Six Warriors

Convocation - (Arthur)

"Arthur, when you told me you were a traveler, I didn't think you were an adventurer or a hero!" Glastro was admired.

"My tavern!" The tavern keeper was screaming in despair, coming out from behind the counter. "My tables! My door! Who's going to pay for all this?"

Glastro went to one of the fallen orcs and searched him until he found a leather pouch that held some coins, he tossed the pouch to Clement, the innkeeper.

"You know this doesn't pay off all your debt, Glastro." said Clement, "who will pay for everything?"

"Who will pay for all this?" Glastro asked. "Well, my good Clement, Arthur and I are going to pay." He put his arm around Arthur's shoulders.

"Glastro Waste-All, you don't have a penny! A penny!"

"Precisely because I waste it all, I know, I know. Honestly? I find this nickname a little unfair and in bad taste, I mean, a bad pun. But as I was saying, Arthur and I are going to pay the debt."

"Hey, wait a minute, I didn't agree to any of this!" Arthur growled.

"And no need, buddy, all you need to agree is to help me out with an undertaking. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you too."

"Eh, eh, eh, eh." Someone smirked, approaching. It was the mysterious troubadour of the lute. "Are you sure you're going to get involved with Glastro, boy?" Asked the musician. "Do you already know of his fame? Rogue, bounder, scalawag, cheater, vicious and troublemaker."

"Slander!" Glastro defended himself, but he didn't seem all that disgusted with the bad reputation, "I'm a very trustworthy guy, besides, Arthur is an honorable guy and he'll help me in this just cause, isn't that right, Arthur?"

"Let's talk about my reward. What can you give me?"

"And I see that, above all, you have the noble spirit of adventurers, always thinking first of the fat sack of gold. Don't worry, friend, with what I'm going to pay you, you can eat ten meals of those I paid you a day, for one good time."

"No. I need to get to Lightland and also some information about some friends. If you can get me there, I'll help you."

"Behold the true spirit of a traveler! It will be arranged, my friend, it will be arranged."

"Careful boy", The minstrel warned "you look too young to die to me."

"I'm not going to die, I'm strong. And anyway, I've already got into a fight with those two orcs over there. I must be in trouble already."

"Arthur is right, the damned burgomaster will not like having his men beaten up like that. Come on, friend, come on, it's night and I can find a home for you!"

Arthur didn't trust the man, he seemed to be everything the troubadour had said and a little more. What was this money he owed? Who was this burgomaster? Why was he being so kind to Arthur? And why had he promised to pay the tavern's damages? Arthur was very suspicious, but he was not afraid. If he was in any danger, he could just kick the a*s of anyone who got in his way, he was strong. Glastro's house was a little far from the tavern, so they walked for a while, listening to the crickets and cicadas sing through the night. It was a simple wooden building, on the right side of the house there was a pigsty with some pigs, some flowers in front, and on the left side of the house a small orchard. "It's not the best inn you'll sleep in, but at least it's warm and cozy." said Glastro. The young man opened the door and Arthur stomped inside. "Shhh people are sleeping." whispered Glastro. Arthur was shown into a room with a few beds occupied. As it was dark and the people curled up, he couldn't see what they looked like. One of the beds was free and Glastro said Arthur could sleep there. The bed was hard, it had no mattress, it was straw and the blankets were threadbare, but the chosen one was too tired to think about these things and slept.

Arthur awoke to the sound of roosters crowing and children's laughter. His body was itching from the straw and maybe some bed bugs. In the hallways of the house, there were children running and playing.

"Good morning Arthur!" Greeted a girl appearing in the room. She appeared to be fifteen years old, brown hair twisted into a braid, wore a simple dress, an apron and leather sandals. "I am Teri, the sister of Glastro. He just woke up too, he's in the kitchen, making breakfast, come on, come eat too."

Upon arriving there, Glastro greeted the chosen one and with them, at the table, there was one more person.

"The troubadour from the day before?" Arthur asked, taking a seat at the table.

