A Place To Rest Their Heads
Chapter 6 : A Place To Rest Their Heads
It would be another hour at least before Kaito and Sylvia made their way back to the treehouse. Carrying Sylvia slowed Kaito down significantly, but simply making the trip created more questions than answers. Namely, "How did we even get this far away to begin with?"
This was Kaito's main concern as he neared the unmistakably large tree. Ironically enough, all he needed to do was follow an animal trail which led from the cavern and exited near the treehouse.
From the point where he exited the forest, Kaito could see the nearby natural bath and all the signs of the day's earlier battle. Kaito lingered along the perimeter of the clearing so that he could more easily scope out the situation.
"Sylvia...keep a look out for any monsters." Kaito whispered. Sylvia was still clinging to him, she'd been carried the entire way due to her foot injuries.
"I don't sense anyone or anything nearby…" Sylvia replied after a few moments. Kaito nodded in agreement and stepped into the clearing. The moon was now rising towards its inevitable apex in the sky and its full state allowed for a well lit evening.
Kaito cautiously scanned the environment as he moved, looking for signs of Artemis or Fuu's bodies. Strangely enough, he found nothing. There were various gouges in the dirt, scattered arrows from Artemis' reckless shooting, and even traces of blood -- but no bodies.
Kaito immediately began to fear the worse, that perhaps a monster may have finished them off. He was sure that Fuu perished at the hands of their unexpectedly powerful enemy, but Artemis' fate was up in the air. Not seeing their corpses renewed him with a faint sense of hope.
*Maybe Artemis survived...and managed to take Fuu's body back.* At times like this Kaito cursed the poor lifestyle he led as an adventurer. This was due to a sudden epiphany as a lightbulb went on in his head.
"Sylvia! Do you have a return totem?" Although Kaito was much too poor to spend 1,500 zenni on such an item, Sylvia would easily have that amount. If she had a return totem it would be a simple matter to return to town -- in fact there was a good chance that Artemis might have done the same if she managed to survive.
"No. Sorry Kaito. We didn't bring any-- we didn't expect something like this to happen…" Sylvia confided, even as her voice began to quiver.
"Well, it was worth a shot." The small hope offered to Kaito was soon dashed by the realization that he would still have to walk all the way back to settlement. With that in mind he decided to follow along with his original plan to rest at the treehouse before leaving the next day.
"Kaito, let me down. I should be okay to walk from here.." Sylvia whispered as they stepped inside of the treehouse. The door was wide open, so Kaito made sure to take caution.
"Okay. But stay close..just in case." He said as he knelt so that Sylvia could walk on her own two feet again. Kaito then inspected her for signs of trauma before leading her through the treehouse.
The place was messy, much messier than before. Furniture was overturned, tables broken -- what could have caused such a scene?
Kaito moved around the room, he was looking for signs of life -- adventurer or otherwise. He would find none however and he quickly moved up to the second floor. This floor was much the same, minus the clutter; empty, devoid of life and undisturbed for the most part. The sight of food caused Kaito's stomach to rumble, but he would not stop just yet. He needed to make sure the rest of the treehouse was secure.
The pair finally arrived on the third floor and found it just the way it was left. Randomly strewn clothing on the floor, some belonging to Artemis, others to Fuu and even his own. After a quick check of the room's corners Kaito felt much better about the situation, only then did he help Sylvia to a bed so that she could relax.
"Wait here. I'm going to barricade the door."
"Kaito...be careful.." Sylvia's grip on his hand lingered for quite some time before she finally saw fit to let go. Kaito was surprised how well Sylvia was taking the death of her friends.
*Either that or she's going to break at any moment..* He thought.
He recovered his sleeveless overcoat and proceeded to wear it. He'd originally taken it off to avoid staining it with too much blood, that and the "encounter" just hours before. He then did a last minute check of all of the floors again, swiftly moving from room to room as he prepared for the slightest disruption.
All was quiet, in fact the night was so eerily silent that Kaito made it a point to step outside of the doorway. He craned his ears, listening for the sound of anything -- birds, insects, rustling, even a breeze would do.
A still, quiet night that gently stoked fears which lingered in the back of Kaito's mind. He didn't want to give up searching for Fuu or Artemis' bodies yet he reminded himself that it would be suicide to do so in the darkness. The only time that nature grew silent was precursor to tragedy or disaster, and Kaito desperately wanted to avoid any more misfortune.
He used several bits of broken furniture to barricade the door. Unfortunately closing it was not an option, the door had been destroyed completely. All that remained were bits of wood attached to hinges which barely remained bolted to the frame.
When Kaito was sufficiently satisfied that most creatures might not be able to get in, he pushed a couch in front of the pile of wood for good measure. With that he returned upstairs to a waiting Sylvia.
"Are you feeling better? Did you recover enough mana to heal your injuries?" Kaito planned to ask this anyway but as he entered he took note of Sylvia's expression. It was blank, for lack of a better description. She seemed to be staring off into space, or at least the floor.
"Hmm? Oh-- no not yet. Maybe I just need a good night's rest.." Sylvia remarked the moment she laid eyes on Kaito. She also forced a smile, in Kaito's mind it was understandable.
*Maybe she just doesn't want to talk about it…* He thought.
"I see. Well..we should be safe. In the event that we are attacked by monsters, we should hear the commotion before there's serious trouble." Kaito plopped down on the bed next to Sylvia and rubbed her back gently. He felt Sylvia shudder under his touch before she nodded her head slowly.
