Golden Hold on Ava Villiage!

This village should atleast have some people out and about. It is incredibly odd for that to not be the case. The citizens here seemed to be afraid of something, but after spotting the burned remnants of a building, my instincts were tingling.

'Bernard used fire magic against me earlier, so this could be his doing. Ava isn't that far from their ambush site.'

Shattered glass was thrown along the ground, but thankfully there was no indication that a person had been amongst the debris. Those two men were correct, so I give them props regarding that. If they had sent Carilius, then something terrible could have happened to the young man.

Swish…Crunch…

"You must be one of the people behind this incident?", I called out.

They thought that they were slick. Attempting to sneak up behind me while I was crouched down, but they made a mistake. On their way over they managed to step on some of the glass nearby. No doubt they meant harm to me considering that they were sneaking up on me. Naturally, there was no response, but I could hear the faint slice of metal once I stood up again. I turned and my eyes fell upon the odd individual.

Their clothes were that of a peasant, very low quality to the point that threads were poking out of it. He was a bit older than I was with the wrinkles that stretched his face his more distinguishing feature. To be honest, besides the small dagger in his hands, there was nothing threatening about this man. His forearm was even smaller than the dagger's blade in width.

"You're one of them, aren't you? I'll have your head for what you've done to us.", His voice was soft and raspy. It was more of a whispered concern rather than a threat.

His sunken blue eyes watched my every move as if he was just waiting for the justification to attack me. Yet, I could sense the conflict in his actions. I highly doubt that this man meant his words, but I wasn't going to test his resolve. My hands were raised, and I showed him my palms as a sign of cooperation.

"I'm not. I have been sent by Astana's Adventurer's Guild.-", I responded.

"So were they."

That voice came from another man. His voice was deeper, but he was almost as withered as the other man. When my eyes caught him, he seemed to be coming from the outskirts of this destroyed building. With him, came another younger man, and then an older woman.

Out of the bunch, this woman seemed to be the oldest, I could tell from her elven ears, but she had some wrinkles poking from her nose. Her reddish hair seemed drained of its color, and as she slowly approached the others, her hand rested on her side.

That action seemed more defining than the others. She wasn't just holding it there casually. If I were to be so bold, I would assume that she was nursing an injury or something of that nature. I could feel her eyes scanning me and unlike those surrounding me now, she seemed more fearless than the others.

"Ma'am, stay back. We'll bring him-"

"Those clothes.", the older woman spoke, interrupting the man who had attempted to step in front of her. "Please. Come with us for a moment."

To be frank, I had no desire to come with these people. For all I know, they might be the ones responsible, but I would learn nothing by just walking around. This might be a chance for me to learn a bit more about this situation.

"Quickly, please. You were likely spotted coming in, so they will be looking for you soon.", she says after noticing that I was not following her.

"Madam, how do we know that he isn't with him?", the first man questions. He had slowly moved around me, but he kept his blade pointed towards me when he approached the woman.

"Lower than the blade, and look at his clothes. He was attacked like we were. We have to hurry before they begin patrolling again." She looks towards me, and gestures with her unused hand. "Please, this way."

Hearing that there were patrols gave me a tip on what they were doing. With the urgency and content of her words, I figured that it would be wise to follow this woman. She seems to be someone of importance since those men were following her lead. They moved as quickly as they could until ultimately they led us into a small building about a block down from our previous location. Our destination was an old, stone house that seemed shady as hell.

Still, there was no time for hesitation. I could beat their asses if they attempted to take my kidney, so I soldered through the shady situation. Inside the house were a few things. Most notable was another man, much younger than the rest waiting. He and another man began pushing the only couch there in the room, and low and behold there was this hidden entrance.

"Open it, and be quick with it.", the woman ordered, and the men followed it to a tee.

Without a single order, the other men who confronted me began moving down to the ground. The only ones remaining on top were the older woman and the younger man.

"I'm not going down that hole. Y'all might try to ambush me down there. I'd be stupid to fall for it.", I explained to her.

She looked back at me, but I could see a bit of understanding in her eyes. She would nod her head and in an instant, she snapped her fingers towards the other male. Immediately, he would begin covering up the existence of that entranceway by sliding the couch back over it.

I was skeptical of the older woman, but she made no rash or hostile movements. Her body hovered near the couch before she finally sat down on it. A sigh escaped her mouth once her back rested against the cushions.

