The Wasteland: Vedrain Country; Leefside Village

In the past two weeks, Oli discovered something about the ring and portal on how it works.

Unlike the first time where he will bring the ring closer to his mouth and will say where he was going, now even if he doesn't bring closer the ring, as long as he says out loud or mentally that the portal shall open, it will open.

Oli looked at the Elder man with a shocked and confused face.

"Young man, are you alright, huh? Haaaa, I guess the war has caused you a lot. Tsk tsk." The Elder man said while shaking his head left and right.

"I can understand you, can you understand me?" Oli said while still having a confused face.

"Hohoho, my guess was right. Yes, young man, you can understand me, and I can understand you we're speaking the same language after all." The Elder man said while having pity looked at Oli.

"You're a human right? Is there an alien here? Where are we? And war? What are you talking about?" 'And why are you looking at me with pity?' Oli wanted to add but did not.

"Sigh, the war hit you so bad so, that's why you deserted and ended here, huh? Follow me, young man, let's take sit while talking."

"Follow you? To where?"

"To the village."

The Elder man said while smiling.

***

Oli followed the Elder man to the village, but even though the elder looked trustworthy, he still did not lower his guard and was vigilant. He was still holding the pike tightly, prepared for whatever may happen.

"Don't worry, young man. As long we didn't go deeper into the forest, we're safe here from the monster attack, as there's no monster will jump into you in this part, so relax a little bit." The elder said while still walking and, when Oli heard it, he relaxed a little.

"Hohoho, that's good. Don't worry, young man. We are close. Oh, We're here."

"Welcome to our village! Leefside village!"

***

Oli was at the entrance of the village and looked at the appearance of the town.

The Leefside village was outside the forest, situated. Leefside village looks like it has been abandoned and uninhabited. All the houses have dark wooden ceilings which are perforated. The backyards are dry, the castle is very dilapidated and needs a lot of resources to fix it.

The village fence is in ruin, and even if you tap them, they will fall and destroy. The Leefside village has given an ominous atmosphere, it looks like a ghost town, and it is worst than slums on Earth.

"What happened here?" Oli said aloud.

The Elder man smiled sadly and said. "All the people living here are outcasts. Our king abandons us and goes to another kingdom to satisfy himself with alcohol and women. That's why, every year, some people called raiders will go to every village and abduct men and women, child or not it, doesn't matter. Then the abduct people will become slaves, and they will sell off to the Kingdoms that belong to the Confederation, and as no one supports and protect us, this is what happened." The Elder man explains.

When Oli heard it, he didn't know what to say from what he heard. Slavery is a sensitive topic, and he doesn't want to offend the Elder man if he says something offensive or rude towards the issue, so he remains silent and waits for the elder to continue.

"Let's go to the castle. I'll serve you something to eat, though it is not much and proper food that's better than nothing then, let's talk afterward."

***

Right now, they are in the study room in the castle, and when Oli sits on the chair, it gives a creaking sound. And just like the situation on the outside, the condition inside the castle is the same on the outside.

"Here. Sorry, we didn't have much food stock." The elder said then, put a kind of mash food on the table. Oli looked at it curiously.

"That's mashed potato. Anyway, I haven't introduced myself, am I right? I'm Alfred. The people living here in the village call me Elder Alfred. I'm the village Chairman of the Leefside village."

"Uhm, I'm Oli Hayes, it's nice to meet you, Elder Alfred and, I'm not familiar with these parts, I came from a far country that you can't even imagine and, if it is not a bother to you, can you please tell me where I am?" Oli said in a respectful tone, then bowed his head.

"Oh? My guess was incorrect, huh? I thought you were a deserted soldier from the war. So, you're from a faraway country, you say, that explains why your clothing is a bit unusual. And for where you are, you are in the Vedrain Country, also known as a Wasteland, the village of Leefside. And may I ask what are you doing and why are you in the Innisgue Forest?"

Oli immediately thought of an answer to Alfred's question, and Oli thought about the scenario he once read in the novel.

"My companions and I were riding in a trade caravan, and we were going to our trade partner, but while we were traveling, we were attacked by a group of bandits, the convoy, and some of my companions got killed, and others ran away, including me."

Oli said while putting on a sad face but, Alfred lived for 90 years so, he got a lot of experience in dealing with people. Elder Alfred knows Oli was lying, but he doesn't care as everyone has a secret to keep. Elder Alfred's instinct tells him that Oli has no evil intentions. Elder Alfred was about to say something when they heard someone was screaming outside the castle.

"Elder Alfred! Elder Alfred!"

