After spending some time in the bakery, I made my purchases and tried making small talk with the owner, but she wasn’t having any of it. Even though she was grateful that I was paying a large amount of money, her disdain for me was clear as day. Her pained smile and cold tone would be enough to drive most people away.

I thought at first that perhaps trying to learn about my father from her was a possibility but I quickly gave up on that. I doubted this woman was a Shadow Dancer, and I can’t imagine her having much contact with Dad. Not only that, if I was being honest with myself… what could I learn about Dad’s past that would help me currently? I asked myself that question, and I came up short.

This woman doesn’t know me, and she would be highly unlikely to stick her neck out for me when she has a child. Hell, she might even turn me in herself.

I might end up giving myself away or at worse, be targeted by Dark Elves. If they thought some masked High Elf was trying to extract information from one of their own, they might just end up trying to kill me in the middle of the night. That was something I could see happening and would need to be avoided.

I’ve gotten this far. No reason to take the gamble now.

I finished up my business at the bakery and headed straight for the cobblers. Their selection was vast, and they even offered to have something custom made for me, but I declined on account of not wanting to come back here if I could help it.

I settled for a pair of simple black boots that were just a little too big for me, but that was ideal considering my growth spurts. Although I might get blisters, I have my very own Vampire healer at the ready.

There was nothing special about them. They were just simple everyday work boots. I even ended up getting a discount since they didn’t fit me correctly. Finally, I left the store, and it was about time to meet back up with Sylvia, so I made my way towards our rendezvous.

After walking through the light snow, I expected to be the one waiting for her, but she was already there. For some reason, when she said she was going shopping, I didn’t imagine her going out to buy new clothes… then again, I’m not sure what I was expecting her to be purchasing.

Sylvia had replaced her all-black outfit that covered her entire body beside her hands and ears with something more regular. She wore a simple white blouse with black accents and a black skirt above the knees. Sylvia also had a pair of brown knee-high boots and a wine red cloak to match. Everything besides the shirt had gold trim, and it looked to be a complete outfit she had bought. However, the gold color was on the darker side and nearly looked bronze, just like her mask.

Her purple and black hair had been trimmed and just past shoulder length, and it fell loosely on her shoulders and back. Sylvia must have felt my gaze because she turned her one dark swirling blue eye right at me.

Now that I think about it, Sylvia’s mask is impressive. It might not change her drastically as my mask does, but it does more than meets the eye. Her crimson eyes don’t swirl like everyone else’s in this world, so the mask must add the effect on top of changing her eye color.

I’ve also noticed that I couldn’t tell that Sylvia was a Vampire. When I’ve met mixed Elves like Sylros, I instantly realized that they weren’t full-blooded Elves due to whatever inborn ability I have. Sort of the same way, I have no problem knowing the gender of an Elf despite many Elves looking androgynous.

Sylvia looked me up and down slowly. “You look nice. I’m surprised you picked out something decent.”

“It sort of just happened that way. I don’t think I’m a very fashion-conscious person, but I believe I did a good job, all things considered,” I said proudly.

Sylvia just continued staring at me intently. Her gaze was boring into me, almost like she was expecting me to say more.

Say more… Oh.

A memory of Cerila twirling around in a lavender dress in Owlkirk played back in my mind as an old Human’s voice echoed like a distant memory. “You are still too young, but it’s best to take your losses early and do your best next time. Just remember, she will never forget this day. Just don’t make this same mistake twice, okay?”

Don’t make the same mistake twice, huh?

I finally understand, Grandpa… I wish you would have told me instead of letting me learn the hard way. You being always right is kind of pissing me off, though. I guess wisdom comes with age, not that I would admit that to him.

“You look beautiful, Sylvia. I especially like your new cloak; it’s a gorgeous red.”

Sylvia’s ears turned as red as her cloak as she fidgeted around. “Ah… well… thank you,” she said quietly.

