“Master Rainen, the nearest town is down this road here,” Hilda points out a small dot on the map near a bundle of hills, “I would advise going near anything remotely wild due to monster attacks. This would also cause us to arrive at the Green City later than originally planned.”

“Let’s go down that road then!” Aisha rushes toward the driver and he recoils from the surprise.

“I wasn’t expecting her to agree so easily,” I take the map from Hilda. “Going through this town means we have to pass through this batch of woods over here.”

“Yes, that is the most troublesome. Although I expect the woods to be a bit safer since there have almost never been any reported attacks on that road, I would prefer we take the safest route…” Hilda hesitates, “And that may mean missing this town on the way.”

“I’m an advocate for my own safety,” Axel responds, “And I want to know how my family is doing as soon as possible.”

“Thank you for agreeing,” Hilda says while glancing back at Aisha who’s face has dropped from hearing Axel’s response. The driver has pushed himself far to the left to avoid Aisha groping for control of the horse’s reins.

“But,” Axel leans against the carriage, “From the few people who we passed, they said the city seemed to be doing much better. Good enough that everything from the outside still looked intact save for a few holes in the walls. And, I know you aren’t just going from town to town, village to village searching for a knife to add to your collection.”

“Great!” Aisha sits down next to the carriage driver, “We’re taking the road to Darvin Town. It should be the next path to our right.”

“She’s eager,” I mutter, “I thought she’d want to be home as soon as possible considering how much she dislikes sleeping outside.”

Hilda and Axel both shake their heads and Axel says, “You really can’t be that dense Rai. I know you’re far from stupid.”

Hilda stands to get out of the carriage, “Of course she would be excited to take a detour to a town Master Rainen. A bed, whether warm or not is better than the ground... And on another note, I have not heard a complaint this entire trip.”

“Nope Hilda, I’m very excited for a bed,” Aisha yells back as she watches her dog run along with the horses.

“I knew it.” I wish Aisha would be a little more open with me. If I keep on playing the dense card, I wonder if she’ll ever speak up.

I reach behind the few crates pushed to the end of the carriage and feel for something. Good. It’s still there. Behind the crates is my sword wrapped up in white cloth. I had to find a good balance between keeping it with me and not having others get curious about it.

It’s been over a week since we left the academy and I’ve done a decent job so far. Aisha was one of the few, and probably the only one, who looked at it with interest at the start. It took some time but I was able to get her mind off it.

I have gripes about going through all these towns and villages with Aisha and the rest of the group with the monsters are out of control but if I want to find my master, then I can’t waste time. On the plus side, I’m not alone.

I stare at the map as Axel leaves to fraternize with the group we decided to travel with. Once we hit the crossroads, Aisha finally leaves the poor carriage driver alone and sits next to me. For a second, I wish she was still bothering him.

She isn’t talking, rather, she’s hogging the map, so much so that I can’t even see most of it. We stay like this for a while, no exchange of words, no angry shoulder bump so I can see the path we’re going to take, nothing but complete tolerance…

The carriage comes to a stop and the driver says, “We’ve arrived at the town.”

I put the map down and go outside. A few town guardsmen inspect our wagons for dangerous or illegal items. Hilda speaks with one of them. Aisha and I both walk closer to eavesdrop on their conversation. It turns out to be about the monsters.

“Yes, ma’am. The town has been attacked but we were able to fight them off. There’s slight damage to the houses outside of the town and inside as well. We’re currently working on repairs since things have quieted down. Patrols have become more regular and requests for adventurers have increased.”

I step in, asking the man if he’s seen my master. I list a few descriptions of him and the guard shakes his head. I sigh.

“I haven’t been in this town for too long, a month or so at the most. Don’t lose hope. I’m sure there’s more you can find out for yourself inside.”

“Thank you for the information,” Hilda bows, as the group of carriages head inside.

The town looks to be in good condition. Nice sturdy wooden buildings, a clean stone road, and most importantly, a good amount of people outside. If it’s like this then monster attacks didn’t affect them as much as it seems to have affected other places.

“What are you going to be doing?” Aisha pops up from behind with a curious look, one that I’ve gotten used to. In her hands she holds a blanket, one heavily worn and tattered from continuous use and lack of care.

“I’m going to go say hi and make nice with people in the town,” I say as I bolt off, losing my little sister who’s unable to catch up without fear of slipping on the snow. A minute or so later, I reach the town square. It’s modest in size compared to Aurora City’s square.

