{"id":2370,"date":"2017-08-05T14:50:47","date_gmt":"2017-08-05T14:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wandering-inn\/?p=2370"},"modified":"2025-12-24T00:56:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T00:56:45","slug":"3-01-e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderinginn.com\/2017\/08\/05\/3-01-e\/","title":{"rendered":"3.01 E"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 13<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I am an [Emperor]. That is fact.<\/p>\n

But I don\u2019t know what it means. After an entire day of speculation and worry, Durene has no more answers for me. Myself, I\u2019m just content to find out.<\/p>\n

I guess it\u2019s because of my class that Durene is freaking out so much. To me, it\u2019s just a title that doesn\u2019t mean much; something that happened to me because I tried something new. But to Durene, that class automatically makes me royalty.<\/p>\n

No\u2014isn\u2019t an [Emperor] even higher in status than a [King]? A king might rule by virtue of lineage, but an emperor could in theory rule over multiple countries, and thus kings.<\/p>\n

Huh.<\/p>\n

Wow.<\/p>\n

I guess it\u2019s a huge deal, but again, I\u2019m only Level 1, and all I have is one odd skill. When I told Durene, she said she couldn\u2019t see anything like an aura about me, but Skills don\u2019t work all the time necessarily. Some, like her [Enhanced Strength] skill are essentially permanent passive changes, but others have to be used.<\/p>\n

As far as I can tell, there\u2019s no word or catchphrase that activates [Aura of the Emperor]. Believe me, I tried and probably looked quite silly doing so. Whatever it is the skill, like my class, is a mystery that will have to wait.<\/p>\n

I sigh as I carefully walk across the dirt forest path near Durene\u2019s house. It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve been by myself, and to be honest, I needed this break. My lovely host has been fussing over me all day, and she didn\u2019t even want to let me go out on my own.<\/p>\n

That was an argument she was never going to win. Her concern is touching, but I\u2019m hardly a quadriplegic; I need to stretch my legs and I hate being chaperoned all of the time. It\u2019s fairly easy to keep track of the dirt path, and I\u2019m hardly about to wander off that far. Durene showed me the route, and I have it memorized.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a mess.\u201d<\/p>\n

It really is. I\u2019ve gotten used to living in this world thanks to Durene, but now a bunch of questions are circling around in my head. How can I get back home? Is it even possible?<\/p>\n

Durene is convinced that whatever happened to me was the result of magic. I tend to agree, but if any normal spell could teleport me across worlds, I\u2019ll eat my hat. No, something big happened that dragged me here, and I need to find out what.<\/p>\n

And I won\u2019t be able to do that in Riverfarm. I need to go out into the world. A lone, blind guy in a world full of monsters and magic.<\/p>\n

That would be my death. But it\u2019s different for an [Emperor], isn\u2019t it? What\u2019s the difference between a blind man and a blind [Emperor]?<\/p>\n

Maybe everything. Because one of them is an [Emperor].<\/p>\n

Norton I of America. Do you know why I loved his story? Because he was the Emperor of the United States in his head, and nothing could take that away from him.<\/p>\n

Being blind sometimes sucks. For me it\u2019s normal, but there are days when I grow frustrated. Frustrated because other people can do things so effortlessly that I struggle to do. I\u2019ll never catch a ball, or drive, or even paint. I can\u2019t experience some of the things people talk about.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit unfair. And when I was young, I hated the way I was treated. Sometimes, yes, sometimes, I felt like less of a person because people thought of me that way. Here\u2019s a blind kid. He<\/em> can\u2019t appreciate this, or do that. He\u2019s different. Not the same.<\/p>\n

But I am blind. I have my own worth, regardless of whether people acknowledge that.<\/p>\n

I stop walking. Here I am, in a forest I can\u2019t see. In a world totally different from my own. Some might say that it\u2019s not that different for someone who can\u2019t see, but I can sense the difference in every step I take. I feel the same wonder when I hear a new bird\u2019s call, or touch Durene\u2019s hands and know that she<\/em> is different.<\/p>\n

I am an [Emperor]. No one can take that from me. I may have gotten that class easily\u2014just by declaring myself so. But I believed in it, even so. I believed. When you are blind, sometimes the world is uncertain. I have to trust when I get up and walk around my house that everything is the way I left it.<\/p>\n

I trust the things I touch with my cane, just like a seeing person trusts their eyes. But I am prepared for the times when I miss a branch or something with my cane and walk right into a shrub. I am ready, in short, to walk off a cliff some days because I can\u2019t ever be 100% certain something is right in front of me. But I have to believe I\u2019ll step onto solid ground.<\/p>\n

So believe this: I am an [Emperor]. I should start acting like one rather than worrying about what it means.<\/p>\n

What should I do, then? What would an [Emperor] do? I think for a while as I continue my slow amble through the forest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am an [Emperor]. Ergo, everything I want to do is what an [Emperor] would do. There are no wrong choices.\u201d<\/p>\n

But are there even more right<\/em> ones? I remember studying Charlemagne\u2019s history. The man was an imperialist; as far as I can recall he was more or less personally involved in wars of conquest. And yet, he also instituted huge reforms across his empire.<\/p>\n

So did Norton, at least in theory. He wanted to abolish Congress to safeguard his empire, and rumors have it that he actually stood in front of a mob to protect Chinese immigrants during race riots. Regardless of whether that\u2019s historically true or not, an [Emperor] has a duty to his empire and those he rules over. He keeps them safe, protects them; makes them better.<\/p>\n

I would like to do the same for Durene. If she is my one subject, then what can I do for her? I walk and think, and only stop when I notice Durene not-so-subtly trying to shadow me in the forest. She really can\u2019t hide at all. But she does care, which is why I like her.<\/p>\n

I do like her a lot. I just wish she\u2019d tell me everything.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 14<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What would any good [Emperor] do? What would any sensible person do when finding themselves in another world, much less a game world? Today I asked Durene countless questions about Riverfarm and the world. I\u2019d asked her a lot before, but today I compiled it all together in my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019ve never really gone further than a few miles outside of the village?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Never.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene and I sit together, sipping from some home-brewed mint tea. It\u2019s quite strong since we\u2019re using actual mint steeped in hot water. It\u2019s a shame we can\u2019t add some honey or sugar, but Durene has neither.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s not rich. That much is clear, although I have to dance around the topic a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you earn a few coins from selling your crops and animals now and then. But you\u2019ve never gone with the trading cart to town?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shifts in her seat and slurps from her tea. She\u2019s uncomfortable. I sigh.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, Durene. I don\u2019t really care if you\u2019re a bit different from other people. You\u2019re a nice young woman; regardless of who you are, I won\u2019t judge you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence. Then, her deep voice quavers.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you\u2014? Did someone\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. But I am smart enough to know you\u2019re hiding something. But I won\u2019t ask until you\u2019re ready. I do hope you know you can trust me, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do. I do!<\/em> It\u2019s just\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

