Cashew spent about 20 minutes attaching the Wolf fur to the sheath of the Dadger, he was doing this so he could tell the difference between the two. The Dadger would be used for food and animal kills while the dagger he obtained from these Adults will be for fighting and killing. He thinks those Adults were the bandits the Person on a Horse warned him of.
He heard the Girl laugh at his joke, but decided not to acknowledge it out of fear of scaring her again.
Now that his Dagger and Dadger were differentiated, Cashew put the Dadger in his Wolf Skin shoulder bag and kept the new one in his hand.
Cashew had all of his new things packed, his books were in the good shoulder bag and miscellaneous items such as the Dadger, the strange Crystal and Rock, and some remaining wolf hide were in the Wolf hide shoulder bag. The hip bag was on his hip and he could leave whenever he wanted, but he wanted to try and regain some Mana first and read the Rune book he found before leaving.
Since he wanted to stay here for a few years and improve his mana pool and he was unsure what the girls plan was, he figured he would give her some time to get used to him.
Cashew sat on the floor, leaning against the bed, Reading his new Rune book and learning more about runes. Every couple of minutes, he would notice the girl peeking around the dresser and looking at him, only to hide away once Cashew looked at her.
After about 20 minutes of reading, Cashew learned that Runes are very complicated. The book would take more studying than he anticipated.
Cashew continued to read the book on runes anyways, but decided to stop as the girl kept distracting him.
Cashew: I can't remember if I told you this or not, but I plan to go to the village that I assume is nearby. You wanna come? I'll most likely mention the dead guys if I see a guard in the village.
As soon as Cashew started speaking, the girl his behind the dresser again, not showing her face until Cashew stopped talking.
Cashew: I'll take your behavior as meaning you don't want to come with. That's fine, though. I don't even know if a village is nearby, seems kinda pointless to drag you along in search for something that might be even farther than I thought.
The same thing happened again, as soon as Cashew started talking, she ducked her head behind the dresser and didn't peek out until Cashew stopped talking.
Cashew watched for a moment, sending her a friendly smile when she looked at him and didn't duck immediately.
Cashew: You know, I'm only 3 years old. I'm still young to the point where Mana Exhaustion is an issue. I lost my previous living situation due to my own stubbornness, my refusal to apologize and admit I'm wrong. Plus some other issues I won't go into, but I was hoping to spend the next few years here, since I found this place and the previous owners are dead-... Well, technically you're an owner, but you get the point. But I was hoping to stay here for a few years and improve my Mana and spell casting abilities. As well as get a little older so adults might take me more seriously. As for why I'm saying this, since you're here and I don't know what your plan is now that your kidnappers are dead, I figured I'd get your consent to stay here before just doing so. So, do I have your consent to stay here? You don't need to answer now, but I'll most likely end up staying here until you say no, assuming you say no.
Cashew took a breath, surprised at how yappy he was. He looked in the direction the girl was hiding, she stayed hidden behind the dresser, so Cashew stopped waiting for an answer and put his Rune book away.
Cashew was feeling bored right now, the girl looking at him when he's not looking back is distracting him from studying the Rune Book, So Cashew decided he would head to the village now, assuming there is one.
Cashew got up, put his Shoulder bags on, using the wolf hide bag to hide the good one, and walked to the door.
Cashew: Girl. Woman. miss, Lady, whatever I should call you. I'm bored right now, so I'm heading to see if there is a village nearby. I don't know, but when I come back, there might be a guard with me, or a guard might come here without me, I don't know. But you're not a kidnapping victim anymore-... You're still a Victim, but you're not a hostage anymore. I'm sure it will take years for you to trust anyone, especially men, but there shouldn't be anymore bad people coming here. Unless you don't want me here, I was gonna come back and sleep here tonight.
Cashew told the girl before he exited the house, He doesn't know why he's being nice to her and trying not to scare her. Maybe Cashew secretly regrets how it ended with his parents, Maybe he recognizes that the girl might be a roommate for a few years and doesn't wanna get stabbed in his sleep, or maybe he just feels bad for her, seeing as she's a kidnapping victim who's been abused for who knows how long, whatever the reason, Cashew just felt the need to be nice to her.
Cashew exited the house, stood by the door, making sure he's not forgetting anything, then shutting the door gently behind him. Cashew decided he'd let the girl keep the Wolf Hide for warmth, as shed probably get cold, but other than the Wolf Hide, he has everything. He also has the 98 Copper coins and the mysterious liquid he doesn't recognize.