As I look for a person who seems like they may meet lots of outsiders, I pass by an apple shop. The man working there waves me over and with a wry smile says, “Hello sir! Could I garner your interest for an apple or two today?”

I shake my head, declining his offer. His face drops and he falls back onto his chair mumbling about the past week. I try to turn away, however, something, the feeling of guilt, latches onto my neck refusing to leave until I say something to the man.

“Sir,” I turn around and pick up an apple, “How long have you been selling here?”

He frowns, “Just for a little while, a year at the most. I moved here after my old village fell into hard times. I heard some became thieves, I heard some sold their bodies, I heard some tried the adventuring life, with little luck of course.”

“I see, that’s rough.”

He nods, “And? I thought you weren’t interested in my here apples.”

“I will be,” I give it a toss and squeeze it with my fingers. It’s in good condition despite it probably being picked months ago. I wonder if there’s some kind of magic to keep it this way. “If I’m looking for someone, where would be the best place to go?”

He chuckles and points down the street, “Just a little further and you’ll hit a tavern. From the looks of you, I really doubt you needed my help. Probably been through a few places before looking for people.”

I shrug and pay for the apple. Getting information, eating an apple, and not feeling bad about not buying anything… It’s a pretty good day so far.

Inside the tavern, as expected, I easily spot the midafternoon drunks, the hungry patrons, and the single stray lad trying to impress the other men. My master and I often went to taverns. I wasn’t allowed to drink any alcohol.

Going up to the server, I prepare the usual coin or two to loosen his mouth. He glances at my hand and slides over, still wiping down a wet cup. He offers me a seat and asks what drink I would like to have.

I decline and ask if he’s seen anyone by the description of my master. He leans on one leg deep in thought while wiping down the inside of the cup in a circular motion. The server frowns and tells me he doesn’t recall anyone like him but before I can leave, he points me to the corner of the bar.

A girl sits alone her hair stretching past the countertop as dark as the night, the only color being the odd beads attached to two shorter strands of hair near her ears. The light reflects off her young, pale skin. She traces the tip of the cup with blank eyes, most likely lost in thought.

“Have you seen-”

She holds her hand up, “I may have, I may not have.”

Gee, that’s a great way to go about getting paid.

“I heard your little chat with the owner over there. If you want to know what I know, then I have a little request for you. Due to the shortage of adventurers, either dead, on quests, or too scared to go out there again, I’m also suffering. So, I need you to go into the woods nearby and collect a few snowbeads for me.”

Snowbeads? Why does she want something like that? “You can’t get them yourself?” I ask.

“No, I can’t,” she pushes the cup away from her, “I’m not suicidal enough to leave during an epidemic. While you’re gone, I’ll rake through my memories to see if I can scoop up anything about this guy you’re looking for. So, is it a deal? ” she finally looks at me.

“Deal,” I say.

“Good. You can find the snowbeads by a clearing behind a large boulder. Normally I’d collect them myself but you already know the situation. Self-preservation and all that good stuff.” she brings the cup back to her lips and takes a drink. “And don’t worry about where it is, you won’t miss it.”

I head off to the woods. The thought crosses my mind to tell the others where I’m going but I throw it out. Aisha and Axel would insist on coming. Aisha would whine until I had enough and blew up at her or caved in while Axel would tag along despite my wishes.

Thanks to my ability, I avoided the troublesome task of going through the city gates and simply went over the walls. After a few minutes, the town begins to shrink as trees start surrounding me on every side. It’s dead silent save for the crunching of the snow under my feet.

The world seems as if it has been deserted. The birds have abandoned their nests to fly away to a warmer place and other animals either sleep during the cold months or roam the deepest part of the woods looking for ones who haven’t holed up in a cave.

As I walk along, I start to wonder if I should head into the woods. I curse myself for not asking for any details on the area. A clearing with a large boulder should be easy to spot but I don’t know whether or not following the road will lead me anywhere near it.

I look for the tallest tree in sight and teleport to the top. From there I scout the immediate area. Sweeping the woods with my eyes I see an empty patch, one with no trees, just a bit further up. I climb down the tree, not wanting to waste a use of my ability to get down.

I run past more snow covered trees until I hit the clearing, “So it’s over there huh?” The boulder sticks out like a bunch of roses in a field of daisies.

