Weak sunlight filters through the slats on the window on the dawn of a new day. The light flickers along the closed eyelids of a boy heavily wrapped in blankets to ward off the early morning chill. It's springtime in Oslak Village and while Jaxon would have loved to stay buried under those sheets his chores would not complete themselves. So with great reluctance, he gets up, stretches to limber up then proceeds to exit the one-room shack that he lives in to charge outside and answer nature's call.
Clambering from the outhouse, he looks around and takes in the view. The village school is the closest building of decent size. His shack used to be an extra tool shed that was not needed anymore. "It's a good thing I got this place to myself," he thought. "At least I get some privacy."
Looking around, his eyes take in the small valley, nestled in between two mountain ranges, and all of the cabins, houses, and buildings ensconced in a wooden palisade that constitute the prosperous settlement. While Oslak village dealt primarily with lumber as its export commodity, it did have an inn and a trading post for travelers going up the mountain pass to the lands beyond.
"Ok, let's see what Headmaster Sutton needs me to do before breakfast," He thinks as he moves towards the school proper. Headmaster Sutton was a kindly but strict disciplinarian with a passion for chasing away slothful behavior, most frequently with a hazel stick. Jaxon had learned long ago that a proper work ethic is rewarded with a sense of deep satisfaction. It also had an interesting side effect of warding off painful swats to the buttocks.
He soon reaches the rear door of the school, steps in, and sees the man puttering about the kitchen. Headmaster Sutton sees him."Good morning my boy. How was your sleep? Peaceful, I hope?" Jaxon smiles " Good morning Headmaster Sutton, I had a good night. Cold though. The fire went out sometime last night. I guess I did not put enough wood in the iron stove."
"Well, you were the one who insisted on converting that shed into a room for yourself. I understand you want to have some privacy but I still would have preferred the extra room here in the main building. At least it would be warmer. But, enough of that. We need to have breakfast. After all, it is a special day today." The headmaster started to hum as he threw some bacon into the pan. "Get ready to eat, then we will have a meeting with the other elders of the village.
The boy nodded and set the table and started to clean the used pans. Going outside to fetch more water from the well, he felt a smidgen of pride when his eyes fell on his handiwork. He had rigged a contraption of tubes hollowed out from the stem of plants that served to channel the water from the well straight to the kitchen. Drawing water from the well still involved winching the bucket up but the contraption did save a lot of moving back and forth carrying water into the school. While he was drawing the 3rd bucket, he had an epiphany. "I should try to rig 2 buckets in this well. That will serve as a counterweight and make the job easier and faster as well." He was so engrossed in how he would accomplish it that he just stood there with a lopsided smirk. The headmaster found him sometime later staring at the well and thought to himself "Oh great, there he goes again. The older man promptly whacked Jaxon in the noggin. " Oy, breakfast is getting cold you airhead." Relieved of his thoughts, the boy quickly went inside, ate, cleaned up, and put on his best clothes which meant putting on the ones with the least amount of patches. After all, meeting the village elders is an important event and you have to put your best foot forward.
About an hour later, both Jaxon and Headmaster Sutton were sitting down with 7 people in the town hall. The agenda for today was to determine what Jaxon Oslak would be doing moving forward. The boy has been living in the village for the past 12 years. Nobody knew how old he was since he was found in the wreckage of a small caravan that was looted by bandits. He was rescued by the village militia while they were on patrol and they took him to the village to be cared for. Over the past dozen years, people in the village had chipped in to help care for him and to teach him skills that would help him make a living when he was grown. Per local tradition, that time had come for him to decide what he wanted to do with his life.
A wizened matriarch by the name of Madame Amanda turns towards Jaxon. "Have you given thought to what you want to do, my child? You are welcome to stay in this village and work as a lumberjack, a hunter, or even a trader. You seem to have the skills and the dedication for it. You are strong in mind and body and a quick learner to boot." The other members of the village elders nodded. Jaxon had always been a well-mannered boy, studious, disciplined, and easy to get along with. Multiple tradesmen had already asked Headmaster Sutton what the young Jaxon planned to be. He did not excel in one particular field but he was competent enough. Few in the village would have any qualms about having him apprentice under them to learn a trade.
