The Village

As I approached the village gates, I thought about my introduction while glancing down at the clothes I was wearing.

"Ugh." I wrinkled my nose. I cleaned up at the river daily, but there was still a minor unpleasant smell following me.

As for my clothes, they would surely be considered unusual. I had this feeling of doubt.

"Screw it, I'm just an odd foreigner... or something." I thought back to what Arkot had told me.

Merchant's Eye, as it's name suggested, was a massive trading center that interacted with not just the nations of Erradell, but other continents across this world. Because of this, the occasionally odd foreigner showed up here and there, and while unusual, it wouldn't be too surprising if they weren't fluent in Heraldic.

I was getting closer to the entrance when someone spotted me. It was a man strolling around the fence, pointing at me. He wore a dark blue tunic, and carried a sword by his side.

"Middle ages fantasy, huh." I muttered.

He shouted something from a distance and stood in front of the gate. Was he a guard?

I gave him a short wave, and stepped forward, thinking about how to properly greet him.

"Uhh... Daeya coris!" I used one of the greetings that Arkot taught me. He told me that it meant 'Hey there.'

The man frowned. He was slightly taller than me, but well built. He had dark hair and a light beard. He appeared to be in his late 30's.

He looked at me up and down, noticeably focusing on my clothes.

"Ovra cantus mecertan! Carinae?" He barked something at me, but I couldn't understand.

'So this is what a native speaker sounds like?' I was surprised at how fast he spoke. If I didn't focus now, communication would definitely be impossible.

"Carotal, quarae?" I gave my best effort to ask him to repeat himself.

When he opened his mouth again, something clicked inside my head.

"What's your business here? Lost?"

"Huh?"

As his words poured out, something inside my mind clicked. I began recognizing the words he spoke, and matched them to the words I knew, allowing me to interpret what he said.

"I asked you what your business here was." He repeated.

"Oh! Uh. I'm lost." I searched for the right words inside my head. "I'm from Merchant's Eye. I'm a foreigner."

Once I said that, his eyes widened for a second. He turned around, and shouted something before turning back to me.

"Ah, I see. You're certainly not from around here. The way you speak and..." He gestured at my clothes.

"Yeah..."

"Which port are you from?" He asked.

"Port?"

"Yes, port. You said you were a foreigner from Merchant's Eye." The man looked closer at me. Was he suspicious of me?

This wasn't good. I remembered that Merchant's Eye was a trading center next to a sea, but nothing about ports or the such. I needed something plausible.

"I no speak Heraldic. Bad at this language. Yes." That was the best excuse I could think of. But at least it wasn't a complete lie.

'Dammit, why didn't you plan this out more beforehand?' I asked myself. 'Now he's definitely going to get suspicious.'

But the man just nodded, accepting my sorry excuse of a lie.

There was a creaking sound, and I saw the wooden gates behind the man slowly open as someone stepped out.

It was an old man, with gray hair and a white tunic. He waved over the younger man, and they talked for a bit, occasionally glancing and pointing back at me. Finally, the old man waved me over.

"Hello, young man." He addressed me, to which I responded.

"Uh, hi."

"Darrus here tells me that you are from Merchant's Eye, yes? A foreigner?" Just like what the younger man did previously, the old man looked at me up and down, noticing my strange clothes. He nodded, and muttered something to Darrus before peering closer at me.

"Yes. My Heraldic... isn't good. Sorry." I paused in the middle of my sentence, struggling to piece together the right words. It was much easier to understand what someone was saying than to construct my own sentences.

"Why don't you come in? We can talk more about your situation inside." The old man walked inside the village and looked over his shoulder too see if I was following him.

The younger man in the blue tunic, Darrus, tilted his head toward the gate as if to say, 'go on in,' before heading in.

I couldn't help but feel nervous as I went after them.

~~~

Within the village were various structures of stone and wood. The first few buildings I passed by were oddly shaped, one shaped like a goblet and another like a mushroom. Afterwards, everything else looked like normal houses you would see in a village from the middle ages.

I saw groups of villagers walking around, talking and laughing, going on with their daily lives. But as I passed them, I could feel the eyes on my back and hear whispers behind me. Some of them were visibly tense, giving me suspicious glares. One of them walked up to Darrus, asking him something while pointing at me. He just shrugged and gave a short reply which seemed to satisfy them.

Eventually we reached a small house. Behind it was a tower which held a massive flame on top. It was what produced the smoke that allowed me to locate the village. Darrus opened the door and closed it behind me after I went in. I followed the old man through a hallway into a small box-like room.

It looked like an office, and he pulled out a chair for me before sitting behind a desk. After I sat down, he introduced himself.

"My name is Toran. I am this village's representative." So he was a village elder. The leader, in a sense.

"I'm a foreigner, from Merchant's-" I began.

"You aren't being completely honest, are you?" He interrupted me.

I opened my mouth to speak, but he raised his hand to silence me.

"It is obvious you are not from Erradell, but you certainly are not a traveler nor a trader, are you?"

I was unsure how to respond, so I waited for him to continue.

"Your accent... the way you speak. You must be a refugee from Labrinthia." He looked at me for confirmation.

Labrinthia? I had no idea what kind of place that was, but I nodded my head.

"Of course. What's happening over there is horrible. I assume you snuck on a ship and smuggled yourself to Erradell in order to escape the war."

"Uh yeah, that's right." I would have to do some research later, but for now, I decided to play along.

The old man smiled.

"Well then! How can we help you?" He clapped his hands together and looked at me. It took me a while to think of a response. Honestly, I wasn't sure what my goal here truly was. I wanted to meet an actual person from this world, but now I needed

"Oh... I don't need much. Just a place to stay for a few days?" This was a big request. No one knew me. It wasn't as if I could just suddenly start living here, free of charge. That would be ridiculous.

"Done! I'll make the preparations and present you to where you'll be staying."

What? Did I misunderstand? I repeated his words and translated them again. No, he just offered to take in a complete stranger without hesitation. Just how bad was the situation in this 'Labrinthia?' Or were people here just that kind?

"Thank you... is this okay? I don't want to trouble anyone." With my limited vocabulary, I tried to thank him.

"Don't you worry about that. Naeterrians believe in helping those in need, regardless of origin." The old man pulled out a stack of papers, and went through it until he picked out a sheet.

"Darrus! Come!" He called out, and seconds later, Darrus walked in.

"Yes?"

"Can you take this to Yarolm? He shouldn't mind this." Toran took out a quill pen and scribbled something on the paper, which he then handed to Darrus, who in turned left the room.

"Now then, before I should start introducing you to the village-" He began to speak, but stopped when he realized something.

"Where are my manners? I forgot to ask your name." He looked at me expectantly, waiting for my reply.

I remembered what Arkot had told me to call myself. The name I was given when I fell to this world.

"My name is Flyte." Speaking my name aloud left a weird feeling. It still didn't feel right.

But Toran just nodded his head and stood up.

"I look forward to knowing you, Flyte. Feel free to stay here as long as you need."

He sorted through a few more papers, then asked me to follow him. As we walked outside, I wondered if the rest of this world would be so accepting, and if his words were genuine.