The First Words
BOOK ONE: The New World
CHAPTER 4: The First Words
"I'm outside for only half a day and I manage to meet wild animals and beasts I've only ever read about." Arkyn commented to Dusk, who now refused to leave the bag.
They had been running for a while, until Arkyn felt it was safe enough to stop and put his boots back on.
The chances of being caught by any of the bears dwindled the further down the mountains they went. They were downwind and covered too much ground for the elemental beast to travel with head injury.
Arkyn also badly needed to cover his feet before they were cut up even further, and made the decision to stop regardless.
He had found the encounter fascinating and the magic of a wild animal so shockingly powerful. His mind kept thinking back to the huge bursts of mana the Quake unleashed. Those thoughts didn't last though as he would frequently trip over something hidden in the wild grass.
'I am discovering that walking through the woods is a lot more taxing than the hike down the mountain.' Arkyn thought to himself.
The mountain was just a slight incline of rocks and open space. It was just a few scattered trees and no grass, he only needed to glance down for decent footing. In the forest however, he was constantly stumbling over roots and rocks hidden in the tall foliage.
It was such a struggle that He barely had time to register the large object approaching ahead of him.
Thankfully, it was not another bear. This entity was clomping rhythmically. It didn't seem to grow louder or actually get closer to him, it was more like the noise was passing him by. He still decided to play it safe and duck beneath a fallen tree.
From the space underneath the log, he spotted a shiny brown mass in between the dead branches. It moved too fast for him to understand what it was, but he refused to move out of caution. He did not want to be spotted by an Elemental Beast at such a disadvantage.
Then he heard a voice ring out.
"Keep leaning on the left side, that rear wheel might not last us the whole day." A scratchy voice spoke.
'People.' Arkyn thought while trying to peek over the log. He risked the glance once he realized whoever it was had their back turned as they moved further away.
It took him a moment to get over the tree though. It had recently fallen, and climbing under it had drenched his hair and clothes in tree sap. He practically had to pry himself from it to get a decent glimpse.
The brown mass he saw was actually the coat of a well-groomed horse. It was attached to a small carriage with the frame for a canopy roof, but no cloth cover currently attached.
In the cart, there were two boys, one young and one nearing adulthood, who were sitting in the back while an older man sat at the front with the reins.
The two boys must've belonged to the driver. They all had the same cleft chins, pale skin, and brown hair.
Arkyn felt a bubble of excitement start in his chest. There were people still alive on the Continent, it wasn't just him.
He had this slight worry that the world was empty like the Odbrane castle, despite the bodies he found yesterday, but now he could say with certainty that the idea was irrational. He wasn't going to be isolated for the remainder of his magically extended life.
Arkyn slowly stood up and made the decision to follow the cart from a distance. He had no clue what he would say to them, but if he stayed hidden in a mess of sap any longer, the horse and the men would have traveled too far for him to keep track.
'I'll have to think of some way to introduce myself without revealing what I am, or accidentally invoking their aggression.'
Arkyn fought the urge to just run up to them and ask them about the world. They would ask him questions back, and he knew his story would sound crazy to anyone if he told it.
He also knew that strangers appearing in the middle of the forest when traveling was too suspicious.
There were old folk stories about such people in Odbrane. The strangers appearing from nowhere would turn out to be spies or killers feigning helplessness as they entered a town.
The stories would typically end with the strangers betraying the kindhearted townspeople and they mourn whoever did not survive the events. So he knew he needed to think about his approach for now.
Once he climbed over the log and its sticky surface, Arkyn realized the carriage was actually following a dirt road. A pathway had been carved from what must have been many years of buggies and carts traveling through.
'This road will make it easier to tail them to a town or city perhaps, but I cannot believe this road is just a single day's hike away from the castle. Rather surprising that it took so long for someone to stumble upon it.'
Arkyn was surprised how close this road came to the castle, but he knew that Odbrane's capital structure was built into the face of a mountain hidden among many others. It was intended that way as an act of defense and secrecy.
