Valorous knew that the guards must be somewhere behind him, so he fled into the Undercity. It was the only place his newly awakened wings could reach, a slum that existed under the floating kingdom. It was a place for vagrants and beggars, a place full of the garbage from the sky.

He fell the last fifteen feet towards the ground of a damp and odiferous alley. He barely had the presence of mind to crawl under a nearby pile of refuse before collapsing as the darkness of sleep devoured him. Valorous was plagued by vicious nightmares where he watched Nahira and his mother get murdered over and over again.

“No!” The distraught prince jerked awake. He writhed on the ground while every exhausted and overworked muscle screamed at him. Eventually he made it to his feet. Looking down at himself, Valorous took stock of his clothing. He realised that his obviously high class attire wasn’t going to help him blend in to the Undercity. Even if it was torn and dirty. Hidden in his empty alley, Valorous tore off the ruined royal garment. He covered himself instead with clothes hanging on an unattended clothesline spread between the alley walls. They were simple garments; a much mended pair of trousers, a homespun shirt that was too big for him, and a thick woolen cloak that was full of holes. He quietly apologized to the absent owner of the clothes. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to need to borrow your clothes for awhile.”

Before leaving the alley, the prince cast minor illusions on himself, too small to catch the magical notice of his father's mages. They were enough to hide the scales and alter his eyes and facial features. The illusions were one of his childhood experiments, an attempt to hide the pulsing of magic within his own pulsing aura. His new magic felt powerful; cold, dark, and bottomless. It was like a pitch black room that you didn’t know the size of or what was lurking inside. By mixing that power with the teal magic he inherited from his mother, he was able to create a semipermanent effect that encompassed both his physical form and his visual auric fields. He pulled his stolen cloak tighter against himself. Then, he walked purposefully across the street, hoping that he looked like he belonged there. He knew that he couldn’t stay in the city for long. He didn’t want to risk being found by his father's men.

Valorous had no destination as he shuffled through the streets. An idea began to form when he happened across a broken cart. “Oh, come on! I don’t have time for this now! I’m already behind schedule.” The cart’s owner was pulling at his beard and kicking his cart.

“Dear, calm down. It’s just a broken wheel. We have a spare under the cabin. Just change it and we’ll be on our way.” The man’s partner told him. She was sitting in the driver's chair, holding her chin with a hand. “Maybe next time you’ll listen to me when I say it’s time to go.” Muttering to himself, the man went underneath the cart.

Valorous unobtrusively bent over and glanced under the cart. There was a little cubby where the man was removing a wheel and jack. It looked like a perfect spot for a thirteen year old fugitive to hide. The prince decided to stow away under a caravan leaving the city.

As he continued his passage through the city, Valorous stopped and hid behind a row of dilapidated carts. He had heard a conversation between a couple of the stall owners and wanted to hear the rest of it. One of them asked, “Why are the palace knights out in such force today?”

“Didn’t you hear, Douja? A Shadow Clan assassin snuck into the palace. Evidently he was after the young princess.” the second one replied in a whisper.

Douja grabbed his friend by her shoulders, “Oh no! Kanna, you don’t mean that sweet girl, Princess Nahira? Is she okay?”

Kanna pushed Douja’s hands from her shoulders. “ Calm down. My friend owns a shop that the sky city buys from. He said that the princess is fine and that the king himself stepped in and drove the scoundrel off.” The woman pulled him in closer. “But I heard that the Queen and her son were poisoned. And then the criminal escaped into the undercity. He could be any one of these people.” She finished by waving her arm out, its motion encompassing the passersby.

Douja shrieked, “What?”

Kanna grabbed him by his ear and pulled him close. “Shush, no one is supposed to know. But my friend told me that it's not looking good. The king is desperate to find a cure. They’re calling in every kind of healing specialist to cure them.” She pulled Douja even closer and whispered in his ear. “I heard that they’re also hiring every mercenary they can to track down the assassin.”

Douja shuddered, “I would not want to be that guy right now.”

Valorous was full of conflicting feelings. Fear over his situation insidiously swam through his veins. He felt disgust over the rumors coming from the palace. His anger was barely contained over the lies about his mother. It was his own father that had struck her down, and this loss threatened to overwhelm him. Tears kept pushing themselves from his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to stop them.