"I'm honestly worn out. I could eat, but maybe I'll just do that tomorrow morning before we head out…" Kaito stood up , stretched then moved towards a nearby bed so that he could make himself comfortable.
The comfort of a real bed was a novelty that Kaito would be hard pressed to overlook. This was especially true given the day's events. Kaito rarely partied, but when he did the party goal was generally a safe one. He'd never seen adventurers die personally, it was something he only heard of secondhand. This was a new reality he had been forced to face as he came to live in a world of adventurers. Yet because of his strength as a Monk it never crossed his mind that it would happen to him -- for many reasons.
Kaito didn't take big risks, worked easy jobs, familiar ones and never partied with sketchy people. In the end, these habits were responsible for keeping him out of a lot of trouble. It also served to hobble his growth.
The phrase, "risk vs rewards" came to mind as it perfectly described Kaito's predicament. There were only ten levels for adventurers to obtain. Of the thousands of adventurers summoned, only six stood tall as level 10 adventurers.
He himself was a level two, whilst Sylvia was a level six. Considering that both arrived in this new world at exactly the same time, there was only one reason for the huge difference in their level. Kaito stuck to battling weak creatures for scraps while Sylvia was promptly snatched up by a more popular group of adventurers. She gained more experience, more knowledge -- and occasionally, more benefits for adventuring.
Even as Kaito mulled these ideas over he had begun to regret not taking his life as a Monk more seriously.
*I could have maybe reached level six if I invested myself.* Kaito thought inwardly.
"Kaito." A soft, feminine voice sounded off next to him. He rolled over to face Sylvia, who was now dressed in nothing but a tight fitting undershirt. Kaito recognized it to be Artemis' black undergarment.
"Can I sleep with you?" The young woman standing before him looked less like a queen and more like a person in need of companionship.
"Of course." Kaito remarked as he slid over to make room. Being near another person was enough to comfort him, he learned this even as he carried Sylvia earlier in the evening.
She quickly took up a place next to Kaito and neither spoke much at all, instead Kaito smiled in her direction before he rolled over to go to sleep. In turn, Sylvia curled up next to him and slid her hand around his waist. Kaito could feel the White Queen nuzzle her face into the small of his back once more.
And just like that, the two emotionally battered adventurers drifted off into a restful sleep. At least one of them did.
Some time after Kaito fell asleep, nearly half an hour after his breathing became rhythmic and measured, Sylvia carefully rolled out of bed.
*Finally. He's asleep. I'm so hungry I could die.* She thought. Sylvia stood over the bed, lingering for the briefest of moments, as she studied Kaito's features to make doubly sure he was slumbering.
When her curiosity was satisfied she made an exit. She silently made her way down the spiraling staircase to the second floor of the structure. She paused only for a moment, glancing across the cafeteria area before she made her way down to the ground floor.
Sylvia came face to face with the barricade made by Kaito at this point. She just sighed before whispering, "Ugh. Another set back. Kaito….you're too thorough." Sylvia paused, straining her hearing to make sure Kaito was still asleep. She then pulled her borrowed shirt upwards, revealing her nude body beneath. She found a nearby chair and draped her shirt over the nearby furniture. She then took a deep breath and walked towards the couch and the rubble behind it.
Moments later she was outside and Sylvia glanced around as the cool night air kissed her milky white skin. She was totally nude, but she didn't seem to mind as she began walking. Her pace was quick and she moved with purpose, all the while her eyes scanned the environs.
Nearly ten minutes later Sylvia found herself deep in the forest, way off the beaten path. She glanced back, in the direction towards the treehouse, just to make sure she wasn't being followed. Although Kaito wasn't on her tail, Sylvia could sense the presence of several other entities slowly surrounding her.
She smirked and chose to continue on her way. She could feel the eyes of many on her as she pushed through the forest brush, completely barefooted and nude. She'd even lost her bandages at some point, but it wouldn't matter. Her feet would be healed by the morning.
Soon the rustling noises became the sound of growls and Sylvia realized the identity of her pursuers. Brown wolves, by her count seven in total.
She halted in her tracks as the first creature stepped out from behind a bush. She could also sense several more surrounding her from all sides. The irony of the situation made Sylvia chuckle.
"Very well. Come." She said firmly. Her voice had taken on a different quality. It was much deeper -- some might say it held a sinister tone to it now.
The wolves snapped and snarled their intent to attack and several of them rushed the White Queen. A strange smile filled her face even as the creatures lunged towards her throat.
The nearby forest was filled with the sound of screeching and howls -- none of them pleasant. They were the sounds of dying, the splattering of blood and entrails being squished, no doubt.
Soon a bloodied Sylvia reached her destination. Just twenty minutes walk from the treehouse lay a log which marked the place she'd so desperately wanted to revisit.
"Finally." She sighed as she rubbed her tummy. The blood of her misfortunate foes had already begun to dry. It covered her torso -- particularly the right side of her body and had even splattered across her face. To anyone looking up the White Queen she would resemble a tyrant, or perhaps a villainess. To her this was "normal" and therefore not worthy of second thought.
She crouched down, her long blond hair kissing the high grass as she placed her hand on top of the log and lifted it aside with ease. She gazed down at the prize hidden behind the log before she reached out her hand to relish every moment to come.