When they woke up the next day, Adam informed Alyssa that he would collect the necessary supplies over the next few days. They were going to depart from Neretown and head back to Harrington Village. Alyssa found the once long and boring days to suddenly go by too quickly. She was scared to head back to Harrington Village. Not only from the memories there, but they would have to pass by her parents' graves again. She had never seen them die. Although she believed Adam's words when he said he had buried them, there was a thought hidden away in her heart that believed Adam had been mistaken in who he had buried. That her parents were still alive somewhere. Going back to their graves would give the feeling of confirming their death and she didn't want that.

A few days later, they left Neretown early in the morning. A few people were sad to see Adam go. Fredrick liked how his playing increased his profits by a small margin and the songs the musicians had learned from Adam just weren't the same without Adam playing along. However, life was life. There were plenty of people who came in for a time and then left Neretown, leaving new friends behind. It was just that kind of town. With so many people passing by or through the town, you could see all types of people... including the nasty kind.

It didn't take Adam too long to figure out they were being followed by two men. To others, they saw an old man and a young girl. For robbers, it was as though a sign was painted on the two that said: 'Easy pickings here!'

The two men followed Adam and Alyssa from behind at a distance of a couple hundred meters. When Adam had first been leaving Neretown, he had noticed these two individuals. Unlike most of the others in the area, their souls were murky and filled with greedy and unpleasant thoughts. In a single direction, his elemental sight could see close to six hundred meters away. Adam had just keep walking forward and make it look like he didn't even know the two men were there, but he had been watching them the entire time! There weren't any type of law enforcers along the road and it was unlikely that reporting the two as 'suspicious individuals' to try and get them locked up in Neretown would actually work. Adam also felt that he would likely meet this situation more than once in their journey to Alyssa's uncle and so he would have to deal with this in another manner.

A few hours after they had left Neretown, the two men started to pick up pace. They apparently felt that they were far enough away from town that they could safely rob the two. This far from town, other travelers along the road were far enough between that they couldn't see if someone pulled a knife out against another. The two men were likely going to use knifes to threaten Adam and Alyssa to go off the road for a 'break' before they robbed them. Adam started forming a plan as to what to do. The two men were presently too far away for Adam to effectively do anything to them. Other spiritualists could cast long range and large area of effect formations, but Adam could not. Presently, only the spirit essence within two hundred meters of him would actually allow themselves to be commanded by Adam. Also, if Adam just sent a giant wind blade out to take care of them, it would leave a giant bloody mess that everyone could see and they would start asking questions Adam wanted to avoid. Adam decided to try and take a low-key method, even if it might make Alyssa a bit scared.

Adam looked down at Alyssa: “Alyssa, in a few minutes, two bad men will be coming up to us. I want you to hid your eyes while I deal with them.”

A look of fright entered Alyssa's eyes. Adam tried to further comfort her: “Don't worry, they won't be able to harm either of us. I won't leave you, instead they will leave us. We will probably have to go off the road with them for a minute, but it will be fine. I will take care of everything, just trust me.”

Alyssa could only muster up the courage to nod her head to Adam. She took a careful glance behind them. While there were other travelers here and there along the road, there were two that seemed to be moving swiftly with a purpose towards them. Scared, Alyssa immediately moved in closer to Adam to seek reassurance in him being right next to her. Adam had scared those coyotes off before, surely he could do the same for these two men.

Over time, Adam slowly started leaning more and more into his walking staff to give an even better impression of a weak and feeble old man. When the two men were within earshot, Adam said: “Whew, walking along the road is harder than it was in the city. We might have to take a break soon.”

Alyssa had been worried about Adam as he had slowly been transforming into this feeble like man. As she looked up with worry, Adam gave her a quick wink and whispered: “Remember what I told you? Everything will be fine.”

Alyssa buried her face into Adam's leg just as the two men came up from behind and said: “Sir, we heard what you just said a moment ago and watching you accompany your niece has warmed our hearts. We have some honeyed mead that might take some of the edge off your travels. Why don't we take a break together and share some?”

