125 Chapter 125 - What is a Leader? (1/2)
The choice was too important for Gren to make it on his own. If the travelers didn't mind the guy going with them without any treatment or inspection from Gren then he would put aside his fears and give them the food that he promised them. There was always a chance that the disease would spread but Gren was able to travel quickly and communication with Adierton was possible through the Church. Even if something did happen to the people he cared about, he could still make it in time to save them.
The travelers and their wagons were on the road next to the clearing that Gren parked the truck at. Walking back and forth between the truck and the area around the stubborn man's wagon was getting him some weird looks but it was better than shouting or having a potentially infected person near uninfected people. Then again, maybe it was his suit's fault that he was getting stared at. Even Gren felt that it looked stupid but the it offered the highest level of protection so he didn't regret putting it on. That didn't mean that he wasn't regretting something; on the contrary, Gren was currently regretting that he didn't explain why he needed to wear the suit. If they knew how useful it was then perhaps they would stop talking about how his helmet was shaped like a barrel as he approached them. It really was shaped like a barrel but Gren didn't want to be reminded of it.
”Sorry to bother you all but can I have a moment of your time?” Gren made sure that everybody was paying attention to him before continuing. ”I've checked every person and wagon besides that man and his property. He doesn't seem willing to let me inspect his stuff but we're on a tight schedule and need to leave.”
”Does this mean that you're not going to be giving us food?” One of the women from the second wagon was worried. The two kids next to her shared some of her features so there was a good chance that she was their mother.
”No. I'm still going to give everybody food.” There was a noticeable moment of relief from the crowd when Gren said that. ”It's just that I don't know if he's infected with the disease or carrying something that might be infected. As long as you guys are okay with traveling alongside him without the inspection then I'll start distributing the food immediately.”
”As long as he keeps to himself like he has then I see no problem with him being part of our group.” The older lady that had spoken to Gren earlier gave her opinion and from the looks of it, most of the others agreed. Gren could see that there were people nodding their heads after she spoke up. ”We've been traveling with him since the beginning and haven't gotten this disease from him yet.”
”I don't care what the others say, I'm not going to be moving around with someone that might harm my family.” A larger man took a hard stance against Gren's proposal. Although the heads of his wife and children were covered up, Gren recognized them as the fox people he inspected earlier. ”If they decide to go with him then I'll be leaving this group behind.”
”I wouldn't recommend doing that. You don't seem to be armed and there's safety in numbers.” With the lives of the children on the line, Gren felt that the man's response was a bit irresponsible. ”I understand your concern but at least wait for a bit and we'll see who else shares your view.” Gren turned to the other travelers. ”Is there anybody else that agrees with this man and wants to separate from the rest of the group?”
There was a lot of murmuring between the smaller groups until someone's voice sounded out amongst them. ”We've already lost our cattle to the disease. If we lose our goats and our horses then we'll have nothing left.” As a group that suffered loss at an unknown disease, it was understandable for them to be afraid of a possible source of infection. ”There's a little bit of room in the back of our wagon for them if they want to ride with us.”
The slightly larger group would still be vulnerable to attacks compared to the full convoy but it was at least at an acceptable size. There were no other individuals or groups that decided to part with the rest so Gren pulled their group aside to speak with them in private. ”Alright. I'll give you your food and water before the others but I'm still worried about your security. You've got one knife and a dagger between the lot of you. It'd be irresponsible of me to send you off without giving you something to defend yourselves. Do you have any weapon preferences?”
After discussing things with them, Gren distributed the weapons he thought would be best for them. In an unsurprising turn, nobody in their group had practice with any weapons so their selection would be limited. The rancher got a short spear while the large fisherman got a spiked club and a shield. Just to make sure that their wives could defend themselves as well, Gren handed them better daggers than the dull one that they had and provided enough basic armor to keep everybody protected. It was possible that he went a bit overboard but he truly didn't want anything to happen to the two families.
