Baxton

As Akira got closer to the village, the more run down the place looked. most of the buildings were filled with holes, the thatch roofs were damaged and windows were smashed. There was a well in the middle of all of this and even that had a huge hole in the side of it. Akira wondered why nobody had tried to fix this place up and what could have happened here in the first place. But he shook the thoughts away as he got close enough to the village that some of the old people turned to look at him.

"Hold there stranger" One of the elderly men said.

Akira stopped in place as one man walked towards him, the rest of the villagers backed away, a look of slight fear on their faces.

"What's your business here?" the old man asked.

"We...umm...I was lost in those woods, I've been wondering around for a while, hoping to find people to help me" Akira told the old man.

"Well, you won't find much help here" The old man said, looking a little sad.

"I don't need much, maybe just a place to stay for the night and directions to a nearby town"

"There aren't many towns left standing around here, orcs have been ravaging, towns, villages and harassing travellers on the road for the past month, only safe place left standing is Baxton" the old man finished looking a little defeated.

"If you have somewhere I can stay for the night, I can offer my assistance with anything you need until I leave in the morning" Akira offered, not really having any other options.

The old man sighed before waving his hand towards Akira, signalling him to follow. The old man led Akira into the centre of the village and quickly introduced everyone.

"This is Maggie" He said pointing towards an elderly lady standing behind a broken barrel. "That's Edward" He pointed towards another older man. "And that's Ginny" This time however, the old man didn't point towards an old person. His finger was directed towards a stout looking woman, dressed in full armour fancy armour. Even Akira could tell that the armour itself was finely crafted. It had intricate detail etched into it with a very royal looking symbol marked on her chest plate. Her hand also rested on a huge blade on her hip, which also looked incredibly well made. She was quite large for a normal human and looked incredibly strong, especially with the armour making her look twice as tough. Her blonde hair was blowing in the breeze, revealing a surprisingly soft and kind looking face. "Oh and I'm Gerard" The old man finished.

"My name is Akira"

"Well met Akira" Ginny stepped forward, holding her hand out to Akira.

Akira shook her hand. It was a firm grip but not too hard as to crush his hand.

"What brings you to this end of the woods?" She asked.

"I was a little lost in there" Akira said, pointing back towards where he came from. "I'm just looking for a place to stay before moving on".

"Why were you in there to begin with?" Ginny asked, a puzzled look spreading across her face.

"Uhh...I'm not sure, I don't actually remember how I got there" Akira said, having to quickly come up with a lie so he didn't raise any suspicions.

Akira didn't think it would be a good idea to go around telling every new person he met that he was from another world.

"Well Akira, as you can see, this place is a little run down right now. I was tasked by the royal guard of Baxton to assist these people and bring them to Baxton for protection until the orc problem has been dealt with. You are free to join us should you wish. We leave the day after tomorrow" Ginny said, raising her body a little in order to look more important.

"That would be great!" Akira exclaimed.

He would finally get a chance to rest and maybe even learn a little more about this world since he had an extra day to as he pleased before moving on.

"Come, I'll show you where you can stay for the night" Ginny said, ushering Akira to follow her.

Akira followed Ginny as she led him towards one of the slightly less run down buildings. As he was walking Akira felt a slight tug on his shirt, he looked down to see Feya, who simply looked at him with a smile and gave him a thumbs up in order to say good job. This in turn made Akira smile a little. Ginny opened a door to one of the building and stepped inside, followed by Akira. The inside of the building looked no better than the outside. Debris and trash were scattered everywhere, windows were broken and shoddily boarded up. The floorboards were broken and there was a giant hole in the roof. Akira also noticed some straw mats had been laid on the floor which he assumed were where the villagers had been sleeping.

"We will all be sleeping in here until we move on" Ginny said, pointing towards the mats. "It's the safest option, this way I can stand guard over you all at once".

"That's fine" Akira said.

He wasn't totally comfortable sharing a room with a bunch of old strangers, but he also knew, he didn't have much of a choice right now. This was his best bet towards finding the closest city.

"Say, Akira" Ginny said, facing Akira, ready to Akira. "I don't suppose you know how to fight do you?"

"Uhh...not really, only what I have read in books" Akira said, knowing that any knowledge he had from books, probably won't do him any good here.

"Ahh, that's a shame" Ginny said, looking slightly disappointed. "I have been back and forth between here and Baxton for over a week now and have not had a chance to uhh...clean myself up since I set out".

Akira thought for a moment. He wished he could help Ginny but if somebody did actually attack, he would have no chance against them.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could help you somehow". Akira said, lowering his head a little.

"Hmm" Ginny groaned a little. "I don't think the orcs would come back to this small village. If I were to head into that room later tonight" Ginny pointed towards a small door at the back of the building. "There is a crude wooden bath in there. Would you mind standing guard at the door. If you see something, you can shout for my aid and I will come running".

Akira wasn't sure about this plan. If something did show up and she wasn't there to protect everyone, people could get hurt. On the other hand, Akira did say he would help them however he can.

"Alright, as long as you think it's safe" Akira told Ginny.

"I appreciate it. I will fetch you once all of the elderly have fallen asleep. Until then, you can do as you please". Ginny said before finally walking away and leaving the building.

Akira sat down in the centre of the room and sighed for a second. He didn't miss his old world at all but getting to know this new one was exhausting. Akira felt Feya struggling to get out of his pocket so he reach down and assisted her.

"Pahhh..." She sighed as she got free. "It's really stuffy in there. We need to find a better way to hide me"

"I'm sorry" Akira said, not really sure what else they can do.

"It's fine, just promise me, as soon as we make some money, we buy a backpack or something that I can properly fit inside".

"Haha" Akira laughed. "I promise Feya".

Akira and Feya relaxed inside the broken building for the rest of the day. Exhausted by the walk it took to get here, they didn't think they would be of any use to anybody right now. Before long, the sun began to set. One of the elderly men had walked into the building, almost catching a glimpse of Feya before she buried herself back in Akira's pocket. One after one, each of the elderly people came into the building and slowly started falling asleep. The last to enter the building was Ginny, who locked the door behind her. Akira didn't think that would do much good since there were holes everywhere but trusted that Ginny could protect them. After another half hour or so, all of the old people had fallen asleep and Ginny signalled for Akira to follow her. They both walked over to the door at the back.

"Here" Ginny said, handing a short sword to Akira. "I know you said you don't know how to fight, but please, take it just in case"

Akira simply nodded and took the sword from Ginny's hand. It was a lot heavier than he expected it to be. The blade had definitely seen better days. It had rust forming almost all over the blade and the handle was no better. Akira thought that if somebody did attack, he would be better off smacking them with the handle rather than the blade.

"I won't take too long" Ginny said before opening the door and leaving Akira alone.

Akira wasn't really sure what came over him but for some reason, he had an urge to peak on Ginny. The thought of her naked body being only a short distance away from him, made Akira feel a excited which was evidence by the sudden bulge in his pants. He tried to clear the thought from his mind but struggled to stay focused. He took a quick look at the door. If he was quiet, he could easily look through one of the gaps in the door. Maybe catch a quick peak and then stop before he was caught. Akira questioned what he should do for longer than he liked to admit but ultimately he came to a decision.