Cel’s Travels

Cel

Cel had felt lost ever since Eliot had left. Cel was inseparable from Eliot for the majority of his life and didn’t have much to do on his own. He felt like a tourist taking a vacation on a tropical island that was suddenly dropped in the desert, hopeless and lost as he traversed countless dunes of sand. A couple days past, and Cel was still in a rut, trying to figure out how to deal with Eliot leaving, not having any bright ideas. Cel was walking down a dirt path, past the market that was filled with stalls, the aroma of food made his stomach grumble. A sudden memory entered Cel’s mind, it was of when Cel and Eliot first met. It was a day like any other and Cel was beyond starving as he felt his stomach eating him from the inside. The orphanage has always been run down and every orphan would only get a pitiful amount of scraps to survive on each day. Even though Cel was never able to feel at home with people, he still cared for the orphans he had grown up with, most notably the younger ones. Cel would always look out for them, give them his food, and take on the role of a protective older brother. Cel was particularly hungry today, he usually had no problem dealing with the hunger, but it was unbearable today. Cel was wandering across town, hoping to find some discarded food to keep him from dying of starvation, when he stepped too close to the market and the aroma of food hit him like a truck crashing through a living room. The next thing Cel knew, he was blending in with the crowd while munching on stolen bread. Cel had entered a trance and didn’t even realize what he did until he was halfway to the orphanage. After he figured out that he had gone into a trance again, Cel cursed himself and almost threw the bread in outrage. Whenever Cel was on the brink, he would enter a trance and do whatever it took to survive his situation, as if something wanted to keep him alive and took away his free will to do so. Most of the time he was close to death because he had no food, meaning he would steal from the market loads when he went into a trance. Eventually, Cel got a hold of himself and took in a deep, steadying sigh before looking at the bread in thought.

“I already stole it, so I should give it to the others.” Cel was about to continue to the orphanage, when he heard a voice.

“You're pretty good at stealing,” said the voice, originating from behind Cel. Cel twisted around in bewilderment, he was able to sneak past even the town guard, Cel thought he would never be caught by anyone. When Cel turned around, he saw a boy around his age with peculiar hair. They had a skinny build with normal clothing and tan skin, however, by far the most eye-catching detail was the color of his hair. The boy had pure white hair that clashed with his black eyes, seemingly endless darkness resided in them. Cel knew who this was, everyone in the town did, almost every piece of gossip he heard recently was about the boy named Eliot with the white hair. Cel had heard that Eliot was gifted with mana sensitivity and his sister was apparently beautiful enough to have minor nobles come to this rural town to try and court her.

Cel tensed, one thought ran through his mind,“I can’t get thrown in jail, if I do then no one will take care of the kids!” As the muscles in his legs contracted and he thought about how he would lose Eliot, Cel was bombarded with a comfortable feeling that he had never felt before.

“Calm down, I won’t tell the guard anything,” smiled Eliot. Cel stared at Eliot in confusion as he realized that the comfortable feeling came from Eliot; he stopped trying to run and turned to completely face Eliot.

“You’re really skilled, you could be a professional thief, can you teach me the Arcane Art that you were using?” asked Eliot, a gleam for knowledge that Cel would swiftly familiarize himself with was present in his eyes.

“What’s an Arcane Art?” asked Cel, clueless. At this point in time, Cel had no idea what an Arcane Stance was, let alone an Arcane Art.

Eliot frowned slightly before compromising,“If you don’t want to teach me, that’s fine. Why did you steal the bread? You looked angry just now, was the bread not good?” Cel eyed Eliot carefully, wondering why the uncomfortable feeling he felt around every other person was replaced with a comfortable and cozy feeling when he was near Eliot, but Cel decided he needed to get through this situation first, ask concerning questions later.

“I stole the bread because I was hungry. I was mad because I ate more than I meant to,” answered Cel after some thought.

Eliot smiled when he heard Cel’s answer and asked, “Who are you planning to give the bread to?”

Cel paused to think again before saying, “The orphans”

Eliot’s smile seemed to grow even more and he said, “Why don’t I go with you?”

