Alice held the child carefully as she moved through the bushes alongside Reyand. Reyand gripped his sword tightly—a long, thin battle sword with scratches on the blade, showing it had seen many fights. His hands were rough from handling the weapon.
They both searched desperately through the forest for any sign of who might have left the child alone. But after wandering for more than two hours, all they found was deep, dark forest.
Alice whispered, "Look, honey, the kid is asleep now. We shouldn't keep wandering. The forest at midnight is dangerous. We need to return to camp."
Reyand nodded silently, and the two began making their way back.
After about twenty minutes, they reached their destination — a long tent where four people were packing their bags and readying to move out.
Suddenly, a voice called out. A tall man with red hair and a large scar across his face shouted, "Reyand! Where are you and Alice going, man?"
At the call, the camp's people gathered and approached the couple.
A woman with yellow hair, green eyes, and fair skin stepped forward. "Oh dear, Alice, where have you two been? We were quite worried."
Alice replied, "Adam, listen to us."
At that moment, the baby cried in Alice's arms.
Hearing the sound, the other members of Reyand's adventure party quickly came near, eyes wide with surprise as they looked at Alice and the child.
One of them was a woman named Helena Shard—an elf with pale skin, black hair, and sharp pointed ears. She was different from the humans in their group.
Helena asked in quick succession, "Who is this child? How did he come to be with you? Where did you find him?"
Other party members joined with similar questions, eager to understand.
Reyand introduced them all: "Angela, Adam, Helena, Durden, Jasmine, and the rest of the Mythics."
Durden was a strong-built man with short black hair, dark skin, and sharp eyes; he was a dwarf. Jasmine was a short girl with fair skin, short black hair, and a small stature. Together, these formed the adventure party known as the Mythics.
Interrupting the flood of questions, Alice said calmly, "We found the kid alone in the forest, inside a basket. We searched everywhere but found no one else, so we brought him back here."
The group fell silent, absorbing this shocking detail.
Suddenly, their attention returned to the baby, who was now crying loudly in Alice's arms.
Adam asked, concerned, "Why is the kid crying so much?