"She troubadour." Glastro replied. "She is my friend."

The figure took off the hood and actually turned out to be a woman. Not a woman, a girl, she must have been seventeen years old, she was pretty She had thick lips, but a small mouth, dark lipstick, a very white face that gently showed slightly bluish veins, her cute cheeks gave her a childish look, but they didn't take away her serious features. She had a nose ring, her hair was short and brown, with the front strand dyed white. The girl looked to the side and smiled.

"Hello, I'm Amy, what about you?"

"Arthur Coast." The boy's belly rumbled. "And I'm hungry." The others laughed. After the meal, Glastro told Arthur of his proposal. In fact, he started by telling a story and Amy was following the story with a finger on her lute.

“Three different tribes had long lived in the region that made up our manor. They had a tradition, a rite of passage for boys to become men, which consisted of hunting something from the dangerous forest. It turns out that every ten years the tribes had a competition with each other, called The Great Hunt. They would fight each other, and they would fight the creatures of the forest, aiming to reach the top of the competition and reach the maximum honor for their tribe. For many decades, the three tribes, the Refar Tribe, the Grafsvín Tribe and the Kettir Tribe, competed against each other in The Great Hunt..."

"Okay, what do I have to do with all this?" Arthur asked.

"Calm down, Arthur, he'll get there." Amy said in a soft voice.

"A fourth tribe emerged in the meantime, Tribe Rottur and all the other tribes hated them, they were full of spells and tricks, they ended up winning The Great Hunt a few times. Keep the name of this tribe well, Arthur. The years passed and the tribes grew until they became villages and the village merged into a larger fief, which was ruled by the Eighthall family. The Great Hunt caught the attention of the Eighthall family overlord, Count Baeth Aroturth, who decided to grant a wish to the village to be the champion. The Rottur Tribe won and Groto the leader of those people asked Aroturth for power over our feud, until then called Eighthall Manor. The former lord Eighthall contested this request, so Count Aroturth decided to hold a tournament where two champions would be chosen, the champion of Groto Mus and the champion of lord Eighthal. Groto Mus chose one of the traveling mercenaries who sometimes helped the village Rottur in the Great Hunt, a barbarian from distant lands, Lord Eighthall would choose a man from his village, the Bjorn clan was well known for its warriors, but a distant friend of his, a knight known as Sir Ivory of Casteland, asked for the honor of being his champion, which the lord granted. Anyway, Sir Ivory won the fight, but he made the mistake of turning his back and waving to Lord Baeth. Summoning his remaining strength, the barbarian disloyally slashed his heavy ax into Sir Ivory's unprotected head, killing him instantly.Groto's champion was deemed the victor and he would be given the right to rule this village."

"And then?" Arthur asked.

"Nobody likes the usurper, the new burgomaster lord, Groto, a bastard, and I and this hamlet, Grafsvin Village, we intend to win this edition of the Great Hunt, for that we will count on your help, Arthur, and to finish the series of victories of Rottur Village."

"So I just need to beat a bunch of people and stuff until I win? Easy."

"I wouldn't count on it, Arthur." Amy said smiling. "The villages have experienced warriors on their side, far more experienced than you, you could lose your life in the process.

"I'm not going to die, I still have something important to accomplish."

"Then it's agreed." Glastro smiled, standing up. "I will talk to the other warriors and add you to the team, Arthur Coast."

The young man left the house, excited, mounted his nag and set off at a gallop wherever he went. Arthur and Amy watched him walk away on the horizon, behind him in the house, the children ran and messed around as Teri tried to calm them down. Altogether there must have been seven children up to a maximum of seven years of age.

"Why are there so many brats here?" Arthur asked Amy.

"There's something in the story that Glastro didn't tell you. The former burgomaster died in a trap set by Groto and his children became orphans. The point is that those children grew up and decided to help orphaned children too," Amy looked at Arthur "yes, Glastro's name is Glastro Eighthall. He is the son of the former lord burgomaster."