It's another beautiful day in the city of Heligsgrad- the very helm of our kingdom's faith to Lady Cristell, our beloved God.

  It's also our st day here in the city. After all the chaos and shenanigans that had occurred, which nearly had us executed, it was time to once again, continue our journey.

  Though due to some rather unforeseen circumstances however, our original route has been altered. Originally, it was supposed to be Pom (starting point)--> Mittendius→ Ctarmel, then to Dremvaqua and finally to our end goal, at Aurora.

  We would've then taken a ship back to Pom from the Emerald Harbour of Urozhay City.

  That, was the original idea.

  But now, because we got caught up in some major scandal we have no choice but to py along with the whims of the very same people who had caught us. But hold on a moment though!

  While although we did technically, commit the crime by transporting an illegal magical item (the corrosion core), it was never our intention!

  Though in the end, we did still do it, so that's the end of that discussion. And besides, it's kind of our fault in the first pce for not even thinking to take a single peak inside.

  I guess in an ideal world though, none of this would've happened. Of course, we don't live in an ideal world.

  …

  Okay, I'm pretty sure this is starting to make absolutely no sense at all.

  "Are you LISTENING, at ALL!!?!?"

  "Huh, wha-?"

  "Tsk tsk.. I said… now's your LAST CHANCE to get anything from this city before we're gone for good, you do know that, right?"

  "Of course, of course.."

  "Gosh you're barely awake, huh?"

  "Can you bme me, with everything that's been going on?"

  A somewhat sympathetic smile psters over Kravinskyy's face.

  "I suppose not~" She says with a sing-song voice.

  "Why are you so happy today?"

  "Oh, can I not be, Olenev?"

  "Ha, what are you-"

  Seriously, what's her angle here…? It's like she's trying to mess around with me for no particur reason. I just can't quite put my finger on it..

  "So, you've experienced that part of her too, have you Olenev?"

  "Romano- , no, I mean Agniezska!"

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "Sometimes she gets into these strange fits where she likes to tease others. This is merely one of those moments, so you needn't pay it any mind."

  "Great to know."

  "..."

  "Hold on a second! Your sword… you don't have it! How exactly are you going to fight? Your armour was confiscated too.."

  "Well it so happens that I have an acquaintance in Dremvaqua- his family is a line of bcksmiths, you might've heard of them.. 'Aiyun Smithworks'?"

  "Huh.."

  "What's up?"

  "Oh, Nothin', Mikhail.. But like, didn't your dad have a dagger from Aiyun or something? I think you showed me that when you first invited me to your pce back in Pom.."

  Click.

  The memory flows right back into my head, and I remember it. It had a handle made of light Heligsgradian Birch, wrapped in light brown leather. The bde was made from Pvel- an alloy of Bluesilver and Steel. It was smooth, but sharp, and 30 centimeters long.

  The name of the bcksmith, "Atu? Aiyun" Was engraved in clean lettering on the bde, the engraved lettering filled with some strange bck material I didn't know anything about. Truly a work of art. It stuck in my mind so well because when dad showed it to me after coming back from a business trip in Dremvaqua, I was really amazed by it- it was one of the coolest things ever.

  "Helloooo?"

  "Earth to Mikhail?"

  "Oh! Sorry! I was thinking back to when my dad first shown me the knife.."

  "Anyways, we ready to go?"

  "Yes, I am prepared."

  "Yep, I am good to go."

  "Let's get movin'!"

  And then suddenly…

  "Heeeey~ I'm readyyyy~"

  In the distance I see Cherynov running towards us. She's waving gingerly with a friendly smile, clutching a bag, probably full of her belongings. On top of her bck work suit, she's wearing a fur winter coat- one apt for traveling the wilds of Dalis outside of a city.

  When she eventually catches up to us, she bends over, hands on her knees, out of breath and gasping for air.

  "Gaah… I almost didn't make it.."

  "Ch-Cherynov!? What are you doing here? Don't you have work to do?"

  "Ahaha.. well see, the funny thing is, this IS reted to my job!"

  "Huh, I don't see how though.."

  "Well, knife ears, since I am your attourney- or was, your attorney, rather, I have been assigned to this group to keep an eye on you and report on you back to Heligsgrad."

  "The hell? I didn't ask for that! None of us did! Ain't that right guys?"

  "Affirmative. Having this woman follow us along on our journey would be..

  distracting. To say the least.."

  "See? Even she agre-"

  "WAIT WHAT?? YOU ACTUALLY AGREE WITH ME FOR ONCE??"

  "Don't get me wrong…"

  "I only agreed with you for my own reasons.."

  "Oh right. I guess we can't ever actually agree on the exact same thing.. that's kinda a shame ain't it.."

  Then to regain our full and unbridled attention, Cherynov cps her hands and clears her throat in an exaggerated manner.

  "Like it or not though! I AM coming along."

  Sighs and head shakes follow her statement. This time, I decide to be the one to break the silence. "So uh, are we done here?"

  Visibly sweating, perhaps out of a sense of embarassment- or something else entirely, Cherynov calms down all of a sudden, and readjusts her gsses, her eyes darting all over the pce, sneaking gnces to gauge the emotions or reactions of everyone else..

  "Y-yes, I would say we are. It's high time we get going already."

  And with that statement, there was no further lollygagging. We steel ourselves, and head towards the tall, looming, and ornate stone gate which separated the harsh wintery wilds of Dalis from the warm and safe city of Heligsgrad.

  Cherynov motions to the guard to open the city gate. He nods and pulls the lever on the wall. A loud creaking sound follows as the rge wooden doors start to slowly open, letting the light and harsh winter air assault our faces and bodies.

  Beyond the threshold of the city was a long wooded path- trees that stretched and, curved, even. The 'road' was really just a jagged dirt path with rocks and pebbles and weeds growing out of the ground.

  There was all sorts of other flora growing on the side of the road, all around the spruce trees. A few logs blocked the way as well.

  "That looks.. crazy.."