It sounds like she\u2019s on the verge of tears. I reach out and touch her mug instead of her fingers. Durene laughs as I make a face and find her huge hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake your time. I\u2019m not going anywhere. Now, tell me. What\u2019s it like living here? Do you ever see any monsters?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Monsters. I can\u2019t even imagine what one of them would be like. According to Durene, they\u2019re not that bad around here. Goblins are the only real nuisance, and the village immediately sends for adventurers to root them out if they\u2019re spotted nearby.<\/p>\n

But\u2014yeah, there is a huge difference in the amount of danger people in this world have to live with. I might worry about bears in parts of the world, or muggers, or war, but never horrible little green creatures with teeth like knives.<\/p>\n

God, they sound creepy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bad when Goblins come. Everyone has to give money to raise a bounty on them, but it always takes the adventurers a few weeks to arrive, and I don\u2019t know what we\u2019d do if a Goblin Chieftain ever showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goblins are apparently a bigger threat in the north part of Izril than they are the south. It’s about population density, or so I\u2019m guessing. Humans occupy more of the north than the south which belongs to Drakes and Gnolls and something called the Antinium. So monsters accordingly spring up more near the north since there\u2019s more to eat. Odd; I would have expected them to be more plentiful in places where Humans are less common, but then, these monsters aren\u2019t prey, but our predators.<\/p>\n

Riverfarm isn\u2019t that far north\u2014it\u2019s decently far away from the High Passes\u2014a huge mountain range similar to the Himalayas which divide the continent in two. Apparently the nearest major city is Invrisil; the city of adventurers, so named because they have the largest population of adventurers active and retired on the continent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got Gold-rank teams there. You can even find Named Adventurers passing through sometimes! And they say the markets are filled with magical items and wondrous things, like the parts of dead monsters and rare gems and artifacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene\u2019s voice is filled with wonder as she describes the city. I have to confess, the image sways me as well. Of course, the adventurers that Riverfarm can afford are a far cry from those elites.<\/p>\n

All of the villagers, including Durene, are frankly poor. Durene is especially poor, but the villagers aren\u2019t exactly rolling in wealth either. They earn a few gold coins every year when the weather is good and the crops are plentiful. At best. During the worst times they\u2019re subsistence farmers, or they\u2019re starving.<\/p>\n

\u201cFolks save their coins. Mister Prost saves all his coins for instance; he only spends money when he has to buy new tools or fix his wagon. He\u2019s going to have to buy a new plow horse soon; I help out, but Evera\u2014the horse\u2014is old. And they want to start raising pigs, but that\u2019s an investment, and they could always use more coin to fix up the house\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs anyone rich in your village? The [Blacksmith]?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot really. He doesn\u2019t have that<\/em> many levels and you know, he\u2019s still a [Farmer] as well. There’s another [Blacksmith] in town that has more levels. Occasionally some people from other villages come by with work, but never for more than a few silver coins at best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds like your village does fairly well for itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome years. Last year was okay, but the year before that was hungry. If we have a bad harvest or if winter comes early, it\u2019s very hard. The villagers do their best, but sometimes bad things happen. And ever since they took me in\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

She breaks off. I think I understand this bit. Durene is huge. She\u2019s not necessarily fat; she doesn\u2019t let me touch her, but I know that she can move about with surprising speed, faster than I can. So she\u2019s probably not fat, but she is big. She eats roughly four times what I do every meal, at least.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to help out a lot. But I can only pull and lift stuff. I don\u2019t have any Skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said you were a Level 6 [Farmer], didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I\u2019m not too low-level for my age\u2014some people are around Level 15, but I didn\u2019t even apprentice and I taught myself so I leveled up slower.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about your father? Your mother? What did they do when you were growing up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene hesitates. I wait in silence, the empty cup of mint tea in my hands, shedding the last vestiges of warmth. Then her voice mumbles.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom died when I was four. I never met my dad. He\u2019s dead too.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 16<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think Durene is still depressed after our last conversation. We don\u2019t talk much\u2014that is to say, not about important things. I spend most of the time helping Durene finish up her harvesting. Most of her plants are fully grown, and we pull up several pumpkins today.<\/p>\n

She wants to get ready for the winter, although it feels perfectly fine to me right now. Then again, I don\u2019t know this world so weather could change a lot quicker around here.<\/p>\n

I also sense that Durene is wrestling with something in her head, most likely whether to tell me about her past. It feels like it\u2019s on the tip of her tongue sometimes when she pauses in talking with me.<\/p>\n

But not yet. I abide. I\u2019ve learned patience, and in the meantime I can teach Durene some things.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, your heart sends blood across the rest of your body. From your head to your toes. So you could lose an arm or a leg if you made sure to stop the blood loss, but your heart is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene scratches at her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut doesn\u2019t the heart get tired? I get tired from walking all day. How can a heart keep beating all the time?\u201d<\/p>\n

I grin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the strongest muscle in our bodies. And it does<\/em> get tired. People have heart attacks\u2014times where the heart stops\u2014as they get older. There\u2019s a reason we can\u2019t live forever; our bodies start breaking down as things stop working.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh. That makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how old people get in this world, but the oldest people from my world are around a hundred years old. Rarely more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA hundred? That\u2019s a lot! Old man Schnel died when he was 62, and he was old.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, some things affect how old you\u2019ll grow. Some of it is just chance or your body, but what you eat, how you live\u2014all of that can affect your health. Like food. Remember what I said about a balanced meal?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUm\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fun teaching Durene the basics of biology, science, and so on. I didn\u2019t really feel like math was that important and her speaking skills are good\u2014she can\u2019t write though, and I can\u2019t help her with that.<\/p>\n

No one taught her. But I will. Not everything will be necessarily that practical, but I hope some of it will help. Durene drinks down all of my lessons like a sponge as we harvest and cook. Helping her grow is something that makes me happy. It\u2019s what an [Emperor] would do. What I will do.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 17<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

More harvesting. Apparently, the other villagers are also making their last harvests of the season. They might get one more yield from their crops, but maybe not. We\u2019re storing a lot of Durene\u2019s goods in the cellar.<\/p>\n

