CHAPTER 16: The Adventurers
The fire was burning low. Embers crackled. The girls were huddled close together, blankets wrapped around their shoulders, exhaustion finally overtaking fear.
But I wasn't sleeping.
I was listening.
Something was off.
The trees were too still. The night air too tense. No insects. No owls. Not even the soft flutter of wind through leaves.
Just silence.
Then I heard it snap.
Not loud. Just a single twig. But in a forest like this, under a star-choked sky, it was a damn siren.
My eyes shot open. My Ki flared subtly under my skin. I stood fast and moved to the girls.
"Seyla," I hissed. "Up. Now."
She blinked awake instantly, alert in a heartbeat. Trained.
I motioned with two fingers and pointed around.
"Gather them. Quiet."
Seyla nodded once and moved. Efficient. No panic, no questions.
Within moments the girls were pressed in tight near the fire. I stepped in front, sword already in hand. My back to the flames. My eyes on the trees.
Something was there.
No, multiple somethings.
Footsteps. Measured. Confident. Not rushed. Whoever they were, they weren't worried.
Then…
Movement.
From the shadows between two tall trees, four silhouettes stepped into view.
The firelight caught them as they crossed the threshold.
The first was impossible to miss.
Tall as hell, eight feet if he was an inch. Built like someone had decided humans needed a kaiju variant. Leather and metal armor clung to his massive frame like it was terrified to offend him. Broad shoulders, heavy chest, arms like damn tree trunks.
He had cat-like ears, perked forward with curiosity, and a bushy tail flicking lazily behind him. His hair was a messy cascade of dull grey, tied into a rough tail down his back. A massive blade rested on his hip like a decoration, and the equally massive bag on his shoulder looked like it weighed more than most of the girls combined.
"Well, look what we have here," the giant said in a deep, amused rumble.
I stepped forward, sword still down, but ready.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Relax," he said, holding up a hand the size of a wagon wheel. "We're not here to rob you or anything. Just saw the fire. Didn't expect to find a crowd out here."
Behind him, three others stepped into the light.
The second was a woman. A striking one.
Wearing something between tribal gear and a warrior's uniform, animal skins, fur-lined belts, and what looked like actual fangs stitched into her arm straps. Her skin was a dark caramel, rich and sun-kissed, and her black hair was long and flowing, reaching her waist like a veil of silk. She walked like a predator. Graceful. Smooth. Lethal.
A curved dagger spun in her fingers as she scanned the group. Her other hand rested on a pouch at her hip, probably filled with more blades.
Then came the third, a red-haired man in full leather. About my height, maybe a little taller. Easy on the eyes, annoyingly so. He had a sharp, clean look, trim beard, clear skin, confident posture. Carried himself like someone who smiled often and got away with it. His gear was practical. Well-used. His bag had straps for tools and climbing gear, and I spotted a few potion vials tucked into his belt loops.
And lastly, the elf.
This one didn't walk so much as glide. He had that natural, otherworldly arrogance only elves could pull off without looking like complete assholes. Short, spiky greenish-brown hair that looked like moss in moonlight, narrow eyes full of judgment, and the kind of frown that said, "I've hated everything since birth."
He wore noble garb, slightly weathered but definitely higher quality than the rest. Embroidered doublet, muted colors, silver trim. Minimal armor. Just a sword and what looked like a satchel full of scrolls.
I tensed.
The tall one saw it.
"Easy," he said. "Name's Kaku. These are my companions: Keyra, Trent, and Kail."
The cat-man gave a short nod toward each as he spoke.
"We're just passing through. Spent the last four days deeper in Edelmere. Heading back to Torak now."
I lowered my sword, slowly.
Still kept my stance.
Kaku didn't flinch. He just looked at me, mildly curious, not threatened.
"We saw the fire," he continued. "Didn't think anyone sane would be out here, let alone a group this size."
"We weren't here by choice," I said flatly.
His eyes flicked to the group behind me.
Saw the girls. Saw the hollow stares. The bruises. The clothing.
His jaw tightened. Subtle. But I caught it.
"…Right," he said, voice quieter now. "Goblins?"
I nodded once.
"Chief?"
"Dead."
Kaku whistled. "Shit. You're either very good or very stupid."