  The guard who opened the gate for us chimed in.

  "It sure is, Zalief boy. The road from here on is very, very dangerous. You'll be encountering a lot more monsters and hostile animals from here on. Be careful out there!"

  I put a hand on Yuri's back, as he was about to pass out. Making sure he doesn't completely die.

  "Hang in there, dude. Also, man up a little, why don't you?"

  "Are ya' gonna be comforting or mean?? Pick a choice already dude!!"

  "As your friend, I do need to comfort you, yes.. But.. I ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T BECOME A LOSER!!"

  "Woah, rex.. You're not my mom, or my dad.."

  "Still though, as your frie-"

  "Yeah, yeah I get it, okay!?"

  Later down the road, somewhere in the grand wooded regions of the Kingdom of Dalis…

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  "Ugh, we've been walking for hours now! There's so many trees and rocks and thick pnts and snow- I can't even see the sky! Are we in the Urozemnjle Region??"

  "Also my back hurts… I WISH I WAS BACK IN MY COZY OFFICE DOING PAPERWORK!!"

  "Enough compining! You knew what would come with this trip. Also, according to this map.. We seem to be in Dremvaqua territory, or on the edge of it, at least."

  "S-so we're close to the city?"

  "Hahaha! Not even close! Dremvaqua is built in the center of Nezamorozhen Lake, in the Zakat Snowfields.. there are a few inns along the way though."

  "Let's hope we stop by one on the way then. The mortal body can only withstand the harsh winter for so long."

  "Yeesh.. How long have we even been away from Heligsgrad for?"

  After looking at a pocket-watch that Tinel had pulled out from an inner pocket in her cloak, she states-

  "We were on the road for about.. 4-5 hours, give or take."

  Cherynov and Yuri groan in unison, compining about the amount of time for the travel are promptly silenced by being hit on the head as a "punishment" from Agniezska. I had a feeling that these two would be getting along quite well from here on out.

  The moaning and bickering continues, when all of a sudden-

  *RUSTLE, RUSTLE!*

  A nearby shrubbery starts shaking. It's unexpected, so it startles us, especially during the darkness. Luckily, Agniezska locks right onto it.

  "Who goes there!?"

  It's a "Wierg" - a monster with a torso like a human, legs and arms, both muscly and covered with brown and bck fur like the rest of the body. It bore cws on the feet and paws. It had the face of a wolf, ram-like horns, teeth sharp as knives- and wild eyes which seem to have been abandoned by all sense or reason.

  It growls- its voice dripping with malice and a great thirst for blood. It gets ready to attack…

  "W-what do we dooo? I got no experience fightin' monsters!"

  "I can't say I've ever fought one either.."

  "Do not worry, I shall handle it."

  No longer patient, the Wierg leaps forth in arc, directly towards Agniezska letting out a strange and unpleasant wild sound that was between a wild rabid dog and a deranged mentally insane human being, it's cws ready to sink deep into Agniezska's shoulders, puncturing her flesh.

  But Agniezska is ready to fight back as she delivers a diagonal heavy rightwards ssh, followed by a leftwards diagonal ssh, creating an "X" shaped bloody scar right across its chest, spewing blood.

  However, it doesn't back down. It backsteps a little to get some space to assess the situation, its head twitching uncontrolbly. When I look towards Agniezska, she's in a focused stance, gripping it with both hands, positioned to the front of her waist.

  She lunges forward, aiming directly for its neck. It jumps forth as well, cws at the ready. It swipes across her face, opening a fresh bloody scar, but Agniezska delivers the killing blow as she pierces its throat, driving the sword's bde all the way through.

  Suddenly, the monstrous shrieking and howls and sporadic twitching comes to a sudden halt. No more noise-- nothing. Agniezska tugs on the sword, and pulls it out after a bit of struggle. The white snow is dyed red from the blood that spurted out.

  "Holy shit, that felt more like a sughter than a fight…" Yuri mumbled lightly under his breath.

  Agniezska looks at the sword, stained with red. All of a sudden, the blood sizzles, eating through the metal and rusting it until nothing but a flimsy frail bde with holes in it remains.

  "Tsk. What a disappointment. Oh well, I should've known better- this cheap sword is made out of simple steel, of course it would be corroded by monster blood like this.. Would've been no big deal if I still had Ildogon with me.."

  "Hey uh.. why'd your sword just… disintegrate?"

  "Oh, well Mikhail, monster blood is a naturally corrosive substance, you see… especially damaging against metallics- only special forms of metal and/or alloys can withstand the damage caused by monster blood."

  "Mikhail…?"

  "Oh, sorry! I just thought that we were on a first-name basis, my apologies.. it was presumptuous of me to think that way.."

  "No, no no! Not at all! Please, I don't mind at all!"

  "In any case, stopping by Aiyun Smithworks in Dremvaqua is sounding more, and more appealing.. Now that I think about it actually, all of us need to be combat ready- I cannot be the sole warrior of the group forever.."

  "Doesn't Aiyun Smithworks charge only in gold pieces though? We can't afford that."

  "As analytical as ever, Tinel.. We'll pull through somehow though, don't worry."

  "You always say that…"

  "In any case, we'd best avoid any areas where there's likely to be monsters, or any sign of wild beasts- we cannot fight back."

  "Can't Tinel just use her magic though?"

  "They've stripped her of her license after the trial, same as they did my status in the guard. Plus she no longer has her staff as it too was confiscated. So it is impossible for her to cast either way."

  "She has it the worst, then!"

  "We can always go through the process again, at the Mage's Academy in the Royal Capital. Plus, everyone else on the party can get licensed as well."

  "Ain't we all criminals, though? I highly doubt the Royal Government let alone the Church is gonna let criminals become licensed mages 'n' all.."

  For once, Yuri actually had a sensible thought. It's true. According to Church and Royal Law - "Any individual who has been convicted of a serious crime, is NOT to be provided any training in magic, the mystical arts or be allowed to apply for a mage's license."

