Chapter 26: Chapter 26 – Are we there yet?

The remaining journey towards the village of Whistlecreek was thankfully much more uneventful than the first couple hours of the trip. The first day went by relatively quickly, even though Kat spent much of it constantly keeping an eye out the window, watching for any further ambushes. The Shielder's normally outgoing personality was further quieted down by Garside's presence, which did leave the ride somewhat more boring. It did give Scarlett some extra time to do some basic practicing with her magic, but she could only do that for so long with her current mana capacity.

She had taken the opportunity to use five of the seven skills points she had after receiving more from the ambush to upgrade her [Minor Hydrokinesis] to [Hydrokinesis], which she'd wanted to do for a while. Although she didn't have the chance to really try out the upgraded skill while traveling in the carriage.

To further pass the time Scarlett had brought out some books from her [Pouch of Holding] on the history of the Empire, the Rising Isle, the Broken Tower, the Everdust Barrier, and other interesting places that she knew of from the game to compare her knowledge of. She'd sent a servant to buy the books from some store in Freybrook, which is also when she'd also come up with the—rather belated—idea of telling them to buy as many relevant books on matters of decorum and noble behavior as they could, 'on behalf of the ignorant Shielder in her employ'. Finding anything useful on the matter had surprisingly enough not been fruitful as of yet, but now she had a decent excuse if someone were to ask. Unfortunately, she hadn't had time to read any of those particular books yet, and she couldn't very well read them in front of others. Maybe Kat, but definitely not Garside. A miscalculation on her part.

Having spent most of the first day reading up on the history of the Graenal Empire, their carriage had reached a small township called Crowbell before night. Kat was especially happy about that as most of her baggage had been destroyed along with the first carriage—including some of her armor, which Scarlett did feel some guilt about. She would have to reimburse the woman somehow—and she'd been forced to borrow a set of Scarlett's traveling clothes that the servants had packed along. Kat's own clothes were essentially ruined from the fight, but Kat was both taller than Scarlett and had a much more toned physique so the clothing she borrowed wasn't the best fit. Add to that the injuries the Shielder was still recovering from, and she was quite excited about stopping the first night to get some real rest and get new clothes. Scarlett's shoulder had largely healed by then—after repeated uses of [Earth Pulse] from Kat throughout the day—so she didn't have as much of an issue.

After resting in that town they had started moving again the next morning. That day had been even more uneventful than the second half of the previous one. Scarlett managed to finish a book about the first emperor of the Graenal Empire—a Galrath the Great—and a few other imperial heroes, as well as start another book, by the time they reached another small town to stay for that night. It wasn't until evening on the third day of their journey through the vast forested land that was the southwestern part of the empire that they reached their destination.

The road leading directly to and from the village of Whistlecreek didn't look as if it saw much use. Grass and weeds covered much of it, with only a few trails caused by wagons and people visible through the underbrush. The village itself was located in a clearing next to a small lake that was overflowing with flora. The settlement wasn't that large — if Scarlett were to guess, the population was probably somewhere in the hundreds, definitely not the thousands at least. The majority of the buildings were simple single-floored wooden structures, which made for quite a different view than the one on the streets of Freybrook that she had started getting so used to.

As their carriage came closer and closer to the village they got a better view of the clearing it lay in. Not too far off from the heart of the village, on the opposite edge of the clearing from where they currently were, Scarlett saw several wide fields with distant figures walking around in them. They were quite large for a village this size, at least compared with many of the other places they'd passed by. Further off, above the copse of trees that surrounded the area, the ridges of part of the Whitstone Mountains towered over the small settlement, lending it some shade from the sun as it was starting to set.

Soon enough their carriage entered the bounds of the village itself and she peeked out at the buildings. There was no one outside, but she spotted some people staring at them through the windows. It didn't seem to be the most welcoming of communities. Then again, she did just arrive in a noble's carriage without prior notice. She supposed most people would be wary in a situation like this.

As they reached an area of Whistlecreek that looked the most like a village square—though it was a bit of a stretch to call it that as it was just a larger dirt area without any buildings on it—the coachman pulled the carriage to a stop. Garside looked out through the window, his brows slightly knitted. "My Lady, am I correct in taking it that you plan on staying here for a while?"

Scarlett glanced at him. "You are, yes," she said, turning her eyes outside. "I believe I spoke of business that required taking care of. This is where it is." She tried not to display too much of the inherent distaste she felt at the thought of staying at a place like this. Even in her previous life she had never been especially fond of camping and spending time outdoors. That went more than double for her now. The places that they had stayed at the previous two nights had at least been decent inns, but this place didn't even seem to have that. The largest building she'd seen was one with a stone base at the edge of this little square, and that was only about the size of a small barn. She doubted it had many amenities.

This world had toilets—although she assumed they were somehow magical in nature and were probably reserved for the more better-off places—but it wouldn't surprise her if this place didn't. While she accepted the necessity of sometimes having to deal with circumstances like this, and she didn't want to turn into the kind of blue-blooded stiff who couldn't even handle some minor inconveniences without crying about them, it was still terribly annoying for her to bear. Not only did she have to deal with the inconveniences themselves—which wasn't the easiest when you were used to a modern-day lifestyle—but she also had to live with the added-on annoyance and mental strain it took on her due to the original Scarlett's traits.

