Unwanted

The old villager stepped out of the barn, wincing at the creaking of the door when he carefully shut it behind him. He then returned to the house, where his childhood friend sat at the family table and studied a half-filled cup of sweet berry juice.

"I'm sorry, old friend. I really am. But I really do not think that anyone will take him in. And I am too old to do it, myself. Here, at least you have a relative who will let him stay and continue to provide for him a little bit longer. Grudgingly, but he will. He promised that to you, did he not?" Elder Jalil continued.

Grake nodded and heavily settled down on the opposite side of the table. He had been feeling so tired of late.

"Yes. He said that he would continue to take care of him, as long as he didn't cause too much trouble."

"Your nephew is right, you know. Since it's been over four years, but he still looks like he is not even two years old, then it will probably be at least another ten years before he grows up. Maybe even more. So he will probably still be a child even after your nephew turns old."

"...Ten?" Grake asked numbly, his heart falling. He did not have such time.

"Of course, he'll probably be able to take care of himself long before that. He is not quite Human, after all. Your nephew is right about that, too. You are BOTH right in a way. I've thought about it a lot. And it's fairly obvious that the magic he has IS Jaio. Which means that he is probably NOT Human. Humans do have magic, but not like that. I'm sorry, Grake."

Grake nodded, his shoulders stooping.

"He is also not an immortal. First, because you found him as a very small child. And second, because he doesn't know how to use his magic at all. All immortals are born with the knowledge of how to use their magic."

"What do you think he is, then?" Grake asked with a note of protest stealing into his tone.

"I do not know, Grake. Maybe a Spawn of some sort. There ARE other creatures out there, which are not recorded in our books. He could be one of them. Or... he might be Unique. A mistake of Nature."

"But you ALSO think that he is some sort of Monster. Is that why you don't want to take him with you?" Grake pressed and the other villager responded with a reluctant nod.

"But he isn't bad! It's not his fault that he was born with such dangerous magic! And he IS learning to control it."

"I didn't say that he was bad." The elder said defensively. "But he might TURN bad, considering how our people treat him. The only thing that's keeping him good is you, and you'll soon be gone."

"That's why I wanted you to take him!" The old villager threw up his arms.

"It won't solve the problem. Or did you not see how my villagers look at him now?"

Grake considered the elder's sharply said words and nodded again with defeat. If initially the younger villagers who had come with Jalil were simply curious, by the end of these two weeks their attitude toward his foundling changed to match that of the villagers who lived here.

"We can make all the rules we want, Grake." The visiting elder said patiently.

"But unless the other villagers become willing to accept him, we won't be able to do anything. If we try to push, they will just find ways to go around the rules they disagree on. They might even force us elders to step down and choose others to take our place, if they feel that we are not doing what's best for everyone... They won't accept him, Grake. If he were a normal Human, they might have grown used to him. They would have teased him and pushed him, but they would have let him live among us. But he has magic, which they already learned can hurt. So now they are scared. Sooner or later, they WILL chase him away, like they do those among us, who are born different. It's already amazing that they let you keep him this long."

"You mean the Pale Faced. But they are bad from the start. Hero is not." Grake protested.

"Are they bad from the start?" Jalil squinted his green eyes at his friend. "Or do they become bad because everyone tells them that they are bad? If any creature gets attacked or cornered, does it not try to fight back?"

Grake blinked. Thinking of things in new ways was probably one of the reasons why Jalil ended up as an Elder in his village.

"It already happened once, did it not? Not long before we came? When a few children decided to tease him as they probably usually do? But he lashed out and burnt them?" Jalil prodded.

"Little Dash. He set his shirt on fire. But it was an accident! And his parents ran in and quickly put out the fire by making the child roll in the dirt. He was more scared than burnt. " It was Grake's turn to be on the defensive.