The distraught prince pulled his ragged hood further over his head and skulked through the city, nearing its eastern walls.

When no one was looking, Valorous stealthily rolled under a merchant’s cart near the eastern gate of the Undercity. He curled himself away from the spokes, settling into an empty spare wheel well. After a moment, the cart started moving.

It didn’t get far. As it approached the gate, a voice called out, “Hold. We have to check your cart before you leave.” One of the guards at the gate stepped forward and held out a hand at the driver.

Under the cart, Valorous quickly mouthed a spell, “By Korovix’ secrets, hide me from my pursuers. Illusion’s Shadow.”

The driver pulled up on his reins and stopped his cart. “Woah, Berta.”The beast pulling the cart snorted in annoyance at the abrupt halt. “Of course, Corporal Lute, nothing to hide here.” The driver shrugged. “Just heading over to Gloria town to sell this cloth, and pick up some grain.”

“Sure thing, Maro, no offense. Mandatory checks on all people leaving the city. Some big criminal is in town and might be trying to flee. Gotta make sure you don’t have any stowaways.”

With professional efficiency, the guards circled the cart. One of them pulled himself inside its canopied interior. Opening the boxes and checking their contents, the guard spoke, “All clear, Corporal.”

The other guards checked the exterior of the cart. One got on his hands and looked under the flooring. Staring right at Valorous, all he saw was a spare wheel. “All clear here too.”

Grasping the merchant’s hand, Corporal Lute said, “Alright, Maro, you’re good. Be safe out there.”

“Will do, Lute. Hope you catch your guy. Heeya.” Lashing the reins, Maro and Berta continued on their way out of the city.

Valorous sighed in relief as the cart rolled past the city's gates.

Once free of the Undercity, devising a plan for his future proved difficult. Valorous knew that at thirteen he could hardly storm the palace and rescue Nahira, especially by himself. So he hardened his heart and crystalized his vow to save his princess. He had to take her away from that terrible place, now stained by the echoing memories of his mother's death and his father's madness. His face contorted into a teary scowl. Then with a few stifled sobbing breaths, he forced his expression into one of determined neutrality. This demeanor would become a nearly permanent fixture on the prince’s features.

………………………...

Weeks had passed, and Prince Valorous had weakened with hunger. Dark circles had become a peristing feature around his tired eyes. He had started his journey by trying to fly short distances under the light of the moon. But the amount of energy that took quickly became higher than he was able to forage on most days. So mostly he had to walk from town to town as he went further away from his former home. He followed the roads, but hid whenever another traveler got too close.

The prince looked like a malnourished commoner child with wild and dirty red hair, dull, scared-looking green eyes, and a permanent slouch as though he was waiting for a blow to land.

Though his cheeks were hollowed and his stomach was constantly rumbling, Valorous’ mind continued to race through various plans and possibilities. His emotions were a mess, but he still desperately wanted to survive. He kept himself barely fed by stealing food from the different villages he wandered through. The former prince was constantly worried that he would be found out despite his disguise.

The village Valorous was passing through looked identical to all of the others he had seen. One-story wooden buildings were built in rows around a central plaza. Though most of the structures were carefully made, it was clear that they had seen better days. Stalls lined the main street that carried different foods and other supplies. It must have been market day, as hordes of people milled about, laughing and shopping.

After he took it all in, Valorous headed towards one of the food stalls with a plan. Whispering to himself, he cast several illusions of rag-wearing urchins that wandered the street. “The Guile of Korovix, trick the world. Shadow’s children.” Though he called upon Korovix’ affinities, sparks of his other heritages wove through the casting, lending his creations a deeper sense of substance. Even so, the prince was still vague in his understanding of his shadowed blood. The mirages wouldn’t have held up to any intense inspections.

He threw discarded cloth over their semi-corporeal forms to prevent observers from looking too closely at them. They looked closer to ragdolls in torn cloaks than people, and their movements were barely humanlike. But they were real enough to fool the casual passerby. With the surplus of ragged vagabonds dividing the attention of the shopkeepers, the prince sidled up to a food cart. Grabbing several pieces of mushy fruit when their owner wasn’t looking, Valorous turned quickly and started to skulk away.

The prince-turned-criminal froze for a second when a timely guard noticed his attempted theft. “Hey! Stop right there, boy!”

