Chapter 6: Village Boy B

A strange girl moved into the village recently. She calls herself Talon. I know she’s a refugee from High-Five Rock… and that's about all I know. She was supposed to visit the Elder’s house a few days ago, but for some reason ended up there days later. Then, she spouted some nonsense about “the Hero” and left before even going inside. I tried introducing myself to her, but she called me a strange nickname.

Just so everything is clear, I don’t plan on responding to “Village Boy B” anytime soon. My name is Reuben Alkohall. I quite like my name and don’t plan on changing it anytime soon.

I like to consider myself someone who doesn’t get into trouble. At my father’s request, I sometimes go help Elder Tres with some tasks. I work the field daily and get the rest of my time to myself. I keep busy. I keep myself healthy. I know everyone in the village and spend time with my group of friends. I make sure not to get into anything annoying. I’ve heard a lot of places in Namida are getting more and more dangerous, so I value the simplicity I have.

But Elder Tres asked me to look after the new girl. Apparently High-Five Rock was run over by monsters. The only conclusion to be made is that Talon lost everything and escaped with what she could. If it was just that, I would have been fine supporting her. There are lots of people who go through terrible things. Helping someone who is struggling only makes sense.

And yet, there’s something off about her. I’ve only had one interaction with her, but she creeped me out. It was like there was something sinister behind her smile, and she was always thinking of something else. She met the so-called “Hero” she was looking for, but for some reason she acted sick afterwards. When she was standing in front of the Elder’s house, she was humming a tune cheerily, but her face looked completely serious.

Every action she makes is a warning sign that tells me to avoid her. I think of Talon and my instincts say not to get involved. Unfortunately, my father and Elder Tres think differently.

My father slaps my back and says, “Reuben, my boy! This’ll be your chance to finally grab yourself a wife, gyahaha!” and acts like a fool. I usually ignore his comments. Elder Tres looks at me with a smile and says, “Reuben, she may have trouble adapting to her new situation. I encourage you to help her out.” and I’m left with a strange sense of guilt.

It’s pretty hard to ignore the Elder, so here I am at Talon’s front door, knocking for the seventh time. Maybe yesterday was a fluke. Perhaps she was feeling a bit off that day. She doesn't leave her house, so it's possible she was just nervous.

I knock again. This is the eighth time now. Finally the door opens.

“Hm? Who…? Oh! Village Boy B! Hello! I nearly forgot about you, ahaha.”

There’s that unsettling smile again. It’s exactly the same as the one from before. I’d be more creeped out if it wasn’t for the fact that she was currently bruised up and bleeding. There’s a pretty nasty scratch on her face and her clothes are ripped up a bit. She looks like she got caught up in a whirlwind.

“Um… Talon. You’re bleeding.”

“Indeed! I’m an NPC, so I’m sure I’ll be fine eventually. More importantly, do you happen to have some small rocks on you?”

As expected, this is going to be troublesome. I have no idea what an “NPC” is, but the fact that she has a complete disregard for her own condition right now is concerning. She’s prioritizing whatever is in her head again. I really want to leave, but the constant nagging from Elder Tres and my father would be more annoying. At least with Talon, I’ll have something new. Let’s see if I can get through to her.

“Talon.”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Why are you so beat up?”

“Ah, I was just fighting my chickens. The young cockerel is quite the scrapper, you see. I only found out after the fight that he’s a Rock Chicken. To think this girl had Rock Chickens! Suddenly, the cockerel’s absurd strength makes sense.”

“You were fighting your chickens? Why?!”

“Various reasons. But wow, you’re quite the advanced NPC, huh? Did our shared event with the Hero affect you or something? It’s really hard to draw the line between what’s genuine or not.”

What even is this girl talking about? She’s throwing out words that make no sense and is acting like I understand them. It’s like she’s muttering all this to satisfy herself but also expects me to agree with her.

“Well, the Hero took my stuff, so I can’t really host anyone, but if you’re fine with sitting on the floor, you can come in. I need to test NPC memory and intelligence anyways.”

She leaves the door wide open and walks inside with boisterous steps, despite her current state. Her house is simply a spare one we had, so it’s a bit old, but for some reason there’s a bunch of pottery shards strewn across the floor. I can barely find a proper place to sit down.

“Talon, I’d like to reintroduce myself. Without interruption this time.”

“I’ll be doing stuff, but yeah feel free to talk!”

“I’m Reuben Alkohall. I’m the son of Drenkenn Alkohall, and the apprentice to Village Elder Tres. I’d like to help you get settled here in Dadirdtoun. Please come to me if you need any help.”

“Woah, you introduced yourself super formally, just like a party member and everything. Well, I’m Talon. I apparently raise Rock Chickens. I’m guessing that means I came from somewhere around High-Five Rock.”

“Are you… unsure where you came from?”

I’m worried that a traumatic experience may have caused her to be in this odd state. If that’s even caused her to shut away some of her memories, then maybe I can get a healer to help.

“I’m unsure of many things, ahaha. But the cluelessness is making this playthrough pretty interesting so far! To think Village Boy B would be named and would be so important. A shame about the bland color palette.”

Bland color palette…?

“I’m… having the strangest feeling you’re deliberately stating your thoughts out loud.”

“I might be. I’m using you to figure things out. But it’s not mean-spirited, I promise. If anything I’m amazed that you can articulate yourself so well. I’ll have to see if you remember all this tomorrow.”

She said that as a compliment, but somehow, I feel insulted.

“So… you’re testing lots of things for a specific reason, which is…?”

“A secret.”

Of course. I guess I should be glad I got something. It’s still difficult to tell what actions are deliberate and which aren’t.

“Hey now, don’t give me such a disappointed look, Reuby! If I told you the full truth I fear I might be burned at the stake for heresy.”

“Reuby? Is that supposed to be a nickname?”

“It didn’t land, huh? I tried acting cute since I have this body now, but I guess I can’t harness my true power yet.”

“If calling me Reuby will get you to stop calling me that other name, then feel free to call me that.”

“Village Boy B wasn’t that bad, was it? I was just categorizing you by your role. After all, I’m Village Girl A.”

Talon even gave a title to herself? And what was that about being burned at the stake? I’m pretty sure that was outlawed years ago. This conversation has steered into an odd direction, but if it gets Talon to talk, maybe I can end this whole process faster. I’ll respond with a relevant remark and hope she bites at the bait.

“I have to ask; why Village Boy? Village Man sounds better.”

“Nah, I imagine a gruff man with a beard and five sons with that title.”

“So you imagine my father.”

“I’ll call him Village Man C then!”

I already told her my father’s name earlier, and she still insists on giving him an odd title. She’s also been making strange jumping motions despite her wounds, and she’s clearly out of breath.

“Talon, you're wounded. You should stop jumping around.”

“I'm fine! These are just scratches. I plan to fight some more, so I’m training myself by doing some light exercises. I need to get stronger!”

Hm. I wonder if she’ll take an offer of help if it relates to her goals.

“I’m pretty good with a quarterstaff. Would you like to spar against me?”

“Oho?! To think Reuby was even an NPC who could initiate combat! Dadirdtoun has so many secrets I never knew about! This is starting to feel like a New Game+ !”

I’m not even going to ask what that means, but it seems like she’s interested. I guess this’ll have to do for now.