Village of Aloth

They begin to walk together along the dirt trail. The forest air is cool and moist, and the smell of various flowers is mixed with a light scent of rot and decay from the dead leaves on the ground.

The canopy above their head creates a filter for the sunlight, giving the forest a gloomy ambiance in contrast to the brightness of the surrounding scenery.

It is also very quiet, with only a slight breeze, a couple birds, and the noise from their steps echoing across the forest floor.

The trees here are very large and old, their trunks very thick and sturdy.

"Are we there yet?" The boy said.

"You are such an impatient person to walk to."

Vala looks at him with an annoyed look on her face, before she looks down at the ground with a huff.

The path they had walked along leads further through the forest down a long dirt path.

The trees start to grow larger, with large roots reaching across the path, and the trees themselves covering the whole clearing, with only a few small points of light making it through the thick canopy above they.

A light wind breezes through the trees and they can hear the sounds of animals running through the trees.

"It's pretty quiet here."

"Yeah it does get quite spooky." Vala says with a sarcastic tone.

"You haven't seen nothing yet, wait until we get deeper in the forest." After a few more minutes of quiet walking, a noise suddenly erupts from the darkness of the forest.

A loud roar echoes through the forest canopy, shaking the trees and sounding almost like a lion. Whatever made that noise was certainly quite big.

Vala stands alert and tightens her grip on her bow.

"There, hear that? Something is out there, now stay quiet."

"That sounds like a big monster."

"Yeah, it's called an 'Mighty Wolves'. They are quite rare, but they are extremely dangerous monsters. They can tear apart cities with their claws without even trying."

"They have destroyed thousands of armies with just a single swipe of their claws and killed millions with their presence. And they are really big, with their body size like trees."

"They are very difficult to kill because of their regenerative properties. S-Class adventurers can make a scratch on them, even then that's not a guarantee. That creature is definitely not something to mess with."

"Then we just need to pass them without making any noise." The boy said with a happy tone.

"Yeah, definitely. Quiet please! Quiet!" Vala whispers at him before motioning for him to sit down in a crouch.

She raises her bow in a 'shush' motion, as if she is telling him to be silent. Both of them sit still and quietly observe the surroundings until the creature slowly passes by.

Its feet are very heavy and make a lot of noise, crushing the grass.

The creature passes by, not noticing the two of them. They can hear it roar again as it gets farther and farther and deeper into the forest.

"Alright we're good, now let's get going."

They begin walking, being very quiet. Vala seems a bit nervous and is looking in every direction to see if any more creatures could be lurking in the shadows.

The two of them continue walking down the dirt path for about an hour, until they can see sunlight through the forest.

They both exit the tree line and find themselves in front of the village of Aloth, where they see many buildings scattered across the large clearing.

They see humans, elves, and dwarves all moving back and forth from place to place. The majority of the villagers are human.

"This seems like a big village."

Vala nods in agreement, "It is. This whole clearing is actually the village of Aloth. It is the largest human settlement in the area, and is the main hub of human society in the region."

"The village also contains a very large trading center that is open to all kinds of races for trade, which leads to some interesting characters sometimes coming through."

"The village is also home to the only school in the area, the Aloth Academy of Magic Arts, which teaches magic of all kinds." Vala says, sounding quite proud of the village and its accomplishments.

"Hey Vala, are you an adventurer?"

"Yeah, I am. I like to explore, fight monsters, and go on adventures, so I consider myself to be an adventurer. I also like testing the limits of my abilities in order to get stronger, so I am always taking on more dangerous quests." Vala says with a wide toothy grin and a confident pose.

"What about you?" Vala says, "Are you an adventurer too?"

"Hmm... this is interesting if I become an adventurer I can make money and level up too." The boy said in his thoughts.

"No not yet, but I would like to apply, where's the adventurers guild here?"

Vala points toward an imposing stone building that seems to take up a lot of real estate in the village.

The main entrance is decorated with a large wooden door which has been intricately carved to have multiple images of adventurers facing off against monsters.

The boy can see images of a warrior and an ancient dragon locked in combat, an archer firing arrows at a massive undead creature, and a wizard firing a fireball at their foe.

The carvings are very realistic, down to the finest detail, and look as if they had magically been done, with no chisel marks and very fine lines.

"Hey what's your name? you need it to become an adventurer." Vala said, she looked curious.

"My name? hmmm... my name is Zack."

"Okay then nice to meet you Zack." Vala said, she looked at Zack with a cute smile.

The smile melts Zack's heart, He thinks of Vala as a goddess and he definitely falls in love at first sight.

"Nice to meet you too Vala." Zack said, his voice is trembling a little but he forces a smile.