"Hmm... From the stories I heard, it sounded worse... But that only proves my point. The villagers are not going to accept him, either here or in my village. He is too different. Every mistake he makes will become yet another proof of what a Monster he is. They are going to chase him away, Grake. They already question why the elders still allow you to keep him."

"Isn't there something we can do? I don't want Hero to get hurt or... to end up living all alone." Grake appealed, hoping that his smarter friend might come up with a solution as he so often had before. Instead, the other elder only doubtfully shook his head.

"I don't think so... I hate to say it, but I agree with your nephew. You should not have brought him here. You should have left him where you found him."

"What?" Grake even stood up a little, blinking at his friend with disbelief.

"You do not mean that! He was just a little baby and he was crying... And you say that I should have left him? He would have died!... Or worse! What if he didn't die? What if his magic kept him alive and he just remained there all alone, for days, with no one to take care of him? I could not do it to a baby, Jalil. I could not just leave him there. And neither would you. I know you! You of all people should understand how wrong that is!" Grake's voice shook.

Abashed, his friend dropped his gaze. "Hmm. Maybe you are right. I didn't think about that... I do not know exactly how his magic works. Yes, I said the wrong thing..." His friend admitted with shame to Grake's intense relief.

"And I still think that he is Human!" Grake insisted while he had the upper hand. "I think what happened was that he was born different. It must happen among the Humans, too. Like a creature, born with the wrong kind of magic? Remember that Creeper we saw one time, whose eyes shone blue instead of red, and it wielded Water?..."

The other villager nodded and faintly smiled. It had just been very unexpected to see the angry creature puff out its glowing blue chest after they accidentally startled it at the stream and it doused them with water. They simply couldn't hold it in and exploded with laughter, even as they ran, soaking wet as the creature chased them, sending more jets of water after them.

"There is a Traveler that often comes around here and checks on Hero. I think that what happened is that when he saw Hero, he became curious about his strange magic, because they get attracted to things with magic? And he took him away from his Human family. And then he abandoned him here, since Travelers often forget things as soon as they turn away."

"That's very reasonable thinking." The elder villager approved and Grake perked up, encouraged.

"When Hero was a baby, that Traveler used to come a lot. It really scared me. I would wake up sometimes and see him there, standing next to the window, staring at Hero as he slept in his crib. He never tried to break into the house, but I was afraid to take Hero anywhere because I thought that he might take Hero away."

"Hmmm." The other villager sympathetically nodded his head.

"It was hard. It was really hard to take care of Hero when he was that little." Grake shook his head heavily at the memories. "I could barely get any work done, because Hero cried all the time and wanted to be held. Our children do not act like that. And no one in my village would help me, because they hated his crying."

"I was already old then. And then the Elders decided that I was too old to take care of myself and asked who in the village would come and live with me and help me. And no one wanted to come, because of my little Human. Even though he finally stopped crying so much. They still didn't like him. So I asked our friend in Jarosk, Elder Bart, and his adopted grand-children agreed to come."

"It was Rangil and his older brother, Beor. And little Margol, who just spawned because Beor asked for a blessing. So all three of them came. And they just loved little Hero. He was around one year old then and very sweet. No more crying, only smiles and cute little noises. He still could not walk, but he could crawl and stand. And he already ate normal food, so it became easier to take care of him." Grandpa Grake's face creased with smiling wrinkles.

"I did tell them to not take him outside, because of that Traveler. But they didn't really believe me. Well, they did see that Traveler appear late at night, but they didn't think that he was there because of Hero. They thought that it was just a coincidence. Because they do that sometimes, those Endermen. Come to windows at night and watch?"

"Yes, they do that." The other villager agreed with a faint smile.

Those beings were strange. So long as the villagers did not provoke them and pretended to not notice them, they remained harmless if at times annoying because of their tendency to collect the magic that made up things. So Jalil did find his friend's thinking reasonable. Maybe that Enderman did get attracted to Hero because of his unusual magic and felt compelled to collect him? And then kept coming back, drawn by his curiosity and perceiving the child as an object rather than a living being?

