“Just send him on his way when he wakes up. We can’t afford to get involved with people like him.” Kern’s voice echoed in Micro’s ears as he slowly awoke.

“Just be polite about it. I don’t know what he is, but he smells like trouble.” Barb added.

"He really could be some distant relative of Vales, for all we know..."

Micro opened his eyes and stretched. He felt refreshed after sleeping undisturbed for so long, and was pleased to see rays of sun pouring in through the window. He then noticed Spark lying on his legs, snoring loudly. He slowly sat up, trying not to wake her, and looked over his shoulder to see Kern, Barb, and Ember rolling up their sleeping mats of straw while discussing what to do with Micro.

“You grab Spark, and I’ll grab the little freeloader by the arms.” Ember whispered.

“Hopefully he wanders off before we get back from the mine.”

“Okay, but be careful…” Kern replied.

“Good morning!” Micro spoke up after a quiet yawn.

“You’re going to a mine?”

“You’re awake?!” Kern blurted out, bringing his hammer to his chest anxiously.

“What kind of mine is it?” Micro asked with a content expression.

“The old man always wanted to visit a gold mine.”

“It’s a local iron vein…” Kern mumbled.

“We lack the material to fill Vale’s order…”

“That’s nice!” Micro said happily, accidentally waking Spark.

“Micro!” Spark shouted as she sprung to her feet the instant she awoke. She then scrambled up to his shoulders again before anyone could protest.

“Is it near here?” Micro asked, standing up slowly.

“It’s half a day North from here…” Kern replied tentatively as Barb and Ember slowly moved toward the door.

“I have to head North too!” Micro replied happily.

“Can I join you?”

Kern raised an eyebrow at Micro’s sudden request, and he looked to his family for help with an answer, but they were already out the door.

“Sure…?” He then replied in confusion.

“Let’s go!” Spark shouted from atop Micro.

~

Barb and Ember were confused to see Micro and Spark beside Kern when the old man joined them outside, but Barb could only shake her head and keep moving when Kern shrugged and pointed toward the mountains.

“What are you playing at?” Ember asked spitefully as the group began to move through the village.

“Me?” Micro asked.

“Yes, you.” She spat back.

“Are you some swindler, dressing up like a cultivator to cheat honest folks out of what little wealth they have?”

“I’m just trying to find the road between this world and mine.” Micro replied while Spark began to smack the top of his head like a drum once again.

“First I need to cultivate a new core though. The summoning last night made a big mess of things.”

“So it was a summoning after all…” Barb whispered.

“That explains why the city was emptied.”

“Good morning.” An old man called out as Micro and the family of blacksmiths passed by a small hut. The man was busy chopping firewood with a rusty axe, but he stopped to wave at the family when he noticed them.

“Have a good day…!” Kern called back awkwardly, but the family kept walking.

“Yes, they summoned a dog’s soul this time.” Micro continued.

“The vessel was destroyed by the Cerulean Envoy though, so I’m not sure where to put it.”

“I see…” Ember mumbled with a frown.

“So you think you’re from another world, huh?”

“Ember, enough…” Barb attempted to argue, but Ember’s exasperation was overwhelming.

“You don’t seriously believe this fool, do you?!” Ember shouted to her mother.

“I mean, he might be… That is, we should still…” Barb stuttered, but she was as confused as Kern by that point.

“It’s a nice world.” Micro replied in the awkward silence.

“Sure.” Ember rolled her eyes.

~

Micro and his new traveling companions walked slowly through the sparsely populated mundane village as the sun rose higher above the mountains in the clear blue sky. Spark continued to drum on Micro’s head until they had finally reached the base of the first small hill at the edge of the village, and the family gradually began to relax.

“It really is amazing that you do all this without roads and trucks.” Micro commented, breaking the awkward silence with a chipper tone.

“The old man could never walk this much.”

“What’s a truck?” Ember asked, partially regretting engaging him in conversation the moment she finished her question.

“I’m a truck.” Micro replied.

“Well, I was. You drive them around, and you can carry stuff in the back.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Like a wagon?” Kern asked, his curiosity evident on his face.

“Is that something they have in the capital?”

“Best not encourage the insane, father.” Ember interjected.

“If he’s not a liar, he’s clearly crazy.”

“He could be from a rich family at least.” Kern argued, then he turned back to Micro.

“You’re talking about a wagon, right? How many horses does it need? It must need quite a few if it’s pulling you along with your cargo.”

“Oh, it doesn’t need horses.” Micro replied with a laugh.

“My engine has around forty horse-power, but it runs on gas.”

“A wagon pulled by gas, you say…?” Kern’s voice trailed off as he began to understand his daughter’s warning.

“I’m sorry I asked.”

“I don’t know why you don’t make them here. They’re not magical or anything.” Micro shrugged.

“Perhaps you could make one for us.” Ember scoffed, rolling her eyes yet again.

“You’re such an expert on metal, aren’t you?”

“Hmm…” Micro suddenly fell deep into thought as they walked.

“Maybe I should give that a try…”

“You do that.” Ember mumbled, and the group became quiet again.

Their walk over the hills toward the mountains was peaceful, and a familiar Autumn breeze kept Micro’s spirits high despite his fatigue. He closed his eyes several times to observe his core, but the world around him seemed less rich in energy than the mountains of the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect, so he decided to leave his broken core as it was for the time being.

Eventually, the group came to a small village at the foot of a rocky hill, comprising no more than a dozen huts. Some were built of stacked stones, while others were made of sticks and mud.

“Kern!” A woman’s voice called out from beside the largest of the stone huts.

“You’re back so soon, but you’ve come at a bad time.”

“Don’t tell me…” Kern called back with a disappointed tone.

“I’m afraid so.” The woman said.

