Searching For My Family
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I was in a strange place. I had no idea where it might be, but the air and light were different from what they should have been at that time of day on Earth. It wasn’t night yet; there seemed to be some kind of artificial lighting around me—but not much: just enough so that my eyes could see without having to strain too hard.
The ground felt soft beneath my feet as if I’d stepped into something like grass or sand rather than stone. And when I looked up, all I saw above me was a blue sky with white clouds drifting by slowly overhead.
There weren’t any stars visible through those thin wisps of cloud cover either, which meant that this planet probably didn’t get very cold during its winter months. But then again, maybe it did because there certainly wasn’t anything resembling an atmosphere here.
No oxygen whatsoever! That would explain why everything smelled faintly metallic instead of sweetly fresh.
“Hello?” I called out tentatively before raising both hands and waving them about in front of me. “Is anyone there? Hello!”
There was still no response, although the wind carried away one word that came back over the sound of rushing water somewhere off to my left side. When I turned toward it, though, nothing appeared except for more trees growing along a gentle slope leading down towards the stream below.
Then another voice spoke behind me. A female’s voice. This time her words made sense even though she sounded far away.
“This is your home now,” said a woman who must have stood almost ten meters tall. She wore a long-sleeved shirt that covered most of her body apart from her arms and legs while the bottom half of each leg ended in thick boots that went halfway up to her knees.
Her hair hung loose down past her shoulders covering part of her face, but I couldn’t tell whether she was smiling or frowning. “Welcome.”
She took a step forward and reached out to touch me gently on the shoulder. As soon as we connected, I suddenly found myself standing right next to her. I tried to speak several times but only managed to make guttural noises.
Finally, after taking a deep breath and trying once more, I got my mouth working properly.
“Who are you?” I asked, staring intently at her face.
The woman smiled slightly and shook her head ever so briefly. “That doesn’t matter anymore,” she replied softly. “You’re safe here now.”
As I continued looking at her, I noticed that there was something odd about her appearance. Something familiar…but also totally unfamiliar. I thought I knew what it was straightaway, but I needed confirmation before saying anything aloud.
So I closed my eyes and concentrated. It wasn’t difficult since I already knew exactly what I wanted to look for. After a few seconds, I opened them again and stared directly into the woman’s eyes.
“What am I supposed to do?” I finally asked.
Her smile grew wider. “Do whatever makes you happy,” she told me. “And don’t worry about anything else. You’ll figure things out eventually.”
Then she started walking away. Not quickly, mind you, but deliberately nonetheless. At first, I followed her with my eyes until she disappeared among the trees. Then I turned to follow her footsteps in reverse, stepping carefully over the uneven terrain.
Before long, I heard running water ahead of me. Turning around, I realized that the woman had led me to a small waterfall flowing down from high above. Standing under it, I watched as droplets fell onto my skin and dripped off my nose and chin.
“Why does everyone keep telling me that?” I muttered quietly to myself. “It sounds like such bullshit whenever someone says that to me…”
But then I stopped talking abruptly. Why was I thinking like that? What was wrong with me?! I mean, yes, I hadn’t seen my family for years. Yes, I missed them terribly. But that didn’t give me the right to go around acting like a complete asshole!
Especially not here! Here, where I didn’t belong and nobody really cared anyway!
So I decided to change. To stop being so negative. Because it wasn’t doing anybody any good. In fact, it was making people hate me even more, and that wasn’t fair. They never deserved that. Maybe I’d done some terrible things in the past, but that didn’t automatically make me a bad person.
If anything, they were the ones who should’ve been ashamed of themselves.
I walked further downstream, following the path the woman had taken. Eventually, the sound of falling water became louder and I spotted a large rock jutting out from the edge of the riverbank. Sitting atop it, I removed my shoes and socks, letting the cool water wash over my bare feet. Once I finished washing my hands and face, I sat down cross-legged on top of the stone to wait for sunrise.
***
After spending nearly an hour sitting beneath the waterfall, I felt refreshed enough to get up and continue exploring. The ground was mostly flat with just a few scattered rocks sticking out from the earth every now and then.
