Standing on the edge of the plateau, Norbert watched as the sun started to set. The way back took much longer than he thought it would, and he needed to take a wide berth and make inconvenient crossings to stay off the ground.
Part of the way, Norbert, having not seen anything coming from below, started to go down, only to get berated by the bird for continuing his monkey path in the trees.
Turning to Obsius as he thought about it, he stood there deciding whether he should take the plunge into the river below or carefully climb down the side of the plateau. “Was it really necessary to stay up there?”
Obsius flew off, leaving Norbert there as he stood alone, his question unanswered.
Norbert followed the bird with his eyes, looking down at the river below him, breathing out a breath as he took a step away. He headed to the edge, where he began the slow, careful descent down the plateau. He did not want to hurt himself and waste the energy he could use to propel himself back on solid ground again to make it back in time for dinner.
Skipping several times more than he should, Norbert landed on the ground. Obsius joined him and went into his coat as Norbert dashed off, following the river as he made his way to town. The lack of trees and shrubbery made it the quickest for Norbert, allowing him to just focus on keeping his pace.
Passing the river, Norbert saw three people on the other side slowly making their way back to town. Slowing down, he saw the fishing pole and the two boys. The fact that they were still together must mean something, as Norbert gave them a wave as he passed.
Seeing out of the corner of his eye, the three wave back, and the slight smile on Mord’s face from the passing. Hoping the boys would have a place to call home, away from whatever was happening in that city with the disease spreading throughout it.
Norbert smiled as he passed them, his appointment growing closer and closer to being late.
***
Running down the street, Norbert slid to a stop as he looked up at the wooden porch in front of him. Patting his body down, he made sure that there wasn’t any dirt stuck to him. Walking up the steps, the door already opened as Norbert looked down, seeing Nassan standing there.
“You're late, and the food's getting cold,” the boy said, running to the table and jumping into his seat.
“Norbert’s back!” The boy shouted to the rest of the family.
Norbert saw the others come in from the back and stood there as everyone else sat down before he headed to the spare seat at the table. Scrunching up a bit on the side to make it work, Norbert smiled as he looked around the table and the food in front of him.
Not hearing any words as everyone else started eating, Obsius came out of his coat, jumped on the table, and ate the piece of bread and meat left on a plate in front of Norbert.
Placing the spoon to his mouth as he drank the soup, smiling as it warmed his body up, happy that he didn’t go diving into the river, not knowing how he would have dried himself for dinner.
“Norbert?” His name came out from one of the people at the table.
Looking up from his meal, Norbert saw everyone staring at him. Smiling as he took another spoonful, he said, “It's just really good. I haven’t had a meal made with love in a couple of days.”
“What happened on the plateau?” Nassan asked Norbert, beady-eyed and barely paying attention to the food in front of him.
“Oh, nothing much. A couple up there trying to look for something might want to talk to someone about that,” Norbert said calmly as he continued eating.
Feeling three sets of eyes boring into him, the next spoonful was only halfway up to his mouth when he stopped, looked about, and stared at the others around him, his eyes going across to the three glowering sets and the one filled with wonder.
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"No topics about?" Norbert asked the table, seeing that he had accidentally stumbled onto a sour point.
"Anything else happened?" Helga asked Norbert, trying to move the conversation past any details she didn't want Nassan to hear.
"Oh, I saw Mord with the old fisherman. The boy looked happy." Norbert smiled as well.
"And that's the last off your list?" Cossan, using his voice at last, heard the smooth words coming out of the man, having forgotten what the man sounded like.
"That's the last one, then I'll be heading off after this," Norbert said, pointing towards the spoonful of soup he currently had. A piece of meat was hanging off the spoon as he carefully moved it to his mouth to eat.
"But do you have to go?" Nassan asked. Delga just snorted in response, and Norbert looked at the man around his age before going back to eating.
"Oh, can I also see the basement before I go?" Norbert asked, remembering the runes that must have been used for whatever preservation was being used underneath his feet.
