As expected, Cypher and the others arrived in Gett a few hours later, just as dusk was setting in. To Cypher’s surprise, his group had passed the Villiage elder of Gett and his entourage only an hour after they had loaded back up and resumed their trek. Agnad met with the other lead guard from Gett, and the two exchanged intel on the road ahead and behind.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but there had been a minor incident involving a small pack of horned wolves. The guards from Gett had apparently made short work of them and were even bringing their corpses along as a gift to lord Galvan and his family. The meat was worthless, but the pelts and their horns would be a welcome gift, at least, from what Cypher could hear.
Gett itself turned out to be much smaller than he had imagined. He had known it was a smaller village but it truly wasn’t much to look at. Even if you counted the farmland they cultivated here it was still dwarfed by the size of the Galvan estate. The village itself was surrounded by a fence about two meters tall.
It wasn’t very impressive but offered a layer of defense against smaller creatures and did its job as well as could be expected. Shabby but sturdy guard towers sat at each of the four corners and offered a decent view from all directions when manned, although right now only two of them were manned
Dirt roads wound their way between the farmland, grazing fields, and around two dozen shabby houses, culminating in a village square. In the middle of the square sat a single building about a fourth of the size of the servant’s wing of the Galvan mansion. Rows of shabby bushes lined the front beneath the two windows on either side. A flag pole stood off to the right and two flags billowed pitifully in the light breeze atop it; One holding the sigil of the Kingdom of Dellorim, and the other the crest of the Galvan family.
According to Tym, this was where the village elder and his family lived, as well as being its sole administrative building in all of Gett. To many eyes, the structure, no the entire village wasn’t much to look at. But Cypher saw in this place a freedom to simply, “be” that he had never known before.
Still, Gett wasn’t the most luxurious of places in the Kingdom of Dellorim. By that same measure, the welcome party that awaited them wasn’t much to behold either. To the left of the entrance to the building was a medium-sized well. The wooden beam laying across the top was old and rotted. The hand crank was aged and broken beyond repair, and an equally weak-looking bucket sat upon the edge of the old cobblestone.
It was clear that the villagers simply drew water up by hand without the aid of the crank which must have truly been an annoying task to have to perform each day. It was around this aged, decrepit well that a group of ten or so people found themselves encircled around. The village elder’s wife stood in the front and welcomed Cypher’s party with open arms and a wide smile.
“Welcome to Gett. I am Glenis and it is my utmost pleasure to greet you on this fine day. Please make yourselves at home here during your stay. I know we haven’t much to offer but what we do have, you are more than welcome to!” The woman smiled widely again and offered a bow to Cypher and the others. The villagers behind her also bowed and Cypher felt quite humbled at the gesture.
However, Agnad and the other guards didn’t seem to carry that same sentiment. Agnad simply offered a grunt and took another swig from his waterskin filled with booze as he often did. Tym and Richmond lazily nodded. As for the drivers of the carriages, they offered slight bows in return, although it wasn’t lost on Cypher that they were merely acts of practiced formality rather than genuine bows of gratitude.
Glenis raised her head and offered an awkward expression to the group before continuing. “If you would follow these fine men here, they will take you to the carriage house and then to your own lodgings for the duration of your stay. If you need anything at all please don’t hesitate to ask. We, the people of Gett are at your service.”
With the pleasantries out of the way, the two groups parted ways and Cypher soon found himself at another shabby-looking building. While the horses were stabled and the carriages unloaded and put under lock and key, he had been tasked with carrying in the belongings of Agnad and the others.
It took him several trips to get it all inside but the heavy lifting was nothing he wasn’t used to. Two guest cabins had been set aside for them while they were here. One was of course for Cypher and the other three guards, while the other was for the drivers. The guard cabin was located not far from the village elder’s house, while the other was a bit further down the road.
Once inside Cypher could detect the scent of moldy wood and pine. Moth-eaten tapestries hung across the walls, and a few sconces were placed between each banner. Four meager feather beds were lined along the walls, two on each side, and featured a small footlocker at the end.
Cypher had been a servant his entire life, however, he had always lived in the Galvan mansion. Compared to the fineries of that place, this was absolutely abysmal. Still, he didn’t feel the need to complain much. He had a soft bed to sleep in, a place to store his bag while he was on patrol, and no doubt several warm meals a day. There wasn’t much else he could ask for in a situation like this.
Additionally, Glenis seemed a nice enough hostess in her husbands absence and the people here seemed to be quite happy despite the living conditions. It was a simple life here, even Cypher could tell that. Most of the villagers were farmers or craftsmen of some type. As the day dragged on and he was given a tour of the village, he saw what it was like for commoners like himself to live in the outside world.
Living with nobility came with so many rules and restrictions. One always had to uphold the proper decorum and attitude. One had to always lower their head to their so-called betters or portray a personality that was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. It was truly a sad life to live.
However, here in the countryside, it was calm and peaceful. The pressures of high society were nowhere to be seen, and while Glenis and her family seemed to be the exception to that rule it was understandable. They were, after all, liaisons to the Galvan family. It only follows that they would have some knowledge of the ways of nobility.
However, even at her best as she toured Cypher and the others around the village, he could tell that she was far less practiced at the game of nobility than even himself. She did her best to keep up a good appearance but it was the little things that gave her away. Scratching her nose with the back of her hand, yawning without concern or covering her mouth, even the way she walked so casually showed that she was truly of common blood.
Cypher found himself liking the idea of living like this more and more with each passing second. Going back to that stuffy old mansion seemed now like some kind of punishment. This was freedom. Freedom to live his life how he chose. Freedom to act his true self. Freedom to simply exist without being an instant away from being asked to do some chore or task.
Cypher had thought these people to be poor, struggling to survive against all odds in a cruel world. That was what he had been taught to believe by those at the mansion. However, while they might not have had riches or fine clothes, what these people had was worth so much more, and that was happiness.
There was enough food to go around, there were warm places to guard against the cold of winter and places for the children to play. Even the adults only had to do enough work to sustain their way of life from what he could see. Cypher lamented the fact that in a few days he would have to go back to chores, training, and a way of life that had, as he now saw, always held him back from his true calling.
But one thing stuck inside him; If he were offered the chance to leave it all behind he would. This was what he wanted. Nothing fancy, nothing special, only the calm day-to-day of a life lived to the fullest for himself and his loved ones. Perhaps if he played his cards right he might just be able to etch out an existence like this for himself and Molly one day.
To that end, he resolved to work harder with the hope that soon, the shackles that bound him would finally be removed.