  It went something like that. I didn't exactly remember the direct script but… close enough! It was something I'd learned back when I just entered primary school. Surprised at me knowing this, my parents jokingly remarked I could be a wyer, joyful smiles covering their faces.

  Oh Dad, and Mother of mine… if you saw what sort of predicament I'd gotten myself into today, you'd surely lose your heads.

  Tinel butts in, interrupting my thoughts.

  "It's worth a try at least, but THAT, is until we get to the Royal Capital Mittendius. We can put it on our checklist."

  "Put it on our checklist.."

  Yuri repeated in a scoff-y and mocking tone.

  "I'm sure getting a magic license is noooo big deaaaaaaaal…"

  "Oh, WHAT? I'm trying to stay positive here, knife ears!"

  "Rude."

  "Huh??!? You started it!"

  I was wondering how long it would be until Yuri and Tinel got into a fight. There it was. And any second now, Agniezska would come in like a big sister trying to calm everyone down, whether by force or through more 'benevolent' means..

  "Hey now you two- fighting amongst thyselves, over hypothetical situations too, no less, is pointless. Please stop."

  She manages to push the two which were still reaching at each other to get maybe just one st punch in, apart.

  "We're never going to get anything done at this rate."

  "Aight guys! We've defeated this monster, right? Or rather, Romanov did… let's just get going already! It's getting dark… I don't wanna risk getting attacked by another monster today… or EVER, for that reason."

  So continued our conversation after the encounter with the Wierg, talking about a wide range of topics, quite minute in importance. I'm pretty sure our conversation even shifted to "local Dremvaquan recipes", and what we'd try once we hit the city.

  I suppose one of the many exciting parts of traveling is testing out the cuisines and dishes of the pces you stop by. After all, food can tell quite a lot about the cultures of the pces you go.

  "We're starting to see a whole lot less forestry and bumpy paths, more, ft and open nd, it seems.." Tinel procimed.

  So she was right, we exited the forest, and emerged upon a not too tall cliff, overlooking snowfields, a river running through it, a few rocks and countless (strewn about) pebbles id along the muddy edges of the stream. There grew also various shrubbery and reeds, some bushes too, albeit dead ones, probably due to the natural cold of the kingdom of Dalis. The sky overhead was a beautiful light blue and pink. Alderwood, aspen and rch trees dotted the slightly ndscape, here and there. It was, truly, breath-taking.

  "Woah…"

  "Isn't it nice, knife-ears?"

  "It sure is, Tinel.. and stop calling me that! I have a name, you know. It's YURI."

  "When you start calling me by my st name. We are not on the first name basis, thank you very much."

  "W-what about all those times we got along…" Yuri moped about. I myself, decided to chime in.

  "Still though, to think that there's this much natural beauty in just Dalis, alone. It's breathtaking.. you suppose other countries in the world, like the Republic of Mitsudomoe, the Holy Sultanate of Al-Adzsifah, and the Sun Country of Atardecer, and so on, have beauty just like this?"

  "My father who had visited the very Sun Country you speak of had told tales of the magnificent rainforests surrounding their capital city- Ciudad de Luce de Sol, and the hiking trails that go through them. It's one of the many tourist attractions there."

  "Really, Agniezska? What was it like?"

  She shrugs her shoulders.

  "I cannot say. I had not yet been born then. My father was about your age back when he had visited the Sun Country of Atardecer. I know it only through tales and written records."

  "Aww, that's a shame.."

  "Perhaps we might visit there one day. We then may see for ourselves."

  She clears her throat.

  "Therein however, the sun is falling. Slowly but surely. I've heard the monsters here in these regions are more active at night. We are clearly in no state to fight however, so we'd best make haste. Up-two now!"

  "Are we seriously gonna sleep in the cold again though? I think I'm gettin' a headacheeee…"

  "Not to worry. There's an inn a bit further down, shouldn't be longer than.. 30 minutes, I presume. 'The Waypoint', it's called."

  There she went again. Tinel with her trusty map. Although this didn't seem to be the same one she had on the way to Heligsgrad though. On the back of the map, it read:

  'The Traveler's Trusty Map of our Kingdom! With Everything you Need!'

  Oh. I see. She probably bought it before we left, or something.

  As we treaded the nd, the snow gradually got thicker, and thicker, til' we could barely even lift a leg without any effort. At that point, only a slight tinge of sunlight was left, and the night sky had begun to dominate the heavenly dome that stood above our world, ever so steadfastly.

  Luckily, in the distance we spotted a building. This got us jumping for joy. Huzzah! We wouldn't freeze to death after all! We were saved! Eventually we reached the building. It was a spruce log cabin-like building, about 3-storeys tall, and had a roof of triangle-shaped cy and stone tiles, painted blue. A cobblestone chimney sprouted from the roof, and from it emerged a billowing cloud of smoke. The lights inside were on, a clear indication of someone's presence. To the right side of the building were stables, four of them to be exact. There was one Snowsprout Mare, two Outfielders, and one that I didn't recognize. It was probably a foreign breed in that case.

  On the door to the building was a birchen sign which simply read 'Waypoint Inn'.

  I knocked on the door in a hearty but gentle manner, and was met with a gruff-sounding voice that replied:

  "Yeah, come on in."

  Entering the inn was like going from the Realm of Chaos to Heaven. Worlds apart in difference. Warm and inviting lighting, and the enchanting scent of freshly baked food wafting from the door behind the counter. To the left of the inn, was a lounge area. A rug with a simple, yet enchanting design of diamonds colored red, blue, bck and dark green, with a red border id on the floor. A table was in the centre, on it were two stone cups, half filled with tea, long gone cold. On either side of the table were sofas, probably stuffed with heltabeast fur, and its casing was a woven one, purple in coloration. To the north was another window, with a cupboard beneath it, the western and eastern walls also bore windows. On the right side of the counter was a stairway leading upwards.

  "Hello? Sir? Is everything alright? You didn't get frostbite on the way here, didja?"

