The crunch of the leaves underneath him were the only sound echoing through the forest. It was maddening, not hearing the sound of even a single bird. The loneliness was stifling. It was as if the angel that sent him here was looking down at him, judging him with a pout on her face and angry at what he’d done. All the while standing in her little ivory desk, unaware of anything he’d gone through. He felt a chill on the back of his neck as the thought came to him, and he decided he was better off not ridiculing the angel any longer.

But… there wasn’t much else he could do but think. Two days. Two days he’d spent going through this road to the next town over. Now he was in a new change of clothes, the others too bloody to continue using. The armor he had, had been given a simple wash and put on once more, which left him with a lingering scent of death. Now he was in a rustic-looking green shirt and brown pants, with boots that were more tightly wrapped cloth than actual footwear. It was all covered by a large, dark cloak that covered his eyes and large hair. It wasn’t the fashion he preffered, but he’d have to at least find a town to wash the bloody clothes he’d taken on his journey. That could be weeks…

He wished he could make it faster, but his back was full of everything he’d stolen… repositioned in the alchemy shop. Some more clothes, some strange concoctions. Mostly food…He’d even managed to find a travel pack, one that towered over him by a good two feet. It did make it somewhat awkward to move, though. It had been the only reason he hadn’t tried running away from that damned place as fast as he could.

He hadn’t even asked for directions, instead finding a map under the alchemist’s desk, giving him a sense of where to go. He’d wanted to just drop the supplies and run, but he remembered what had happened last time. When one of his skills had run rampant and forced him into a complete state of hunger, he had been useless to stop it.

He didn’t want to be in such a desperate and stupid situation a second time. He stared at the map, trying his best to focus on something other than the deep, sinking feeling in his stomach. Though his ‘deep isolation’ skill may have been good to stave off sadness, it did nothing to offset this feeling in his gut. He wasn’t sad, or lonely… he was disgusted. Not with himself, exactly, but at what he’d done. Like dropping an expensive vase, it was a feeling of fear mixed with the knowledge he’d done something terrible, done something to deserve punishment. At least he wasn’t depressed anymore.

Small victories…

His moment of self pity was immediately interrupted by the sound of footsteps to his right. He didn’t waste any time, pulling the sword from his back from the bottom, tearing through the ground and leaving a massive cloud of dust, since he didn’t want it ripping through the travelpack. He turned to see the bandits, only to find a group of kids much younger than him. Five of them, to be exact. “Eek! I told you he was a demon! Look at his eyes!” One of the younger looking kids shouted, hiding behind the others. He touched his face, remembering the stars seared on his eyes, giving him a strange appearance.

The old man had revealed that little detail to him before he had undergone a rampage… That wasn’t important now. At that moment he needed to figure out why a bunch of children were out in the woods. He analyzed their trembling bodies, his shining eyes only scaring them further, he assumed. They all seemed to be part of the same family, all various types of blonde with green eyes and with the same soft features on their faces. Despite the ragged and dirty appearance, their clothes signified that they were from a rich family.

They all cowered when he pulled the massive sword from his back, all except for the one who looked the oldest. She walked up to him with shaky legs, but her eyes were steeled. At least, as steeled as someone who was about twelve years old could manage. She was obviously scared, but her attempt to look confident was admirable, even if it was unneeded. “...We need help. Our parents were taken by bandits and… we need food to make it back home. We… c-can pay for it if you’re going the same way.”

He accidentally grimaced. These poor kids were just attacked right in front of a city with no one noticing? What a terrible world they lived in. Though he was angry about something else entirely, his face probably made the girl think he was being stingy about his food. “S-sorry to bother you. I can see you have your… your own circumstances.” She looked about ready to cry, tears appearing on her reddening face. He flinched, realizing that he had just made a girl cry. He attempted to bring out his best smile, only to instead come out weak and tired.

It still seemed enough to placate her, though. “Ah, I’m so sorry about that. People say I have quite a scary appearance.” He knelt down, taking off his backpack and handing it to her. She tried holding it but it immediately sank to the ground, the contents inside reaching almost a hundred pounds. “I have a clothes and a good amount of food. Don’t drink anything in a glass bottle, though. I don’t know what it is.” She didn’t seem to mind how sketchy it all seemed, looking incredulous before smiling with tears in her eyes.

Immediately, she turned around. “He said he has food!” She shouted, and the others all shouted in approval before running up to the bag and tearing through it. A shudder went up his back as he remembered the other kids still didn’t know about the bottles. “Hey! Hey! Tell them the bottles are dangerous!”

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He ran up and pulled a glowing green bottle from one of the younger ones before she managed to uncork it with her tiny hands. “This is not edible! There’s some cheese wrapped in cloth at the bottom, and bread and dried meat in a few boxes to the right.” The kids immediately stopped pawing at the dangerous stuff in his backpack, becoming much more serious at the mention of meat. Lke a pack of wolf cubs, they pushed and clawed each other away as they found the food and went to town.