You know, Sylvia really is beautiful. But I have to wonder…

“Aren’t you just a bit cold, though? Wearing a skirt and all?” I asked.

Even though her riding boots went past her knees and her skirt just above, there was still a little bit of her pale skin showing. So surely, she was feeling at least a bit chilly? Or maybe Vampires don’t mind the cold?

Sylvia suddenly spun on her heels and had her back facing me. “Wh—Why are you staring down there?! And no, I am not cold! The cold doesn’t even bother me! And before you even ask it’s just because it doesn’t!” she yelled.

“Okay…” I said in defeat.

It seems I still have more to learn…

—

After apologizing that I didn’t mean for my genuine question to sound like that, Sylvia finally calmed down, and we left Nactus. Leaving Nactus wasn’t hard, and if anything, the guards seemed more than happy for us to be getting out of their hair.

We arrived at Mr. Pruit’s ranch, which was about four hours outside of Nactus. We were here to see if we could land a job as guards for the farm and its cattle for the winter. It came with free room and board along with food but there were some problems.

Apparently, Mr. Pruit was rather selective about the adventurer he wanted to choose for the job. Not to mention that the quest was asking for a single Opal-ranked adventurer. But we would make do and if we didn’t get the job, there was no harm.

I stopped in the middle of the road and made eye contact with a bizarre animal munching on some exposed grass. Its black horns curved around on themselves multiple times, and it had thick black legs. Its fur looked like a giant white cotton ball, and it looked at me with lazy yellow eyes. The creature looked like a massive sheep that had been fed steroids and turned into a monster.

Actually, there was a good chance this thing was a monster.

“Have you ever seen something like this before?” I asked.

Sylvia tilted her head to the side. “No, never. It’s kind of cute, though, right?” Sylvia asked me innocently.

“What?”

Sylvia stopped looking at the monster and glared at me. “I said it’s kind of cute.” She started pointing at the creature and spoke with an excited voice. “Look, it’s got big beady eyes, and it looks so fluffy! Almost like a cloud with legs!”

“I guess if you squint hard enough… yeah, maybe,” I said half-heartedly.

Sylvia huffed and gave me a playful shove and started walking down the path again. Maybe the reason I didn’t see it as being cute was that I had seen something that looks similar? Or perhaps this monster just isn’t appealing at all, and Sylvia is slightly crazy.

Yeah, most likely the latter.

As we got closer to our destination, a building came into view. It was a long single-story building made out of the same stone you could find in Nactus. A thatch roof sat on the top, and a chimney blew black smoke. It looked like a quaint countryside farmhouse. The sound of children laughing and playing filled the air.

This is nice.

Next to the home was another long stone building that I imagined was the barn, considering the few monster sheep that were idly roaming around it. Oddly enough, I noticed that the barn had a lot of openings in it. Wouldn’t you want that place to stay warm and insulated from the elements as much as possible?

A little boy about six or seven had noticed us and strolled over to investigate. He was wearing brown winter pants and a jacket that was covered in fresh snow. The young boy had wheat-colored hair and eyes to match and watched us curiously.

Standing close behind him, hugging his leg, a little girl, probably around three. She, too, had winter clothes on, but her jacket was pure white, and the fuzzy lining around her hood was spilling out. The coat seemed to be filled with so much of the white fleece that she was struggling to move around and was waddling instead of walking. Red hair was matted down against her forehead, and she was staring at Sylvia and me with swirling blue eyes filled with trepidation.

Sylvia crouched down to the boy’s eye level and spoke to him. “Hey, little guy, what’s your name?” Sylvia asked in her sweet voice.

The young boy was already faltering with Sylvia bending down in front of him, but the second he heard her voice, any hesitation he had melted away. You didn’t need to see Sylvia’s face to know she was beautiful. Sylvia just kind of had the aura around her, and her voice added even more to her. It was almost like she was royalty.

Ah right, that’s because she is…

The boy fidgeted awkwardly and, in a shy voice, answered her. “Ealric…”

“Ealric? That’s a handsome name,” Sylvia said kindly.

