Lowly Ascent

Cain finished burying the bodies, and afterward, Feick guided him to town. The trip would take about an hour.

On the way, Cain had the chance to study his surroundings and take in this new, foreign place he found himself in. He gazed around as he trotted along the muddy dirt path.

All he could see were endless, large trees. They had dark brownish-green trunks with black sludge leaking from them. The leaves were withered and pale, drooping down like vines, and the branches were so long they brushed against Feick's shoulders.

The path they walked seemed to be free of wildlife unlike where Cain had dug the hole for the bodies, Feick seemed to have to travel far away to bury them.

Strange cricket-like chirps echoed through the swamp, and the ground squelched, oozing up around Cain's worn boots. Each step he took felt uncomfortable, the ground was soft, too soft. It was almost like quicksand and made Cain feel trapped.

He even compared it to moist feces in his mind, the earthy smell wasn't all too pleasant either.

Cain gazed up and stared at the sky. It was empty, and there was a vast void hole in the backdrop, trying to swallow everything. Other than the black hole, three moons were in view. Cain saw one of them while the others were too hidden by the canopy. 

The moons were white, blue, and red, casting vibrant light on the land. The white moon was the highest up, straight above Cain's head, and aligned in view. Its soft moonlight came down and basked Cain in its presence. The other two were below it, the red moon sat on the horizon, resembling a setting sun. Above, between the red and white moon, sat a blue moon in the middle.

It looked as if the moons were connected, like a constellation. With no stars in the sky, they were the only objects that could take up the mantle.

Feick noticed Cain staring and commented.

"Amazing aren't they? When I'm burying bodies, I always see the wounds or symptoms of what killed them, I've gone nights without sleeping and days without blinking. But there's a beauty to it, a strange beauty."

Feick spoke without end, causing Cain to drown out the old man's ramblings.

As for the technical things Cain learned from Feick, the most important was the date. The history of the Landfill was long, seeing as the Landfill was in the 3125th year of the 119th cycle. Cycle referring to a million years.

The longer they walked the more Cain studied Feick. The old geezer saved him but he didn't know anything about him.

Feick was a man who stood taller than most. He was tall and burly but was starting to lose the last remnants of his youthful vigor. With pale skin, he looked sick and his gray hair reached just below his shoulders, along with his beard which was a mix of gray and white.

For someone who dealt with corpses, Feick seemed clean. His beard was well-kept, and his clothes weren't all that dirty, apart from some dust and grime. Overall, he seemed to maintain good hygiene. His face had an oval shape, and he had a friendly appearance.

Feick noticed Cain looking at him and got creeped out. The geezer told him to stop. So instead, Cain looked at himself, he was a stranger to his body as well.

He raised his pale hand, it was almost translucent. Cain could see his veins.

Though he didn't have a mirror, Cain hopped over to some swamp water and looked at himself in the reflection. All he could make out was his dark black hair, and his eyes shined green.

As a young boy, he was small, Feick even teased him for being so small. But not everything was sunshine and rainbows, Cain was weak.

'Who was I? Did I have a family?'

Feick interrupted Cain's thoughts. 

"I almost forgot! You're going to have to see a plague doctor to get checked up. You don't have any immunity to the diseases here. After that, I suppose I will have to make room for you and make sure you don't die..."

"What's a plague doctor?" Cain inquired.

"They are the ones responsible for keeping everyone healthy. They study diseases and use that knowledge to cure people. The cost of their treatments varies depending on the illness. However, since it's a common profession, most diseases are easier to cure, making them more affordable," Feick brushed off some dead vines on his shoulder.

'They study diseases? I wonder if I can make a living out of that?' Cain thought Plague Doctors sounded cool, his childlike brain growing attached to the idea.

Since they were almost to their destination, Feick began filling Cain in on what he needed to know about the town.

"Now, I don't know where you're from, but here in Netherane, most towns and cities are well-developed. The town of Yoen, where we're heading, is divided into four areas, like a pie."

Cain asked a question. "How many people live in the town? It seems pretty big"

"Our town has close to 20,000 people living in it! It's a major stop for anyone traveling to the Free City, which sits in the middle of Netherane. So our town is quite prosperous," replied Feick, the proud lowerclassmen.

Cain nodded and went silent for a moment before asking another question. "What's Free City?"

Feick's eyes filled with grandeur and admiration. "Well, my young friend, it's the only city in Netherane that's Neutral! It's not only located in the center of Netherane but it also serves as a focal point for travel from east to west. Moreover, it's prosperous, the center of all trade!"

Cain said, "Why isn't it part of the Kingdom or Empire?"

Feick scratched his beard. "Well... I do not know. Didn't I tell you I'm no all-seeing eye? I'm an old man for crying out loud! I've never been to another village, town, or city, so stop asking me things I wouldn't know! You're lucky Yoen has travelers. Otherwise, you'd have to be content with playing with rocks!"

As an older man, he had whittling patience. Years of toiling alone as a gravedigger had made him bitter and withdrawn.

Feick recollected himself and continued to explain what they needed to do once they arrived in town.

The most important thing was that Cain would have to undergo a check-up and settle for some work. As a lowly gravedigger, Feick was poor and could only provide for himself.

Apart from that, Cain spent the journey wondering about himself and remained confused about many things. 

'Maybe I'll gain answers in town? Or maybe, I'll finally wake up from this nightmare.....' He once more looked up at the sky, Cain became lost in thought, gazing at the black blob suspended above. Although he was safe, there was deep fear, he never forgot everything he was experiencing was foreign. 

That feeling of alienization stayed strong in his heart. In this land, no one was on his side, he was no more than a commodity. 

...

Getting tapped on the shoulder by Feick, Cain realized they had arrived in Yoen.

As he diverted his attention from the sky, his eyes caught something. His pupils dilated in surprise. What met him was a vast town sprawling with people strolling through the streets.

Though the number of people wasn't substantial, folks were doing their day-to-day, some wore practical clothes made of linen while others wore more layers and had nicer fabrics.

Seeing the disparity in even clothes made Cain feel a tinge of envy.

"We're here, boy. This is the eastern entrance to Yoen. I live on the southeast side, so you'll reside in the working-class area with me. Could you make sure not to brush up against anyone? To them, we're wearing rags, and we're nothing more than lower-class slugs."

Feick sneered as he looked at the folks wearing clean clothes with contempt. Nonetheless, they were here, in the town of Yoen.