quite intoxicated, looked down.
“Indeed,” Rein thought.
“Forgive me if I said anything threatening, and for having to hear all this… Sometimes, someone needs to vent. My life… My whole life – it’s not a life at all. Fate has prepared an extremely unpleasant path for me, and it continues to laugh at me.”
Rein sat down at the table next to this stranger.
“Where’s your friend then? Won’t there be threats coming his way?” the stranger said, smiling.
“What? No. Ain… he’s harmless. I’ve already told him these stories more than once. Every morning he doesn’t even remember who I am. It’s some kind of madness!”
“Hmm,” the stranger smiled.
“At least take off your hood,” said Rein. “It’s unclear, are you even human?”
“And if I’m not human, then what?”
“I usually have a bad experience dealing with non-humans… And if you’re some kind of elf or even a force, which I strongly doubt, then I think I have nothing to worry about. In such places, they don’t tolerate elves and the like, so if anything, no one will believe you, which seems like a pretty good outcome to me.”
The stranger removed the hood and said, “Well, my name is Iziro.”
“You have a shaved head. And the name… You’re from the great mountains! Mountain monk. Are you one of them?”
“Yes, you could say that. But I was born in the capital of Raidaria and was once a warrior, far from the mountains.”
“So you’re one of us? A Raidarian. That explains your build. For a moment, I thought all those warriors from the mountains were like that. It’s even scary.”
“Haha, we’re not warriors, just defenders of our territories,” replied Iziro. “And you, I understand, think it’s all about how big you are? Right?”
“Excuse me, but size does matter. However strange or banal it may sound.”
“Although there are indeed tall and sturdy monks in the place I come from, most monks in the villages of Oi are much smaller than you – and they wouldn’t let you land a hit on them, let alone kill them. A big but slow warrior like you would be simply helpless against them.”
“And why, if they’re so strong and fast, does the Raidarians’ empire exist and not the empire of those bald mountain villagers?”
Iziro’s emotions changed slightly.
“At some point, if you’re not lucky to encounter an even stronger warrior on your path, you’ll understand.”
“You mean defeats in battles?”
“No! I mean endless victories,” Iziro replied sadly.
“And how?”
Rein didn’t have time to finish speaking when two Raidarian warriors entered the tavern. Iziro and Rein almost instantly pulled up their hoods. Everyone in the tavern, except for the arriving warriors, hid. All conversations abruptly ceased. Almost complete silence fell.
One of the warriors stepped forward, removed his helmet, and, looking around, began to loudly express his intentions in a commanding tone:
“Attention, please! We have information that people involved in the theft of the empire’s property may be in this area. Thieves,” he emphasized the word, “may or may have been in this tavern or nearby. We demand that anyone who knows anything about their whereabouts report it.”
After a short pause, the warrior continued:
“As besides everything else, gold has been stolen. For your assistance, you will be rewarded with this same gold. One to one for the amount stolen. We are not interested in your gold or your establishment; we only need the heads of the thieves. If you attempt to aid these thieves in any way, following foolish bravery, if it can be called that, you will be rewarded with death. And yes… fleeing from here is pointless! The tavern is surrounded – every entrance and exit is under our control.”
Two warriors began to inspect the tavern and its patrons. After some time, one of those sitting near the trio stood up and said:
“Here they are! It’s them you’re talking about. I heard… I heard everything. And he… he’s not an ordinary person, and the sword on his back is not ordinary. He’s a warrior just like you, only he’s been exiled.”
The gaze of everyone present turned towards the trio: Rein, Iziro, and Ainom.
“You! Stand up and turn around!” exclaimed the warrior.
Rein stood up and walked away from the table. Then, facing away from the warriors, he lowered his head and drew the sword from behind his back, placing its blade on the floor. He put his hand on the table and looked at Iziro and Ainom. Iziro continued to sit, and Ainom kept snoring.
“Even poor Ainom, you decided to involve. Well. We’ll talk about you later,” said Rein to the wandering traveler.
“My name is Acres, and I swear,” the traveler continued. “He said he can’t stand the empire for exiling him, and he will avenge it, no matter the cost. You can do whatever you want with us, but please spare at least my companion – Mirie. I beg you, be merciful, great warriors of the Raidarian Empire.”
“You and your companion have nothing to worry about,” replied the warrior. “As I said, you’re not of interest to us. You will receive your reward once we deal with these bold and shameful thieves.”
Rein snarled. He was extremely angry with this greedy and deceitful individual. Rarely did he want to kill someone so badly.
“Well, it seems that we can’t avoid a battle, right?” Rein said, looking at Iziro.
“Battles can always be avoided!” replied Iziro.
“Dying without accomplishing anything?” Rein asked.
“Silence, exile!” said the younger warrior.
“Traitor, who has so shamefully disgraced his name that even the right to a dignified death has been denied. Indeed, probably frustrating. But no matter… I will grant you that right. Even though you don’t deserve it,” declared the senior warrior.
Rein took off his hood but didn’t turn to face the warrior. The warrior approached Rein, drawing his sword from behind his back. When the warrior reached a close distance to Rein, everything fell silent. Not even the slightest whisper could be heard. Even the weather outside the tavern’s windows calmed. The warrior swung his sword to decapitate the traitor of his people and empire. However, at the moment the warrior’s sword approached Rein’s neck, Rein began to bend down, gripping the hilt of his sword with his hands for a counterstrike. The warrior’s sword passed so close to Rein’s head that it trimmed a part of his hair. Meanwhile, Rein’s sword was already moving upward towards the warrior’s head at a considerable speed, and the warrior had nothing to do but recoil in horror, moving backward away from Rein’s sword. As a result, the sword’s
