Chapter 15 - The Start of a Journey

Bryn arrives at the inn accompanied by Mr. Kwame. Humans and demi-humans shared a table, exchanging loud laughs and stories.

"Hey everyone, this is Bryn. He will be joining our group for the time being." said Kwame.

They all looked up at Kwame and then at the faun before them. A big part of the creature was hidden under the wooden table, but his face looked sincere.

The first one to welcome the child was Thrain, a fellow Demi-human also from the mountains. When he greeted the newest member, Bryn could look him straight. The man about the table's height had many daggers around his body, two more distinctive ones by his sides. The only hair on his body was a big mustache. 

"Hello, young fellow, I'm Thrain the Dwarf. If you ever find any gems or rare ores, let me know and I will forge you something!" said the dwarf as he slapped Bryn on his back.

Stumbling forward, Bryn introduced himself as well. "Very nice to meet you, Mr. Thrain. I'm Bryn, a faun." said Bryn as he examined the rest of the table.

Bryn felt something touch him on the shoulder. He looked right and saw Mr. Kwame, who didn't seem to have called him. To the left, there was nothing there. Suddenly he felt something poking him at hip height. When he turned around, his eyes contracted, and he rubbed them. Trying to make sure he was seeing things correctly, he looked again.

"You shouldn't step on people's tails, you know." said one of the men at the table. His skin was glossy and almost grey as Bryn found the source of the voice. 

"What?? Tail?" Said Bryn as he looked back at the tail beside him and under his foot. 

"Stop messing with the child, Kaelar… I'm Amelia, the only sane one in the group. That is Kaelar, he is a Nagaman. Half serpent and half human. You will get used to it rather quickly."

"What is the fun in that?" said Kaelar.

"Nice to meet you both as well. I hope you can guide me."

"Don't you go honeying them up…" a voice came from the ceiling.

"Zara, that is no way to greet our guest as well… are you afraid we have a new pet?" said another person at the table.

"How dare you! I'm no one's pet!!" Zara said as she jumped down from the ceiling. Bryn couldn't believe his eyes, another demi-human. She was a similar species to the cat-like guards he had seen at the farm. 

Wow, there are many demi-human species. I'll have to keep that in mind, but more importantly, how is the tail coming out of her pants? That makes no sense at all… Thought Bryn as the man continued his mockery.

"Said the woman who can't go on one mission without asking for a prize from Kwame…" 

Zara's cat fangs showed and her eyes sharpened as she approached the man and screamed at the man who insulted her.

"THAT IS IT, I CHALLENGE YOU!"

Walking in the middle of the two, Kwame said, "hahah, I see you guys are in high spirits today. Bryn, this group will be your family until we arrive at our destination. If you have any questions, you may ask them. For now, let's eat and rest. It's been a long day."

Bryn was confused by the familiarity everyone showed amongst themselves. It felt like a family from Earth. But they were not from the same parents.

Still not sure how to behave, he followed Kwame's instructions. He had a fantastic dinner compared to all his previous meals since coming to the new world. His body reacted to the simple rice and rabbit curry-flavored dish. His forearm twitched as he tried his first bite; the spoon would have bent if not for his low-strength status. It was the best food he had ever experienced.

Eating as if there was no tomorrow, the conversation from everyone at the table seized. All eyes were on Bryn, having the time of his life with that plate of food.

When he finished, a small sight left his voice with hands on his belly above the stomach.

Zara was the first one to transform her curiosity into words. "Kwame, was he-". A slight kick under the table interrupted her.

"Was that good? There is more if you would like." Said Daniel, the man previously mocking Zara.

"Thank you for the food. It was delicious, but I can't impose." said Bryn.

"Do not worry; you can pay us back one day." Daniel countered.

Bryn felt this man's eyes were like his parents. They were light, emotional, and sad as if he understood Bryn's deepest feelings.

Not knowing what was in front of him that night, Bryn ate to his heart's content.

He ate so much that his 8-year-old body couldn't simultaneously handle the emotional rollercoaster and food. He fell asleep at the table with the spoon in one hand and milk in the other.

This time, Daniel broke the long silence since the faun had started his second plate.

"Kwame, was he a slave?" he asked.

"Servants, Daniel. And yes, he was. He was the son of a couple I found…" said Kwame.

"Poor kid, I hope his life hasn't been that bad." Thrain said.

"Why didn't you bring his parents with him?" asked Zara, waiving her tail and looking closely at Bryn's funny-shaped ears.

"The lady responsible for the deal was not interested in selling them together. When I perceived her sadistic personality, I tried to save him over the parents…" answered Kwame.

Chugging his beer, Daniel threw his cup at the nearest wall. The cup was not durable enough to sustain the hit and broke in contact.

"These people have no idea what it feels like to lose family. You should have killed whoever it was that separated him." he said, looking at where his cup hit the wall.

"You know I can't do that, Daniel. She was a Noble; it would bring us a lot of trouble. On top of that, we still have many others to take care of."

"I don't feel like drinking anymore. I'll take care of the boy." said Daniel as he got up and took Bryn into his arms. Daniel took him to a room and then went to sleep alone.