Bolting, Valorous ran in the opposite direction. He attempted to confuse the guard by having the illusory children rush towards the man, but the guard was undeterred. He chased after the fleeing thief. As Valorous’ attention shifted to escape, the fake punks slowly faded away. Their now empty rags fluttered slowly to the ground, much to the confusion of the nearby villagers.

“Stop thief! You won’t get away!”

Ducking into several connecting alleys, the pitiful boy turned a corner and hid behind a broken barrel. Quickly forming a new spell, Valorous made himself appear to be just another pile of refuse.

Shaking with fright and embarrassment, Valorous watched as the guard ran past without giving the trash a second glance. Shaking, he stayed under his illusion for quite some time afterwards. Eventually though, the former prince’s hunger got the best of him and he pulled the overripe fruits from his pockets and devoured them, seeds and all.

Hiding until nightfall, the vagabond prince left the broken barrel behind. Skulking through the streets, he found a drunk passed out against the wall of an alley. Filled with self-disgust, Valorous rooted through his clothes. He collected a few coins and a battered knife. As the drunk snorted and rolled over in his sleep, the boy fled. He hated himself every step of the way.

……………...

Outside the trade city of Lenore, the prince encountered a mercenary encampment. There was currently an open training session happening. The troop was testing a group of potential recruit’s skills to earn spots in the wandering army for hire.

Bleachers had been set up around three sides of an open field, where the younglings tried their hands at several tasks. Crowds of cheering Lenore citizens sat in the stands. The excitement was palpable as the city used this excuse to leave work early and treated the event like a festival. Vendors loudly hawked food to the fans.

Archery targets had been placed against the fourth side of the lawn, where wayward arrows wouldn’t hit the attending crowd. Several applicants stood in front of the targets at varied distances, trying their best to hit their objectives. The crowds roared whenever a bulls-eye was struck, shouting the names of their favorite participants.

On one of the other sides of the makeshift arena, a few mages attacked straw dummies with offensive spells. Bolts of lightning, balls of fire, and spears of ice fired from their hands with different levels of success. One poor greenhorn’s lightning bolt hit the ground in front of them, blasting the caster backwards from the misfire. They shakily stood up while smoke trailed off their scorched clothing. Dusting themselves off, they tried to ignore the crowds crowing laughter.

Another group of mages attempted to shield themselves from the attacks of their instructors. They had looks of intense concentration on their faces as they tried to withstand the precise physical or magical blows. As Valorous watched, one of the shields broke, sending its creator to their knees in exhaustion. Pitying sounds came from the stands. “Poor guy, that was his last shot at making it,” someone said.

Valorous was the most interested in the next grouping of applicants. He hid next to the bleachers and watched as several one-on-one martial duels took place. Four pairs of contestants fought one another inside large circles drawn in the packed dirt. Alert instructors scored the participants based on function, style, strength, and battlefield readiness.

The first ring held two large, muscular boys wielding equally large swords. Though Valorous prefered a slimmer blade, he had been taught by instructors that made him fight with and against a variety of weapons. Broadswords were more common and definitely one of the weapons he had experience against. Watching the boys, he critiqued the powerful, but slow and telegraphed movements.

Valorous held his grumbling stomach and rubbed his darkly circled eyes. “If I weren’t so hungry, I know I could take them.” In top form, he was confident he could take either one of the giants, but more than a month of malnourishment, sleeping outdoors, and constantly moving, he knew that he presented a sorry sight.

Looking towards the next painted circle, Valorous saw a tall wiry boy, wielding a long spear, facing off against a springy looking girl who was brandishing two curved blades. Both of these fighters were talented. They dodged, feinted, and counterattacked each other fluidly. Valorous was impressed despite himself. Their irregular styles would serve them well against the classically trained opponents that Valorous had often fought in the noble dueling styles.

Both of the combatants utilized the terrain in their fight. The spearman kicked a shower of dirt at his opponent in an attempt to blind her. But using the flats of both her blades, she defended her eyes against the sneaky attack.

As the duel progressed, the dual wielder was slowly leading her foe towards a dip in the ground, trying to break his footing. He fell for it and tripped into the hole.

He didn’t go down easy though, and he lashed out with the pole of his spear as he went. The wood stabbed between her legs and swept her feet out from under her.

Both of them grunted as they hit the ground.

