When we arrived at Hannem, it felt a whole lot smaller than I remembered. Not to say it was small, but after experiencing the novelty once, it felt much less enthralling. What was impressive was the sheer number of people moving about the streets. The last time I came to Hannem, I was so preoccupied taking in the scenery that I overlooked the other impressive parts of it. Beyond the gates, hundreds of people wandered down the streets, each individually taking a path to some place and activity unrelated to me. Once I walked down the streets, a feeling of apprehension flooded over me. Was it possible to make my own life in a world so large?

“Why are you clinging to me, champ?” Maladrain said, looking down at me as I grasped his wrist tight.

I didn’t have much to communicate, so I remained silent.

“Are you intimidated by the crowd?” a stupid smirk appeared on his face, “Don’t worry, it’s only normal to be shy.” The smile seemed to say, ‘I can’t believe this clingy kid is actually a fighter.’

Oh, come on, Maladrain! I would have done something to communicate my aggravation but was instead dumbfounded when Cobaltio, who was draped on my shoulder and backpack, spoke. “Shy?” He said with a slurred, noble accent.

That stopped the two of us in our tracks. I turned my head to the left to see my pet’s head stuck out to look at mine. He was smiling with a proud, smug look.

Maladrain was wide-eyed and surprised, “Did it just...”

I looked back to Maladrain and nodded slowly. It took me while my guard was down, but I wasn’t ‘surprised’. It was only a matter of time before he learned to speak since that was an essential trait of the [Dragonborn] class.

“He can...speak?!”

Didn’t I tell him about this? No, maybe I left that out. I nodded again.

“Why can it speak?”

I would have pulled out my slate, but doing so when Cobaltio was on my back was a little tricky. I just shrugged, too lazy to properly answer.

“You aren’t surprised by this?”

I nodded. I knew Cobaltio could, and the whole time I’d heard him yelp and cry the same way a humanoid would. He didn’t sound normal, but he imitated language well enough to be unnerving to others. I wonder if talking monsters are that rare?

“Well, if you aren’t surprised, I won’t make a big deal about it, kid.”

We continued walking. I’d eased up after our short conversation, enough to take a better look at the people walking around. Although it was supposedly normal to see non-[human] humanoids living beyond my village, I didn’t realize just how prevalent those races would be, even in a [human]-dominated city like this.

A small group of [dwarf]s and [human]s were doing some sort of exchange in front of a grand fountain of water, looking on in anticipation as a human appraised a greyish sword. Three [krook]s, just think giant bipedal [crocodiles], sat at a table eating from a plate of fried [geo-rabbit], taking massive, toothed bites out of the meat, ripping the fiber and cartilage off with savage hunger. A [viinrught] played a beautiful tune on a lute, its three piercing eyes attracting the attention of anyone who looked at it. I hadn’t seen one before, but it was instantly recognizable. It looked like a monster, with three eyes on its grey head, which could swivel and move as if built of clay, without any of the distinguishing features of a face, like a mouth, ears, or nose. Two feathered arms protruded from its vest, and its hands morphed with formless flow, constantly remolding itself new or fewer fingers that strung the lute with entrancing grace. It easily attracted a reluctant audience with its eyes, keeping them captive with charisma-fueled enthrallment.

I heard a whine to my left and saw Cobaltio staring at me pleadingly.

I shook my head, hoping he would understand that there was no cobalt left, at least for the time being. Cobaltio understood, then hung its head on my shoulder and looked forward with an expression of sadness.

Then, his eye turned from unnervingly human to shockingly predatorial in an instant. He bared his molars in a fearsome scowl, then leaped off of me onto the pavement below. Even as he fell onto the ground, a sphere of fire grew inside his mouth, readied to attack with [fire breath]. He began yapping at the passerby, causing the bystanders to take steps back and look at me with a ‘restrain your pet’ stare. Cobaltio stared daggers at a particular one, an inconspicuous [demonkin]. A brown cloak covered most of his body, so all I could see before he dashed away was blue skin and a ram’s horns on his head. He only took one look at Cobaltio before running away into the safety of the crowd.

I quickly picked Cobaltio up into my arms and bowed my head in apology, then hastily walked away from the scene with my riled-up [drake].

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“Kid, do you know what that was about?”

