10 Session 9
The three of them fled out of the forest at a rapid pace. They ran and ran for what felt like centuries, hoping to create as much distance between themselves and the forest. Gohn could hear the two girls behind him quickly turning into huffing and puffing messes as they grew tired from the constant all-out sprint. He was also beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion setting in from the heat spreading through his legs.
"We stop here," Gohn ordered, deciding they were at a safe enough distance from whatever was killing off everything in that forest. If they continued like this all the way back to town, they would be at a massive disadvantage if they bumped into a group of monsters, exhausted and out of resources, while two out of the three of them were basically blind.
Priestess was almost out of spells. He didn't know about Wizard, but she would be ineffective at killing monsters when she couldn't even see them. And anyway, with the moon at the peak of its cycle, the city gates were definitely closed at this time. It was better to just camp and get some rest by the dirt road. It was a perfect location for their needs.
Open and on the flat plains, so they wouldn't be ambushed, with tall enough grass that if they laid prone or crouched, goblin scouts or the like would have a difficult time making them out in the distance.
"I can't feel my legs." Apparently, those words were all Wizard needed before her legs gave out, and she collapsed.
"I can't believe you would make a noble mage like run that much," Wizard complained, laying on her back and looking at the moon.
"Would you rather I carry you?" Gohn questioned sarcastically.
"Truthfully, yes, I suppose," Wizard answered after pausing in thought, and Gohn just kept quiet.
"I would prefer it over my cloak being so soaked. How you swordsmen and the like fight in such vile conditions like this is beyond me," she added slowly, losing her elegant tone as she strained to catch her breath between every word.
"Mr., what will we do now? Will we rest here until morning, or are we going to head back to town after resting a bit?" Priestess asked, propping herself up by leaning on her staff, clearly just as exhausted as Wizard but keeping herself together somewhat better than Wizard.
If he was going to continue questing with these two, their stamina was going to have to increase. Priestess had come a decent way since the goblin cave, but she was still lacking in stamina.
"We'll camp out here until sunrise," Gohn flatly said. "No campfire will be lit," he added, not wanting to have any risk of drawing attention to them, and Priestess seemingly understood as she faced a nod in response.
As Priestess was collecting her blanket from her pack, she noticed that Wizard was oddly quiet. When she went over to check up on her, she was already asleep, which elicited a giggle of amusement from her. She carefully placed a blanket over the girl's sleeping figure, making sure not to wake her.
She pulled out a spare from her back and made her way to Gohn, who was sitting on a large boulder, scanning the horizon.
"Aren't you cold?" Priestess called out quietly, drawing Gohn's attention back to her.
"No," Gohn flatly stated.
Hearing this, Priestess climbed up the boulder and sat beside him.
"What do you think about Wizard?" Priestess asked, curious, wrapping herself up in her blanket.
"She's useful," Gohn answered. Wizard was objectively a powerful spellcaster, but her personality left much to be desired.
"That's good to hear," she said, giving a small smile only illuminated by the moonlight. "But what did you mean earlier when you said we might not be a party in the future?"
"I don't think being around me is in your best interest," Gohn calmly answered, his gaze fixed on the moon as he searched for any recognizable stars in the sky. He didn't know why Priestess insisted on being around him, but it was a bad idea. If his secret ever got out, Priestess would be labeled as his accomplice or a traitor to mankind for fraternizing with a goblin.
"Why do you say that?" Priestess turned and asked him worriedly.
"Being around me is a danger to yourself," Gohn flatly stated. He wanted to tell her to go away and not be around him the second they got back to town. He wanted to leave her to fend for herself or push the responsibility of keeping her safe to someone like Goblin Slayer.
Goblin Slayer was a capable man; he would surely do a better job of not getting her killed than Gohn ever could. Priestess reminded him too much of his damn sister—her blonde hair, her similar large round eyes, and the forever optimistic personality weighed heavily on him. That's why saying no to her was so hard. He hoped that by keeping her safe and healthy, he would be able to make up for not being able to keep his sister safe.
