Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Reap

Chapter 14

Reap

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The next morning, I woke to a throbbing headache and an extreme sensitivity to sunlight. My stomach churned violently as I drank from my water skin, and the grimace on my face only made Hershel laugh at my expense.

"Well lad, you look better than I thought you might. Let's get some food in you and sober you up before we head out." Hershel's voice was cheery and it appeared he hadn't been affected in the slightest by the previous night's drink.

The thought of eating only made my nausea worse, but Hershel assured me that it would be the best cure for my current troubles. Choosing to follow his sage advice, I sat down to a bowl of oats, and miserably forced the runny substance from spoon to mouth.

We had only begun to eat breakfast when we caught sight of a caravan of travelers as they passed along the main road nearby. They were a little ways off, but I easily recognized the gold banner of the Merchant’s Guild fluttering above a stout carriage at the center of the convoy.

Armed guards pointed our direction and proceeded to gesture amongst themselves as they assessed whether or not we were a threat to their procession. Upon seeing an old man, a tired mule, a stubborn donkey, and two younger men, they quickly dismissed us from their consideration.

“I reckon it’s that pompous arse, Mayberry, riding in that middle carriage. Imagine bringing this many guards through The Belt, it’s unreasonable,” Hershel grumbled, as he spat onto the ground.

“I didn’t realize how much he was trying to cheat me before you stepped in,” I said, appreciatively. “Thank you again for sticking up for me. The Belt has been rather peaceful this past week, all things considered.”

Hershel grunted in response, his eyes fixed on the passing wagons. “Think nothing of it youngin, that arse takes advantage of as many people as he can, he’s rather notorious through The Belt.” Hershel paused a moment before continuing, “I think we should avoid them if we can, that Mayberry might be the limp reed of a swollen toad, but he’s the type to use the weight of his coin to settle even petty disputes.”

With that in mind, we decided it would be best to let the Merchant’s caravan move further down the road before our little group set off once again. Any distance we could keep between us and the guild would only be to our benefit.

Hershel let the old mule move down the road at a leisurely pace as we spent the rest of the day moving towards our next destination. At Hershel’s urging, I laid down in the back of the wagon and did my best to sleep off the lingering effects of the previous night’s drink.

It was dusk by the time we crossed into the small hamlet known as High Ford. It was a tight knit community composed of families who had lived alongside one another for generations. Their homes were surprisingly lavish for such a modest settlement and served as a testament to the wealth that they had accumulated over their many years together.

As we entered through the eastern entrance of the hamlet’s borders, the three of us on the wagon immediately realized our mistake. The Merchant’s caravan that we had been avoiding all day had stopped and set up camp for the night in the middle of the small community.

“Well, what do you say we trade for a few extra supplies and push a little farther down the road tonight?” I suggested, trying to keep my tone casual.

“I’m inclined to agree,” Hershel said, as he called back to his grandson. “Neil, why don’t you go trade what you can, get us some eggs and some fresh meat if any’s still available.”

While Neil gathered supplies, I took the opportunity to feed our faithful pack animals the last of the carrots we had gotten back at the tavern. Both animals greedily devoured the carrots from my hand as their teeth crunched through the crisp vegetables. They complained together: Blue with a sharp bray and Clyde with an irritable stomp, after I mentioned we’d be traveling a bit farther into the night.

Neil eventually hurried back to our little group with a broad smile as he held up two thick cuts of meat and a small basket of eggs.

“Turns out those farmers don’t appreciate the merchant’s caravan setting up in their town without asking permission. They refused to trade with Mayberry and out of spite they gave us a pretty good deal on what they could spare.”

“Aye, good lad,” Hershel said, “Now get your arse on the wagon, we need to get out of here before anyone cares who we are."

Hershel urged Clyde forward as Neil stashed away the newly acquired goods. Just as we were about to pass through the southern gate of the settlement, a harsh voice called out, forcing Hershel to pull hard on the reins. Behind us, two bald men, who looked nearly identical to one another, were walking towards the wagon.

“Hey now, what’s the hurry,” one of the men asked, as he eyed the goods Neil was stashing away. “We’re all neighbors here, why don’t you share what them farmers traded with you. After all, you travelled behind us on the roads all day, and by extension, benefited from our protection.”

“It’s only right,” the second man said, as he circled to the other side of the wagon. “Mr. Mayberry is generous, he’s only charging a small fee for our services. So give us them goods and we’ll all get along just fine.”

“The hell we will,” Hershel retorted, his tone sharp as he eyed the men. “I know a pair of hired thugs when I see 'em, now be on your way before I put my boot up your arse.”

The two men eyed Hershel with a measured stare before they shifted their gazes onto me.

“Still not too late to reconsider traveling with us, boy. What was the offer? Two gold? It’s a good deal, the road can be quite dangerous, after all.”

