For a second, the tension in me disappeared as I heard Danny’s words

  “What’s a Hero?”

  One of my eyebrows raised as I gave Danny a look. But all I got in return was just a confused expression. I was used to this world seemingly picking and choosing certain ideas and words from mine. I still found it weird that the words winter, spring, summer, and autumn existed here but weren’t used to describe a time of year. Even some of the animals from my world were here but others weren’t. I had thought I had gotten used to that sort of wildness by now.

  But Hero?

  Out of all the things not translated between the two worlds, hero and everything that it meant didn’t exist here? How!?!

  Logic dictated that they probably used a different word for a hero. Or simply just describes what a hero was without any word specifically for it. Or some third stupid explanation that I just could not think of at this point in time. The absurdity of it was throwing me off and the look of bafflement was showing on my face, if the way Danny was looking at me was any indication.

  “Alex? You're lookin’ at me like I’m tryin to till a field with the backwards end of a hoe. Is a Hero some kind of big deal in your village?” Danny’s words snapped me out of my state a little.

  I took in a deep breath before letting out an even deeper sigh as I once more cursed whoever or whatever led me to this land of adventure, levels, and stupidity. Next thing you know I’ll be told that I'm some prophesied warrior here to defeat the evil demon king…shit I should not jinx it.

  But all that was besides the point. Said point being that I now had to explain to Danny what a Hero was. You’d think that would be easy but…it just wasn't. Just thinking about it drew images of a young boy with pale skin reading from a book that looked far too big for him. A boy who had not been jaded by life quite as much.

  A boy who had dreamed of being a Hero.

  A silly dream but a dream nevertheless. One that had been eroded by the passage of time as the books of fantasy and fables started to upset him more than they helped. But even now, that dream still exists somewhere buried down in my mind. Along with a boy who would never forgive me for not describing a hero with the justice it deserved.

  “A Hero,” I started as heavy words seemed to weigh me down, “Is someone who doesn’t…stand still. Where others see injustice and just comment on how bad it is, they act. Even if a path doesn't exist to fix the problem, they make one. Whether or not they should never cross their minds because they’re fixing a wrong.”

  I pause as I think about what to say next. As I did, I noticed that I had Danny's complete attention as he waited for me to finish speaking. I suppose I shouldn't make him wait, “A Hero is someone who is a beacon of hope for others to look towards. A light that shines brightly in the dark, that leads others to a better tomorrow. They inspire people to be better just by being themselves. Even in death, they leave a legacy that molds entire generations of people to a new standard.”

  I forced myself to once more pause as I realized that I was starting to ramble. By now Danny was looking at me mesmerized, as if I was showing him the meaning of life. I thought about stopping there but one more thought came to my mind and a pale boy in the back of my head forced it out of my lips.

  “A Hero helps people. Not because of money, fame, or any of that stuff. But because it’s the right thing to do.”

  Silence reigns over me and Danny as I finish speaking. I found no more words to speak as I processed what I had just said. The cold and cynical part of me is glaring at myself due to the stupidity of what I just said. But another part was proud. And I had no idea what was me or what was the mask.

  After a minute or two that felt like hours, Danny spoke. “Alex…that's what I want to be. Everythin’ you just said is what I've dreamed of since that day with the Blades of the Fallen and the Tremorjack. I want to be…a Hero.”

  I look back at Danny, a retort already on my lips about why that was a bad idea. But those words died before they could leave my mouth as I saw the expression on his face. A look of such certainty and determination that any thought of trying to deny Danny his wish just wasn’t possible.

  A sigh left me as I started to feel the weight of everything that had happened in the last few minutes. Suddenly, my mind remembered the original purpose of this conversation. Danny’s desire to stay and help the village of Sadim, despite probably not being ready for it. And now that I had given him a whole speech on being a hero, he was more than likely more determined than ever to help these people. It looked like I had messed this up, like I usually did with the people I cared about.

  But in a flash, an idea came to my mind.

  Probably not a good idea but it was better than nothing. I was already formulating the words as I looked at Danny and spoke.

