After some time I walk out of the tower again, I'd love to say that I feel better. "Goba, I'll be back later. I'll probably be in a carriage most of the day anyway."
Goba doesn't look at me as he just bows his head down "Yes master, I'll wait for your return." He seems overly polite.. right? No, this is how it should be.
"Are you coming Vothe?" He jumps on my shoulder right away, a moment later were gone.
~~~~~~~~~
Opening my eyes again there's darkness around me, even from the opening to the outside. I just laid there, looking at the darkness around me, feeling the warmth of my companion on my chest, and another kind of warmth glowing inside of me.
It's both a kind of warmth, but still vastly different. It's like the difference between feeling warm air and feeling warm water. It's both comfortable in its own way, but still different.
And then there're three more points, my belly, my chest and my head. There's a constant flow between those three, but this flow is like water on just the right temperature, a temperature that makes it like you almost can't feel if your hand is in the water or not. It's truly integrated into me, whereas both Vothe and the world I created feel like outside sources. Not that it feels bad, just not like it's truly mine. Maybe they'll feel beter integrated if my body, I, 'heat' up.
Vothe hasn't moved yet since we returned. "You did come back right, Vothe?" He snuggles closer to me as an answer.
The night slowly passes as I didn't get a moment of sleep.
~~~~~~~~~
"Henry, Victor said we needed to bring the golden haired boy with his hare in cell 104 right? Then why does this boy have black hair? Did that Victor take too much of that golden drink again? Hahahaha"
Just before first light a man opened the door and started calling out to another person who I can't see, his voice is load and sounds like the voices one can often hear outside of taverns. I start getting out of the bed, Vothe settles down on my shoulders while eying the man standing in the door opening.
"Just take him with you, there's only one kid, and nobody else has a monster with him." A rather monotone voice that shows that he just doesn't care comes from further down the hall.
"Common kid, let's go! I know it's early but you know what they say, a man in the evening is a man in the morning!" He's just load, but sounds rather friendly, I give him a nod and start walking, he turns around and I walk behind him. "You know kid, Victor told us about you, and I think you're lucky. I heard you used to be a homeless kid and now your potential has been unlocked and you get a free pass into the Collage, you know I applied back..."
"Goddammit Jack, stop bothering the kid with your stories and advices. He just wants to go to Mountainless Valley, he doesn't care about you, we'll be out of his life after today again." The voice came from down the hall again, now there's some emotion in it, mostly irritation. I guess this Jack has a habit of rambling.
"Ugh Henry, why are you always like this? You should loosen up more, also Victor said we should be nice to him, make sure he doesn't feel like a prisoner. How can I be nice if I can't talk to him!"
Only now does Henry come into sight. He's tall and skinny, he's playing with a dagger... no, shortsword, he's throwing it up and catching it while holding it as far to the tip of the blade as possible.
"Calm down Jack, calm down. Just not tying his arms and pulling him forward is rather nice already, all this chitchat will probably just make him feel awkward. Oh, and I think you're the one who had a bit too much of that golden drink."
"What are you talking about! His hair is black..." He stopped talking after turning around, his eyes bulge open further than I knew was possible. "Kid! Your hair was black right! And your eyes!"
"Oh yes, apparently it does that at night." This was the first time I talked, before I really didn't want to talk to Jack. But now I had to.
"Hahaha for a moment I thought I was going crazy there." he laughs loudly and gives me a friendly pat on my arm, almost tripping me over.
"That's a special thing boy," Henry says while sheathing his blade. "There aren't a lot of people who have physical changes when the environment changes, most of the time it's due a very strong connection to what changes them. It's best to not let everybody know about it."
"Now look who's talking much, I think I haven't heard you talk that much at one time this entire week! Let's just go to the carriage, we're gonna have a long day." Jack starts walking, I follow him after Henry signed me to do so. Henry walks behind me, creating a miniature escort.
Jack and Henry stopped talking as we welled towards the carriage. Seeing the carriage in the distance I see a midsized carriage, wheels that reach up to my chest, a bench on the front, a box on the back, blue with white colored giving it a good vibe. Only after standing before it did Jack speak again. "Well kid, you'll be with us for the next four hours, and one of us needs to be in the carriage with you. Normally we pick, but as you're wel well-behaved we'll let you pick."
I can see the hope in Jack's eyes, but I'll have to disappoint him, I turn to Henry and say "I hope you'd like to join me sir, as I'd like to meditate and I feel like you don't want to talk as much."
"Heh you see Jack, I told you he didn't want to talk on the road." Henry says with a smirk on his face and his hand outstretched.
"Stick it somewhere, Henry." Jack pulls something out of his pocket and puts it in Henry's hand while grinding is teeth, I thought I saw a sparkle of silver.
Henry opened the door and signed me to step inside, and so I do. Inside is very minimalistic, just wood everywhere, there are metal rings on the wall though, probably to tie people up to.
I sit down and Henry steps in too, he sits down diagonally in front of me, besides the door. "We'll probably be on the road for the next six hours, the roads are smooth, and I don't expect any monsters. Maybe a bandit or two, monsters in their own right. But I just meant that you can meditate in peace, nothing will happen."
I nod at him "Thank you." I sit down comfortably with Vothe still on my shoulders. I send him a mental message. "I trust you to keep an eye out and protect me, if there's something just wake me up." Vothe nudges my cheek with his nose in confirmation.
~~~~~~~~~
I see green fields and an endlessly high tower, the Tower, and in front of it there was a little green man, bowing as if he hasn't moved since I left. The moment I lay my eyes on him he lifts his head and looks straight in my eyes. "Hey Goba, let's train, so much happened and it makes it feel like ages since we last fought."