"My nephew Beor, that's Rangil's older brother, he started to say that I was not caring for my Human child right." Grake grumbled with a frown.

"By then he already had his second child, little Tnul, so he thought that he knew all about raising children. And he didn't think little Hero was very different. So one time while I was gone to the market, he decided to take Hero outside together with Margol. He made a little picnic for them and everything was fine... Until the Jaio came."

"Creepers?" The other villager verified. Grake nodded.

"Yes, them. And Beor became so scared that he just grabbed Margol and ran. He didn't dare to come back for little Hero, because the Jaio surrounded him and they looked like they were about to attack. He felt very bad about it, but didn't know what else to do, since the Jaio could very well kill anyone if they get in the way between them and the Humans. So he just stood and waited, far away. But the Jaio didn't attack Hero. They started playing with him instead. And then that Enderman showed up and took him away."

"When I came back, we had a big argument about it, because I told them not to take Hero outside. I told them not to do it! But they decided to be disobedient and do their own thing. Why do the young villagers not listen to their elders?" The old villager grumbled, shaking his head with disapproval. And Jalil did the same, although his expression was mild and a slight smirk played on his lips. It seems that in his old age his friend began to forget their own misadventures.

"I had a big argument with Beor about this and then I went out to search for Hero, but I didn't find him. So I came back and we argued some more. And we were still arguing over what happened when I heard Hero crying outside and found him sitting on the doorstep, all dirty and rubbing his eyes. He was not hurt. That Traveler returned him to me. And then he started coming even more often, during the day, as well as at night."

"That's... interesting, Grake. And also scary. That Enderman, he didn't attack any of you?"

"No, he always looks only at Hero. And I don't know if it's because he is still just curious or... If he actually started to care. Can Endermen care?"

"I am not sure. No one knows much about those strange creatures. Only that they are alien to our worlds, just like the Humans are. Only for some reason our Jaio do not attack them. They seem cautious of them." The Elder readily explained at Grake's questioning look.

"So, that Enderman kept coming to check? The same one?" He prodded his friend to talk, curious about his unique experience.

"I think so? I couldn't tell. I mean, they look so alike." Grake shrugged. "Well, now I can tell that its the same one. He now has scars on his legs... " Grake frowned briefly as a shadow seemed to fall over his face.

"But, yes! He kept coming back. And I was even grateful for that, because soon Hero learned how to walk and we couldn't keep him in the house anymore. Margol and Tnul would leave the house and he would follow them outside. He didn't understand words yet and he wouldn't follow the rules. The Enderman sort of kept watch over him, almost. I am glad he did, because my nephews didn't. They were too scared of the Jaio, who also started coming."

"Creepers?" The elder verified, mindful of the many other kinds that spawned in other places he had known. Grake nodded.

"Yes. That's the only kind of Jaio we have around here, you know that. The others appear only when Humans come."

The other elder nodded.

"Yes, the Creepers, they would come and wait for Hero, right outside the house. And he would go after them. And my nephews would just let him. Then I would have to go and look for him. But sometimes, that Enderman would bring him home. So I am glad he is here."

"They came right into the village? Those Creepers?" The other villager asked with disbelief and Grake nodded again. Jalil frowned, before thinking of something, which cleared his frown away.

"Ah! But that also happened at our village! When the Humans came. I remember that now! Sometimes the Jaio would ignore the Boundary, because of their hatred for the humans. I think that its because their old Memories compel them to go after them. So when the Humans came, so did they. And they would crawl around our village, searching. If they saw Humans, they would immediately head for them and attack, even if us or other Jaio were in the way. Everyone near the Humans becomes a threat. So I can understand why your nephews were scared to be close to your... to Hero." Uncertain whether Grake's foundling was a Human or a Monster, the elder decided to settle on using the child's name to refer to him from that point on.