The boy nodded, and I looked away from him and towards the little girl. She was observing me and our eyes met. The child made a little sound and took a step back. Sylvia turned around, and I could already feel her angry glare.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

I sighed internally and took a single big step toward the little girl while taking a knee. I extended my hand palm up and showed that it was empty. I closed my hand, flipped it upside down then opened it again with my palm up. Laying in my hand was a piece of light pink paper.

The little girl's eyes went wide as saucers as she looked from me to the paper. I extended my open hand toward her. “Take it,” I said in a soft tone. I still wasn’t used to my new voice, so it might have sounded more aggressive than I had hoped…

But that didn’t stop the little girl as her tiny hand snatched the pink paper and began fiddling around with it. Then, seemingly unable to figure out its purpose, she looked up to me expectantly, almost like she was about to cry.

And I couldn’t have that happen.

I poked around her hand and unwrapped the small square of dark chocolate for her. She seemed confused, but her blue eyes glimmered with curiosity. “Take a bite,” I suggested, trying to make my voice sound friendly.

She looked up at me, then back down to the chocolate. Finally, her curiosity overpowered her hesitation, and she tossed the whole square into her mouth. Her mouth puckered into an O shape and her interest turned into amazement as she began humming to herself excitedly and clapping her hands together.

Wasn’t there a saying about this back in my old life? Something to warn children about not taking unsolicited things from random people?

I looked over at Sylvia and could see her smiling with her eye. “Guess she likes it,” she giggled.

“Ealric, Myla… who… who are you two?” a woman’s voice rang out, tinged with fear.

I guess anyone would be afraid if two masked High Elves had suddenly shown up in front of your house and started talking with your children. It seems I have a terrible first impression with mothers and their children…

Standing a few paces outside the house was a woman wearing a long dress. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun and mostly covered by a cloth headband. Her light blue eyes were watching us nervously.

Sylvia stood up and jingled her Topaz adventurer tag. “We are adventurers,” she said, trying to calm the woman.

But the woman’s face morphed into panic. “My husband? Is he okay?” she blurted out.

Sylvia tilted her head to the side and grumbled in confusion. “We wouldn’t know? We are here to talk about your quest, not your husband,” Sylvia said, unsure.

Relief washed over the woman’s features as she began nodding to herself. “Sorry, I thought maybe something had happened to him. But I believe the quest asked for one adventurer…”

I could feel Sylvia grinning under her mask. “We’ve come on Mr. Chidell’s recommendation. We were hoping to speak to you about the details if that’s possible?”

We are? When did Dominick give us a recommendation?

The woman gestured for us to follow her. “Oh, Dom sent you? Well then… yes, yes, of course. Why don’t you two come inside, and we can talk for a little bit?”

Before walking into the room, Sylvia poked me hard in the side. “Don’t say anything stupid. I’ve got this,” she whispered.

I merely shrugged. I handled the situation with Dominick, so it was only fair she got a crack at it. I had a feeling she would be better for this anyways.

We took our cloaks off, put them on a rack, and were greeted by a rather large dining room. White fur coats hung across the walls, and fluffy white rugs lined the floor. Most of the house seemed to be packed with that animal’s wool.

At the center of the room was a giant square table, and it had four seats placed on each side, one for each member of the family. The woman, who I presumed to be Ms. Pruit, sat us down.

Ms. Pruit smiled brightly at us. “Could I offer you anything to drink? Or maybe something to eat? You two must be hungry walking all the way out here.”

Sylvia and I both shook our heads and thanked her for the offer, but it made her more anxious. “Do you two… not take off those masks?" she asked slowly.

We both shook our heads in unison, and sadly that didn’t seem to relieve any tension. Ms. Pruit took her seat somewhat nervously but at least she was smiling at us. Of course, I don’t blame her at all for her reaction. This is a highly abnormal situation.

