The morning sun had not yet fully risen, and the sky in the distance was so red that Simon was in a trance for a moment, feeling like he was seeing the sunset.
There were almost no people on the streets early in the morning. Except for some merchants and caravan guys who were packing their equipment outside the hotel like Simon and his party, and a night watchman who had just passed by yawning and with dark circles under his eyes, there were no other people on the streets. There was no one else, and it was so quiet that it was as if time had stood still.
Seeing the sparkling morning light reflected on the Rhine River near the city, Simon couldn't help but miss the beautiful village of Verde, his territory, his lord's house, and his warm little bed on the far downstream river bank.
Since the road leading east to Frankfurt is not a commercial road, it is naturally narrower and more difficult to walk than the road running through the city of Koblenz from south to north, which has been a busy commercial road since ancient times.
On the road from Koblenz to the vineyard mentioned by the caravan crew in Frankfurt, the trees on both sides of the road were thick and dense, overgrown with weeds, and rarely visited. Simon was a little worried about being ambushed by the robbers, so he specifically told Fatty, the gang, and the cowardly merchant caravan's guys and guards to be more vigilant. Fortunately, they haven't encountered any attacks along the way.
"Hey, Gejir, we agreed last night that we would all go to the bathhouse to have fun together. Where did you, a wretched guy, go on the way?" The cowardly businessman in the team wore some rusty sleeveless chainmail, and his head was dirty. The bearded caravan guard, who was wearing a dirty brimmed helmet and dirty leather gloves and always had his hand next to the sword hilt on his waist, turned his head and asked a man who was walking next to the pack horse.
"I, I went to another tavern to have a drink." The guy named Gejir obviously didn't expect that he would suddenly be asked this question. After being speechless for a moment, he replied expressionlessly to the caravan guard's question. .
"Oh? That's really strange. Why didn't you drink enough at the hotel where we were staying before going to the bathhouse?" The caravan guard vaguely felt that something was wrong, but whatever the guy who ran away last night was his own business, the guard also It’s not easy to ask too many questions.
"I miss home, my wife, and my children." Guy Geer raised his head and looked at the sky above the road that was not covered by the branches and leaves on both sides. He looked very tired.
"Okay." The caravan guard felt a little bored and ignored this guy Gezier.
However, if the caravan guard is careful enough, he will be surprised to find that when he met the tax collector and the town guard not far from Cologne two days ago to collect taxes in a small village, the guy named Gergil was the same as last night. Missing.
"Master, it's foggy." Miller looked at the foggy forest uneasily. At this time, the mountains and forests were filled with thick fog, and clear dewdrops hung on the leaves among the trees and grass, reflecting the golden morning sun.
Simon could hear the sound of streams flowing in the distance, and from time to time he could hear the chirping of various birds on the big trees on both sides. Whenever Simon and his group rode through some roadside trees, there would always be some birds fluttering their wings and chirping on the branches above their heads and flying away, occasionally leaving behind a few feathers of different colors.
"Let's wait here for a moment. I think we have to go with the caravan this way, otherwise it would be too dangerous for just the four of us to open the road ahead." Simon frowned, always feeling that there was something hidden behind the mist among the trees. facing unknown dangers.
Simon would rather choose safety than being looked at strangely by the passing nobles when his group traveled with the caravan.
After Simon and others had been repairing in place for a while, they heard the sound of the cowardly merchant's caravan approaching from far away.
"Who is that person in front!?" The caravan guard walking at the front pulled out the sharp sword from his waist with a "bah" sound and looked at the blurry figures in the middle of the road not far away. His voice became a little weird because of nervousness and fear.
For a moment, the already tense caravan guys stopped their horses in a panic, picked up the guy and hid behind the carriage. Several other caravan guards raised their shields and spread around the caravan, in case vicious bandits suddenly rushed out of the grass on the roadside.
"It's us, Mr. Aubrey!" Miller's highly recognizable voice made the caravan guards and the guys heave a sigh of relief - after all, they were chatting and laughing with Miller in the bathhouse last night.
"Lord Simon, why did you stop?" The timid businessman Aubrey poked his head out from behind the carriage, saw the person in front of him clearly, and asked in confusion.
"It's foggy now, and no one knows what's hidden behind the heavy fog ahead. Master Simon said that if we come together and walk this dangerous road, it might be safer." Miller curled his lips and laughed, He said loudly to the timid figure behind the carriage.
"That's perfect." Businessman Aubrey took a sip of mead to moisten his dry throat. Only then did he realize that the clothes on his back were soaked with sweat.