Adam was quite surprised by this turn of events. Adam felt sure that the robbers were going to pull knifes on him first before asking him to get off the road, which might scare Alyssa. Adam then started thinking to himself: “This is going to be too easy.”

Adam turned around with only gratefulness spread across his face. He looked in the general direction of the two, but not directly at them. “I should have thought about buying some before leaving town! This old man would be grateful for your help in shaving some weariness off these old bones!”

The two men smiled at each other thinking: “This is going to be too easy.”

One of the two said: “No problem, no problem. There is a good clearing this way. Let us guide you off the road and have ourselves a nice break!”

Adam nodded his head. “Forgive my niece, she is shy around strangers. Use your voice to lead the way and I will be right after you.”

Adam made a show of helping Alyssa along and stumbling after the two men off the road. The trees beside the road were not very dense, but still helped to obscure them from the road. With a few bushes doted around, the two men felt secure in accomplishing their nefarious deed. They started to move to either side of Adam with their hand on the daggers in their belts.

Just as they had decided to move, so too had Adam. The two men had not noticed the breeze that had just blown through the area. Adam had already began singing a song in his mind to control the spirit essence around him. In truth, Adam didn't have to hum like he usually did to control spirit essence. As long as the song existed in his soul, that was what mattered. It was just easier for Adam to hum.

The breeze moved towards Adam as he used it to suddenly explode with ferocious speed! Adam's walking staff was suddenly swung out as it struck the head of the man Adam's right! There was a sickening crack as a noticeable dent appeared on the man's skull! The man with the dented skull quickly crumpled to the ground. The man on the left was struck dumb by this sudden scene. Wasn't Adam just a feeble old man!? Just as the man started to react by drawing his knife, the bottom end of Adam's staff flew up from the ground and careened its way into the man's throat! The man suddenly dropped his half drawn knife to lift his hands to his throat with fear in his eyes. He couldn't breath! The man collapsed as he tried with all his might to breath again, but Adam's strike had thoroughly crushed his throat.

Adam turned around and stared walking Alyssa back to the road. “It's all over Alyssa. Those two men won't be bothering us anymore.”

Alyssa had heard Adam hit the two men with his staff, but didn't see them fall. Adam then immediately took her out of the area so she couldn't see them at all. Alyssa was finally able to calm down after they had been back on the road for a few minutes.

The rest of the journey back to Harrington Village was rather uneventful. They stopped for a few hours where Adam had lain Alyssa's parents to rest. The whole journey took close to two months since their walking speed was slow. They stopped in a few towns or villages in order to restock on their provisions. There was another time where someone tried to rob them, but Adam quickly dealt with them in a similar manner as he had the first two robbers.

With Harrington Village finally in sight, Alyssa's walking speed slowed to a crawl. This placed used to be her home where she had lived quite happily with her family. To return to that place was quite hard for her. Adam walked slowly beside her while holding her hand. He didn't pull her forward, as that might put her into an emotional corner. She had very slowly been coming to terms with what had happened and this was the next step. Perhaps returning to Harrington Village could help her break some of the chains that were around her heart.

What was originally going to be a two hour walk to reach Harrington Village turned into a four hour walk. Evening was descending and Adam figured they needed to find a place to sleep before anything else. “Is there an inn or some place where we can sleep anywhere here?” he asked Alyssa.

Alyssa nodded: “Mr. Kalliger converted a shed into a place to sleep... it is hardly ever used. Its that one right there.”

Alyssa pointed out a shed that was near the entrance to the village. Nobody was currently occupying it and it looked like it hadn't been used in a very long time. This was, after all, just a village. It was a place only occupied by farmers or lumberers who would take their wares by wagon to a nearby town in order to sell. Such a place hardly got any visitors.

Adam started walking in the direction of the shed. “Do we need to talk to Mr. Kalliger or someone else to open the shed?”