"None of the Jaio would ever attack Hero..." Grake confidently shook his head.

"I am not talking about them attacking Hero. I meant that they can attack even Villagers if we accidentally hurt them. And since they consider Hero as one of them, then... How might they react if he gets upset?..." Seeing the villager's lack of comprehension, Jalil tried to word his thoughts in another way.

"Hmmm. Have they never tried to attack you? When he became angry? Like, when you disciplined him? Or forced him to return home when he didn't want to? Or did something else he didn't like?"

"Oh! I understand... They did not. They do not even come into the village anymore. Not since we..." The old villager broke off his words and frowned, looking troubled. "And Hero never gets angry with me. He is a very obedient child."

Jalil thoughtfully considered his friend. "That's probably because he cares a lot about you. You are like a father to him, so that's not surprising... Hmm, then in that, at least, he is very much like us. Like our little ones. But that doesn't mean that it will stay that way. You DID just complain about how disobedient your nephews were when they took him outside. And do you remember how we acted when we were little? All the pranks we did on everyone?"

"Hmm, yes." Grake admitted reluctantly. The other villager smiled with a bit of mischief sparkling in his eyes.

"Yes, but that was because when we spawned, no one wanted us, because we spawned without a blessing." Grake protested. "They still took care of us, yes. And they gave us lodging and food... But no one taught us the rules. Well, they tried, but we simply didn't listen..."

This time, the Elder grinned wider while his friend looked at him and then grudgingly nodded.

"But, yes. My grand-nephews, Margol and Tnul, now act the same way. They don't listen to me or their uncle Rangil, because we are not their father." Grake grumbled and sighed, guilt settling in his expression. The other villager's face grew serious.

"Yes, I remember. And I think that you wanted to tell me about that? Their father was Beor, Rangil's brother. Your nephew said that he disappeared? It had something to do with your foundling, because I know that your nephew blames him. Even though he also says that it was not his fault? And he believes that it was the Jaio, who killed him?"

"Yes, they found traces of his blood by the Lake. And torn bits of clothing, scattered there and in the woods nearby. There were burns on the ground and on the trees and a lot of blocks missing, so it did look like the Jaio attacked. And Rangil blames Hero because... He probably thinks that Hero wandered off again and Beor went out looking for him and somehow provoked Creepers. Only Hero was just a baby, so he cannot be blamed for it. So Rangil mostly blames me, even if he doesn't say it..."

At the elder's gently questioning look, Grake heavily sighed.

"I used to scold Beor a lot for not watching better over Hero. Right before he disappeared, Hero went missing for almost two days straight. I couldn't find him, not by the Tree, where the Enderman sometimes takes him, or anywhere else. And then he showed up on our porch, all dirty and with new scars on his neck and back. For those scars to appear, he had to be hurt pretty bad, because his Magic usually heals him very quickly. But, this time, he had visible scars and they still remain to this day. So I yelled at Beor for not taking care of Hero and just letting him leave on his own. What I said was cruel and Rangil heard it. So he probably blames me... For making his brother feel so guilty that he did go out and look when Hero went missing again. Rangil doesn't know that his brother... He doesn't know."

Seeing how his friend dropped his gaze to nervously steepled fingers, his face filling with guilt, the other villager frowned.

"He doesn't know what?" Jalil prodded. His friend remained silent, as if struggling to decide whether to say or not say something. Finally, Grake looked up and gave his friend a pleading look.

"I can tell you what happened. What I think happened. And about other things, too. And why Beor and I argued so much. Rangil doesn't know about these things because he was really young then and Beor and I decided it would be best if he didn't know about it. But... I'm not sure if... Jalil, you are my best friend, but you are an Elder as well. I will tell you, but you'll have to promise on your hope of rebirth that you won't tell of this to anyone else! And, you will not tell our elders to cast out Hero or seek to hurt him in any way!"

"Why?" The other villager frowned suspiciously, but Grake fell silent, leaving the decision up to his friend.

