Page 15 of A Soul to Touch

Unless they were a high-ranking soldier or there was more than one of them, killing a Demon alone was unlikely.

The keep was rectangular in shape, with the furthest end containing the sleeping quarters. The closest end was the entry point, and people had to walk through that section of the castle keep to gain access to the open dirt area inside it.

In the middle was nothing but a training ground with an assortment of different weapons. There were targets for bow and arrow training and bigger ones for spear throwing. Straw dummies for sword fighting were on one side, while the other side had more dummies for axes.

Hand-to-hand combat was a basic requirement before anyone was allowed to handle a weapon of any kind. Civilians were often only taught how to wield an axe or sword, depending on theirpreference, and officials would help them select their weapon based on their physical strength and mobility.

There was very little point in giving a tall, yet skinny, man a claymore when he would be far more proficient with a short sword. She preferred the lightness of a short weapon herself.

Many villages north of the Veil instructed their own soldiers to travel here to receive the best possible training.

The keep had been here long before the Demons arrived, and it became a refuge before they built the surrounding areas.

Each area was walled off from the other by stone, and people required certain passes or invitation letters to go deeper within the Colt’s Outpost without being chaperoned by guards. There were gates that were constantly staffed, although freely opened unlike the entry gate into the large city.

As the keep was the centre point, only soldiers and their guests were allowed free access. Civilians had to be escorted within by soldiers for training.

The walled rectangular area outward from the central keep was considered the noble sector. They were closest to the soldiers who could protect them and furthest from the dangers presented to those on the outer ring.

It was clean, mostly rat free, and spacious as the rich tended to hate living on top of each other. Most of those that lived here worked directly towards the maintenance of Colt’s Outposts functionality, including trading with other villages or directing the soldiers as a military commander, or were one of their relatives.

To have free, unguarded reign of the noble sector, a person was required to have a special plaque or a soldier’s coin. Both were difficult to replicate.

The next ring out was the shopping district that anyone could access. It was pretty self-explanatory as to what it was designed to be.

Lastly, the furthest ring from the central keep was the peasant sector.

Although this sector was the largest, it was horribly overpopulated. Everyone was poor, mostly struggling, and worked as labourers or maids for the inner sectors.

They were often afraid. Not just because there was a higher likelihood of becoming infected with disease because of the close living quarters-houses were filled to the brim with people who weren’t all related-but because Demons had been seen within this sector.

The stone walls could be climbed or even flown over for Demons to snatch their prey.

It was an extremely rare occurrence, but almost every village faced this same problem – no matter how strong or tight their army was.

Mayumi knew too well that Demons could be cunning.

I hate coming here,she thought as she looked around.

The sad reality of society always reminded her why she preferred living in Hawthorne Keep or her cottage in the forest.

She ignored the thin woman sitting against the wall, taking a quick break from her walk or whatever she’d been doing to cough into her hand. She also ignored the man with a horrible limp that led a goat by a rope and offered its milk, trying to get anyone’s attention to buy his wares, probably so he could afford medicine.

Although she kept her features cool and neutral, her heart especially ached for the young boy holding up a broken ceramic plate in hopes someone would be kind enough to give him coin.

There was nothing she could do for them.

The moment Mayumi tried to help one person, even if it was that little boy, others would flock to her in desperation. Adults were especially cruel since they would attempt to pick her pockets or share stories in hopes of manipulating her into givingthem money. They may even follow her into a secluded area and try to beat her for it – which would only cause them injury since she’d win any fight she was faced with.

She also wasn’t interested in fighting with poor, struggling, sick, desperate civilians. She understood their motives. It was hard to hate them for it.

As much as she wanted to help, the coin she had wouldn’t last her so long if she started giving it away. She’d been expunged from the Demonslayer guild, her finances, although rather large, were also finite.

Dust kicked up under her boots since workers had shovelled any snow that collected each day, placing it outside the walls to melt in spring. It was always dirty here, always shaded as the buildings were tall to compensate for the number of people living in Colt’s Outpost. It lacked any kind of greenery.

Houses were made from clay and brick with straw tops. Windows had no glass in the peasant sector and instead had wooden shutters. Much of the outer ring looked worn down, whereas further in towards the keep was better maintained with more access to structural materials like glass windows.

Mayumi passed through the gates that led into the shopping district and straight into a large crowd of passing pedestrians. The sound of chatter and general pedestrian activity was loud, but there was very little joy or laughter.

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