It was another scorching hot summer day, one of many this year. Wenzel was strolling leisurely along the cobblestones. To his left was a bakery and to his right was a tailor shop. He wasn't planning on going to any of the stores, and not just because he didn't have any pocket money. His reason for being here was different. Well, regardless of that, there still was the crushing heat. It was the kind of heat where you couldn't even think straight anymore. It was, therefore, advisable to stay outside for as short a time as possible. As he was walking through town, Wenzel unconsciously began to pick up the pace. Passing by the various half-timbered houses along the street, his eyes kept getting stuck on them. Such beautiful architecture impressed Wenzel. Naturally, these buildings could not be compared with the monumental giant buildings in Meglarsbruck, despite some of them being several stories high. No, these houses were so eye-catching, because they were beautifully decorated on the outside and each of them was unique. There were differently decorated facades, square or round windows, various kinds of turrets and gables and there were also those houses, that were “cantilevered”, i.e. whose facade protruded further and further over the street as the height increased.

  Wenzel looked at these fascinating things for so long, that he no longer was looking where he was going, which is why he suddenly bumped into a lady. “Ow! Be careful, young man!” – I’m sorry!” he apologized, feeling a little embarrassed. Olemar was very different from Meglarsbruck. It was only a small town, but the difference was striking. Narrow, cramped streets, a certain amount of people, but not huge crowds, and a small temple for praying, but no huge representative buildings. But mainly the difference was visible with the people. Most people wore simple clothing, often soiled from work. No fine clothes, impractical shoes or opulent hats were to be seen, but simple, gray or brown clothes, rarely coloured ones, and some just wore rags. Olemar wasn't a big city, that much was clear.

  So, where was Wenzel going now? He went into one of the alleys in the city centre, straight into a three-story apartment building. This white half-timbered house, where the dark wooden beams could be seen on the facade, which also served as a decorative element, was inhabited by a single person and belonged entirely to him. It was the home of a rich individual. The boy knocked and entered. “Hello!” he greeted as he was closing the door at the same time. “Hello, Wenzel,” came back without further ado. He was obviously welcome. The boy walked through the anteroom into the living room, where a man was sitting at a table, overflowing with stacks of books and piles of paper. The room was nicely furnished, but was nowhere near as elite as the property of Wenzel’s parents, or rather adoptive parents. The man looked over at him. It was Mr. Albrecht, his geography teacher. “Are you coming to visit me again, Wenzel? I mean, there’ll be tests again pretty soon. Shouldn't you prepare for them again with Peter?" - "I’m very well aware of this, Mr. Albrecht. Once I've finished the homework, I'll sit down to study straight away!", replied the boy and continued, "But at the moment Peter doesn't have any time and I still am unable to concentrate in my room. Coming over to you won’t become a habit, I promise.”

  So, why was Wenzel here anyway? Well, it’s complicated. Peter had recently started meeting Wenzel less and less after school. He said that it was, because he wanted to see the girl from the class below them more often, due to her also being able to talk to him in Camenian. Wenzel remembered her name being Sybille, though he wasn’t entirely sure. Whatever the case, he was certain, that this was just an excuse! After what his father had told him in Meglarsbruck, he was convinced that their parents were now putting pressure on Peter, to make him see Wenzel less often. Just thinking about it made Wenzel angry again! They wanted to begrudge him everything, they wanted to take everything away from him! And that was the reason for him to start seeing someone else. Sure, no one was allowed to find out about it, or Wenzel and his teacher would get into problems. But to him it was worth it. At least this way he could get out of the boarding school and see the town. He just had to be careful not to get caught climbing over the wall. It would be very bad, if that happened.

  Mr. Albrecht was the only one at the school, apart from Peter, who meant well for him and with whom he could at least talk about a few things. His actual excuse to Mr. Albrecht was, that he wanted to do his homework here because his brother had been disturbing him lately, while he was studying, which is why he didn't want to stay in their shared room and preferred to come here. For the time being, he had bought into the excuse.

