After running for a few minutes, covering the road he had done backward, Astaroth returned to camp. His eyes widened in fear at what he saw.
Around the fire, three men were standing with clear looks of displeasure. Soon enough, Aberon turned to look at him.
“You’re finally back.” Aberon said, angrily.
He then blew, between his fingers, a sharp and brief whistle.
Next to Aberon, were Aj’axx and I’dril, with Chris and Korin nowhere to be seen.
“I was doing a round of patrol.” Astaroth lied.
“Where are the others?” He then asked.
When he asked that, Aj’axx smiled at him wryly and I’dril turned his head to the side, avoiding eye contact.
Astaroth then felt something grab his arms from behind, locking their movements.
“Huh?!” He said, surprised.
“I’m sorry. Just following orders.” Astaroth heard Korin’s voice next to his ear.
“What are you doing?! Rel… Oof!” He started saying before a punch in his abdomen blew the words out of his mouth.
Chris then popped from the side, his fist still balled up. He was smiling from ear to ear sardonically.
“That one was for worrying me.” Chris said, with his devilish grin.
“This one is me following orders to punish you.” He added.
The second punch also hit his stomach, but this time, in an upward motion, blowing all the air out of Astaroth’s lungs.
Korin let go of him right after, letting Astaroth fall to the ground, gasping for air.
“Sorry, kiddo.” Korin said as he walked towards the fire.
Aberon walked from the fire to Astaroth’s writhing body, crouching near him.
“When are you going to learn to obey orders, young man?” Aberon asked Astaroth.
Astaroth couldn’t even answer, still coughing and hacking, his lungs still refusing to fully expand.
Aberon looked at him with disapproval but would not let him choke to death just yet. So he cast a slight breeze of wind magic, sending it through his nose and mouth, pushing air into his lungs.
Following that minor spell, Astaroth could finally take in a full breath of air on his own.
*Gasp* *Cough* *Gasp*
“Chris, you crazy old coot! I thought I was going to die!” Astaroth screamed, his eyes still teary from nearly choking to death.
“Bahahaha! I didn’t even hit you that hard. Bahahaha!” Chris laughed.
Astaroth let out a low growl in response, being of a different opinion. That punch had felt like a sledgehammer to him.
“I told you not to leave the camp!” Aberon barked, bringing Astaroth’s attention back to him.
“The woods are dangerous without protection!” He added.
“I was only trying to hunt some monsters!” Astaroth tried defending himself.
“Plus, you told me monsters wouldn’t attack us, because of the aura of the guardians emanating from these four.” He added, pointing to the four wooden stags.
“I said no such thing, young man!” Aberon growled.
“I said weaker monsters wouldn’t wander near us, because the aura pushed them off course.” He added before continuing his sermon.
“But there are stronger monsters, creatures that rival the guardians, that don’t care about that aura.” Aberon said.
“Then what difference does it make? If I meet any of these monsters, even with you around, I don’t stand a chance at living.” Astaroth rebuked.
*Slap*
Aberon struck Astaroth’s face with a crisp slap, leaving a red hand mark on his cheek.
“Stop talking and listen!” Aberon barked.
“There are more immediate threats than monsters.” He added.
“The closer we get to the capital, the closer we get to royal patrols.” He dropped, becoming extremely serious.
“Royal Patrols?” Astaroth questioned.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” He then asked.
“Not exactly, kid.” Chris chimed in.
“We aren’t exactly welcomed in the capital. We aren’t criminals, pariahs would be the better term, so we can’t stay there long.” He added.
“Pariahs? Why?” Astaroth asked, becoming confused.
“The why and the how do not matter, for now, young man.” Aberon interjected, throwing a stern look at Chris.
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“Ok. I understand.” Astaroth said, lowering his head apologetically.
*Sigh*
“And don’t run off again! We were all worried about your safety.” Aberon said after a deep sigh.
Astaroth felt warm and fuzzy at that statement. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time.
He could feel the worry of his companions. One that would only stem from deep connections, like family bonds.
The entire scene reminded him of how his parents would scold him when he came back late. His mother would stay up in worry, and his father would leave to go look for him.
That was probably how these guys had felt, too.
“I’m sorry!” Astaroth said loudly, smacking his forehead to the ground.
He had a small tear in the corner of his eye.
Everyone in the camp became awkward at the display. The first one to react was I’dril.
He walked over to Astaroth, grabbed his arm, and pulled him up.
“It’s okay, Astaroth. Just don’t leave without telling us like this again.” He said, with a gentle smile on his lips.
Astaroth quickly wiped the tear away from his eye, not wanting them to see him cry. He looked at the surrounding men, who were mostly smiling now, and he felt warmth from them.
For a second, he could see his parents between them, smiling warmly at him, before fading away.
At that moment, he knew. These people from the village were his family.
It didn’t matter to him if they were just lines of data on a server or not. They treated him like family, and he would do the same for them.
Otherwise, his parents would probably scold him in the afterlife. That thought brought a smile to his lips and a light chuckle escaped his lips.
“Alright! Let me make breakfast for you guys as an apology. I can even throw in some meat, as a side dish.” Astaroth said, walking up to the fire and a cauldron hanging over it.
“Woo! Meat! Hell yeah!” Chris and Aj’axx hollered, fist-bumping the air.
The meal was prepared and cooked a short while after, and the lot of them enjoyed breakfast while laughing. They were mostly laughing at Astaroth’s earlier predicament, but no hard feelings abounded.
They laughed and fooled around, washing away the earlier heavy atmosphere before packing up again. The last bit of their trip was only going to take four or five hours.
So they wanted to clear it soon, so they could leave before dusk. None of them wanted to stay in the capital, where they would be scorned, for too long.
Thus resumed their traveling.