I left home and my family with tears in their eyes wishing the best of luck for me. My family had little to spare yet they spared all they could. A few pieces of gold, a bed roll, and a water skin. My plan was to head for the biggest, and only, town I knew. My father spoke very seldom of the town and I never have been. All I knew was that there were only a few families, a small market, and an old elven healer. I didn't know at the time what to aspect and found the path to the village easy enough to follow. I only had one run in with trouble, when a rat lunged out at me from under a log. So it took the better part of two days to walk to town and I was full of wonder. The little town had no more than two hundred people in it but it felt like two hundred-thousand. I didn't know what to do with myself. Father spoke of a man, Carnigan was his name if memory serves right. Well father always said he sold his extra grain to Carnigan so I figured I ought to meet him. It wasn't hard to find him, there was only one place in town to trade things so I started there. I was greeted by a frail man in tattered clothes, I found it strange why he always called me sir and followed me around. But this man wasn't Carnigan, it was his servant. The servant lead me to Canigan, if I didn't know better I would have thought Carnigan was a troll with how he looked and acted. He was always slouched over, had snarling teeth, and crooked fingers that looked like claws. He had a raspy and deep voice that cuts through a man's soul. He addresses me, "What do you want child." Well I was terrified and all I could was stutter and snivel a half hearted response. "M-M-My n-n-nam-me is Kithos, um, g-g-g-ood sir. I was traveling and-" "Oh a traveler! You heading up to Shep? Course you are there is no where else anyone is heading nowadays. I have a message for you to deliver, five gold pieces if you say yes." I didn't know where that was or exactly what I was doing but I knew that it meant travel and getting paid so I said yes. Carnigan smiled and pulled a letter and five gold pieces from his coat. "Good, here you go. Just give it to any of the town guards and they'll do the rest. And take the old woodaxe from outback, the road can be dangerous. My man servant will see you out." The tattered clothed man lead me out a different door I came in and I found the axe Carnigan was talking about. It was rusted and the handle was beginning to splinter, but it was some way to gather wood or defend against another rat attack. There was only one other person father spoke of, a healer that lived just out of town. So again I figured I ought to meet him. This was the first time I saw an elf, he was tall, had a narrow face, pale skin, and short white here. He spoke lightly and was kind. I could hardly believe my eyes, an elf. He gave me a map and told me where to find the road leading to Shep. He even offered his house for the night, looking back I was an idiot for not saying yes, but I declined. I was eager to begin my journey and set off to Shep. Then night came. I am not afraid of the dark, but that night I was.
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