“The young ones don’t trust new people” Eliot didn’t seem surprised with the answer, but he didn't give up before asking one more thing.

“Before you go, could you answer one last question?” Cel gave a subtle nod.

“Do you enjoy stealing?”

The question caught Cel off guard, he had an unusually strong moral compass and the immediate, truthful answer of, “Abyss no!” escaped his lips before he could stop himself. Eliot grew excited when he heard the reply, following up similar to a sales person finding a gullible client.

“The guard post usually has a lot of small tasks that they can’t be bothered with, so they put them out to have regular folks deal with them. The best part is, they give rewards for their completion, I can even help you do them, that way you won’t have to steal anymore.” Cel was pleasantly surprised when Eliot had told him the solution to all of his problems, how had he not heard of that before?

“Well, the young ones are probably really hungry, so I won’t keep you. If you decide you want to stop stealing, I’ll be waiting by the guard post tomorrow morning.” Eliot bade goodbye before he quickly ran off. Cel stood conflicted in the alley for the next couple of minutes, pondering over Eliot’s proposition and the feeling Eliot gave. Eventually, Cel made up his mind to go, after all, Eliot didn’t sell him out to the guard. There was no point waiting until tomorrow to set a trap when Eliot could have just yelled that someone was stealing bread and the guard would come after Cel. Cel made his decision and moved on to think about the other orphans; Cel smiled, they were going to enjoy this bread. The next morning, Cel walked to the guard post while wondering if he had made the wrong decision by trusting Eliot. When Cel made it to the guard post, he didn’t see Eliot, and grew wary of his surroundings. Eliot still hadn't shown a few minutes later, Cel started doubting if Eliot was going to come. A familiar voice along with a nice feeling invaded his senses.

“Wow, you’re here early,” chirped Eliot as Cel turned around. “The board is over there” Eliot pointed to his right while giving Cel a warm smile. They walked to the board that had tons of requests that have slowly piled over time because no one really bothers with them, the monetary reward can’t compare to an actual job, so most people entered apprenticeships. To some one like Cel, however, it was a blessing from paradise.

“Let’s look around for some easy ones to get the hang of it first,” proposed Eliot as he studied the writing. Only a small amount of time passed when Eliot grabbed Cel’s attention.

“Hey, what do you think about doing this one?” Eliot as he held up a chalkboard. On the board, it showed a picture of a phantom with the words 'Phantom Bread Thief' and the description told about a thief that would steal only bread with no traces left behind. In present time, Cel smiled as he remembered how hard Eliot laughed and how he called Cel the Phantom Bread Thief for a while. Cel was reminded that he didn't bring the orphans any food today and walked into the market. Cel walked to a particular stand that sold bread that he was partial to. This was the stand that Cel would steal from the most and would try to buy from them as much as possible to try and make it up.

“Greetings, old May” greeted Cel as he walked up to the stand. Old May smiled as she saw Cel, one of her best customers.

“Oh! hello, young man, it's a pleasure to see you”.

Cel returned the smile and ordered, “The usual, please”. The old lady grabbed three loaves of bread and handed it to Cel. Cel reached into his pocket and took out forty coppers, ten more than needed, and gave it to the old lady before swiftly fleeing so that she couldn’t protest to the extra sum. Cel smiled as he thought about how the old lady would grumble when he overpaid as he returned to the orphanage. On the way, he saw a familiar face. Elizebeth was just on her way to the market and coincidentally walked the same path as Cel.

“Cel!” exclaimed Elisebeth as she caught sight of him.

“Hey, Liz. how are you doing,” Cel exchanged pleasantries. As Elisebeth jogged over to Cel, he felt the pleasant feeling that he would always feel when he was around Elizebeth or Eliot.

“How am I doing? how are you doing? You looked really sad sitting at the gate all day when Eliot left,” teased Elizebeth.

Cel got flustered and just scratched his head in embarrassment while saying, “It's normal to be sad when that happens”.

