Chapter Three
1222 Words
: The Arrival of a Strange Man
The wind that morning was colder than usual.
It swept through the trees surrounding Kingston, making the branches sway gently from side to side. A strange whisper seemed to move with it, traveling from one tree to another.
Usually, the forest was alive in the early morning. Birds filled the air with their songs, animals moved between the trees, and hunters could often be heard returning from their journeys.
But that morning was different.
The birds were silent.
The animals seemed to have disappeared.
Even the wind felt unusual.
Something had changed.
No one in Kingston could explain what it was, but the peaceful atmosphere that normally surrounded the kingdom had suddenly become tense. People went about their daily activities, yet there was an uncomfortable feeling in the air.
Farmers worked quietly in their fields. Merchants arranged their goods in the market, while hunters prepared their equipment before heading into the forest.
Then someone noticed a figure on the road.
“Who is that?” a farmer asked.
Everyone turned.
Far in the distance, beyond the fields, a lone figure was walking toward Kingston.
At first, he looked like nothing more than a dark shadow beneath the morning sky. But with every step, he came closer.
People began stopping what they were doing.
The market slowly became quiet.
Conversations faded as more villagers turned toward the road.
The stranger continued walking without hesitation.
He did not appear tired, even though he had clearly traveled a great distance. His pace remained steady, and he never looked back.
As he came closer, the villagers began noticing that there was something unusual about him.
His clothing was unlike anything commonly worn in Kingston. It appeared old but carefully made, with pieces of dark material covering parts of his body.
A weapon hung at his side.
It was not a sword or hunting knife like those carried by the warriors and hunters of Kingston. Its shape was unfamiliar, and no one could tell what it was meant for.
He also carried a strange object attached to his belt.
Nobody knew what it was.
A symbol had been marked on part of his clothing. It was made of several strange lines that formed a pattern the villagers had never seen before.
Whispers began spreading through the crowd.
“Who is he?”
“Where did he come from?”
“What does he want?”
“Could he be a traveler?”
“Maybe he's from another kingdom.”
The stranger seemed to hear the whispers, but he did not respond.
Instead, he continued walking.
When he finally entered the kingdom, he stopped briefly and looked around.
His eyes moved from the market to the houses, then toward the forest.
He studied everything carefully.
It was almost as if he was comparing Kingston to a place he had visited before.
Kai was standing among the villagers, watching him closely.
As an experienced hunter, Kai had learned to notice small details that most people ignored.
The stranger's movements immediately caught his attention.
His footsteps were unusually light.
Too light.
A man who had traveled such a long distance should have shown some sign of exhaustion, but this stranger did not.
Kai watched the man's hands.
They remained relaxed.
His eyes continued moving around the village.
But there was one place he kept looking toward.
The mountains.
Kai followed his gaze.
The mountains stood far beyond the forest, their peaks disappearing into the clouds.
Why is he looking there?
Kai wondered.
The stranger suddenly spoke.
“I am looking for the road that leads toward the northern mountains.”
Several villagers exchanged nervous glances.
One of the elders stepped forward.
“There are many roads around Kingston,” the old man said. “Why do you want that one?”
The stranger looked at him.
“Because there is an old path through the forest.”
The elder's expression changed.
“What path?”
“The path that leads beyond the eastern ridge.”
The villagers became silent.
That path had been forgotten many years ago.
Most people in Kingston did not even know it existed.
Kai's attention sharpened.
How does he know about that?
The stranger continued.
“I know that the path was once used by travelers who came from the northern mountains. It was abandoned after the old kingdom fell.”
The villagers stared at him.
He was speaking about things that most people had never heard of.
An elderly woman stepped backward.
“That story is only a legend,” she whispered.
The stranger looked at her.
“Not everything that is forgotten becomes a legend.”
A nervous murmur passed through the crowd.
The stranger then mentioned the name of an ancient mountain that only a few elders remembered.
He spoke of old events in Kingston's history, including details that had been passed down through generations but were no longer discussed openly.
“How does he know these things?” someone asked.
Nobody answered.
Fear slowly began spreading through the kingdom.
Kai looked at the stranger again.
He's not here by accident.
The stranger suddenly turned his attention toward the mountains.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he spoke.
“I have come because something that was buried long ago has begun to awaken.”
Silence fell over Kingston.
The words seemed to freeze everyone in place.
A merchant slowly lowered the basket he was carrying.
One of the children moved closer to his mother.
The elders exchanged worried looks.
Kai felt a strange uneasiness in his chest.
“What was buried?” someone finally asked.
The stranger did not answer immediately.
Instead, his eyes remained fixed on the mountains.
“Something that should have remained forgotten.”
That answer only made the villagers more frightened.
Kai stared at him.
What could be hidden in those mountains?
He had spent years exploring the forest, yet there were places even he had never dared to enter. The mountains were dangerous, and stories had always surrounded them.
The stranger turned back toward the villagers.
“I did not come here to harm anyone.”
“Then why come?” another villager asked.
The stranger looked toward the forest.
“Because Kingston is closer to the awakening than any other place.”
A cold feeling passed through Kai.
Before he could think about the stranger's words, the man's eyes suddenly met his.
Kai froze.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
There was something in the stranger's expression that made Kai uncomfortable.
It was not anger.
It was recognition.
The stranger seemed to know him.
Then his eyes moved downward.
He was looking at Kai's clothing.
Kai followed his gaze and noticed the small mark he had carried since childhood.
The mark had always been there.
Kai had never known where it came from or why he had it. His grandfather had always avoided answering questions about it.
The stranger stared at the symbol for several seconds.
His expression changed.
“You,” he whispered.
Kai frowned.
“What?”
The stranger took one slow step toward him.
Kai instinctively moved his hand toward his weapon.
Before anything else could happen, someone grabbed his arm.
It was his grandfather.
“Stay away from that man,” his grandfather warned
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