  "Hu- wha"

  "Yeah, yeah I'm fine.."

  The innkeeper lets out a sigh of relief and wipes some sweat off his forehead.

  "Phew! That's good then. Almost had to call for medical assistance.."

  "Call for medical assistance? All the way out here? Ain't Dremvaqua at least three days away from here?"

  "Four days, actually, sonny. But even so, they'd be able to make it here, what with their Teleportation Mages n' all."

  This peaked Tinel's interest. Honestly, I wasn't surprised.

  "Did you say… Teleportation Mages!!!?!?!"

  "W-woah there! Y-yeah… I did… what of it?"

  "I didn't know that there was such… talent in Dremvaqua!! Teleportation Magic, is such a… .RARE talent, in and of itself!"

  The innkeeper scratches the back of his head.

  "Yep. Which is even more of a reason why we need to be extremely careful, so far out from the city. Whenever we need to call in some medical care, it costs us three Gold Pieces!"

  "Damn.. THREE g's??? That's more than I made in a MONTH back home in Pom…"

  "EXACTLY. Which is why I can't stress it enough… PLEASE. DO NOT GET SICK! Otherwise, I will be forced to drop you off at Dremvaqua… at your OWN EXPENSE!"

  We all took in that information with an air of awkwardness about us. I could see Tinel's face. She was smiling, but in more of a way that said "Yikes, this is suuuuper awkward… I need to get out of this situation, ASAP!"

  "Anyways you guys, I bet you're tired, eh? Since you're my first customers in a week, I'll cut the price for you. Two Copper Pieces for a night's stay. Deal?"

  Agniezska bowed politely and took out two copper coins from her pocket.

  "Why thank you, my good fellow, for making an acception on our behalves… if there is any way we may repay you, please let us know."

  Oh Agniezska. Even though she was no longer a member of the Royal Capital Guard, she still had that refined and mature air about her. Like a true dy.

  "Oh no no! I don't need anything from you folks! Trust me, it's fine, I don't wanna trouble you folks. Now then, you fels look weary, go on up stairs and get some rest. Go now!"

  Without further hesitation, we make our way up the creaky pnk stairway.

  "Let's see here… Room 4… Room 4…" I mumble to myself. I pull out the cubic shaped key, and fit it into the keyhole. It clicks perfectly. When I open it, the lock loosens and I push the door open.

  The room isn't big. But it isn't small. It's modestly sized, and has two big beds at the north wall. There's an oil ntern on the windowsill, an uncommon sight in this world.

  In the modern civilizations of today, you hardly saw coal or oil-fueled machines and tools. Magic powered pretty much everything, even smaller things, like light sources. So seeing something like this was pretty rare.

  It even got a reaction out of Agniezska, which was quite rare- seeing as she was by most standards reserved, and knowledgeable in most things.

  "Fascinating. I never thought these to be real technology, in the modern age- so ancient.."

  "Hey now, they're all the way out here y'know! Bein' so far out from the city, I bet they ain't got access to all the typical resources, y'feel me?"

  "Maybe so."

  Tinel, clearly tired walks past Yuri and Agniezska, yawning. She sits down on the bed, and takes off her gsses and ring, pcing them on the nearby nightstand. She gets into the bed, and pulls the covers over her, facing the bed.

  "Good night you guys.."

  The saying yawns are contagious, must be true because Agniezska, Yuri, and then soon I also found ourselves falling asleep. Maybe she cast a spell to make us fall asleep? Did such a spell even exist? Well, who knew, really. It was pointless to think about it anyhow.

  Regardless, I slept well that night.

  The morning arrives- and the sun dawns, yet again. I don't know why, but I had a little trouble waking up this morning.. Maybe it was the quality of the beds? I couldn't believe I'd already forgotten what it's like to sleep on a bed which its quality is nothing beyond lousy.

  I had truly gotten drunk on the quality of life in Heligsgrad. Apparently, there's a saying that goes- "If you want the cheapest quality of life in all of the kingdom- Pom should be the number one option on your list! You will NOT be disappointed!"

  Tsk.. honestly now…

  I felt a bit offended hearing such things about my hometown, but I knew deep down that it was true…

  In any case, I decided to let the trivial thought go. It would mean nothing in the long run- and I'd probably forget about it very soon.

  "And so, the day beckons.."

  I get up out of bed, and exit the room which was already empty. Yuri, Agniezska, Tinel and Cherynov must've already awoken, by the looks of things. I head downstairs.

  They're all sitting in the lounge. Tinel, Agniezska, and Yuri. Cherynov is sitting a bit further away from them- she's focused on another one of her notebooks- each page filled with notes. Her bck leather sack, sitting on the sofa right next to where she was sitting was. Papers were scattered all around her, she had dark eyebags, clearly not having slept at all.

  I sit down next to her.

  "Hey uh, you doing alright? You seem restless."

  "Olenev… good morning."

  "We're getting closer than ever to Dremvaqua than ever, so its important to go over the updates I just received about Zantio's location and activities."

  "Huh? You're telling me that you had someone deliver you papers.. In one night?? How?"

  "Well, there's a spell that is used specifically for transmitting documents from one pce in the world to another."

  "Really? That kind of spell seems really specific…"

  "Magic has a lot of spells that can be considered 'niche'. At least that's what Tinel told me."

  "Right.."

  Just then, the door that read "EMPLOYEES ONLY" Opened, and from within came the innkeeper.

  "Mornin' folks. Ya sleep well?"

  Everyone says "Yep!" In unison. Everyone that is, except for Cherynov.

  The innkeeper seems to notice that. A look of concern and sympathy covers his face.

  "Oh my dear Heavenly Queen Cristell…. are you okay, madam? You look worse for wear!"

  "Duty calls… as they say."

  "Tsk… just, don't overwork yourself and pass out cold, alright?"

  "How could ya', boss? Caring about your money even in a situation like this?"

  "No Yuri, I would feel bad if someone passed out or died in my own care. It's not about coin."

  "H-huh? How do you know my name?"

