2 The Girl, Who Rotted in the Woods

Birdsong danced upon chill spring air, the remnants of winter reluctant to free their hold on the weather just yet. Despite this, the smell of blooming flowers wafted through his open window.

In a tangled nest of blankets, soft snoring was heard. Even as the sun landed upon the bed, not even a sign of awakening was shown by whoever was within.

That is until heavy footsteps began to beat the wooden floor, and an explosive impact almost threw the door of the frame.

A tall man, 6 feet tall at the least, had burst into the room, a scowl so deep that it was visible through his impressive chestnut-colored beard. His emerald eyes darted around the room, before targeting his victim.

"NAKAMI, YOU LAZY BASTARD! IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP NOW, I'LL MAKE YOU RUN LAPS 'ROUND THE ENTIRE TOWN AGAIN!"

His voice boomed, shaking the dust from walls and scaring away a family of birds who made their home just outside the window. The tangled ball began to convulse, then fall to the floor, unwinding to reveal a young boy. His blunted-point ears twitched slightly, unfocused blue eyes splitting open the moment he realized who was the source of the loud yell.

"S-Sam! Er... I didn't mean to sleep past sunrise this time, I swear! P-please don't make me run again!"

Nakimi spoke in a rushed tone, scrambling to stand up as fast as he could. Compared to Samuel, he looked like a mouse. Of course, even though he shared his name, this Samuel wasn't the same as the hero who felled the evil Queen. He was rather a distant descendant. For some strange reason, he disliked his relation to the hero of legend, and always insisted on being called Sam.

Grabbing Nakimi with a single hand, which he didn't have a choice seeing as he only had that one, Sam lifted him down the stairs.

"You're hours late for practice! I won't let you apply at all, if you don't do at least this much! Much more dangers then wolves will be present in the line of work you want, lad!"

At the mention of wolves, Nakimi couldn't help but flinch. He hated wolves. Perhaps seeing the impact of his words, Sam's angered expression softened. Despite his rough tones and appearances, he did have a soft spot for Nakimi. Nakimi knew that before him, Sam had refused to accept any apprentices at all. Not many were happy when he finally did, seeing as he took in a half-blood orphan over one of the many reputable nobles who desired his mentorship.

"How 'bout this. After you finish breakfast, you can have a bit of a break. You've been working hard recently, yeah?"

His ears twitched when he heard that he would be taking a break. He couldn't help it, seeing as it's been years since the word 'break' had been used to refer to anything but broken bones.

"R-really?!"

"Yeah, even give you some pocket money. First day of spring, you're a young boy. Need some time off."

"But last year you didn't-"

"GET OUTTA HERE BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!"

The threat of removing his break more terrifying than any other, Nakimi dashed out the door at breakneck speed. For a moment, Sam took pride in the fact that he was still a kid after everything. Looking out the window, he wondered what he would have done if he hadn't shown up.

Well, for one thing, he wouldn't be missing an arm.

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Nakimi walked through the streets, admiring the good feeling in the air today. He loved walking through the market, the hocking of buying and selling almost siren calls to someone of merchant blood. Well, he shouldn't think of his bloodline; it only ever leads to memories he doesn't want to remember.

"Oi, kiddo!"

He recognized the woman's voice, an older lady of 40, with an eyepatch and the slightest hints of gray peppering her red hair. She was a retired adventurer, one who saw herself as an older-sibling when compared to Nakimi. She wouldn't accept being called a mother figure, and would always yell at those who suggested so. By her side was a blade as large as himself, surprisingly a one-handed blade. Her name was Liane, and she was the one who inspired him to become an adventurer in the past. She was previously a teammate of Sam, but in opposite to him, she is an outward person, and doesn't feel the need to soften her words.

"Heard ya have free time today, aye? Why don't you get into some trouble, like other kids yer age?"

She had a strange accent, as if she tried to speak in many different ones at once. He suspected that she faked it, but as she never spoke without it he couldn't prove otherwise.

"C'mon, Liane. You know how much training I'd have to do if I did anything weird?"

He sighed, exasperated. Last time, when he attempted to swindle a rich man, Sam had made him run for three days straight! It was difficult trying to eat while running.

