In the dark of the night, the sky was rumbling with thunder as if angry at the world below it. It was raining heavily. All the fowls and fauna had already taken shelter to save themselves from nature's wrath.

An old man garbed in white robes could be seen walking on a muddy path. His shoes sank into the mud halfway but when he pulled them out, they were spick and span. It was as if the mud he was walking in didn't even exist. Not a single speck of mud could be seen on his boots at all. The same was the case for the clothes he was wearing.

The old man was carrying an unconscious child wrapped in a bundle of blankets and an umbrella. He had a smile on his face and he kept walking at a leisurely pace on the muddy path toward the unknown.

After two hours, the rain ceased and the clouds started to disperse. Slowly, the skies cleared and no cloud could be seen anymore.

Stars filled the sky like pale corn into freshly turned ground. It was the promise of life in the darkness, a sense of warmth springing from the cold. They were numerous and dotted the sky in a beautiful way.

Unfortunately, the moon could not be seen. It was a moonless night. Otherwise, the sight would have become much more beautiful and breathtaking.

The elder did not pay attention to the sky. He just kept walking while carrying an unconscious Jacob. For almost three hours straight, he kept walking on the muddy road at the same pace. His face was maintaining the same smile with which he had left the city, not tiring due to it at all.

Soon, a forest could be seen in the distance. Since it was plains with sparse trees, the forest could be seen from a vast distance. The old man kept walking without pause as the road lead him toward it.

After about another hour of walking, he finally entered the forest. He didn't stop there either and kept walking. No wild animal blocked his way or disturbed him. It was as if he had endless stamina and did not need any rest at all after hours of walking while carrying someone.

After another hour of walking, he turned to the right abruptly and entered the forest. He navigated the forest with great mastery in the dark of the night without needing a light source. It was as if the pitch dark forest was the backyard of his home.

Along the way, the elder came upon a pack of wolves. There were eight of them, their fiery white eyes glowing and staring at an unconscious Jacob.

They acted as if the elder didn't even exist but none of them moved. They only kept staring and growling without budging from their position. It was as if he had become frozen in their steps.

The elder stepped right through them as if they didn't exist in his eyes. His usual expression of a slight smile didn't even flinch a bit. He kept walking just as he had been doing for the past few hours.

A few minutes later, the forest opened into a large clearing. There was a house made up of large wooden logs right in the middle of it. There was also a small stone chimney incorporated on its roof. The elder came in front of its door. There was no lock on the door. The elder pushed it lightly inwards and entered the house.

Dawn was just one hour away.

End of Arc 1

...................................

17th March, 3026 B.E.

Jacob woke up and opened his eyes slowly. He had a good sleep and his mind was feeling refreshed. He was sure that he had dreams. Some were good while some were bad. This is the most he remembered, the nature of those dreams. He could not remember the contents of his dreams at all.

If only I could see her again one more time in my dreams. How nice it is to dream. Tears formed in his eyes and trickled down his little cheeks after he fully opened his eyes. He still had some hope that his disease would be gone in the future after he sees good medical practitioners.

His vision was blurry after he fully opened his eyes due to tears. He quickly took control of his emotions and wiped away the tears from his eyes with his hands. What met him was an unfamiliar roof made up of large wooden logs. His eyes widened in shock.

He quickly looks around. He was in an unfamiliar small room on a normal-sized single bed. Everything was made up of wooden logs except the bed he was on the floor and the door. The floor was made up of wooden boards. The door was also made up of wood.

Jacob knew right there and then that he had messed up big this time and quickly became nervous. The last time he remembered, he was on the ground made up of cobblestone in some narrow street trying to sleep.

After that, it started raining. It was a drizzle at first but it turned into heavy rain just a few minutes later. He was too annoyed at that time and thought that he would not be able to sleep the whole night. That was the most he could remember. Jacob guessed that he fell asleep after that.

Guess I was wrong. I fell asleep and too badly at that that I could not even wake up when being carried by an unknown person to an unknown place for who knows how long. Damn it. Now what?

The crime of his money being stolen was still fresh in his mind. It had happened yesterday after all. So he was a bit paranoid. Strange thoughts started coming into his mind. Each one worse than the other and his face twisted from nervousness to fear.

So I am a slave now? I will have to work for some cruel master for years now? But slavery is prohibited. Won't the clans arrest him for this crime? But who knows how long it would take. I will have become long dead by then due to overwork. No. I will not give up. I should escape now when I have a chance. Jacob quickly forged a probable theory in his mind. Due to recent trauma, he was thinking about the worst-case scenario.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

After some more overthinking, Jacob arrived at dangerous conclusions. He thought that the slave master did not tie him up in a cell because he was asleep. Maybe the slave master still thought that he was asleep and went away to prepare a dark underground cell for him.

Maybe he didn't have any cell available for him that's why he had dumped him on a bed in a small room. He had heard horror stories about illegal slavery and how slaves were treated in private mines. Jacob thought that this was his chance to escape. The slave master was not aware of him waking up right now.

Jacob quickly put on his shoes and stood up. He didn't notice that the clothes he was wearing were different from the ones he wore last night. He had to be stealthy now. He could not let anyone know that he was awake and was trying to escape.

He stepped lightly in order to not alert anyone. But most of his stealth was ruined when the wooden boards creaked under his steps. He gave up trying to be sneaky and quickly ran to open the only door in the small room.

