessa’s champions was plagued by it.”

“Yeah. I planned on giving her a call later today. You’re more than welcome to join in if you want.”

Yusha bobbed up and down on her heels. She looked happy. “Oh, I would love to! I hope that me joining in on another chat wouldn’t make me too much of a bother though.”

I waved my hand at her. “Nah. She seems like she’d be fine with it. As long as we talk to her about something important, I’m sure she won’t mind.”

“Good, good.”

“But I did want to get some practice in today. I know a lot of dojos open up early so they can get as much work done as possible when there’s still daylight. So, did you have anything planned?”

“Nothing in particular. Just going back to the forest and fighting a few Entities. Is that something that would interest you?”

I nodded. Not like I had much a choice. Besides, I was eager to get back to fighting and testing my powers. “Of course! When would we be heading out?”

“We can leave in the next few minutes. I’ll just grab some extra supplies this time. That way we can stay out there longer and not have to head back after only getting enough experience for a single level up.”

Nice. A grind session. I was used to those back in my college days. And unfortunately, it wasn’t for exam prep or essay writing. It was either for getting better at fighting game combos or leveling up in an MMO. And to think my professors said spending my time doing all that was a waste.

“Need anything from me? I can help out.”

“No, no. You just say there. Maybe have some water.” Yusha ducked into her room for a moment and emerged with a cup on a plate. “Try to relax. Get your muscles ready for a long day of training while I get my stuff together.”

I took a sip of water. That same sweet soothing sensation coursed throughout my aching muscles. Sleeping on the floor hurt; the stiffness in my legs and arms vanished after the first swallow. But as I went for a second sip with the hope of clearing out that knot in my back, a loud horn blared. It made jump forward and spill the last sip of water across the floor. As I turned around towards the source of the sound, Yusha came scrambling out of her room and dashed straight to the window. She looked through the corner of the glass while Siza stood by her side, placing his paws against the wall and trying to get a view for himself.

“Sounds like bad news,” I said.

“It’s some of Zahnte’s enforcers. They come here periodically to collect taxes,” Yusha said quietly. “I didn’t expect them to come so soon after their last visit.”

“Do they always collect taxes whenever they come by?” 

“Of course.”

“So it’s not really taxes. More like robbery.”

“But no one dare say it to their faces. Or to our village’s leader. There would be serious consequences for such blasphemy.”

Of course. Zahnte’s forces don’t seem like the kind to value the opinions of the people they govern.

“Stay in here and don’t draw any attention. That horn means they’re about to start counting the people in our village to make sure everyone is accounted for. And if they find out that you are one of Govessa’s Champions, they won’t hesitate to execute you.”

That’s plenty of reason for me to stay inside. 

“Are you going to head out now?”

“I have to. It’s a requirement by Zahnte’s laws. We have to be accounted for. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”

I sat back down crisscross on my mat and rested my face on the palm of my hand. My heart raced. I was worried about myself. I couldn’t stand it when my parents came into my room unexpected. But at least they didn’t have the intention of killing me. Now this power hungry army is roaming around Yusha’s village and my existence alone is enough to get me killed. But worst of all, I felt terrible for Yusha. All of this risk and trouble she has to through just to make sure that I don’t get executed. 

“So... just stay here, right? They won’t be going from house to house looking for fugitives or contraband, will they?”

“They have before, but it’s not often. As long as they don’t suspect anything, we should be fine.”

“All right. I’ll stay here and keep low.”

“Thank you,” Yusha said as she headed to the door. I listened to her words and stayed seated. Then she disappeared out the front door and closed it behind her. Once she was gone, I could hear all the commotion going on outside. Someone continued to put all the air in their lungs into the horn so that it’s blaring overcame the scramble of the villagers. 

The crowd’s noise died down, only to be replaced by the clanking of metal and rhythmic stomping of Zahnte’s forces. Soon, that noise died down as well, leaving only the wind to be heard. 

“Attention!” A voice cried out. What I assumed to be Zahnte’s soldiers all made a single grunt before stomping their feet and adjusting their weapons. The sound they made came from a fair distance away. Against my better judgement, I decided to put my head next to the window. I hovered my eyes just above the sill and stared into the center of the village. In the middle of all the wooden buildings was a spacious and grassy field. With the way Yusha’s dojo was positioned, I could see some of Taipen’s citizens to my left while men clad in dark armor surrounded the people. They carried an array of weapons and types of armor. To me, it looked like there were warriors of all kinds of classes. 

Well, I didn’t see any folks in gis, so I’m guessing there wasn’t a martial artist. But I saw cloaks for mages. Padded tunics for archers. And of course, metal plates for the melee fighters. 

And they all looked fierce. Each one had a serious and stoic look carved onto their face. They stood almost like statues, staring down the poor people of the village. Their ragged clothes and scrawny builds paled compared to the uniformed army. 

I couldn’t quite see Yusha, but I could definitely see the village leader. Didn’t even have to be told it was him to know. For one, his outfit was... ostentatious. Bright blues and greens. Layers upon layers with shiny gold trim on just about every article of clothing he wore. He stood with Zahnte’s army, opposite of the people that he was supposed to lead. His arms behind his back along with a smug smirk that I could see underneath his thin moustache. Not to mention that the guy looked stereotypically untrustworthy with his long, narrowed face and never-ending smirk. 

“Attention, good people of Tuanha!” Pheng shouted with phony enthusiasm. His demeanor alone was enough to make me hate him. “You know the routine! Please be on your best behavior for our esteemed guests!”

I wanted to groan. And I’m sure Yusha did too. But the people of Tuanha kept their composure. I watched as they formed a single file line while some members of the Army of Order lugged an enormous chest to the center of the field. One of them pulled the big black trunk open while the other stood next to it with his arms crossed and his sword easily visible dangling from his sheath. 

The first people in line were an elderly couple that begrudgingly dropped a few coins in the trunk. One soldier gave the wife a shove, almost making her stumble forward. Her husband caught her before she fell to the ground. The men keeping watch didn’t have the patience to watch him keep her upright. Instead, two of Zahnte’s troops ushered them away. I fought as hard as possible to keep myself from jumping out the window and expressing my anger. There was nothing I wanted to do in that moment than to use my powers are people that actually deserved it.

But I knew that I had to play the waiting game. It was only a matter of time before they got what was coming to them.