The village was at the foothills of the mountains and near the borderlands. It was not the safest place and had its militia to protect itself. All of the children of the village were taught how to fight. Jaxon reckoned he was average with the bow and spear, good with an axe, and mediocre with a sword. He was pretty good at punching and wrestling but that was of limited value against monsters.
Jaxon looked at the gathered people in the room. Most of them were independent-minded, decent, and hard-working folk ready to help out their neighbors. Oslak was a fairly prosperous village with an abundance of natural resources around it. But the tenacity and attitudes of the villagers were the linchpins on which the village's prosperity rested. He knew he was very lucky to have fallen in with such decent folk. The safe bet was to stay here, pick a trade, and live his life. However…
Jaxon smiled as he looked at the elders. "I would like to thank all of you in the village for taking in an orphan boy such as myself. You did not have any obligation to save me on that day, however, out of the goodness of your heart you did. You gave me warm food, a place to sleep, and a chance to thrive. I will never forget that as long as I live."
Madame Amanda smiled and said " I guess you're not staying then. Is this about those dreams?" Jaxon nodded. One of the other elders looks at Madame Amanda with an arched eyebrow. "Dreams?"
"The young one here has been having this recurring dream for the past year." Why don't you tell us about it Jaxon? Not everyone here knows about them." said Madame Amanda.
Jaxon swallowed and looked at Headmaster Sutton. The headmaster smiled at the boy and made a hand motion to continue. Jaxon closed his eyes and said " It started about a year ago. I have had multiple dreams of a tower that pierces the sky with a city at its base. I hear bustling sounds as people move about. I feel drawn to it. I also see a shadowy figure that looks at me as I look at it. However, I do not feel fear. I feel a pull toward that place, although I do not know where it is, only that it is somewhere to the east. I know that it might just be a dream and the safe bet would be to stay and learn a trade in the village. But, I feel as though my destiny is connected to that place and that person.
"Well boy, since we do not know where that place is I would rather you stay here," said Headmaster Sutton. " No use galavanting off to parts unknown until you have a plan…."
"Orario." said the elder who asked about his dreams. His name is Leonel Meade. He is the defacto captain of the village guard since he is the best swordsman in the village. The others looked at Meade. "How do you know? Are you certain?"
Meade looked at the boy. "I used to live in Orario during my time as an adventurer. You are describing the Tower of Babel although I do not know anything about your shadowy figure."
"I did not know you were an adventurer, Meade. I thought you were a soldier." chimed Headmaster Sutton. I expected someone with a Falna would be much stronger. No offense intended, of course."
"None was taken, headmaster. I assume you know how the Falna works?" Headmaster Sutton and some of the others nodded. " I don't have a Falna anymore. My Familia lost a war game and we were exiled afterward. As for which Familia I belonged to, I will keep that to myself. We all have our secrets." Meade smiled a bittersweet smile.
Jaxon was flabbergasted. He was trying to make head and tails out of these dreams and here in front of him was a person who could help him. "Captain Meade, please tell me more about Orario. I need to know!"
Madame Amanda smiled at Meade. " Looks like you just got a promotion to storyteller, Captain. Bear in mind it does not come with a raise though."
Meade looked at Amanda and laughed sarcastically before turning to Jaxon. "Ok boy, I'll tell you stories of Orario but you better buy my drinks at the tavern."
"Yes sir"
"Jaxon, you better not be drinking with him" stated the headmaster.
"Yes sir"
And so it was for the next several weeks, Jaxon would finish his chores at the school and then work for other people with whatever jobs there were to be had for coin. He would save some of it, spend some on Meade's drinks, and give the rest to the school. This was a practice he had been doing for a while to give thanks to Headmaster Sutton for all he had done for him. He also recorded in a notebook anything about Orario, Familias, and a dungeon underneath the Tower of Babel that he could pry from conversations with Meade. Most of the sessions were very informative until Meade got into too many cups, then it was a challenge to understand what was fact and what was just boasting. He stopped when the elder's mumblings became too incoherent to understand which happened fairly often. Still, there was the saying "Knowledge itself is power". So Jaxon kept at it and continued to fill his notebook.
