A groan could be heard within a desolate alleyway, the boy awoke with a splitting headache.
Thankfully, the old man had the conscious to not steal the other piece of bread while the boy was knocked out. The question remained was what made him lose consciousness, was it the words the old man spoke?
Maybe he should start talking more if it can make people pass out. Would be pretty convenient.
The boy pondered the signification of this discovery.
'What was it that he said again?'
The young boy can't seem to remember.
'But could I even understand it even if I remembered? But, he said my name is now...'
"Finn?"
The boy—no, Finn had never cared for a name before, even at his old orphanage he never expressed his desire to be named and the adults didn't seem to care nor were bothered by it.
'I guess that was worth half a day's worth of food? Finn does have a nice ring to it.'
The boy tended to be optimistic.
He did hear that some people would pay a fortune to have their name changed in the kingdom of Zwelbanneir. What were they again? Ah, right. Nobles. They who rule over the commonfolk along with the Knight King—accursed bastards was what the director called them.
'I wonder how the others are doing? Never mind, best I finish this bread and find a place to sleep first before worrying about others.'
With that thought, the boy reached out for his meal, until something caught his eye. There, laying right beside the moldy bread, was a small rectangular object. Upon closer inspection, there were some strange symbols engraved on the object, along with a depiction of a blonde man with grayish-blue eyes, donning a black cloak and carrying a bindle on one hand and a red feather in the other. The intricate design left a deep impression on Finn, it must cost a lot to have been made. Finn wondered what he should do with this parting gift from the old man. It was with this thought that Finn had a sudden urge to speak, his next words were almost second nature to him, much to his confusion.
"May Vidigm guide me."
And with a blinding flash, the object disappeared. Was it magic? If so, then that was not a good sign for the boy, if it was found out that he could do magic, it would not end well for him—just as it did not end well for his old orphanage director.
Amidst this uneasy reflection, the boy failed to notice that the light had attracted some new company.
That is, until he heard a low growl coming from behind him.
Turning his head to face the source of the noise, Finn found a dog with white fur and large ruby eyes, though malnourished, it will still pose a significant threat to him. Its eyes scanned his face, only to lose interest soon after, as it had found something more important, its eyes now locked on the bread Finn was holding.
It now wore an expectant look on its face, gazing back and forth between Finn and its prize.
'Feed me! Feed me!' it seemed to say, with a shine to its eyes.
Finn remained silent and still, his gaze stayed on the dog—no, the beast that's trying to steal his hard-earned meal. Fortunately, he had a trump card now. He was a wizard, the same terrifying being often told in the stories he had heard from the adults. He would not succumb to a mere beast, no matter if it was half a head taller than him.
Finn tried to remember some of the words the old man spoke in his chant. And so with absolute confidence, he recited bits and pieces of what the old man had said while he out-stretched his hand towards the dog.
"&%#^%@."
.
.
.
It appeared nothing had happened; and the dog still wore an expectant look on its face, but now it also had its head tilted to the side, a sign of confusion perhaps.
"..."
Well, at least he could claim, for now, that he wasn't a wizard.
And so, there lay one more option for the young Finn—an ultimatum.
A deal must be made with the beast.
"How about we share?" he said, dryly.
"Woof!"
An outright refusal.
He had to admit, this damned beast was good.
Finn, now backed into a corner by this formidable adversary, resorted to a new approach. He quickly tore a small piece of the bread, threw it as far as he could muster and then did what he did best.
'Run.'
And so he ran.
The running sure took a toll on the young boy's body, for he had not eaten in quite awhile. After some time had passed, he had finally run out of the dark alleyway, and, hopefully, from the jaws of the beast.
Now he found himself basking in the sunlight, letting the warm air embrace him.
This was Edelhelm: the City of Diamonds, and the final resting place of the legendary Hero Tunphor.
The hustle and bustle of the city made it so the beast would surely find it hard to track him amidst everything.
Tall buildings, which had stood strong for far longer than Finn could imagine, surrounded him. And soon the familiar marketplace entered his field of vision. Small stands which housed common goods would always attract customers, which made the small walking space even smaller. Finn trudged along, trying his best so as to not bump into anyone, so as to not attract the ire of any of the busy commonfolk.
Letting the bread finally enter his mouth, Finn savored his meal while walking along the streets, the people didn't bat an eye while he walked past. They were too busy with their own affairs to care about such a common sight.
'Tastes like dirt.'
It was on the ground for quite awhile, after all.
Finn continued his walk at a leisurely pace, the baker usually throws away his leftover stock at night before he closes shop. Though the bread Finn was eating from was a rare case as it had spoiled long ago, and the baker must have forgotten to have it thrown away.
'Would that mean I would have had two meals in a day?'
Finn was excited for nighttime to fall.
* * *
"Huff... huff..."
It was maddening.
How had the dog managed to find him?
Not only that, he didn't have anymore of the bread on him so why was it still chasing after him? From the marketplace, to the plaza, to even the temple, the dog had followed him everywhere throughout the city.
It now had a glint of madness in its eyes. Maybe it sought vengeance, yes, that had to be it.
With that thought, Finn formulated a masterful plan. To proceed with this plan, he had to perform it with the utmost dedication.
Stopping dead in his tracks, Finn turned around and bowed at a perfect 90° angle.
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me."
He had often seen the orphanage director do this while talking to the nurse and staff. Finn trusted his memory enough to say that his current pose was an exact replica as to what the old director had done numerous times in the past.
'Success.'
Never mind.
The moment Finn looked up at the dog, it had lunged at him. If he hadn't reacted in time and moved his body to the side, he would have surely been in a extremely precarious situation.
"Woof!"
He was wrong, he had not learned his lesson from his previous interactions with the beast. Beasts could never be reasoned with.
He had to show it the power of humanity.
Finn had made it so that they had stopped right in front of a building, but it wasn't just any building.
It was an inn.
And so, without missing a beat, he booked it towards the inn.
The dog waited patiently in front of the entrance. To onlookers, it almost seemed pitiful.