"I don't believe that you are stupid.", she says, her eyes now returning to my own, "We both know that pretending to be a member of the Adventurer's Guild will place you on their radar. I'd like to think that we won't fall for the same trick twice."

Her words took on a frustrated edge as if she was scolding herself internally. She made me recall our conversation with Phin just prior about this very subject. Apparently, there is a group of individuals that go around pretending to be members of the Adventurer's Guild to fraud both parties.

It must be common enough since they even place bounties on the heads of those responsible. I can only assume that is the case if they manage to identify them.

"You fell for somethin' like that, huh? Well- How about you start from the beginning?", I said.

The older woman seemed to hesitate, but she would open her mouth moments later. Her hand beckoned the other young man to her side. Much like her, he decided to sit down next to her on the couch. I was surprised that a couch that was beaten up could sustain its combined weight. Much like everything else in this room, the couch was practically run down. I don't know how they could sit there, but then again they did choose this place as a meeting area.

This place probably has seen better days as well. Cobwebs were dangling from the ceiling to the nearby walls. To be honest, the cobwebs look more like cheap party decorations rather than the real deal. There was a notable draft in the room that carried the scorching wind from one side of the room to the other.

"It started about two weeks ago. That is when several men arrived in the village. They smiled and even helped out the village. After all, they presented themselves as a band of adventurers who received our request at the guild. Naturally, since they had shown us their Guild Tokens we believed them, but we would soon live to regret that decision."

The words of the older woman were filled with a somber tone. She took a moment to collect herself before she spoke again,

"The first to fall were our guards. There weren't many of them in the first place, but their lives were snuffed out in the cover of darkness. What we didn't know was they were men fueled by their greed and ambitions, and they worked for two other men. Our remaining men attempted to beat them back, but those fiends had a trump card; an Ursa Major."

My mind was immediately triggered by the sight of the only Ursa Major that was in our proximity; Bernard. To be frank, I could see how these common folks were able to be overwhelmed so quickly. My lack of surprise seemed to have promoted the interest of the young assistant next to her. He eyed me before finding the moment to speak up.

"He also burned our town hall down. With him by their side, there was no chance of us ever opposing them."

"I can imagine that for you, common folk. He was quite the handful to deal with, but he wasn't too much for me to handle."

My words might have come off as braggadocious, but it was the truth nonetheless. The woman's eyes seemed to widen as big as saucers when I spoke, and her young attendant reflected her expression.

"Are you saying that…"

"Yes I am- I beat his ass, myself. You could tell by my clothing, right? I got some scratches here and there, but it ain't slow my roll.", I cut off the young attendant with my answer.

The older woman seemed skeptical at first before her tense expression warmed up a bit. Her skinny fingers folded back her silver strands behind her ear. She exhaled in relief before looking over my figure again. Sure enough, she found the slight wounds that I had acquired with my battle with Bernard.

"You are a human, correct? To have the strength to best an Ursa Major, surely you are a high-ranking member of the guild.", the woman states.

You could see the transition in emotions she felt when I shook my head in denial of her assumption. Believing that now was the time to pull out my own Guild Token, I began to pat down my body until I found it. Miraculously it had remained unharmed during my altercation, so I quickly handed it over to her for examination. She was thoroughly examining the contents of the item.

"F… tier?", the woman gasps. Her eyes quickly shot up from the identification and distrust reigned supreme in her eyes. "No way...This…This is another trick…"

The young man quickly realized the panic in the woman's voice, and immediately sprung up from his seat. He stood in front of her with a bead of sweat racing down his temple. The whole ordeal surprised me slightly.

"She just said that we will not fall for another trick from you bastards! I'll kill you before you report our location.", the attendant growled.

I didn't even do anything, but his eyes hardened. He would quickly reach behind him, and in a fluid motion pull a dagger from behind him. It was a thin, short blade and he held it out with the blade pointed towards the ground. I don't know how he spawned a knife behind him, but I made no rash movements. This was merely a natural reaction from them.

"There is no way an F-tier adventurer could best an Ursa Major. Men with greater ranks than that lay dead as we speak!", the young man growls.

"You see, that tier system shit in the guild isn't that accurate. I just joined today, so I got-"

My words were cut off. The metal of his knife snaked out, zipping from my lower torso, and then cursed upwards towards my chest. It was clear that he intended to deceive me with that maneuver, but he was far too slow to accomplish that. I merely moved out of the way and with his arm fully extended with the blade, I swiped down at his wrist.

