By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 2

Chapter 9, Episode 11: The Way of the Forest, Part 2

“Sutem,” the guard greeted the elder with six tankards. “You know this place?”

“I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard of it. Hold on a minute.” Sutem walked to the table nearby, handing off the tankards to the adventurers seated there. For a moment, I thought he was wearing leather armor until I recognized it as a barkeep’s apron.

“He used to be an adventurer who roamed the Sea of Trees. Now that he’s retired, he runs this bar. No one knows these woods better than Sutem.”

“I’ve only been around the longest.” Sutem picked up a barstool with one hand and produced a smoking pipe from his apron with the other, before sitting between the guard and me. He lit his pipe. “You mentioned Korumi village?”

“Yeah. I’ve never heard of it,” the guard said.

“It’s no wonder you haven’t. I couldn’t give you an exact date, but I know that Korumi village was lost to the woods about forty years ago,” Sutem said.

“Forty years? You mean it’s beyond the Edge?!”

The guard’s raised voice and the mention of “the Edge” turned many heads. If the Edge was the base closest to the heart of the Sea of Trees, anything beyond that was nearly uncharted territory, even for its permanent residents. Obviously, anyone willing to venture into that part of the forest was a rarity.

“I’m sure of it. I’m from a village that lay beyond Korumi. In fact, I lived in Korumi for a while. I know exactly where it is.”

“You’ve lived there?” I asked.

“Fifty years ago, I’m pretty sure... The king at the time decided to try and clear up the Sea of Trees as soon as he took the throne. Brigades came and tore up the forest, and the Sea of Trees took revenge. My village, the closest one to the Edge at the time, became collateral damage. We took refuge in Korumi before our whole village got swallowed up. Now, why do you want to visit a place like that?” Sutem asked.

“To pay my respects and sort out some keepsakes,” I simply said. They asked me to elaborate, so I gave them the same story I usually gave.

The guard raised his brows at me. “You’re from Korumi? Didn’t you say this was your first time in the forest?”

“My first time passing through a base,” I clarified. “Not my first time in the Sea of Trees.”

“Oh, obviously,” the guard snided. “Is Korumi even livable?”

“Who’s to say it isn’t?” Sutem cut in, to my surprise, before I could get a chance to answer the guard’s all-too-natural question. “Not that I expected anyone to stay there, but back in the day, Korumi was much the same as this settlement—a trading point on the edge of the woods. It took the Sea of Trees ten years or so to completely take over Korumi, which gave what started as a normal farming village enough time to set up defensive walls and moats. The lord built a manor there, and Korumi regularly hosted his militia and troops of the king’s army. There was even a plan in the works to expand the village into a fortified city that would serve as the center of deforestation and defense against the Sea of Trees, although that never came to fruition.”

“So it’s built up enough for people to live there,” said the guard.

“The infrastructure was there, and I believe they were improving it until they finally abandoned the village,” Sutem confirmed. “Besides, Korumi saw plenty of foot traffic for another ten years or so—until thirty years ago. Looting the woods around Korumi was lucrative business, and the crown paid out a sort of restitution to villagers who stuck around. There was something else too... They started a new industry. I can’t put my finger on what it was.”

“Was it black pepper?” I asked. “I obviously wasn’t there at the time, but that was being farmed in the village.”

“Oh, that’s right. Once the forest overtook it, the climate of Korumi became conducive to growing spices. Korumi was booming in those days. More money drew in more manpower, and more manpower meant stronger defenses. Money bought Korumi a certain degree of security. That was until thirty years ago, anyway.”

Some adventurers nearby piped up.

“What happened thirty years ago?”

“Get to the point, old man!”

As I was beginning to suspect, many of the bar patrons were entertained by our conversation.

Sutem continued. “The government-led deforestation project failed. Their attempt not only accelerated the spread of the woods, but came with high casualties. While adventurers like us lined our pockets, the crown was bleeding money.”

“That’ll drive the army and militias out,” the guard chimed in.

“Exactly. But most adventurers, merchants, and generational villagers stayed behind because they had no sense of danger. They were celebrating and claiming that they could make even more money without nobles breathing down their necks or taking a cut of their profit.”

