Courage in the White Skin

Once upon a time, in the most desolate of lands, there was a small village. It was surrounded by hills and mountains and the only way to reach it was through a narrow trail. The trail could be easily closed off and protected with only a handful of men, which is why the village had been left on its own for so long.

The village was comprised of four families: the Smiths, the Millers, the Merchants, and the Bakers. They rarely intermingled because they all had different jobs to fulfill. Smiths forged weapons. Farmers grew food. Merchants traded with other villages and towns. Bakers made bread and sold it to other villages and towns. Each family had their own house and they lived happily together... or as happily as one can live in a poor village where everyone has to work hard to survive.

Everyone except the children that is.

Living with their parents all day was boring, especially when they were so young that they couldn't do anything useful around the house or help anyone out with their jobs. So every day after lunch, once it got too hot to play outside, the children would gather in front of Mr. Baker's house to play tag, hide-and-seek, or whatever game they could come up with that didn't require any adult supervision.

On particularly hot days when no one felt like working in their fields or houses or shops, it happened that a few of them would go over to the children's homes just to rest for a bit before returning back to work later on that evening. Then there were days when a stranger would pass by on his way down from the cliffs in search of water or up towards the caves in search of wolves' pelts or herbs used in medicine making. On those days, all three families would gather at Mr. Baker's house just because it was closer to the road than any of their own houses.

But then one day something extraordinary happened. A stranger walked into the village through that narrow trail unexpectedly and while he looked like any other stranger who had passed through before him – dirty clothes; worn-out shoes; big backpack; trusty stick; mysterious eyes – he was different somehow...

He was just about as tall as an adult but still far smaller than any child there (he was probably about seven years old). He must have been tired from walking all day because he just collapsed onto Mr. Baker's porch without saying a word, though he looked strong enough not to need to rest for long. Soon, one of Mr. Baker's daughters ran over and offered him some bread she had baked that morning, which he gratefully accepted with a big smile on his face even though his mouth was already full when she brought it over to him. This made her giggle while he gave her an apologetic shrug that made her giggle even louder, and everyone else stared at the two of them dumbfounded.

Mr. Smith grumbled under his breath something about being careful of strangers and thieves, which made Mrs. Miller fill her husband's mug with ale from what was left in her barrel to calm his nerves. Meanwhile, the children gathered around the mysterious visitor, whose name turned out to be Eryks. He told them he came from very far away but didn't know exactly how far, as he was unsure of the size of this land. When Eryks spoke about how hot it used to get back home during the summertime, Mr. Baker generously offered him some freshly baked bread and they exchanged stories about their lives.

However, when they heard footsteps approaching accompanied by boisterous laughter, everyone froze in place. They worried that guards might be after them, but after a moment they realized the guards were negligent and indifferent toward strangers passing through the village. In a courageous attempt to protect everyone, Eryks playfully exclaimed, "I'll save you!" before diving into the bushes. Rather than encountering real danger, he found a group of playful children hiding and laughing by the bushes.

This happened several times, with Eryks emerging from the bushes, much to the amusement of everyone involved. The adults stared at each other, puzzled by such peculiar behavior as they had never seen among their children. Although they knew various stories of strange travelers visiting the village, none had ever mentioned invisible guards or children hiding in bushes acting out fantastical tales.

They couldn't explain this behavior away as mere child's play, as they all witnessed these events happening right before their eyes. Or perhaps some of them forgot what had really happened that day, and simply chose to remember the excitement and novelty brought on by the enigmatic visitor named Eryks.