Alfred immediately stood up to see what is the disturbance. Out of curiosity, Oli followed to see what was happening.

What Oli saw was a group of people, a family. The father was on his knees while carrying a girl. The girl was shaking and wrapped in clothes. On the side is the mother is crying while caressing the girl. Behind them were three men in their twenties or thirties. You can see the nervousness and fear on their faces. When the father saw Elder Alfred, he immediately stood up and started to speak.

"Elder Alfred, please help my daughter! Where's the doctor?!" The father said. One could see the rugged face he had, and he was also on the brink of crying.

"I'm sorry Zion. The doctor was long left to go to the Confederation. There's nothing I could do. We also don't have a stock of herbal medicine right now." Alfred said while looking at the girl with a sad look.

"Nooo!!! My daughter!" The father burst out crying while the mother fainted and was caught by her sons.

"Uhm, I have medicine here. That's if you want."

The father then looked at Oli when he heard Oli say this.

"Please, I will do anything. Just save my daughter."

***

"Thank you for helping my daughter, Oli. I'm indebted for what you have done."

Zion said while bowing his head and, Oli was uncomfortable because of that.

"Please, raised your head Zion. I just did the right thing."

"No, I want to show you how much I owe you. And Elder Alfred told me what happened to you. You and your companions were attacked by bandits. I'm sorry about what happened to you. If you want, I'll be your guard until you get back in your country. "

Zion seriously said to Oli.

"Ah no, I appreciate your concern but, to get to my country, you will need a particular vehicle. And only in our country will you find such a vehicle. So, it looks like I will never be able to return to my country." - Oli

"Is that so? Well, you're our benefactor so you can stay here as much as you want. To tell you the truth, I am well-known in every town here in the wasteland. So you can rest assured that as long as you are with me, you are safe. And I will also talk to Elder Alfred to let you stay here." - Zion

"Well I'll take that of--."

Oli couldn't finish what he was going to say when Sia (wife of Zion) suddenly happily announced that their daughter, Mia was fine. And Oli, Zion, and Sia went to the room where Mia was so that they could see if there was no problem and, when they saw that there was no problem, the three immediately went to the dining hall where the remaining four were.

When Oli saw Elder Alfred and the sons of Zion eating the mashed potato. They immediately sat where Elder Alfred was in the head chair while the family of Zion was on the other side and Oli was on another side.

When Oli got a taste of the mashed potato, he wanted to puke because of how bland and plain it was.

Oli couldn't stand it anymore and asked why the food was bland and plain.

"Why there's no flavor? Did you forget to put the salt?"

When Oli said this, Elder Alfred and Zion's family looked at him in confusion.

"Salt? Was that? Is it kind of what?"

Alfred said while having a confused face.

"Salt is spice. It is to make food taste good. You don't have a spice?"

"Uhm, I'm sorry Oli. We don't know what are you talking about. We don't know what is this spice you're saying."

Zion replied to Oli

When Oli heard that, he put his two elbows on the table, and with his two hands, he covered his face.

'Damn! No spice? How did that happen? But wait, if they are right that there is no spice, I can bring here salt, pepper, chili powder, and other spices here from my world, then I can use that other trade for other expensive and valuable things!' Oli thought.

Oli came to reality when he heard Elder Alfred and Zion talking to each other.

"Zion, what is the status of our neighboring countries?" Elder Alfred asked.

"Base on what I heard on my last visit on the Lapin Kingdom, the war on the west, the Sacred Order and the Aquitaine Royal Army are on the stalemate, I also heard that the high land orcs in the north are on the move, so the Holy Land and Supreme Pontiff will face a two side war, in North and South, that is if the orcs began to their attacks. Next is the war between the Fallen Kingdom and the Confederation, at the moment, the Confederation is in the upper hand because of the intervention of the Supreme Pontiff but the course of the battle will change immediately after the Supreme Pontiff pulls back the deployed Sacred Order in the Confederation. The Credia Empire and Literra Empire are still preserving and accumulating their military supplies, and it's only a matter of time before the Century war began. As for the dwarves well, they are still hiding in their walls. The elves and the dark elves are in negotiation with each other. And this is what the latest information I received, the civil war is brewing in the Lapin Kingdom, they are planning to overthrow their Queen."

"So, they are coming back huh?"

Elder Alfred said while sighing.

"Yes. I think in six months."

Zion replied.

"Coming back? Who's coming back?"

Oli asked with a confuse face

"The soldiers of the Confederation. They will abduct people here again, to be sold as slaves."

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