\u2026I had no idea her house had<\/em> a cellar, but she has a rather large root cellar outside! That\u2019s one of the things that blows me away; I would have never guessed there was a trapdoor right over there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 19<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I leveled up last night! I am now a Level 2 [Emperor]. What triggered the change? Durene has no idea, but I think I know. She\u2019s my subject. Teaching her and tending to this small cottage which I claimed as my own is the same as improving my empire, all of it in fact. It\u2019s all about perception. Perhaps there is a limit to how much exp I\u2019d get this way, but for now I\u2019ll take what I can get.<\/p>\n

No idea what the extra level will do for me, though. I haven\u2019t gotten any skills and still haven\u2019t figured out the [Aura of the Emperor] yet.<\/p>\n

Hmm\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 20<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wake up when I hear the oddest sound. Footsteps; Durene\u2019s. Crunching.<\/p>\n

Now, footsteps are generally easy for me. I can tell some people apart by how they walk. There\u2019s a tempo to their pace, and of course weight makes their footsteps sound different too. Durene is clearly distinct.<\/p>\n

But what is she stepping on?<\/em> It can\u2019t be what I think it is.<\/p>\n

\u201cSnow?\u201d<\/p>\n

It is<\/em> snow! Apparently the entire world decided to up and change as I slept. Durene tells me the Winter Sprites must have brought snow to the region, which makes me wonder if she doesn\u2019t understand how the weather works.<\/p>\n

But no\u2014apparently in this world, weird dancing lights known as Winter Sprites can manipulate the weather. They\u2019re also a bit of a hazard, according to Durene. They\u2019ll throw snow at you if you bother them or play tricks.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t quite make sense, but the important thing is clear: it\u2019s winter. And oh boy, it\u2019s cold!<\/em><\/p>\n

I help Durene strike some sparks into the fireplace of her cottage. She had to run outside for some firewood early in the morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually keep a pile inside, but I forgot to this year. The wood\u2019s a bit wet, but I think it\u2019ll light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene sneezes after she says this. She sounds cold. And there\u2019s an unpleasant amount of chill in her house without a roaring fire in her fireplace. I said her home was cozy, but it\u2019s apparent that Durene could use a better house, like the ones in the village perhaps.<\/p>\n

Frustrating. That\u2019s what it is. I help make a thick soup while Durene clears snow, brings in chopped firewood and so on, and we have a hearty meal. But I can\u2019t help but feel like I am a drag now that snow is making it practically impossible for me to find my way around outside.<\/p>\n

It takes a while for the fire to start, but once it does we\u2019re warm again. Durene claims she can chop enough wood for the winter and she\u2019s hopeful about food\u2014she says she had a good harvest, but this is living closer to the edge than I\u2019d like. There are no supermarkets here.<\/p>\n

At least we have some winter clothes. The villagers sent some clothes up with Prosts\u2019s wife, Yesel. She came by around midday, with some coats and other garments for me. Good thing too\u2014I was getting tired of my one set of clothes.<\/p>\n

Etiquette demands we offer her something to eat and some of the now wonderfully warm mint tea. I chat with Yesel; she\u2019s quite happy to chatter on with me while Durene listens. It\u2019s very nice, but I sense the way she talks to Durene. And the way she hints to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d be happy to put you up in our home for a few days. Just until the first chill goes away. The children could squeeze together in one room I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s not even really hinting. She\u2019s flat out telling me she wants me to go back with her into the village. And Durene\u2019s clearly unhappy about it, but she doesn\u2019t want to object.<\/p>\n

I sip my tea calmly. What\u2019s the best answer here? Well, clearly: no.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry Miss Yesel, but Durene\u2019s made such a nice place for me\u2014we just got the second cot set up. I\u2019d love to join you for a meal or two later, but for now I feel I should stay here. I\u2019d hate to be out on the road in my condition, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes. I\u2019ve made a good spot for myself, Miss Yesel. And I can get everything Laken needs here\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you have, Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yesel interrupts Durene politely. I get the feeling she\u2019s not actually smiling, but her tone sounds friendly as she reaches out to touch my hand. I jerk and she takes her hand back. I hate<\/em> it when people touch me without\u00a0 warning me.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo excuse me. But I\u2019m sure we could get Durene to pull the wagon if you don\u2019t want to walk. It would only be a few minutes\u2019 trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

So polite. So friendly. I can feel the invisible looks she\u2019s giving Durene. My skin prickles, but I smile in her direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cNevertheless, I\u2019d truly hate to take over your rooms. Kids should have a lot of space, and I wouldn\u2019t want to cramp you all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now she\u2019s hesitating. I know for a fact that my poker face is perfect; but she can\u2019t quite tell if I\u2019m innocently being obtuse or refusing her. Now she takes a different tack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u2014the Beetrs have also said they\u2019d be delighted if you came over for dinner. And they have an empty room after their daughter sadly passed away last summer. You could join them. What do you think?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMm\u2026well\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be so much larger than here. I know Durene has done her best, but isn\u2019t this a tiny bit too small for two people?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014I could sleep outside! Or in the root cellar. I\u2019m fine with\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually like the closeness, in fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time it\u2019s my turn to interrupt Durene. I smile placidly, although I\u2019m getting more and more annoyed by the second. I can sense Yesel reacting across the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m fine, I really am, Miss Yesel. Durene is an excellent hostess. She\u2019s helped me out immeasurably and I have every confidence that she will continue to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene\u2019s silent, possibly embarrassed, and Yesel is quiet. Then she speaks to Durene directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene? Why don\u2019t you go fetch us some more firewood? I\u2019m sure Mister Laken is feeling quite chilly.\u201d<\/p>\n

I bite my lip as Durene rises without a word to do as Yesel says. Mister Laken<\/em> is feeling fine, thanks. And Durene shouldn\u2019t have to obey someone else\u2019s order in her own home.<\/p>\n

But because Yesel is giving us a gift and because I don\u2019t have the full picture\u2014not yet\u2014I listen. Yesel leans forwards to talk to me as I hear Durene moving about outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene is a good child, Mister Laken. Sometimes. But we put her out here so she wouldn\u2019t cause trouble if\u2014has she told you what she is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I believe she will tell me when she feels comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but\u2014I think you don\u2019t quite understand what the problem is.\u201d<\/p>\n

I raise one eyebrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cProblem? I haven\u2019t had a problem with Durene, Miss Yesel. Unless you think otherwise?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

She says it, clearly meaning the opposite. I hear a slurp, and then her voice again.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut some of us in the village\u2014Durene was wonderfully good about taking you in, but she\u2019s not someone that should be kept cooped up with you\u2014with someone like you\u2014all winter. It would be better for everyone if you stayed in the village. We\u2019d love to have you.\u201d<\/p>\n

