Chapter 5: Ch.5: Calm

The walk that the old man had sent me on turned out to be quite a long one. By the time I reached the house that was indicated, the sun was already set and the darkness was starting to consume everything outside. The wilderness at night was a fearsome thing, the pitch black of entire kilometers on end without a singular light source in sight made things harder to locate, but thankfully I managed to reach the house's door just as the last rays of sunlight vanished from this world.

"Excuse me, Mister Korvak?"

"Who is it? I told you guys I'm not in the mood for telling tales again!" A gruff voice responded from within, he seemed a bit tired, but mostly grumpy.

"Name's Klavdia, the elder said he needs you to come down to the village as soon as possible. The goblin tribe has started to target the wolves and he's worried the village is their next target."

Silence. It seemed like he almost wanted to wait until I gave up and walked away, or forgot he remained inside the small house.

"Mister Korvak?" I asked again.

Silence, until the door creaked open and a curiously normal-looking man appeared in sight. He was certainly taller than me, but not by much, half a head maybe? He had dark brown hair and a small goatee that really worked well with his face and unkept hair. His eyes were almond, and they seemed as tired as they were curious. A small glint of interest did shine through them, that was for sure.

"Who are you? I've never heard of a Klavdia living at Narvak Village....Well not that I go down there a lot nowadays..." Although he mumbled the second part, the sheer silence of the area did allow me to hear him quite well. Or maybe that was just another wonder this new body carried with itself.

"I'm a new arrival, I could tell you my story but I don't think the outside is a good place for that. Goblins, Wolves and all."

"Right, right. Come in then, it's already dark so you'll probably have to stay the night anyways. Since you didn't bring anything else, I assume the old man didn't bother telling you how far this house was?"

"Well I also did forget to ask him about it so we're both at fault on that one." I replied, taking a few steps inside and looking around.

The house was a simple two-room building. The main room acted as a small living space. A hole dug into the center allowed for a comfortable dining and cooking space with a bonfire. To the opposite end of the room laid a small bed, fit only for one person, but with furs kept under it probably in case of winter climates or guests. The rest of the room was completely occupied by shelves and other furniture, used to keep many different kinds of herbs and utensils.

"So, what's this about Goblins targeting the village? That tribe shouldn't be nowhere near big enough to attack yet, are you sure the old man isn't exaggerating?" He asked, he seemed incredibly worried. He was an adventurer after all, so he should know best right?

"I'm not sure. When I woke up in the forest and I wandered around I found a wolf pup with a clean cut in its hind leg. I'm plenty sure no one from the village would harm a pup, especially a wolf, so I'm not sure what other explanation is there."

The man seemed to pause for a moment, gesturing for me to take a seat by the fire. I did so and he sat directly in front of me across from the bonfire, using a metal rod to tweak the embers a little as he thought. Finally, he grunted a little and looked at me in the eyes.

"Are you certain you saw a clean cut in that Dair's leg?" He asked.

"I'm assuming you mean the wolf, then yes. I also did catch a glimpse of the mother, I think. She seemed smart enough to notice I helped him out but I'm not sure on that." I replied, he seemed concerned but then shifted his expression to curiosity and confusion.

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"And you just woke up in the forest?" His question was rather understandable but the way he said it really hurt me for some reason.

"I have absolutely no recollection of how I got there, what I was doing or where I am. Until a few hours ago I didn't even have a name."

Korvak seemed...Odd. Like he understood the feeling precisely well, almost too well. He sighed and simply took a look over at his bed before standing up and taking one of the furs that remained rolled nice and tidy under it, putting it at my side as he knelt down a little too close to me. Giving my eyes a deep glare before smiling.

"I have decided to trust you. Tomorrow morning we'll go back to the village and scout the area. You said your name was Klavdia, right? I'm sure the old man wouldn't have specifically sent you here if he didn't want to involve you in this dilemma." 

At least he was honest. I was pretty sure I was not suited for farm work, and forget even trying to learn an entire economic system from the ground up, literature and math as well with the different measurements. Manual labor would be my main income source until I managed to integrate into society, so if these people were willing to give me work, then I should be grateful for the opportunity. Taking the fur into my hands and rolling it out not too close to the fire, I nodded to his words.

"Since the elder didn't seem like a bad man I will trust you too, Mr Korvak. Don't try anything weird on me when I'm sleeping or you'll end up with your face burnt off." I spoke, not really completely joking, but also not being fully honest. This entire situation was hard to accept, but it was the best path I could take at the moment.

"Hey! I'm no pervert!" He exclaimed, letting out a sigh before sitting down in his bed, laying down on it like I thought he was doing before I came unnoticed. "Also drop the 'Mr', makes me feel old."

"Then how old are you, Korvak?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Ain't that a pretty damn rude question?" He replied, a little amusement to his voice. "I'll be forty next year."

"Ah." I realized something.

"What? I'm not that old, you know? You should have a little more respect..."

"No that, I just realized I don't know how old I am." I explained.

There was silence for a second before he busted out laughing to his heart's content. We continued to talk and banter for the better part of half an hour before we finally slept through the night. The talking did help me calm down a little, even though my body seemed to not really mind all the stress it had gone through in just a day. 

What was wrong with me? Why was my body acting so different from my mind, and why did I keep certain memories from my past life but not even something as basic as my name?

There wasn't much I could do about those questions at the moment, so I just took the night to put my heart at ease and simply rest while I could.

 

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