  "I've been born with extraordinarily good hearing, so maybe that's what. I can overhear your conversations sometimes."

  "That said, Ms. Cherynov- I'd suggest you stop drinking that stuff- Evernight Coffee is really strong in caffeine. Probably the strongest blend out there."

  "I know a guy who one time got ahead of himself, and drank four pots worth of the stuff, sent him straight to the hospital. He survived, but I don't know how."

  She sets down the book on the table, a loud thud sounds. She leans back on the sofa, and rubs her face. When she opens her eyes, they're bloodshot.

  Tinel jumps back, clearly freaked out.

  "Y-your eyes!"

  Anastasia waves her finger.

  "No no, it's fine- I got a little trick up my sleeve…"

  She then puts both hands over her eyes and starts reciting a spell-like incantation.

  "O' all which is divine.. I call upon ye' to aid me in recovery, my weary body calls upon your aid, so hear me so that no evil may come upon me- Lesser Regeneration!"

  A small crackle of light blue lightning, and her eyes were once again a pure, beautiful white.

  I'm shocked! Anastasia knows magic? Since when?

  When I look over to see the reactions of the rest of the party, I see they're also surprised. Tinel especially.

  "Wha- how, how do you know magic? Since when? How much about it do you know?"

  She was clearly excited at the potential of someone having an interest same as her.

  "Ah, well, st night I got bored and wanted to take a break from my work, so I uh, kinda went trifling through your notebook and well…"

  "You decided to learn a spell to pass the time? Sheesh. I can't say I disapprove of it, but don't you know, as a wyer, of all things, that invasion of privacy is a crime in the Dremvaqua Province?"

  "Ughh, pleaaaaase…. Don't get on my case, alright? I don't need to hear it."

  She gets up from the sofa, yawns, dusts herself off, and stretches.

  "Well then gang, I think it's about time we get going, Dremvaqua City isn't gonna come to US. "

  We all nod in unison and slowly get up. We head towards the door.

  I turn to look towards the counter.

  "Thanks for having us, boss! We appreciate it!"

  "Hrm…"

  "Well, I don't mind but.. you just gonna leave all them papers here? It's a mess!"

  "Oh yeaah! Could you just have all this stuff shipped to Dremvaqua? Tell em' it's for 'Ana'."

  "Wha- why you! We're not a delivery service for cryin' out loud!"

  Unamused, she ruffles through her breast pocket. From it she pulls a Golden Piece coin, and presents it to the Innkeeper.

  "Would, this… change your mind? It's fresh out of the mint as well, all nice n' shiny."

  He reaches out to it, in a trance of awe and desire, but she quickly snatches it away before he could y even a finger on it.

  "Nuh-uh! First you gotta agree to deliver this to the city!"

  "Ugh… you damn trickster! Young people, I swear…"

  "Fine! Deal."

  With a satisfied smile, she tosses it towards the coffee table we were previously sitting around in the lounge- it nds hot right in the center.

  With that, we walk out. Now on the front porch again, we can see the natural, snowy ndscape again, and the sun slowly rising again in the distance. When I exhale my breath, I can see the cold air.

  "Wow.."

  "Interesting, isn't it, Mikhail? The Dremvaqua region, is the second most coldest region in the entire country, the Heartnds Region being the number one most cold."

  "Oh, Agniezska! You don't say… I wanna buy a coat or something thicker when we get to Dremvaqua… it's… CHILLY!"

  "You'd best get ready for the trip ahead then- it's only going to get colder."

  "I hear in Dremvaqua, they got some of the thickest woolen coats and jackets."

  That gets Yuri really, really excited for some reason.

  "Oh yeah, and I also heard about the cuisine! Dremvaqua is a meat-lover's paradise.."

  I snap my fingers in his face, waking him out of his trance.

  "Gahh… Mikhail, can't ya' let a guy dream for a bit?"

  "We're in the wild- you don't want to let a monster attack you while you're vulnerable, do you?"

  "I'm doing you a favor okay, as a friend."

  We keep walking and conversing with one another. Eventually the ndscape becomes more sloped and uneven. We arrive to an area hidden behind a grove of golden-leaved birch trees.

  Agniezska holds up her arm, to block us from moving any forward.

  "Careful!"

  When I look forwards, I noticed that if we had kept going any further, we would've fallen off a ledge, and plummeted to our deaths. Before us was a huge rectangur- shaped hole in the ground.

  I couldn't see it quite well, but I could make out inside what seemed to be some kind of ruins.

  "Woah there! T-that was close…"

  Anastasia is huffing, and out of breath, clutching herself. I hear her mutter something.

  "I… am SO… not cut out for this… *huff*, *huff*.."

  "So anyways.. What IS this pce?"

  "I…. don't know.. Actually."

  What? That was surprising… I had Agniezska pinned as some history expert..

  that's the impression I had up until now, anyways..

  Tinel pitches in.

  "It could be an unexplored ruin. There's a lot of these all across the country, and even the world, you know.."

  "Doesn't that mean… we've made a historical discovery?! We could be rich!"

  "It isn't that easy, young man… first off, we have no idea what the yout of this pce is."

  "Ah, right, that is kind of an issue.."

  "Wait though, there's more. If this is an unknown ruin, we have no idea what will await us inside. The less you know, the more dangerous it is, this could be a death trap as far as we're aware."

  "O-oh yeah.."

  "Also, the legal aspect of things is.. An entirely different realm of things, to put it simply. Even if we were to announce this, how could we possibly defend our rights to the discovery of the ruins? It'd simply be taken by the Historical Relics Commission."

  "A-alright.. I get it…"

  "Just painting the picture for you. So you don't get too hopeful, only for your hopes to be shot down.."

  I could see the light go out in his eyes..sad. A man's fantasy, gone destroyed before it could even take off.

  I decide to somewhat change the conversation.

  "Uh, but this ruin, sure looks like it's ominous, maybe even dangerous.. we should just go around. I mean we're already tuckered out as-is. Avoiding unnecessary danger'd be optimal."