And I\u2019d probably hate it there. I listen to Durene lifting something with a grunt, and then shake my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no problems with Durene, Miss Yesel. I will stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now frustration enters the other woman\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t think that\u2019s wise. Durene is\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2014Is Durene. I think that\u2019s what you meant to say, Miss Yesel. Please don\u2019t say anything else. I prefer to let people keep their secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2014!\u201d<\/p>\n

This has gone on long enough. I stand up.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood day, Miss Yesel. Thank you for the clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not much she can say after that. I practically chase her out, and Durene, covered in snow and bewildered, barely gets to say goodbye.<\/p>\n

Okay, maybe it was rude to bundle the woman off so fast, but she was being incredibly rude. I know Durene has a secret, but why wouldn\u2019t they trust her with me? I\u2019ve slept under her roof for over two weeks now without a problem.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s cozy and warm in Durene\u2019s cottage after Yesel leaves. I\u2019m perfectly content, and Durene is almost pathetically relieved that I\u2019m staying. She keeps chattering nervously about everything but what that conversation meant.<\/p>\n

It occurs to me later what the problem is. I don\u2019t have a problem with Durene, no matter who she really is. But Yesel and the other villagers don\u2019t like that I don\u2019t care.<\/p>\n

Not one bit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 22<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve just begun to adjust to the new circumstances of freezing weather. It\u2019s impossible for me to really find my way around outside without Durene, but we can still go walking in the snow. Of course, I have to be bundled up like a sausage, but that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not like we lack things to do inside. There\u2019s still so much that no one ever taught Durene\u2014whether because this world doesn\u2019t have any standard of education or because no one taught her specifically, and I enjoy talking with her.<\/p>\n

But sometimes we do crave the outside, if only to perform vital tasks. Despite the decent construction, Durene\u2019s outhouse freezes all my bits the moment I try to do my business. That makes everything slower, but she waits patiently for me as I attempt to speed up my natural body processes.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I hear the laughter, and the malicious voices. Children\u2014the village children\u2014come running up the path towards Durene\u2019s cottage as I sit in the outhouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreak! Come out, Freak!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere she is! Get her!\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like listening to a movie, only I\u2019m sitting in a freezing-cold movie theatre and I don\u2019t have a bag of popcorn. And this is real, so my heart immediately pounds harder when I hear Durene\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cOw! Stop!\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening? I hear paffs,<\/em> the sound of snow hitting\u2014<\/p>\n

Snowballs. Those little bastards are throwing snowballs! From the sounds outside Durene isn\u2019t doing anything, just trying to shield herself. But the children are laughing.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet her! She\u2019s a [Witch]!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s tricking the blind man! Let\u2019s slay the Freak!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not! I\u2014ow!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

More laughter, and the sounds of more snowballs being thrown. I fumble with my pants, trying to think of what to do as the situation outside escalates.<\/p>\n

Those\u2014there\u2019s a difference between having fun and being malicious little demons. I have to do something. But what?<\/p>\n

For a few seconds, I worry about consequences and repercussions. Durene has her own relationship with the villagers. Who am I to interfere with that?<\/p>\n

Who am I?<\/p>\n

An [Emperor].<\/p>\n

Oh.<\/p>\n

Of course.<\/p>\n

How could I have forgotten? This house is my empire; Durene is my subject. And those annoying little brats are harassing her. I have a duty to her.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t quite kick the outhouse door open, but I do push it out with more force than normal. Frankly, I\u2019d hate to break the door even in my anger. No one wants to have wind and ice flecks blown right at their private parts in the midst of an intimate moment.<\/p>\n

The laughter cuts off as soon as I step into the snow. I turn in the direction of the kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey. You lot. Stop that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not exactly fighting words, but I\u2019m deadly serious. And these are just kids. I hear uncomfortable shifting, and then voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat should we\u2014?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe don\u2019t know nothing! He\u2019s blind!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah! We gotta chase away the Freak!\u201d<\/p>\n

I point in their direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t appreciate bullying. Keep away from Durene. If you little bastards throw snow at her again, there will<\/em> be consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

For two seconds I think that will work. Then one of the children laughs uncertainly. He jeers at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t do nothing! You can\u2019t see!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah! He likes the Freak more than real people!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Something flies past my face and I flinch back. Crap. Suddenly all the animosity of the gang of children is transferred at me. A snowball filled with ice bursts against my coat and I wonder what I should do next.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop that!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Something huge interposes itself between me and the children. I feel Durene protectively shielding me.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook! The Freak\u2019s in the way!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet her!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThrow these! Eat pinecones, Freak!\u201d<\/p>\n

Something bounces off Durene and she yelps. That\u2019s when I lose my temper.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

I push Durene aside and the word comes out of me like a shout. But it\u2019s not quite a shout. It\u2019s\u2026something else.<\/p>\n

The rage burning in my chest ignites, and it attaches to the word. It bursts out, and I feel it leave like a physical thing.<\/p>\n

What happened? What did I just do?<\/p>\n

I hear screams, and then the sound of someone throwing up. Then I hear footsteps, running, confusion, screams\u2014<\/p>\n

Then silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene? What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

I reach out and touch a thick back covered with cloth. I feel Durene\u2019s cold skin shivering, and then she takes my hand with her callused palms.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaken? I\u2014I don\u2019t know. You did something just now. The kids\u2014they\u2019ve all run off!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did that?\u201d<\/p>\n

I must have. And it must be\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201c[Aura of the Emperor]. Durene, tell me what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

We stand in the snow as Durene tries to relate what happened. According to her, it was suddenly as if I shouted and something hit<\/em> the kids. She felt a presence\u2014and sudden fear. But what I did wasn\u2019t aimed at her, so it was brief.<\/p>\n

The children clearly had a more violent reaction. They made tracks. I don\u2019t know what I did, not exactly, but I can guess.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was angry. Seriously pissed. I must have used that to scare them. The aura\u2014I might be able to use that in other ways as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

I can remember the sensation. It was physical; like sending part of myself out into the world. It was amazing, and terrifying. I\u2019ve never felt like that before, but I\u2019m glad.<\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019m glad I did it. And so is Durene. In her own way!<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have done that. You shouldn\u2019t have! There will be trouble\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is, we\u2019ll be causing the trouble. Those children had no right to harass you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s just them being\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s them being intolerant idiots. I won\u2019t let anyone do that again. It stops now.\u201d<\/p>\n

How? All I know is that I mean every word as Durene and I dry off. How would I stop those kids, outside of using that skill again?<\/p>\n