I make my way over while keeping my eyes peeled for monsters. If everyone’s so worried, I should be too. I’ve had the fortune to not encounter any so far and I’d rather not meet one while picking up a few snowbeads.

Once I reach the rock, I’m careful in wrapping myself in flames to melt away the snow. If I make a mistake I can end up burning the snowbead. Clearing away the snow one spot at a time, I get to the backside of the boulder.

“Whoa,” I take a step back. The boulder is right next to a hillside. The fall seems pretty steep. I melt away the rest of the snow around the boulder and finally find the snowbead. I crouch down to examine it.

It’s the second time I’ve seen one. A special type of plant that grows near things like cliffsides and on the top of hills hidden behind an object that blocks most of the sunlight. A plant that grows even in the winter. Another name for it, as my master told me, is a twilight flower. The only time the flower gets sunlight is during twilight.

I pluck the flower from its spot behind the boulder and take it into my bracers. Twilight huh? I gaze over the hillside to peek at the horizon.

My eyes grow wide. I do a double take just to make sure my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me. Buried under the white sheets of snow are buildings, dozens of them. Walls stick out of the snow, roofs and other parts of the houses completely missing.

It looks as if the houses were hit with an earth spell. Pieces of clothing, blown away by the wind, hang onto the trees, completely torn, even worse than the blanket Aisha held in her hands earlier today.

How long ago did it take place? Did the monsters do this?

I linger on the scene for a while longer before turning away.

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“Thank you very much,” the woman says, snatching the flower from my open palm and wrapping it around her finger. She sniffs the snowbead and a pleasant smile forms, “Now, time to get down the business. That man you’re looking for, I honestly don’t know too much about him but when he came here he did stay in this tavern for a bit.”

I motion for her to continue.

“He had a certain air about him like he was in a hurry.”

My master in a hurry? I haven’t seen him like that since… since he found out about the demon. He could hardly sleep for days and constantly asked me about my condition. I locked him out and did my best to keep away from him but he wouldn’t stop.

“And on another note, he did seem to be looking for something. Said something along the lines of, ‘The Angel Islands.’ I would have picked up more but my memory of him is hazy and his words never seemed to reach my ears.”

“His words never reached your ears? Were you sitting all the way over here?” It’s obvious why she wouldn’t be able to hear him if that’s the case. As good as my own hearing is, or was, I wouldn’t be able to make out a single word across the bar if the person wasn’t shouting.

“That’s not a problem for me boy. My hearing and memory are both very, very good. So good in fact, I can pick up a whisper from the building next door if I wanted and perfectly repeat the phrase three years later,” she fingers the flower’s petals which shake upon her touch, “An ability like this is best used in a place of gossip. That’s why I hang out here.”

I knew abilities extended what a person could do physically but I never imagined they could also improve the mind.

“I do apologize-”

“It’s fine,” I say, cutting her off. “Don’t apologize. It’s not like your ability is infallible.”

She nods, “Thank you for understanding… Still, that was the first instance in which it happened. Well, never mind. I normally would request a hefty fee but I didn’t have much to say and this flower is also more than enough payment.”

Out of curiosity, I simply ask, “Speaking of which… what happened down there? What happened to the village by the hill?”

“Simple,” she says, “Attacked by those monsters. Nothing more and nothing less.” she focuses her attention on the flower and sniffs it again, “Thank you for the sweet dreams.”

“It’s just the payment, rather, I’m the one who should be thanking you for helping me out,” I say as I turn to leave. The twilight flower... if I remember correctly, it once was blessed by a god. It sounds nice. A flower that grants a peaceful sleep. Maybe I could use it.

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Author’s Note: It’s been about 3 weeks since I last posted. Now I’m back with book 3! Yay! Hopefully, my writing quality hasn’t dropped much since the last chapter. I’ve been having trouble finding the motivation to write.

It turns out it’s just a lot easier for me to write for The Oddity than it is writing for my reincarnation story. Also, while I’m on that note, do you guys prefer first person or third person perspective?

Chapter 1’s are usually my way of easing people into the new book so I didn’t want to have anything crazy happen in this chapter. Just a few new things learned about the world is good enough. I didn't have time to edit the chapter as I'm a little bit busy at the moment and I also didn't want to wait another week until I finally posted something so here it is.

Please leave a comment or a rating and thanks for reading.