Intently, Jalil searched Grake's hardened face, seeing how much this troubled his old friend and how much he wished to tell him, but didn't dare. Grake obviously thought that what he would say might conflict with Jalil's duties as an Elder, but it couldn't be so bad, could it? Grake was a responsible person who would choose to be cast out rather than bring harm to his village. Or would he? He cared for his little foundling a lot... Maybe even too much.

It seemed to have become almost an obsession of sort, almost as if that little Human or Monster or Whoever he was, held some sort of compelling magic over Grake. Could that child have somehow cast a spell, which evoked this affection and bonded the old villager to him? Humans as well as monsters could wield such form of magic. Maybe even THAT was the magic the child had, rather than Jaio as Jalil concluded earlier. Could he have multiple forms of magic, with the visible display of Fire and Bonds?

Bonds magic could sway other creatures to act more friendly than they normally would. Maybe that's why the Jaio did not attack him even though at first they wanted to do so? But then why did it not have the same affect on the other villagers in Grake's village?

Or, maybe it did?

Jalil remembered how the villagers acted toward anyone different from them. Even children, if they spawned without a blessing and looked different from everyone else, they would simply ignore, simply refusing to care for them until those poor children simply vanished away. They were not cruel when they did this, since it was their common belief that these children would simply respawn somewhere else, and perhaps next time look right.

Yet, they still allowed Grake to keep this child? Even though his magic was obviously growing? Yes, it was just a little bit of fire and his strange connection with the Jaio, so Jalil did not believe that he could ever become truly dangerous to them all, but still...

Or was there something more? Why would Grake ask for the greatest promise a villager could make as an assurance against him harming the child, when harming someone directly was already Forbidden? The only time villagers would do such a thing was if the danger was so great that they had no other choice. Even the Pale Faced, who sometimes spawned among the villagers, they merely cast out, despite knowing what they would become if they grew up.

Did that mean that Grake thought his foundling to be even more dangerous than everyone believed? What was Grake hiding?

Frowning, Jalil slowly nodded, giving his promise. And watched his friend slump a little with relief.

"I'll tell you, then."

...

The memory waived and dissipated, leaving the older Hero blinking in stunned confusion. Once again, he found himself sitting on his favorite rock on top of the cliff above the village.

"... What was that?" He asked quietly. Albert made a soft sound. Suspicious, Hero gave him a narrowed look, but saw only innocent lilac eyes looking back at him.

"... I remember that dinner, when those villagers came to visit. And Kyle and Jin and when they came to say goodbye. But what was all that other stuff?"

The tall mob held its calm, distant gaze at him, and Hero cautiously looked back at him, half expecting to catch the same strange feeling that he sometimes perceived - something vast, smart, and utterly uncaring looking back at him from Albert's eyes as if studying a strange little bug that flew and landed on its hand. Should it be mercilessly squished or helped? Or maybe carelessly flicked away? It always scared him a little.

Relieved to see only the familiar innocent concern, which belonged to the mob alone, Hero breathed out and relaxed.

It was probably his magic again then. It gave him those other dreams about his older double. This felt just like those dreams except that in the end he began to feel what they were feeling and even started to catch glimpses of thoughts.

He saw that blue Creeper chasing little Grandpa Grake and his friend as they ran from it, unable to stop laughing.

And he saw the Pale Faced, villagers, who looked almost exactly like normal villagers except their skin was gray in tone and they hated the normal villagers. They believed in different things and followed different rules, too. And they saw nothing wrong with killing others, just like the Humans. They made camps and sent raiding parties that attacked normal villages and all villagers were scared of them. Elder Jalil was very relieved that no such beings appeared in their corner of the world, yet.

And he saw himself, little, crying as Grandpa Grake held him and rocked him, confounded about what he was doing wrong in caring for the little Human he found in the forest. The other villagers were complaining, advising him to take the being back and leave him out of their sight in the woods, but Grandpa Grake stubbornly refused, shutting himself off in his house so Hero's crying would not bother his neighbors so much.