“I know, I’m just joking.” Elizebeth had a perfect smile. “Can I tell you something?”. Cel gave a small nod.

“Did you know, the first time Eliot met you, he talked about it all day? Eliot said he met this really interesting boy, when I asked what he meant by interesting, he said that the boy gave him a comfortable feeling and he liked the things he did” Cel had to hold in his surprise when he heard that Eliot felt the same thing he did and waited for her to continue.

“What I am trying to get at is, it wasn’t a one sided friendship. Eliot enjoyed your company as much as you did. Focus less on Eliot and more on yourself and what you want to do,” advised Elizebeth.

After some thought, Cel responded with, “Thanks. You’re right, that was some good advice”.

Elizebeth was visibly bristling from the praise and said, “I have to get going now, but I’m happy to help”. Cel waved as Elizebeth walked towards the market. Cel was in high spirits as he walked back to the orphanage and mused over what Elizebeth said. However, when he was almost there, he heard a little boy call his name.

“Cel!” sounded a sad little kid as they ran towards him. Cel noticed the little boy named Fabian and kneeled down as the boy crashed into him.

“Come quick, big brother Cel, there are guards at the orphanage and they're saying that it'll be taken down,” cried Fabian. Cel instantly grew anxious and had Fabian hold the loaves of bread, then Cel carried Fabian as he sprinted towards the orphanage. What Fabian said was true, there was a team of guards around the orphanage escorting the kids off the premises. The orphanage was a big building, the second biggest in the whole town, and it resembles a box more than a hut while being two stories high. In reality, the orphanage could have easily cared for the limited number of orphans in The Town of Flora, the town even gives a sum to the orphanage to keep running. The only problem is that the owner is corrupt and takes all of the money given to keep the orphanage running, providing barely enough food for the orphans to live because no orphans means no pay from the town. Cel noticed a friendly face in the guards and walked towards them after depositing Fabian with the group of orphans watching.

“What’s going on, Craig?” inquired Cel. Craig’s face turned grave when he saw Cel walking towards him, bad news.

Craig broke the bad news,“Unfortunately, Cel, the owner of the orphanage wants to sell the building and the buyer intends to shut down the orphanage."

“I was under the assumption that the town owned the building, Verline shouldn’t be able to sell it,” complained Cel.

“Verline cited an outdated law that makes the building his property if someone in his family died on the grounds. Verline provided documents of adoption for one of the deceased orphans, the mayor says it's valid,” Craig shook his head in defeat. Cel grew red and started fuming when he heard of what the owner of the orphanage did.

“Verline obviously forged those papers! Orphans only die because he steals the money for the orphanage! You know Verline is corrupt, so does the mayor, and they're still letting this happen?!” shouted Cel.

Craig could only shift his gaze downward and say, “I’m sorry, lad. The only way the orphanage will stay is if Verline sells it to someone who wants to keep it running”. Hearing Craig’s defeated words, Cel knew that Craig had exhausted every possibility he could come up with and didn’t take out his anger on him. The fiery rage deep inside Cel morphed into brimstone and lit the furnace of his steely determination as he walked towards the orphanage. Craig saw that Cel was walking to the orphanage and quickly grabbed his shoulder.

“Don’t do anything rash!”. Cel paid no heed to Craig’s words.

Cel turned around to look Craig directly in the eye and said, “I’m going to fix this”. When Cel made eye contact, Craig jerked back in fear as he saw Cel’s resolved, and he could swear that Cel’s eyes were that of a monster. Cel quickly made his way to the second floor of the orphanage and barged into the owner’s office.

When Verline noticed Cel, he showed a shit eating grin and said, “I’m afraid you can’t be here, Cel. The premises have to be cleared for the new owner”.

Cel wasn’t tempted by the provocative smile and replied, “I’m afraid that the new owner doesn’t want the premises cleared, Verline”. When Verline saw the smile didn’t do anything, he shifted his expression to one of disdain.

“I assure you that Dotzheim does indeed want the premise cleared, I have his official statement with me”.

“It's a pity that Dotzheim is no longer the buyer," said Cel.

