-----Sebastian POV-----
A faint metallic chime carried through the morning air, followed by the whistle of birds calling outside. Wind pressed against the shutters, rattling them softly.
Then came a push of small hands shaking my arm, urging me awake.
"Mhmm..."
I buried myself deeper into the blanket.
Then I hear the weight shifting besides the blanked, and a sudden force slammed in the back of my head grabbing my hair and pulling it back almost ripping it.
"Ouch?!"
I immediately pushed myself upright, pressing my back against the wall while holding my hair tight. My brows furrowed with discontent.
As my eyes got used to the morning light, I found myself staring into a pair of wide, light‑green eyes. A young girl leaned close, her hair a wild tangle of orange, freckles scattered across her cheeks. She froze, caught red‑handed in the act of harassing me.
"Who are you?"
The girl tilted her head and kept staring at me if I was a strange animal.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the entrance. The girl's head snapped toward the door with anticipation lighting her face.
That hurt...
I started to rub the back of my head feeling if my hair was still there.
The front door opened with sudden brashness as a large figure entered the house making itself strained to contain him.
"HA! I AM BACK!"
The girl's face lit up. "Daddy!" she cried, leaping from the bed and running to him.
He dropped his traveling gear as he knelt and opened his arms wide.
"Come here, my little sparrow," he said warmly.
She dove into his embrace, and he lifted her easily, her small frame fitting snugly against his chest.
Then Reinhardt's gaze shifted to me.
"So you've already met Alice?"
My mouth froze agape before I could answer.
"Hahaha! She is adorable isn't she? Anyways! Get ready for the day young men! We will be going on a little adventure today!"
He flexed his bicep while mischievously smiling at the boy.
Alice face lit up and she threw her hands up in the air.
"Yee adventure! I want to go! Take me!"
"Hahaha! That's the spirit! But today you will have to accompany Aunt Eir."
"Eeeeh? I don't want to! I went there yesterday?!"
The girl frowned and puffed her cheeks.
Reinhart's expression that was once full of vigor started to falter.
"Alright little one, if you behave today with Aunt Eir, I will take you to our little adventure tomorrow!"
The girl contemplate but then extended her hand with only her pinky out.
"Pinky promise?"
Reinhart briefly smiled, extending his enormous hands towards the little one.
"Pinky promise."
They interlock their pinky's and then the man faced the front door heading his way out.
"Sebastian!"
I broke from my daze and started to equip my travelling gear while locking my gaze at the man that was pointing towards the leather bag laying on the ground.
"Bring this bag with you! We are going to need it!"
Then the man dazed out of the house.
Once I readied myself from the odd morning call, I turned towards the bag extending my arm and gripping the it, but the moment that I placed strength to lift it up, its weight shoved me backwards.
I tiled my head and furrowed my brows in confusion as I placed both of my hands in the grip and placed more strength into lifting this extremely heavy bag.
What in the world is inside this thing!?
-----
"What took you so long?" Reinhardt's booming voice carried across the trail.
I shifted under the weight of the pack, my shoulders straining as I tried to steady my steps.
"W-Why is it so h-heavy?" Breath catching in my throat.
A grin spread across his face, his teeth flashing as he adjusted the straps of his own gear.
"Let's get going! We have a looooong day ahead of ourselves!"
He swung the pack on his shoulder with practiced ease, boots crunching against the dirt as he started up the path.
I tightened my grip on the straps knowing there was no choice but to keep up with the giant ahead.
-----
The trail wound upward, shifting from forest floor to stone. Each step grew steeper, forcing my boots to scrape against uneven rock. Loose gravel slid beneath my soles throwing myself out of balance as I steadied myself with a hand against the slope. My breath came heavier with the climb while I watched Reinhardt's broad frame cutting through the ascent with effortless ease.
"What's wrong, little one!? Are you tired already!?" Reinhardt's voice thundered from farther up the trail, glanced back briefly, a grin flashing across his face before he turned forward again. "We're not even halfway there!"
