Whispers of the nightfall

"They finished packing our bags, and there were four. I checked up on everything we had to put in from the clothes, emergency kit, some medical supplies, and of course, maps. So, before we said our final goodbye to Eric, I went to the arena to find the small child. I found him and he was around like lightning. He was so excited to start training with the sword.

I was still happy for him. I hugged him, and he cheered for me because we had been training for one month. He's just sensitive. Ethan and Sylvia said our final goodbyes to the whole Guild and Eric. I got a little teary-eyed, resisting the urge to cry, and we got into that garage full of people. I was curious, so I began to ask Ethan about it. 'I was wondering, we're going into this carriage, but it's full of strangers, so what's the big deal?' Ethan looked at me, gently petting my head, amused by my thoughts.

His expression changed to a cute smile. 'This type of carriage holds multiple people because it stops at multiple stations for us. It will stop at three stations. The first one is a shopping stop, full of shops with different items from various Kingdoms.' Suddenly, a man jumped up from everyone, excitedly carrying a bag full of stuff.

I didn't want to know what he was holding, but he started engaging in a conversation about buying and avoiding scammers. I listened carefully because I didn't want to get scammed. The other two people in the carriage, apart from us, were two young adventurers with their weapons. They seemed more engaged in conversation than acknowledging us. I didn't want to interrupt them; after all, I didn't want to make everything awkward.

I stayed silent while Ethan and the old man continued discussing different shops. Sylvia was half-asleep; she didn't sleep well. I ignored them and grabbed my book, starting to read. I hadn't finished it, so when I started reading, everything changed. I was so focused, gaining more knowledge.

But I didn't realize the sun had set. I felt tired, so I leaned on Sylvia's shoulder to rest. I slept softly and hoped no one would interrupt me. However, that hope was shattered when, after two seconds, a monster crashed into the carriage. Ethan and I were fast to react. I drew my sword sharp as a knife, and he did the same. We started fighting the monsters.

I was hesitant and scared; my body trembled as I had never fought anyone, let alone monsters. Ethan did most of the work, killing all those monsters. I was shaken, shivering, feeling a surge of fear, recalling many bad thoughts. But I snapped out of it when a monster sneaked up behind me. With its claws, it tore at me, but I already had my blade in hand. I slashed the blade through its heart; the monster looked like a human with bat-like features.

Sylvia quickly helped me, cleaning my hands from all the dirty blood using a towel we had brought. It's not easy to accept killing creatures, but the monsters are not called that for no reason; their appearance is terrifying, giving me chills.

Other than that, we continued the journey to the first destination. The two adventurers with us seemed unfazed. One of them, a guy with long black hair and eyes, gave us advice without even looking at us. He seemed mostly annoyed. 'First of all, this monster called Bat Claw has features of both a human and a bat. It's not difficult to identify them; they always appear at night. The only unique and foolish thing about them is the Hearthstone. Their hearts are gems, some collect for fun, some for money; we don't need them.'

I got annoyed, but Ethan and I thought the same way. We didn't need money at the moment, so we collected them, giving them for free. Sylvia cleaned the towels that got stained with blood, and we set up a small camp near the carriage to rest and repair.

Ethan and I weren't injured, and the driver wasn't either. We spent most of the night in the garden. The arrogant adventurer came to us but didn't engage in small talk with Ethan. I didn't give him a chance to talk to me; I was already tired from all the commotion. On the other hand, Sylvia and I were hungry. The logical option was to find something to eat or go hunting. I preferred hunting; it's more effective.

I went through the woods and found three rabbits. I tried to hunt them with my sword and managed to catch two, but the third was too fast. I brought it back to camp, and everyone was delighted. I let Sylvia cook because I'm not good at it. She made rabbit soup, full of vegetables and rabbit meat. We all ate together, and it was delicious. I thanked Sylvia for the food, feeling cheerful.

After eating, everyone went to sleep, but I went to pray, a habit I developed during my journey. Suddenly, in the middle of my prayer, Ethan looked at me with curiosity, but he respected my boundaries and let me finish. He asked why I prayed, and I explained that sometimes praying brings calmness to the heart, a thread of hope amidst pain and sorrow.

He smiled and changed the subject, asking about the map. I showed him, and the stones pointed us in the direction we were heading. I was excited but kept quiet as there were strangers around. When I felt sleepy and saw the sunrise, Ethan and I decided to hunt a bit, but Sylvia stopped us, suggesting we move on as any meat we caught would spoil before the next stop.

As we entered the carriage for the next location, a big market, I leaned in and fell into a deep sleep. I didn't care about the laughter, clapping, or the happy stories; all I cared about was sleeping. Eventually, I woke up to find a note from Sylvia saying they had gone shopping without me. I didn't mind; my sleep was more precious to me. I tidied myself before going out to the market. The adventurer was there again, but I didn't pay much attention.

I went in search of Sylvia in the bustling market, excitedly exploring everything. I looked around for jewelry or weapons, finding a beautiful armor piece. I tried to focus, not wanting to spend money on trivial things. However, I noticed Ethan deeply contemplating necklaces. I went to him and asked about his choice, catching him off guard.

He was surprised by my sudden appearance, explaining that he thought I was still in the carriage. He helped me choose a necklace; he offered three options with different gems. It was a tough decision, but I chose the yellow one, admiring its details."

Note: The original text had numerous grammatical issues, making it challenging to follow. While I didn't delete or change the content, I adjusted the structure and grammar for better readability while maintaining the essence of the story.