When they finally reached the edge of the village after another two days, they heard excited voices from afar. Chickens cackled, horses neighed, pigs wallowed in the mud. They were all normal noises that Keil heard, but they still seemed strange to him. When they were about a dozen paces from the first house, that door opened. A well-built man stepped out. His long blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and fell down his back. When he saw Keil, he walked up to him with quick steps and hugged him.
"Wedge, my boy! We were all so worried about you! Where have you been?"
"Take it easy Josh! Nothing happened to me! Not thanks to Berlot. If he hadn't saved me, I'd be bear food now!"
"So you actually hunted that beast! Cody told me you were going to do this, but I didn't believe him.So he was actually right! You crazy boy! "
"Well, thanks to Berlot everything went well again."
Wedge pointed to the old man who had been standing behind him so far. Josh walked up to him and solemnly shook his hand.
"Then I owe you a lot! I promised his parents to take good care of him! May I offer you accommodation and good food? That is the least I can use to express my thanks!"
Berlot bowed slightly.
"It would be a great pleasure for me to stay with such nice people. But only if you had enough space for another guest and you don't mind feeding another person."
Josh waved it off.
"You don't have to worry about that at all. There is enough space and my wife likes to cook a lot. I just can't guarantee whether you will like it!"
He laughed out loud and called for his wife.
"Hey, Teena! Come here! Wedge is back! And he brought a traveler!"Fast steps could be heard and a tall, slim woman stepped out the door. Like Josh before, she hugged Keil in her arms and protested that everyone had been terribly worried about him. Only then did she turn to Berlot. The latter bowed and pulled back the hood. Josh stepped up to Teena and explained briefly to her why Keil was bringing Berlot here. Then Teena bowed like Berlot had done before.
"Thank you very much. You have no way of knowing how much we worried about Keil. We owe you now."
"I offered him to sleep and eat here. He agreed. I think that's the least we can do," Josh added.
"That's a good idea. Then I'll start cooking. Cody will then fix a room for you. You must be terribly hungry."
As if to prove it, Keil's stomach growled loudly. With a smile on her face, Teena went back into the house. They could hear her instructing someone to prepare a room for another guest.When asked, she only replied that he should go outside. After a few moments a boy with green hair came to the door. Keil's best friend, a rarity with his hair, Cody, stood before them. At first he looked very taken aback when he saw the stranger. Then his gaze fell on Keil and he let out a cry of joy.
"Man, Wedge! Where have you been? I told father you were after the bear, but he didn't believe me! But you were, didn't you? Man, we really missed you, chaos!"
He poked Keil amicably. He beamed all over his face.
"And you're that other guest, aren't you?" He said to Berlot. "I'll show you a room in a moment, but the whole village should know first that the runaway is back!" He ran to the tower that was near Josh's house. He knocked on the door and called out the name of the tower keeper.
"Hey Giloch! Giloch! I've got a new message! Keil is back!"Let everyone know! "
Berlot stared quizzically at Keil.
"What is he doing there?"
"Watch out."
After a few minutes a huge bell was heard. It rang twelve times. People stuck their heads out of the windows to see what was going on. Berlot looked around in silence.
"I do not understand."
Josh explained the principle behind these reports.
"In our village there are different places where you can meet. There are exactly twelve of them. Each of these places has a certain number of bells. Depending on how quickly Giloch rang, the more urgent it is. You can do this according to this procedure notify the whole village. Except the farms that are far outside. "
"Refined." , marveled Berlot.
He was even more astonished when after a short time almost the whole village appeared around Josh's house. At first they all wondered why she was being called, but then a child screamed:
"It's Wedge! Wedge is back!"
Immediately everyone turned to Josh, who moved the wedge forward."Yes, the runaway is actually back!"
Keil's hands were shaken many times until Josh raised his voice and said:
"Yes, Keil is here again! But it would not be the case without his new acquaintance here! This man saved his life!"
A storm of applause broke out as Josh now also moved Berlot forward. He looked in amazement into the beaming faces of the crowd. Turning to Wedge, he whispered:
"I feel like I've saved a king."
Keil took a few steps back. He had expected this reception. He grinned and watched the helpless Berlot being thanked, shaking hands and hugging him one time or another. He didn't look up until he heard a mocking voice next to his right ear.