She'd had a friend back in her world that throughout their entire college experience would complain about how she would be irritated the whole day if she didn't get a coffee in the morning. At the time Scarlett had never understood it, even though she had been at the other end of its consequences on several occasions. Now, though? Now she definitely understood.

"You coming out?" Kat's voice brought Scarlett out of her musings as the Shielder—who wore a simple set of brown cloth clothing from the ones she'd gotten at their first stop—had already left the carriage and looked back at Scarlett. Garside had just stepped out and held the door open.

Grabbing the pouch of holding from the seat next to her and tying it to her waist, Scarlett rose and quickly exited the vehicle. As her feet touched down on the slightly wet mud that covered most of the ground around them she was glad that she had worn a high pair of thick traveling boots for the day.

"My Lady, I will see if I can find a reeve or village head," Garside said. "I believe this village is under the domain of Baron Gresham. As such, I will ensure a proper greeting is organized and that you are afforded the best accommodations."

She raised her hand towards him. "A welcome will not be necessary. Simply locate a place to stay and find the one in charge. I wish to speak with them."

He gave her a short nod. "Of course, my Lady." With that, he walked up to the young coachman—Dickens, it had turned out that his name was—and traded some words with him before heading off towards the larger building Scarlett had noticed near where they were.

"So...what now?" Kat asked from the side. The blonde-haired woman was tying some of her hair back into the braid she usually wore as she took in the houses around them.

"It depends," Scarlett answered.

"On?"

"On how willing the residents are to cooperate. In addition to a number of other factors." Scarlett really doubted the villagers would be particularly helpful in the matter. She just hoped they wouldn't have to wait for too long before the next attack.

"Cooperate?" Kat had a confused expression on her face. "What exactly are we here to do?"

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Scarlett looked at her. "Why, we are here to help them, of course."

The Shielder narrowed her eyes in a disbelieving look. "Yeah, how about you say that again. With some emotion this time."

Scarlett merely shook her head. "We are here to deal with a problem that is plaguing this region, and to procure an artifact related to that problem."

Kat's confused face deepened. "Why wouldn't the villagers want to help us with that?"

"That, I believe, is a question they are more suitable to answer than I."

Kat raised an eyebrow. "...Right. And what exactly is this 'problem'?"

"I wonder." Scarlett looked towards Dickens, the coachman, as he stroked the carriage horse's mane while feeding it an apple.

"I thought you were going to start telling me these things beforehand," Kat said, and Scarlett saw the woman roll her eyes.

"I was," Scarlett admitted. "However, after having my good intentions doubted but a mere moment ago, I am beginning to have second thoughts on the matter."

Kat blinked her eyes. "Gods, you just like appearing mysterious and all-knowing, don't you? That's it, isn't it?"

Scarlett looked back at the woman, thinking about it for a moment. "Perhaps. That might in fact not be entirely incorrect." It was kind of intoxicating, that feeling of knowing more than everybody else of what was happening. She smiled ever-so-slightly. "Do not worry. I will apprise you of the situation and our exact objective later on. Though it isn't something you will have much trouble handling."

Kat looked at her for a moment longer before shrugging her shoulders with a quiet 'alright' as they waited for Garside to return. They didn't have to wait for long before Garside came walking back, a man with balding grey hair close behind him. The butler stood aside as the man stopped in front of Scarlett with an anxious look on his face, performing a hesitant bow. "W-Welcome, my Lady. I'm Dieter, the head of this village. I'm sorry for the poor reception, we didn't know you would be visiting."

She gave him a cursory look. He wore simple enough clothing that had dirt on its legs and sleeves and was wet with sweat. He seemed to have been busy at work during the day. She turned towards Garside, who gave her a nod. She wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean.

"I had no desire of being received by your people upon my visit anyhow, so it is of little matter," she said, looking back at the man. "I trust there is lodgment available for our stay?"

The village head feverishly nodded his head. "Of course, of course." He gestured towards the building Garside had walked towards earlier. "You can stay in the manor house."

She glanced at the building. They called that a manor house? It wasn't in disarray or anything, but it looked about as well as one might expect in a village where most of the buildings were made of simple wood.

Well, it appeared to be the center of the settlement, at least. "Lead the way," she said.

The man nodded his head once more and led them towards, and inside, the manor house, where they entered a decently sized space that had a fireplace at one end as well as some chairs and tables spread around. Next to the fireplace was a small area that appeared to function as a kitchen. There were also four doors that she presumed led to things like bedrooms and storage.

"We will prepare rooms for you as soon as possible, ehm, my Lady," the man said, looking over Kat and Garside who had entered along with Scarlett. Dickens was busy finding a place to keep the horse and carriage. "If you want we can also make you something to eat."

Scarlett's eyes moved over the space. "Yes, I believe that would be in order," she said as she walked over to one of the tables and sat down close to the fireplace. The fire wasn't lit so she used her pyrokinesis to light the kindling, which seemed to cause the village head to startle slightly.

"Now," she said, her eyes locking onto the nervous man where he stood. "I have some questions for you."

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