  “Danny, I understand why you want to help these people I truly do. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t. But rather that you should…prepare before you do so”

  My words get Danny out of whatever daydream he was having and bring him right back to reality as he tilted his head at me in slight confusion.

  “What do ya mean by prepare Alex?”

  I swallowed the saliva that I hadn’t realized I had been building up in my throat as I felt myself regain control of the situation. An easy smile came back to my face and I gave off the air of confidence that I had sharpened over the years. Part of me didn't like the idea that I had come up with but I was willing to compromise at this point in time.

  “I am proposing that we continue as we had planned. Go to bed and wake up to a lovely morning, eat what I hope to be a filling and warm breakfast, then head on to Dreshabor. Then, when we get there we both head to the guild. I get a Class and you sign up to become an official Adventurer.”

  I pause and I can already see Danny's mouth opening to protest what I had just said. But before he could say a single word, I started speaking my silken words once more. “Then we meet back up and prepare. I help you buy some standard Adventurer’s gear, whatever that might be. Go over what could be happening in this little village. Then…I help with whatever is troubling this place.”

  Danny’s eyes widen in surprise and a smile once more finds its natural place on his face. He speaks in an excited voice, one that fills my stomach with a bit of guilt. “Wait… you’ll join me as an Adventurer too Alex?!”

  I shake my head at his words before replying with my own. “No, I will not be signing up as an Adventurer. In truth, I doubt they would let someone who just got their Class to become one, not if they have any kind of standards. But I must admit I didn’t have much planned for after I got my Class. I see no problem continuing to travel with you for a bit. I’m sure eventually we'll part our ways but until then it would be nice to have a…friend by my side.”

  It took a bit of effort to say that last part. Too many times I had called someone a friend only for that word to lose meaning later as they turned away from me. I will admit that I’m not fully blameless for that but it doesn’t change what happened. But for once, I feel like I've found someone that would not do so like how so many others had done.

  I would be a liar if I said I truly believed that last little thought.

  But before I could wallow in my self-pity I felt a body hit mine. I blinked in surprise as I looked down at the smiling and brimming tears face of Danny as he hugged me far too tightly. I open my mouth to speak only to find the air in my lungs forcing its way out as the hug tightens. As I try to find air for my poor burning lungs Danny speaks.

  “Thanks Alex! I promise that I'll pull my weight! We’ll make a great team! I’m sure that if I can't magic our way out of something then you can talk our way out. We’ll see all of Valnu- NO, we’ll see all of Septima together! You're the best partner I could have asked for Alex.”

  A myriad of thoughts cross my mind as I open my mouth to reply. I think about saying that this was only temporary and that we would eventually separate. I think about trying to temper his expectations about what we might find or face. I even think about playing along and agreeing with him just to get him to stop looking at me like I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread.

  Instead, I say this.

  “Danny…too tight…Can’t breathe…”

  “Oh, Furnest Balls I’m sorry Alex!”

  Why couldn't life give me a break?

  I fell asleep not too long after that. Danny did talk a little bit more about some of the basics of being an Adventurer, which I kept reminding him I was only going to travel and help him. That didn’t stop my tanned…friend from being excited.

  Luckily, he was also rather tired from the long day and both of us found ourselves traveling the land of dreams. Said travel seemed to go by far too quickly as I was woken by Bailey banging at the door and yelling that it was breakfast time. At the mention of food, Danny pretty much jumped out of his bed and all but ran out of the room. I'm glad he fell asleep fully clothed; more than once I had seen him run for breakfast in his underwear while at the Wheatmen's house.

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  I took my time getting ready, making sure that everything was in place before heading down myself. The place had only a handful of people sitting and eating. A little under half of the people I saw when Danny and I arrived yesterday. I noted that other than a few looks when I was coming down the stairs, they didn’t really pay attention to me. Something I was more than fine with as I made my way to the table Danny was sitting at as he inhaled his breakfast.

  Not a few seconds after sitting down Bailey was already walking by to set a plate down. It appeared to be some eggs of some kind; chickens didn’t exist here, along with some toast and what I assumed was Furnest meat cut into strips and grilled. It looked like the standard bacon and eggs breakfast you would see all the time in America. Minus some pancakes or waffles, both of which I was hoping to find in this world.