As the days started to warm up, Jaxon felt much more restless. He knew that the time to leave was almost upon him. He had saved enough money from his odd jobs, hunting, and gathering, as well as small amounts of money gifted from different folks to last him a little while if he was frugal. Captain Meade gave him a hatchet of decent quality telling time he could use it to chop wood or defend himself.
He had also talked to Francis, a trader who dealt with wood carvings, lumber products, and other sundry which he exchanged for other goods at different towns. He planned to hitch a ride with Francis and serve as a hired hand in exchange for riding along with the caravan. The caravan would not reach Orario but at least it was headed in the right direction.
All the time he was preparing for his journey, Jaxon and Headmaster Sutton would talk and reminisce about their experiences during dinner.
"Headmaster, I feel that in a sense I am betraying you by choosing to leave," Jaxon said. This promptly earned him a smack in the head with the ever-handy hazel switch. "Boy, don't be a fool. We have been teaching you since you were little the skills you need to fend for yourself. Did you think we would be teaching you all of that for you to stay glued to me and the others?" Holding his head and smarting from the blow Jaxon replied. "Headmaster! I felt we were having a profound moment there, aaaand just like that the moment is gone."
Headmaster growled. "Don't be a sissy then. You are growing to be a man, so act like one." He promptly turned around but not before the boy noticed the headmaster become a little teary-eyed. "However, understand that I am very proud of you. Your life was not the easiest being an orphan in this village. But you have paid attention to everything we tried to teach you and you have grown because of it. Don't forget those lessons. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir"
Both of them sat silently for what seemed to be hours. "Boy, get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be the big day. You need your rest." Wordlessly, Jaxon looked at the headmaster and nodded. He turned and went outside to the shed he had called his own for the better part of a decade. He glanced at the small pack in the corner that contained all of his worldly possessions. Hefting it up, he smiled a crooked smile. "Well, at least it's very light. One of the advantages of not having a lot to my name." He climbed into his cot and lay there without moving for a little while until sleep finally caught up to him.
Weak sunlight filtered through his windows at the morrow. Jaxon got up and went about his normal morning routine. Headmaster Sutton joined him for breakfast. It was a quiet affair with both of them lost in their thoughts. After the meal, they nodded to each other and proceeded to walk to the town square where the trader would be. Quite a bit of the village had shown up to bade goodbye to the caravan. There was a festive atmosphere in the air. People here made a big deal about these caravans since they did It would be a few months before this caravan would come back. Jaxon spied people he knew and waved to several kids who waved back and wished him well. He started to go around to say his goodbyes to everyone that he knew throughout the years. Later the headmaster turns to Jaxon. " Be careful out there, boy. Remember, the world can be cruel. Always think before you act. You have a good head on you so you should be alright." He paused " There's not much else to say." Sutton bit his lower lip.
Jaxon smiled at him. "Thank you for all you've done for me, headmaster. Thank you for being my family." Both of them shook hands before hugging each other. Sutton rubbed the top of Jaxon's head, smiled wordlessly, turned him around, and gave him a slight push toward the caravan.
The caravan was a small one. The five wagons were drawn by oxen and laden with goods that villages like Oslak would want. Francis saw the boy walking to his wagon and bade him climb up the back. Jaxon spied another man sitting at the rear. He was of short stature with a bushy red beard decked out in a gambeson, helmet, and holding a crossbow. The man noticed Jaxon staring at him. He raised one of his eyebrows and muttered " What's wrong kid? Do I have something on my face?" Startled Jaxon stammered " I'm sorry sir. I did not mean any disrespect. I was just curious." The guy looked at him " I guess you country bumpkins don't meet a lot of dwarves now do you? Jaxon shook his head. " Beg your pardon, sir, it is indeed the first time I met a dwarf. I had read about the different races from the books at the school but I am sorely lacking in experience." The dwarf looks at him "Ok kid, now you have met your first dwarf. Since we are going to be traveling together, I'm Poroddy Graniteslide, I'm one of the guards. The other guards are kinfolk of mine and they are in the other wagons." "I'm Jaxon Oslak. It's a pleasure to meet you." The dwarf frowns "Oslak, that's the name of this village is it not? You a noble?" Jaxon shook his head. "No sir, Orphan. The headmaster told me that most people have a family name and since I don't know where I came from I was just given the village name."