He smiled, knowing that was all the food he had. It definitely wouldn’t last these kids longer than maybe a couple days, less if they ate with this kind of veracity all the time. It was nice though, in a weird way, seeing these kids fight over their food and enjoying it. He yawned, the situation causing him to destress finally. The girl he’d talked to before ran up to him again with a troubled look on her face. “I told them not to eat everything but… i think you should go and stop them.”

He couldn’t help but notice the large hunk of cheese she had hidden under her shirt and the way her eyes shifted away in guilt. He laughed, placing a hand on her head in approval. “It’s ok. Let them eat it. I’ve already had my fill. Right now I could use your help, though. How long have you guys been out here? Where did you guys come from?” Her eyes went from the jovial, troubled look of a child to something more intense as she got his meaning… something he didn’t want to see in someone so young.

“They came from up ahead… I don’t know what happened to them. A lot of people just came and they managed to… k-kill Artimer and Bernand.” Two strong-sounding names… were they guards? “We were in the carriage and mom told us to hide under the seats. They were hollow and… and…” Tears started pouring down her face as she fell to the ground, hugging her knees. “There was a fight. A big one. I don’t know what happened to mom or daddy… We were stuck there for hours until we all kicked it open. We were lost for so long…”

Her head jolted towards him, her eyes almost manic. “B-but! There wasn’t any blood in the carriage! And… and mom and dad were nowhere to be found! I think we can still find them! If we get home i’m sure we can… We can… We have money for them! We can get them what they want…” She kept talking, more to herself at this point than at him.

God, it was hard to watch. He buried his head in his hands, unable to watch the poor girl break down like this. He’d never been good with children, even in the town he’d usually just help someone and run with an offhand “You’re welcome!” As he greedily input a new unused stat into his body.

This wouldn’t give him a quest, however. The girl kept muttering to herself until he put a hand on her back, earning her attention. “If you can lead me to your carriage, I can see if I can help.” She seemed to be trying to look at him through the tears, her face in an ugly, contorted expression. “Promise?” He nodded, unsure what that face was even expressing. His eyes strained as the little girl’s eyes filled with all the hope in the world. “Really!? You’ll save mom!? Dad too!?” he nodded, his heart tightening painfully. The crying face before was almost more acceptable than this blind trust in him.

He knew just how devastating it was to find a family member dead. He really hoped at least one of the parents were alive. It’d be too much for him to have to take in a bunch of kids, even for a trip as short as they said it was.

He nodded, putting a hand on her head and tussling her hair. “Yes, yes, I promise… But we have to hurry. We don’t know what they’re capable of.” She nodded excitedly, turning to her siblings in excitement. “I told you! He was a… Hey, what was your name?” He muttered, ‘Elliot’ quietly, as if he was unsure himself. “-Elliot was a good guy! We’re finding mom and dad!” The four turned from what seemed to be the poor remains of his rations. “He’s a hero! A real hero!” She shouted, running to them as the others cheered. He didn’t look at them as she continued to rile everyone up, his mouth set to a painfully tight smile as he stared at his own feet. If he didn’t find their parents then he’d certainly pay the price, in more ways than one.

A tug on his arm brought him back to reality. She looked at him with new, vibrant eyes. “The carriage is down the road, we walked for quite a bit but we know its still there.” He wanted to tell her about what could have happened to her parents, at least prepare her for the upcoming truth. He just couldn’t say it to a child, though. Her eyes were filled with happiness over a hero coming to help… That’s all they needed at that age. “Let’s go. Tell the others to hurry up, we may not have a lot of time.”

She smiled with all the hope in the world, turning right around and shouting at her brothers and sisters as if she was their instructor. They all turned from the food and straightened up, like soldiers berated by their commander. He couldn’t help but smile as the youngest looking one grabbed an extra bit of dried meat from the bag as they were ordered to walk back. Maybe he would find their parents comically tied up on a tree with not a single bandit in sight, preferably shouting out their location as loud as they could.

If only. While the kids ran back to the carriage, he repacked and placed the travelpack on his pack again. He removed some of the supplies tied on the outside, placing it inside the now emptier backpack. He shook the bag on his back, finding it a bit more compact and a lot more stable. At least there was some space to move around better. It wasn’t until he looked back at the road that he realized the kids were already almost out of sight. “Hey, wait up! It’s dangerous!” He was quick to catch up, cracking the ground underneath him and earning a couple of “whoah’s” from the kids. They asked what his plan was but he didn’t answer, he didn’t even bother thinking about what he’d do. He’d just help them to the best of his ability.

He had made a promise, after all.