The girl recovered quicker and slid a knee under herself. She lunged forward and leveled her swords at the spear user’s throat.

Dropping his spear, the boy raised his hands in defeat. The crowds roared merrily at the finale of the duel.

Valorous gave the other two fights a passing glance, but was uninterested in their outcomes. It was clear these last four trainee-hopefuls would need a lot of work to improve.

While watching the fights, it dawned on the former prince that joining a mercenary group could be a good move. Walking tentatively up to an instructor that was leaning against a fence, Valorous asked her, “I want to be a mercenary, how do I sign up?”

The instructor looked the thin, ragged boy up and down, her eyes narrowing. “Sorry kid, you gotta be at least sixteen, and frankly, you look too weak to fight your way out of a paper bag.”

Softening at the determined look in the prince's eyes, the instructor coughed into her hand. In apology, she tried to cheer him up. “Hey, I’m not saying no. You’ve got a couple years to go, so start training now, and you’ll have a chance. My lieutenant is about your size, and he’s a demon with a sword.”

She blatantly sized him up again, “Some advice, kid, this is a good town and there are a number of teachers here. With some luck, even someone in your position might find someone to take you in and teach you the basics.” Pausing, she thought for a moment. “ I’ll tell you what, look for Master Koh and tell him Maddie sent you. He might be able to help you. He lives in a manor down by the river.” Maddie pointed back towards the town. “If Koh sees potential in you, he’ll take you in. He acts really tough and his methods are harsh. So, you better be ready to blister and bleed from his training. But on the inside he’s a big softy and I've seen him take in a bunch of strays. Uhh, don’t tell him I said that.” Patting him awkwardly on the shoulder, Maddie turned away from the boy and continued watching the bouts.

“Oh, well, thanks for the help. Maybe I’ll do that.” The prince replied dispiritedly.

In his dirty rags and inexperience, Valorous was quite disheartened. He felt uncertain of his magical and martial worth in combat, even with all the praise he had received from his tutors. Nonetheless, he decided that a mercenary contract might be the best route to his princess, once he had furthered his own training and came of age.

As he walked away, Valorous considered his options seriously. He reasoned that there were three goals that he had to accomplish. He had to keep his pursuers off of his trail, Become stronger, and survive until his sixteenth birthday. Thinking about it, Valorous realised that he couldn’t stay in a normal city without constantly living in fear of discovery. So the only option left to him was to flee into a place no one from the sky kingdoms would enter: the Forest of Giants.

Valorous remembered a tale he had heard about the forest from before Nahira came to stay at the palace.

He had been skulking around the castle, looking for something fun to do. The prince snuck up behind a pair of guards, intent on glueing their feet to the floor. Their backs were to him and they stood on either side of a large doorway, perfect targets. He sidled up to the doorway, sliding between the wall and a span of conveniently placed vases. His concentration was broken when he took notice of their conversation. Intrigued Valorous sat down with his back to the wall and listened,

“Hey, Tonny, you heard of the Forest of Giants?” the first guard had asked her partner.

“Eh? Isn’t that just a fairy tale?” the second guard replied dismissively.

“What! You idiot, It's only a couple months travel west of here. Don’t you know our surrounding geography?” She smacked his arm, staggering him.

“Ouch, Marlene! You know I’m bad with maps! Don’t hit me.” Tonny grabbed his arm and rubbed it while glaring at Marlene.

“You should still know it’s a real place. Idiot. Anyways, I heard something weird happened near there recently.” Marlene grabbed her partner’s breastplate from across the doorway and pulled him in close. Keeping her voice low and deep, she recounted the tale.

“About a year ago, in a town close to the border of the forest, at night, people started to hear voices. ‘Save me.’ ‘Help me.’ these strange voices wailed. At first the townsfolk thought it was just a prank, so they ignored it.

“But the voices continued night after night. ‘Please, Help.’ ‘It hurts so much.’ Finally, they couldn’t take it anymore. They gathered the strongest members of their town and started patrolling at night, intent on catching these malicious pranksters. But they couldn’t find the perpetrators.

“Even worse, the brave villagers started feeling like they were being watched as they made their rounds. The sobbing voices started getting louder. Several of the villagers felt an icy grip on their shoulders, like something was pulling them.

“The next night, the voices got worse. ‘Why won’t you help us?’ ‘Please, I’m so cold.’ A trace of anger slithered through the voices, like they were mad that the villagers weren’t helping them.