  “Mornin’ Fancyman,” Bailey said as she also set down a glass of juice, “Your driver said he was ready to leave whenever you were. If you want, you can hang around here for a bit more but I will kick ya out if ya stay a bit too late.”

  I noted the teasing tone in her voice when she said the last part. I gave a grateful smile in return as I grabbed a wooden spoon to start eating. “I truly do appreciate the hospitality Miss Bailey. The bed was lovely and I’m quite looking forward to the rather nice-looking food. I’ll be sure to recommend this place to any travelers I meet.”

  She gave me a pleased look and nodded her head before heading off. In the meantime, I started working on my meal. It was good or at least good by this world’s standards. I had quickly learned that spices and other herbs that were common in my world for adding more taste to food weren't too common here. To be able to add those sorts of things regularly costs a good bit of coin so over the course of my time here, I had to adjust to a more simpler taste.

  At least it was better than the travel rations that I had last night.

  I would have had an easier time chewing on a piece of wood.

  Just as I was starting to make a dent in my food, Danny finished cleaning his own wooden plate. He sat back with a satisfied sigh before letting out a small burp and sitting back up straight. He set his sight on me and gave me that usual wide smile he would wear and started to speak.

  “If it's alright with ya Alex, I want to ask around a bit before we leave. I’m sure that I could get some stuff from a few of the people around here about what’s been happin’. See if we can’t get a hint about everythin’ before leavin.”

  I pause to think for a moment before nodding my head in agreement. It wasn’t the worst idea to look around for a clue or two to mull over while we traveled to Dreshabor. I doubted that we’d be able to get much info from the villagers. But then again, with how Danny handled himself last night, he might be able to charm them with his countryisms more than my usual song and dance.

  Seeing my agreement Danny’s smile widened a little before he got up and started to talk to a few of the other people in the tavern. I thought about telling him to wait until they had finished eating since most people tend to get annoyed when you interrupt their meal. But in the end, I simply shrugged and went back to my own meal.

  Danny seemed to be in his element here. He did have an honest charm about him that got people to trust him more. If it wasn’t for his talks of Magic and Adventuring, he probably would have been more popular in Vinners than he had been. But he didn't have any of that baggage here and could probably do more than I could in this situation. It was probably better for me to sit back and let him work his magic.

  His non-Magic rather than his actual magic.

  The fact that I had to clarify that was giving me a headache.

  The golden sun was well into the sky as Danny and I walked through the village. It was still rather slow and unpopulated but there was a decent number of people out and about, at least compared to yesterday evening. For the most part, they were simply heading out to work the various fields around the village with a small handful doing chores around the place.

  It was really starting to dawn on me why Valnus was called the Kingdom of Cultivators. Pretty much every other small village we had passed by on our way to Dreshabor was some kind of farming community. It was starting to make sense that Valnus apparently supplied most of the food for the rest of the Kingdoms of Man.

  It made me want to head to the more western part of the kingdom, where it bordered the Kingdom of Palion and other human kingdoms. Danny had mentioned how people out there focused on raising animals rather than crops and my curiosity about what sort of farm animals the people of this world used. I had only really seen Furnest around but had heard about Owlinks and Granhams which were popular farm animals as well.

  At the moment though, Danny and I were entering what appeared to be the closest thing the village had to a market. It was placed relatively in the middle of the settlement and was mainly a small collection of wooden stalls that were sparsely filled with people selling their wares. Nothing too special, mainly clothing and tools. Since most people here produce food of some kind, selling it would be like selling ice to an Eskimo.

  Danny, still on the high of our discussion from last night, takes the lead and starts heading from vendor to vendor asking about the disappearances. Sadly, this doesn't go as planned for the novice Mage. I can tell that most of the sellers are casual with Danny at first, probably seeing him as another farmer just like most of the people in the village. But the fact that he instantly starts off talking to them about the missing people instantly leads him into a metaphorical stone wall. No prelude into the question or even build-up, just a hi and then straight to it.

  It was kinda like watching a golden retriever hit a glass wall and then keep hitting it because it doesn’t think anything is there. Adorable and frustrating at the same time.

