A little while after the sun went down, Kassa suddenly started flailing about as she woke.

“Ah! Ah! It hurts” She protested. “Let me down!”

I immediately did so. She proceeded to run various places of her own body, namely the contact points where I had carried her. Seems carrying someone like this for a long time isn’t exactly comfortable for them.

“Let’s walk a little” I tell her, but get refused.

“I’m hungry” She says. Right. Digging through the backpack, I fish forth some meat I had cooked and salted beforehand. I don’t know how long it will last, but Kassa will have to bear with it, until we find a new place to stay.

As she starts to eat, she seems a little confused. “You’re not eating?” She asks me. Up until now I had joined Kassa in her meals, but now the food is limited.

“I don’t need to” I say. She looks surprised.

“Mommy said everyone needs to eat” She protested. She held a piece of meat out towards me. Cute.

“That is also true for the vast majority of people. In fact, I think I am the only person who doesn’t need to eat” I explain as I push the meat back.

“But… Mommy said it is what makes us move. What makes you move, if you don’t need to it?” Good question. I don’t actually know any more than it is the product of my gift.

“My gift makes me move.” She has retracted her hand is slowly gnawing on the meat.

“Then, why do you eat?” She comes up with another question.

“I like eating. It tastes good, and feels nice to eat.” She beams up a little.

“Right? Food is good.” It makes me chuckle a little.

After her breakfast she still does not want to move. “Can you… Go away.” She asks me. I shatter a little. “Why? I thought we had come to like each other?”

“No, not like that. Just… For a bit.” I feel reluctant to let her out of sight.

“Why?” She reddens a little. “J-JUST DO IT” she shouts at me.

Taken aback a little, I finally decide to do so. Or at least let her think I do it, but keep watch over her. I soon regret my actions.

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She headed off the road a little in the opposite direction a little before hoisting up her robe and… doing business. After realizing the matter, I slowly retreat, feeling embarrassed. I completely forgot people do that. I have peed, but I haven’t gone number 2 since… I can’t rightly remember. What a strange sensation.

When she returns, a thought strikes me. What did she do to keep sanitary? I brush it aside in my mind. It’s not like I can do much about it here. What’s more interesting is how exactly she avoided creating this awkward situation while we lived by the abandoned dungeon. I was with for the most of the day.

After walking a little, I get permission to carry her once again, and the speed of our travel increases significantly. A little while later, the stone road stops and a dirt path begins.

By the next day, two pauses for eating and drinking later, we arrive at our destination. I can’t help but think it looks pathetic. Compared to all the cities I have seen, this place has only a meager fence surrounding it. It is so low, one can easily see the 50ish houses- no, hovels that make this place up. Everything is built in wood, and a quick glance reveals many faults in construction. Many of the hovels look crooked or lack a front door.

People are about. It’s pretty early in the morning, a time where I was used to seeing mostly women roaming the streets, but here they are severely outnumbered by the men. I wonder if that is due to the nature of this place, the people being sent here being convicts.

I feel a little nervous entering the village. Kassa is wearing her robe, and Gorar didn’t seem to figure it out, but it was late and dark. The possibility of her being discovered worries me a little. But I actually think if the whole village came against, there’s a good chance I will prove to be stronger, so I steel my heart and walk in, Kassa holding my hand.

There’s no guard, but as I walk in, several people start sending me glances. I proceed up to one of them, but he merely walks away, clearly indicating he does not wish to talk to me.

A few attempts later, I finally find somebody who does.

“Excuse me” I ask him. “Where can one find food and water here?”

“In the dungeon” he sternly grunts. Right. Even though I have a sizeable amount of cash, there does not seem to be much in the way of commerce taking place here.

“Where is the dungeon?” I ask, looking around. Certainly not in the village.

“Thataway. Twenty minutes’ walk.” He says. “There’s about an hour till we usually form up. Wait until then.”

He looks a bit mean and Kassa has taken to hiding behind me. Well, I don’t need to wait for the rest.

“Ah, thanks, but I will just go alone” I say, starting to leave. But as I turn, a hand finds itself on my shoulder.

“Hang on, you one of them gift holders?” I turn to see a sudden smile on him. How did he know?

“That’s right.” I answer curtly, feeling a little awkward about his sudden change in attitude.

“Well, why didn’t you say so? Everyone here will be pleased that you have come to our little village. Don’t worry, we understand, won’t ask questions and the like. Now, please wait for the rest of us. We can haul more than we can hunt, and it would be best for all of us, if you simply waited.”

He suddenly became talkative and amicable. A thought of mine drifts back to my own childhood, where Jorgen was regarded as an esteemed personage because of his gift. I hadn’t felt much of this attitude in cities, but seems it still holds true out in the villages.

“Very well then” I say. I don’t think it hurts to help them a little with hunting. Kassa, though, jerked a little as I gave my approval.