Medieval: Kingdom Come: Deliverance

After Peter and the other members of the Knights had gone some distance, they returned to the road and headed towards Troschi village.

After passing through the woods, a wide-open field of black wheat suddenly appeared before us.

Troski village is flat and ideal for farming, with large tracts of farmland. They plant rye in the fall and harvest it in the spring. Then they plant flax or oats in the same season, harvest them in the summer, and start a new cycle after the fall.

It's mid-April now, the time of year for the rye harvest. There are many stacks of straw piled up in the fields and along the roadsides. This straw is quite useful; it can be used to weave hats and mats. It can also be fed to cattle and sheep. Furthermore, it can be used as building material for roofs or mixed with mud to plaster walls.

Busy farmers toiled in the fields, not only harvesting their own wheat but also performing labor for their lords. In present-day Eastern Europe, serfs enjoyed relatively high levels of freedom, owning their own land and only needing to serve their lords three days a week. However, by the 16th century, lords would gradually strip their serfs of their property, turning them into fully-fledged private serfs.

Peter, reflecting on the times, hurried across the field ridges. Just as he approached the haystacks that exuded the fresh scent of dry grass, a faint, pungent smell of blood, mixed with the stench of sweat and rust, entered his nostrils.

Peter paused, his adventurer's instincts immediately putting him on alert. He quickly glanced at the haystack out of the corner of his eye—a few strands of blood-stained grass lay scattered on the ground, and a part of the haystack seemed to bulge slightly and unnaturally.

"There are people here, and they are injured."

Peter quickly made his judgment. Combining this with the information from the knights who had been pursued earlier, the person hiding inside became obvious—Conrad!

I had been looking for an opportunity to get to know him, and it all came to me effortlessly.

Just as he was about to ask a question, he heard the clatter of hooves again in the distance. The five knights who had passed through the forest earlier had returned.

"He couldn't have run far with an arrow in his leg. We chased him so far but couldn't see him. He's probably still hiding nearby."

The middle-aged knight leading the order shouted, directing the other members to spread out and continue the search. He himself scanned the area with his crossbow, and happened to spot Peter standing by the haystack.

"That knight is looking this way, don't make any rash moves."

Peter whispered a reminder to the person in the haystack, then unzipped his pants and started urinating into the haystack. He'd been a bit feverish lately, so the water was yellow, pungent, and plentiful enough to mask the bloodstains and smell.

The person inside the haystack gave a soft "hmm" and indeed did not move.

The middle-aged knight rode over, glanced at the large dragon Peter had released, and immediately felt ashamed of himself. He looked away, but asked with an air of authority, "Commoner, who are you?"

Peter then shook himself three times, pulled up his trousers and fastened them, and slowly bowed, saying, "God bless you, sir. As you can see, I am wearing armor and carrying weapons. I am a mercenary who takes on missions for money. You can call me Red-Haired Pete."

"God bless you, Red-haired Pete."

Seeing Peter immediately invoke "God," the middle-aged knight, being a member of the Church's Knights of the Ages, naturally couldn't be outdone and casually repeated the phrase before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"My esteemed knight, I have heard that the carpenter in Troski Village has been commissioned to make an expensive lute and wants to transport it to a distant place to deliver to the buyer. So I would like to try my luck and see if I can take on a job."

Peter bowed politely and stated his purpose. The lute wasn't something he made up; it was part of the original storyline. Unfortunately, the wealthy merchant died in war after traveling to Prague, and the final payment for the lute was never received.

"Have you seen a man on the street with an arrow in his leg? He was in his forties and had a full beard."

The middle-aged knight looked at the urine stains on the ground, covered his nose, and continued to question Peter.

"I'm sorry, Sir Knight, but I haven't seen anyone who resembles your description. May I ask who that person is? How much is the bounty? Can I, Red-Haired Pete, accept the commission? If I find them, where do I report to you and collect the reward...?"

"Shut up, commoner."

The middle-aged knight impatiently interrupted Peter's rambling, saying only perfunctorily, "He is an extremely vicious sinner who betrayed God. You are not worthy to know any more about him."

Having said that, the middle-aged knight impatiently spurred his horse and rode away. Soon, the five knights galloped further and further away until they disappeared from sight.

Peter then bent down and said, "They're gone, you're safe now."

"God bless you, Red Pete. I am Conrad Wolfe, and I am not the heinous sinner they claim, nor have I betrayed God. They are!"

A head popped out from the haystack; it was indeed Knight Conrad.

"I recognize the red star and cross on their chests. I've also heard about what they've been doing in Prague recently. So I believe you. And I'm not called Redhead Pete, I'm Peter Griffin, the wandering knight, a redeeming knight blessed by God."

As Peter spoke, he pulled out a bottle of Romeo's latest healing potion and handed it to him, continuing, "This potion can help heal your wounds. But I can't help much for now. I saw a revelation from God, and we will meet again in the future."

"Thank you......"

Conrad wanted to thank him again, but found that Peter had already walked away.

Peter was eager to recruit this formidable man, but now was not the time. Since Conrad had survived to meet Henry in the original storyline, it meant the Knights' pursuit had failed. There would be other opportunities to meet later; establishing a good relationship now would suffice.

The reason he didn't tell him about the old hermit was twofold. First, he didn't trust him enough; the injured Conrad was extremely wary, and if he rashly approached him to establish a relationship, the hermit might not believe him, and if they lingered there and got discovered, it would be disastrous. Second, he hadn't yet subdued the old hermit, and if Conrad joined in, the two of them would embolden each other, making it even harder for him to subdue them. It was best to defeat them one by one.

Peter continued on his way and soon arrived at the village of Trossky.

As the central village of the entire territory, Troski Village has a population of over three hundred. In addition to various ordinary residences, it also has a security center, library, tavern, carpenters, herbalists, general stores, tailors, slaughterhouses, horse farms and other supporting facilities.

Moreover, the layout was unchanged from when he played the game before, so Peter easily found the carpenter's workshop.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I heard the carpenter throwing a tantrum, angrily berating his apprentices and helpers.

"Look at the mess you've made! The castle commissioned a statue of the Virgin Mary from us, and I've been working on it for days until my hands are practically falling off, and now you're telling me it's lost? And where's that idiot Doug?"

The apprentices and helpers looked at each other, then lowered their heads to receive the scolding.

"Hello, I hope I haven't disturbed you. I've heard there's a beautiful lute here; I wonder if you might sell it to me?"

Peter asked a very outrageous question as soon as he walked in.

"You want to buy a lute? Impossible. It was custom-made for a client. I can't violate my professional ethics by selling it to someone else, not even for more money."

Upon hearing Peter's request, the master carpenter immediately shook his head and refused.

"In that case, may I have a carpentry apprentice come to my house and make some furniture for me?"

Peter immediately made a new request and took out a Grossing coin as a deposit.

"I'm sorry, something bad just happened again. I'm so busy I can't even spare half a hand, but if it's just an apprentice, then it's not impossible..."

The carpenter had already refused once, and refusing again would be disrespectful to the guest. He glanced around and was about to call on Buffalo Bill, but then he remembered that he needed Bill's help to carve another statue of Mary overnight, so he changed his mind.

"My dear guest, I have a very skilled apprentice named Doug. He'll be paid two pfennigs a day, and you can provide the materials. What do you think?"

"Okay. Where is that talented student?"

"He's in the attic of the supply room in the backyard. Please go and call him yourself. I'm really too busy right now."

"No problem, God help you get through this quickly."

Peter nodded, indicating that he didn't mind. However, when he found the attic the carpenter had mentioned, he didn't see anyone there.