"Mister, mister," Priestess called out to him, tapping his shoulder.
"What is it?" Gohn asked as his focus returned to reality.
"Did you even hear what I said?" Priestess asked.
"No, I didn't," Gohn stated with a level tone. "May you repeat what you said?" he asked.
"Do listen this time; zoning out when someone is talking to you is rude," Priestess huffed in mock irritation. "I said that it is up to me to decide if being around you is too dangerous for me," she paused, seemingly finding her next words before adding, "and I am in no more danger being around you than anyone else."
"What about that incident in the cave?" Gohn reminded her, the first mission they officially did together almost got them killed. "You were in great danger then."
"That's just the risk of being an adventurer; I knew that I could be sent into the Earth mother's embrace any day when signing up," she answered somberly.
"And I believe you were the one who nearly died, Mister," Priestess pointed out, eliciting an awkward chuckle from Gohn. "Wouldn't that imply that you're a greater danger to yourself than you are to me?"
"Possibly," Gohn answered after a few moments of thought.
"So you're saying you need a super amazing Priestess to heal and protect you whenever you get hurt?" Priestess asked cheekily.
"No," Gohn stated, a hint of confusion in his voice. "I don't believe I said that."
"I know you meant it though."
"From now on, no more talks about disbanding the party, unless you want to break my poor, poor little heart," Priestess said, placing her hand over her chest and pantomiming her heart breaking apart. "And if you truly think you're a danger to me, then please continue to protect me as you have been," Priestess added before whispering something under her breath, which Gohn failed to catch.
Gohn didn't respond to Priestess's words; the two sat side by side in a comfortable silence reminiscent of their first day together. Their moment was interrupted when Priestess threw some of her blankets over to him and scooted closer to Gohn.
"I thought I said I'm not cold," Gohn said, raising an eyebrow in confusion at Priestess's actions.
"I know, I'm just going to sleep," Priestess responded, clearly satisfied with herself as she plopped her head on Gohn's shoulder.
"What does that have to do with my question?" Gohn asked, unsure if he wanted an answer.
"I'm going to be using you as a pillow, and no one wants to sleep on a cold pillow," Priestess said playfully before closing her eyes. Gohn sighed at her antics before composing himself and looking towards where Wizard was sleeping. He quietly cast a Planar Disk beneath the girl and had her hover closer to him so he could watch over them more easily.
And just like that, another night in this world passed for Gohn, under the soft glow of the moonlight in the silent plains.
The next morning, Gohn chuckled softly as Wizard rolled off her makeshift bed and fell on her backside, much to the mage's annoyance.
The trip back to town was uneventful, and once they were waved into town by the guards, Wizard went her way, saying she couldn't bear the filth any longer and that she would collect her share at a later time, leaving just Priestess and Gohn to report back to the guild.
It was fairly early in the morning when they arrived at the Guildhall, which was bustling with adventurers coming in to report finished quests or heading out with new ones in hand.
Gohn calmly waited in line with Priestess, and what felt like an eternity later, he found himself once again looking down at the seated Guild Girl, who greeted him and Priestess with a smile.
"Welcome back, SpellBlade, and you as well, Priestess," Guild Girl greeted, tucking away filled paperwork in a drawer beneath her desk and replacing it with blank sheets. "I hope your quest went well."
"No one lost a limb, so that's good, I believe," Gohn jested as he looked through his adventure pouch, pulling out the bags of herbs they collected and a small pouch containing proof of the Dire wolves' extermination, along with copies of the two quests he accepted the day before. He placed them on top of the counter.
"The herb collection quest is complete, and there's proof in that bag of the Dire Wolf extermination," Gohn stated.
Guild Girl checked the contents of the bags of both the herbs and the sack of wolf fangs. "Everything looks good. Your reward will be fifteen gold for the three bags and an extra 3 gold for the extermination of half a dozen Dire wolves," Guild Girl said, scribbling down the transaction and handing Gohn 18 gold over the counter.
