The Peasant's path to Vengeance

The time is 12:00 o'clock at noon. It's lunchtime.

The smell of the grilled rabbit meat mixed in the air. Bob got some time to hunt some rabbits on his way to their camp. It was already dressed; all it needed was just a fire.

With five full wineskins in his hands, Einar approached the gathering and remarked, "That smell got me starving." His hair was drenched, reflecting the light of the sun.

"You take a swim without inviting us," Chris stated as he put some liquid flavoring on the grilled rabbit meat.

"I don't have time to come back and ask." He replied with his nonchalant expression.

With a bottle of wine in his hands, Mr. Silas said, "Now that Einar is here, let's have our meal."

The four of them enjoyed the grilled rabbit meat and had some wine. It was unlikely that Mr. Silas had wine before the market trading; he usually had a bottle of wine after it. However, this time was different. Maybe he wanted to celebrate Einar's first market trading in the city; he had a feeling that it would be successful just like the others.

After taking a break and a short nap, everyone is now ready to resume their journey. At exactly 1:00 pm. They make their way through the forest. In five hours they will be out in Mirkwood.

The branches of the giant trees serve as a roof to shade the harsh heat of the sun. Causing a soothing breeze in the place makes their travel comfortable.

Chirps! Chirps! Chirps!

The pleasant sound of the chirping birds becomes music to the place. Just listening to it can relax the tired mind and body. It was a familiar sound that they usually heard at Roselake, their village.

Clip! Clop! Clip! Clop!

"Once we get to the city. Are we going to set an appointment at the academy to speak with your professor?" Einar asked Chris, who was busy at the back seeking the book he kept in his bag.

"No! Have you forgotten what I told you that night?" Chris replied.

"I do remember. That is why I'm asking, because I don't know how you made contact with your professor."

Chris gets something out of his pocket and shows it to Einar. Einar was surprised by what Chris had revealed. Chris was holding an orb about 3 inches in diameter, an "Orb of Communication." It was an expensive item that cost twenty pieces of gold in the market, and the higher the quality of the item, the higher the cost will be.

"How did you manage to get that?!" Einar exclaimed. He remembered he had one before he returned in time, and he had to stretch his bone all day just to have one of those artifacts. However, Chris has one and also a higher grade than he had before.

"Did you steal that?" Einar asked with a straight face.

"Of course not," Chris replied with an annoyed expression. "I got this at the academy's tournament, a prize for winning it.

Every year the Grandel Academy holds a tournament for the sole purpose of selecting students with great talents in magic. The tournament is by year level: freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior. The winner of each level will be the representative at the Empire's annual magic academy tournament. All the seven academies of the country will compete for these. 

"I had already contacted the professor and set an appointment with the help of this item," Chris conveyed.

Einar just stared at the orb; if he remembered correctly, the item that Chris won at the tournament was not the "Orb of Communication." It was something more valuable than that. There are things that definitely have changed since he returned in time.

Einar had lost in his thoughts. 'Did I affect the flow of time because I returned in the past? Even small things or incidents have changed.

As Einar was occupied by his thoughts, Chris grabbed something from his bag and gave it to Einar. His eyes grew wide as he held the item in his hands. The item that he thought Chris didn't have. The "Almanac of Ages," this book is considered a treasure among treasures.

It holds vast information about night creatures, magic beasts, artifacts, magical plants, and others. As Einar had said, this book is more valuable than the "Orb of Communication"; that knowledge is power.

"A parting gift," Chris says warmly.

"Are you going to give this to me? You know the value of this, right?" Einar asked.

"I do, but you will be needing that more than me; that's why I'm giving that to you. Just make sure to use that and don't waste it." Chris replied with a smile.

Einar nodded with a smirk on his face. "I will put this to good use."

Just an hour and a half after they left from the entrance of Mirkwood forest. All of a sudden the sky was overcast, thunder rumbled, and a flash of lightning illuminated the forest, and the soft tapping sound of rain changed into the loud sound of drumming.

Splash! Splash! Splash! Splash!

A splashing sound as the horse's hoofstep hit the earth.

The roads become hard to navigate because of the heavy rainfall that is also accompanied by thick fog. Their groups had no choice but to find some shelter. It's the best option they had; only a fool would go against this weather condition.

Mr. Silas sent a signal to stop and he gathered them.

"Let's find some shelter before we get stiff from the cold," Mr. Silas conveyed.

Not far from their location where they are now, there are ruins they can use to be a shelter. Einar knows this from his experience of going back and forth from the village to the city of Grandel to deliver farm products during the war.

Einar spoke suddenly and fabricated some words so they wouldn't be suspicious of him. "I saw a ruin that we had just passed a moment ago; I think we can take shelter there."

Everyone nodded at Einar's words. "Let's go then." Mr. Silas spoke while shivering from the cold as the temperature of the forest dropped every minute. They turned the wagon and sped towards the said ruins. 

Einar and Mr. Silas checked the ruins to see if it was safe for them to take shelter. The structure seems to be an old facility or some kind of storeroom based on how spacious it was on the inside; the wagon and the horse can fit in without any problems. Though there were some leaks on the stone ceiling, it was still better than being drenched by the heavy rain outside.

"Haha! You have keen eyes, boy!" Mr. Silas said.

'Actually, I'm not the one who found this place in the first place. It was you Mr. Silas.' Einar thought as he gazed at him.

***

The sun had already set, and the night had come to take its place.

Crack! Crack! Pop! The sound of the burning wood.

They gathered around the fire, keeping themselves warm. Thanks to Chris' magic, they manage to eliminate the water from the wet logs they gathered outside.

Mr. Silas was in a blanket, shivering while sipping a cup of tea. While the three youngsters are just simply doing their own thing. Mr. Silas gazed at them with an absurd expression to see that the three of them were unfazed by the cold. It really is good to be young, as they say.

While Einar was reading "Almanac of Ages," Chris was staring at him while preparing his herbedde, like his stare was going to poke Einar out of it.

"You jinxed it." Chris muttered, right before they arrived at the forest. Einar was talking about the weather.

Einar's brows twitch, hearing Chris' repeating his words multiple times. "Will you just shut up and go to sleep? I can't concentrate here. Einar exclaimed.

Chris just laughed at him. Then Bob joined them and asked about the content of the book that Einar was reading. What kind of book is that?

"This is the "Almanac of Ages". It contains a lot of information about our world," Einar replied. "If you want, you can read it too." 

Even if Bob was a slave, Mr. Silas never treated him like one. He teaches Bob how to read books. Einar passes the book to Bob and starts to read it. He was amazed with the new information he just read in the book. It was an amazing experience for him; no wonder, for he was a slave; he only believes that working all day on the farm is the thing that he must do. Though Mr. Silas didn't treat him that way.

Hours later, Mr. Silas and Chris are already sound asleep, while Einar is cleaning and honing the blade of the dagger he received from Mr. Silas.

Thump! A soft sound.

Bob closes the Almanac of Ages. "Einar, I will join you on your adventure." Bob spoke with fire in his eyes. He must have read something in the book that made him say those words. Einar can see fire in Bob's eyes. He won't let down such a man who decided to join him; after all, he was already expecting this to happen.

"Then it was settled; we will have our journey once I'm done with the things I need to do at Grandel City," Einar replied with a smirk. "You better be prepared; it will be a long journey."

"I already am." Bob spoke with confidence in his words.