Message For The Village (Part 1)

"Who are those people?" a man wondered, peeping through some bushes. His features were rather plain-a thin frame, black hair, and a short height. One would think he was a little boy if it weren't for his behavior and reputation.

From his spot, he could see Kreg conversing with a couple strangers. Being quite a distance away, he couldn't hear what they were saying, but eventually the two strangers started following Kreg in a certain direction.

"They're heading towards the home of the village chief. I should inform everyone about what is going on right now," and with that, the man left the bushes and took a separate route towards a certain location.

Arriving in front of a particular house, a few knocks were placed on the door, and coming out, a six-feet tall man with a scar across his right eye emerged, a scowl on his face.

"Good to see you to, Spade," the short man said sarcastically.

Suddenly feeling himself being lifted off the ground, his heart started to beat loudly. Gulping loudly, his hands trembled as he struggled to compose himself midair.

"Why are you here, Krenk?" the large warrior said, annoyed.

"No need for violence, Spade. I'm just doing my job."

Spade raised an eyebrow as he let Krenk go, allowing him to fall onto the ground.

"Where are they? And what are their names?"

Krenk gave a grin as he walked into the house with Spade following from behind.

.....

"So you haven't approached them yet?"

"No. I thought it would be best if I came here first," Krenk replied.

"Well, in that case, we should go give our new visitors a warm welcome," Spade said, getting off the chair as he left the house.

______

"Thank you for going out of your way to help us, man," Brandon said.

"As I said before, it's no problem at all," Kreg replied.

"I still have a bad feeling about this," Kyle said, pulling Brandon to the side and whispering in his ear. His nerves were bitting at him. Something just didn't feel right, but not being able to prove anything, or have any other means of helping themselves, he just had to deal with the bad feeling however way he could.

Suddenly, Greg stopped in his tracks.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Brandon asked.

"It's about time you got here," Kreg said.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Brandon asked, confused.

"I knew it!" Kyle yelled, turning around, ready to run away from whatever was coming, only to barge in to a stone wall. However, on a closer inspection, he discovered it was merely the chest of a large man.

'So these are the shrimps Krenk told me about?' He thought.

"Hold up, just what the f*could is going on?!!" Brandon looked terrified as he saw the large man pull out a dagger from behind. The blade reflected the sun into his eyes, making him squint and fall to the ground.

With his fight or flight response activated, he rolled towards the safer side, talking a defensive stance as he glared at the man.

"Don't know who you are, but hell no am I gonna let you mess with me!" he roared, charging at Spade.

"You idiot! Stay back!" Kyle yelled, but quickly fell to the floor, a single blow against the back of his head made.

"Kyle!" Brandon yelled, but Spade quickly closed the gap, repeating the process and the rendering him unconscious. His imposing figure was enough to keep Brandon in fear allowing Spade to knock him out with ease.

________

Meanwhile, Krenk had arrived at a raised platform located at the center of the village. Clearing his throat, he gestured for everyone to gather and pay close attention to what he was about to say. Judging by their response, he seemed to be the messenger of the village. His physical disposition didn't make him seem like one to be taken seriously, but there are many ways other than appearance through which one can gain respect.

"Two strangers have arrived in our village, and in accordance with our customs, they will be tried by our village's champion. You know the drill," Krenk said, stepping off the platform and going about his daily activities.

________

With his eyes fluttering open, the first thing Brandon thought of was his friend, luckily, seeing him right beside him called his nerves.

Both tied to chairs, Brandon could barely see their surroundings, allowing him to guess where they might be.

A few moments later, Spade, the large man who had taken them both out, emerged from the shadows, as well as Kreg as a few other unfamiliar faces.

"I understand you may be confused about what is going on, so let me explain", Kreg said. "As per our village's custom, before you can meet our chief let alone gain the village's respect, you must first prove your worth."

It took a while for Brandon to understand what was going on but once it finally clicked, he sneered in response.

"Oh yeah? And what if we don't wanna go through with whatever you have in mind?" He asked.

"Oh, well, it's simple. You'll be band from the village and become laughing stocks of the whole community. Plus, gossip spreads. If others learn of your backing out of our simple tests, they'll see you as weaklings and loose their respect for you."

Although Brandon never cared what most people thought of him, he still considered something-if the people in this world don't acknowledge him, he may not have access to certain resources he need to get by.

Slowly regaining consciousness, Kyle's head swivelled from left to right, before regaining balance. Once he had regained his strength, his eyes darted across the room, noticing the people present, he asked Brandon what was going on.

"So you guys just want us to complete a few tests? Alright. Let's just get it over with."

Brandon's eyes widened upon what he had just heard.

"Hey, Kyle, are you just gonna let these guys push you around?!"

"Silence, fool! Your friend here seems to be the wise one. He knows what to say and when to say it, unlike you," Spade spoke with disgust.

"Che," Brandon held his tongue. He knew it would be foolish to lash out at a time like this, so he forced himself to hold back, at least until he finds himself in a better position to get back at Spade.

After untying Kyle, Spade gave Brandon a glance, scoffed, and led Kyle into the darkness shrouding the enclosure, his one hand gripping tightly both of Kyle's hands behind his back.

Eventually, they made it to another spot illuminated by light. Forcing Kyle to take a seat, Spade wasted no time I'm explaining what was going on.

"What is going to happen is quite simple. There are-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. They're a few tests I have to complete before I can be allowed to walk around here freely. Now, can we get down to the main part or not?!" Kyle complained.

"Bite your tongue, foreigner!" Spade roared.

Kyle folded his hands and leaned his chair back, obviously not afraid by the titan standing before him.

Spade took a stance, ready to pounce on Kyle, but suddenly stopped himself, a smirk appearing on his face.

"You have guts, stranger. To think you have the audacity to treat me with such disrespect."

"What were you expecting?"

"..."

"Cat got your tongue?"

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"I'm just saying-"

"Cut the crap so we can get this over with, will ya?! I don't have all day and I really have a lot of things to do!" Kyle roared.

'Such audacity!!!' Spade shouted internally, his eyes glaring intently at the boy who seems adamant to draw out his wrath.

______

Meanwhile, things seem to be quite stagnant for Brandon. Everyone in the room just seems to be looking at him, some whispering and snickering while exchanging glances at the stranger.

Brandon rolled his eyes as his attention shifted to Kreg. He seemed to be doing nothing in particular, just standing at the side staring into space.

"Hey Kreg! Why the f*ck are you guys doing this to us?!"

No one replied. Instead, the whispers and Snickers just seemed to get more common.

'Ugh! This is so annoying! I need to find Kyle and get the heck outta here,' Brandon thought to himself. Thinking about a means of escape, Kreg suddenly walked up to him, staring him straight in the eyes.

"Do you want a better situation for yourself?" he asked.

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

Kreg looked perplexed for a moment, but quickly regained his composure.

"I mean, do you want to get over this stage?"

After a moment of silence, Brandon chose to swallow his pride and gave the obvious answer.

"Yes."