  "Unfortunately, that's impossible."

  "Huh? How come, Tinel?"

  "There's a magic barrier on either side, blocking anyone from passing through. It looks like it's been there for quite a long time though. 100 years, at least."

  "W-why would someone even create that kind of barrier..?"

  Tinel shrugs.

  "I have no idea, Mikhail.There's no telling what the ancient people of the world were thinking way back when. And it'd be pointless to try to figure out anyhow."

  Agniezska chimes in.

  "In that case, let us make our way downwards, all. Simply standing about won't get us any further to our goal."

  "But… how..? I don't see any stairs or anything.."

  "Look there, Yuri. There seems to be a dder, leading into the ruin." Anastasia pointed out.

  "Are ya KIDDIN'!? That looks so unstable!"

  "Sheesh, Mr. Borysenko… if you wanna jump down and break your back- be my guest."

  "Do ya' want me to get hurt or something??"

  "I'm just looking out for my ally. Nothing more."

  After that, we slowly and carefully descend down the dder. I make extra sure not to have too rough of a grip on the dder- it's old and weak wood, prone to snapping. The metal bindings which were pretty loose did not really help the case either.

  After going down the dder carefully, one after another, we hit the ground, carefully. Looking up, the gap separating the rest of the world from this ruin, is much more smaller now.

  *tak*

  Yuri wipes some sweat off his forehead..

  "Phew! That was really unnerving… didn't really help all that much considering we all went down at once!"

  "Also, ya' can barely see the exit from down here.."

  "Huh, that's what I was thinking."

  I look around. It's somewhat dark, there is a little bit of lumination but just barely, as the light source, which is the natural world was so far up above us. And we were all the way down. We found ourselves in a rectangur room, with a moderately high roof, supported by four stone pilrs.

  North of the room were two red wooden doors, though the paint was peeling, and the structure of the doors themselves was slightly decrepit.

  Tinel pointed to the doors.

  "It seems that that is the only way forward. Be on your guard, all- we don't know what this pce has in store for us."

  Agniezska nods in approval.

  "Yes. And we are mostly unarmed, and don't have the means to protect ourselves. I no longer have my sword nor my armor."

  "Don't ya like, know hand-to-hand combat or somethin'?"

  "Yuri, unarmed combat can only get you so far, especially against monsters."

  "I suppose there's some logic to that…."

  "Oookay, shall we go, everyone?"

  , I say, as I push open the doors.

  When we step into the next room, we find ourselves in an equally dark room, but it lights up the second we step in. The room is a circur, hub-like room. The walls are made of old stone bricks, with wooden pilrs, carved and painted with colorful scenes of what seem to be some kind of ancient pagan rituals. What exactly is going on in them though, I can't really be sure.

  To the far north of the room, is a stage-like structure, on it is a statue of a what seems to be a woman, though only the feet to the hips of the statue remained, the rest seemed to have been destroyed somehow, so I could not make out who or what exactly it was supposed to represent.

  Several wilted red, pink, orange, and crimson flowers sat at the base of the statue.

  "Well now." Agniezska said.

  "This is quite the scene."

  She looks around the room, looking genuinely amazed.

  "If only I had my notebook with me.. I'd be able to sketch this all down for ter memory, or perhaps snap a photo."

  "What? Why'd ya' want a photo of some dirty ol' ruins? Can't see much interest in that…"

  "It's history, boy. This pce is just proof that there are yet pces and events from our nation's long past that we still know nothing of. Does the thought not excite you? The least bit so?"

  She walks over to the statue, on the stage-like structure. She studies and analyzes it.

  "Hmm…"

  "It seemeth as though this statue represents this ancient peoples' false god. There appears to be a name inscription down below, though the engravement is far too obscure, so it'd be impossible to get a name. "

  "Hey, Tinel, suppose you could do a restoration spell, to turn back the structure of the statue to its original form?"

  Tinel shakes her head.

  "No Yuri. For one, My staff, (and uniform) have been confiscated. Not having a staff means I can't cast any spells save for a few basic ones, like First Aid, and Create Minor Light. Also I've lost my magic license, which you know what that means."

  "Not to mention, I am not a mage advanced enough to restore its physical structure. Such arts are more difficult than you might think."

  "Noted.."

  "Anyway, it's deathly silent.",

  I say.

  "R-right? Come on, let's get going.. this pce is giving me the creeps!"

  Agniezska gives Anastasia a sympathetic look. One that you would feel ashamed to receive, almost pitiful.

  "My friend with all due respect, we are surely to face greater trials in the future.. If you cannot even handle this, I fear you are in for a world of hurt."

  "I CAN'T HELP IT! I'm a city girl! I don't spend my free time wandering around weird ancient underground cities!"

  She kind of had a point.

  "But hey! We haven't gotten attacked by any monsters, yet.."

  Anastasia looks at me with an upset, pouty expression."Mikhail… that isn't funny.."

  We progress even further into the ancient city. When we pass through the next set of doors, which is a tall dirty iron gate, we arrive to a rectangur terraced room, with about 3 floors- we were on the 2nd floor.

  Each floor had its own set of rooms across the entire floor. The stone pilrs were decorated with painted in blue and white geometric patterns. Down below, on the ground floor in the center was a water fountain, still somehow spouting water.

  "Hmm.." I say.

  "Hey, Agniezska, you think this might be a living space of some sort?"

  Agniezska gives me an intrigued look.

  "Oh? And why might you think that, Mikhail?"

  "Ah, well, it kinda reminds me of the apartment buildings you'd see every now and then back in Pom- towering over residential districts' family homes and such."

  "I do see what you mean, in fact. I knew a few people back in the Royal Capital Mittendius that lived in buildings with a simir structure.. with a simir terrace-like structure."

  "Huh.."

  After taking in the moment, I snap out of it once more.

  "Uh, a-anyways!"

  "Enough standing around gang… we gotta move! Don't wanna get caught by something nasty."

