For all intents and purposes, the thing Paul made was a wheelbarrow. Which, is not a remarkable thing in of itself, but it goes without saying that making such a thing without nails or proper tools was an achievement. To make it he cannibalized one of the barrels that were not being used. The lid of it was used for one wheel, and he had to grab another lid for the other side. There were no dowel rods around so he ended up having to use the longest straightest stick he could find. It wasn't hard, as the trees about the place tended to be fairly large and the branches were more than suitable.
None of the monks had really taken notice of his efforts until he went around asking for a hammer and chisel, or perhaps a saw. Of course, he didn't quite know the words for what he wanted, so he mimed them out to Knox or anyone else who would look at him. It was suitable enough to get the meaning across, and as luck would have it, they just so happened to have a mallet made of wood. Knox was rather intrigued by the outsider's project, and while at first he was trying to ask Paul to kindly put everything back, he soon realized that he most likely didn't understand him, or he didn't care.
It wasn't long until Kin Knox didn't care, the project was finished just as the sun was finished dropping below the trees. Instead Knox was now trying desperately to convince the excited outsider that it wasn't a good idea to go back to the well. Night brought about a great deal of predators from the forest, and the elves had made it a habit to be indoors by the time the sun began to set. Which it had already begun, and soon would be finished for the day.
At one point Knox even tried to pull Paul back to the safety of the monastery. That was when Knox made a rather astute observation of the outsider. The bastard was heavy, and much stronger then he was. If he kept this up it was more likely that Knox would collapse of exhaustion far before Paul would.
It took the combined efforts of a few other monks who were attracted by the commotion to finally convince the outsider to wait until morning. Ironically, this was the time when Paul learned a few new words.
* * *
More weeks passed by, and soon Paul was much more talkative. There had been a few other opportunities to try and make the lives of the monks a bit easier. But each time he offered they would insist that "The wheelbarrow was more than enough, thank you very much."
Paul and Knox would still go on their mid day strolls, but now the conversation was less point and name, and more complex. The outsider was definitely picking up the language. Quickly too, an elf would have had to spend years to get the hang of a strange language, and wouldn't even bother if they're older. The outsider was different though.
It wasn't long until their conversations turned to who's, why's, and where from's. All of which were answered back and forth. Knox was delighted by the tall stories Paul would tell. Not that he knew any better, but, from what Knox knew, one could not fly unless they knew magic, which Paul was very convinced didn't exist.
Another detail that Knox found interesting was that whenever Paul couldn't find the right word, he would substitute it for one in his own language. Sometimes the word would make some sense, other times it would sound highly unnatural and strange. Whatever tongue the outsider spoke it was weirdly familiar, yet at times it seemed as if it were completely foreign.
"Brother Knox?"
The monk was quickly jolted from his thoughts, apparently Paul had been talking to him and he hadn't been listening. He was getting old and it was beginning to show.
Knox shook his head. "Sorry Paul, I wasn't listening, what was that?"
"Do you remember when I came here? How I wanted to return to the bus?"
Brother Knox wrinkled his brow, "Bus? Oh! Yes, the monster we found you next to! Yes I remember very well."
Paul fought the urge to correct Knox about what a bus was, "Right, why were you so adamant that I don't go back there? What if someone else survived, or what if I was able to find some of my things? For one i could prove to you-"
Brother Knox interjected, "Paul, my dear friend, whatever you would find would not be worth giving your life. No one goes that deep into the forest for too long otherwise they become food. I'm sorry, but it's simply not safe. I had a hard time convincing any of the monks to follow me back to you when I went that far. They were sure that you had already been eaten."
Paul cocked his head at his reply.
"You had to come back to get me?"
"Yes! I'm not sure what came over me, but the moment I heard that cacophony your beast made, I knew something important had happened, and I needed to be there. Obviously I was right, because now here you are! It was fairly far too, by the time I made it home to get help I could hardly breathe."
Paul and Knox sat in silence for a little while. Finally, Knox spoke up.
"You know that I've enjoyed our time together, right? It's been a joy getting to know you… But, Brother Radford is very concerned about your presence… with you being a non elf and all…"
Paul took a moment, his understanding of the language was better, but not perfect yet, and sometimes he had to work together the words in his head before he understood.
"Ah… Well, if I can't stay at the monastery, where will I go?"
"Don't worry about that for now, Brother Radford has given you another week or so before you must leave. We will make sure you have some clothes and a direction. If I'm being honest though, none of the kingdoms here in the north care for… er, outsiders…"
Another moment of silence was shared between them.
Paul spoke up this time, "You know, I still can't believe what's going on around me… It almost feels like I could be dreaming… But, it's been going on for too long… I'm glad we were able to meet Brother Knox, even if you're kicking me out."
Knox's eyes widened, "Oh no Paul! If I had my way you would stay with us, really! I-"
Knox noticed that Paul was smirking, the realization that the outsiders' unique take on humor was at play here. They each laughed, for Knox it was more out of relief, but it was a laugh all the same.
* * *
A week can fly by rather quickly if you don't pay attention to it. Time is often strange like this, and for Paul, he was far too busy trying not to think of his eventual departure to realize how little time he had left with his friend.
Once the time had come for him to leave, Brother Knox walked with him to the nearest road.
"It'll be rather boring without you Paul, I'm sorry we cannot offer our home any longer."
He smiled at the monk.
"Well, I'm sure I can make it on my own. Anyways, I could always visit, right?"
"Yes of course! We would love to speak with you again!" Knox let out a hearty laugh, waved his friend goodbye, and walked back into the forest.
Paul was alone, It was about midday and a signpost pointed him off toward a town named "Southwold". It was going to be a long walk.