There weren’t many plants either, which meant that the place would be easy to walk through without getting lost. And as far as I could see, there was no sign of other humans living nearby. Which suited me fine. I preferred to avoid meeting new people if possible.
The sun rose slowly over the horizon, painting the sky pink and orange. When it finally peaked above the treetops, I saw that there was another settlement close by. This one consisted mainly of wooden houses built along both sides of a narrow dirt road.
A couple of horses grazed beside the road, their hooves clattering against the cobblestones as they moved back and forth. Several men wearing leather armor rode past on horseback, heading towards the village. One of them waved cheerfully at me when he passed. Apparently, this was how people greeted each other here.
Feeling hungry, I headed for the nearest house. Opening the door, I stepped inside and looked around. Everything seemed pretty much the same as it did in our own home. Except for the furniture, of course.
Instead of having chairs or tables made out of wood, these homes used metal frames covered in thick cloth. That way, they wouldn’t have to worry about sharp edges scratching anyone’s legs. Or arms. For some reason, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed about that.
There was food left out on the table, including bread and cheese. As soon as I took a seat, I began eating ravenously while trying to ignore the stares of the villagers passing by outside. I probably shouldn’t have eaten quite so fast, though.
My stomach started growling loudly after only a minute or two, forcing me to pause and take several deep breaths. When I finally managed to calm down, I resumed stuffing my mouth full of food. By the time I finished, I was completely stuffed and ready to collapse.
Leaning forward onto the table, I let out a loud sigh. “Man… I haven’t had anything to eat since yesterday afternoon!”
A young man standing next to me gave me an odd look before turning his attention back to the others milling around in the street. After a moment, I noticed him staring directly at me again. He must’ve thought I was crazy because I kept mumbling to myself.
“Oh yeah, I’m definitely going to need to find something to drink too…”
Once I got up from the table, I wandered into the kitchen area. It was filled with all sorts of different pots and pans hanging from hooks on the wall. Some of them contained vegetables and meat, while others held various sauces and spices.
I opened one of the cabinets and found a bottle of wine. Not exactly what I wanted, but it would do until I figured out where else to buy more supplies. At least it wasn’t poisoned.
As I reached for the bottle, I heard footsteps approaching behind me. Turning around, I saw a middle-aged woman carrying a basket. She smiled at me warmly.
“Good morning,” she said.
I nodded politely. “Morning.”
She pointed to the empty cupboard. “Would you like some breakfast?”
I glanced briefly at the pot hanging over the fire. “Yeah. Sure. Thanks.”
While the woman prepared my meal, I watched her cook. Most of the ingredients came straight from the forest, such as mushrooms and berries. Others were grown indoors using magic or special techniques that I didn’t understand.
But even still, everything tasted delicious. Especially the eggs. They turned out perfectly fluffy and golden brown.
When I finished eating, I thanked the woman once again and returned to the front room. I spent a little bit longer looking around but eventually decided that it was best not to disturb any of the residents. So instead, I followed the road deeper into town.
Soon, I realized that most of the buildings were connected together by long wooden bridges spanning the river. On the other side of the bridge, I spotted a small market square surrounded by dozens of stalls selling fresh produce.
It was hard to believe that this entire city was constructed entirely underground. What really surprised me, however, was the fact that everyone seemed happy and relaxed despite being forced to live in cramped conditions.
Maybe it helped that the air was always cool and dry, thanks to the constant flow of water coming down from the mountains. Either way, I didn’t feel uncomfortable staying here. In fact, I kind of liked it.
By the time I arrived at the marketplace, I’d already seen several people walking around with swords strapped across their backs. The sight reminded me that I needed to get myself a weapon if I ever hoped to survive on my own.
Unfortunately, I didn’t know which shops sold weapons. And judging by the number of armed guards patrolling the streets, I doubted many merchants carried them either.
So instead, I decided to ask someone who knew. Walking up to a nearby merchant, I asked him whether he could recommend a good shop. He responded immediately, pointing towards a building located just beyond the main entrance to the market.
“That place is owned by a friend of mine. You can trust him to give you honest advice. Go there and talk to Raluva.”