Tightening my jaw as I dragged myself up the slope refusing to slow down.
I won't lose!
By the time I reached the top of the slope, my lungs burned and my legs trembled beneath me. Ahead, I caught sight of Reinhardt kneeling a short distance away, it seemed he studied the ground with deliberate focus.
"Sebastian, come here." his voice rolling with authority, leaving no room for hesitation.
Sweat dripped from my brown, falling onto the earth as I moved towards him. My gaze followed his down to the patch of earth he was studying. The soil there was disturbed and bits of moss clung to the edges, torn and scattered as though something had passed through.
Reinhardt brushed the moss aside with the back of his hand, revealing subtle footprints pressed into the soil.
"These marks here were left not long ago," he said. "Mountain deer pass through here often, drawn to the dark jewels that grow beneath these stones."
His broad hand lifted a nearby rock, exposing the tangled roots and the glimmer of small, black growths clinging to the earth.
Reinhardt extended his hand, fingers closing firmly around the dark growths and he tore them free from their roots. As he lifted them into the open air, the mushrooms glistened faintly.
"These are called Duskmor," Reinhardt said, his fingers turning the mushroom. "The mountain deer often dig for them."
"So… are we hunting deer?"
"No, little one. We're collecting these black jewels."
He shifted his weight, the leather straps of his pack creaking as he swung it forward. He rummaged inside until his hand emerged holding a clay jar and settling it down on the ground.
"Black jewelry?"
Reinhardt nodded while he opened the clay jar.
"Yes. Not only are these mushrooms considered a delicacy in our cuisine, they hold remarkable healing properties."
Then he lowered the small mushroom into the clay jar vanishing into the hollow space.
"How much of these mushrooms will we be collecting?"
Reinhardt's gaze met mine, then shifting down to the clay jar in his hands.
He then pressed the lid closed with a firm hand, sealing the good inside and placing the jar back inside his travelling bag.
"There are usually more to harvest, but the mountain deer eat most of them before we arrive, so we'll need to climb higher up the mountain-"
Crack Fwosh
Branches straining under a heavy weight and bushes thrashing could be heard in front of us.
Reinhardt's hand shot up, commanding me to stay still.
A rough huff rolled through the trees, followed by a deep and rasping growl that vibrated in my chest.
Gravel crunched under heavy steps as the air thickened with a stench so foul it turned my stomach upside down.
My pulse hammered as the creature revealed into the light, matted black fur bristling in jagged tufts, scars carved across its hide like old battle marks, shoulders rolling with raw muscle.
"Moutain Bear" Reinheardt briefly whispered "Do not move."
The creature's head snapped towards Reinhardt, its nostrils flaring as it caught his scent. A guttural snort burst from its throat, followed by its massive frame shifted towards us.
A chill spread across my body and cold sweat traced a path down my forehead, stinging my eyes as I fought to keep them open.
ROAAAAR
The bear charged forward with earth‑shaking force, the tremor rattled through my bones as I watched Reinhardt's stance unyielding.
The bear thundered closer, its charge slowing until it halted just few inches before Reinhardt. With a guttural snarl, the beast reared onto its hind legs, towering even higher Reinhardt's formidable frame.
Yet Reinhardt's gaze never wavered from the beast. He stood firm, his eyes locked in a penetrating stare that cut through the bear's fury.
The creature faltered as a frustrated huff escaped its throat, before lowering itself back onto four paws.
Then, with a final snort, the bear turned away. Its massive shape fading into the trees until the forest swallowed it whole.
My legs buckled beneath me, and I crashed onto the cold earth.
Reinhardt turned back toward the trail, the leather of his pack creaking as he adjusted it across his shoulders. "Alright, little one! That's enough rest. We keep moving upwards!"
-----
The wind picked up as we climbed, snow layering the stone beneath our feet. Each gust cut against my face as it's cold seep into my bones. The pain that had been unbearable earlier now dulled.