The front flap opened up, and Francis' head poked through. "OK, we are ready to go. Jaxon, come up here, and I will tell you what to do. I assume you know how to lead oxen? I will start then you will take over after a while. Your main job is to lead the oxen and make sure we stay on the road.
Jaxon clambered up front as the caravan started to move forward. He saw Headmaster Sutton waving and he waved back. The oxen plodded slowly down the road and the village soon disappeared as they crested a hill.
After a half hour, Francis had Jaxon take the reigns of the oxen while he sat beside him. "Jaxon, you are assigned to leading the oxen of this cart. Just follow the lead cart. You will also be cleaning the dishes, gathering firewood, and preparing the campfire. Do you know how to hunt? Do you know how to fight?
Jaxon replied. "Yes sir, small game with either a bow and arrow or a small spear, although I do not have any of those with me right now. As to fighting, I can hold my own but I doubt I will last long against a trained warrior." Francis smiled. "I doubt we will be meeting up with trained warriors in our travels. The dangers are mostly monsters, wolves, and the occasional bandit group. That's where Poroddy and his kin come in as our guards. Now go keep the oxen company up front while I rest here in the back. It's going to take two days before we get to the next village.
Before dusk, the caravan stopped for the night outside a forest. The wagons were brought into a circle with the animals inside. Jaxon was told to start gathering firewood and water from the nearby stream. After getting the firewood, Jaxon cut several straight branches and sharpened them before going to the edge of the stream. He has seen some fish and was thinking of having some for dinner. The other men looked at him as he perched on a rock by the banks and heaved his makeshift spear again and again. They were delighted when he came back with about a dozen skewered fish. He started to prepare them for the fire while others prepared stew and bread.
After the meal, Jaxon had to clean up and store the items back. He was told to sleep in the wagon and they will wake him up for 3rd watch. He climbed up and surprisingly fell asleep very quickly. A few hours later, Poroddy nudged him awake and told him it was their turn to be on the watch. The rest of the night passed by peacefully. At sunrise, a light breakfast was served and then the caravan started on its way to the next village.
The days passed by monotonously without much fanfare aside from the days they were in a village or town. Jaxon was curious about how Francis and the other traders did their business. They sold stuff, if they could not sell they bought, if they could not buy then they fished for information. It was quite entertaining for the young Jaxon. Francis noticing how Jaxon was intently following the haggling smirked at him and told him to watch and learn. He also advised on how to avoid trouble. "Always give people a good deal, that way you can do repeat business." This nugget of wisdom went into Jaxon's notebook. Jaxon would also talk to the other traders and guards. He would often ask questions about Orario. Many of them have been to the dungeon city and would regale him with stories about it.
It was about three weeks into their travels when the first attack hit the caravan. Shouts were heard from the lead wagon. "Goblins attacking!" Everyone grabbed a weapon. Jaxon pulled out his hatchet and a sharpened stake. The guards were running forward. Jaxon ran after them. He skidded to a halt behind one of the guards and peeked to the side. Little green monsters were running toward the wagons. They looked like little green children, with big yellow teeth, and sharp claws. There were about 30 of the little buggers. The lead goblins clashed against the foremost guards. Since the guards were well-armed they made mincemeat out of the first few monsters. The advantage that the goblins had was in their numbers. The guards were slowly being outflanked. It was in this situation Jaxon found himself. He ran to the left flank of the guards and took aim and threw the hatchet. His aim was good and it cleaved into one of the monster's forehead. It flopped to the ground. Another one replaced the first one. This one took the sharpened stake right at the gut and got stuck there. Jaxon looked at the skewered goblin. He also noticed that suddenly he was weaponless. "Oops, time to make myself scarce." He lept back as another one of the little monsters tried to take a swipe at him only to get a crossbow bolt straight to the face. "Hey, kid! Back off! Let the guards deal with this riffraff!" Poroddy shouted. Jaxon, being a fairly smart boy, scrabbled backward to the others. The guards, even when outnumbered, cleared the monsters fairly easily without a scrape.
