The following days Aren accepted Mrs Clara's offer to stay a little more in exchange for helping her doing some works.
Her house was in the outskirts of Kukuru, which is the name of the city where the market is, but sometimes she has to do some deliveries in far places, and that's why she was on the road the day they met.
He was helping her farming and all the hard work needed, and in his free time he went around the city to get acquainted with the locals. Due to his look, which he tried to cover sometimes, he became pretty popular among the people, but in reality it was the fact that everyone knew what he did to protect the people, and surprisingly no one was questioning his powers.
It doesn't look like they fear me, but they seem to have other preoccupations.
That's what transpired from them, a sense of trust but at the same time worries about their current economical and political situation.
It was true, there were no knights or any sort of security coming around, so every bad thing could happen there, but luckily not much occurred since the accident with the bandits.
Their bodies got buried somewhere and everyone decided to not speak about it, hoping that the rest of the Sand Reapers would not come here to find them, but Aren was preparing for the worst.
He sat on a bench to think of what to do, he needed to get close to the palace but apart from being a knight there wasn't any other way to get a pass.
[Your Majesty, I was thinking. What about being a merchant? Maybe they accept trading in the royal palace?]
"I was considering that Val, but to do that I should possess a series of products of such a value that they will be hard to find. And by looking at this place, there isn't that much that can get the King's attention."
[We need to find a job where your skills can be used.]
"Luckily for us, Val, we have time. A day or a year won't make such a difference for me at this point", since he discovered and verified the time passed Aren slowly started to get rid of the feeling of being in a rush, but he was still hungry for answers, he thanked his long-lived experience in life and his family that taught him this kind of mindset.
Learn to let some things go. Time is the only thing that we cannot fight. That's what my parents always taught me.
He decided to go around the city a little more, he practiced a lot of the language and sometimes he didn't need Val's help to have basic conversations. He devoured a lot of books but nothing mentioning his time. That kind of knowledge must be so old to be found around, but at least he got a grasp on the current world.
New rulers, different from the Six Dragons from his time, which means that he needed to figure out what happened to the other families, if they got any heir or something that he could connect them to him.
Suddenly there a group of kids started to run, attracting his attention.
"They are coming! The Stravan are coming!" Screamed one of them, and suddenly a lot of people started to rush.
Stravan? I never heard that name, so it might be worth checking it.
There was a small crowd gathering in a circle, he found some space to fit in and what he saw were a couple of people, a man and a woman. They looked tired, but with a smile on their face while waving at the people. She had long blond and curly hair, while she was wearing what looked like a protective vest, showing pretty muscular arms. He was tall, quite older than her, with some scars on his face but still maintaining a gentle face. He cleared his voice and started to talk to the people.
"Thank you for the warm welcome. It has been a long time since we were here the last time. We hope to collaborate with you and help each other."
"Did you fight any bandits? Some monsters maybe?" the questions came from a kid, but you could see how everyone had probably at least a question for them.
"Unfortunately for them, they came across some bandits. We just wish to find their hideout, said the woman with confidence. Aren noticed that she had a retractable spear on her back, while the man had a shield and a sword on his back.
"They seem strong, those weapons look pretty consumed but still well maintained."
[I can confirm that by scanning their body they have a practical muscular mass. Is not just for showing off.]
Aren went close to an adult from the village, curious about them.
"Sorry, I am quite new, but what exactly are those Stravan?"
"Oh, right, Clara told us that you are quite new with all of these things. So the Stravan are people that can take any type of task, sometimes in exchange for a reward."
"Like mercenaries, or adventurers?" That was how they called those kinds of people in the past, or at least in Aren's past, which is now pretty much forgotten history.
" Probably that's what you call them in your country. Anyway they are in general strong people that started to appear around, in particular since the knight left for the capital."
"So, about those rewards? What kind of rewards? "
"Any person can post a job, there are mission centres in each city. In exchange you can offer a reward if possible, they appreciate for sure, it can be anything due the crisis. They once helped me clean the fields from some monsters and I paid them back with some food."
Makes sense, not everyone here has money.
"And who can become a Stravan?"
"I think that you should ask them, those two are Bufo and Kana, they are pretty nice. They tend to take all the missions in this area so they cycle between cities. I did see other Stravan passing by from time to time but those two are pretty much popular here."
Aren thanked the person and started to think about this, his ideas were clear, maybe he could have become a Stravan, and landed some jobs at the capital. For him it was worth a shot, plus he didn't want to stay here, he wanted to train his new skills.
"Val, I decided. We should talk to them!"
[Yes, Your Majesty. But I guess that you should wait, there is a long queue of people that want to talk to them apparently].
⁂
Observing them, Aren couldn't notice how patient and nice both of them were, despite their fierce appearance. It reminds him of his visits at the schools, where the children couldn't stop asking questions.
And then it was his turn.
"Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Aren". They both looked at him pretty surprised, he was really composed which didn't match his young look.
"Oh wow, I think I have never seen you before! I am Kana and he is Bufo. Do you have any questions for us?" She was actually really beautiful up close, she had gold eyes and despite the full combat gears she was still moving with grace. He would have guessed that she was in her early thirties while he was in his forties.
"I know it might sound abrupt coming from me, and that we have never met before. But I would like to be your apprentice and become a Stravan myself." He slightly bowed to them, which was a sign of respect, at least in his era.
"Oh wow… Ehm Bufo? What do you think? Isn't he too young?"
"Mmm.. I usually don't care about age, but she has a point. You might have to give us more to think about it, kid."
At that moment a familiar voice came from the crowd.
"That kid saved us from the bandits! I am sure that you can spare some time to get to know him more." Mrs Clara was there smiling, and Aren was surprised to hear her.