I shook my head, not slowing down.

MMaladrain matched my pace. “He was threatening that [demonkin], right?”

I nodded.

“I wonder if he has something against them...”

We absently pondered the reason behind Cobaltio’s outburst as we walked down the street in silence...silence. How did Cobaltio...

How did he speak? I wasn’t surprised at first, but...Cobaltio was deaf, right? How would he know how to speak if he didn’t even know what speaking was? Maybe deaf people could pick up language as quickly as anyone else, and I was just being silly?

Ehh, doesn’t matter, I guess. Good for him.

“I was going to meet the patron at his house once I’d finished gathering preliminary information, so hopefully, plans haven’t changed. He’s kind-of a friend of mine. Speaking of his house, I wonder how she’s doing...Anyhow, be nice and polite when we see him.”

I shot him a smug smile.

“I really hope that’s a ‘yes sir’.”

I chuckled.

“I’m starting to think you aren’t the most reliable person.”

Wait just a moment, I saved your life about a week ago!

We walked down the streets, slowly making our way closer to the outskirts of it. Before we did, Maladrain took a right, and I followed behind. My memories began to reassure me I was in familiar territory. I had walked right here before, but I wasn’t sure where ‘here’ led...

That gap in my memory was quickly filled by recognition as I looked at the expanse not far from where we walked, a plateau of grass, hedges, and paths, with a lamppost in the middle. I held my breath, walking ever closer to the mansion grounds. We walked along the pavement, next to the fence of the terrace. I watched as we walked ever closer to the gate that led into it, then, stopped in front of it-

Maladrain kept walking.

Oh.

He looked back to see me gazing at the massive building with a disappointed expression, “You thought my friend lived there, didn’t you?”

I averted my eyes.

“Kid, my friend’s no slouch in politics, but he isn’t the Duke of Hannem. He’s just a little down the street, come on.” he waved me over.

We walked down the street, beyond the Yutalon mansion grounds, and onto the grounds of another, smaller mansion. It was nowhere near the gargantuan proportions of the mansion, but formidable nonetheless.

“You ready?” Maladrain said to me with a nervous look.

I nodded.

“Good, and make sure you don’t burn down the house. Actually...you might want to keep Cobaltio’s...oddities a secret. Oh, and the same goes for your [oathbreaker] status. Most people think [oathbreaker]s are untrustworthy.”

I nodded again, then commanded the ribbon in my hair to loop around Cobaltio’s neck.

“Well, best go to it.”

Memory:

Don’t worry about it, Saya. A human woman stood on the other side of a carriage. She looked stunning, dressed like she was ready for an occasion of a lifetime. She had taken out all the stops, wearing a green dress built of fine silk, a hat with too many shining and colorful patterns to count, and slippers that held the colors that represented our nation, Zvrexan: blue, green, and yellow. She held herself with enough regality to make a dragon straighten its back in her presence. It was, after all, ‘the second most important day of my life’.

I was nervous and scared, my anticipation causing my pounding heart to reverberate through my body.

Singing? She said to me with a pleasant smile, dropping her posture for my sake. She always called it ‘singing’ when I felt nervous, referring to how I could hear my heartbeat when nervous. Well, I’m singing too. It might not show, but people like me are always singing at times like this. Why don’t we sing together?

I nodded, then began to hum to my heartbeat. She began to hum, too, our beat entirely out of sync. Eventually, our humming began to synchronize, and our tempo slowed down...

A voice came from outside the carriage, We are at the castle, Lady Runeaux.

Take my hand when I open the door, just as we rehearsed, she said to me. She then leaned back for a moment and yelled, Understood!

She looked back at me and leaned up more, Why are you huddled in the corner like that...?

I averted my eyes.

She smiled wryly, Oh, I see...you’re still scared, aren’t you?

...

She chuckled to herself, A crybaby and a princess, you’re quite the royal shut-in, aren’t you. She smiled regally, If you insist, I’ll hold your hand. She held out hers, and I grabbed it, then reluctantly rose from my luxurious seat. She put her hand on the door, then looked back at me. I was still nervous, but for somewhat different reasons than I should have been, and it showed on my face. She patted my head, snapping me out of my fear, Don’t sweat it, Saya. No need to be shy.

March 3