That sounded a lot like normalcy bias. Sutem went on to explain that there was a general sense of false security because Korumi had been so prosperous until that point. Many of the holdovers proposed to hire more adventurers to replace the security of the royal army after they withdrew their troops. Of course, everyone in the bar knew the end of the story.

Sutem blew out a puff of smoke. “If you haven’t guessed already, it didn’t take long for Korumi to crumble. I’d see a few villagers come and trade at the new base for a while until they became few and far between, then none at all. Before you, I hadn’t seen anyone from Korumi in twenty years. The last few parties couldn’t even afford to make a fair trade, so they tried to strong-arm supplies from us. Of course, none of us felt like being charitable towards them after that.” Sutem’s eyes caught mine. “Sorry. I know you’re not like them, since you made it all this way on your own. Still, I don’t think you enjoy listening to me bad-mouthing folks from your village.”

“Don’t be. They never treated me as one of their own, so I feel no need to defend their honor. I took the risk in escaping Korumi because I saw the writing on the wall. After my grandparents—who took me in and raised me—passed away, the other villagers were only going to treat me as one of them when they’d want to take advantage of me,” I explained, leaving out the part that I wasn’t born in the village. The gods had told me some details about how the people of Korumi were treated, and Sutem’s story verified what I was told.

Why is he staring at me like that? 

Sutem was wide-eyed and slack-jawed, smoke trickling out of his mouth.

“What’s the matter, old man?” the guard nudged.

“Nothing’s the matter, per se...” Sutem asked me, “Grandparents, you said? There was a couple from Korumi who I remember well.”

“You knew my grandparents?!” I blurted out in surprise.

After thinking it over for a few moments, Sutem said, “I’m not sure if they were your grandparents. An old couple—a dwarf and a human—would occasionally visit the new base. They never once introduced themselves, and I could never clearly remember their faces or voices once they left. They must have been using some sort of spell to protect their identity.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s them,” I said. “My grandfather was a dwarf, and my grandmother was a human. They had a reason to conceal their identities too. Even I don’t know too much about their past.”

“Many in the forest have a reason to stay anonymous. They didn’t seem like they were in hiding or on the run from the law—they always held their heads high, and the lady always spoke politely. No one ever tried to find out who they were. To tell you the truth, we were a bit scared of them. It was obvious how skilled they were. They’d come out of the depths of the forest like they were on a pleasant stroll through a garden, trade a huge pile of loot, and walk right back into the depths. For a while, they were the talk of the base,” Sutem said in reverie. “So, they’re dead,” he added, not a question but a statement of fact. Suddenly, he rose to his feet. “Can you drink?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“Give me a minute.” Sutem walked up to the bar.

I turned to the guard, looking for confirmation. “It sounds like he’s buying me a drink?”

“Yeah. It’s like a funeral rite.” He went on to add that death was commonplace here. Too often, he’d shared a drink with someone one day only for them to walk out into the woods the next and never return. Those who perished in the woods were most likely eaten by monsters, so collecting the body was next to impossible. The longer one spent in the Sea of Trees, the more desensitized they became to death, like Sutem was. Still, a form of paying respect to the dead persisted: having one drink in their honor. That would usually lead to more drinks, but only the first—drunk in a single draft—was for the dead. From the second drink on, they would talk of something in their future, like plans for their next hunt. As unfeeling as this custom seemed compared to funerals in the outside world, it was a way to make sure that the death of a friend didn’t turn into a fatal distraction in these lethal woods.

Soon, Sutem returned with six more tankards. “Here.”

“You got me a pair too?” the guard asked.

“Feel free to pay for them,” Sutem countered.

“I would never be so callous to turn down your goodwill,” the guard said smoothly.

Sutem brought the tankards down onto the table with enough force to swirl their contents, though none of them spilled, thanks to the foam of the beer-like drink.

“This one’s yours.” Sutem handed me a tankard. “Let’s toast to your grandparents.”

