Threatening Reality (1)

The guild hall is noisier than usual. The kids and I make our way to the counter to talk to Shelly before heading into the forest for the day.

"Everyone seems really excited for some reason." I motion broadly to the electrified crowd of people as I meet Shelly's eyes.

"That's what happens when a hundred people disappear in the woods," she replies offhandedly.

"What?"

"You didn't hear?"

"Hear what?"

"The Duke's camp was destroyed last night; there were no survivors." No survivors. Those words knock the wind out of me as if punched in the chest. Shelly doesn't seem too disturbed by the news based on her tone, but I can barely stay standing.

"Oh…" My blood runs cold, knowing I had a hand in crafting their fates.

"Are you okay?" she asks after noticing my condition.

"I think so, just a bit surprised, I guess. Do you know what happened to them?"

"We're not entirely sure, but the entire fort has been subsumed by the earth. It's almost as if they were eaten by the forest itself."

"It does seem that way," I respond listlessly. I take a deep breath to collect myself and change the subject. "We are heading out to the dungeon. Is there anyone Jezabel wants us to bring along?"

"Are you sure you feel comfortable exploring today? You seem pretty shaken."

"Yes, I'll be fine."

"Okay then, the Guild Master wants you to bring along Francis and Kelly. They just joined recently after hearing the rumors about people finding their fortunes in the forest."

[So this is my fault, aye? I guess the draw of the forest is too tempting for some. I just hope I can help them survive.]

"Alright, where are they?"

"Right behind you." I spin around to find a couple of children standing behind me.

"Hi, I'm Francis, and this is my sister Kelly." The boy says as he waves to me.

"Just a sec." I walk up to Shelly and pull her head down so I can whisper in her ear.

"Are you kidding me? They're just children! They're gonna get eaten alive in the woods!" I struggle to keep my voice low enough that I won't be overheard.

"They're only a year younger than you and apparently have some fighting experience. Once the current class cycle ends, they'll enter the beginner's course. You're free to decline them if you want, but they're determined to go exploring with or without you."

[Goddammit.]

"Fine." I begrudgingly agree. Given how dangerous the woods are, I'm hoping I can temper their excitement so they can choose a more reasonable profession or at least wait to go through the beginner's course like us.

I collect myself and prepare what I want to say, only to find my team surrounding the new kids. Sakura and Shinobu are doting on the little girl while Josh listens to Francis talk about himself at length. I can't tell if Josh is genuinely interested in what he's talking about or if he's just being polite, but at least he doesn't seem bothered.

"It looks like your friends already made the decision for you," Shelly says with a laugh.

"Well, I guess that makes my job easier." I walk up to the noisy group of children and have everyone introduce themselves. Kelly is pretty shy, but Francis is very vocal about his dreams of being the greatest adventurer. Much to my surprise, both Sakura and Shinobu seem enamored by his lofty words. Feeling conflicted, I group everyone together and discuss our action plan.

"So, we're going to a dungeon?" Francis asks for clarification.

"Yes, is that alright with you?"

"Alright? That's great! I can't wait to show that dungeon master what I'm made of!" The eyes of both ladies sparkle as he raises his short sword in the air.

"Cool, then, if you don't have any other questions, let's get going." They agree, and we all do one last inspection of our gear. We've had to replenish our supplies of potions several times over the last week. Inari has brought us down to the dungeon for five more crucibles since the first one. I can feel my body adjusting to the torment, but we still have to use several potions each time. Fortunately, Inari has been giving us the opportunity to collect goods from the monsters we slay, so the dives into the dungeon have been becoming progressively more profitable.

On our way out the door, I hear a familiar voice calling for me.

"Hey, Nick! What the hell?" Tyrion rages from his spot near the exit.

[It's just one thing after another today, isn't it?]

"You're bringing these kids with you but not me? You said you would let me join you!" I turn to Shinobu while Tyrion continues raving and receive another shrug.

"Fine, get your shit together and meet us at the North gate."

"Hmmph. I have everything I need right here," he says smugly while crossing his arms. I look the teenager up and down to check his apparel. He is wearing a thick robe but no helmet and doesn't appear to have a weapon.

"Are you hiding anything under that robe of yours?" I raise an eyebrow as I question him.

"Of course, what am I? An idiot? I'm not headed into that forest unless I'm armed to the teeth."

"You say that, but you're not wearing a helmet."

"It's more important that I have my full range of vision than to protect against blows." He says as he puffs out his chest. I glance back and forth between him and the two children that have recently joined our team. They at least have full sets of armor on, which makes Tyrion look a bit ridiculous.

"Whatever." I'm too tired at the moment to argue with him, so I just walk out the door.

"Hey, you said you'd let me join you!" Tyrion complains.

"Then don't fall behind." We head out the gate on our way to the forest. Everyone seems to be in high spirits with the additional company. Not wanting to interrupt, I guide the group from the front in the direction of the dungeon.

"So you've been training for a while now?" Sakura asks the increasingly confident boy.

"Yes," Francis replies.

"Just a few days ago, I even disarmed my instructor."

"Wow, so your stats must be pretty high, right?"

"My instructors say they're almost twice as high as other people my age." Hearing him brag makes me somewhat nervous. I'm concerned he's overestimating his abilities based on our behavior. If he thinks he's stronger than us based on what his instructor has said and we're nonchalantly taking a stroll towards the woods, then he may not be as on guard as he should be. We may look relaxed, but our perception stats are high enough that we'll notice any threat well before it arrives.

"Alright, everyone, we're about to enter the woods. Let's put our guard up." A switch flips, and my team turns serious. All the warm chatter on the way here is replaced by a cool silence. The hangers-on catch wind of the mood and stop talking as well. It's clear none of them have been in the forest before based on their footfall. The three new comers make enough noise to keep the smaller creatures away but not enough to draw the attention of something bigger, fortunately.

"Hi, hi!"

"Hi, Hai," I respond to the excited fairy waiting for us outside the mouth of the dungeon.

"Watch out!" Francis shouts as he draws his sword.

"Francis, they're with us." Shinobu grabs the hilt of his sword in case he decides to do anything crazy.

"But they're enemies of the Duke?" He looks up at Shinobu as he argues with her.

[Oh boy.]

"You work for the Adventurer's Guild. Why do you care about what the Duke wants?" I have a bad feeling as I begin to unravel the motives behind his behavior.

"My instructor says that the fairies are evil, and that's why they're taking over the forest. He says they were the ones who destroyed the camp too." His voice gets louder as he goes. It appears that we have reached an impasse. Given how emotional Francis is behaving, it's unlikely that we will be able to change his mind. I contemplate taking him back to the guild hall when Shinobu intervenes.