Elkend heaved up the wooden barrel of dry food to the back of the caravan that they had borrowed from the village easily without missing a breath. Who knew that swinging a wooden sword for hours daily and running like a maniac around their village would make him this strong at ten-years-old?

It had been two days since his mother had proposed the idea of moving away from the village, and to say that Elkend was excited was an understatement.

He was more than excited! This would be the first time he would see the outside world away from his village! While he knew that this was not Earth, he didn't know to what extent this world was different.

His mother had, admittedly, told him of Necromancers and Mage terrorists, and of dragons that ruled the sky, and sea serpents that ruled the sea. But that's all she told him. He never saw any of these things, and he had an inkling suspicion that he would never see these things in his life, but he brushed off these intrusive thoughts.

Walking back to their small house that was located at the edge of the small village, Elkend opened the door and saw his mother admiring the walls of their home, a look of nostalgia on her face. He made sure to walk and make sound, alerting his mother of his presence as he stood beside her.

"Mother, I finished carrying the wooden barrels back to the caravan."

His mother looked back to face him and nodded, and apparently satisfied at what he did, looked back and continued admiring the walls. Elkend thought it was weird but didn't question her.

They stood like that for quite some time, not talking and just standing beside each other, content to bask in the other's presence.

Eventually, though, his mother broke the silence and started in a wistful tone that housed a hint of nostalgia.

"You know, I'm going to miss our house. This is the place you were born in, Elkend."

Her voice suddenly turned sad, and her next sentence was a whisper. If Elkend wasn't standing beside her directly, he wouldn't have heard her.

"It was also the place where, If your father was still alive, he would be here living with us."

Elkend's breath froze. His mother had never talked about his father, she rather adamantly avoided the subject firmly. He had supposed that it was a painful and an unwanted memory for his mother and that she would rather forget about it.

But now? The way she was talking? She was practically telling him to ask.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes with barely conceived curiosity, and he tried to make his question as normal as possible. As if he was asking about the weather.

"What was he like?"

Veanda's throat tightened with grief and pain and her next words were barely above a whisper with how low they were.

If Elkend wasn't beside her, he doubted he would've heard her.

"Your father was a charismatic man, Elkend. He had black hair--", the just like you went unsaid, "--and crimson eyes. You know, sometimes I wonder how you didn't inherit those eyes of his."

At the last sentence, she let out a humorless chuckle. It did not have any emotion in it. It was hollow and painted with grief and pain. Elkend's throat tightened a little as he was reminded of his Grandpa's death. To this day, his past life's parents refused to tell him how his Grandpa died for some reason.

Elkend had a suspicion, though.

His mother continued after a second breath, and this time she had a sad smile on her face.

"I still remember the day I met your father. I and a group of random adventurers were assigned to subjugate a Goblin Tribe that was bothering the villagers near the Haest Kingdom."

She let out a nostalgic sigh, no doubt remembering the events that took place.

"On the way to the cave of the Tribe, we made small talk, and after we finished the mission and on the way back, we continued talking and became friends, and well, I guess, as they say, the rest is history."

Elkend waited for her to continue, but after a minute of silence, he realized that she had said all she wanted to say.

Faking a cough, he started awkwardly walking to the door and muttered. "I'm going to get Botolph to get us a copy of the map."

Veanda nodded, though Elkend probably couldn't see, and she continued admiring the walls with an unreadable expression on her face.

[x]

The Bulruk family woke up at dawn and dressed up quietly, preparing to leave the village today very early. They wouldn't miss anyone here. Elkend didn't have any friends, and Veanda had already notified her acquaintances that she would be leaving.

Together, they came out of the doors to see Botolph already standing and waiting for them.

Veanda came in beside Botolph and nodded to the man silently, and without any further delay, he led both of them to the caravan.

After three minutes of last-minute preparation and nervously checking if everything was in place, Botolph rode at the front, guiding the two horses while Elkend and his mother sat inside the caravan.

The inside of the wooden carriage was cozy enough that It would be comfortable for travels that would take days. Exactly like this one.

There were blankets laid upon the wooden chairs inside to make it more comfortable, and there were two small pillows on the end of the two chairs, no doubt to sleep.

And like that, Elkend's journey to the Atritus Kingdom began in earnest.