Fence? Too hard, and they\u2019d just climb over it or get around it somehow. Bear trap? Probably not.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose we could just bury them in the snow head-first next time they come by. I\u2019ll hold their legs; you dig the hole.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene giggles nervously, and I smile as I tell more jokes to make her laugh. But I can\u2019t help but feel like I\u2019ve started something.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m right. Not thirty minutes later, I hear someone approaching. Durene tenses up and she tells me Prost has come by. We invite him in, and he gets to business in a matter of seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids say you did something, Mister Laken. They weren\u2019t hurt none although they\u2019re fair terrified. But we\u2019d like to know what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you know, Mister Prost. I heard them throwing snowballs and pine cones at Durene and had a word with them. We can\u2019t have children going around attacking people, can we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I suppose not. Still, that was a bit of a thing to do over a little thing like that, wasn\u2019t it? I\u2019m sure the children didn\u2019t mean nothing by it. They tease Durene, but there\u2019s nothing in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

I keep my voice light and friendly, like a calm before the storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019re right, Mister Prost. I\u2019m sure they didn\u2019t meant anything by the snowballs. Or the name calling.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shifts, and I hear Durene swallow.<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Laken, you seem like a nice enough young man. But there\u2019s something you don\u2019t know about Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019ve been told by you, the children, and your wife. I thought I made it quite clear that I don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNevertheless, sir. Durene\u2019s different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMister Prost\u2014!\u201d<\/p>\n

I can almost feel Durene shrinking back. And now I\u2019m even angrier than I was at the kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop that. Yes, you, Mister Prost. Durene has been nothing but friendly to me since I arrived here. Your children on the other hand attacked her, and then me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that sir, and I\u2019ll make sure they remember it. They won\u2019t be walking straight, you have my promise. But Durene\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is your problem with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

I snap. I can\u2019t help it.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene is different. I get that. But what does that matter? She\u2019s a friend. My friend. If she has a secret, she will tell me herself.<\/em> Now, I think it\u2019s time you leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prost hesitates, but he doesn\u2019t get up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might think Durene is fine, but you don\u2019t see her like we do. Now, Durene, you\u2019re a good enough girl, but\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

I stand up.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough. I think you should leave, Mister Prost. Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man stands up. He\u2019s angry, now.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t understand the situation, Mister<\/em> Laken. Durene\u2019s our village\u2019s problem, and she was easy enough to manage before this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d almost forgotten Durene was in the room. She sounds like a mouse\u2014a big one\u2014as she tries to speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not doing anything! I just want to help Laken!\u201d<\/p>\n

The other man\u2019s voice is flat as he replies.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t belong with our kind. You help\u2014but we keep you away for a reason. Remember your father? If his kind came back or you lost control\u2014you\u2019re not like us, Durene. And Mister Laken doesn\u2019t know that!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe likes me! He doesn\u2019t care! Why is that so bad?\u201d<\/p>\n

For once Durene is arguing back. I don\u2019t respond and let her raise her voice. But now Prost is shouting.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you raise your voice to me! Who do you think took you in, fed you? We risked our necks for you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou only did that because my mother asked you to! And you gave me scraps! I had to sleep in the barn with the other animals! I never\u2014never ate with you all! And now you\u2019re trying to take away my only friend!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Now it comes out. Durene\u2019s voice is filled with emotion, and I can hear her hands cracking the wood of her table as she grips it. There\u2019s a crack<\/em>, and I feel the table I\u2019m sitting at break.<\/p>\n

Prost knocks over his chair and retreats to the door. Durene\u2019s on her feet\u2014not advancing\u2014but I get up before anyone can act.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s enough. Prost, it\u2019s time for you to go. I\u2019m staying here with Durene, and nothing you tell me is going to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you don\u2019t understand!\u201d<\/p>\n

It sounds like Prost is nearly tearing out his hair\u2014if he has any\u2014in frustration. But he\u2019s afraid of Durene as well, I can tell.<\/p>\n

Durene\u2019s voice is cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that\u2019s what Laken says, he stays. I\u2019ll take care of him here. Now, you\u2019ve gotta leave, Mister Prost. This is my house, and you\u2019re not welcome here any longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

She advances, and I hear the man rush out the door. I follow Durene out, and hear Prost\u2019s voice. He\u2019s far away from us but shouting.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know what she is!? <\/em>She\u2019s a monster! A freak!\u201d<\/p>\n

My pulse is boiling in my veins. I glare in his direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care.<\/em> Go away and stop bothering us!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know anything, boy! She\u2019s tricking you by acting friendly, but her kind can\u2019t be trusted! She\u2019s a monster. She\u2019s not Human she\u2019s a\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA Troll!\u201d<\/p>\n

The word doesn\u2019t come from Prost\u2019s mouth. It comes from Durene, a shout. My heart skips a beat, and then I hear her shouting.<\/p>\n

\u201cTroll!<\/em> There! I said it! Troll, Troll, Troll!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Her voice is huge. Huge and deep, and it\u2019s so loud I swear snow is falling from the trees. She screams<\/em> at Prost, leaving the man speechless.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t you let me have this? Why did you have to tell<\/em> him? What harm would it have done if I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene is crying, sobbing as she shouts as loudly as she can. She rails against Prost, cursing him. I hear an impact and sense she\u2019s fallen to her knees. In the next silence I listen and hear distant crunching in the snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s running.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coward. My heart is beating too fast, and I feel something clenching at it. I\u2019m furious, but right now Durene is more important.<\/p>\n

Slowly, I step forwards towards her, reaching my hand out. I touch her\u2014and her rough skin slides under my fingertips. She makes no move; only sobbing as I slowly touch her.<\/p>\n

Arm. Rough arm, practically bursting the seams of her clumsily-sewn clothing. And then up to her shoulder, twice as broad as mine. Her muscle is as dense as a rock, and her skin feels like an elephant\u2019s hide.<\/p>\n

Then her neck, her head. It\u2019s like a Human\u2019s but big enough for her body. Her nose is\u2026wide, and she has eyebrows. And hair. Long and coarser than Human hair, but not by much.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the secret. That\u2019s what she feared. Her terrible, meaningless, sad secret. But she told one lie, and as I touch her face, I know. I see everything.<\/p>\n

I murmur the words into the snow as I touch her tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalf-Troll.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[Emperor Level 4!]<\/p>\n

[Skill \u2013 King\u2019s Bounty obtained!]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 23<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Troll. What do you think of when you hear that word? I\u2019m told that movies have wonderful images of Trolls, but I have obviously never seen them.<\/p>\n

So I can only work off the descriptions of Trolls I\u2019ve read in stories. When I first read The Hobbit,<\/em> my notion of Trolls were these slightly bigger-than-average Humans with cockney accents and weird names. One of them was called Bert, for goodness sake!<\/p>\n

