"The druid of Alshewooder?" Monare asked.
Quinn smiled as he opened the gate of the kraal and motioned for Monare to lead the herd behind him. Quinn then added as the herd of goats and sheep followed him as he led them:
"Those woods feature a giant rock hollowed into a cave that is not spacious or lengthy, yet it's eerie to watch. We… I mean, the Arthesian have a fairy tale about the old man Carron, the beast that lives in the woods.
"The once was a man… a mortal man who had a granddaughter whose parents died during a war. He had now gain custody on his estrange child's daughter, the old man was a man of medicine who practiced dark sorcerer, the child was incited into looking what most saw as an evil act. The city of Onskeard found out and accused the old man of witchcraft, but the little girl took the blame making people think she was an enchantress of sorts.
"The child was executed which made the old man sad who then sought revenge. He went into the woods for weeks, those weeks turned to months and months turned to years. Nobody saw the man ever again, so kids mostly daughters were told not to go near the woods as they were told that the old man might mistake them for their lost granddaughter… He would lure them by mimicking their loved one's voices and capture them, make them into his granddaughter."
Monare scoffed and inquired:
"Do you believe that shit?"
Quinn chuckled and said:
"Watch your language kid and no that is just some bedtime story for the kids"
Monare looked at the field with wide eyes and saw that it was next to the forest; Quinn helped guide the goats and sheep as they ran towards it and grazed upon it.
Quinn clapped his hands and added:
"Well, I hate to leave you like this, but I was hired as a bodyguard, not a caregiver. I need to go to the villa, and you know your way back there. I was told to guide you here and back before sundown, okay."
Monare simply scoffed and replied sarcastically:
"That is a fancy title for a slave, ha Caregiver"
Quinn chuckled as he departed, adding:
"Before sundown, got it?"
Monare frowned and shouted, "Sure, this is going to be boring..."
Monare thought with a smile, "for a kid who is not me."
Monare started by exercising with a dedicated mind as he begun to count his push-ups. After hours of sweats and no substance of water to refreshment, Monare sat on the hot blustering sun with a small foxtail in his mouth as he played with it using his finger.
***
Monare sometimes wondered why he is so strange, why he is never thirsty and not affected by any type of climate he found himself in. In the cold, he feels very comfortable and surprisingly not cold, in the heat during summer he becomes a bit scaly.
Moreover, one important thing is that on the second week of the month, Monare always had violent nightmares about being in a cave where he can breathe underwater which he could not at the moment.
It concludes with his father and uncle executing a ritual where an odd-looking monster he remembers slaughtering people. The creature was a humanoid aquatic fish with black and gray scales and a big mouth full of vicious fangs and claws. The fish then spoke with harsh voice that was anxiety causing to hear:
"You'll die..." I'll save you. "Just say I grant exile."
Monare would try to wake from the dream but every time he wakes up, he always finds himself in a place that was unfamiliar and with blood on his hands… mostly from animals that are food to humans… He is lucky that he did not eat a human during those times.
He knew that his spirit was up to something, all he wanted to do during those dreams was to have hold a conversation to learn more about his tether.
The books his adopted father had left behind provided him with his current expertise. Monare scoffed, adding aloud:
"Too bad there is no one with the knowledge about Spirit tethers that I have meet before"
Monare sighed, wanting to speak with the spirit within, when a voice emerged from behind:
"Perhaps I can be of assistance, my friend"
Monare's perception of his surroundings was still inadequate without any wetness near him, therefore his enemies' attacks were stealthier if they knew about his exile's conditions, which is why he prefers idiots who attack directly.
Monare awoke from his reverie and stood up with a ready stance. He was not drenched enough to overcome the exile's condition, so he is without his powers.
"Who are you?" Monare asked the voice coming from the woods.
Suddenly, an old man walking with a cane wearing a brownish yellow toga gave a small smile and said: "A secondary core intermediary master, impressive kid. Guess you wouldn't be a problem to solve"