Rather than turning back and going home empty-handed, I’ve decided to seek out this Whitehelm merchant. I’m not sure how I’m going to explain today’s events to my parents, but maybe I don’t have to, as long as I can sell these scales. Cerila also insisted on coming with me. So right now we are searching for this Whitehelm shopkeeper.

It’s been about an hour, and it's nearly midday. I’ve come up empty-handed in my search. I can’t seem to find this Whitehelm person. 

Cerila tugged my shirt to get my attention and began writing on her tablet. <Why don’t you just ask somebody where Whitehelm is?>

Why didn’t I think of that… I’ve just been going around to random vendors asking if they are this Whitehelm person, but I never even bothered to ask if somebody knew where Whithelm was. I might be stupid.

< I didn’t think about that, thanks.> I gave her a smile and a thumbs up.

She smiled back at me and nodded her head. This communication barrier was arduous. I’ve already formulated the best strategy for her to learn sign language. Hopefully, she can learn it quickly. But I start school soon… and my training…

I sighed deeply. This is going to be difficult.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I walked up to a pair of Wood Elf rangers patrolling the market and called out to the female. “Excuse me, miss,” I said as politely as possible.

I didn't want to distract a soldier any longer than I had to. She turned and looked down at me. “Oh, hello there. Wait… are you Alanis’s son?” she asked me.

“Uh, yes, I am.”

It seems Dad is more popular than I thought.

“Well, aren’t you just adorable! Look at your beautiful eyes!” she said, bending down and pinching my cheeks.

Listen here, lady. Only my mom gets to do this to me.

She recoiled a bit and mumbled as I scowled at her. “But you sure got your Mom’s stare… uh, can I help you with something?”

“Yes. Do you know where I can find a merchant named Whitehelm?” I asked curtly. 

She winced a bit at my cold tone, and her guard partner chuckled from behind her. “That old Dwarf? He runs the only forge in the outpost. Just head up the street for a few more minutes and you can’t miss it, kid,” the other guard answered for her.

“Thank you.” I gave a nod to the ranger in thanks.

I walked away with Cerila in tow. I could hear the male guard chuckle as he said, “Ha. That kid is just like his mother. He's going to be a dangerous one.”

What’s that supposed to mean? Of course, I’m like my mom. I am her son, after all. And he called this place an outpost instead of a village? I never heard that before either. Maybe it’s just a military thing?

I’ve learned that this nation is called Syn’nari. It’s a Wood Elf archipelago nation on the westernmost part of this continent. The continent's name is Illyrcium, according to the book Grandpa got me for my birthday. 

The book even has an artist's rendition for this area as well. I even learned that this village is called Owlkirk. I haven’t managed to read too much more as I’m still trying to understand the Human language. And progress has been slow as I take on more and more things in my day. But I’ve wanted to dedicate at least a few hours before I go to bed to learning the Human language.

Hopefully, at school, I can devote more time to it. But Cerila… I didn’t want to leave my new friend out of things. Maybe she could come to school with me? I don’t think this school is charging anything for admission. It’s more like a charity system for the community.

I motioned for Cerila to let me use her tablet. Gah, this thing must weigh like thirty pounds. Is she just this strong or is she using mana to enhance herself?

<Would you like to go to school with me, Cerila?> I asked.

<I tried to go to school but it was hard. A lot of the kids can't read and write or control their mana like you. And they were mean to me.> Cerila’s white fox ears flattened against her head, and she seemed dejected as she wrote.

Ah, that’s right, kids are brutal.

I could tell this was a sore topic for her. Something must have happened to her. But I wouldn’t let people make fun of my new friend unless they wanted to end up like those idiots in the alley.

<It will be different this time, I promise. I’ll be there after all.> I wrote to her in confidence.

<Okay, if you are going, I’ll go too.> Cerila looked conflicted, but her resolve was firm.

I wasn’t a very good friend to Nyx. So I have to be a better friend to Cerila.