“Thank you,” I said. No reaction from the medicine slime I kept in my bag meant that the drink hadn’t been drugged. With a prayer for my grandparents and their lasting peace, I lifted my tankard to meet the other two, making a pleasant clank. Then I knocked the tankard back, feeling the liquid slide down my throat and a complex aroma fill my nose. The sweet mist of the drink was accented with the kick of a spice that I couldn’t quite place but rather enjoyed. Despite the thick layer of foam, the drink wasn’t too fizzy, nor was it too cold. Because of that, I easily emptied the tankard in less than ten seconds.

“That wasn’t half bad,” Sutem complimented.

“Thank you. This drink goes down easily,” I said.

“The heatwood barrels give it that unique flavor. We have liquor that’s been aged for a few years in them too. Those are stronger and more expensive, but your grandpa drank them like they were water.” Sutem finished his drink and reached for the second. “Call me a meddlesome old man, but here’s some advice. Know when to turn around. Think with your head, not your heart. If your life’s on the line, leave your friends behind. You won’t survive long in the woods if you can’t. There’ll be no blood on my hands if you don’t make it, but it won’t help me sleep any better. Come back here if you don’t think you can make it to Korumi safely. As long as you’re alive, you can always try the trek again. While you’re at it, spend your coin here.” Sutem downed his second drink. He clearly had no more to say, as he began retrieving empty tankards from around the bar.

“He doesn’t usually give advice like that,” the guard remarked.

“Really?” I asked.

“Like I said, he’s probably the one who’s been here the longest. He’s not lying when he says that death doesn’t help him sleep better, but he’s also more used to death than anyone here. He could have said something just because he’s in a mood today, or maybe he owed your grandparents a favor. As gruff as he seems, he always pays his debts,” the guard said. “Well, if he doesn’t want to talk about his past, I wouldn’t prod him about it.” The guard closed the notebook. “I’d say we’ve talked enough to wrap up your interview.”

Despite his offer, we kept talking casually as we finished our second drinks. Eventually, I decided to spend the night at this base, which wasn’t part of my initial plans. While the drinks I had weren’t strong enough to inebriate me, I wanted to be on the safe side. Luckily, this base didn’t seem nearly as dangerous as I thought it would be, and my curse seemed to be successfully dampened. Much to my surprise, my first day in the Sea of Trees concluded without any sign of real danger.

After finishing my drink, I explored the base to find that it was shaped like a hollowed out doughnut. The interior was divided into small sectors occupied by shops that carried essentials for daily life or forest exploration. There were almost no windows in order to prevent monsters from breaking in, so magical items provided light and vents were dug into the structure to bring in fresh air. Exploring this base felt nostalgic, like I was back in a Japanese subway station, weaving my way through the maze of shops. While I didn’t know if other bases had a similar structure, I felt inclined to return once I finished what I came to the woods to do. I might even return here regularly.

***

The next morning, I made my way across the base to the entrance on the opposite end of the doughnut from where I’d come in. This side hosted another bar where a good number of adventurers were eating and drinking.

As soon as I walked in, I felt many eyes on me, although no one approached me. It must have been rare enough to see a child in the base, and rumor—that I was from the depths of the woods and intended to go back there—seemed to travel fast through the doughnut. Whispers were exchanged throughout the bar—some of which were wagers made on my fate—but none sounded malicious. People here were pretty cut-and-dried. In exchange for a shot at taking home a fortune, they always put their and their friends’ lives on the line. Skills were all that mattered here. The strong were accepted while the weak were ignored. Without that kind of uncompromising attitude, they wouldn’t have survived this harsh environment. Considering all that, a judgmental glance here and there didn’t bother me too much. Those who doubted my skill level would stay away from me anyway, lest they become collateral damage of a foolhardy child.

If I had come here before meeting the Jamils, I might have stayed here for good, I mused. That’s how comfortable this place was to me.

Ashton—the guard from the day before—stood at the door. “Heading out?” Apparently, he was on duty today.

“Good morning, Ashton.”

“I’ll get this open for you.” He lifted the heavy bolt from the door and held it open just wide enough. I slipped through as he called, “Be careful out there. I’ll buy you a drink when you get back.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you then!” I answered.

With a smile, Ashton closed the door. Hearing the bolt slide into place, I started walking deeper into the Sea of Trees.