XIX

  Around 7 years ago, when Kaz was in his 8th year

  Kaz timidly walked around the streets of Forith, trying to ignore all the people around him. This was his first task that Miss Astreta gave him that required him to go outside the orphanage, and he was asked to get food for the house, as they were running low and Miss Astreta was not confident that she had enough food for everybody. He should have asked someone else to join him for his small trip to a nearby shop, but he couldn’t find the courage to ask anyone. It didn’t help that most of the other kids avoided Kaz, as he was mostly quiet and the only Gnome in the orphanage.

  Finally reaching the small wooden shop after his stroll, he examined the shop. He knew it carried a various amount of ingredients, containing fruit, vegetables, bread and even prepared food if someone needed a single meal. The shop was operated by a small old Human lady, who had a slight hunch to her back and gray, almost white, hair. She was named Miss Gresria, and most people knew her, as she was one of the oldest members of their town. She was very kind to all the kids in the town but always had a soft spot for all the kids from the orphanage, always giving them sweets or a pastry she made that morning.

  Taking a deep breath, he clenched the list of everything Miss Astreta needed in his hands, trying to calm the growing anxiety in him, and pushed the door open, having to use his whole body to open the door. Instantly, the smells wafted through him, smelling of baked goods and fresh produce. It was slightly warmer inside the shop, but not to the point where it was unbearable, it was just cozy to put it in simpler terms.

  “Hi there, sweetie. How can I help you?” A slightly scratchy voice asked him, filled with a grandmotherly warmness. Kaz eased at the sound of her voice, subconsciously calming down.

  He approached the counter, his eyes barely clearing the top of it. He got on his tip toes and slid over the list from Miss Astreta along with a few Tokens, explaining himself quickly, “Hi. Miss Astreta sent me here to pick up some items for her. Can you please help me with this, thank you.”

  Her eyes briefly lit up, and she looked at him fondly, saying, “Oh so you’re one of her sweet little kids then. Of course! I will get your items ready for you, please wait a moment, sweetie.” She grabbed the list, and with his other hand, digging into her apron pocket, removing a wrapped up sweet, and sliding it across the counter to Kaz. She grinned and winked at him, playfully saying, “Here’s a little sweet candy for a sweet little boy. Don’t let Astreta know I gave you the sugar candy.”

  Kaz nodded seriously, promising her that he wouldn’t tell Miss Astreta, and grabbed the piece of candy off the counter and quickly put it in his mouth. Sweetness exploded in his mouth, a sweet citrusy flavor that made him smile and fill him with energy. He stood there, bouncing on his heels and watched as the kind older lady went about her shop, collecting everything that was on the list. It wasn’t much, but the small canvas bag was filling up, and after a few minutes of waiting, she approached him.

  “Here you go, sweetie. Give my best wishes to Astreta, tell her to visit me some time,” she softly said, patting the young Gnome on the head.

  “Thank you, Miss Gresria,” he politely replied, and left the shop. Well, he tried to. He couldn’t pull the door open with the bag in his hands, and quickly Miss Gresria opened the door for him behind him, smiling and giggling slightly.

  He quickly nodded and mumbled a thanks, cheeks and ears burning red with embarrassment. He basically ran out the door.

  Walking back to the orphanage, with a slight pep in his step, he finished his sweet candy. He admired the buildings, people and overall feel of the street before him, seeing it in a new light. Kaz wouldn’t hesitate ever again to run some tasks for Miss Astreta, hopefully she will ask him again soon to do something for her that required him to go out into the town.

  He people watched, and even saw a few Gnomes, which raised his spirit, as there weren’t any Gnomes anymore at the orphanage, as the one who was there previously, named Erzurgel, reached his 15th year and received his Calling. He apparently got the Calling of the Mage, which was not uncommon for Gnomes, as for some reason they were more likely to get that Calling or anything that had to do with magic. He was now attending the Mage Academy and hadn’t come to visit the orphanage yet since his departure.

  Erzurgel was nice to him, though the Gnome rarely talked to him in the orphanage, much like every other kid. But it always made Kaz feel better to know he wasn’t the only Gnome there. He continued walking back home, taking his time, overhearing people discuss things that he didn’t understand, but he was glad to just be outside the house. He was treated very well by Miss Astreta and by most of the kids, but it could get boring being mostly confined to the building and only occasionally being able to go out in large groups.

  Kaz stopped walking as he heard some laughter and a crying girl coming from an alley not far from the orphanage. He peered into the alley and saw three Dwarves surrounding a poor Human girl. The girl looked awfully familiar, she had shoulder length blond hair, green eyes that were occasionally closing to hold her tears in, and she was very short, around Kaz’s own height.

  “Look at this, a little girl left her nest, all by herself. She was even carrying some Tokens on her,” one of the Dwarves sarcastically taunted her. He was the tallest of the bunch, with flaming red hair, a small stubble starting to grow in.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Where’s your parents, little girl, don’t they warn you to not run on the streets by yourself?” Another Dwarf spat at her, causing the young girl to wince and sob.

  Kaz felt a little pity and churning in his stomach, because the girl looked so familiar to him, and also the Dwarfs were bullying such a young small girl. He set aside the bag with the items that Miss Astreta wanted and blindly began running towards the group.

  He boldly stepped in front of the Dwarves, spreading out his arms trying to shield the young girl. He yelled at them, occasionally stuttering from fear, “Get away from her! What do you think you’re doing picking on her.”

  The Dwarves went silent for a bit, analyzing the intruder. Then, they all started laughing in his face, tears dropping from their eyes.

  The third Dwarf spoke up, “Oh my, we got ourselves a little Hero here. Why don’t you scamper kid, before we beat you into the next day?”