The blade clattered onto the wooden floor as I grabbed the young man by the scruff of his neck. My right hand gripped his forearm and in one fluid motion, I slammed him onto the floor. I propped my knee on his back to pin him onto the ground.

"Shit, man. God damn! You gonna let me finish?!", I huffed out.

He huffed out in pain as I tightened my grip around his body when he began to move.

"Talk some sense into your boy. I might be an F tier, but I'm closer to God than he is to me."

After watching our display, she managed to pull herself up off the couch. I eyed her intently, but she once again surprised me. The older woman climbed down to her knees and firmly lowered her head to the ground.

"Please, that's enough. I apologize for his outburst. So please release him.", the woman says, her words soft and apologetic. "We ask that you lend us your strength. These men have taken much from us, so some of our people are rather quick to rush to defend us. It was a simple mistake, Mr. Drago."

I was completely stunned. Seeing this old woman get down her knees and apologize to me didn't sit right with me. Immediately I shifted my knee off of the young man and rushed to her side. I crouched down to one knee and promptly aided her to her feet.

"No- Don't do that. Q is fine, ma'am. Just call me that.", I said.

She nods her head before moving back towards the young man. He looked up towards her from the ground, but he soon grunted in pain. The old woman promptly struck him upside his head.

"You fool!", she scolded him before pulling him to his feet. "This man is an adventurer. F-tier or not, but above all else, he is an ally. Just look at him. You couldn't take him, so why try?"

"I-I had to do something. We both know that-"

"We don't know anything! You should know better than to act without my orders! You still have much to learn when it comes to distinguishing friend from foe.", Her hands shot out towards me as she showed me off to him. "He has engaged with those thugs outside of the city. Their leader went there today as well, so if he is here, then his words are true. We must believe that."

"As you should. We were attacked on the road here by men claiming to be members of the Gold Coin Brigade. We had a little skirmish, but in the aftermath, one of their men escaped with one of our horses. A man named Villard sent me here.", I explained.

The older woman seemed to be surprised by the mention of the name of the stage coachman. There was a sense of recognition in her expression.

"Villard sent you? That is a good sign. Where is he now?", she asked me.

"If I recall we were about a half a mile out before our remaining horse gave out of stamina. They wanted me to rest from my previous battle, but I opted to ignore their advice on this occasion. It would have been quicker for one of us to get here, and bring help. To my surprise, I found the village in its current state. Safe to say that it is a good thing that I arrived here instead of one of the others."

The older woman seemed to contemplate my words. Behind her lively crimson eyes was a stream of thoughts. They bounced from me to the floor towards the couch and landed on the younger man who attacked me prior.

"Is it true that you are an F-tier adventurer within the guild?", she asked once more.

While it is normal for someone to ask that question, I know that her doubting my strength will get annoying over time. That is the problem with dealing with regular people, and I suppose that carries over from my previous world to this one. People tend to place others in certain boxes, and their guild system helps perpetuate their world beliefs. While I don't blame their hesitancy to believe my words, I believe that action will speak louder than words.

"I was sent here to complete a quest.", I answered plainly.

"Things will be more difficult than you initially could have imagined. While the Ursa Major was the most powerful bandit here, the others aren't as weak as they may look. There is one in particular that will be difficult to overcome." " the elder says.

"You know what… just leave the bandits to me. I do have a partner back at the carriage. She is reliable, but time is ultimately wasting for us." My words slipped out, and I gestured towards my chest with my thumb.

The constant doubting from these people was becoming more of an annoyance. My words huffed out, and I found myself facing the entrance that I had entered from.

"The longer we wait, the sooner they will realize that their leader has been beaten. So let's stop all the chit-chat and get to the action. I don't care at this point, but I'll go create a path. Order somebody to deliver a horse to Villiard, and help them out. I got some skulls to crack"

In the end, sitting around debating legitimacy with these people will not get me anywhere. I got the message out, so now I can go do what I do best. My boots thumbed against the rickety floorboards, and as soon as my hand gripped the door handle, I stopped in my tracks. My actions must have been quite surprising to the individuals behind me, but a sudden thought pressed my mind.

"Oh? So it's like that?", I uttered upon coming to a swift realization.