Shinku relayed all that he observed from his espionage from the path to the hideout to the patrol routes of the bandits along with an estimate of their numbers. He was dismissed thereafter, giving him time to check on Jack. He found the pirate hammering nails into the door of a shack that appeared to have been heavily damaged from the attack.
"So you did help them," Shinku uttered suddenly, surprising Jack who almost dropped the hammer.
"Arrr! Ye' almost gave me a heart attack," the pirate yelled, his right leg stomping on the ground in anger.
"There's still a lot to be done here though," Shinku commented as he surveyed his eyes around the area. Broken pieces of wood littered the area, along with scraps of burnt stone and metal that were clearly the result of heavy explosions. Some of the soldiers similarly worked on repairing the other houses and assisting some villagers here and there.
"Aye! And ye were just gone for hours without helpin' a bit!," the pirate complained, as he returned on his work.
"I had to follow the bandits to their hideout. We couldn't just leave the Mayor in their hands," Shinku explained nonchalantly, his eyes still scanning around the place.
"Aye! So did ye' bring back the Mayor?," the pirate exclaimed, leaning over to Shinku in curiousness.
"It was impossible for me alone. But I already told Marcus what I found out about their hideout. They might be coming up with a plan as we speak. For now, let's just help these villagers," Shinku responded, his eyes now trained at a few villagers who were clearing up some debris from one of the houses.
"Arrr! That's what I had been doing!," the pirate yelled again, his grip tightening on the hammer.
"Yeah you were doing great. I'll just have a look around. See you later," Shinku said as he disappeared again into a purplish dark smoke.
"Arrr! Curse ye son of a biscuit eater!," the pirate yelled in anger, but still went back with his repair work.
As Shinku reemerged at the center of the village that almost resembled a plaza, his senses caught the presence of another set of soldiers arriving at the village. Among the newcomers was the familiar presence of Connor.
"So he's finally come," Shinku muttered, pausing for a moment to observe the commander's movement. As he guessed, Marcus met up with Connor right away, setting up what seemed like a closed meeting with a couple of soldiers. "Best to leave them be at the moment," he thought as he moved to assist a villager carrying a load of grains.
As he walked with the villager, he could hear the rhythmic sound of gunshots in the background. It alerted him for a while but realized that the pattern of their sounds and the absence of any hostile presence proved that it was more of a training exercise. Somehow, it gave him an idea of how to contribute further to the villagers.
"Thank you stranger," the old man said with a smile, as Shinku placed the load inside his temporary makeshift shelter. "It's good that there were people like you who could help our village after that tragedy. I just hope someone can bring us back our Mayor. We can't really rest at peace without him in the village," he added, with a hopeful look.
"We'll do what we can, but for now, I have a favor to ask of you," Shinku responded with a bowing gesture of acknowledgement before speaking back in a stern, yet polite voice. "I will be needing you to gather me men who are willing to learn the way of the swords. It's good to have people of various skills since the battle ahead won't be easier than the last one," he said, eyeing the old man with a straight face.
"I couldn't agree more with you stranger. I do know a couple of people who would be willing to learn how to handle a sword, but can they really master it in a few days?," the old man wondered, his visage wrinkling in doubt.
"Sometimes we'd have to take that gamble. After all, whether they could learn it or not, we'd most likely face the bandits again sooner or later. It's better to impart them little knowledge to defend themselves than to have no knowledge at all," he stressed, with a faint tone of finality in his voice.
"You are correct, stranger. So where would you like me to gather them?," the old man asked, this time with a more eager look.
"The plaza where I saw you earlier would be good. That should provide us plenty of space to move," he responded, a glint of a smile playing across his face.
"Thank you again, stranger. That would really help us a lot," the old man said, turning to leave after a brief gesture of courtesy.
With that, Shinku continued to roam around the village in search of more villagers that needed some assistance. He went on, hoping into his shadow portal from one point of the village to another, stopping whenever he saw someone to help. It surprised him, however, that before the sun could set for the day, he sensed a couple of men gathered by the direction of the plaza. He had to hasten the last work he took and make his way to the gathered men.