But then I listened to The Lord of the Rings movie, and my idea of Trolls was different. The idea of some massive, grey humanoid creature that roared and swung a club around fixed itself in my head. Even when I read the descriptions of green Trolls with noxious odors, the image of the Troll with stone-like skin and savage, dimwitted rage stayed with me.<\/p>\n

That is not Durene. So when I listened to her, I threw away all the notions and preconceptions I had about Trolls. All of them. I put the stories I\u2019d heard in a box and tossed it out, because she deserves to tell me who she is rather than have me judge her before I know her.<\/p>\n

And I do know Durene. She isn\u2019t violent. She isn\u2019t angry. And from what she tells me, neither are Trolls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know my father. He was\u2014he was a wandering Troll, and I think he met my mom during the Spring. He was hungry and she was living by herself and\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Trolls are monsters. Everyone considers them as such, apparently. They don\u2019t have a civilization like Drakes or Gnolls, but they are smarter than your average monster. Smart as a Goblin, which might not be saying much. I don\u2019t know. But not all Trolls are violent.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe must not have been hungry, because he didn\u2019t eat my mom. Not all Trolls eat\u2026people.\u201d<\/p>\n

We sit together in Durene\u2019s home as she tells me everything. The fire crackles, but aside from that, everything else is quiet. I sit silently at her broken table, listening as Durene\u2019s low voice speaks into the silence.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s done crying. All the grief and fear of last night is gone, and now the truth comes out of her. All the things she wanted to tell me, spilling out. I can feel the fear in her voice, that I\u2019ll judge her, run from her. Fear her. I listen to it all in silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom was living alone, away from the others. She\u2019d been married\u2014I think she\u2019d had a husband before, and another kid. But she lost both so she had a small farm by herself. And Dad was hungry, so she found him in her fields. And I guess she must have liked him, or gotten to know him somehow, because a few weeks later she was pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how they met?\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene shifts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. Mom never said, and the villagers just said that Miss Yesel came up one day and found her pregnant and alone. And Troll tracks nearby. I think that\u2019s how it happened. I hope it is. Otherwise\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Otherwise, her mother was attacked by a Troll. And Durene will never know which is true, because her mother is dead and none of the other villagers were there. But they speculated, and Durene probably grew up hearing that speculation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyways, they let Mom stay, but an adventurer heard about a Troll and came to kill it. He\u2014he did. And afterwards, he wanted to kill me too, but Mom wouldn\u2019t let him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid she raise you alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe tried. But after I was born she was so weak because I was too big\u2014and she never fully got better. She died when I was four. After that, the village took me in, but I didn\u2019t really have a home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sleeping in a barn. Fed scraps. I can only imagine what it was like.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was bigger, I made my home here, where Mom used to live. I\u2019ve been living here since, and the villagers only call me when they need help. I was alone, and I\u2019d hide every time adventurers came by. I hid from other people too, in case they thought I was dangerous. Until I met you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I get it. The crying in the woods, the hope that I wouldn\u2019t immediately judge her, the villagers wanting to separate me from the potentially dangerous half-monster.<\/p>\n

It all makes sense. It\u2019s such a predictable story in some ways.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s such crap. Durene doesn\u2019t deserve any of this.<\/p>\n

I choose my words carefully in the silence after Durene\u2019s confession. I really don\u2019t know what to say, but I know what not<\/em> to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene. I\u2019m sorry all of this has happened to you. But it doesn\u2019t change anything for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She gulps.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaken. I\u2014I\u2019m sorry I lied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. It\u2019s not. I should have told you. And you don\u2019t have to\u2014to say nice things. You can leave. I\u2019ll bring you into the village and apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would I do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Pause.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m staying here. With you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou being half-Troll doesn\u2019t change anything. I told you that, remember? I got to know you, and that means I won\u2019t run away just because you\u2019re not Human.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014you don\u2019t understand. I\u2019m half Troll.<\/em> Adventurers would kill me on sight. If I were in a town or a city I\u2019d probably have a bounty put on my head!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably. But that doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ll go. It\u2019s okay, Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! Stop being so nice!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene, calm down. I\u2019m not upset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know! But\u2014it\u2019s not nothing! Stop being so nice<\/em> to me! What I am\u2014I\u2019m not Human! I\u2019m not normal! Don\u2019t pretend you don\u2019t care!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI care. But I know you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo you don\u2019t. You can\u2019t see\u2014you\u2019d never trust me if you could see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what the villagers have told you. But they\u2019re wrong. They look at you and see a monster but they are wrong. They. Are. Wrong. Do you understand that, Durene?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I can\u2019t. No.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene? Where are you going? Durene? Durene!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m on my feet as the door slams open. The cold winds of winter rush in, and I hear massive footsteps thumping away. I run after her, shouting.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene!\u201d<\/p>\n

Only after I\u2019m outside does it occur to me that maybe I should have given Durene more space. She\u2019s right; I was treating this like nothing. I should have shown more of the surprise swirling inside of me.<\/p>\n

But I didn\u2019t want to hurt her feelings and I still meant what I said. How could a girl that nice and caring be a monster?<\/p>\n

And now I\u2019m running through the snow, without my cane. I slow the instant I realize that.<\/p>\n

Oh shit. The snow is deep around me, I can\u2019t see, and there is nothing like a path that I can follow.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m lost.<\/p>\n

For a few seconds I just turn, trying to look for my tracks in the snow. But I can\u2019t find them. I shout for Durene, but she\u2019s not coming back. I\u2019m by myself, and I can already feel the cold piercing my clothing.<\/p>\n

This is probably a blind person\u2019s worst fear. Without any tools I can barely find my way around, and without people or landmarks in this freezing weather\u2014I\u2019m so dead.<\/p>\n

I start walking forwards, trying to feel for anything that reminds me of Durene\u2019s cottage. I don\u2019t have a choice. Either I could stay and hope Durene comes back\u2014and she could be gone for hours\u2014or I try to return to the cottage.<\/p>\n

I only ran a little bit outside. But that distance could be miles as far as I\u2019m concerned. This damn snow! It\u2019s falling from the skies and making everything unfamiliar. Even my tracks\u2014I try to kick up as much snow so I can find my way back.<\/p>\n

Okay. Let\u2019s go\u2026ten steps this way. No? I feel nothing familiar, so I try to retrace my steps. I find my tracks and get back to roughly where I thought I was before. Now this way. No?<\/p>\n

\u2026Where did my tracks go? I spin around, confused. The snow\u2014it\u2019s too thick! I bend down, but my hands feel only the same level of snow around me. It\u2019s as if I never started walking in the first place.<\/p>\n