"Bit of both."
A chuckle came from the red-haired one, Trent, apparently. "You didn't kill that bastard alone, did you?"
"Would it make you feel better if I said I had help?"
He shrugged. "Not particularly. Just helps me sleep knowing what kind of lunatics are wandering around out here."
The woman-Keyra-gave me a once-over. Her gaze wasn't flirty. It was calculating.
Sizing me up like a threat. Or a tool.
"Looks like you pulled them out of hell," she said, eyes flicking to the fire-lit faces behind me. "That's something."
"I'm not looking for praise."
"Good," said the elf, Kail. "Because no one's offering it."
I raised an eyebrow. "Fuck you, bitch."
"He's always like that," Kaku said with a grunt. "Born with a stick up his ass and a pedigree scroll in his mouth."
"I speak truth," Kail snapped. "And the truth is, we're not here to trade stories or babysit strangers."
"I didn't ask for your fucking help," I replied evenly.
He sneered. "Good. Then we're in agreement."
Kaku raised a hand. "Enough. We're resting here for the night. You want to glare at each other, do it in the morning."
He looked at me.
"We'll stay on our side of the fire. You stay on yours. If anything shows up, we've got your back. You've clearly had enough shit."
I studied him for a long moment.
Then nodded.
"Fair."
Kaku clapped his hands. "Keyra, Trent, set up over there. Kail, I don't care what you do as long as it's quiet."
The elf muttered something under his breath and stalked toward a tree.
I turned to Seyla, who'd appeared behind me silently as usual.
"Thoughts?"
She glanced at the newcomers. "Their gear's too good to be lying. They're adventurers. And they didn't come in with blood on them. They're not slavers."
"Still keeping one eye open."
"Wouldn't expect less."
I returned to the fire and sat.
And though the night wasn't safe, and the strangers weren't friends…
I couldn't help but feel…
Better.
The world was opening. Expanding. And somewhere out there, it was waiting for me.
---
I didn't need a rooster to tell me it was morning.
The pale light cutting through the tree canopy had already taken on that muted gold tone I was starting to recognize as this world's version of sunrise. Softer than I expected, almost artificial, like the world wasn't quite ready to commit to the day.
By the time I rose, Kaku and his group were already stirring.
Keyra stood by the river's edge, washing her face and hair with a disciplined grace that told me she didn't care who saw her. Trent was stoking the fire, cracking his knuckles and humming something that sounded suspiciously like a tavern tune. Kail... was sitting on a rock with a book in hand, his scowl somehow deeper than last night's.
I didn't ask if they were still willing to help. If they'd changed their minds.
They hadn't.
Kaku confirmed it with a nod as he adjusted the massive pack on his shoulder. "We'll walk the girls to Ronta Vro. Won't sit right knowing they're left out here with no way back."
I just grunted. "Appreciate it."
"Don't. They need someone to lift their weight if it gets rough. You're not enough."
He wasn't wrong.
We got moving fast, no slow goodbyes, no pointless chatter. Seyla and Lira helped the girls form up into loose rows, guiding the weaker ones while Kaku and I took front. Keyra and Trent handled the sides, and Kail, surprise, took rear.
We followed the river trail Lira had mentioned, a winding path that ran like a vein through the trees. The water wasn't wide, maybe fifteen feet at its widest bend, but it moved fast and clean, the sound of it soothing even as it snaked past twisted roots and mossy rocks.
"This river connects to your village?" I asked Lira as we walked.
She nodded. "Yes. It feeds the fields. We call it the Veirrun. It starts in the forest depths, but by the time it reaches Ronta Vro, it's more manageable."
"How far?"
"With the pace we're at?" She glanced over her shoulder at the limping girls. "We'll see the fields by nightfall. Might have to sleep just outside the village."
The forest changed as we walked. The trees, still tall, still old, began to space out more, light spilling through wider gaps. Birds returned to the soundscape. I could hear them now, chirping in short bursts, like someone shaking off a long silence. The air smelled less like damp stone and more like soil and leaves.
Civilization didn't feel far.
But safety? That was still a myth.
I stayed alert.
Always scanning.
The quiet conversations helped. Small murmurs between the girls. One of them asked Trent about his daggers. Another asked Seyla if elves could really live for centuries.