  Kaz paled, his arms slightly wavering. He turned his head to the side, and nodded at the girl, who was looking at him in surprise. Up close he recognized her, as she was one of the newer kids who joined the orphanage, she probably joined around 2 years ago, but he hasn’t interacted with her at all until now. Kaz whispered to her, “Go now. Go back home.”

  She looked dumbstruck at him, and then hesitantly got up, her legs slightly wobbling. She ran out of the alley, not looking back at him and the Dwarves. One of the dwarves moved to intercept her, but Kaz quickly got in his way, which caused him to get pushed onto the ground, but thankfully it prevented him from grabbing the retreating girl.

  “You’re really startin’ to piss me off, kid,” the Dwarf growled at him, picking him up roughly.

  “We should teach this little kid a quick lesson for interrupting our fun,” the big Dwarf said, snickering slightly.

  A dangerous glint flashed from all the eyes of the Dwarves, and all Kaz could do was gulp and hope he would make it to the end.

  And just like that, they proceeded to beat him up, taking turns punching him all over, and each time he fell, they’d pick him up, just to punch or push him back down. When Kaz couldn’t get back up, they took turns holding him up, while they punched him. He didn’t cry out, he just accepted the beat down, tear pouring down his cheeks.

  At one point, the pain just disappeared, and he lay there on the cold cobblestones, becoming a hollow shell of a Gnome. He somewhat curled up into a ball as they kicked him a few more times for good measure, and spat on him, walking away.

  Kaz felt difficulty breathing, as blood poured out of his mouth and nose, spilling out onto the ground. He took a few raspy breaths, trying to get breathing in order, and then he just passed out, losing consciousness to the pain and damage he sustained from the Dwarves. At least the girl got out of here, he thought as he drifted off.

  He woke up some time later, the day coming to an end as the sun wasn’t in the sky anymore and everything got darker. He tried to get up, but his whole body was in pain, and he was extremely dizzy, unable to take a few steps before stumbling and falling onto his knees, causing him to hiss in pain. He took a few deep breaths and steeled himself, trying to get back home, as Miss Astreta would heal him, as she always did whenever he scraped his knee or when he broke his arm jumping from a tree.

  Collecting the bag, which was thankfully still there, he made his way back, struggling to push each foot ahead. He got to the orphanage and managed to knock on the door before he collapsed, all of his energy gone and pain bombarding his head, fully catching up to him now. One of the boys answered the door, his name was Morrell, a small Human boy a year younger than Kaz. He paled at the sight of Kaz, and with wide scared eyes, ran into the house, screaming for Miss Astreta.

  She quickly ran to the door, and assessed the unconscious Kaz, quickly applying a [ Lesser Heal ] to him. She picked him up gently, commanding Morrell to take the bag and to put it in the kitchen, to which he nodded and took it, walking away quickly, unable to avert his eyes from the beat up Gnome in Miss Astreta’s arms.

  She took him into his own room, and laid him down on his bed, and began casting her Abilities on the Gnome, a few tears streaming down her cheeks at the state her dear Kaz was in. She cast [ Soothing Touch ] to relax his body, in order to relieve the pain that he was going through. Kaz’s face and body immediately relaxed, allowing him to be more asleep than unconscious anymore.

  Astreta then cast [ Greater Restoration ], mending all the injuries, and watched in real time as his bruises disappeared, and all his cuts closed up and vanished. She waited a few moments in order to allow her Skill Ability to complete its process, making sure to not interrupt the workings of her Ability before she began casting her other and final Ability for Kaz, [ Mind Soothe ], the Ability to heal his mental state. It wouldn’t remove the memory of his experience, which she would have to ask about, but it would remove any subconscious reactions to any future similar situations, including the pain and mental strain he experienced. It essentially would remove the emotional trauma of such an experience, which would cause someone to lock up in fear of experiencing the same pain.

  Astreta then left the room, slightly weak from the amount of Mana Points she used, hoping the young Gnome wouldn’t be too discouraged the next day, as it was already hard to get him to interact with others, even displaying emotions was difficult for him. As she was walking back to her room distracted, she felt someone lightly pulling on her robe, causing her to stop and look down. It was Meisha, one of the newer girls who joined their orphanage. She joined roughly two years ago after her parents passed away on a Quest, leaving her alone and then transferred to her orphanage. She was similar to Kaz in a sense, not willing to interact with the other kids, and remained quite silent, but always did her chores.

  “How can I help you, Meisha?” Astreta asked her with a smile, squatting down and combing her hair affectionately.

  “Will he be alright?” Meisha asked her, mumbling, not meeting her eyes.

  Astreta was a bit taken aback, wondering why she was suddenly interested in someone else. It made sense that seeing someone in his state would concern anyone, especially someone who had a history of seeing others in a state similar to his.

  She smiled again, this time warmly, and assured Meisha, “Kaz will be all good tomorrow morning after a night of good sleep.”

  Meisha nodded, Astreta saw the tension leaving the little girl, and then she ran off to her own room, leaving Astreta still squatting on the floor, thinking about what caused such a reaction.

  Over the next few weeks, Meisha and Kaz began to talk with each other, and always stuck together. Kaz was still trying to process that encounter, and it weighed on him heavily, obviously still trying to get over the experience. But Meisha would always try to cheer him up and even managed to distract Kaz from his own thoughts, causing him to smile. Meisha seemed to open up, becoming more talkative, and never left Kaz’s side. Astreta would look at the pair and smile fondly, seeing that both of them finally found someone to be close with, and thankfully it was Meisha and Kaz together, the two who desperately needed someone. As the years flew by, the pair was always together, always looking out for each other.