Oh no. I\u2019m starting to panic. I stumble forwards, feeling my way ahead.<\/p>\n

Gah! Damn it, I just ran into a tree.<\/em> That\u2019s bad. I\u2019m in the forest. I try to turn back, but I\u2019m not 100% sure I\u2019m not going further into the forest.<\/p>\n

Another tree. And now I\u2019m trying to listen for anything that can help me find my way to Durene\u2019s cottage.<\/p>\n

I might die out here. I take a deep breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene! I\u2019m lost out here! Can yo\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

I trip. My world shifts and I hit the ground hard. Something just caught my foot! Not a tree root\u2014<\/p>\n

I scramble back towards whatever it was in the snow. I\u2019m praying that I tripped over one of Durene\u2019s plants and I\u2019m in her garden.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a plant. It\u2019s not anything like a plant. Instead, as my aching foot could attest, the object is heavy and partially buried in the ground. I feel at it.<\/p>\n

Not a rock\u2026the outside is rough and coarse. A bag? Yes! I can feel the opening here, and two drawstrings. Curious now, despite the cold, I undo the strings.<\/p>\n

Is this some kind of bag of fertilizer? But no, why would that\u2026<\/p>\n

Hold on. My fingers encounter something hard in the bag and jerk away. I touch again. Something clinks<\/em> as I shift it.<\/p>\n

Round, hard, circular objects. Lots of them. I feel them, lifting one up and dropping it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

Clink. Clink<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s only one thing that makes that kind of beguiling, attractive sound. And the weight of it! I pull at the bag, but I can\u2019t even get it to shift in the frozen ground.<\/p>\n

Is this what I think it is? Really?<\/p>\n

\u201cLaken! LAKEN!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

I hear someone shouting my name in the distance. Immediately I stand up and bellow back.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene? Over here!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately, I hear crashing through the woods. Branches splinter off Durene as she crashes towards my location, showering me with snow. I splutter and then feel two arms around me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry! I\u2019m so sorry!<\/em> I didn\u2019t realize you were out here!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay! Durene! You\u2019re squishing me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately she lets go. I gasp for air\u2014I\u2019d heard of a bear hug, but this is the first time I actually felt someone literally squashing me.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay. I\u2019m really glad you found me. Durene, I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

I grasp her arm. She falls silent, and I do too. For a few seconds, I just listen to my heart beating, and hear snow softly falling in the background. Durene\u2019s skin is rough under my palms. Rough, but not unpleasant.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time I\u2019ve really touched you, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally. You\u2019ve helped me along, but I normally grab your clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she never let me touch her before that. I feel Durene gulp as I hold her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d<\/p>\n

We stand like that in silence for a little while. Then I feel the chill seeping into my bones.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess we should go back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight! Let me carry you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene wants to lift me up, but I shake my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found something in the ground. Can you pull it up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the ground? Where?\u201d<\/p>\n

It takes me a few seconds to find it. Durene covered it when she ran over. But when I show Durene she lifts it up. It sounds like she\u2019s uprooting a huge amount of soil and I cover my face as some of it flies at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s this bag? I\u2019ve never. Oh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her voice goes silent all of a sudden. I feel around, and then find the bag in her hands. I reach into the open top and pick out two of the heavy little circular things within.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Durene. Would you mind telling me what you see? I don\u2019t want to get ahead of myself, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

I tap the round object against the second one and hear that delightful chime of metal on metal. Each coin is heavy<\/em>, and as I weigh them in my hand I notice the rough, smooth stones in the sack as well. Well, well, well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could be wrong, but I hope I\u2019m not. Because unless I\u2019m very much mistaken, this is a gold coin. And this would be buried treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m remarkably calm about that bit. That is, until we get back to the cottage and start counting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all gold!\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene exclaims as I place another coin on the careful stack of five on the table. I have to move carefully so as not to knock over my stacks, but with Durene\u2019s help we\u2019ve tallied the contents of the mysterious sack at last.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne hundred and forty one gold coins and eight gemstones.\u201d<\/p>\n

I sit back in my chair and reach for the mug of tea. Durene pushes it into my hands and I savor the warmth. I still feel a bit cold after my little exploration outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fortune. A huge fortune! Where did it come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have my suspicions.\u201d<\/p>\n

I can sense Durene\u2019s curiosity. I smile. The treasure I found managed to calm Durene down. She forgot about her woes to bask in the radiance of gold. Myself, I can\u2019t see the appeal. It\u2019s just heavy metal to me, but I\u2019m told it\u2019s quite valuable.<\/p>\n

And in this case, it\u2019s literally more money than Durene has ever seen in her life. By her estimates, I could literally buy Riverfarm six times over. At least. She has no idea where the money came from, and I tend to doubt that someone would just leave a fortune in the ground like that. But there might be another explanation for my good fortunes.<\/p>\n

\u201c[King\u2019s Bounty]. It has to be my Skill.\u201d<\/p>\n

It tickles my sense of humor a bit that I got a skill probably meant for [Kings]. I didn\u2019t really have time to even wonder what it meant, but this is a pretty good sign of what the Skill does.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean you got money because of a Skill?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps. It might be that I can\u2019t <\/em>be poor if I have [King\u2019s Bounty] as a Skill. You know, like how a [King] should never be poor? Haven\u2019t you heard of something like that happening before?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Never! But\u2014I have heard of [Treasure Hunters] that can find buried treasure. But why would an [Emperor] have that skill?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps because any ruler should have money? Doesn\u2019t it make sense that the Skill would be doing this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, but Skills aren\u2019t normally this powerful! Not at early levels!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight. You mentioned that. Normally people received weaker skills the lower level they are. Only when they\u2019re above Level 30 do the skills become powerful, right? But maybe this is<\/em> a crummy skill for an [Emperor] by comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe it. I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly useful, although I wonder how we\u2019ll spend it. There\u2019s not exactly a lot of shops around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you Durene, I\u2019m staying with you. And you helped me dig this thing up. Without you, I would have frozen out there in a few more minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene.\u201d<\/p>\n

I reach out and touch her. This time I get one of her sides. She freezes, but I trace my hands upwards. I find her face, and feel her trembling.<\/p>\n

\u201cDurene. I\u2019m going nowhere. And I don\u2019t care if you\u2019re half-Troll or half-Goblin or half-Frog. You are who you are, and I like you for that. You can run, and I might not be able to follow you in the snow, but when you come back, I\u2019ll be waiting. So why not just stay?\u201d<\/p>\n