“My husband should be returning soon from the fields so that we can discuss things then. Is that okay with you two? If you don’t mind waiting…” Ms. Pruit asked nervously.

“Of course. Whatever works best. We have plenty of time,” Sylvia said.

"However, I have one question if it’s no problem for you. Those monsters you are ranching, what are they? And why would you need protection in the winter for them? The quest was rather vague in that regard.”

“I’d be more than happy to answer that for you. Those aren’t monsters but just regular animals. They are called Shambs, and unlike most animals, they thrive in the winter. They require constant tending in the hotter parts of the year in which they are less active. But during the winter, they need to be out in the cold to grow their thick winter coats. We harvest those coats in the spring,” she explained.

Shambs? Those things are called Shambs? What kind of name is that? I mean, they sure do look like a sham…

“And the protection part?” Sylvia questioned.

“Monsters tend to attack the herd and ranch during the winter. Since people don’t go out as often, they tend to come down from the mountains while encroaching on our properties. Of course, there is always the Human side of things. Bandits aren’t afraid to attack us during the winter. It’s happened before… thankfully, my husband was able to defend us but still…” she trailed off.

I believe I’m starting to understand the purpose and the reasoning behind this quest now.

“Is your husband an adventurer by chance?” I asked

Ms. Pruit nodded. “He was, but he retired a few years back. To help out with raising our children.”

I nodded along to her words. I feel like I’ve heard this story somewhere before, but I can’t quite remember. Just then the door swung open, and the older boy ran over to his mother with his sister waddling close behind.

“I believe you two have met my children.”

“They are the most adorable little people ever, Ms. Pruit. We know Ealric’s name, but we didn’t get your daughter’s,” Sylvia said soothingly.

Ms. Pruit looked down fondly at her children as they crowded around her giving her side hugs. “Thank you, and I’m sorry about that. Myla is a timid girl.” Ms. Pruit picked her daughter up by the armpits and set her on her lap. “Myla, say hi… to uh… I don’t believe we got your names either?”

Sylvia put her arm across her chest and gave a slight bow. “How rude of us. We apologize for not introducing ourselves. My name is Sylvia, and this is Voker.”

I could feel Myla’s eyes boring into me, so I gave the child a slight nod, and she scrambled away. “Nice to meet you…” I said, defeated.

Ms. Pruit gave me a wry smile and tried to apologize but I gave her a small wave. But, of course, if Myla was shy, then there was no helping it.

The door to the home burst open. We all turned to look at who had come in. “I’m home— guests?”

The man I imagined to be Mr. Pruit stood tall in the doorway, giving us an inquisitive look. He was a little over six foot and had ginger hair and a trimmed beard. He quickly took off his Sham wool coat and pulled a chair next to his wife.

“No, dear, these are adventurers here to talk about your quest. This is Voker and Sylvia.”

The man rubbed his red knuckles free of the cold and gave us a simple greeting. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but I’m pretty confident I said I only wanted one person. Also, those tags… you are a little out of your league, am I right? Surely, a Ruby and a Topaz wouldn’t want to be doing an Opal quest?”

“We were hoping you would make an exception—”

Oops… bad habit…

Sylvia put a hand on my chest for me to stop talking and slid a neatly folded paper over the table. “We have a letter from Mr. Chidell. Perhaps you should read it before making any kind of judgment?”

Mr. Pruit took no time in unfolding the paper and reading it. “Mmmm… this is definitely Dom’s handwriting,” he mused. He shook his head and set the note down. “I guess Dom believes in you guys, huh? Sadly I don’t see a world in which this works out. The one person part of this quest is for a good reason. Feeding one person costs quite a bit of money, even more so in the winter. Our extra room fits one adult snugly—”

Sylvia shook her head in return and put up a hand for him to stop talking. “Don’t worry about the food. We are both Elves, so we don’t have to eat as often. So splitting the meals amongst each other won’t bother us in the slightest. And we can share a room. So it won’t be a big deal.”

