Arcane hated carriages. The rumblings of the wheels and the cramped inside of the carriage felt like a flock of woodpeckers upon his sanity. Not that he seen a woodpecker before, but he knew that it made loud noises by drilling into wood with its beak. There were loads of things he barely understood, and why he was on this trip to a... 'prison' was one of them.<br/><br/>He looked towards his dark tanned hand, brightened by the sun from the carriage windows on one side and still dark on another. A scrap of paper had the words "Visit Wayside House, negotiate with warden" scribbled upon it. It was Master Alfonse's handwriting. The reason for this visit eluded him, but Arcane wanted to clear his schedule before clearing his head.<br/><br/>Ever since the fateful day 2 weeks ago, Arcane wished he was dreaming when he looked upon hands that he was not born with and moved them by himself. Master Alfonse was gone, and there Arcane was, in his place. In his home. In his body. And no one else knew. Master Alfonse had introduced him to the world beyond being a golden watch of invisibility generation, and called Arcane 'him' instead of 'it'. Why and how were unknown to him.<br/><br/>Arcane dug into his pocket and produced a golden engraved pocket-watch. "I'm alone without you..." he muttered softly, tears welling up in his eyes.<br/><br/>The carriage halted and a crackly old voice came from in front of the carriage: "Esquire Alfonse, we've reached the Wayside House." Gerald Karras had served his master's house for ages and apparently noticed no difference between his master and himself that he would outright raise. Sheltered under an umbrella, he held another in his free hand.<br/><br/>"Thank you, Gerald," Arcane replied. His fingers rubbed the edges of his eyes and flicked off the tears, finishing just as Gerald had opened the door. "Tired, Gerald." His servant handed him his umbrella, sheltering himself quickly with the other. It was as if a drop never landed on his head in this manoeuvre.<br/><br/>His servant would be suspicious, but would never dare ask anything of it. Such, as he learned over a crash course of 2 weeks, were the privileges of the noble Esquire Alfonse Alarei. He suspected that if he was starving to death, servants would rush to cut off their own flesh to save his life. How did Master Alphonse handle this much power and yet be so... nice to him, Arcane wondered.<br/><br/>"I'll be going alone, Gerald. The warden and I will discuss our...<span style="font-style: italic">situation</span>in private." Arcane almost made 'situation' sound like a euphemism, but if euphemism meant that he knew nothing about it, it would have been an appropriate description.<br/><br/>Gerald nodded and climbed back onto the carriage reins, staring into the forest like a statue. Arcane did wish he was doing that instead of having to go through the Wayside House. For a house, it had a lot of... forest.<br/><br/>Arcane strode up to the guard standing outside the entrance. "Esquire Alfonse Alarei, visiting the Warden of Wayside House," said Arcane authoritatively, though that was likely the best he could fake confidence and authority. The guard believed it though, letting him through the makeshift gate with a nod.<br/><br/>"Follow the dirt road, sir."<br/><br/>The dirt road was clear and easy to walk upon, and that gave time for Arcane to think. What was he going to do after this? This was the last thing his master was supposed to do. But Arcane was not Esquire Alfonse Alarei, despite what the servants would think. He couldn't be a golden pocket-watch any more, so what was he to do?<br/><br/>The word mercenary popped into his mind. Fortunately, despite being a magical artefact, he came with the knowledge of combat techniques that his creator must have given him for contingencies. But if he had barely spent 2 weeks knowing how to be a noble, he had even less being a mercenary. His own knowledge of the world as a watch barely prepared him for things such as eating, drinking and stairways!<br/><br/>Lost deep in thought, Arcane reached a fork in the dirt road and headed right, past the 'DO NOT TRAVEL THIS WAY ALONE' sign.<br/><br/>Perhaps he could try as a knight. The word 'amnesiac' could be used to describe him. He had very little of a past and knew virtually nothing of the world around him. He would probably fit right in very weâ€“<br/><br/>He heard loud footsteps, though they were muffled by the soil around him. A large, light yellow creature looked at him. It had a beautiful mane, yellow eyes and paws that could perhaps kill someone by smacking them too hard. Large teeth adorned its mouth as it openeâ€“<br/><br/>It was going to eat him by pouncing on him, his mind yelled at his body.<br/><br/>"Eep!" he squeaked, dodging to the left and falling down with a splash as the lion missed his pounce. But as the lion turned towards Arcane, it saw his body quick fade away into nothing.<br/><br/>Arcane hoped that the creature did not think to pounce again on where he was. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at it. It smelled of a bad stench even beneath the hard rain, as if... something. He knew how to fight humans, but this must have been a lion. He didn't know how to fight one!<br/><br/>Master Alfonse! Where are you, Arcane begged.