"Well, great king, are we back?"
"Is that you Leina?"
"No, a ghost."
Wedge looked at the girl standing behind him. She was also something special in the village. She had pink hair, was a lot shorter than girls her age, and Keil liked her very much, although she often mocked her."I'm really happy to see you. Are you okay?"
"Wedge, the question is probably whether you are okay. I haven't been alone in the forest for a week."
Before he could reply, Josh dispersed the crowd. to Keil, Berlot and Leina he said:
"Go inside. You too, Leina, if you want. Cody will show you your room right away, Berlot." All three entered the house while the pleasant smell of food spread. Leina immediately went to the kitchen to help Teena. Keil looked after her almost sadly, while Berlot frowned at her and mumbled:
"Now I have all three together. After years I search and now I find all three here."
Cody was just walking in when Berlot looked around extensively.
“Wait, I'll take your things from you.” Cody took Berlot's backpack and shouldered him himself. He led the way up the stairs. He stopped at the third room.
"Here's your wedge room, in case you forget it. Your room is the next one. The toilet is the room at the end of the hall."Berlot thanked him, took the rucksack and went into the room assigned to him. Wedge went in too. He threw his backpack on the bed and went to the basin. There was no time to wash properly. So he only removed the worst of the dirt. He stretched a little and finally felt safe again. Had he not been too hungry he would have gone straight to bed, but he stepped quickly out of the room and knocked on Berlot.
"May I come in?"
"Yeah, just come on."
Berlot had also washed and taken off his coat. His backpack was in a corner of the room. When Keil looked into his face, he noticed that berlot seemed very satisfied.
"You look happy, Berlot."
"I am happy. The mission that I have been on the road for so long has finally been completed. Now I can turn to the second stage. I also have accommodation that is very comfortable and nice and finally a delicious meal again.If it tastes as good as it smells, then it has to be delicious. "
"Teena is an incredibly good cook."
"Yes, you can feel that. Shall we go down?"
"Okay."
"One more..."
"What?"
"Can you take your friend Cody and the girl to my room afterwards? You have to come too."
Confused about this request, Keil nodded.
"I will."
"You will then find out the 'why'."
Both went into the kitchen. Teena had prepared a small feast. Cody and Leina set the table. Keil was about to help when Cody waved it off.
"Sit down. We'll do it."
He didn't let himself be told twice and sat down on a chair. He made an inviting gesture in Berlot's direction. he came up to him and sat across from him. Josh just came in when Teena called:
"Everyone sit down. Food is ready!"
There was pork in a delicious sauce, with a salad, various fruits, a lot of different mushrooms and a chicken. Keil's mouth watered when he saw the delicacies.Enthusiastic (like the others) he started to eat. He piled a little of everything on his plate. Even if it was already full after this first serving, it opened up a second time. People laughed and celebrated almost properly. But it was getting late and Teena finished the meal in her own way: She took the wine jug from the table and ordered her husband to clear away the rest. he could hardly stand on his feet and preferred to go to bed. Berlot wanted to help her clean up instead, but she just said he should rest, so he went upstairs. He gave Keil another significant look before trotting up. Cody and Leina looked at him questioningly. He gestured for them to follow him. He got up and went to the stairs. Cody and Leina followed him.
"Berlot told me to bring you to him. I should come too."
Leina asked: "What do you think he's got?"
"I don't know.", Answered Keil truthfully. "But he looked very seriously."The three just stared at each other. Finally, Cody made up his mind and moved ahead. This was confirmed by Leina and Keil. They followed him. But he hesitated in front of Berlot's door.
"Why don't you go, Cody?"
"Well, Leina, maybe he's asleep already."
Leina snorted and stepped past him. With a scornful "boys" she opened the door. Almost against his will, Keil had hoped that Berlot would actually be asleep.
'Why am I so suspicious? He saved my life. And I also feel safe around him. But he looked so serious when he said that. Hopefully it's nothing bad. '
He had expected Berlot to be sitting on his bed doing something. Well Berlot was actually sitting on his bed but he didn't do anything. The whole time he seemed to have been staring impatiently at the door.
"About time too," he whispered.
He made an inviting gesture on the bed. Keil stepped closer, sat down next to him, and looked impatiently at the other