“No, thanks,” I responded pointedly, doing my best to keep my voice steady despite the unease twisting in my gut.

“Really? Well, that’s too bad. Ain’t it Kell?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s too bad alright. Might be the last time we see this young fella alive. Lots of monsters out there in the dark, ya know?”

Hershel spat off the side of the wagon and set the wagon back into motion. As we pulled away the two men stared at us for a long moment before they finally turned away and headed back towards their camp.

“Let’s get as far south as we can tonight,” I said, doing my best to hide my fear. “I don’t want to be anywhere near those two.”

A few weary hours later, we finally pulled over to set up camp for the night. We parked the wagon in a clearing ringed by thick pine trees that soared into the dark canopy overhead. It was difficult to notice the transition of the landscape due to the late hour, but the further south we traveled, more and more trees had begun to replace the rolling hills of The Belt.

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We worked quickly through our nightly chores, as we were all road tired and ready to rest. I prepared the fire for dinner, and Neil brought me the meat he’d managed to acquire from the farmers. It was a generous cut of beef, and I set about preparing a stew, using whatever spices and vegetables that Hershel had stashed away on the wagon.

“I must confess I’ve grown fond of your cooking, Sam. It makes being away from my wife a little more bearable. Except last night, of course, that was nearly an unforgivable offense.” Hershel gave the air an appreciative sniff as he looked into the pot I was currently stirring.

“I can't wait to sleep in my own bed,” Neil said, his voice was muffled inside a tent that he was attempting to set up. “Sam, you are going to love Gran, she will probably try to make you part of the family once she meets you.”

“Aye, that she will,” Hershel added with a fond chuckle, his eyes softening at her mention. “She’s quick to get attached to folk and goes far out of her way to take care of ‘em. I can’t help but miss that bossy woman.”

I couldn’t help but smile at their words. I knew I was truly fortunate to have met these two, their presence did a lot to ease the ache of leaving home. After all, if not for Hershel, I would have started my journey wrapped up in the hands of those Merchant Guild thugs.

After a time, I brought bowls over to Neil and Hershel as I ladled out portions of the stew. They each gave me a suspicious look, and after I confirmed I had not experimented on tonights dinner, we ate in companionable silence.

“It may be wise to take turns keeping an eye on camp tonight,” Hershel said seriously, there was no mirth in his tone. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t care for those men back in Highford, and it’s not entirely unheard of for beasts to stray close to the roads as we get further south.”

“Do you think those men will try to hurt us?” Neil asked, his voice cracking involuntarily.

“Aye, it’s certainly possible, we should do our best to keep the fire low and our wits about us.”

At Hershel’s words, it felt appropriate to arm myself just in case something were to happen. I got up and retrieved my sickle from Blue’s pack and fixed it to my belt. Honestly, if I had to use it to defend myself, I doubted I could do much with it, but it was better than nothing at all.

Before walking back to join them at the fire, I looked in the wagon and found our supply of wood had greatly diminished. With a sigh, I turned and called out to Hershel and Neil.

“I'll be right back, I’m going to gather some more firewood."

The pair nodded approvingly as they began to dim the fire and clean up the remaining dishes from supper. With that decided, I slipped out of the camp and took hesitant steps into the dense forest that surrounded us.

Growing up in The Belt, there were a few decent sized trees on our property, but nothing there could compare to the sheer scale of the woodlands that now enveloped me. I marveled at the thickness of the trees as I steadily gathered a few armfuls of discarded limbs from around the base of each . When I felt that I had collected enough wood to burn for the next couple of hours, I turned to make my way back towards camp.

As I marched back to our clearing, an incredible feeling of wrongness began to settle within my gut. What was this feeling, anxiety? Was my hangover from this morning making a comeback? No, something had changed, I just didn't know what it was yet. My instincts were screaming at me, but my natural perception hadn't yet realized what was causing the distress. Choosing to err on the side of caution, I slipped behind a nearby tree and quietly set down the bundle of wood I’d been carrying, careful not to make a sound.

Lowering myself to the ground, I crept over to a large tree that stood just outside the edge of our Camp. I peered around it’s large trunk, and immediately felt the knots in my stomach tighten at the sight before me. Two large figures moved through our camp, slow and deliberate, rifling through our tents like predators picking over a fresh kill.

I mentally noted that I hadn't seen Hershel or Neil, that was a good thing, right? I let out a slow breath as I naively concluded that the two had somehow managed to get away from these beasts. Just as soon as I had comforted myself with the thought of their escape, reality came crashing in and I felt my blood run cold.

My eyes focused on the dark shape of Neil's unmoving body as it lay next to the smoldering campfire. Beside him, Hershel lay curled on the ground, a dark pool spreading out beneath his still form.

For a moment, my brain tried to make sense of it, whiskey, maybe? Some spilled water perhaps? Then the truth of it hit me. It was Blood, it was a lot of blood, and a foul acrid smell permeated the air as it mixed with the dying coals of the fire.