  For a bit, I thought about stepping in but decided to let Danny keep trying. While he did that, I took a moment to observe the various vendors and spotted one selling rather nice coats, gloves, and other clothing to keep yourself warm. Deciding that it was a good place to start, I made my way over as I made a bit of a show eyeing the various items that the older woman running the stall had. At first, she eyed me with a bit of distrust but upon seeing that I was genuinely looking at her items she smiled a bit before speaking up.

  “Hello Sir, lookin for somethin to keep you warm during’ the Time of Darkness?” With a theatrical surprised blink, I turned to her, appearing slightly startled before putting on a kind smile and speaking in a soft and silky tone.

  “Oh yes madam, I am looking for something to wear. My lovely coat does a fine job of keeping me warm but my pants don’t quite keep the chill from my legs. I don’t suppose you have any thick undergarments of some kind to solve that? Maybe a long pair of socks of some kind?” I played up my uncertainty as the woman gave me an almost grandmotherly grin.

  “I got somethin’ that might help under the stall, give me a moment sir.”

  I widened my smile as she spoke and looked a bit flustered as she finished her sentence and started to look in the compartments under the stall. “Oh, thank you miss. It is appreciated that you call me sir but I’m no lord or anything. Please just call me Alex.”

  It took only a few seconds before she pulled out a small stack of long-sleeved underwear that appeared to be made of a wool-like material. As she laid them out on the counter, she looked back at me with another smile as she spoke. “Well, Alex you can call me Dolin. And it’s Mrs not Miss just so you know.”

  I gave her a look of embarrassment as I averted my eyes for a few seconds before looking back at her with a sheepish expression. “Oh, I apologize Mrs Dolin. You looked rather young, so I had thought you were still without a man.”

  My words had the desired effect as she almost fell over laughing at the statement. I was sure she was definitely a mature woman who had to be in her late thirties at minimum. But like most women, being told they looked younger than they actually were instantly got her glowing and happy. As she finished her bout of laughter with a dying chuckle she turned back to me with an even warmer expression.

  “My you're a real kidder aren't ya. Haven’t laughed this hard since my husband asked our neighbor when her baby was due. When she said she wasn’t pregnant, the poor thing looked like he had stepped on a bed of nails!” Despite her words, there was a flush to her face that suggested that she still felt rather complimented on what I had said.

  I smiled back and then proceeded to talk to her for a few minutes about how she and her husband met and dated. By the time I was handing her a silver for the pants any kind of suspicion she had was completely gone. When she went to hand back some copper coins for the change, I refused and told her to keep the change and use it as a gift for her husband who was currently sick at home.

  “You're really too kind kiddo. I was hoping to get him a new shovel to replace that rust on a stick he calls one and I should have plenty now with this. Are you sure there's nothing else I can help you with?” At her words, I pause and make a show of looking around with a nervous expression before speaking.

  “There might be something Mrs Dolin. I don’t mean to pry or anything but I heard people have been disappearing around. I’m a bit on edge because of it. You wouldn’t happen to know something I can do to stay safe!”

  She pauses for a second and I'm afraid I made the same mistake as last night but soon a motherly expression crosses over her face. She lays a gentle hand on my shoulder and starts to speak in a comforting tone. “Now don’t worry about that my dear. You said you were leavin’ today right? Folks only seem to vanish overnight. You should be safe during’ the day.”

  I gave a grateful smile but with a still somewhat nervous tone, I dug for more info. “That does help my fears a bit Mrs Dolin. It helps that I'm traveling with some other people. Most of those that disappeared were alone right?”

  She nods her head a little before stopping and thinking for a moment. Her eyes are still in the corners of her eyes as she starts to speak once more. “Well at first only those who lived alone were taken. But lately two or even three people have been going away. Usually all in the same house too. That’s why some families have started to sleep with other families. Safety in numbers or somethin’ like that.”

  I nodded my head, looking a bit relieved but decided to push a little bit more. “And nobody has found anything? I would have thought that some of the bigger men around here would have gotten together and taken care of whatever this is.”