And me?
I walked with Trent after the first hour.
Pulled out the orbs again. Red. Blue. Green. Orange.
He didn't even need prompting this time.
"Alright. Red's still got a spark, definitely fire. Blue's likely frost or water, but I'd bet frost based on how goblins fight. Green?" He turned it over in his palm. "Could be nature, sure, but this one's denser. Might be wind-based kinetic. They use those in traps."
"And the orange?"
He held it up to the light, squinting. "That one's rare. Could be a compression orb, volatile energy stored under pressure. Not explosive unless tampered with, but very unstable."
"Sellable?"
"Oh, definitely. The mage guild in Torak has a buyer for those. You'll want to go there first."
"I'm not registered."
Trent gave a lopsided grin. "You're not even subtle."
I shrugged. "I wasn't trying."
He handed the orb back. "Stick with me when we get to the city. I'll walk you through the parts the guild won't gouge you for."
I hesitated.
Then: "I want to go to Torak. After we drop them off."
Trent nodded like he'd already assumed it. "Figured. You don't look like the farming village type."
"I'm not. I just need a city. Somewhere I can start gathering strength."
"Torak's a good place to start," he said. "It's messy, yeah, but there's work, magic, gear, contacts. It's a frontier city, full of desperate people trying to carve something out of the dirt."
"That's exactly what I need."
---
We stopped around midday.
The trees had thinned enough to make room for sunlight, real, unobstructed sunlight and I felt its warmth hit my face properly for the first time since I woke up in that cave.
We sat by the riverside, let the girls rest. Kaku pulled out rations, actual ones, not goblin jerky. Flatbread. Dried meats. Rehydrated fruit. The smell alone lifted spirits.
I stayed near the edge, watching for trouble.
Keyra passed by me with a grunt, dropping a wrapped bundle on my lap.
I looked up.
"What's this?"
"Lunch."
I blinked.
She didn't say anything else. Just walked off and sat with Kail.
Alright then.
By late afternoon, I saw it.
Fields.
Real ones.
Patchy and brown from neglect, but unmistakably human-planted. There were tilled rows, broken fences, a few carts with bent wheels tipped over in the distance. And beyond that, smoke, the thin kind from chimneys.
We crested a small hill, and Ronta Vro came into view.
The village looked like it had grown out of the earth itself, low stone buildings with moss-covered roofs, wooden porches, and narrow dirt paths. No rails. No pipes. No magic lamps or steam-powered anything. Just a handful of grazing oxen, scattered clotheslines, and tools stuck in the mud.
Simple.
Older.
It wasn't untouched by the modern world but it was damn close.
I watched as the girls behind us started to weep, quiet, stunned relief spreading like a fever. Seyla smiled for the first time in what felt like days.
A few farmers spotted us from the edge of the fields and began sprinting back toward the village, calling for others.
By the time we reached the outskirts, a small crowd had gathered, men, women, children, faces marked with confusion, then recognition, then horror, and finally joy. Families ran forward. Girls collapsed into arms. Screaming. Crying.
It was... too much.
I stepped back from it all, not wanting to be pulled in.
Kaku joined me a few moments later, arms crossed, tail flicking slightly as he watched the reunion unfold.
"You gonna tell them?" he asked.
"Tell them what?"
"That it was you."
I shook my head. "No."
He nodded once. Didn't argue.
Seyla walked over soon after. Her posture was straighter. Stronger.
"Some of us don't have homes to return to, we are not actually from anywhere near here," she said. "But they're letting us rest here. Till the city lord in Torak can help us get home."
I met her eyes. "Good. You all need it."
She tilted her head. "What about you?"
"I'm going to Torak immediately."
A pause.
"I figured," she said quietly.
"Trent said he'd guide me through the market."
"You'll be fine."
I nodded. "And you?"
She looked back at the village. "I'm staying. For a while. Maybe longer. I know my family must be very worried about me."
I didn't say anything.
Didn't need to.
We'd both said enough.
By nightfall, I was sitting near a stone fence on the edge of the village. Kaku and his team had taken up quarters in the town hall. The girls were safe.
And I?
I was planning.
Next stop: Torak.
Where the real work would begin.