Walking down the path, Cashew realizes that maybe he is cold, he is wearing an old cloth shirt and old pants, after all, with hide shoes on. Not much Warmth to be had.
As Cashew walked down the old dirt road, he came across the area he used to climb up the hill and saw the bigger old dirt road down below, just as empty as the one he's on.
Cashew kept walking down the dirt road. Finding himself walking for a half hour before the two roads finally connected and he found himself on the bigger road.
He started heading down this road and after about 10 minutes of walking, the road went from old dirt to old cobblestone, there was also a village up ahead. Much bigger than the previous village he was in, also nicer and not full of old people everywhere you look.
As soon as Cashew approached the village walls, a guard stopped him.
Guard: Halt, Kid... Where are your parents? You lost?
Cashew: Not lost, but I do have some information you as a guard might appreciate knowing.
Cashew said in a calm voice, dodging the question about where his parents are.
The guard crouched down in front of Cashew so they are eye level.
Guard: I see, Well... What could you have that id appreciate knowing, Little man?...
Cashew: I heard some guy mention bandits in the area, is that correct?
Guard: Yeah? What about them?
He asked in confusion, Wondering where Cashew was gonna take this.
Cashew: Well, I came across 3 People I assume are bandits, all 3 of them are dead, but I found this weird liquid on one of them. What is it?
Cashew asked,pulling out the strange liquid from his Wolf hide bag, the guard looked at it, his eyes went wide and he snatched it away from Cashew.
Guard: I'll let it slide, since you're a kid, but this stuff is very illegal. It's a drug that gives you makes you hallucinate and gives you Ecstasy from any action you do. A lot of people who use the drug end up doing something they really enjoy, but in the real world, they are stabbing and killing someone. It's a drug where you feel good doing bad things and the more you enjoy what you're hallucinating, the worst things real you is doing. It's a drug called "Leapfrog". Because of the leaps in your actions that the drug causes.
Cashew: I see... How fun... On the topic of hurting people, those bandits also had a hostage.
Guard: What?
The guard asked, not sure he heard correctly.
Cashew: The men conveniently started talking about this girl they kidnapped when I was hiding under a bed. They said they kidnapped the girl 3 years ago to get ransom money from her parents, but her parents died in a fire that same day. So they were holding onto the girl to sell her when their big boss gets back.
Guard: Little Mita is still alive?!
The guard exclaimed in shock, thinking she was dead the whole time.
Cashew: She never told me her name, so I don't know. She was very clearly traumatized by whatever those bandits did to her over the past 3 years, and I wasn't gonna force her. She still in the bandits hideout, Hiding behind a dresser in a corner to the right. If you open the door, step inside and look to your right, you should see her.
Cashew calmly told the guard before pausing, realizing something. The guard noticed and asked what was wrong.
Cashew: the bodies of those bandits, I forgot to drag them out of the house...
Guard: I see... So, where is the person who killed those bandits? I assume still at the house watching over Mita? Don't worry, we can get you back to your parents too.
Cashew: I killed the bandits.
Guard: ...
Cashew: ...
After a few moments of silence, The guard burst out laughing, finding it absolutely hilarious that this kid claimed to have killed 3 criminals.
Guard: Ok, *Wipes tear from eye* I'll assume it's some sort of vigilante and stop asking. I've never seen you before and you know about stuff that happened in this village despite never having been here before, so I'll assume you're telling the truth for now, but I'm gonna need some guards to fact check. Where is this house that Mita is at?
Cashew decided not to try and prove himself right.
Cashew: If you walk down this road, back the way I came, keep an eye on your right side and look for an old dirt road. From running into cobblestone to that small dirt road, I spent about 10 minutes walking. When you get on the small dirt road, just keep going straight, I saw no secondary paths, so it should be a straight walk from the big road to the house. Just stay near the hillside.
The guard found the directions rather poor, but didn't ask anymore questions and looked to another guard, who hesitantly nodded and started walking down that road with 2 more guards following.
Guard: Well, let's get you to the guard tower and we can figure out where your parents are.
The guard said to Cashew, motioning for him to follow, which Cashew did not do.
Cashew: I already know where they are. No need to turn me in. I still have more questions.
Guard: Sorry, kid. You're too young to leave on your own. Don't worry, I can guarantee you'll be returned to your parents safely.
Cashew not wanting to deal with them, he decided to lie to the guard about his parents.
Cashew: What good is there in taking me to their grave? Ill be fine.
Guard: Oh. I'm sorry to hear that, unfortunately, youre too young to leave on your own, so I have to take you either way.