In the aftermath of the skirmish, Jaxon retrieved his hatchet but decided to leave the sharpened stake. "I don't think it would be worth it to clean goblin entails from that." He thought as Poroddy stomped up to him "Good job kid, you did pretty good! Why didn't you tell us you had experience going against goblins?" Jaxon shook his head. "That was the first time I encountered goblins let alone fought them." "Is that so? Look here, gentlemen. We have a natural-borne killer." The dwarf laughed. " That's even better! You are no longer a goblin virgin!" Good-natured laughter was heard from all around. "Anyway, clean yourself up and help us drag the bodies to the side so we can burn them." "Pardon sir, are we not going to take the magic stones out?" Jaxon asked the dwarf. "Oh, you also know of magic stones? Pity that surface monsters don't have any. The goblins on the surface are much weaker than those in the dungeon beneath Orario. Those goblins are much stronger and have intact magic stones. Well, enough talking. We have corpses to burn!"
After starting a large bonfire, the caravan started back on its way to the next trading post, the people eager to get away from the stink of the burning corpses. Jaxon was sitting next to Francis at the front. "Are there a lot of monsters here on the surface? I have never seen one. I have only read about them in the books at the school."
Frances replies. "They are not very common but not uncommon either. Goblins especially. They breed like rats but are not strong. They usually come in packs and will ambush unwary folk and eat them. A well-armed caravan usually does not have anything to fear from them but if you are a lone traveler it's best to run away. No shame in retreating to fight another day."
The next weeks were occupied with the same routine of traveling and trading. Jaxon frequently stared with wide-eyed wonder at the new vistas and towns he had never seen before. He tried his best not to pester the others with questions after questions about the things he saw. Fortunately for him, his natural curiosity, good manners, and polite disposition endeared him to the caravan group who started to treat him like a mascot and were more indulgent when answering his questions.
He asked the guards if they could show him some combat techniques while they were in camp. He asked the traders what wares were in demand and where to procure them. All of these he filed away in his little notebook.
One day he saw the five merchants gathering around talking animatedly. Trading had been lucrative and they decided to change the trading route. Francis saw Jaxon and smiled at him "Looks like it's your lucky day boy! We decided to head for Orario. We can trade what we acquired for magic stone items!" So the caravan headed towards Orario. They still made stops at the villages and towns along the way. After all, merchants are merchants and will not pass up an opportunity to profit.
One morning as the caravan was trudging along Jaxon noticed that there were more caravans and people on the road. They even started to see patrols of soldiers from time to time. He noticed the guards were much more relaxed. When he mentioned this, he was told that the surrounding land was controlled and protected by Orario. Someone pointed at the distant horizon. "Look closely, it is faint but you should see a spire. That would be the tower of Babel. That is at the center of Orario. We are no more than two days away. "Two days?" Jaxon exclaimed. " How tall is that thing? It can't be as tall as a mountain?" "Ehhh, pretty much," said Francis. "No matter, you will see it soon enough."
The following two days were torturous for the young boy. He could barely control himself from leaping from the wagon and sprinting toward the city. The sensation in his core, the tugging he felt, was getting stronger. "I do not know what this is but hopefully I find out soon."
At last, they were in front of the gates of Orario. Well, one of the gates or Orario, and behind a very long line of people trying to get into Orario. It took half the morning just to get through the gate. Jaxon found out that the guards acting on orders from adventurers of the Ganesha Familia. When it was his turn they asked him what his business was in Orario and he told them that he was with a merchant caravan but would like to try his luck on being an adventurer. The guard looked at Jaxon and said "You don't look like much, Don't die in the dungeon on your first day." Jaxon looks flatly at the guard "Geeze, thanks for the pep talk pops. Very helpful." A small man, an adventurer by the looks of him, approaches them and brusquely says "Ok enough. You are holding up the line. You boy, report to the Guild in the center of the city to register as an adventurer once you find a Familia. Good luck." Jaxon hurries past and meets up with the rest of the caravan to say his goodbyes to all of them before melding into the sea of people.
He pulls into an alley, closes his eyes, and concentrates. "Today, I'll finally find out what's been beckoning me all this time." He opens his eyes, takes a deep breath, and steps into the throng. Weaving his way wide-eyed through the mass of humans, animal people, dwarves, and elves to make his way to the center of the city using the Tower of Babel as a guidepost, Jaxon marches on to his destiny.