Aaron awoke with a start, only darkness surrounded him.
“Ow. Damn, everything hurts,” he quietly complained as he tried to at least get the headaches to stop.
As the aches finally seemed to lessen, he began to take in his surroundings.
Even though it was dark, Aaron’s eyes made it possible for him to see more than just shadows.
He could see that he was in a cave of some sort. The dwarf could hear the echo of water dripping down in the distance.
Just as he turned to the right to explore some more, something entered his Magic Sense range.
“You are up much quicker than I had estimated. I thought that it would take you at least until night, Aaron,” a female voice noted. She furrowed her brows before she asked, “You are Aaron, right?”
The silhouette stepped closer, revealing a woman that would tower even over most humans. But that wasn’t the only thing that stood out to Aaron. Her hair was colored in a very matte red, reminding him of the color fresh blood had. Still, that wasn’t why Aaron couldn’t stop staring. That was thanks to the pointy ears that revealed themselves through the woman’s hair.
For a moment, nobody said anything, both of them staring at each other. Finally, Aaron broke eye contact first. “Who wants to know?”
The woman shot him a glare but replied nonetheless. “Isabella, adventurer. Now you.”
“Uh, like you said, I’m Aaron. Also adventurer. Now would you be so kind as to tell me what you are doing here? I mean I’m really glad for the rescue, but don’t you people normally stay in your own towns?”
Isabella seemed angry as she began to talk again. “What, just because I’m an elf it means that I can’t wander the world? I’m new in town. Talked to the receptionist about good-paying quests. She told me about this quest,” the woman, apparently Isabella, responded. Aaron continued to stare at her until she finally relented and continued on with her story. “She talked about you. She might have also mentioned that she was a bit worried, I guess rightly so. What possessed you to fight a beast like that?”
Aaron was a bit flustered. “I didn’t mean it like that. Besides, it’s not like I wanted to fight Fucker Three! Anyway, how long did you watch?”
She gave him a flat look as she said, “The whole thing. And who is this Fucker Three?”
“I just, uh, named her that. But that’s not the point! Why did you watch? You could have helped!”
“Look, I’m sorry, but the adventurer rules only state that you have to help fellow adventurers as long as there is no danger for yourself. And I won’t endanger myself for someone that I don’t even know,” Isabella said before she stopped to breathe. “By the way, I would like to receive a cut from the money you get.”
“Uh, I guess the first thing is fair. But what do you mean you want a cut?”
“I did save you, and the equipment and time for this quest did cost me some money. I think it would be fair for me to receive something.”
“Look, I understand, I really do, but I don’t have money to throw around.”
Isabella didn’t seem to believe him. “You will have 24 sile coins to throw around once you show the proofs. What do you mean you don’t have the money?”
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“Well, uh, you see, I have to buy something with the money. That’s why I took on an unconfirmed quest in the first place,” Aaron blurted.
“With all of it?” Isabella asked, not believing Aaron.
“No, but that isn’t the point. Look, after I pay off the debt, I want to use the rest for equipment. Since almost no one wants to team up with me, I will have to be better prepared if I want to do solo quests.” This wasn’t leading to anything. Why couldn’t she understand?
As Aaron stopped his rant, he finally noticed Isabella looking at him; slight concern could be seen on her face. “Debt? That’s what you want to ‘buy’? How much is it?”
This was becoming embarrassing. “20 sile coins.”
There was a loud sigh. When she finally spoke again, she surprised Aaron. “Fine. But you owe me big time. I also want a new healing potion at some point in the future. The earlier, the better.”
“Thanks. I really mean it.” Finally, Aaron asked a question that he had wanted to ask since he woke up. “So, uh, what’s the plan now? I kind of have to meet a deadline.”
“I’m going back to Belnes first thing in the morning. What you do is not my concern. I’m going to sleep now.”
“Great! Uh, well then good night, I guess. Do we sleep here then?” As he turned around, Aaron noticed that Isabella had already left the cave.
<hr>
Aaron woke early. Sleep had come so easily that he had almost slept through the entire night.
He left his small hole in the cave and went on further toward the entrance. The dwarf hadn’t yet seen Isabella again after her quick leave yesterday.
Aaron began to try and find his way back. He should have asked Isabella where she had taken him. But he wasn’t overly concerned as it must have been close to the pit for her to carry him here that quickly.
A couple of hours later, his theory was proven correct. The closer Aaron came to the pit, the more cautious he grew. Even though he hadn’t seen or heard any signs of the two beasts, it never hurt to be careful.
With the pit coming into view, Aaron was finally able to put this whole ordeal into perspective. He was so fucking stupid. Sibill had been right; how could anyone even think about doing such a quest alone!
“Shit, I almost died,” Aaron whispered as he watched birds picking at some of the flesh that was left on the ground. All the cadavers had disappeared over the course of the night. Maybe the mother had taken the corpses back with her?
It didn’t really interest Aaron as he had already collected all the proofs he needed the other day.
With that in mind, the dwarf turned around and began to retrace his steps toward civilization.
<hr>
It was afternoon when Aaron finally found something interesting. As the dwarf entered a clearing, he found seven monkeys lying on the ground, dead. All of them were singed; some of them had burned up completely.
A closer inspection revealed clean entry and exit holes. Such wounds typically happen when a bow is used. “Was this Isabella? But why would an elf use fire?” Aaron mumbled to himself.
Still, whether it was or wasn’t her, it didn’t really matter. The dwarf cast a glance around one last time and then resumed his trod.
<hr>
The night came and went without anything going wrong. Aaron could almost laugh when he thought back to his travels toward the wolves’ location. If he compared them, this walk was almost laughably easy.
As Aaron continued on, he found more and more slain animals. All of them had the same burns and wounds, but as the dwarf continued his investigation, he finally found something worrying.
Although the magic of most of the animals had been bound by someone or something else, a few hadn’t. These ones had too much magic bound to them. It wasn’t that much, but it was still too much for these animals.
It could also explain why all of them had fought and not retreated. While from what Aaron could see, it wasn’t a real problem yet, he would still need to note it in greater detail in his report. If that was left unchecked, it could evolve into a serious problem for the towns in the area.
As the dwarf thought about it, his cautiousness grew. He had figured out long ago that he hadn’t seen any enemies on his way back yet because someone or something cleared the enemies out in front of him. Aaron supposed that it was probably Isabella. She was the only one he had seen out here, and she also wielded a bow.
<hr>
Aaron was just beginning to search for a place to sleep when he heard horrifying screams. As the dwarf started to run toward them, a bright red flash could be seen through the tree canopies. One second later, the accompanying boom almost caused Aaron to lose his footing.
The dwarf unhooked his warhammer as he continued his sprint. He had a bad feeling about this.
After what felt like hours, Aaron finally saw the tree border of a clearing. Behind it, he was able to make out a blazing red fire, and it was spreading.
He needed to hurry. Aaron quickened his steps even further until he finally entered the clearing.