The caravan moved on, but there was no conversation. Everyone braced themselves and looked around, fearing that a sudden attack would cost them their lives.
Simon noticed that the caravan guard following him on his right was very young, he looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old. He was wearing a pair of cheap cotton armor and a patched stuffed leather hat. He was holding a round shield with dents and scratches in his hand. There was still a bit of childishness on his face with a scar.
"Kid, what's your name?" Simon was a little curious about how this young man became a caravan guard.
"Sir, my name is Pedi." The young man looked a little nervous, but he was better than those farmers whose fear of nobles was engraved in their bones.
"When did you live a life of fighting for your life with a sword?" Simon turned his head and looked at the somewhat embarrassed young man.
"To be honest, Sir, if you don't mind, I would like to tell you how I fell from a wealthy yeoman farmer to a penniless warrior." Pedi, the young caravan guard, raised his eyes and looked at Simon. They are a pair of eyes full of bloodshot eyes, but full of stories written through vicissitudes of life.
"Okay, no matter what good or bad things you have done before, at least now we are on the same side for the time being." Simon didn't mind at all.
"Well, sir, I come from a small and wealthy village in the Principality of Poitou. Our family was originally a local free farmer. In addition to owning a fairly large piece of land, we also raised two cows. "The thoughts of Pedi, the young caravan guard, drifted back to the distant Kingdom of West Francia ten years ago, his hometown, "There, my father would wear light armor when a war occurred and follow the lord as a light cavalry. , and sometimes brought back some trophies. At that time, the old lord of our territory was also a kind and kind lord, and the people in the territory loved him. In short, although my mother died of illness when I was old enough to hold farm tools, He passed away, but those days were definitely the best years of my life.”
"What happened next?" Simon opened the kettle with interest and took a sip of red wine.
"Then one day, my father went out to fight with the old lord again. But a month later, they didn't come back. What came back was a fat, strange lord, and he took over the land. I haven't heard from my father who died in the war. After recovering from the great grief, that damn new lord is going to collect an inheritance tax from me that is so huge that it is impossible to afford even if the whole family's property is sold." At this point, the caravan guard Pedi tightened his grip. To this day, he can't forget the injustice and humiliation he suffered. "Not only did they take away all my money and stored grain, they also took away my family's land, two cows, and all the farm tools. This is also Not enough, far from enough. The steward of the new lord said that I have to become a serf of the new lord and redeem my taxes, and my children and grandchildren will also be slaves for generations!!!"
"Damn it!" Simon and several other caravan guys couldn't help but be moved, and cursed secretly with tense faces.
"My father had learned some martial arts on the battlefield, and he taught them to me before he died. That winter night, I dug up a few Denier silver coins and a sharp weapon in the backyard of my house for emergency use. Sword, after personally killing the housekeeper and a lord's private soldier guarding the stables, he escaped from the Principality of Poitou overnight on a new lord's traveling horse." The words of Pedi, the caravan guard, were filled with some relief. But Simon could feel that he still regretted not being able to kill the new lord with his own hands.
"And you joined the caravan?" one of the guys asked expectantly, like a traveler who can never get enough of stories.
"Not so fast," Pedi shook his head, and the lace of his stuffed leather hat swayed with it. "I fled to Anjou first, but I knew that the people who came to capture me would catch up soon, so After replenishing some food and horse feed, I went to Paris, then Flanders, and finally escaped all the way to the Kingdom of Germany, temporarily settling in Lübeck. As I had spent nearly all my money on the journey, I I had no choice but to sell the stolen horses of the new lord, purchase a set of equipment in the market in Lübeck, and start my career as a caravan guard."
"Wise choice. As a wandering caravan guard, it will be extremely difficult for your enemy to find you. But having said that, your new lord is just a knight. There is no need for him to fight for a butler and a knight. It is unrealistic for a private soldier to spend a lot of money and material resources traveling thousands of miles to remove your head." Simon analyzed, holding the reins in one hand and twirling his beard with the other.
"You are right, my lord." The caravan guard Peidi nodded with a smile. It seemed that he also thought that he had completely escaped the pursuit of the evil new lord.
"What is that!?" Suddenly, a loud shout resounded through the entire team, directly interrupting the whispered conversation between Simon and young Pedi.
"Alert!" Simon shouted loudly, took the shield from behind, and stared straight ahead. Through the hazy white fog, you can see a person sitting in the middle of the road in the distance, and there is a faint sound of crying coming from that direction.
"Sir, he seems to be a farmer who injured his leg." Pedi's eyesight was good and he could see the man's attire clearly at once and made a judgment. "But you still have to be careful, it might be a trap."