“It’s been dead quiet since last night! A few folks passed through here early this morning, but they just kept running! The tax man cleaned us out yesterday, so there’s been no ore moving out of the mine all morning. What the heck happened?”

“Something about a summoning…” Kern replied as they came face to face with the woman.

“Those magicians are bad for business, I tell you…” The woman replied. She looked to be no more than thirty years of age, but her weathered skin and calloused hands made her look hard and tough.

“It’s always nice to see you and your family though. Who’s the fancy looking fellow?”

“Just ignore him.” Ember answered instead.

“He’s some homeless nut who must have stolen some cultivator’s robes.”

“I’m Micro.” Micro added.

“These robes were a gift from Kel.”

“Well, be careful where you go dressed like that, Micro.” The woman said with a laugh.

“Cultivators might not be able to kill us, but they sure as heck won’t let you off easy for dressing up like them.”

“They can’t kill you?” Micro gasped.

“You must be strong! What’s your name?”

“Strong?” The woman laughed louder.

“I wish! No, they can’t kill us mundane folk, as they like to call us, or they’d be too embarrassed to go back to their sect. They may be arrogant, but they do know shame. And you can call me Margo. You must be from out west, not to know such a thing.”

“Kel did mention that cultivators are supposed to fight strong opponents…” Micro nodded, beginning to understand the dynamic between cultivators and the mundane a little more.

“And I don’t think my world is west from-”

“Can you watch Spark for a little while?” Ember impatiently interjected, pointing to the little girl now half asleep on Micro’s shoulders.

“We’ll head into the mine for a while.”

“No problem.” Margo replied, waving to the sleepy little girl.

“Tools and torches are where they always are. Oh, and there was a cave-in down the left branch, so keep an ear out.”

“Will do.” Ember replied, then walked straight toward the rocky mountainside to where a large wooden gate adorned a cave entrance.

“Bye then, Micro…” Barb mumbled to Micro with a complicated look.

With an apparent sense of urgency, Ember led her parents into the mine, lighting a torch they found at the entrance and soon disappearing into the hill. Margo walked over to Micro and plucked Spark off his shoulders, ignoring Spark’s kicks and punches as she tucked her securing under her arm. As she turned to take Spark back to the stone hut, she spoke to Micro curtly.

“Is the little cultivator hungry?”

“Oh…!” Micro’s eyes lit up.

“I am very hungry!”

“Come on then.” Margo gestured for him to follow.

“I was about to have lunch.”

Micro followed after Margo enthusiastically, much to Spark’s delight, and was greeted by a pleasant smell upon entering her home. It was larger than the blacksmiths’ home, but it was similar in its layout, with a fire burning at the centre, beneath a large pot. She gestured for him to sit down next to a table by a window, then placed Spark in his lap.

“You’re in luck.” Margo said as she served him and Spark two large bowls of soup.

“I caught a rabbit this morning. It’ll put some muscle on you.”

“Oh, that’s perfect!” Micro celebrated.

“Blue, wake up! There’s meat!”

“Wha-” Margo looked at him in confusion as she sat across from him, but was surprised when a small blue pixie jumped out of his pocket and landed gracefully on the table between them.

“Where?!” Blue cried out, her mouth already watering.

“Here, I think this is a piece.” Micro replied as he fished out a piece of the lean, white rabbit meat with his fingers and passed it to her.

She bit into it without hesitation, nearly biting into his finger before he could pull it away, and it was gone in just a few bites.

“That wasn’t bad.” Blue declared after a small burp.

“It was a lot chewier than the meat at the temple.”

“Well I’ll be…” Margo mumbled with an amused tone.

“That’s a pixie, isn’t it?”

“This is Blue.” micro introduced the pixie with a smile.

“Blue!” Spark slammed her half emptied bowl of soup on the table and jumped at Blue with both hands out.

“Hah!” Blue laughed as she jumped out of the little girl’s way, but Spark soon changed course and jumped straight into the air to try and catch her again.

As their game of cat and mouse continued into the other corners of the room, Margo nodded her head, apparently enjoying the laughter of Blue and Spark as they made a mess of the hut.

“Interesting company you keep there, boy.” Margo said with a grin.

“Where are the two of you headed?”

“We’re going back to the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect now.” Micro replied.

“Blue’s core was only weakened after the summoning, but mine was totaled. I’ll have to make a new one.”

“That’s quite the tale.” Margo laughed.

“What an odd pair of cultivators you’d make. Seriously though, be careful where you make such claims.

“Wait, aren’t you scared of Blue?!” Micro shouted as he recalled the usual reaction to Blue’s presence.

“Why would I be scared of a pixie?” Margo asked.

“They steal things, and they’re good at burning buildings…” Micro whispered, not wanting to disturb Blue’s fun.

“What is she going to steal?” Margo laughed, looking out at the humble room, furnished only with a few pieces of wooden furniture and some cooking implements.

“I have a shovel I like, but I could find another. And I’ve been meaning to put a new roof on for months. I’d be grateful if she burned it before you left!”

“Have you lived here for a long time?” Micro asked, pleasantly surprised by Margo’s friendly demeanor. He gulped down the rest of his soup as Margo answered.

“I inherited it from my mother when she died a few winters back.” She shrugged.

“I was going to sell it, but the hunting is good out here. It’s also nice to keep in touch with all the blacksmiths and miners who have been coming here for ages. I grew up with many of them…”

“The rabbit soup was delicious!” Micro loudly sighed, leaning back to stretch.

“It feels a bit like the mountain fried beef Toa makes.”

“And how does that feel?” Margo asked with an eyebrow raised.

“It’s full of energy! This mountain might be the perfect place to make a new core. Excuse me for a second.” Micro replied.

“A what-” Margo began, but she paused when Micro suddenly straightened his posture and closed his eyes.