Fear surged through my body and I felt my knees begin to buckle. My legs refused to obey as I willed them to move. Panic clawed at my chest, begging me to run, but I couldn’t move an inch.

There was no way I could fight these men. I wasn’t a warrior. Sure, I’d been in my share of fights with other boys growing up, but those were never life or death. They were just the kind of scuffles every kid faces. This was different. This was real. My story could end, here and now, and I would never see my family again.

But if I didn’t act, I knew without a doubt that Hershel and Neil would die. If I ran away now, they would die and it would be all my fault.

Panic waged war with my sense of duty, so fiercely that it threatened to tear me apart. My mind was caught between two opposing forces, fear and courage. Each laid claim to my soul, battling for supremacy, each demanding to become the foundation of my path.

As I desperately wrestled with these thoughts, a sound rang out through the night like a trumpet of war. It was loud, defiant, and it was filled with absolute fury towards the two men that had infiltrated our camp.

The men jerked in surprise, heads snapping toward Blue, who stood boldly at the edge of camp. For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then, like wolves catching a scent, they began to close in, knives glinting, curses spilling through their teeth.

Something stirred within me as I witnessed Blue’s bravery. Righteous anger began to burn away the fear that held me in place. Not only had they harmed my friends, but they were about to kill Blue, who, despite all his flaws, was my only remaining piece of home.

With trembling hands, I pulled the sickle from my belt. It’s sharpened edge reflected the fire’s warm glow as I gripped it tightly. I moved as silently as I could, my footsteps masked by the sound of Blue’s furious braying.

One of the men stood with his back to me as I approached, his attention fixed on the other’s efforts to silence Blue.

“Brother, once we get rid of that boy, we can …”

GUHHRRH

The man’s words were cut off in a wet bloody gurgle as the pointed end of my sickle sank into his throat with a sickening snap. I yanked the blade back hard, tearing through soft flesh and bone much easier than I had expected. Blood poured from the wound, splattering across my hands and chest as he collapsed, dead.

As the man’s life faded away, I couldn’t help but feel a deep numbness as my mind wasn’t ready to process what I had just done. Yet despite my shock, I couldn’t help but marvel as a wisp of spiritual potential sprouted out from the dead man’s back, taking on the shape of what I can only describe as an ethereal stalk of wheat.

“Kell!” the other man cried out, his voice was raw with fury as he charged toward me.

The man lowered his shoulder and slammed into me, driving me hard into the dirt. The impact knocked the breath from my lungs and sent me sprawling. My fingers lost hold of the sickle as I tumbled, the weapon landing just out of reach. Before I could recover, he was on top of me, his weight pinning me down. His hands clamped around my throat as they squeezed with brutal force, causing pressure to build until it felt like my skull was about to pop.

Angry tears streamed down his cheeks as he continued to crush my throat. “That was my brother! You piece of shit. You killed my.….”

CRACK

As my vision blurred and darkness began to take me, the crushing vice around my throat suddenly vanished. One moment, I was teetering on the brink of death, the next, I was gulping down ragged gasps of air as the man’s weight slid off me. His lifeless form collapsing into the cold dirt beside me.

I coughed violently and struggled to lift my head to see what had happened. To my shock, Blue loomed over the dead man, whose head was now caved in by what appeared to be a powerful kick from the donkey’s sturdy hooves.

Blue let out a triumphant cry into the night and then quickly trotted over beside me. The donkey whinnied and nuzzled me affectionately with his large head, and I could feel the tremors that shook through his body. Blue had been afraid, just like me, and that thought made me love him all the more.

I watched curiously as another seed of ethereal light sprouted from the dead man's chest, unfurling slowly into a glowing stalk of wheat.

This was the second time that I had seen this wheat appear tonight, and for the second time I was confused about what was happening. What the hell was that wheat? A moment later the realization hit me, this was the first time I had seen my ability Reap take effect.

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Path Ability: [Reap] (Domain: Divine) (Legendary)

A tool of potential, Reap allows the user to harvest various forms of potential.

Item required: Scythe or Sickle

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Brushing myself off, I walked over to the sickle that I had lost during my struggle with the man who had choked me. As I picked it up, I couldn't help but notice the warm blood that now covered its slick wooden handle. I felt nothing for my would be killer. No rage. No regret. No fear. Just the quiet certainty that a wrong in the world had finally been set right.

As I took in the gore around me, everything felt distant and muted. My emotions had gone numb. It was like I had stepped outside myself just enough to do what needed to be done.

But this wasn’t the time for reflection. Hershel and Neil still needed help, and I would need every ounce of potential I could gather if I were to save them.

With practiced ease, I reached out with my sickle, and in one smooth motion, raked the blade through the stalk of ethereal light. Simply doing what my father had taught me to do since I was a young man.

I harvested.