I’d have to talk to Mom about getting her to go to school with me. After all, I didn’t know Cerila’s family situation, and I figured Mom could help us. But after walking for a bit, we finally reached the forge. It is one of the only buildings that is made of stone around here and black smoke is funneling up through a chimney. A short, burly man was working the forge outside.

As I approached, I got a good look at him. This was my first time seeing a Dwarf up close, and I had been told they were just short Humans, but that wasn't really the case. He was probably around five feet and had a long braided white beard that was caked in black smudges. 

The Dwarf was currently hammering away at a farming tool, his massive arms bulging with every swing. I stood a bit away from him and let him finish his work. I figured it would be rude to interrupt the man. 

He concluded, wiped his face in his apron, and turned to us with a faint smile. “Thanks, you two. Most folks come here and bother me in the middle of my work, but you had the decency to wait. I appreciate that. Now, how can I help you, kids?” he said while dusting his hands off.

“I have some scales I would like to sell to you.” 

He motioned for me to hand over the bag, and I promptly placed the small bag in his large palm. He opened the bag and inspected the scales, then started counting them.

“Mm, you must have gotten these this morning. Still slick with slime and everything. I can do two silver for the lot of them.”

“Maybe five silver, please?” I suggested. 

I gave him a big toothy smile and hoped that would be enough. He raised his big bushy white eyebrows at me. “I can do three silver. Seems fair to me.” he nodded while handing me back my bag.

Tough crowd. I guess I have to work on my childlike charm.

“Okay, I’ll just go somewhere else then,” I said dejectedly. 

I turned to walk away and acted like I remembered I had something to tell him as I spun on my heels. “Oh, Mr. Whitehelm, Alanis has a message for you. He said he is going to sell to Mr. Rodan from now on.” 

The old dwarf’s eyes bulged out of his head as he looked me up and down. “Ah, crap. I should have known you were that demon’s son. Errr, pardon my language, youngun. Fine… fine, five silver and tell your daddy to lay off of me, aright? I’m trying to run a business around here!” the old Dwarf pleaded.

I nodded in satisfaction, “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Whitehelm.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever, kid.” He shuffled around in his pockets and gave me the five silver coins.

They were dull gray in color, and the coating was worn down quite a bit. I wasn’t sure how much this was worth, but it couldn’t have been that much. I should do some research in the market to see how much things cost. 

Understanding the local economy would probably be beneficial. But that was for another time. I didn’t have lessons with Grandpa today, so usually, I would just go home and study some languages or work on my mana control. But I had my new friend with me now.

Cerila seemed content just following me around. She had her hood back up and was covering her face once again. She wouldn’t make much eye contact with anyone, and it seemed like she just wanted to disappear.

I wonder if she didn’t like standing out. I mean, it was hard for her not to. Everything around here was either green or brown, and here she was wearing a snow-white cloak. I was wearing a typical dark green shirt that was common in this area since Mom was still repairing my red tunic from the shadowling attack. But now that I think about it… Cerila’s cloak seems oddly familiar.

I got a closer inspection of Cerila’s cloak by grabbing a corner of the fabric. Upon touching the soft fabric, I could feel just how cool to the touch it was and immediately recognized my mother’s handiwork as I ran it through my fingers. 

Dang, I miss my tunic already.

It’s so stuffy wearing regular clothes out here during the day. This manaweave stuff is fantastic. I peered up at Cerila’s face through the cloak; she was taller than me after all. 

I guess she might even be a few years older than me as well. Her face was bright red and I realized I had invaded her personal space without asking. Whoops, I shouldn’t be doing that.

She took the tablet out and wrote to me, <Is something wrong?> 

<No, not at all. I just like your cloak is all.> I told her.

<Oh, really?>

“Yeah, it looks very…” 

I wanted to write out that it looks very nice, but that didn’t really sound like a compliment to a new friend. And the cloak was much more than nice, it was a product of my mom’s hard work, and I honestly did like the snow-white color of it. It reminded me of the winter camo I used when I had to paint my armor for cold weather planetary invasions.

<Yeah, it looks very cute.> I told her. 

I hope that sounded like a good compliment for a young female friend. She hid her face a bit in her cloak and just nodded profusely at me. Looks like a success to me. I can be a good friend if I try.

