The following weeks passed with unexpected speed. After the return, life in Briarwood returned to its usual rhythm almost immediately. Mornings started early, with the cold still clinging to the ground and the smoke from the chimneys rising above the roofs of the village.
Training also returned to normal, Edric didn't make any major changes to the routine. He simply made us go out to the yard as always; wooden swords, stances, sparring, meditation, etc.
The first days were heavy, not so much because of the physical exhaustion, but because of the feeling of starting again from the beginning. But as time passed, the body got used to it again.
Also just like Leofric said, Myriam made me take the week off, so at least I had some rest, I wish the old man were as indulgent as she was.
And so three weeks passed.
We were already nearing the end of winter, the cold was still strong, but no longer as relentless as during the trip. Some afternoons you could even feel a slight thaw in the air.
That afternoon the training had ended a little earlier than usual. The ground in the yard was wet from the snow that had melted during the day and Edric decided it wasn't worth continuing.
He let us go without saying much, Daren was the first to drop onto one of the wooden benches, "finally."
Claire leaned against the fence, crossing her arms "it wasn't that long."
"Speak for yourself," he replied, "my arms feel like they're made of stone."
Rowan was sitting on the ground, cleaning the blade of his practice sword with a cloth, "that means you trained."
"That means Edric wants to kill us slowly."
I let out a short laugh and sat on the edge of the bench.
For a few seconds nobody said anything. The wind gently moved the bare branches of a nearby tree and from some nearby house came the distant sound of someone chopping wood.
Once again it was Daren who broke the silence, "you know, I've been thinking these weeks…"
"Oh my god, you know how to do that?" I said with an exaggeratedly surprised expression.
"Very funny," Daren shook his head while smiling, "like I was saying, we should go hunting, so we can test ourselves."
Claire and I looked at him with doubt, for obvious reasons.
"Relax, we're not going after Panlagors either," he adjusted himself on the bench, "I heard that to the east a colony of Grimrats moved in, their fangs sell very well."
"Grimrats…" I murmured. These were not very large creatures, well, compared to other beasts of course, they had the shape of rats, and compared to their usual size you could say they are gigantic.
They weren't very dangerous on their own, but the problem is that they usually move in fairly large groups.
"I think it's a good idea, but how will we do it, I heard they move in big groups," my brother added.
"According to what I heard from some hunters who spent the night in the village, grimrats usually separate into groups of two or three when they go looking for food," Daren said with a confident tone.
Claire stared at the ground for a few seconds, until she raised her gaze, "Alright… but first we should talk about it with Edric."
"Of course, that was the idea from the beginning. And you Luke, what do you say?" Daren looked at me.
"Sure, why not, one way or another I have to get used to this," I said without much more, although I felt somewhat nervous.
Daren nodded with satisfaction, as if he had already expected that answer, "then we agree."
Rowan stood up and leaned the practice sword against the wall of the yard, "first we have to talk to Edric."
"Yes, yes, Claire already said it," Daren replied, waving his hand impatiently.
Claire looked at him sideways, "I repeat it because I know how your head works."
"My head works perfectly."
"Whatever you say."
The old man was inside the house, checking store accounts or reading one of his old notebooks. We crossed the yard and entered, as usual, the interior was quiet, the smell of old wood and recent food filled the air.
Edric was sitting at the main table with some papers spread out in front of him, he didn't even look up when we entered, "if you broke something in the yard, fix it yourselves," he said calmly.
Daren cleared his throat, "we didn't break anything."
"Then say it quickly."
Claire stepped forward, "we want to go hunting."
This time Edric looked up, first he looked at Claire, then at Daren, then at Rowan, and finally at me. His eyes stayed a second longer than usual on my face, "hunt what?"
"Grimrats," Daren replied immediately, "I heard there's a colony to the east."
The old man interlaced his fingers on the table, "who told you that?"
"Some hunters who passed through the village a few days ago."
There were a few seconds of silence, Edric seemed to be evaluating something more than the simple idea, "grimrats aren't especially dangerous," he finally said, "but they're not a game either."
"We just want to test our skills outside the yard, and train things we can't there…" Claire said.
Edric leaned back in the chair, "and when were you planning to go?"
"We don't know exactly, Daren just gave the idea, but we suppose in a few days."
The old man fell silent again, then he pointed toward us with one finger, "first, you're going to prepare the proper equipment."
He raised a second finger, "you're going to carry spears in addition to swords."
And he raised a third, "and if you see more than five together, you turn around and come back."
Daren smiled immediately, "So—"
"I'm not finished," Edric interrupted him without raising his voice, "if you go, it will be a short hunt, no more than three days," then he looked at the four of us once again, "understood?"
We nodded almost at the same time.
Daren barely waited to get out of the house before speaking, "I knew he would say yes."
Claire shook her head, "you look like a little child, you're already quite grown up to be so excited about something like that."
Even though she tried to act tough in front of her brother, whenever wild beasts were mentioned her eyes always lit up with excitement, just like now. I still don't understand why.
Rowan was walking a few steps ahead of us.
"Now we have to prepare."
I looked toward the forest that stretched beyond the village, it wasn't that far, but this time we would enter it for a different reason.
And without anyone else guiding us.