Hero's heart still hurt at seeing Grandpa Grake's dear face again. He barely paid attention to what was said at first, because he was just looking at him so much. How much he wished that he could go back to when he was little and just spend a day with him, simply cuddling by his side. Or even just a few moments... Only what would Grandpa Grake say if he learned about all the wrong things Hero had done and the rules he had already broken? What if even HE would no longer want him, if he could see him now?

Hero's mouth down-turned and he quickly shifted his thoughts back to the memory dream, before the bad feeling would not make him cry again. He cried enough about it already.

Was this dream even real? A real Memory?

The Villagers had Memories, which sometimes followed them from their other lives. That's how they knew so much about the World and why they so quickly learned how to do everything. That was because they already knew how to do everything and needed only to remember.

The dreams that Hero had about his double were different, since he didn't see himself doing those things, but often looked at it from the side while his double did them. He would see his double use his magic and then he would suddenly know how to do the same. But did that mean that his older double was him? In some previous life somewhere? Or was he only someone like Hero and had the same magic?

Hero didn't know if the dreams he saw were real. He didn't know how to check that and there was no one he could ask.

What was Grandpa Grake going to tell that other villager in the very end? He looked so upset. Something about him and Uncle Beor?

Hero could only dimly remember his other uncle. Uncle Beor was tall and strong and scared him a little. Or maybe he was not so big, but it was Hero who was so small, then. But he remembered that his Uncle helped to take care of him when Grandpa Grake was not home. Hero remembered impatiently tugging on the villager's shirt and the villager frowning at him a little with disapproval before helping him up to the table where his bowl already waited for him. Uncle Beor took care of him, but he didn't like him very much. And it was because of the Jaio.

He sat in the tall grass outside the house and listened to the arguing voices inside it, Grandpa Grake and Uncle Beor. He couldn't understand their words but knew that it was about him, Hero, and these funny, soft creatures that often came to play with him. Uncle Beor didn't like them and neither did the other villager, quiet and shy Uncle Rangil who also came to live with them so they could help Grandpa Grake.

Hero looked at the closed door of the house with its angry voices rising more and more in pitch, and Margol and Tnul starting to cry in the background. And then looked at the green creatures jumping and rolling in the grass, sending joy and content around them and including Hero in that nice feeling. And then Hero wished for them to be gone. He liked them, but he cared about his family more. He didn't want them to argue or for Grandpa Grake to be sad.

The creatures stopped playing and looked at him, their joy turning to sadness. Then one by one they began to leave into the grass. Soon Hero sat in the grass completely alone and also felt sad.

They listened to him even then. That's why they stopped coming into the village. He had told them not to, though it was not in words, since he didn't know that many words, yet. This definitely happened! He had just forgotten about this. But this was definitely his own memory.

Uncle Beor disappeared not long after this. And that's why Uncle Rangil was so angry with him for a long time. It was Hero's fault again. He used to leave home without permission and get lost, so his Uncle had to go and look for him. And he must have run into a group of Jaio and scared them, so they accidentally killed him. That's what Hero learned from the arguments between Grandpa Grake and Uncle Rangil.

Hero knew that his uncle respawned somewhere else, but it was still bad because everyone missed him. Uncle Rangil, and especially his children. Margol and Tnul wished that it was Hero, who disappeared instead of their father. They said that to him and he couldn't be angry at them for it, because he knew what it was like to miss someone. They missed their father like he missed Grandpa Grake...

What Grandpa Grake said about Albert was funny though. Albert, coming and peeking into the window? Hero was pretty sure that it was Albert, who came to watch him at night. It was Albert he remembered from his earliest moments, following him and sometimes taking him to different places. Hero smiled, remembering how Albert helped him make fun shapes out of real dirt blocks, which Albert fortified with his magic. He still liked playing that game, even though Hero felt too old for it.