Gohn stashed away 6 gold and handed Priestess the remaining 12. Both she and Wizard cut. Priestess was closer to Wizard than he was, so she could just give her cut to her the next time the two girls met.
"Where is your other party member, if I may ask?" Guild Girl asked with concern in her voice at the thought of having to write a death report.
"She was feeling unwell, so she asked us to report in her stead," Priestess answered.
"I do hope she gets better," Guild Girl said somewhat casually before returning to her mask of professionalism. "Do you two have anything more to report?"
"We do. We found a disturbance in the local wildlife that I think might be the cause of the wolves attacking the caravan," Priestess reported while searching through her bag for something before pulling out a large feather that was almost bigger than her head in size.
"What monster did you think it was again?" She turned to Gohn and asked.
"Griffin," Gohn plainly stated.
"Ah, yes! We think it might belong to a Griffin."
"May I see that?" Guild Girl asked Priestess, with her hands out wanting to hold the feather.
Priestess softly placed the feather into Guild Girl's stretched-out hand. Guild Girl examined the feather briefly before asking if the Guild would be able to hold onto it as a reference, which Gohn approved of easily, not seeing a use for it at the moment, which caused Priestess to follow along.
"Can you two provide a report of the events of your quest in greater detail?" Guild Girl asked.
Gohn and Priestess both agreed once more.
"That's great to hear. Please follow me, and this shouldn't take too much of your time," Guild Girl said, getting up from behind her desk. "And I will be with you gentlemen in a brief moment," she added to the people behind Priestess and Gohn in line.
Gohn and Priestess did as Guild Girl asked and followed her up to the second floor of the guild hall into one of the many conference rooms lining the wall.
Guild Girl took out a key chain and opened the door to one of the conference rooms at the end of the hall, assuring Priestess and Gohn as she let them in.
"Please wait here, and my coworker will be with you both shortly," Guild Girl stated before turning back and walking out of the room, leaving Gohn and Priestess alone.
Less than ten minutes passed before another woman wearing the same uniform as Guild Girl walked into the room with a stack of paper and a bottle of ink. She had brown hair that flowed down to her waist like a waterfall and teal-colored eyes that held both intelligence and mischief in them. She wore a necklace with the holy symbol of the Supreme Goddess hanging on it, and with the small magical energy radiating from it, Gohn could tell it was a catalyst, which caused him to raise his guard.
"Are you two Mr. SpellBlade and Ms. Priestess?" The girl questioned, placing down the paper and ink onto the tabletop and sitting on a couch across from Gohn and Priestess.
"Yes, that's us," Priestess answered, holding her staff tightly close to her chest.
"You both are not in trouble, so calm down, why don't you?" Guild Girl's coworker said casually. "I'm Inspector, and the guild would just like a more detailed retelling of your previous quest because of the anomaly you two reported."
"The more detailed it is, the more you are helping your fellow adventurers by making sure they are as prepared as possible if they go near that area."
Deciding to play along, Gohn decided to give as much information as he could remember. He started the report from the moment they got outside the town's gate and how at first, they heard birds and different animals as they made their way down the road. But when they got within 2 to 3 kilometers of the forest entrance, the amount of wildlife seemingly fell off a cliff.
"I thought it was because of the increase in wolves in the area, so I decided it was best we advance cautiously," Gohn spoke clearly. "But when we traveled further down the road, we came into contact with multiple damaged and destroyed carriages."
"Did the carriages have any markings or logos?" Inspector questioned, stopping Gohn's narrative.
"I do believe so," Gohn answered.
"Can you describe them?" Inspector asked.
"I don't remember what it looked like," Gohn stated, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "My attention was on investigating the scene," he added, his eyes scanning the room as if reliving the moment.
"I think I might remember," Priestess said, her brow furrowing as she recalled the memory. She paused, her gaze drifting upwards as she visualized the logo. Then, with a nod, she continued, "It depicted a Unicorn trading a sword to a man for gold."
"I see," Inspector tapped her lips with the back of the quill, her brows knitting in concentration. "What else did you find in the carriage wreckage?" she questioned, her pen poised over the parchment.