What? Who said that? I think it would be a big deal?!

"But the reward—”

Sylvia waved away Mr. Pruit’s words. “Is fine as it is. We don’t expect you to pay us any more than what you are already offering. You will get two adventurers working for you for the price and terms you have set. Your quest mentioned that we might spend a day or more out of the house? Then this arrangement is even better for you. One of us can go with you, and the other can stay here and protect your family,” Sylvia argued. I can already see the smug smile spreading across her face right now.

However, Mr. Pruit didn’t look convinced. He was tapping his finger on the note and had a thoughtful look on his face. He looked right over at me, and I could see he was about to say something, but I interrupted him.

“Mr. Pruit, your first name, what is it?”

Sylvia kicked my shin from underneath the table and scowled at me from underneath her mask. Mr. Pruit gave me a look of confusion at my sudden question. “Clayton, why do you ask?”

“Clayton… you wouldn’t happen to be a former member of The Stars, would you?” I asked.

His eyes lit up, and he chuckled. “The Stars? How do you know about them?”

“I went on a quest a year ago with Nick, Adrian, and Ryan. They took good care of me and I had lots of fun. They mentioned that their mage had retired to a ranch to raise their child. Is it possible…”

A toothy smile broke out on Clayton’s face as a realization seemed to dawn on him as well. “You know… now I remember those idiots telling me about how they went on an adventure with a masked High Elf child. They bragged about how he was ten times the mage I was despite being ten times smaller than me. I, of course, thought they were just pulling my leg, but… seems it’s a small world, huh?”

“Indeed it is. I’ll have you know they all spoke fondly of you. And they all admired your ability to become a loving father and husband,” I said honestly.

Mr. Pruit blushed and waved me away. “Now you are just sweet-talking me…”

What I had said was true. Each member of The Stars spoke kind words about their former team member. It makes me wonder if my old squad talks about me like that.

Mr. Pruit sighed and ran his hand across his face. His daughter waddled to him and made a tiny noise, so he picked her up and sat her on his knees. The girl giggled and looked back and up at her father while he looked down at her. “What do you think, Myla? Should we let Voker and Sylvia stay with us for a few months?”

Myla looked straight at me like she was trying to pierce through my very soul with her small blue eyes. Then, after a few seconds of silent staring, she started humming and shaking her head up and down, eliciting a surprised look from Clayton.

“Seems it’s been decided. I guess it’s starting to get too late to look for anyone else, and if Dom is vouching for you, I might as well accept. But, just to be certain, you guys aren’t going to try and swindle me, are you? I’m paying you all one fee, and I can’t afford more food or supply another room for you, got it? And would you mind taking those masks off by chance?”

“I’m sorry, but neither of us takes off our masks; we can’t abide by that. But we have no intentions of swindling you, Mr. Pruit. And we are happy and ready to accept your terms,” Sylvia said.

“Ah… well, I’m sure you have your reasons—no point in making that a deal-breaker. I don’t need to see your faces to know you two are decent people, and if Dom said you guys are to be trusted, then who am I to say you aren’t? Welcome aboard, you two.”

We shook hands, and the deal had been sealed.

Sylvia and I were both officially employed for the winter. We gained a place to rest and wait out the winter months until the snow melted. I’d say Mr. Pruit got himself a good deal.

“Hate to start you guys already, but I need one of you to come with me today. The more feeding we get done before the snow gets too bad is less money I have to spend,” Clayton said.

“Sure, Sylvi— ouch.”

Sylvia kicked me once again. “Voker would be more than happy to accompany you today.”

“Yeah… I’ll go first,” I grumbled while rubbing my shin.

“That’s for butting in,” Sylvia whispered softly in my ear, making the hair on the back of my neck shoot up.

“But—”

“But you did well. I think you ended up convincing him,” she said. “Now go get ready. You have a job to do, Mr. Guard.”

Well, at least she understands…