Only was it true? What Grandpa Grake thought and that it was Albert, who took Hero away from his home? From his real family?

Troubled by the thought, Hero glanced at the mob, but his friend was already looking away into the distance at something only he could see. It would be useless to ask Albert anything. He simply would not understand.

"... Albert, take me back... Take me back!... I want to go home! Please, Albert... I just want to go home! I need to tell them that I'm sorry... Albert, wait!"

Hero heard his own voice, much younger, pleading and then crying, after the mob, disturbed by Hero's intense emotions, simply vanished, leaving Hero alone among barren rocks. Stifling a sigh, Hero looked away.

He didn't want to think about that anymore.

Hero sprung to his feet, casting a sharp gaze up to the jagged surface of the rocks above, gleaming as they reflected back the scattered light of his gaze. A slight bend of his knees, and he leapt, willing his magic to lighten his body.

His body flew up along the nearly vertical edge to land in a perfect step several blocks above. Standing securely on the jutted out flat point of the tiny table-sized plateau a block wide, where small tufts of sparse, yellow grass somehow managed to cling on, Hero smiled with satisfaction at his improved skill. While not flying exactly, not even soaring, it still felt good because it made him feel so free!

It was much better than what he could do two years ago, when he got stuck in the mountains where Albert brought him after the villagers chased him out...

Wait... So, that's why Grandpa Grake began teaching him about which things in the forest were good to eat and which were not. That's why he insisted that he learn the rules about how to enter a village and what to say, so they could not deny him his right to trade, even if they did not like him. He knew that the villagers would soon chase him away! But he didn't tell him about it! Only made excuses about how it wasn't their fault and he should not get so angry at them.

Hero reached his hand to the small scar, hidden in his hair right above his right temple and scowled. And a brief moment later sighed and dropped his hand again, becoming sad instead. He couldn't be angry with Grandpa Grake. He was the only one who ever cared for him. He couldn't blame him for caring for his people, too. And he couldn't really blame them for getting scared of him after what happened, even if it was not completely his fault.

"... It's no use." Hero muttered with growing resentment.

"It does not matter where we go. This village or another, they are all the same. None of them want me. Even Kyle and Jin... Why would they want to stay friends with a Monster?"

Albert's questioning rurp drew Hero's attention back to his concerned eyes.

"Even if they still wanted to be friends, I probably should stay away from them. I don't want them to get in trouble because of me. These villagers are so dumb with their dumb rules! Look what they did to Uncle Rangil? They chased him away! Him and Margol and Tnul, too, even though they were still little then. Just because he tried to help me after they chased me away. All he did was give me a few things, but they said that he broke their rules." Hero scowled, mocking the last words.

"Good thing that these villagers let him move here. They don't like him very much, but they let him stay. And the elders are nice. They still let me come to their village and trade..."

Hero cast a mixed look at the village below, struggling to understand what he felt about all this. He quickly gave up. What he felt simply didn't make sense at the moment.

"I wish that I was stronger, Albert. I wish that I could disappear and appear somewhere else, like you. Then I could leave this place."

Hero looked at the endless forest stretching before him as far as his eyes could see. It looked beautiful, lit by the last light of the evening. Behind him, on the opposite edge of the sky, darkness gathered, promising the coming storm. Noticing the tall mob's concerned gaze on the roiling, heavy clouds, Hero grinned.

"You should probably go, Albert."

The mob made a definitive rurp of what seemed to be agreement, but remained stubbornly at his side. Hero looked back at the vast world before him.

There had to be more places out there than this. More than just these cold mountains, the empty wilderness, and the few scattered villages, where he was not welcome. These villagers did not want him. By now, he didn't think that they would ever accept him among them, no matter what he tried to do or say. He was not like them.