"Fresh bloodstains but no corpses were the most noticeable things," Gohn recounted, his fingers drumming lightly on the tabletop. "But when I looked deeper into it, the rations of the caravan were the only things that were touched within the carriages, so it wasn't a group of brigands using the opportunity of the increase of monster attacks to raid, but monsters, most likely Dire wolves, we believed at the time," he explained, his voice firm and authoritative.
"The trade goods and money were fine, and we planned to bring them back to the guild with us when we were returning to town," Gohn stated, his gaze drifting towards the window as if lost in thought. "But due to some unfortunate circumstances, we had to leave them behind. But if we send a surveyor or scout, you should be able to find them neatly stacked inside the carriages unless brigands got to them first since the last time we were there."
"Is there more?" Inspector asked, her pen poised expectantly.
"Yes, after an hour or so of investigating the carriages and the area, we finally went into the forest to look for our quest objectives. The forest was even more empty than the plains leading up to it. I expected a boar or two, maybe some goblins or even the Dire wolves in the area to hinder us from looking for the Moonlight flowers, but nothing," Gohn recounted, his gaze fixed on a distant point as if lost in memory.
"We searched for the area where the flowers might grow for most of the afternoon until we found this cliffside where many were growing in their unblooomed form, and we decided to set up camp," he said, his fingers tracing an imaginary path on the tabletop. "I decided to scout the area for any disturbances because the silence was getting to me. And I left Priestess and our other party to hold down the fort."
"I found nothing during my scouting, but I had to cut it short because I heard the sound of rocks falling from the direction of the campsite," Gohn recited the last part a little lower, his expression growing more serious.
"When I arrived back, I found the campsite was destroyed by the cliff collapsing," Gohn said, his jaw tightening as he recalled the scene. He glanced at Priestess from the corner of his eye, noting her discomfort under his gaze.
"What happened from your point of view, Priestess?" Inspector asked, her attention now turned to the young cleric.
"I was talking to Wizard while watching over the rations that we were warming up until we heard something from above," Priestess began, her hands clasped tightly around her staff. "Me and Wizard tried to make out what it was, but I wasn't able to see anything," she explained, her voice tinged with frustration.
As Priestess recounted the events of the previous night, detailing their encounter with the starving dire wolves and their hasty retreat upon spotting Griffin's tracks, Gohn listened intently, nodding in agreement at certain points and furrowing his brow in concern at others.
After the conference concluded, Gohn and Priestess descended to the first floor of the guild hall. Their eyes immediately caught sight of Goblin Slayer engaged in conversation with Guild Girl. Without hesitation, Priestess called out to him, her voice carrying across the hall.
"Good morning, Goblin Slayer!" she greeted cheerfully, her eyes alight with excitement as she approached him.
Gohn followed suit, offering a nod of acknowledgment. "Hello, Goblin Slayer," he said, his tone casual yet respectful.
Goblin Slayer turned towards them, his gaze piercing even through the slits of his helmet. "Hello," he replied simply, his voice devoid of emotion.
Priestess wasted no time in getting to the point, her curiosity piqued. "Where were you the other day?" she inquired, her tone curious yet friendly.
"Killing goblins," Goblin Slayer responded bluntly, his expression unreadable.
"Why didn't you invite us?" Priestess pressed further, her eagerness evident in her voice.
"I wanted to kill goblins alone," came Goblin Slayer's straightforward reply.
Priestess nodded understandingly, though she couldn't hide her disappointment entirely. "Okay, but please invite us next time you go goblin slaying. They say a nine-headed hydra is smarter than a one-headed one," she remarked, trying to inject a bit of humor into the conversation.
"Okay," was Goblin Slayer's simple response.
As Priestess prepared to leave, she remembered their new party member. "Oh, and we have a new party member! I'll make sure to introduce the two of you," she said before turning to leave.
"I'll catch you later. Take care," Priestess said with a wave, ready to depart the guild with Gohn, only to find herself alone as he had vanished into thin air.
And this is where we'll end off our session for today