Other voices started to echo in the background as well.
"Yes! Aren actually saved my father's life, he was poisoned!"
"I am not sure how he did it, but he definitely has skills! I can vouch for him!"
And so many people started to talk.
Aren was speechless, he didn't expect such support from them, they were strangers that he just helped a few days before, but he felt like they were trying to help him this time.
"Ok Ok! I am pretty hungry! What about joining us for dinner? Aren, right?"
"Yes, it would be an honour" and so the three of them left for a restaurant while Mrs Clara gave a wink to him.
"Thank you" he whispered to her, and she gave him a kiss on the forehead, like a mother.
⁂
The restaurant was pretty busy, but the owner managed to give them a pretty isolated table on the balcony.
"So, how long have you been Stravan, if I may ask?"
"You are really formal, how old are you? Sixteen?" Kana asked him.
"What's the legal age of an adult here?" He replied, knowing that the real answer would have been harder to explain.
"Eighteen, why?"
"Then I am eighteen at least" they both laughed at his answer and didn't pursue further on that topic.
"Anyway, answering your question. I have been a Stravan for over twenty years. She joined us eight years ago more or less."
"Wow, you still count the years. Thanks man!"
"What do you actually do? I would like to know more about the responsibilities"
"When I joined the Stravan, we were just a support association for the knights. We would take care of any task that they didn't have any time to deal with. But times changed and without them the tasks actually increased and we had to step up in their place" he started to drink a cider when reminiscing about the past.
"What he is trying to say is that in these times, we have a lot of things on our plate. They can ask us to escort a car, look for some missing cows, or clean some areas from the monsters. It depends on the day."
"And what kind of mission do you accept exactly?"
"It depends. Usually it is smarter to accept things based on the reward, but as you can see, fancy dinners might be one of the highest tier rewards in these lands."
"Me and Kana are From this region. We know what are the effects of the king's choices and we decided to take all the missions around, going from city to city, hoping that they would become less and less one day."
"Do you ever go to the capital? I guess that if many Stravan go there, the amount of missions posted might be higher."
"Definitely. We would definitely love to have a change and get away from regular monsters, but then no one would be here to check on those people, if you get what I mean"
Aren nodded. He understood deeply the responsibilities of someone who put their people before and he was happy to hear that from them.
"And what do I need to be a Stravan? Is there some sort of process or ritual?"
"Straight to the point! I like it! Well, technically you need a Stravan badge, like this", they both took out their wallet, and a silver badge came out once they opened them. It was a circular badge with a design of two wings with two swords in the middle.
"There are two ways to get a badge, which means being accepted. The first option, is going to the official headquarter in the north, and do an assessment"
"The other way is to successfully terminate a difficulty three mission, with a at least a senior Stravan in the mission that can confirm that you are capable enough"
That's it! That can be my way to travel, get information, and maybe not starve in the process, while I try to reach the capital.
He was definitely smiling while trying to hide it by eating some bread.
"So, we heard some versions of this bandit story and they seem to be pretty much on point. So you have an emblem? And you are a good fighter, can you care to elaborate more? What's your story?" He could feel that Bufo was really interested in him, it was assessing him already.
"I came from a far land, I grew up in an environment pretty different from here, and that's why I know nothing about your customs here, but I am learning."
"I heard you grew up with your grandpa. Was he the one who taught you how to fight? What happened to him?"
"He is not with us anymore… and yes, everything that I know came from his experience", this was as much as honesty he felt he could share without sounding crazy.
"I never saw anyone with hair and eyes like you. What's the name of your country?"
"Valoria. Not sure if you heard it, I feel like no one heard it before."
"Valoria? Yeah, I never heard of it. So what's the thing on your arm? Looks like a watch but is not showing any time"
"This is a translator device. Was a departure gift, so I don't know how to use it that much"
"That's crazy! Pretty useful if you travel! Can I try it?" She asked him, touching the SENTINEL.
The light became red as she placed her hand on it.
"Val, is ok. They are good"
[Are you sure Your Ma-}
"Yes yes! Please Val" he stopped her before they could hear how she called him, not wanting to raise more unwanted questions.
The bracelet suddenly enlarged around the wrist, making it easy to remove. He passed it to Kana who immediately wore it, after a while the bracelet shrunk, fitting exactly her wrist.
"Hi, how does it work?"
[Translation Starting]
"If I speak my language, can you understand it?" Aren started to speak his long lost language.
"Woah! I can read what you are saying!" She was having a lot of fun, while Bufo was almost embarrassed.
They had some fun for a few minutes and then she returned the SENTINEL to Aren.
It was a good idea to let her try it. Luckily I already made sure that Val would just show the translating features to others, just in case they need doubt about its functions.
"That thing is very useful! Unfortunately it is not really so useful for us that live here. But definitely good for travellers like you!" She said going back to her drinks.
"So going back to you. I guess you still want to become a Stravan, right? "
"Yes. And I wouldn't mind being tested by you if you have any doubt." He said with a very straight face. Bufo and Kana looked at him and realized that he was not joking. She crossed her arms and lifted her head left and right.
"Ok. I got an idea, what about testing you on the field? We cannot risk you with a difficult three missions without seeing in person your abilities. We will start from that, I already got some missions about cleaning some areas from the wild beast. What do you think?"
"I think it is perfect, it makes sense to me. When do we start?"
"What about tomorrow? Do you have any weapons or equipment ready?"
"Well, I have a knife. My axe has been destroyed so…"
"Oh, try to figure out something for tomorrow, ok? You might need something more and some comfy clothes. We are going to the desert!"
And that's how King Aren's quest to become a Stravan began.