  “Well, okay, you can sit on the table over there, okay?” Mr. Albrecht offered him the only table that had at least some space for him. “Thank you!” Wenzel now completed his homework as quickly as possible. He had no interest in putting in much effort for this “institution of higher snoring”. It wasn’t for him anyway! This wasn't the life he wanted. What he wanted was to go out into the world and have an adventure! To Wenzel, this idea sounded much less childish than it actually was. When he finally finished his homework, he saw that Mr. Albrecht had gotten up and was making himself some tea. He also offered one to Wenzel, which the boy politely accepted. Then they chatted a little.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “So, what do you want to do in your future, Wenzel?” The boy stared at him briefly and didn’t know what to say. Once again, he had no excuse prepared. So, he just said how he really felt: “I don't want to deal with all these pompous snots telling me absolutely everything I have to do. I want to go out into the real world and go on adventures.” He found it difficult to decipher the expression on his teacher’s face. After a moment the gentleman replied:

  “My dear Wenzel, you know nothing about the world outside, the world in which most of the inhabitants of Ordania live! Believe me, you don't want to be out there!" Wenzel hated being constantly lectured to and countered: "And why not? Because life is hard for normal people? I’m very well aware of that! I’m not stupid!”

  Mr. Albrecht made a long exhale and then said: “Listen carefully to me, Wenzel! You grew up here in a well-protected refuge. There are a lot of things going on in this country that you haven’t even the slightest clue of. An adventure would quickly turn into a nightmare, believe me.”

  Mr. Albrecht was absolutely right about Wenzel knowing and having seen nothing about the world. The only places he knew were his safe childhood home and this boarding school. He had barely experienced anything in this world, let alone real life. But the teacher had now awakened his interest with his words.

  “What are the things, going on?” asked the boy. The gentleman refused to elaborate. So, Wenzel began to use his “secret art”: pester someone until they give in. “Please tell me! I won’t tell anyone, I swear!” It only took 10 minutes for the man to give in.

  “Well, fine, but you didn’t get this from me, okay? ... Lately, in Ordania there have repeatedly been peasant uprisings, larger and smaller, all over the country. I know you haven't noticed, since you're shielded from the conditions in the country, but a lot of people really don't have any love for the current ruling house."

  At that moment Wenzel became very quiet.

  “Most farmers and most of the rural population are deeply rooted in the old Melgarist beliefs. That won't change any time soon. Only in the cities have the entire elite adopted the new Alethic dogmas. You know what those are, right?”

  Wenzel nodded.

  “Oppression of the population is being cranked up under the pretext of witch hunts. The peasant revolts in Ordania, with which many sympathize, are apparently led by Melgarist revisionists. You don't need to know who these people are. It's enough to know that they are very dangerous. The tension in the country is enormous and it’s only getting worse! I strongly advise you to not go on an “adventure” anywhere here. All you will find is…,” he pondered for a moment, “disillusionment. So, promise me you won't do anything stupid like that, okay? You have to promise me, Wenzel!”

  “I promise,” the boy replied in a depressed voice.

  Wenzel's dreams had just burst before him like soap bubbles. What should he do now? Simply nothing? Just keep living THIS life? No, he didn't want to continue like this, especially since he knew he wouldn't pass this school. And his sole friend slowly began distancing himself from him. Mr. Albrecht was no substitute, however much the boy wanted it. But he couldn't run away either. Where to go? What to do? Wenzel had no answer. If he were to run away, he would become a target for the ruling class, whose hatred for someone like him, whom they called a devil or a demon, was well known to him. In religious education at school he had become very familiar with their conceptions of “good and evil”. All these thoughts were now chaotically bustling about in his head. There was no helping it anyway.

  Wenzel finished his tea. As he wanted to pack himself up to head back, he suddenly felt an extreme dizziness. It came with such force, that the boy stumbled backwards, barely managing to support himself on a bookshelf. “Wenzel! Is everything okay? “Are you not feeling well?” asked the worried teacher. “No, ever…” before Wenzel could answer properly, he violently threw up. He disposed of today's breakfast and lunch on the wooden floorboards of the living room. Mr. Albrecht showing consideration quickly brought him a cloth to wipe himself off. The gentleman immediately began to clean up the mess himself, while Wenzel sat down on a chair to calm himself down. "I'm sorry. “I must have eaten something bad,” Wenzel lied to him. The boy knew exactly the cause of his affliction. He was too far away from his soul, which rested all the way back in the dorms of the boarding school. His body clearly had an explosive reaction to this. Wenzel was in really bad shape.

  That's why we didn't stay any longer and started heading home a few minutes later. He said goodbye and strolled leisurely along the cobblestone streets of Olemar again. However, when he entered the main square, which he had to cross on his way to the boarding school, he saw something unusual. A bunch of people had gathered around something. The boy didn't know exactly what it was. In front of the guildhall, where a large crowd of people had gathered, he could only see two tall wooden posts in the distance. He now pushed his way through the crowd to see what was there. Before he could reach the front, he saw what this was about and what was going on here. Nobody had to explain it to him. After all, Aurel had once told him about these things to scare his little brother. And Mr Albrecht had only just spoken about it….