While Arkyn and Dusk kept pace far behind the cart, they could hear the three travelers talking about miscellaneous topics.
When the older son spoke, his voice occasionally cracked and his little brother's jovial tone could be heard, even from a distance. The family trio just conveyed a close bond that Arkyn could feel from where he walked.
Arkyn felt nostalgia in the back of his mind, but pushed it aside for now. He reminded himself that now was the time to learn what he could. Whenever he risked getting a little closer to them, he could make out segments of their conversation.
There was mention of food, talk about the wildlife, and something Arkyn was certain sounded like 'special meals.'
'Why does the old one and young ones all sound like that? The old voice is nothing like yours.' Dusk said while finally coming out of the travel bag.
The fractal snake was equally as curious about the humans considering this would be the first time he met one aside from Arkyn.
'He is older—er, well his body is physically older than mine. Humans become more gravelly with age.' Arkyn kept the conversation between their thoughts, remaining vocally silent when moving.
'Not that, his words. They sound different, but also the same as yours.'
'. . . Oh! You mean he has an accent. Four hundred years and the dialogue was bound to change slightly. I am just glad the language hadn't changed all together.' Arkyn realized that in all the excitement, he hadn't thought about the evolution of speech patterns.
He was probably one of the only humans in the world to have lived long enough to witness the pronunciation of words change over time.
Arkyn was originally going to walk towards the light he saw from the mountain summit, but the people in front of him were more likely to guide him directly to civilization.
'Odds are they will know where to go versus me just aimlessly wandering the dense forest.' He figured while inspecting more of the surroundings.
Since the terrain of the trail was less tricky to traverse, he was able to scan the area to a greater degree. Arkyn saw that the trees and grass began to change from mountain flora to more vibrant and somewhat seasonal plants.
The mountains were filled with pine trees that could survive the cold all year long, while now there were some that were oak and dormant. They had no leaves for the winter season and it would be some time until they grew ones.
With the sun only starting to rise now, everything had an orange glow. Arkyn followed behind for nearly a whole day, watching the sunlight change the scenery around him.
Arkyn learned to carefully keep his pace and stayed just far enough to not be spotted. He felt proud of his stealth, and almost jumped when he heard a loud creaking and then a resounding snap that echoed throughout the forest.
"Damn it!" The old man swore.
The horse was no longer clomping and the breaking sound told Arkyn that the wheel of the cart did not survive till the end of the day, just as the father predicted.
Arkyn listened to him yell about the cart, mostly in aimless frustration, then ducked behind the nearest tree. He realized the old man was walking off the trail and into the woods now.
Wondering what he was up to, Arkyn watched him from the hidden position. The man seemed to be searching for something nearby.
"Alright, here. There's a clearing, get the packs out." The father's voice called out.
The two sons began unloading supplies, making Arkyn realize they were making camp for the night.
'I almost forgot that people still need rest,' The [Cinder Spark] was so potent while it emitted mana in such a small barrier, that Arkyn felt rejuvenated. Even after waking in pace with a horse all day.
'They will probably try to fix the cart tomorrow. This . . this could be an opportunity.' Arkyn thought to Dusk, who only grumbled about food before ignoring everything else that was said.
Arkyn waited until the sun began setting. He watched them work and carry multiple items to the clearing, starting a fire that eventually turned to coals as the sun disappeared.
Once they started to pull out cloth blankets for sleep, Arkyn figured enough time passed that they would not suspect him of stalking them. So Arkyn finally started his approach.
He walked the trail as casually as he could, pretending to stop and note the cart pulled off the side of the road. Upon close inspection, Arkyn saw it was actually the rear axis that snapped.
Just behind the right rear wheel, the wooden pole that connected the wheels to the frame had been worn down and reinforced with several nails and more blocks of wood. Eventually age and constant use broke clean, the trio had pulled it off to the side.
Arkyn stepped away to not seem too suspicious with his interest. He made noise intentionally and took a deep breath, settling his mind before walking towards the firelight of the clearing.
He waited until all three noticed him before finally speaking up.
"Hello there, I'm Arkyn."