The very personification of a noble next to three children, two boys and a girl. Am I being sold to cannibals who get kicks from eating human-like people? My eyebrows droop as I break the ice with a sigh. This really is a pain. I tried to wiggle my arms, but the thick rope denied my attempts. The noble crossed his arms as he walked towards me and

“Hmmm…”

What?

What is he even grabbing? It feels like my ear is being grabbed but also not. It’s quite firm? Wait do I have horns?  It feels like strikes of lightning are constantly shocking my body as he constantly rubs his hands around them. I lift my face to meet his gaze.

“Please stop doing it!”

Was what I wanted to say but got cut in half by his awkward and displeasing expression. Without a word he handed a gold coin to my captor and the muscle-brained servant left.

The noble with his glowing expression raised a hand and… and pointed towards himself?

“Viclam.”

“Viclam?”

He nodded before asking what sounded like a question. How do I reply? I tried to move my arms to do a cross shape to convey my thoughts, but the rope wasn’t relaxing anytime soon. The youngest son somehow understood I was struggling and started untying the rope. The noble stood silent while his siblings tried to gesture him to stop doing it, but the little one did so anyway.

Thank you, honestly, the binds were horrible. I stretched my arms and broke into a yawn, then patted the kid's head and thanked him – he probably didn’t understand though, but anyway, time to test the power of sign language!

Turning towards Viclam, I met his and the boy’s elder brother and sister’s stares.

“Viclam…”

I started then pointed towards him and tried to mimic him speaking with my other hand before drawing a cross. I guess he understood what I tried to say since he started tugging on my collar-

Why am I treated like someone’s pet dog? Sighing, I followed him up the stairs. The mansion's interior was extremely decorated with eccentric paintings, portraits and jewelry all lying around. I wonder if I could use one for spells like that stupid merchant was doing. I mean, I got this form from literally eating it right? If I put magic into the gem then eat it like the merchant's ring, would that mean I could use more magic?

*Bump*

And I hit the wall, bravo me!