Maybe even the Humans won't want him? If he was really a Monster, then they won't want him. Humans hunted Monsters. That's what all the books said. The double in his dreams stayed far away from them, too.

Well, he would not know that for sure until he found them!

So far he failed to do that. He had already tried to leave twice and both times got lost in the great expanse that lay beyond. Sometimes it seemed as if there was nothing else but these few villages surrounded by forest, mountains, and rivers that became wilder and more dangerous the further he went. How could he find Humans if he could not even tell if he was going in the right direction?

Hero didn't intend to give up, though. Like that elder in his memory dream said, there were many other creatures out there, not just the Villagers and the Humans. He wanted to explore! Somewhere out there, there was a place where he could belong. He was sure about it!

"I am going to get ready, Albert. Just a few more trades. Then, I'm going to leave again." Hero declared and smirked, amused by the comprehension he felt coming from the mob next to him.

"Don't worry. This time I'll stay away from the rivers, I promise."

Turning his gaze away, Hero tensed his body and leapt into the dark, where he could see in his mind's eye the next jutted out rock. His exhilarated laugh rang through the clear evening air before his feet found landing on the other side of the precipice. Yes! He was not strong enough to be able to Travel like Albert or his double, but he was definitely getting stronger! This time, he was not going to turn back. He would try again and this time leave this place for good!

Slipping on the skidding little rocks, he tried to regain balance, but landed hard on his bottom.

"...Ouch. Stupid rocks..." Came his muted grumble.

The next leap he kept his feelings in check, concentrating on both his magic and senses guiding him. Silently, his small form soared across the towering rocks, touching down from place to place almost without a sound.

The tall mob disappeared.

Hero saw him waiting up ahead, where the dark entrance gaped, leading into a cave shaft. Next to it towered two massive rocks that almost seemed like giants, who sat down here to rest and fell asleep, freezing into stone. Hero grinned at the welcome sight and yawned.

"... Let's go home, Albert."

The tall being rurped with alarm at the sky, impatient for Hero to get out of the rain, first drops of which already began to fall and splattered on the dark rocks. Amused, Hero produced a small torch, which he stuck directly into the stone wall, feeling too lazy to use his magic. He could have just used magic and lit up a fire around his arms, but he had found a whole stack of these in the ruins he just explored. And using torches made him feel as if this place was a little more like home rather than a bleak hole in the ground.

Leaving an entire line of dim red torches behind him, he confidently strode along the familiar path. From time to time, he jumped across ragged edges and balanced on rough stones, ignoring the discomfort of cuts. His magic would heal him quickly, as it always did, so he almost didn't pay attention to such things anymore.

Entering the area heavily permeated with thick, white curtains of web, he grinned again. Malevolent hissing greeted him, coming from the depths of the ground, and the scuttling of multi-jointed legs came along the ceiling and walls.

"... Here, Baby.... Come here, Baby!... "

He teased, going down to a knee. A small, dark form suddenly scurried forth and jumped, landing directly into his arms, revealing itself to be a small spider, mostly black except for a few bright brown spots on its back forming a pattern.

The creature looked up adoringly into Hero's bright eyes and clicked its jaws, almost purring when Hero dug his fingers into its fur and gently rubbed its back. Looking up, Hero cheerfully grinned at its larger relatives, emerging from the darkness between the draping webs to greet him.

Hero yawned again and stood up, still holding the little spider as he headed past them farther into the cave. There, hidden by a thick silky curtain, was one of his many corners, made comfortable with dried leaves and more piled up webs.

Settling in, Hero shifted around until he felt comfortable, and then lay, breathing softly while he sleepily gazed at the light of the last torch he left in the passageway. Albert remained somewhere in that passageway as well, pulling out blocks and then putting them back again to create patterns. Hero could hear his pleased noises and smirked.

The little spider softly purred in his hands, cuddled against his side. His hand still running across its soft fur, Hero made another big yawn and then surrendered to sleep, his glowing eyes drifting closed.