<I should go home now. Would you like to come with me?> I asked her. 

I didn’t know what friends did together, however. I don’t think she would have very much fun just following me around the market all day. Cerila gave me a nod of approval, and we made our way back to my home.

—

“Hello, I’m home,” I alerted my family to my return.

“Welcome back, Kal. How was the mark—…” Mom turned the corner and stood stock still as she looked me up and down. 

I was confused as to why she was staring me down. Then I remembered I wasn’t alone. Cerila and I hadn’t said a single thing to each other on the way here. I also noticed she didn’t have much of a presence. Cerila walked so quietly that I couldn’t even hear her most of the time. I had almost forgotten she was following me as I autopiloted my way back home.

“And who is this pretty little girl, Kal?” asked my mom.

“This is Cerila, my friend,” I said casually.

“You have a friend?!” Mom blurted out.

Mom, please. That really hurt. I’m trying my best out here.

My mother blitzed Cerila and embraced the girl, “Thank you so much for being friends with my son! I know he is a little rough around the edges, but he’s really nice, I promise!” 

My mother was practically squeezing poor Cerila to death at this point as she rambled on. Cerila just looked at me, begging me with her eyes to free her. This is payback for squeezing my arm so tight.

But there was no point in making her suffer any longer than she had to. “Mom, please let go of her. Besides, she can’t hear you,” I informed her.

“What do you mean? Look at her adorable ears! She looks just like a doll,” she said while rubbing Cerila’s head and ears. Cerila looks exceptionally uncomfortable, and her face is flushed crimson red now.

I’ll have to apologize to Cerila for this. I was not expecting my usually reserved Mother to act like this. Perhaps not being able to control emotions runs in the family. 

She usually is only like this with me. I should stop her before Cerila dies from embarrassment or decides she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore.

“No, Mom. Cerila is deaf. She can’t hear you or me at all. And Mom, I think you are making her uncomfortable,” I informed her. 

My mom immediately released Cerila and looked mortified. “I..I, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. But wait, how do you talk to her?” she stammered. “And this cloak… is this? Mmm.”

“Using her magic stone thing. You just put some mana on your fingertips, and you can write on it,” I told her. I grabbed the tablet from Cerila and instructed her on how to use it. “Here. Just like this. You just write words, and then it keeps the letters on the stone. And what about her cloak? You made it, right?”

“It’s definitely my handiwork, but it’s been a long time. I wonder… anyways. This stone is amazing. This must be a magic item from a dungeon,” my mom said while drawing on the tablet. “Okay. I got it now.” my mom began writing and started a conversation with Cerila.

I decided just to watch the exchange. It seems like my mom apologized, and all is forgiven. I was a little confused about the whole cloak thing, but I shouldn’t expect my mother to remember everything she makes. 

They continued for a while longer, conversing back and forth. Then Mom giggled and gave Cerila the tablet back. Cerila's face turned bright red again, and she looked like she was about to cry as she read what my mother wrote.

Geez, Mom. Cerila is going to hate me after this.

“Mom.. stop teasing Cerila, please. She is my first friend. I don’t want her to hate me already,” I pleaded.

“It’s fine, don't worry, Kal. We were just having a conversation,” my mother said while giggling. 

I can only imagine what she is saying to poor Cerila. She is probably more dangerous to my friends than I previously thought. 

 “Anyway, she said she wanted to go to school with you?” Mom asked. I nodded in response. “I see. It shouldn’t be a problem since she has already been to school. But she will have to ask her family, of course,” my mother told me. “Cerila said she would talk to her family. I told her that you start in two days, so everything should be fine.”

Just then, my dad walked in from the back yard wiping the sweat off his forehead. “Hey, you’re back. How was Mr. Whitehelm?” Dad asked me as he looked over at Cerila and my mother. “I, uh. When did Mr. Whilehelm turn into a fox girl?”

“This is Cerila. Kal’s new friend, dear,” my mother told him with a smile.

“Kal has a friend?!”

Not you too Dad…