  We arrive to the next door. Something about it is a bit… off, though..

  Yuri speaks up, basically reading my mind.

  "Yo guys… doesn't this door look a tiny bit… intimidating?"

  Tinel studies the door. It's made out of iron. It has swirly, wave-like patterns. Somehow, it's not rusting. They also look heavy.

  "I must agree.", she said.

  She looks at us.

  "Doesn't this kind of remind you all of the Volodymr Ruins way back at the beginning of the journey?"

  "Y-y-ya mean… the one with the dragon??"

  "Yes, Yuri. That one."

  She scoffs, clearly annoyed and pushes up her spectacles.

  "Besides, you weren't even involved in the fight. You were teleported outside the ruin on the other side, somehow."

  "W-well.. you weren't there EITHER! So take THAT!"

  "I'll admit… you did get me there."

  "Heave…."

  We all cry out in unison-

  "HO!"

  We're in a giant, circur room. Perhaps the biggest one we've been in so far. It's also unlike anything we have seen up until this point.

  "Damn… this pce is something else… it's, it's beautiful…"

  "Agniezska, what do ya' suppose this pce is for, exactly?"

  "Hmm…" Agniezska says.. Scratching her chin she looks somewhat at a loss for words.

  She seems a little stumped.

  "I.. I shall be honest, I do not know."

  "I guess there's no point in getting all angry o-"

  My remark is interrupted by a loud sound, almost a sheen. Accompanied by a fsh of light.

  It caught us off guard, so we had no time for a proper response.

  When the light disappears, however, we all seem to have been separated. Not even Yuri, nor Agniezska is with me.

  When I awaken, my sight is somewhat blurry, but quickly stabilizes and returns to normal.

  Looking around my surroundings, it seems like some kind of crypt, as in a pce the deceased might've been buried. In ancient times at least.

  Nowadays people buried their dead in cemeteries as is the tradition in many parts of the world nowadays.

  "Ah.."

  Wait! Was that Tinel's voice? Surely that must mean she's here then!

  I absolutely must find her.

  "Tinel! Where are yooooouu??"

  …

  Nothing.

  Silence. Absolute silence.

  I take another breath, preparing to shout her name once more. Right as I'm about to though, I feel a finger tap my shoulder. When I turn around to see who it is, I see Tinel!

  "Tinel, it's yo-"

  I'm cut off mid sentence, and she cusps her hand over my mouth, shaking her head.

  "No! Be silent… I think I saw some monsters nearby.. Has to be some sort of undead, perhaps.."

  "So, what do we do then..? We've no weapons! We can't fight back!"

  "Mikhail, we can just pass by them."

  "Huh?"

  "Ahaha~ let me tell you some of my knowledge from the days I constantly read the 1st Edition Bestiary EVERY day in the cafeterium, in the Mittendius Royal Magic Academy! Alone!"

  So she was the loner type, huh?

  That's really, really, really sad..

  …

  She notices my sympathetic gaze.

  "H-hey now.. what gives, with that pitiful look…?"

  "Never mind that! What about the monsters!?"

  "Oh, right! Anyhow, the monsters I saw were Putrirons…"

  "Putrirons? Sorry, but I'm not well-versed in the field of monstrology.."

  "Ah! Do not worry.. I got you covered! Putrirons are an Undead Css monster. They are rotting corpses or skeletons which have been reanimated by wandering spirits that have not moved on yet. Due to the irrational nature of the soul, they will attack anyone and anything on-sight."

  "That certainly seems like a problem… "

  Tinel looks troubled. I decide to speak up, offer a solution.

  "Well.. we could just sneak past, right?"

  "Yes, we can, but… if we make even a single noise, we're done for. Despite being undeads, Putrirons are highly perceptive to sound."

  I nod in understanding. We both take a deep breath, and continue forward. Most of our walk is, uneventful for the most part. Dare I say it, somewhat rexing. That was weird, especially considering we were in a ruin where monsters could kill us any second.

  Every now and then, we'd step on the occasional Qualis (an insectoid-type monster, which poses no threat at all. Also they're very small.)

  Tinel would get quite squeamish whenever we encounter one. Apparently, she didn't do too well with insects. Which is fine… but how does that make sense if she's completely okay with talking about undeads?

  That is logic I will never be able to wrap my head around.

  I suppose everyone's mind works differently though.

  "It seems to be going quite well so far, huh, Tinel?"

  "Yep, thank Cristell for clearing the way for us, we seriously would've been done for if we ran into a monster.. phew.. that said, we should be at the end almost."

  "Really, how do you know?"

  "I can feel a gust of natural mana coming from far up ahead. It's faint, but it's getting stronger the further we go."

  "GRAAAAAAAH.."

  A loud and unsettling moan sounded out, like an agonizing moan, as if someone was in pain.

  "W-what was THAT!? Don't tell me.."

  We didn't know exactly what it was, but it may as well haver already been confirmed.. it was definitely a putriron. Well, now we're going to have to get creative…

  We were un-armed, which meant we have no way of fighting this monster!

  "What should we do now?"

  Tinel, clearly distressed, wipes the sweat off her forehead.

  "Uh, well, I uh…"

  She turns to look at me, with a troubled facial expression, like she was about to admit something.

  "We, may be in trouble. I am pretty much useless in battles, when I have no magic with me."

  As if things couldn't get worse.

  Oh great.

  Great Holy Queen Cristell, we were about to die because of something this stupid?

  Come to think of it, why did we enter this ruin at all? There must've been an alternative path to Dremvaqua City that wasn't going through this ancient citadel.

  Sure, it might've taken us a little longer but, it would've costed us more time, not our lives.

  I shake my head.

  After a bit, Tinel regains her composure.

  "Okay then.. how to deal with this…"

  ….

  "Mikhail?"

  "Hmm, yeah? What's up? You got a pn?"

  "You'll have to fight him."

  "What now?"

  "You will have to fight him, I said. If I don't have my magic, I'm just a regur woman. Okay, well I do have basic knife training, but that was when I first joined the Royal Capital City Guard.."

