Start of a Journey

Alfroth enters the room, jumping in excitement as he exclaims, 'Brother fraadh, guess where am i going?'. Fraadh looks at Alfroth and notices the dark green clothes he is wearing, the numerous pockets, the black pants and the sturdy boots, clearly meant for adventuring. 'You're going on an adventure?' Fraadh says with a faint smile, trying to show that he knows what Alfroth is up to. Alfroth nods and starts talking about the journey they are about to embark on. Fraadh feels a bit jealous, wishing he could join them on their adventure but knowing the reality, he let's go of the thought immediately.

'It's not that much of big deal' mauka says, hitting him on the head.

'But isn't it an adventure?' alfroth asks while rubbing his head.

'We're only going to the finger and back, there's not much in between, so don't get too excited'

'Come on mauka, let him have fun, it's his first time leaving this place' fraadh tries to calm both of them down.

Mauka sighs and then puts her hand in the satchel again, only to bring out a gift that alfroth never expected from his sister. 'A sword and a shield' alfroth exclaimed while receiving both the items. 'A short sword and a buckler, but that should be enough for you, at least for this trip,' she explains as Alfroth receives both items with excitement.

Alfroth takes the sword out of the sheath by its handle and grips it tightly, feeling the coldness of the grip as he sees his own reflection within the blade. The blade is as long as one of his arms. He waves it around carelessly, scaring Fraadh, but Mauka grabs the blade by the tip and tells him to put it back into the sheath. Reluctantly, he complies and carefully slides the blade into its cover ruining his excitement. With the sword secured, he starts examining the shield, running his fingers over its surface.

'Sis, why didn't you buy me a normal sword?' asks Alfroth.

'As we just saw, you can not even handle a short one. How do you think I would let you have a normal sword?' Mauka replies, making fun of her brother. But the truth is that a short sword costs only fifty-two to eighty bama depending on the quality, and a normal sword would have cost around one hundred and forty bama, which she doesn't have. 'But with my blood, sweat, and hard work, I bought you this. Consider it an early birthday gift from your beautiful older sister.' Upon hearing this, Alfroth hugs and thanks his sister again and again.

Carmilla enters the room, 'Alfroth, where have you been? I have been looking for you around the whole place,' Carmilla's eyes then turn towards all three of them. 'Oh, you're all here.', 'When did you two get so close?' she asks when she sees Alfroth trying to hug his sister.

'Auntie, look at what sis bought me!' Alfroth exclaims as he presents both the items to Carmilla.

'Oh, she has already bought them,' Carmilla says with a smile.

'Is there any bama left?' Carmilla faces Mauka.

'No, I used every last bit of it for the trip.'

'Wait, Sis, you said you bought it with your own money,' Alfroth turns to Mauka with disappointment.

'I did. It's a gift from both of us,' Mauka tries to keep up the lie.

'Well, it doesn't matter. Alfroth, put these down and come to the back. I still have to show you how to take care of a Molba when traveling.' Carmilla takes something out of her pocket and throws it to Mauka and then turns around and walks out of the room. Alfroth puts down both the items and follows her out, leaving Mauka and Fraadh alone again.

'Mauka, please don't tell Carmilla about it as well. Just promise me once. I don't want them to get worried or burdened anymore, especially Alfroth. That boy will be worried a lot and wouldn't be able to enjoy himself.'

Mauka, even though hesitant and worried about Fraadh, decides to take up his promise. 'But promise me, when I get back, you will go to a healer with us,' Fraadh agrees and smiles at her with a thumbs up.

Mauka turns and walks out of the room, justifying the promise by repeating again and again that she will take him to a famed healer once she gets enough money from selling the meteorite scales. She walks up the stairs and to the room where she was locked the day before, opens it up with the key she received from Carmilla, and slides the door to her room.

She walks in and locks the door behind her, walking up to the bed and immediately looking under it. A sense of relief settles in as she pulls out all of her gear and places it on top of the bed. She examines it all and takes a deep sigh, knowing that everything is still there and none of it was stolen.

After learning all the basics, Alfroth takes a Molba out of the barn. With sunlight, he notices its very long, dirty trunk that always touches the ground, its wide body that rivals the size of a small store, and a little tail on its back. Its perpetually open mouth reveals a big set of wide teeth, and with its round back, it makes it a terrifying creature, but with its two sets of big, round eyes and their friendly nature, it made them even cuter to everybody, especially Alfroth, as he has a liking for cute things.

Alfroth guides the molba to the rough road in front of the inn and prepares a saddle on it with the help of Carmilla. She complains about Mauka being lazy and late, but as soon as they get the saddle on, they look behind them to see Mauka standing there. Her dull red hair, her armor, old and smothered with specks of dirt, and her stress-free expression as she walks towards them. Alfroth had always seen his sister like this whenever she left for the woods before, and this made him feel a bit disappointed. He wanted her to put in more effort this time, but not wanting to feel selfish, he immediately dismisses that thought.