  Dolin looks towards me with a sad expression as she speaks the next part. “Some men did get together and looked around. But no one found anything! No bodies or even signs of a fight. They even said the houses had this horrid chilliness to them when they looked around the homes that folks disappeared from.”

  I looked a bit spooked at her words before shaking my head a little and made a show of looking at the golden sun in the sky and widening my eyes a little. “Oh, I must be off! Mr Furgen said he would be getting ready to leave around noon. It was a pleasure to meet you Mrs Dolin. Please stay safe with your husband.”

  I gave her a little bow before rushing off. I heard her speak about how nice it was meeting me and to come back to Sadim sometime. I waved goodbye in response and started to look around for Danny. I eventually found him sitting by a tree near the stalls with a pout on his face. Clearly, his talks were much less successful than mine.

  I’d be a liar though if I said he didn’t look cute pouting.

  By the time Danny and I got back to the tavern, it was afternoon and Furgen was finishing up his resupplying. I had repeated my little act with a few other village folk to varying degrees of success. Some of them were about as receptive as Mrs Dolin while others were far more tight-lipped. Danny had also tried and had a little bit of success when he talked up a farmer who had been picking up new tools at a small blacksmith shop.

  In the end, we had learned a few facts about what had been going on in Sadim. One was that this creature only ever struck at night and usually got people who were on their own. It was only during the last Time of Air that it started taking more than one person at a time. There also seemed to be a coldness in the air around where it had attacked last that seemed to last about two days before going away.

  Some new info was apparently none of the farmer's dogs, was rather happy to see that they existed here even if the breeds were all new to me, had no luck when it came to tracking this thing. In fact, it seemed like the dogs were actually ignoring any trail this creature had left. And while no bodies had been found, clothes that the victims had been wearing had been found all over the village discarded. Most everything else was either rumors about this thing being an Icekin or just flat-out dumb stuff.

  Like that, it would leave you alone if you hadn’t bathed for at least a Time.

  The only thing that I had believed from that old man was that he hadn’t bathed once this year.

  Danny at least was happy as he all but skipped towards the carriage before getting back in. His mood picked up when I told him what I had learned from Mrs Dolin and it had only gotten better as we learned some more. It actually brought a small but genuine smile to my face to see my friend happy. However, that smile was tempered by the fact that he fully believed that I wouldn’t leave him one day. Danny might have what it took to become a Hero but I definitely did not.

  As I walked up to the carriage, I gave a small thanks to the teenage stall hand. The boy gave me a smile in return but once I turned I saw from the corner of my eye that the smile turned into a frown and even a somewhat hostile look. I didn’t put too much thought into it though, considering that I had been given similar looks by some of the more untrusting villagers. Really I was just thankful that the kid had enough professionalism to be polite when interacting with us.

  As I sat down in my seat, I felt the carriage lurch as Furgen’s Furnest started trodding along. It didn’t take long for Danny to pull out his adventurer’s book and start talking to me about the common monsters found within. I only half-heartedly listened to him as he started to list possible culprits for what had been going on. I was just too tired from the hours we had spent walking around in the village.

  Said village was now disappearing along the horizon as the starting to fall golden sun illuminated it. If it weren’t for the whole monster situation it would have been a good place to stay. At least once you got past the villagefolk’s distrust of outsiders. I did hope that they dealt with the problem though.

  Preferably before Danny and I came back.

  (POV-???)

  It had watched the outsiders as they left.

  It didn’t like them at all. It didn’t like unknowns in its territory. It had spent a long time memorizing the people of this place in preparation for its hunt. Outsiders coming in complicated things. Even more complicated if they leave and bring back others.

  It had planned to kill the large furry thing they called a Furnest to prevent them from leaving. But the old one had stayed in the stall all night. The one time it had tried to sneak in, the old one woke up immediately and it was forced to flee before he noticed it.

  Old ones scared it.

  Old ones were old for a reason.

  Soon, the outsiders were gone and it was left to think, plan, and scheme. It wanted to take it’s time with its food but experience had taught it that the easy meal it had might not last much longer. And if more outsiders came back then it would need the warmth and strength to take them.

  It was time to start hunting.