  \

  As we talked, the monster was getting closer.

  "GReeeYaAAAHhkhH!!"

  It was basically decided, what had to happen. I draw in a deep breath of fresh air, hold my breath, and then let it all out after holding it for a good minute or two.

  I felt oddly refreshed, given the circumstance.

  And then…

  It was here.

  When I opened my eyes once more, I saw the putriron standing right in front of me. It took the form of an old man. It had sickly grey skin, parts of which looked badly infected.

  There was exposed flesh on some parts of its body, like the torso, hip, legs, its head too. You could even see the skull a little.

  Its eyes were completely gone- repcing them were two gaping bck cavities. A look into its lifeless nature. The teeth were rotting too, or completely missing.

  "Yuck.."

  "Smells awful.."

  Then, all of a sudden, with out warning, it starts running towards me, arms outstretched. I had no idea what to do. It was getting closer.

  Then I got an idea.

  I pump myself up… and then,

  I jump forth, tackling it to the ground with a loud "THUD!"

  We tussle around, punching, swinging at each other.

  It opens its jaw and bites down on my arm. A burning stinging sensation shoots through my arm- one I never have felt in my life before.

  "Aggh!"

  I grasp its coarse and oily decrepit head, and attempt to pull him off, but to no avail. Its grip is strong."Mikhail!"

  "I'll be fine!" I said, repeatedly pummeling the undead's head with my fist, as hard as I can.

  "Uh, no you won't! That wound is definitely gonna get infected…"

  I ignore her.

  I lean back my head and headbutt the putriron really hard.

  Yeowch.

  But no matter how much it hurt, it seemingly did the trick. It was seemingly stunned, so I took the opportunity. There were several painted jars lying around, some shattered. I scanned the vicinity for a decently sized looking shard.

  I finally find one and grab it.

  I turn towards the putriron and stab it.

  It gushes a very dark red stream of blood, which sptters everywhere- the walls, floor.

  "HGIEEEyAaaaAAAhHHH!"

  I stab its arms countless times, weakening its limbs so it couldn't move. It kept screaming and thrashing about till I delivered the finishing blow to the throat-

  One final spurt of blood completely paints my face red, and the putriron finally goes limp, then stops moving.

  After a few seconds of silence, it explodes into countless shimmering shards of crimson light, which soon dissipate into nothingness.

  I let out a sigh of relief, and colpse into a rexed position.

  It was finally over. My heart was racing.

  …

  ……

  Yeesh, I felt SUPER disgusting. I could smell the pungent aura emanating from me.

  "Goodness gracious, this is pin gross…"

  Just then, where the monster once id, I notice in its pce a small purple gemstone, about the size of an acorn. Intrigued, I pick it up.

  "Huh, weird.."

  I stuff it in my pocket. Who knew, it might come in useful ter down the line.

  I turn to where Tinel was. She was lying on the cold, hard stone brick floor.

  "Tinel!"

  I run over to her to examine her status. Thankfully, she's not too hurt. It seems as though she's only passed out from shock.

  Since there doesn't seem to be any other way to move her, and I don't feel like waiting around any longer in this hell-hole, I pick her up, and start tredding along. Unsurprisingly, she's not that heavy.

  I guess that's what happens when you spend years lugging around giant machine parts and working in a factory. As I move forward, it gets brighter and brighter til' I can feel a gust of wind assault my face.

  "Aaahh… feels good to be outside once more.."

  And I truly meant it. Just then, I hear a familiar voice.

  "Yoooooooo!! Mikhail!!"

  When I look to the direction of the voice, I see who it is. Yuri, and Agniezska is standing right beside him.

  I head on over to them to catch up.

  "Mikhail, I see that thou hath come out unscathed? Truly, that is magnificent."

  "By Cristell Agniezska, Yuri, you two are a sight for sore eyes.."

  "Never mind that… what's the deal with ya' Mikhail? Y'look horrid!"

  "Huh? Oh, well I uh, we had an encounter with a monster. I was able to get him for good though.."

  "Heh! It sure seems like it… so you did.."

  "Oh, come on, Yuri… what's the deal, man? Don't gotta mock me."

  Agniezska puts a hand on both of our shoulders.

  "Come on, everyone. We've been in the wilds long enough. We shall set up camp a bit further up, and depart the next day. It shan't be even a day til' we reach the city of Dremvaqua."

  We set up a campfire near a thicket of trees on the border of a forest, and set down Tinel to rest. All goes well.

  Later

  ---------

  I sit, staring at the bright and crackling fire, contempting everything and nothing at the same time. After a while, we were really so much more closer to Zantio Svhar.

  I'd finally be able to find out what exactly he was trying to accomplish- and why.

  Then all of a sudden, a hand taps my shoulder. It's Tinel, who's woken up already, seemingly.

  "Ah, hey, you're up, Tinel!"

  "Yeah.."

  "Are you sure you want to sit next to me? I'm disgusting… I haven't even bathed yet.."

  Tinel shakes her head.

  "Well, it's fine. I've already gotten used to it."

  "I don't know whether I should be offended or appreciative of that."

  Tinel, cusping her mouth trying not to ugh, bursts out ughing.

  "Hey!"

  "S-sorry, hahaa~ I can't help it…"

  "Anyways, we'd best rest for tonight.. Tomorrow, we depart."

  Just then, Yuri barges into the conversation.

  "Man, I'm hungry though… ain't even gonna lie."

  Tinel rolls her eyes at him.

  "By all means then, do go out and hunt our meal."

  "W-what!? A-ain't no way! In the dark like this, y'oughtta be kiddin', Agniezska!"

  "Then stay patient. We'll eat in Dremvaqua."

  …

  "We should probably go to sleep, guys."

  Everyone nods in unison, agreeing with Tinel. We unroll our sleeping bags, and get tucked in for the night…

  Tomorrow, will be the continuation of our journey.

  To be continued in The Wayward Journey Volume 3!