The following day, everyone was already up when Bryn woke. It had been far too long since he felt the comfort of a bed. It was far from a mattress but much better than the solid ground from the Wycliffe's farm.

Realizing he was at the inn, his right hand squeezed his chest.

Once again... It was not a bad dream. I lost them. But this time, there is a chance. They are not gone gone. I'll find them, even if it cost me my life. Bryn thought.

Leaving his room, he meets with everyone once again.

Daniel saw that the young faun's new reality had kicked in. Bryn's head was facing the floor in between good mornings. He accepted the food with as few words as he could.

"Bryn, could you tell us your story?" Asked Daniel.

"Good morning, Daniel. Of course. I was born..."

While Bryn explained his story to everyone, the demi-humans faces contorted. Some felt cramps on their hands and arm muscles from all the clenching.

Amelia, Daniel, and Kwame could only raise a hand to their mouths. The gross story the eight-year-old told was worse than any other rescued before.

"Bryn, I was not fully honest with you." said Kwame.

Having finished his story, Bryn and the others directed their attention at Kwame.

"I'm a merchant. That part is true. But unlike what I told that Lady, I do not wish to create a tailoring empire. We deal mainly in hard-to-find or hard-to-acquired materials. We'll face some dangers during our trips, but our goals in Auroraan are already over. We are returning to our base to deal and sell the items we found here on this continent. The trip will take about half a year to cross the Lumiaris Kingdom and reach the coast. You'll meet the rest of our caravan and others in similar situations."

"Mr. Kwame, I know little about you or your group. I'm unsure how much I could do with my power. Having your vow proves I can trust your intentions are at least better than Isolde's." said Bryn, thinking about his parents within her claws.

"Interesting name..." whispered Daniel. Kwame looked at Daniel but ignored the comment.

"It is time to go. We'll leave towards the coast before noon." Said Kwame.

The entire party got ready and left. They started their journey east by meeting the caravan a few kilometers from the city walls.

Bryn kept his daily routine as intense as he could. His physical improvement beginner reached maximum improvement during the trip. When the caravan stopped for meals, Bryn would try to use the time to improve his butchering skills. He asked a few of Mr. Kwame's employees to teach him cooking, but that was less successful. The schedule demanded that the cooks work fast, so Bryn's ability didn't increase much.

After the first month, all his skills leveled up. Parkour was the only one that had yet to improve.

During the last thirty days, Bryn would think constantly about his parents. Where were they? Were they ok? That feeling fueled his drive to improve faster and faster. Upon arriving at a small city, Kwame told everyone that the caravan would take a break of three days. The town had a big enough market so that they could resupply.

The first break since the start of the journey presented an opportunity for Bryn. For the first time, he could try martial arts techniques. At the farm, his parents told him not to try and wake aggressive skills, and the only experiment he did failed. Waving a stick was not the way to unlock any Sword-related skill.

First things first, he started by doing additional stretching. His daily routine already involved almost an entire yoga session. Bryn did his best not to lose the young mobility his body had. Knowing he was about to do some martial arts training, he went a little extra.

After the completion of the preworkout, he decided to try and start with Taekwondo movements. When he was young, that was his martial art of choice, achieving a black belt at 13 on earth. His memory was not the best; later in his life, he did nothing of the sort. But the assumption was that doing it could activate a skill.

Remembering the movements, the first thing he did was repetition. Step forward with one leg, he bent the opposing arm to his waist with his fists closed. His other arm moved up, with the forearms parallel to the floor, to protect his head from an incoming attack. That was upper defense, as they called it for white belts. After doing that 20 times to each side, he returned to his original position, doing downward defense. The movement was similar. The defensive arm was now straight and downward to protect his leg. The other arm is always aligned with his waist.

The others in the caravan looked at him like he was a very strange faun. The only curious minds were Kwame's party members at the camp.

After another 20 moves later, he moved to the punches. The proper training taekwondo punch had a bent knee position. One foot perpendicular to the other, and one arm forward. The position was essential to guarantee more weight behind your strike. After that, the secret was in your hips. He would focus his entire body on each punch. The arm was previously bent at waist height with clenched fists, and the upper palm moved like a snake striking its prey. In Bryn's mind, it was his first and fastest punch ever. His hands switch places in the blink of an eye. Looking forward, his wrists were slightly off than they should be, meaning there was room for improvement.

Another 20 repetitions for each side.

Kicking had four variations at the white belt: frontal, high, circular inward and outward. Doing each 20 times to each side.

Doing the repetitions was the first way to comprehend the movements with his body. It was now time to do a combined sequence of moves.

That went on until it was time to help with lunch. Bryn was clear about resting and improving all his other skills. If he ever needed to live alone, the more skills he had, the easier it would be. His parents' support and now from the caravan would not dull his edge. The way to the top was clear.

After helping and eating lunch, he changed from taekwondo to parkour. Now that they had stopped, Bryn could find good routes to train. Be it in the city or the woods surrounding the camp.

While he was training, Kwame and Daniel had left the camp to go inside the city.