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Alyssa paused before shaking her head. “Its always left open.”

Adam nodded his head. “Why don't we unload inside and pull out a meal. Would you prefer to sleep and wait until tomorrow morning before seeing anyone in town?”

Alyssa only quietly nodded her head. Before going to the shed, she looked across the village to where her house used to be. There was candle light in the window and it mad her body shake. It almost looked like her parents were home and were staying up until she got back from playing with her friends. She knew, though, that it wasn't her parents inside. They had sold their house to someone else before moving from the village. Adam had opened the groaning door of the shed enough for them to enter and Alyssa immediately darted in. Adam followed her profile with a sorrowful look. He could see how depressed she was.

Hearing the groan of the shed, a man came out from the house it sat next to. “Is there someone using the shed?”

Alyssa froze in the shed and Adam turned to the man. “Yes, I hope you don't mind? I had heard this shed was used kind of like an inn.”

“Ah, yes. May I ask who you are?”

“Pardon me, my name is Adam. We are a little tired from our journey, would it offend you if we just talked tomorrow in the morning?”

Adam's answers kept throwing the man off. Who had told Adam to use the shed? Normally the others in the village would tell visitors to talk to him before using his shed, even if it was unlocked all the time. And then Adam only wanted to talk in the morning? It was all a little strange, but the man didn't believe that murders or robbers would stop by their village and ask for a place to stay like this. “Uh, sure. We can talk in the morning.”

Adam thanked the man before closing the shed door behind him. Alyssa relaxed a little. She felt scared to talk to anyone right now. They would surely ask where her parents were and what happened. As much as she knew what happened, she didn't like thinking about it.

There was a oil lamp in the shed that Adam lit so both he and Alyssa could unpack and have a simple meal from their provisions. They then tucked themselves in for bed. Surprisingly, Alyssa suddenly asked to sleep with Adam. She would sometimes ask this if she was feeling insecure or lonely. Adam didn't have any qualms about it and let her sleep on his bed. Adam hummed some lullaby songs to her until she fell asleep before sleeping himself.

The next morning, they ate breakfast from their provisions again. The day was likely going to be a long and hard one for Alyssa. She had been quiet since they woke up. Adam asked: “Do you want to come with me to ask around to see if anyone knows where your uncle lives?”

Alyssa was silent for a long time. She didn't want to be asked what happened to her parents, but she also wanted to see everyone again. She eventually nodded her head yes. Adam then reached his hand out: “Alright, come along then.”

Adam opened up the shed door that once again groaned. Not long after, the man came out of his house once again. He waved to them, starting out with: “Good mor-”

He suddenly froze as he couldn't believe what he saw. Wasn't that little Alyssa by this Adam's side? Alyssa timidly said: “H-hello Mr. Kalliger.”

“Wha... What's going on? Where are your parents Alyssa?”

This was the painful question that Alyssa was certain was going to be asked of her over and over today. Adam stepped in so she wouldn't have to tell the story herself. “Bandits attacked and they didn't make it. I found her along the road and saved her. We came back hoping someone might know where her uncle lives...”

Mr. Kalliger looked flabbergasted. “Jim and Cecilia are dead? I... I don't even know what to say. Why don't the two of you come into the house. I will get Della to make something good for Alyssa and we can talk.”

Della, the wife of Mr. Kalliger, quickly set about making some honey cakes without asking too many questions. She sat beside Alyssa and talked with her off to the side while Adam and Mr. Kalliger talked. Mr. Kalliger asked to be called Benedict, since that was what everyone else their age called him. Benedict didn't know too much about Alyssa's uncle. He knew that her uncle's name was Gerald and he had recently become a prosperous farmer, but he couldn't remember where Gerald lived. However, Benedict quickly came up with a simple plan to help Adam. Della first went out and got Alyssa's old friends together. She asked them not to ask Alyssa any questions about her parents before she brought Alyssa over and they all played again. The children weren't sure what was going on but were happy to see Alyssa again. Their pure and happy reunion alleviated some of Alyssa's stress and she was able to relax a little with them.