“Finally one of the villagers snapped. He shouted into the night. “Screw you! When I find you, I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life!”

“A chill wind whipped up, tearing up the sentries’ spines. Icy claws raked their arms and legs, leaving bloody gashes behind. Even the hardiest of the townsfolk were overcome with terror. They huddled together in a quivering clump until morning.

“The town woke to devastation. Their meat had spoiled overnight, their crops were withered, and their toughest protectors were shaken and scared. Even worse, several people had gone missing. Something came and stole them away in the darkness.

“At the end of his rope, the town’s mayor called in a crack mercenary team. The town spent every cent it had to hire the best. When they got there, the mercenaries found a trail. Drag marks led away from the town’s wall and towards the cursed Forest of Giants.

“The mercenaries decided to follow the strange ruts into the woods and find the missing villagers. The rest of the townsfolk huddled together at the edge of their town and watched the brave mercenaries head into the den of evil.

“Time passed slowly. One of the villagers gasped and pointed at the forest. Furious activity burst forth. Mercenaries came screaming out of the darkness, weaponless and bleeding. Their armor was in tatters and their minds broken by the horrors they had seen.

“Under half of the mercenaries made it out that day. Most of those were driven insane by the experience. One of the lucid ones recounted what they had encountered in those shadowed woods. He talked about crazy bloodthirsty tribesmen who had surrounded and tormented them. The gangs of wild savages summoned evil spirits to afflict the intruders with curses and madness. A few of the brutes even gnawed the hapless mercenaries. We can only assume that the barbarians ate the men who didn’t escape the forest’s grasp.

“The surviving mercenaries and villagers fled from the horrors hidden in the woods. But no matter where they went, or how far they ran, the savages from the forest found them. None of the mercenaries or villagers survived. Evil lurks in the Forest of Giants, so wicked, so profound, that even the bravest of the Sky Kingdoms dare not enter.”

Finishing her tale, Marlene let go of her companion and shuddered.

“Dang it, Marlene!” Tonny whined, “You know I have trouble sleeping. Now I won’t catch a wink for at least a week!”

Behind the flower pots, Valorous’ eyes were wide with fright. Quickly, but quietly standing, he snuck far enough away that the guards wouldn’t hear him. Out of earshot, the prince dashed away, scared that he would be next in the forest’s conquests of terror. “Tiriel! Tiriel!” The boy shouted worriedly. He raced through the halls, searching for his courageous instructor. Reaching the man’s rooms, Valorous practically broke down the door.

“Hey now, where’s the fire?” Tiriel was standing near the door. He had heard the prince’s cries from down the hall and was already on his way to see what had the boy so riled up.

Unlike the eternally rumpled mage, his quarters were tidy. Everything had a place. The one bookshelf was orderly and the desk next to it had a pile of neatly stacked papers next to an inkwell. Tiriel’s bed was neatly made up. By the lamp next to a comfortable chair sat an open book, so it was clear that Tiriel was reading before he had been interrupted.

Leaping into Tiriel’s arms, Prince Valorous was heaving for breath. The young prince had grabbed onto Tiriel’s lapels and shook the tutor with each word he spoke. “I overheard Marlene and Tonny! I was going to glue their feet to the floor while they weren’t looking. But they were talking about the Forest of Giants and how evil it was. I stopped to listen and they said that a whole town got eaten! Even the strongest mercenary company couldn’t stand up to it! Now that I know about it, the terrible tribes of the forest are bound to come and hunt me down! They’ll have to silence me so I can’t tell anyone else their secrets! You have to help me!”

Prince Valorous stared silently in shock as Tiriel reacted completely differently than he expected. Tiriel had burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that he had to set the prince down for fear of dropping him. Tears pooled in his eyes from the hilarity of Valorous being so serious.

The prince took his tutor’s laughter the wrong way. He turned to run, “Help, help! The forest got to him! Something’s wrong with Tiriel! Someone!”

Before Valorous could make it out the door, Tiriel stopped him. “Wait, my Prince. It’s okay, I’m fine. I’m sorry, It's just so rare that someone gets the best of you. I couldn’t help but laugh. Marlene is a wonderful storyteller. She must have heard you coming and decided to scare you off.” The tutor was still chuckling and wiping the tears from his eyes.

