Chapter 124 - A Child (1/2)
Racing on horseback from the new Cecil territory’s White River pier, it was only a day’s journey to Tanzan Town.
In the last stretch of their journey, Gawain and company bypassed the main roads and arrived near the stone bridge before Tanzan Town with the cover of the forest. Finally, they laid low at the southern side of the stone bridge and watched the Tanzan Gate opposite the bridge.
“Have you noticed? The town seems to be confined already.” Surveying the gates from afar, Pittman muttered in a soft voice, “There are no pedestrians on the bridge. There is an abnormally large number of soldiers at the gate. There are many boats at the dock beside the town. It seems they are all being detained there.”
The shadows beneath the nearby bushes contorted, and Amber’s figure came out from there. “I looked for a long while at the main road. I didn’t see any caravans or travelers pass by. The town’s confinement has probably lasted for at least two days already…”
“It looks like the town had restricted entrances and exits right after Golden-Eyed Piegel’s ship left.” Gawain analyzed. “According to the plan, Byron was to stay behind in Tanzan Town and continue to recruit serfs. His movements would have been conspicuous, so it must have been difficult to get free after the confinement. No wonder there wasn’t any news sent back.”
Amber jinxed for a moment. “He couldn’t have met with a mishap already, could he?”
Gawain shook his head. “Judging by the situation at the gates, the town has only restricted entrances and exits, the order inside is still normal. Byron is a former mercenary, and he’s really shrewd. It’s unlikely that he would stumble in such an environment.”
“Cough, cough. The problem is how we are going to enter.” Pittman coughed dryly. “Two sides of Tanzan Town are rivers, and its back is a mountain. The only entrances are a stone bridge and a gate at the front, both right under the noses of the soldiers. — Are we just going to strut in?”
Even someone as blunt as Sir Philip could not help but shake his head. “Right now, we’re unclear of the situation inside the town. If by any chance the heretic cult believers already have control over Viscount Andrew, we will definitely put those evildoers on alert by showing our faces.”
As it turned out, this young knight was only old-fashioned and blunt; he wasn’t a fool…
Gawain narrowed his eyes slightly. An HD 1 satellite imaging view immediately formed in his mind.
“There is a way through the Tanzan Mine. We can go around from the east of the town to the back. Moreover, this route directly brings us closer to the castle area.” Gawain opened his eyes. “But crossing the river is still a difficult problem. This bridge is— Who is it?!”
Gawain suddenly sensed a weak and furtive aura moving about nearby. He immediately turned his head in that direction and shouted out. Only after he made a sound did Amber belatedly sense an ‘incongruous shadow’ from the shifts in the surrounding shadows. She promptly drew out her pair of daggers and spun them before herself. “Come out! We’ve discovered you!”
It was deadly quiet in the dense forest, but a moment later, the bushes under a certain tree suddenly swayed. Then, a dirty and messy little head appeared from behind the bushes. It was a small boy, with a head of matted, withered yellow hair that looked like it hadn’t been trimmed in several years. He was dressed in a burlap short-sleeved shirt and shorts that were both full of patches and holes. This was a typical peasant. Years of malnutrition had him skinny with a sallow complexion, along with stunted growth. Only, his bright eyes held the kind of glimmer and liveliness that adults of his class did not have.
However, this pair of big eyes were covered by a thin layer of mist, terror brimming out of them. He woodenly stood up from between the bushes, his body trembling slightly. He even seemed to have forgotten about escaping.
“It’s a child?” Sir Philip frowned briefly. He never expected that what was ‘hiding’ in the forest and moving around sneakily was actually a child who looked a little older than ten years. Moreover, there weren’t the slightest energy fluctuations on him at all. The article regarding helping the small and weak in the knights’ code made his expression ease up a little. However, the combat training that knights received made him not dare to remove his hand from the hilt of his sword. “Don’t be afraid—— Walk over slowly.”
Yet the child abruptly let out a terrified ‘ah’, then turned and ran.
“You’re holding such a big sword. It’d only be weird if he didn’t run.” Amber gave Philip a glance like she was looking at a fool. Following that, her figure flickered, and she blended into the shadows. Moments later, short cries sounded from the direction where the child ran in; then the tree shade before Gawain began to wriggle. Amber appeared from the shadows again, holding the child’s collar. — A wicked level of talent with the shadows was just great: it was as if this rascal carried a dimension door with her when running.
The child was easily brought back by Amber, and in the middle, he probably even experienced a brief tour of the shadow realm. This completely frightened him so out of his wits that he really forgot to run, but his fear was rising because of this, such that Gawain believed he was about to burst out in tears in the next second. However, this child only strained to keep a straight face, pursing his lips. At last, he forcefully restrained his tears, only watching the strangers before him in great fear.
“Don’t be scared,” Amber quickly consoled the child at this point. “We aren’t good people…”
Gawain instantly gave this ultimate disgrace a glare.
“Ah no, we aren’t bad people.” Amber hurriedly corrected herself and then explained apologetically to Gawain, “Occupational disease from the past, I’ve yet to change it…”
“We won’t hurt you.” Sir Philip pressed his hand on the boy’s head. “Look, I’m a knight. I will protect you.”
The small boy was initially so unnerved that he shivered, but after hearing Philip’s words, he calmed down a little and nodded in hazy understanding.
Gawain took this chance to speak up. “Are you a child of a family that lives nearby? Why are you wandering in the forest?”
Yet the small boy was greatly startled by Gawain — this burly chap with a two-meter build and even a square face — that he backed away repeatedly.