He notices a big thing behind her back wrapped in dull white cloth strapped to her shoulders, "Sis, what are you carrying on your back?" Alfroth questions. "Uhh, this. We won't be using this if we are lucky on our way," Mauka replies while pointing toward it with her thumb.

Mauka walks to the front of the molba, resting one of her arms on its head to look at the path they are going to take, frustrating Carmilla more. Alfroth notices the thing in the shape of a great sword, a hilt on the top, broadening towards her neck, and the rest of the blade becoming pointier as it goes down, covering from behind of Mauka's head to the back of her knees. He has never seen the great sword used by his sister as it was always wrapped in some sort of cloth and she never revealed it in front of him or anybody.

'You ready?' she speaks enthusiastically for once, facing him.

'Yes, sister, of course,' Alfroth replies with energy.

'Then let's get going, we shouldn't waste any more time,' she says as she mounts the saddle on the molba.

'But we still need to get the carriage thing fixed,' Alfroth says loudly, embarrassing Mauka.

After all the necessary preparations are done, Alfroth puts the mining equipment, with the bag containing the food and spare clothes, on the little old shelf attached to the back of the molba and ties it up with rope.

'The shelf is not holding very well,' Alfroth says with concern.

'Don't worry, it shouldn't break, at least not on this trip,' Mauka replies with experience.

'I am sorry you two, but this is the best I can provide,' Carmilla says with a hint of shame.

'Don't worry about it, Aunty. We can get a better one after this,' Alfroth smiles at Carmilla.

'But what about the scales? I have heard they are very heavy. I don't think this old shelf will be able to handle the weight,' Carmilla expresses her concern to Mauka.

'Don't worry about that as well. I will just carry them on my back,' Mauka says while yawning.

'Are you sure about that? If not, I can look for something.'

'Nah, it's fine. I have carried way heavier things than some scales before.'

'Well then, are you two ready? Both of you should head out as quickly as you can or someone else will get the prize, and my investment will go to waste.'

'No, wait a minute. I need to get something from my room,' Alfroth runs back into the inn and hurries to Fraadh's room. He gently opens it and finds Fraadh looking outside the window. 'Oh, Alfroth, you haven't ventured...' Before Fraadh could finish his sentence, Alfroth rushes to him and gives him a tight hug. Fraadh understandingly hugs him back and gives a small kiss on his forehead. 'Have fun out there and don't worry about me, I will be here.' Alfroth, thanking Fraadh, quickly leaves the room and rushes to his own, where he grabs his most important items.

Mauka and Carmilla argue about the prices, as both of them have no real knowledge of how much a scale can sell for. They argue over made-up estimations. Both of them turn to see Alfroth rushing to them from the inn, noticing the short sword and the buckler on his waist, and most importantly, the pendant decorated with a blue gemstone.

Alfroth climbs onto the back of the saddle on the molba with Carmilla's help, and following him, Mauka also climbs up on the saddle in the front. Alfroth says his goodbyes to Carmilla before they embark on their journey. With a swift snap, the first-ever journey of Alfroth to the outside world begins. Before he looks to the front, he looks to the back, waving to Carmilla. Likewise, Mauka waves slightly, signaling their departure for now.

After the pair leaves the small stone walls, Carmilla enters the inn again only to feel an emptiness that she has never felt before. She walks to Fraadh's room and enters it.

'Are they gone, Aunty?' Fraadh asks her.

'Yeah, it feels very empty now,' Carmilla replies with her face down.

'For the next few weeks, it's just going to be you, me and some customers,' Fraadh laughs, trying to cheer her up.

'I am worried about him. He's about to be seventeen but he still behaves like a child,' Carmilla speaks with concern in her voice.

'Oh, you mean Alfroth?'

'Yeah, he's way too naive and innocent. I don't know if he will be able to survive outside especially after this trip, he would love to explore more of the world but we can't protect him always'

'I don't think he's naive or innocent at all. I think he's just a very kind kid and somebody who cares about his friends and family a lot. He's very smart on top of that, even though he doesn't brag about it. He has already read and learned a lot about magic, mana, science and a whole lot from the books that you gave me. I think he just loves to learn and he is probably capable enough to take care of himself'

'Yeah, I know. He's a super nice kid, but that isn't going to help him. if not for Mauka, I don't think he could have ever left this place on his own, and that's a shame on me.'

'Don't worry, he will grow. The best thing about him is that he learns a whole lot quicker than all of us combined. I think he acts the way he does so none of us ever feel down. He understands that very clearly.'

'Yeah, maybe you are right,' Carmilla says with a whimper in her voice.

'Cheer up, Aunty. You don't want him to see you sad like this when he returns, right?'.

Carmilla chuckles, 'Of course, you are the only person beside him that can talk people into being happy.'