“As the seller, I think I would know who I am selling it to,” smirked Verline.

“You are correct, you do know who you’re selling it to because you will sell this building to me,” Cel smirked in challenge.

“And why would I do that?” Verline narrowed his eyes as Cel was getting on his nerves.

“I’m sure the mayor would like to hear about your little visitors in the night," Cel's words were drenched in insinuation. When he heard this, Verline started laughing and a smile took residence on his face.

“The mayor is completely aware, in fact he sends most of them”.

“So, did the mayor send his wife, too?” asked Cel like he would ask an innocent question.

Verline looked like he had already won when he leaned back in his chair and smiled as he said, “Cel, my boy, your blackmail needs some work. Let’s say, theoretically, she was one of my visitors, you wouldn’t be able to prove it”.

“You’re right, I don’t have any proof, it's a shame." Cel sighed in mock defeat. "It's a good this the mayor does.” Cel started his walk towards Verline’s desk.

“Whatever do you mean?” Verline played innocent, almost hiding the hint of fear that showed because he knew what Cel was insinuating. Cel knew he had Verline in a corner when he caught the flash of fear in his face, he just needed one last move. Cel had a cold gleam in his eyes and he gave off hostile intent as he circled like a shark to whisper in Verline’s ear, his words like metal and just as deadly.

“I’m sure the mayor would like to know that he’s been taking care of your child”. A bead of sweat streaked across Verline's forehead as he realized that Cel had won. In reality, Cel had known about this for a while, however, he wasn’t too keen on blackmailing Verline. While they were not taking care of the orphans, Cel was able to provide food for them with Eliot’s help, that and they still slept indoors, which is enough for Cel. Unfortunately for Verline, now that the orphans he cared about were in trouble, he would stop at nothing to save them. Cel ended up only paying one copper for full ownership of the building, land, property, and assets. Verline was kicked out a few minutes after they had gone through all the details and Cel had the official deed to the building. Craig was astonished when he witnessed the ludicrous scene of Verline walking out of the building in defeat; the other guards were whispering in confusion. Only after Verline left, Cel walked out of the building and got the guards attention.

“Guards! I order you to stop any actions you’re performing on my property under the directions of the previous owner!” Cel announced. Everyone was dumbstruck when they heard what he said, they all saw Verline leave, so what Cel was saying had merit. Seeing that he got the effect he wanted, Cel continued by showing the deed to the building signed to Cel Verrus. The guards could do nothing but listen to him and left the premises, every guard but Craig, that is. Craig walked up to Cel, who he was happily welcoming the orphans he considered family inside the building.

“What did you do? How did you make Verline sell you the building?” asked Craig astounded by Cel's resourcefulness. Cel only smiled in response. Craig stopped trying to question Cel and just joined him in smiling while thinking about how much he had grown from the timid kid he used to be.

“Good job, Cel. I wish you luck as the new owner.” Craig bade Cel his good wishes and goodbye before leaving to continue with his town guard duties. Cel looked at the twelve orphans that were portioning the three loaves of bread with a feeling of pride rising in his chest. When Cel was still young, there had been more than forty of them. The times weren’t nice, though, and Cel was now the oldest by a gap of four years. The oldest beside Cel was Travis, at the age of twelve. Cel and Travis never really talked much due to Cel’s unwillingness, but they had an unspoken pact as the two oldest to take care of the rest. Cel realized that Travis had really stepped into the big brother role as he gave up half of his portion to the smallest children, his actions were every similar to Cel’s when he was younger as he gave away his scraps for the day. The orphan’s names, in order from youngest to oldest, were Carl, Orial, Gerald, Larry, Nile, Delroy, Mable, Roland, Silica, Yuri, Travis, and Cel. Silica and Yuri were the next oldest after Travis, both at eleven and were just starting to learn to take care of the younger ones and show differences in interest. Cell grabbed Travis’ attention before telling him to meet him up stairs with Silica and Yuri. Cel climbed the stairs and observed the office while waiting for the rest to accompany him. It was the most extravagant, florid place Cel had ever seen. It had mahogany wood flooring, painted stone walls, and was fully furnished. It had Verline’s desk in one corner while a table with chairs filled the middle, and a lavish, plush bed occupied a different corner, all the furnishing was made out of wood that matched the floor. There is also a door that everyone assumed led to the roof but no one has ever opened or seen behind. Cel knew why the orphanage was the second biggest building in town and was made out of stone, when everything else was wood. There is a family of respected nobles that are actually in line for the throne that decided they wanted to live outside of the Metropolis, their manor was originally planned to be built here. For some unknown reason, they stopped construction and moved somewhere else that fit the lord’s taste better, leaving this building that eventually ended up in the hands of Verline, who started an orphanage to embezzle funds from the town.