While Alyssa was playing, Benedict took Adam around to the other members of the village to ask questions about Alyssa's uncle. It didn't take too long for them to find the name of the town where Gerald lived. The hard part was everyone becoming too concerned with Alyssa. There were a few that said: “Wouldn't it be easier if we just took care of her?” or “I could take her to Gerald, no need to burden you.”

People still saw Adam as a blind old man and couldn't really believe he could protect Alyssa the whole way. Although Adam certainly showed a remarkable sense of direction for a blind man, he was still just an old man in their eyes. Nonetheless, Adam only answered them with: “I will talk with Alyssa and see what she wants to do. She said that staying her might just bring back painful memories of her parents and I would also hate to make one of you go so far from your home. I do not presently have a home so it is fine for me to take her.”

Eventually night started to fall. It was time for the children to say goodnight to one another and return to their homes. All of this felt so normal to Alyssa that she even started to head back to her home! Then she saw strangers standing at the door welcoming their child back in. Alyssa froze as she suddenly came to her senses. Her parents were dead and buried along the road. They were not waiting for her with open arms. The only family she had left was Uncle Adam and maybe her real uncle. With tears in her eyes, Alyssa started running back to the shed. Adam met her partway, as he was going over to pick her up. Alyssa saw Adam and ran into his legs before clinging to them and starting to cry. Adam picked Alyssa up and brought her back to the shed where Della had left a few meals for them.

It took some time for Alyssa to calm down. When she had, they started their meals and Adam talked to her. “I found out where your Uncle Gerald lives. Everyone here was asking to let them take care of you though... what do you want to do?”

Alyssa stopped her slow eating and was silent for a little while. “Can you take me to my uncle. I don't want to be here anymore.”

Adam nodded his head. “Sure. Do you want to leave in the morning or wait a few days to play with your friends some more?”

Alyssa shook her head: “I want to leave tomorrow.”

Alyssa didn't want to see that scene where all the kids returned to their homes again. To see that strange family in her home welcoming their child back. She just wanted to leave!

After their meal, Alyssa once again crawled into Adam's bed and listened to his lullabies as she fell asleep. The next morning, Adam explained Alyssa's situation to Benedict. Benedict looked a little disappointed. “I see, do you want someone from the village to take her instead or travel with you?”

Adam shook his head: “No, it will be fine with just the two of us.”

Alyssa had already shown that she trusted Adam. She listened to him the most and relied on him the most. Benedict still thought: “Is this for the best, though?”

Benedict tentatively asked: “What if there is some trouble along the road. Will you be able to handle it?”

Alyssa suddenly spoke out at this point. She had started to feel like Benedict didn't want her to go with Adam so she suddenly blurted out: “Uncle Adam has already taken care of a few bad men on the road! I want to go to Uncle Gerald's with Uncle Adam!”

Benedict was surprised by this remark. While he gave Adam a look, Adam answered: “It is true, there were a few robbers along the way. They made the mistake of thinking of me as a feeble old man. I may be old, but I am in no way feeble.”

Benedict sighed. If Adam could truly take care of robbers on his own, he was more qualified to take Alyssa than anyone else in the village. No one there really knew how to fight, let alone take care of a few robbers. Benedict nodded and then said: “Quick, go then. If others in town hear about this, they might try to stop you out of concern for Alyssa.”

Adam and Alyssa bid farewell to Benedict and quickly began walking out of the village and down the road.

[AN: Wow, look at all them new follows, favorites, and reviews! Even new commenters to boot! Too many names to say thank you to, so thank you all! I have read all the comments and all the reviews. As a side note, I just recently noticed that the 'beta' site thingy I had seen one time is gone now. Now my font is all over the place going from chapter to chapter, so let me ask you folks; what font do you want me to post in?

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I'am not sure if everyone would like a bigger size font or not, as I certainly do. That's the reason why I am asking the question ^-^]