Mel had always taken good care of his cloak. He liked to take care of his belongings. He treated them well and reaped the reward when his knife was always sharp and his cloak kept him dry. Now though? His cloak was literally magical in how well it dealt with the elements. After the initial celebration of him finally becoming an adult, he started making preparations. Saying goodbyes, even though most of the people he said it to wouldn’t miss him. Getting proper rations and equipment for a long term journey. Packing a couple changes of clothes was a luxury. Most places simply didn’t have enough textiles for the average person to have a wardrobe, but the land in Southern Regalia was wonderfully suited to growing both cotton and heart string.

One of his biggest preparations had been testing out his new skill. His cloak was capable of keeping him dry unless water was literally splashed directly onto an uncovered part of him. It avoided burrs and would be brushed by the wind, out of the way of branches. That plus the fact that skills grew alongside the class that they belonged to meant he would eventually have a very useful cloak. If he could get an inherently magical cloak, he was certain it would be far better than it should be.

But life isn't all good things. He walked back to his home, leaving behind the road he so longed to run on. To flee for the rest of his life. It wasn’t long until he got back to the house he grew up in. The memories were sweet more than bitter, but that had changed as of late. Especially after his parents found out what his class was. It was almost unbelievable, but they were even more disappointed than before.

“Melphis, you gonna come in and eat your last dinner with us or are you going to run off to travel the world without a coin to your name?” His mother hollered at him while he was still on the far end of the road. A couple of his neighbors flinched at the sudden shouts.

“I’m coming mom.” His dad would be inside, stewing in his anger. He walked in after his irate mother. He opened the door to a total shock.

Inside of his house was a massive party. Decorations hung from every fixture. His father stood arms out with a smile that nearly killed Mel. His father was proud of him. His mother fussed about something, heading into the kitchen, while family and friends cheered for him. He walked into the hug. His father wrapped his massive arms around him and squeezed.

“I’m so happy you found something that fits you Mel.” His father whispered to him. It was too much. The whole scene felt like he had wandered into his happiest dreams. “We were so worried you were just gonna stumble into a class you would hate. I wanted you to be a smith so you would at least have a way to put food on the table but…” His father choked on the words and let him go. His ribs felt relief, but some sort of sadness settled in the place that the pain had left behind.

“I love you dad.” He said, before addressing the dozens of other people vying for his attention. It felt so odd to find out how much people cared. It left him feeling like an illusion had been cleared from his vision. Seeing just how many people loved him. It was the best kind of surprise.

His mother yelled his name from the kitchen and Mel walked into another shock. “You thought we wouldn’t give you a proper send off! Are you some sort of fool? We built your brother Daniel an entire store!” His mother said while Mel simply stared hungrily at the table. Both the one filled with decadent food, and the one with only a few small trinkets on it. But Mel wasn’t a fool, and his parents weren’t malicious, even when they had nagged him about finding a trade every day.

One, a small pouch with a bronze coin stitched on the side. “Is that a general store bag?” He asked excitedly.

“Let me tell you what they are before you start making artifacts out of novelties. The bag is a general store bag, it's from Uncle Willis. It connects to a bunch of different shops down in Iron Bay. It’s got a five trade limit per day, does not provide change under a silver, but it does allow selling. Even though you’ll probably just get scammed on most stuff. The ring is enchanted with Tracking Shot. Three shots a day. Finally we got you a linked notebook so you can write home about your travels. You better write, I will send bounty hunters after you if you don’t update me once a week.”

“Thank you so much.” He said, trying not to shake. It was all he could not to burst into tears. And to not start packing them away into his backpack. He was however, mentally figuring out how to pack them all as neatly in. The pouch he would probal-

“Stop staring at the trinkets and get over here. I slaved over this food for hours. Not that you would know, since you just had to try out your new skill.” His mother interrupted his mental plans, stacking piles of food onto his plate with no regard for his preference. She never had been one to consider whether or not someone liked the same things as her. She simply assumed, and did not take kindly to that idea being challenged.

He walked with her to the dining room, where everyone had slowly gathered. People started chatting all around him, spirits high. A couple of his younger cousins got into a fight, and he was pretty sure he saw his dad having to steer some groups of people around to keep them out of trouble. But it was perfect. Mel dug into some small potatoes and some small stacks of alternating meat and lettuce. The latter he was pretty sure was standard street fare further North. Not into the United Cities though. From the stories he heard, food there was rotting and fetid.