With the smaller group on their way, Gren decided to wait a short while to give them a short lead towards Adierton. They would now have enough food and water to make it there if they didn't waste too much time. ”Do you still need to wear that armor?” The only person that seemed to be willing to approach Gren was Georgia so he didn't have to guess who it was. ”You've already finished your inspections, haven't you?”
”I could probably take it off now but I've decided to leave it on until they're all gone. I'm not like you, I can't just respond quickly if someone decides to attack us.” Through training, Gren had managed to reach the level of an amateur swordsman but his awareness in combat was still almost nonexistent since he hadn't fought in enough battles to develop those skills. ”Talking about that, I've been wondering why the female knights like yourself are more skilled than the male knights in the Church. Is it true that only the female knights get to learn magic?”
”I'm not sure where you've heard that but it's not entirely true. The part about women being more skilled because of magic is true but it's more complicated than that. Men can only learn magic after they've become an adult while women start learning it at a young age.” So it turns out that the kid was telling the truth. Boys can't learn magic in the Church. ”It's odd that you've managed to learn magic despite not reaching an appropriate age, especially when you haven't had a proper magic teacher. It's usually difficult for men to control magic properly until after they've reached their late teens.”
”Ah.” Gren was reminded of something important thanks to Georgia's words. ”Is that why I can't unlock that box that we found in Newton? I've been trying to open it but I keep triggering the false gates because my magic spreads out too far.”
”I couldn't tell you that. I've only learned a bit of magic and don't really know much about the specifics behind what I've been taught. You'd have to talk to the trainers in the holy city.” That was one of the three places that Gren had been wanting to visit but hadn't had the chance to yet. He had spent too much of his time doing things for the guild to allow himself to travel somewhere else. If there wasn't an emergency in Valkland then he'd probably still be in Adierton trying to improve a guild that didn't even seem to want him there. ”You don't have to look so down. You're still young so you'll surely get a chance to figure out what's going on with your magic.”
”That's not it. I've just got something on my mind.” There was nothing Gren could do about his problems in the middle of nowhere and he had more important things to deal with. ”I'll definitely go to the holy city one day but right now I've got to focus on Valkland. Have everybody get in the truck. I'll go give out the rest of the food and weapons so that we can get moving.” They had taken too much time with what should have been a short stop but it led to Gren learning more about the disease that they were up against. He didn't have all of the clues yet but it was a good start.
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”Sorry for the wait. I had to discuss some things with the others and figure out how much we could afford to give out.” Gren told the travelers a blatant lie but didn't really feel bad about it. It was better than telling them that he wanted to make sure that the others were far enough ahead that the two groups wouldn't meet. The older lady seemed to be the nicest so Gren decided to leave the supplies with her. ”I've got the crates set up for the people with wagons and bags for the people that are walking. Don't worry about returning the bags; you guys can keep them.”
”Thank you for the food. We really appreciate this. I know that Dugger was a bit rude to you but he has been going through a rough time.” He was more than a bit rude but Gren really was asking for a lot from him. The Church had no jurisdiction in the Adier Duchy so they couldn't really force a search on anybody. ”He lost a member of his family to some people that claimed to be from the Church. I know that you guys say that the Church wasn't really involved but those people that were burning the bodies of the dead said they were working for the Church.”
”I'll make sure to look into that. I'm just a mercenary but I owe the Church a lot so I don't want people using their name to do bad things.” Without the members of the Church, he would have thought that he was an orphan in his new life. ”If you meet up with any trouble, I've left some weapons wrapped up in blankets for you and the others. I'd recommend only telling the people you trust about them.”
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”I appreciate what you're doing for us but you should be careful in Valkland. There have been some illnesses that got spread before but this is something different. It's the first time that I've seen the healers powerless to help the people.” The older lady's face showed that she was worried about Gren's safety. ”We've been on the road for days now. Things could only have gotten worse since then.”