Kopii examined the boar, but could not find his sword anywhere. It was not visible along the path either.
«Where is it? I would have definitely noticed it.»
Kopii was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps approaching in his direction. He looked towards the source of the noise, and after a few seconds, he noticed a group of people appearing from behind the trees. There were four of them — grown men. They looked at one another; no one dared to speak first.
Kopii studied them carefully and noticed that one of them had his sword. He immediately grew wary.
«They were waiting for me.» Kopii's eyes narrowed, and his body tensed. They noticed it at once, and one of them immediately hastened to open his mouth and speak.
— Hey-hey, calm down, we mean you no harm. — Smiling, said the oldest of them, stepping forward. Kopii immediately understood that this was their leader. After the man's words, he did not even twitch an eyebrow; he was fully focused on any hidden attack, if there was one. At any strange move from them, he would attack without hesitation.
— I... I understand, this is your sword, kid. — Said the one standing behind everyone; he was the youngest. He tossed the sword to Kopii's feet. Kopii hesitated, but as he bent down to pick up the sword, his senses sharpened to the maximum, for this was the perfect moment to attack, but nothing happened. Feeling the familiar texture of the sword, he felt more confident.
After a short pause, he said:
— Who are you?
Of course, he wanted to turn around and run immediately, but he did not want to appear rude; in truth, he was afraid that when he turned around, the man with the bow would shoot him in the back.
— We are ordinary travelers. — Answered the oldest of them.
— And where are you heading, if it's not a secret?
— We are returning home. We were in Orario not long ago.
– I see. – Kopii answered curtly. But before the old man could open his mouth, he preempted him with the next question. – What are your names?
— Ah, forgive us for not introducing ourselves right away. My name is Larsen Valdemar, — he introduced himself and looked at the others. He had short dark-chestnut hair graying at the temples and blue eyes. They all had blue eyes and the same hair.
— My name is Torvin Valdemar, — stepping out from behind the others, said the youngest of them.
— And my name is Elric Valdemar, — said the bearded man; he was the tallest and largest compared to the others.
— And my name is Garvin Valdemar, — said the last man. Kopii immediately took note of him, because he stood out from the rest — he had a thin body, long hair, and pale skin. He stood out sharply.
— So you are one family? — Kopii said.
— Yes, — Larsen replied and continued: — But you haven't told us your name. We're curious too, boy.
— My... my name is Gedo.
— Gedo? An unusual name, — Larsen noted.
— And what is your surname?
— I don't have one. I'm an orphan, — Kopii told the truth for the first time in all this time.
— Forgive me, I didn't know, — said Torvin, and his face filled with regret.
— It's nothing, — Kopii answered, continuing to watch them. — It was nice talking, but I have to go.
— And where are you heading? Maybe we're going the same way.
— It doesn't matter, — Kopii said and disappeared into the forest.
But even so, he did not dare relax; he was fully prepared for their attack.
Kopii walked quite far from them. He regretted only one thing — his dinner, which was lying back there.
«It was probably delicious.»
Remembering that large carcass of meat, his stomach rumbled.
«They probably ate it. I should have taken a piece of that boar with me.»
Some time later.
Kopii sat by the campfire and looked at the starry sky, reflecting on what had happened today. The more he thought about this family, the more he doubted them. Were they following him? But however hard Kopii tried, his paranoia only grew stronger. Yet with time, he completely calmed down.
Kopii decided to distract himself from such thoughts; he hoped he was simply working himself up. He had not felt what he had expected to feel on this herb-gathering trip — that was the thirst, but it had been only fleeting, so he had not even noticed it at first. It had appeared after he killed the boar.
«Then perhaps the thirst awakens in me when I kill someone?» But he immediately cast these thoughts aside, for in the dungeon he could control himself at least somewhat, but when he saw the ant, he could no longer control himself, and that was just from a glance.
But when he saw the War Shadow, it had evoked no emotions in him, yet after killing it, this feeling had begun to seize him, and he had given in to it. But in truth, he simply had not understood what it was and had not had time to react.
«Well, whatever,» — Kopii thought, getting up, and walked over to a tree and climbed it. However hard he tried to distract himself from thoughts of those people, he was already a paranoid. So he decided to spend the night in the tree. There was less chance of being found there.
The night passed calmly; nothing disturbed Kopii's sleep. Climbing down from the tree, he felt hunger. His thoughts returned to the boar again. Kopii imagined how delicious the boar meat would have been. The more he thought about the boar, the more he regretted leaving it just lying there.
«If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have gone hungry on this trip.» – He thought, beginning to hate them little by little.
Kopii rummaged through his backpack and took out bread, which he had been eating for several days now. It was the only food he had taken with him. Kopii only now realized that it had been a rather foolish decision — to take only bread. But this bread quickly satisfied hunger, though the taste was so-so. Having finished the bread, Kopii took out the map. Unfolding it, he roughly understood where he was, but this did not please him — the designated point was still far.
— Ah, — Kopii exhaled, putting the map back into his backpack. He decided not to waste time and continued on his way. After several hours, Kopii finally emerged from the forest. The sun blinded him, accustomed to the forest's semi-darkness. A wide valley stretched out before him. Kopii squinted, surveying the surroundings.
«Beautiful.» – flashed through his head as he once again marveled at the beauty of nature.
Kopii decided to run to the designated point, for if he continued at this pace, he would arrive in a few days, which again did not please him.
Kopii dashed forward, his boots slapping against the soft earth. The wind whistled in his ears, bringing the smells of grasses and wildflowers. The valley opened up before him, like a vast green carpet strewn with bright colors. He ran, trying not to think about anything except the road ahead. Just to get there as soon as possible.
After some time, Kopii felt fatigue. The running was not easy for him; his muscles ached, his breathing became ragged. He slowed his pace, switching to a brisk walk. He needed to rest before continuing on. Kopii looked around for a suitable place to halt. In the distance, he noticed a small grove of trees.
Approaching the grove, Kopii found a small stream flowing along the trees. He crouched down and greedily drank the cool water. Then he took the remains of the bread from his backpack and ate a little. Silence reigned around, broken only by the singing of birds and the babbling of the stream. Kopii felt the tension gradually leaving his body.
Having finished his snack, Kopii rested a little, leaning against a tree trunk. The sun had already begun to slope towards sunset, painting the sky in bright colors. He understood that night would soon fall, and he would need to find a place to sleep. Sighing, Kopii rose to his feet and headed further, into the depths of the valley.
At this pace, Kopii finally reached his destination. He arrived in six days. Kopii lowered his eyes — he needed to descend. It was too high. Kopii decided to leave it for tomorrow and headed to his camp.
For the first time on his little herb-gathering trip, he was glad.
Having reached the camp, Kopii lit a campfire, roasted and ate a bird he had caught. Thoughts of the upcoming descent swirled in his head. He knew it would not be easy, but there was no turning back. Wrapping himself in his cloak, Kopii closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep, but anxiety gave him no peace.
Kopii was now completely sure that his thirst appeared after strong emotions or kills. He had managed to answer one of his questions on this trip.