"I know, I know. How's bout I ask yer boss, got an easy travel comin up. Some ruins were found, nearby folks screaming about it bein the rotted queens. Buncha loonies if you ask me, she never existed in my opinion. Honestly, I have no grudge 'gainst the current Sam, but past Samuel seems to have been spitting somethin special. I mean, a mage who could transform flesh? Maybe throw in some mind control at that point!"

She spoke loudly. Despite her uncensored complaints, she didn't dare refer to him as Samuel. As someone who traveled with him for years, she knew more than Nakimi about why he disliked his name so.

"I... well, I don't think..."

Knowing any argument made against her would be one-sided, as she only ever cherry-picked what she wanted to hear, he decided to shut up and let her yell her mind out.

"Anyways, I'm thinking I ask yer pop fer me to babysit you. Don't mind me, be back in a blink!"

Before he could decipher her words, Liane was already gone. It was annoying to deal with her, but he could never really dislike her. But that didn't mean he wanted to get dragged along to some creepy ruins on his day off. Especially not the one Liane described. It was a bit childish, but Nakimi supposed that as he knew a living relative of the one who fought the rotted queen, it felt all the more real to him. He was still afraid to wander on his own, with all the horrible stories he heard. Slapping his palm against his forehead, he didn't want to ruin his break like this. Dashing into the crowd of men and women in the market, he headed towards the forest edge.

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Now would be a good time to explain where exactly this town is placed; the center of sunshade woods, a forest with large dark trees that scrape clouds, and sharp roots that tighten the dirt to stone. The town, which shares the name of the woods, is placed on a small hill in a clearing, one of the only spots in the woods where sunlight touched the earth and grass could grow. It's a stark difference to the darkened black flooring that coats the woods. The only plants that could grow were parasitic vines that sucked life from the trees, and carnivorous pitchers that hid below thin layers of dead root, swallowing even people whole. The wildlife was no less vicious, with warring clans of goblins always creating an echo of screams through the trees, large snakes, and insects roaming for a taste of leftovers. Wolves, giant birds, and forest spirits made up the rest. But as dangerous as it sounds, even a child could walk around and still be fine. Nothing dangerous ever came close to the town, and that was easily attributed to the fact that sunshade held many retired warriors and such. Sam and Liane were easy examples; you could point at any random passerby and have a good 60% chance that they have a name for themselves.

In summary, Nakimi had no concerns about walking into the woods. He supposed it was due to his father, who was an elf, but he found that the woods were one of his favorite places in town. Closing his eyes, he walked through the oak-scented fauna, for what felt like hours. He only stopped when he felt his foot impact something soft. Opening his eyes, he saw a large number of vines encircling an oblong shape. Through the gaps in the vines, what appeared to be white hair snaked its way out.

Childlike curiosity overtaking him, he ignored the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Reaching out his hand, he noticed that it was oddly quiet. Before his hand could rip away the vine, he recoiled. It felt like his flesh itself was refusing to come in contact with... Whatever it was. Standing up, he was feeling more uneasy by the second. Looking around, he realized the odd amount of littered metal and stone.

His mind immediately began to fabricate the worst situation possible, but not wanting to scare himself, he decided it was best to return home.

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"Ah, we're finally here! T'was a bit of a trouble, finding it. Shame ol' Sam didn't let his boy come with, eh?"

Spoke Liane, unaware of the fact she had narrowly missed Nakimi. By her side was two other adventurers, both of whom she had traveled with previously. That was one of the only reasons she trusted them to come with her; even though a nobody had put up the poster, the reward was high enough to be suspicious. Despite this, she had been confident that she would have been able to take the kid along.

Well, emphasis on that she HAD been confident. Now that she was here with her own two feet, well, she had a strange feeling in her skin. Like an itch, or what her mind was saying was an itch, that didn't exist, but you knew it was there. This feeling shut her up quickly; a rare moment in which even Sam never was able to experience.

"Hey Liane, I think it's best we split into three-"

"Are you fucking stupid? In what possible condition is 'splitting up' a good idea?"

Laughed one of her companions. They seemed to be taking the situation in light, making jokes to fill the uneasy silence. Commonly, it was Liane's job to do so; but she seemed frozen, focused on something in the distance. A cold bead of sweat created a trail on the side of her face. Tracing her gaze, they all ended up finding the same silence that had consumed Liane. A bundle of vine, out of which a single, yellow, inhuman, cold, and aware eye met their own.