I feel silly, and I\u2019m sure what I said didn\u2019t make too much sense. But Durene trembles, and I feel wetness at my fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what to do. I want you to stay, Laken. I do. But what if\u2014what will the others say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they say is their business. Not yours. I\u2019m asking you if I can stay here, Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Please.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen that\u2019s settled, then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you and I. I don\u2019t know what I should\u2014I must be so strange to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly a bit. But that\u2019s because I don\u2019t know you just yet. I know a lot but…Durene. Will you let me touch you? I can\u2019t see, but I want to get to know you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2014what if you hate me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never would.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen\u2014can I touch you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

A rough hand, a finger gently brushes against my face. It feels as light as a feather. I feel at Durene\u2019s face, tracing the contours of her features, trying to understand her in my own way. She touches me, gently, as if she\u2019s never touched another living thing before.<\/p>\n

Slowly, I work my way down from her face. Durene shivers, but her touch is just as light. I am curious, and so is she. There\u2019s no words, but I think we understand each other completely in that moment.<\/p>\n

No more secrets. No more hidden truths and untrue and unkind words. Just a light touch; an intimate question whispered from one person to another.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s more touching, but I won\u2019t talk too much about that. The snow falls heavily, as inside, Durene and I explore one another. We are who we are. No more.<\/p>\n

No less.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 24<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I feel like I shouldn\u2019t share much of this day either. Let\u2019s just say that today the pile of gold and jewels went nearly completely untouched, until we accidentally knocked the table over. Turns out gold coins hurt<\/em> when they\u2019re dropped on your body.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 25<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mm. More of the same, really. But we talked about the future. We talked, and I made her laugh. As we did before. As I hope to do.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day 27<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A bunch of kids called out for Durene as she and I were having breakfast. They needed help; a roof had collapsed in the village under the weight of the snow and the villagers needed Durene to lift a beam.<\/p>\n

I told her not to go. Durene wanted to help. In the end, I waited for her to return. When she did, she was upset.<\/p>\n

Tears, hot and wet, fall on my fingertips. Durene\u2019s skin feels a bit like cracked stone as I brush against her cheek. Swords or arrows would have a hard time piercing her skin.<\/p>\n

But words? Words cut deepest of all.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what to do. I\u2019m not a monster! But they just think I\u2019m like my father. I don\u2019t know what to do. Laken\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither do I. But I can\u2019t bear to see her crying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t do anything. Just lift things. Like an animal. That\u2019s all I do. I can\u2019t build or cook. I can barely grow things\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShh.\u201d<\/p>\n

It takes her a long time to get to sleep, but eventually it happens. I sit up, anger and sadness fighting like snakes in my belly. What can I do? What could\u2014<\/p>\n

What could I do for her?<\/em><\/p>\n

And then I have it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 28<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIs it like a [Knight]?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost. But better. After all, any ordinary monarch can make a [Knight]. But only an [Emperor] can give someone this class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durene shifts next to me. I hold her hand, and feel her quiver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure I\u2019m a warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you a [Farmer]?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen try this. They weren\u2019t always warriors. Culture just interpreted them that way after a while. Before that they were just servants. Great warriors, true, but they served Charlemagne in more ways than just in combat. I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t actually spent that much time studying the etymology of that class, even though I once played as one in a D&D session. Oh well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to be one, I\u2019ll make you one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like that? It sounds too easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not. I\u2019m the only [Emperor] on this continent; only I can choose who is worthy of this class. And of all the people in the world, there\u2019s no one I\u2019d want to be with me than you, Durene.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2014please. I don\u2019t want to just be a [Farmer].\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, kneel.\u201d<\/p>\n

I feel her bend down in front of me. I reach out and place my hands on her shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knight you, Durene. I name you as my [Paladin], my foremost champion who will protect and serve me. Will you do this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

She whispers it, then says it louder.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n

Something changes. Just a bit. I bend down to Durene and give her a kiss. On the forehead, then elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that<\/em> part of being a [Paladin] too?\u201d<\/p>\n

I have to laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be a surprise if it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

She rises, and I feel something different about her. It\u2019s subtle. But it comes to me as I\u2019m sleeping. Perhaps it\u2019s not confidence; not yet. There\u2019s no marked change in her, no sudden shift. But there is one thing she has now that she never had. And it\u2019s growing slowly, like one of her seeds.<\/p>\n

A purpose.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 29<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u2026I\u2019m a [Paladin].\u201d<\/p>\n

So Durene says as I wake up. I smile, and hug her, and then she laughs and shouts it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a [Paladin]!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 30<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A lot can happen in a month. In the weather\u2019s case, the atmosphere changed from a nice, pleasantly warm fall to a blizzard-filled winter almost overnight.<\/p>\n

Even now, it seems like the snow won\u2019t stop falling. Twice Durene\u2019s gone out to clear a path. She does it quickly and efficiently\u2014even the deepest snow tends to go flying if she exerts herself.<\/p>\n

A lot can change in a month for people as well. A young woman who would run from children and names has turned into someone else. Someone confident enough to chase away the obnoxious little monsters who tell her she has <\/em>to help out a village full of idiots and bigots. She walks and speaks with something else in her now.<\/p>\n

And I, I changed quite a lot as well. For one thing, the young man named Laken Godart suddenly became an [Emperor] and found someone to love. That has to be worth something.<\/p>\n

In a small cottage a few miles outside of the village of Riverfarm, I sit. I am the Emperor of the Unseen, Protector of Durene\u2019s House. I have one subject\u2014or should that be consort? She is a half-Troll, a young woman named Durene.<\/p>\n

And she is beautiful. She was a [Farmer]; now she is a [Paladin]. And what that means neither of us know. I have a bag of gold, and a village full of fools that can\u2019t accept Durene for who she is.<\/p>\n

I have no sight, but I have a dream. A grand one, where Durene and I leave this place that she could never call home. Or maybe we change it. But either way I know we will do it. I am an [Emperor], and for her, I would change the world.<\/p>\n

And so we shall.<\/p>\n

Together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Previous Chapter<\/a> Next Chapter<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 13   I am an [Emperor]. That is fact. But I don\u2019t know what it means. After an entire day of speculation and worry, Durene has no more answers for me. Myself, I\u2019m just content to find out. I guess it\u2019s because of my class that Durene is freaking out so much. To me, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52856846,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"patreon-level":0,"patreon_level":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11693083,349],"tags":[7224,250708,4330244,4472517,11693079],"twi_volume":[11693132],"twi_collection":[],"class_list":["post-2370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-volume-3","category-writing","tag-fantasy","tag-inn","tag-web-novel","tag-web-serial","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n3.01 E - The Wandering Inn<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wanderinginn.com\/2017\/08\/05\/3-01-e\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3.01 E\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Day 13   I am an [Emperor]. 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