The meal in front of him was delectable though. Wonderfully made, with no expenses spared when it came to spices. Mel cheerfully ate while making small talk throughout the evening. Once the parting celebrations were over and he escorted the last few guests out, he headed back into the kitchen. There was a massive pile of dishes, but his mother had already gotten started on them.

“Hey, need a hand?”

His mother looked up from the dishes. “Well, I suppose I won’t have any more help after you leave. Mind drying while I wash?”

Mel nodded and got to work. He was scrubbing a plate dry when a small tug distracted him. His mom pulled him into an embrace, sobbing. “I'm gonna miss you, you idiot.”

“I'm gonna miss you too mom.”

Mel got up and set out. His goodbyes had been said. Lingering around till breakfast would be nice, but he wanted to be on his way to Langston as soon as possible. Camping was going to be rough, especially since he had basically no experience in it. The longest he had ever stayed away from home was a week-long trip to his Uncle’s shop in Iron Bay. It was one of his fondest memories. But it by no means prepared him for his journey. He walked out of the town, the streets full of early risers preparing for the day. The sun was barely up when he started the first leg of his journey. He turned back at the wooden buildings full of industry and old experiences. The dark green shingles and light brown wood on almost every building would stay with him. He would keep the image of his home town with him no matter where he traveled.

He turned back around and got to walking. It was a bit lonesome walking by himself all day but Mel took it as a simple sign. He needed to meet up with people who would serve as travel companions. Probably not other Travelers, but he could see himself keeping the company of Bard. They were known for wandering around writing songs about fantastical places. Mel kept a solid pace up the road heading North. The road was just dirt that had been compacted until it was solid enough to serve as a path. There were two sets of tracks for carts to ride in. Mel kept an eye out for rocks or other obstacles on the tracks along the way. What kind of Traveler wouldn’t take care of the paths he walked?

He pruned back overgrowth that encroached on the path and occasionally wandered off the beaten trail to grab a morsel of berries or wild plants. He almost had enough tubers for a solid stew, if he had brought a pot. Thinking back on it, he probably should have brought one. Maybe figure out how to clip it on the back of his mottled green backpack, similar to how he had put his general store bag. His magic ring was a simple band of pure iron enchanted to fire three Tracking Shots a day. His simple tests had shown that he could designate almost anything as a target and the bolt of arcane energy would follow it. There didn’t seem to be any special component to its tracking, since it could even track when he couldn’t see the object. That very likely meant it was an expensive ring, even when compared to other magical rings.

He reached the top of a small hill when the sun began falling past the horizon. The awe of its magnificent red and pink light show was forgotten as he quickly realized that it would soon be dark. He needed to set up camp soon, if not immediately. Then he would need fire wood too. After that he would have to make dinner. So much to do! And he had forgotten so much planning and preparation.

Mel hurried about looking for a proper place to set up his tent. It didn’t look like it was going to rain, so he plopped his supplies down just past the base of the hill in a small clearing to the side of the road. What to do first? Uh. Mel gathered up wood from nearby to make sure he had a fire to see by, if the sun fell before he could finish setting up camp. Small pale white trees had left only a few dry twigs on the ground for him to use. He remembered something about using wood freshly cut would make the fire put off too much smoke. And that it wouldn't burn very well either.

As he furiously stacked wood and kindling in the shape of… what was initially supposed to be a log cabin but now resembled absolutely nothing at all, the sun fully dipped past the horizon leaving him in pitch black darkness. Alisia major wasn’t shining at all tonight, and her younger sister gave off only a sliver of light. Even if both moons were at their brightest they were still on the far side of the sky, nowhere near capable of illuminating his way. He had to dig blindly for his fire starter, finally grasping the small piece of flint and steel after ruining his organized and neat packing system.

But when the fire finally began burning and he got to setting up his tent, he felt like it would be okay. Just needed to fold everything and put it back into its spot in the morning. Now for the easy stuff. Tents were supposed to be simple to set up. He got out the canvas and sets of poles, and felt a tiny bit of unease return. But he knew how to connect everything, it would be fine.