The name sounded familiar somehow. Before I had a chance to think about it further, I continued on my way. Once I entered the store, I found myself face-to-face with a tall, muscular man wearing leather armor.
His skin was dark red and covered in tattoos, making it difficult to tell how old he actually was. Unlike the rest of the citizens, he wore no shirt underneath his vest. Instead, he simply wrapped his arms around himself to keep warm.
“Welcome to my shop,” he said.
I bowed slightly. “Thank you very much. Do you sell weapons?”
He laughed heartily. “Of course! Why wouldn’t we? We’re a blacksmith’s guild, after all.”
Raluva motioned for me to follow. Stepping inside, I looked around curiously. There were racks full of daggers, shortswords, spears, bows, crossbows, shields, and every type of metalworking tool imaginable. Everything was neatly organized according to size, shape, and material.
It took me a few minutes to locate the right section, but when I did, I felt relieved. Now I just needed to figure out what kind of sword to purchase.
“What are your needs?” Raluva asked.
“Well, I don’t have any experience fighting yet, so I’ll probably want something fairly simple to use. Something that won’t require too much skill to handle.”
“A beginner’s blade, then,” he replied.
After browsing through the selection for a moment, I finally settled on a thin, curved dagger made of steel. It was light enough that I could carry it comfortably without getting tired, but strong enough to pierce flesh and bone.
Even better, its sharpened tip glowed faintly blue whenever I activated my mana. This meant that it should be able to cut through almost anything.
With the dagger in hand, I walked back outside. As soon as I stepped onto the street, two men approached me. One of them was dressed completely differently than everyone else: he wore a white robe with a hood covering his head.
The other one was a guard wearing an armored chest plate and a large shield slung across his back. Both of them held wicked-looking knives.
“You look lost,” the first man said.
“Yes, well… I’m new here…”
They both laughed loudly before grabbing hold of my arms and pulling me close. They spoke quietly to each other while staring directly into my eyes. Their voices were low and gravelly like they hadn’t spoken properly since childhood.
“We’ve been sent to help you find your way home,” the second man explained.
“Home?” I repeated.
“This is where you belong,” the first man added.
I shook my head vigorously. “No. No, I mean, I came here because I wanted to see the city. But now that I am, I need to go somewhere else.”
Both of them stared at me silently. After a minute or so, the first man let out a deep sigh.
“Very well. Let us show you the way.”
***
As promised, the pair led me to the edge of town. From there, they pointed me towards a mountain range that stretched far off into the distance. A small village lay nestled within the foothills. Several buildings stood next to each other near the base of the hill.
Most of these structures appeared to house animals of some sort. Cows grazed on grasses growing on the ground, sheep wandered freely between houses, goats climbed trees, horses trotted along the road, chickens pecked at seeds scattered on the dirt, and pigs rooting through piles of garbage.
Once again, I thanked them for their assistance. Then I turned away from the mountains and began walking down the path leading northward. In less than half an hour, I reached the outskirts of the city. At this point, I started seeing signs indicating where different districts were located.
One such sign read:
District 1 – Central District
– Central District 2 – West District
– West District 3 – East District
These areas were separated by walls that ran perpendicular to the main roads. Each district contained several blocks, which were connected via smaller streets. Within each block, there would usually be a single row of shops lining the outer edges. These stores sold everything from food and clothing to furniture and tools.
In addition to the main thoroughfares, there were also side paths running parallel to them. Some of these little-used routes continued straight ahead, while others veered sharply left or right. If someone happened upon one of those winding lanes accidentally, they might end up wandering aimlessly until nightfall if they didn’t know how to get back on track.
That was why most people traveled in groups during the day—to prevent themselves from being lost forever.
The only exception to this rule seemed to be merchants who spent long hours traveling between towns. For them, it wasn’t unusual to spend days alone on the road. However, even they had companions to keep them company.
Usually, they traveled in pairs or threesomes. When passing through unfamiliar territory, it was safer to travel with another person. People often joked about how dangerous it was to walk around by yourself. Of course, nobody ever actually tried doing it anyway.
The End