“Sarah! Feylin!” A familiar voice echoed off the trees in the early morning light. A gentle breeze shook dew from the rich grass that blanketed the forest floor, the smell of petrichor filling the senses.

In front of the party, a small man measuring just over five foot stood with his arms crossed, a genuine smile on his face.

The acolytes immediately grinned upon seeing the man, as well as the clergymen he had with him. After glancing back to Tobias and receiving a reassured nod, they sprinted forward in a mad dash to hug this familiar face.

Watching the two acolytes he had raised become so happy to see him filled Jakobson’s heart with warmth. He had been unable to do anything to stifle his worrying about their wellbeing over the last year. Every day for the year they were gone he prayed that they would be safe. Even with Tobias’s promise, he knew that the world was not so kind. If the world was so kind for promises to be reliable, then what would be the point of clerics?

While overjoyed, instead of embracing their hugs he quickly stepped forward, sidestepping past the two, causing both of them to stumble. They had been expecting Jakobson to step towards them, not past them. Both acolytes tripped and landed on their butts; Jakobson flashed them a half mocking grin and half genuine smile. In his eyes though, love could be seen for the two young ones.

However, he had an image to uphold. He couldn’t be seen so happily embracing the two youth, especially not in front of so many of his fellow clergy.

Soon the rest of the party converged with Jakobson’s group. Tobias and Jakobson exchanged a formal greeting of equals. They held their hands sideways, palms facing each other’s with only a few inches of space between.

“I’m glad you are good for your word, Tobias.” Despite his small frame, Jakobson’s voice was lacking no depth. It gave him an intimidating and strengthened quality.

“Of course I am. And I’m happy to say you have raised some wonderful kids.” Tobias was being polite of course, but he couldn’t hide his genuine approval of Sarah and Feylin.

“Mm. And this is?” Jakobson’s head tilted to Noone. All of the clergymen had noticed Noone from a distance - he was hard not to notice. Tall and broad, stacked with muscles from head to toe. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Tobias, practically towering over everyone present. No one had seen anything like him before, obviously some humanoid race, but completely foreign.

When they saw him traveling with the rest of the party from the Burian unrestrained, they put their unease aside. There was no reason to be wary of him if Tobias and the rest trusted him.

“This…” Tobias said, considering his words. “Is who we were sent to retrieve.” Although barely present, a sigh could be made from the paladin’s tone. It was clear that even now – months later – Tobias still had trouble believing the direction this assignment had turned.

Jakobson’s eyes widened, he knew a few of the details of the assignment. For it to end up in such a way… how unexpected.

His eyes ended up resting on Noone’s neck. He noticed a crescent-moon shaped pendant with a black pearl floating within. The thousands of hair-thin etchings made the necklace unmistakable. It was definitely the pendant he had seen Tobias carrying before their departure a year before.

“Well. Hello Noone, I’m Jakobson.” The small bishop extended a firm hand to Noone.

Within an organization it was uncommon to shake hands with your compatriots. Almost all greetings were followed by either holding their hands above, below, or besides the other persons’. There were many symbolic meanings behind this, but most of the time when asked, it is usually clarified just to be tradition; a way to establish and maintain a hierarchy.

In the outside world though, meeting people outside of your organization was as common as fish were in the sea. Because there was no way to implement such a tiered system in your every-day dealings, the common greeting was a simple handshake. No formal greeting necessary.

Noone carefully studied the man in front of him. This was the first being he had met in the surface world that wasn’t one of the five he fought when he first ascended… or a tribesman. Just a regular… human?

Noone had never seen someone so small before, not unless they were an elder whose height had degraded over time. Not everyone in Tapestry was as tall as he… but this man – Jakobson – was incredibly short.

He carried himself with strength and seemed to have a good nature about him, and he did not dress in a way that Raelith told him most clerics and paladins of the Order of Life dressed.

Noone shook his head, putting his thoughts away for the time being. There was too much information he didn’t know, about everything. There was no point in trying to analyze it now.

He extended his hand in a similar way to Jakobson’s, greeting the stout man. This was one of the first things Raelith had taught him, but this was his first time actually meeting someone under normal circumstances. Noone could not help but feel slightly excited by the whole interaction, his very first non-violent interaction since arriving.

Jakobson similarly was eyeing Noone, he had a lot more experience than Noone when it came to the real world. He could immediately tell a few things about this strange being. Questions filled his mind, but he bit his tongue. He would ask Tobias later.

“Hi, Jakobson. Good to meet you.” Noone felt inexplicably awkward about the exchange, he was unsure if there was something he should say to further explain his presence. Sensing the awkwardness between the two, Tobias took the attention onto himself.

“So, bishop, what brings you out here? We were only an hour or so from the town, certainly you didn’t need to come out here just to meet us?” He chuckled meaningfully, giving the entourage a sweeping glance.

“Well, when I received word of how close you were, I couldn’t contain my anxiety. On top of that… You have heard what occurred with the epoch tribe, I assume?” A sour mood filled the air between everyone present. When they thought of the coming repercussions, no one was happy. Especially not a small order of healing clerics occupying a satellite town at the front of the storm.

“Mm. Well, let us get back then. I am not sure how long we will be staying in Ardglass for, but there is much to do.” The seriousness in Tobias’s voice brought down everyone’s mood further.

Noone took up the back of the group while Sarah and Feylin spoke with Jakobson. Tobias, Rae, and Sally found enjoyment speaking with the clerics Jakobson brought along. They were starved for interaction with their fellow beings.

Noone watched on in silence. Seeing the excitement and happiness on their faces left him with nostalgic feelings of home. He watched the beautiful green grass and lush forest trees go by as his mind drifted back to the stone walls of Tapestry.

When he was young, he felt left out – the world around him was a silent mausoleum. Everything back then was so… silent. But over time he got older, he made friends and the people of Tapestry began to pull him into the fold. Tahmel, Porose, Liter… The elders... Trisha, Pride, everyone. He made friends and found family.

Later on he longed to return to them – to his society – while scaling the cliff. Years he spent, trying to push aside the longing to return knowing that it was only a matter of time before he could see his family again.

When he saw the outcropping which led into Tapestry, joy filled his heart. But afterwards… he experienced what true silence was. The kind of silence that crept into your bones and ate through your heart. Silence which seemed to pound into your brain, ringing in your ears as though mocking your very existence.

He swallowed these thoughts back then, pushing them to the side. But like a weed in unwatched soil, it persistently sprung up. As he watched the three from Burian and the acolytes return back to their society, his heart couldn’t help but hurt. This was all he had wanted… but he couldn’t return to it. It was stolen from him.

Unnoticed, a tear escaped and fell uselessly to the soil below. Noone’s mind thought back to his dearest memories while he took in the foreign flora. Beautiful… and a constant reminder of how different this world was from his. Ultimately… he was back to being an outsider.

Despite being surrounded by noise, everything felt so… Silent.