The Tale of Milo Burrows, Part 1

Written by Sgt.Softface15, edited by Quintin Magnus

One bright, clear autumn morning, in the small coastal town of Payna, Milo Burrows, a small Halfling of the age of 10, awoke as usual to the sound of his mother calling his name. “Milo! Get up for breakfast! It’ll get cold if you wait any longer!” Milo dragged himself out of bed and entered kitchen. His mother was waiting with a pan of freshly cooked eggs. “G’mornin Milo!” she greeted him while placing a serving of eggs on his plate. He ate his breakfast hurriedly, got himself ready, and returned to the kitchen. His mother noticed him looking downcast, and stopped him before he continued out the door. “Hey, don’t worry about today. It’s always scary the first day of the school year. Okay?” she asked. He nodded and looked up at her. “Now, go out and have fun!” she commanded him before ruffling his hair. He smiled at the gesture, hugged her goodbye, and wandered out the door and down the street.
On his way down, he kept staring out to the sea that Payna was planted next to. He bumped into a stranger that was walking along the road away from Payna’s bay. “‘Scuse me little guy!” he apologized, “I’m sorry. I’m quite distracted this morning. Though, that’s nothin’ out of the ordinary I’ll say!” The man said with a hearty chuckle, while Milo stayed quiet. “Hey, aren’t you Helt’s boy?” the man inquired, “I know him. We work together on the fishin’ boat! Lucky for me, it’s my day off!” Milo, still shy, decided to keep quiet. “Hm. Well, when your father returns from work you tell him that I said hi ok?” he requested. Milo nodded. The man let Milo go on his way, and proceeded to walk along the road.
When Milo got to school, he did what he always did in years past. He sat in each class learning what he could and writing in his book, but not saying a word, unless he was spoken to. Even during the free time, he just sat down and read his book about the hero Doraleous who saved anyone in distress and was greatly admired by all. He continued this throughout the day, as he did every year of school. After school had ended, he walked out the door and was immediately met with a breathtaking view of the sea. He looked out, and tried to spot the boat that his father sailed and fished on, dreaming of the day he could join him and fish all day without a care in the world.
He turned away and started to walk back up the road toward his home, when he heard a noise coming from between two buildings. He stopped and glanced into the short alleyway where he saw three older kids, about the age of at least 13, talking to someone. Was it a younger boy? No, it was someone of small stature, a Halfling like him. He didn’t know there was another Halfling in Payna. He tried to hear what they were talking about. The oldest of the three boys was talking to the Halfling, “…Oh yeah? You think you don’t have to listen to what we say?” The Halfling responded defiantly, “No! No one does. No one has to listen to anything that you have to say, you and your stupid friends.” The older boy looked at him; his eyes shining furiously. He looked over at his friends, and they returned the glare. In a flash, the boy pushed the Halfling to the ground and stood over him, “Are you sure about that, shorty?” the bully shouted. “Yeah! I am!” he spat back. Angered even further, the boy landed a swift kick to the Halfling’s stomach. The boy doubled in pain, and the two friends rushed to continue the assault mercilessly.
Milo stood at the end of the alley watching the scene unfold. He looked up the road towards his home, and was about to move on and leave the scene behind him, when he looked back and knew that he needed to help. He approached the group, until one of them finally noticed him. As soon as the boy noticed, both of the others stopped what they were doing and scowled at him threateningly. The boy lying on the ground immediately sprang up and fled as soon as he had the chance. The attackers were about to give chase when Milo spoke up, “Hey!” They turned towards him, “Y-you guys leave him alone… Please?” he pleaded. The kids stared at him in confusion. “You don’t think we should do what we want? Do you?” the leader asked while he towered over Milo. “Well, n-not if it hurts anyone else,” He stammered, but before he could say anything further, he was pushed to the ground in the same manner as the other Halfling and was assaulted at all sides by each of the kids.
This continued for several minutes before a town guard sprinted around the corner and freed Burrows from his attackers. He grabbed a hold of the leader’s shirt and another guard appeared and grabbed the other two. “At it again Cawlin?” he asked the boy. “Hey! Let me go!” the boy cried as he was lifted into the air by his shirt. “You’re not getting away this time. Your parents will hear of this, and you’ll be lucky if you boys don’t get locked in your rooms for the rest of the year,” he admonished the boy. Turning to Milo, who was still laying on the ground, the guard told him, “Stay right there young man. We’ll be back soon.” The guards left with the three squirming boys, presumably heading towards their respective houses and parents. They hadn’t been gone long when another guard arrived to collect Milo and lead him home.
When they got back to his house, Milo’s mother was already running out the door to check on him. “Sorry ma’am. Apparently some kids decided to pick on him and went too far. Don’t worry. He’ll be ok. He wasn’t hurt too bad.” Milo’s mom thanked the man before he left towards the city, and she led Milo inside to get him taken care of. She took a rag and wet it down to sooth the bruises on his sides and stomach, and walked over to see him sitting on a chair, saying nothing. “Are you ok?” she questioned. He didn’t say anything. “Did they hurt you?” He shook his head, but said nothing. “Well, if you’re not hurt, then why are you so sad, Milo?” Hearing that, he faced her with tears welling up in his eyes, and threw himself on her and cried on her shoulder. She let him cry, and held on to him to let him cry it out of his system. Amidst tears, he muttered, “I couldn’t help.” She held him out in front of her and asked, “Couldn’t help who?” “The boy in the alley… They were kicking him, and all I did was watch and get myself beat up. I want to be a hero, but… I’m just too scared!” He continued sobbing on her shoulder, as she held him closer to herself. She looked for some way, some way at all, to make him feel better. When he calmed himself she told him, “Here… I can help you be a hero.” He looked at her, “How?” he asked. She moved over to a nearby window where the curtain hung from a metal rod. She took down the blue curtain, put a pin in it, and held it in front of Milo. “A cape!” she triumphantly stated. Wiping away tears, he looked at it questioningly. “All heroes wear capes,” she informed him.
He stared at it. Even though it was only a curtain sheet that had a pin holding the ends together, it entranced him. Seeing that he had calmed down somewhat, she told him, “Here, put it on.” She tenderly took the makeshift cape and draped it around his shoulders. He looked up at her, and even though tears still glistened on his face, he smiled. She always had some way to make him feel better. She smiled back at him warmly and told him, “You can have it. With this, you will be one step closer to becoming the greatest hero that Ashnuw has ever seen!” He swiftly embraced her, and she gave him a kiss on the forehead before sending him out the door to go and wait for his father to return, like he always did.
He sat on the porch and thought to himself, lingering on his mother’s words, “All heroes wear capes.” He pulled out his book about the hero Doraleous and saw that she was right. Doraleous did wear a cape, and he was the greatest hero of all time! He felt like he could finally be brave enough to become a true hero. As he finished his thought, he heard a voice call out from the road, “Hey!” He looked up to see the Halfling from the alley. The boy rushed up to him and sat down next to him. “I saw what you did back there. Cawlin was kicking me, and then you came in so I could get away and tell the guards what was happening! Thanks for that…,” he trailed off as he realized that he didn’t know Milo’s name. “Milo. Milo Burrows,” Milo stated with an outstretched hand. “Well, thank you Milo. My name is Halfast Boffin” He shook Milo’s hand and began to talk about all sorts of things. As Milo sat there and spoke with Halfast, he realized that for the first time in his life, he made a friend.