An evening for real men

After a great night at some wholesome family, the girl wakes me up and I have a short breakfast together with her and her family.
Then I say thanks to everyone and give them a hug before leaving.

I go outside and it's a great day again.
The sun is shining and people here are smiling at me.

Just out of the village, I follow a brook for a while.
I go through forests and pass a few houses.
I even notice a few villages in the distance, I would have passed if I chose a longer path.

Once in a while, I take a break, when I see a bench around in a nice place.
Once I have a nice view down from a mountain down to some beautiful valley.
Later I'm sitting directly at a waterfall, and get pretty wet.
Luckily the sun quickly dries my clothes again.

After a long hike, it's already getting dark again.
I hope I won't have to sleep outdoors tonight.
But soon I see the lights of a village in the distance.

When I reach the village, I walk around there and look for a place to sleep.

After a while, I notice a few guys sitting around a fire.
I cautiously approach them, but keep standing in a distance.

One of the guys notices me and gets up.

Hey, you!

His voice sounds very scratchy.
And he seems angry. But he probably just wants to be sure I'm not a thief or something like that.

Hey!?!

Come here, little guy. What are you doing here?

I cautiously approach them.
They seem to be having a party.
Each of them has some drink.

And most of them seem to be pretty old already. Especially the guy who was talking to me. He has a huge fizzy white beard.
He probably is the oldest person I've ever seen in my life.
But I've not seen many adults anyway.

Come on! Join us! We have enough beer for everyone!

No, sorry. I just was looking for a place to sleep.

Oh, that's going to be difficult. But maybe someone of us could let you sleep by them.

Ther all laugh at him.

You know, I have a wife and kids, I can't just bring a stranger in the middle of the night, even if he's still a child.

And I just want to stay alone.

Uhm..., I could let you sleep at my place. It isn't very clean, but it's probably better than nothing.

You would? Thanks a lot!
Uhm..., you still want to have fun with your friends for a while?

Yeah, why?

Because I'm already tired and it's getting cold.
Could I already go to your place?

Oh, in that case I can also leave early.
But I want to finish my beer first.
Just join us for a while.

Okay, thanks.

He seems a bit weird, but at least I get a place to sleep this way. I don't think he's dangerous. At least I hope so.

I sit down next to him.

So where are you from? You're not from this place, are you?

I'm from a small village in the west.

Oh, you must have traveled far.

I've been hiking for almost two whole days already.

That's a lot for a young guy like you, especially when you're traveling alone. I'd consider you to be a real man like us already. What does everyone else think?

Most of the guys agree and cheer.

And as a real man, you should drink some beer.

He gives me his beer.

No! I don't want it.

Hey, I finished. If you want, we can leave.

Thanks, I think that's enough for now.

Hey, don't leave. You should also get some beer! We got enough. You'll like it!

The others also want to convince me, but the old guy gets mad at them.

Stop it! He just wants to sleep now.

We immediately leave and head to his place.

I'm sure they'll make fun of me again. But I don't care.

After entering his place, we sit down at a table first.

Bread?

I nod and he gives me some bread to eat.
It's already old, but it tastes different than our bread.
I like it.

The guy can't stop talking about his exciting adventures. He tells me a lot about the places he's been to. He's pretty excited, but I don't really care.

I already want to go to sleep, but then he mentions the castle.
He knows a shortcut there through the caves, which he regularly used, when he went to the castle.
Else I'd have to go by ship or use a totally different route.

Nice, I'd also like to go there! Where is it?

Just in the north of this village.
You almost can't miss it!

And don't be surprised when you see some interesting creatures. One of them has been a friend of mine.

He laughs creepily.

What creatures is he talking about?
Whatever, I'm too tired to care.

But I think I have to go to bed now. I'm tired.

Okay, here's the bed. Just follow me!

We go together to the bedroom.
There's only a single bed.

Do you want me to sleep in the same bed as you?

I thought so. But if you...

I just lie down in his bed. It's wide enough for the two of us. He just lies down, too.

I'm not amused about lying next to an old, drunk man, but it's only for one night.
I start to regret my decision, when he starts hugging me half asleep.
But I just endure it. I'm tired and won't notice it as soon as I'm asleep, which I practically already am.