As he reached the plaza, his eyes were met by at least twelve men and women of varying ages and physiques, each carrying either makeshift swords or actual swords with them. Among them were the two heroes that took the courage to protect the village during the attack, and the old man whom he asked to gather the crowd for him.
“Look, there he is now,” the old man exclaimed to the group, as Shinku walked towards their way.
"Thank you for gathering them, kind sir," Shinku greeted the old man specifically, bowing in a gesture of respect.
"No, thank you for giving your time to teach us. You have no idea how we wanted to have the strength and skill to defend this village," one of the two heroes, a large man with a bulky physique interjected before Shinku could rise from his bow.
"Yeah! Now we can get back to those greedy rascals at last!," a young man of slender build exclaimed, throwing his hand in the air.
"Don't get too excited yet lad. But I do promise you that I'd do the best I can to make fine swordsmen of you in a few days," he assured the group, eyeing each of them with a determined look.
More to his surprise, the old man stayed even during his lessons, and even swung a sword of his own. He got crooked moves, but his determined eyes glued the assassin of shadow's attention on him. It took one strong conviction for such an old man to even try to learn a combat technique that required so much physical effort to master. And who was Shinku to deny the old man such an opportunity?
It went on for days, his twelve students gathering before sunset to train the ways of the sword. No one else dared to train with them, but each of their steadfast efforts was enough for Shinku to take pride in his work. Some learned with lightning speed, while others took time to perfect their swings and stances. Nonetheless, the assassin of shadows thought them patiently, even giving personal time to those who lagged behind.
Eventually, each of them developed their own sword techniques, some quick and evasive while others are strong and bold. Shinku would let them spar with each other, carefully partnering them up depending on their skills. He's also sparred with each of them randomly within those days, pointing out critical flaws in their movements. He couldn't help but reminisce his own training days with his father and peers back in his hometown. Somehow, it still brought him pain, but he knew that he needed to be strong for their sake.
A week passed, and the village itself has become more of a beaut than how it was after the attack of the bandits. A more hopeful and determined look now decorated each of the villagers' faces, a great improvement from the depressing ambience the village once had.
Moreover, it was Connor's presence that greatly lifted the overall mood of the village. Most of them appeared to have known him from the last survival game, making it easier to gather their trust. At the time he made his speech, Shinku was among the crowd, near his students listening intently to the commander. It was a fine declamation, significantly rising the morale of the crowd.
Shinku simply nodded, a faint smile gracing his face as he listened to Connor's words. Though momentarily he wondered, had his old village been given the same opportunity as them, his family would have still been with him. He walked out of the crowd, a tear almost escaping his eyes. He stepped into his dark portal and rematerialized on a tree just outside the village.
"Connor's speech hasn't ended yet," the sudden voice of Jack took Shinku by surprise. He almost forgot that the pirate had the means to follow him wherever he went.
"We need to hurry and save the Mayor soon enough," Shinku blurted out, in a random response, his eyes trained beyond the forest.
"Ain't that what the man had been spoutin' about," the pirate responded with a puzzled look, leaning closer to the assassin of shadows.
"It's more of a speech to psych up the villagers but I doubt he'd bring that much to storm the bandit's camp. I'm certain that he knew how careless that would be. Still, it must be done one way or the other. I'm worried that the Mayor wouldn't last that long in their hands," he continued, now in a stronger voice.
“Well, shouldn’t we tell him then?,” Jack implored.
“I will, once the speech is over. For now, let’s allow the villagers their time for their momentary joy. They deserve it after all they’ve been through,” he sighed, his eyes still gazing straight beyond the horizon.
"Whatever you say matey," the pirate conceded, realizing that something felt wrong with his companion. He kept surprisingly quiet, while staying to at least provide Shinku some company.
Words: 5,268 + 1,739 = 7,007 / 10,000
Quest: New in Town with John Connor