He clutched at the poor excuse of a door handle and pulled the door towards him slowly. Thankfully, it had no lock and did not creak much. He opened it slowly and slipped out of the room without opening it fully when there was enough space to pass.

After getting out of the room, he took the scene in. He was in a simple living room. There were two windows out of which sunlight was coming and a single door that led out. There was also another door near him which he thought led into another room.

There was nothing in it except a few axes, a pile of cut wooden logs at the side, a small fireplace and a small round chain surrounded by two wooden chairs. Unfortunately, the chair facing him was occupied by an old man looking right at him.

When Jacob entered the living room, he didn't become aware of the company immediately. He quickly inspected the space around him and during his inspection, he became aware of the old man sitting on the chair. As he made eye contact with him, he froze.

Oh no. The slave master is here and knows I am awake. No, I must fight for my freedom and future. He is old and must be weak physically. Jacob became determined internally.

But he was still nervous about what would happen next. Would he have to fight with his life on the line? Would he become wounded? Such questions plagued his mind and his nervousness was betrayed by the nervous expression on his face.

As if waiting for Jacob to finish thinking his things through, the old man opened his mouth while smiling.

"Rise and shine, young one. How do you feel?"

"Ummmm. I...I am fine. Who...who are you?" Jacob answered nervously while stuttering.

"It is good that you are fine. As for your question, I am the owner of this house."

"Ok. What do you want from me? Can I leave now?" Jacob asked managing not to stutter this time. His heartbeat was increasing. He knew that it was now or never. A fight was imminent. The old man would probably get up and tackle him down. Then tie him up probably.

"Me? I don't want anything from you. In fact, I found you unconscious in a narrow street in the city. You were about to die due to losing too much heat. Kids nowadays. No care for their health at all. Tsk."

"Huh. What??" Jacob was stunned at the unexpected response. The evil response that he was imagining was not there. Like (you won't escape from me or you are my slave from now on). He was expecting a dangerous fight. But his expectations were not met. He stood there in a daze.

"I found you in a street, kid. You were having a high fever and were losing body heat quickly. Your body was weakening and your organs were about to be damaged. I saved you from certain death. Now that I have explained in detail, do you understand me now?" The elder replied to his query without minding it.

"Yes, I do. So you saved my life." Jacob forcefully calmed down and took a deep breath before replying. He remembered that he had a sore throat and runny nose. He was also feeling very cold and was shivering.

So I became unconscious. That's why I could not wake up while he carried me to his house.

Those were the thoughts in his mind as he replied.

"Yes, I did." The elder nodded at that.

"So you are not a slave master who kidnapped me to forcefully work for you." Jacob asked with a doubtful voice.

"Hahahahahaha. I am no slaver, son. You can leave whenever you want. But I won't let you go until you answer a few of my questions. Like what were you doing in the middle of a night in that street instead of being in a room in your home."

The elder guffawed after hearing the ridiculous accusation from Jacob and asked why he was out there instead of being in his room. He also took out Jacob's bag from under the table and put it on it.

Jacob looked at his bag and started scratching the back of his head. Should I tell him about my clan? What if he hands me back to the clan after hearing my story? I should keep it simple.

He decided to keep his replies simple without going into details. He didn't want to lie to his saviour. But first, he had to thank him properly.

"Thank you so much for saving my life. I will be in your eternal gratitude." Jacob bowed down almost nintey degrees to him and thanked him for saving his life.

After that, he straightened his body. The elder did not say anything. He was waiting for Jacob to continue.

"As for your question, I have no home to go to. That's why I was on the streets. I did not have any chance of finding an inn yesterday." Jacob tried to keep his answer as simple as possible without giving him any important details.

"And why don't you have any home?"

Jacob made a difficult expression before replying, "I ran away. My life was in danger. So I decided to work and live outside."

The elder nodded at that and started looking at the table. He remained silent as if thinking about something or waiting for something to happen. After a few seconds, he looked up into Jacob's eyes and opened his mouth.

"Come on, kid. You are clearly hiding things from me. Why don't you begin your story from the beginning? Like where are your parents? Maybe I can help you. I promise I won't tell anyone about it or do anything to you using it as leverage. Think about it. You are a kid. You have almost zero experience with the world to speak of."

The elder's words hit him like lightning. Yes, he was a kid. How much could he cover using his limited undeveloped intellect? He also didn't have any experience with the wider world. Should I trust him?

Now that the misunderstanding was cleared, he relaxed and observed the old man in front of him closely. The old man in front of him was peculiar. He has not seen anyone like him in his short life.

The senior had white jade-like skin. He had silver eyes. He had long white hair that reached his shoulders. He had a large white beard and It was a full beard without any style and was not haggard at all.

It was smooth and straight and almost reached his chest. He had no moustache at all. He looked old due to his absolutely white hair and white beard but he didn't have a single wrinkle on his face. He looked very healthy.

Jacob found his silver eyes most peculiar. The absence of a moustache while having a full beard was also strange but its strangeness could not be compared to the strangeness of his eyes.

Now that he looked into his eyes more closely, he could detect something in those eyes. Those eyes. I have seen them before. Those are the eyes mother had when she used to look at me with love. Why is this senior looking at me with those eyes? He doesn't even know me.

Jacob was not thinking about the real eyes. He was thinking about the metaphorical eyes. He did not know how he could detect love in his mother's eyes or this elder's. He just could. It was something innate to him. His instincts were also telling him to trust this old man. He trusted his instincts. But he had to clarify something first.