Cel heard a knock at the door and turned while saying, “Just come in, there is no need to knock”. The three orphans, Travis, Silica, and Yuri, opened the door hesitantly. Cel guessed the reason why they would suddenly act this way and assured them to the best of his abilities.

“There’s no reason to be afraid, I may be the owner of the orphanage now but I would never be someone like Verline, I’m still part of the family”. Hearing Cel's words of reassurance, they smiled and sat down at the table when Cel gestured to it. Cel rummaged through a cabinet that Verline used to use with a frown, the weasel took everything he could carry with him.

“I’m assuming that we’re here to talk about the future of the orphanage, correct?” chimed Yuri. Cel gave up looking for stuff that Verline might have missed and sat down at the table with an affirmation.

“Here is what I already have planned.” Cel officially started the meeting. “I want to improve quality of life as much as possible. I am going to call in a carpenter to replace the dirt floor on the first floor and get everyone changes of clothing, staying in the same ones isn’t good for health. Food and water isn’t going to be a problem anymore and I hope to try and get beds as well”. They seemed to respond positively to the changes but still raised some doubts.

“Will we have enough money for that?” asked Travis.

“Money is no problem, I have that all covered, I just wanted to hear if you had anything else you wanted to change,” explained Cel. Travis and Yuri shook their heads but Silica was still deep in thought.

“Do you think we could take in more people? Do something similar to spreading the word that the orphanage has a new owner and is willing to accept orphans again?” Silica shared following some deep thought. Cel just shook his head.

“The Town of Flora is a very small town, if there were any new orphans then the guards would escort them here anyways, there is no need to do anything like that." Eventually they said that they understood and they all went down stairs to join the rest, everyone but Cel. Cel couldn’t control his curiosity and opened the door that no one but Verline has seen behind. Their assumptions were right on the nose, the door led to the roof. There were mahogany railings at the edge and a small, round, white, and wooden table was in the middle of the space with a matching chair. Score! thought Cel as he walked to the table and picked up the black box that was left on top of the table. He looked inside and frowned in disappointment, there was nothing in it. Cel set it down and sat in the chair, staring at the box and thinking

“Verline probably took whatever was inside when he left,” Cel sighed and picked up the box to take it inside, it could still be used, after all. That was when he realized that the box was taller than the space inside showed. He set the box back on the table and measured the outside and inside with his hands, confirming his theory. Cel conscientiously felt the inside of the box until he came across a seam. Cel smiled in celebration, he stumbled across a jackpot. He lifted the false bottom. Inside was a thick,old black book with ‘A Hermit’s Guide to Shadows’ on the cover in white letters. Cel wondered why Verline had left something as valuable as a grimoire before pushing the thought aside and going inside to collapse on his new bed, happy that snake couldn't take everything. It had been a trying couple of days and that forty-five minute conversation was the longest conversation he had ever had with anyone, excluding Eliot. Meanwhile, while Yuri, Silica, and Travis were walking down the stairs, Yuri whispered.

“Hey, did Cel seem different to you?”. Silica and Travis were quick to agree with her.

“It's almost like he gives off a comfortable aura,” said Travis thoughtfully.

“That's totally it!” Yuri and Silica said at the same time.

“I wonder what caused it,” Silica thought out loud.

“Who knows,” Yuri shrugged as they reached the bottom of the stairs.