"You showed him the basement?" Delga asked, and Norbert heard the boys' annoyance in the words as Delga stared at him. Shrugging his shoulders at the response, Norbert continued to eat.
Turning to Norbert, "Why would you want even to look down there?"
"I have a Personal interest in the way the world works, nothing more, nothing less." Norbert gave him the answer.
"What position are you?" Delga questioned Norbert.
I was fearing where this could go, looking at Helga and Cossan, neither of them giving a protest to Norbert. Nassan looked between the two boys, wondering if there would be a fight or commotion.
"Scout." Norbert gave the single word out to the open, letting it bounce around inside the heads of each family member before taking its hold on Delga.
“A scout, but you’re in the tournament?” Delga questioned, face scrunching up, unable to comprehend how it was possible.
“That’s because Norbert’s awesome,” Nassan told his brother, his arms crossed in front of him, to himself, having won the argument.
“Maybe slightly, but mostly lucky.” Norbert nodded to his younger brother as he pulled a coin out of his pouch, flicking it into the air and letting it land on the table. Picking up the bowl to get the last pieces of the soup, the coin landed vertically on the table, neither side going up.
Plucking the coin off the table, Norbert put it back in his coin pouch and placed the bowl back on the table.
“Mind me asking what your role in the Frontier was?” Norbert asked, turning to
“Archer,” Delga told him.
Norbert just nodded, remembering the arrows that would be launched and the teams going either way. The men standing in the back launch volley after volley or target the weak points.
“Makes sense with what Cossan showed me many moons ago,” Norbert replied, half going back to the time with the deer, one of the first when he had controlled the energy within him. The feat now would be something he could do with his eyes closed.
“Nothing else to say?” Delga asked, almost bracing himself for the backlash that Norbert would give him.
Norbert shrugged in response, “Not really. Archer saved my neck a few times, which I’m aware of. And many more that I’m not.”
Turning to Nassan as he spoke, he said, “Every role is important, from the fighter to the mage to the healer and even the scout. I don’t see this one able to run for the entire day.”
“Most scouts can’t do that,” Delga said under his breath, unsure if he was admitting that Norbert may be better than the others.
“Some can get pretty close to it, though, but no. Most can’t do what I can. That’s why I'm in the tournament and others aren’t. Though I wish I hadn’t,” Norbert said as he looked around the table, seeing everyone else had finished eating.
“But don’t feel too bad, Delga. There's always a price to pay.” Norbert said to the man as he stood up, taking all the dishes and walking to the sink. Standing over it, Norbert rested his hand over the rune that would be for the water, trying to send energy down into it. Norbert stayed there for a moment, nothing happening as he placed the dishes in the sink, raising his hands in the air.
“Like I said, I can't do everything except run really far, thus scout.” Norbert gave a little bow as he walked to the trap door, pulling it open as he looked down below.
“Is it all good if I take a gander?” Norbert asked, waiting a moment. Helga only smiled at him as he took that as an affirmative. Heading down the ladder, Norbert changed his vision to magic as he looked around.
Expecting to see either white or dark blue, some way of freezing or cooling in the air around him, Norbert was not expecting to see the white and golden flecks surrounding him.
He gazed at the food underneath, which looked fresh and like it had been pushed off the other day. The idea of this being some fridge out the door. Whatever this massive room used for preservation wasn’t anything Norbert was used to or had ever seen on Earth. He took a step as he tried to memorise the strange rune to look up later when he had the chance.
“Norbert, are you in there? We need to leave soon!” Count von Count’s voice came from up above. Norbert sighing, unable to look at the runes anymore, quickly went up the ladder and closed the trap door.
Standing at the doorway was the vampire, smiling at the doorway and waving to the family.
“Mind if I come in?” The vampire asked.
Delga and Nassan took a step back as they recognised the vampire. Norbert shook his head as he waved the vampire inside, hoping Count von Count was just being annoying.