“Wait, but the forest, that's a real place, right? So it could still be coming after me! All those evil tribes, I’ve heard about them before, Tiriel!” Prince Valorous wouldn’t be distracted so easily from his fears.

Tiriel chuckled.“So, your imagination finally burned you for once.” But then the tutor affected a deep and spooky voice. “Still. I’ve also heard the rumors about the Forest of Giants. The forest is full of vicious criminals and savage cannibals. Evil Spirits stalk through the trees, hypnotising their prey and leading them to their doom. Ravenous beasts crash through it all, devouring everything in their path. Even the plants rise from the dirt to strangle hapless victims.”

The wind mage placed a consoling hand on the boy’s shoulder. “But, as you know, my prince, before your father asked me to come stay at the castle and teach his son, I was an adventurer. I wandered all over the world, seeking new and strange horizons. I have been to the Forest of Giants. It was a beautiful place, wild and full of life. Sunlight refracted along the layers of leaves creating rainbows that lit up the whole forest. There was so much ambient magic in the air that it was like breathing pure vitality. There was so much that I had trouble sensing auras. It’s a whole other set of skills to hunt in that place. Skills that its people have developed over the years. I learned a little bit of their ways and I have made many friends among them.”

Tirirel picked the prince up by his armpits and set him down in a nearby chair. “The rumors about the Forest of Giants are false. Well, not completely false. There certainly are giant beasts, and the tribe's culture is different than ours and sometimes strange. Some of the falsehoods were even planted by the tribes themselves.”

The tutor stared off into the distance. “They are a kind people. Honorable and strong. They value those traits above all others. They live simply and free. Did you know, Prince Valorous, that many of the famous mercenary companies have members that hail from the tribes? Their might is legendary among the troops.”

Valorous cut in, “If they are so honorable and strong, why would they circulate such horrible lies about themselves?”

“They are a private people, Prince Val, and they don’t want unknown elements wandering loose in their dens. The rumors keep the curious away. Finally, the forest is a dangerous place and it wouldn’t be good if a bunch of fools got themselves eaten by giant beasts.”

The prince started to calm down, “How do you know so much about them, anyways?”

“Though I’ve never seen their home, I traversed the forest with a group of tribesmen. My companions were surprisingly open about talking with me about their lives. As a people, they are afflicted with wanderlust. Leaving the forest and joining mercenary bands helped to alleviate that itch. They’re quite competitive too. During their travels they pick up every skill or technique they can find, so that when they go home they can fight each other with new styles. The best styles get taught to the rest of their people. That’s what makes them the best of the best. Constant improvement and the flexibility to learn new things.” Tiriel turned to his side table and poured the prince a cup of tea.

The young prince grabbed his hair with both hands. “How is that supposed to make me feel better, Tiriel? You basically just said that they could be anywhere and that they’re super strong.”

Tiriel chuckled again. “You don’t have to worry, my prince, they believe that children are holy gifts from the Great Spirits. Every child is safe when someone from the tribes is around. Members of the tribes who travel outside of their forest often adopt orphans or abused children and take them home to grow up somewhere they will be loved. None of the people of the forest would ever even consider harming you, Valorous.”

“Really, Tiriel?” Valorous looked hopefully up at his mentor. “Thanks, I feel a lot better.”

Tiriel put his hand on his charge's shoulder. “Of course, my prince. Remember, you don’t have to do everything alone. It’s okay to ask for help, especially if you’re scared.”

……………………………………

Remembering his teacher’s words, Valorous sighed. But a little smile drifted across his face. “Alright, Tiriel. I know when I’ve reached the end of my rope. I never did pay attention to your lessons on roughing it. Never thought I’d need it. Guess I never took it into consideration that I’d secretly have Shadow Dragon blood running through my veins and that I’d be on the run from my father’s army.” His smile was stolen by a choked sob. “I miss you, Tiriel. What would you do, if you were here?”

Before the boy could drown in his own misery, he cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. “I have to head into the forest to keep my father's hounds off my back. There’s no way they’d enter such a rumoredly abyssal place, even if they did know that I was going there. I hope they’re as kind as Tiriel said they were. Either way, I won’t be able to survive long enough in the forest to find them by myself. Since I can’t do it alone, I guess I’ll go and meet this Master Koh who helps strays.”