"Mh, this is a good place.'"
Reinhart stopped and placed his bag down, pulling out a shovel.
"Listen little one. The Darkmor grow everywhere very underneath our feet, so you won't have a hard time finding for them."
With a swift swing, Reinhardt brushed away the heavy snow clinging to the stone.
"All you need to do is crack the stone layer."
His grip shifted on the shovel.
BAAM!
I flinched as the shovel slammed down, shards of rock scattering. Reinheardt knelt, peering into the fissure.
"See? Around the roots." He plucked several black mushrooms, larger than the ones we'd gathered before.
"That simple? I could do it!" My chest swelled with anticipation, the thrill of discovery warming me against the cold.
"Hahaha, that's the spirit! Look for clusters of rocks, that's where Darkmor thrive."
"Why not plain surfaces? Isn't it easier?"
"Yes, but we must be efficient with our time." His gaze lifted skyward as he placed the shovel on his shoulder.
ROOOOOOOOOOOAR.
The sound tore through the air. My spine stiffened as the trembling overtook me.
"Red Dragons," Reinhardt muttered with a grin, tossing me the shovel. "You are quite familiar with them no? We're in their territory so shall we get digging?"
-----Narrator-----
Sebastian's arms shook as he tried in breaking the cold stone floor just like how Reinhardt demonstrate, but he had no strength like the giant, so he tried casting wind, ice, and even fire magic to make up the lack of physical strength yet the stone held firm or the mushrooms were blow apart.
So Sebastian gritted his teeth as he went back through the manual and brute means.
Hours dragged by, each one grinding Sebastian down. Sweat carved lines across his snowed-streaked face as he sealed the fourth jar as his hands trembled and his arms ached.
He turned and watched Reinhardt looming like a machine of war, his pickaxe striking with unyielding rhythm. Jar after jar clinked as he packed them away, counting up to 25 jars overflow of mushrooms.
Sebastian's shoulders sagged under the weight of defeat as they began their descent back to the village.
-----
After arriving at the village, Reinhardt beckoned Sebastian to follow him to a cabin at the edge of the village. As they entered the odd cabin, the air became thick with the scent of soil and medicine and unlike the simple stone home that Reinhardt resides, this place was larger as its walls lined with tables and shelves with multiple shapes and sizes of glass jars, dried herbs, and bundles of roots filling the space.
Inside, an elderly woman was seated at the end of the table, grinding black mushrooms into powder. Beside her sat a small girl with green eyes and light orange hair mixing some liquids with a wooden stick in a pot; however, she stopped working as she leapt from her seat and sprinted forward towards Reinhart.
"Daddy!" she cried, throwing herself into his arms.
Reinhardt lifted her easily, pressing her close against his chest. "Did you miss me, little sparrow?"
The old woman looked up, smiling. "Reinhardt, you're back. Did you have a good haul today?"
"Aye," he replied, pride in his voice.
"Good! Please place them here, I'll process them."
Reinhardt gestured for Sebastian to set down his haul over the table. The boy obeyed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as his placed his haul next to the war machine.
The old woman approached as she took his hands gently. "Thank you, young man, for helping Reinhardt."
Sebastian flushed, mumbling, "No problem…"
As she sorted through the mushrooms, Sebastian asked, "What are these for?"
The woman's eyes softened. "With these mushrooms, we make potent medicine."
Reinhardt stood with his daughter nestled against his chest, smiling faintly as the old woman explained to Sebastian how the village's economy depended on this work.
The weight of the day showed in Sebastian's face, so Reinhardt sent the boy and his daughter off to rest. After tucking them in, he made his way back to the botanist's lab, where the lights still glowed inside.
Reinhardt knocked and stepped through the door.
"Reinhardt, did you send the kids to sleep?"
Eir sat in the far chair, gently spinning a small flask in her hand.
"Yes, ma'am. How was Alice today? Did she give you any trouble?"
"Oh, she's a sweetheart! And so clever! I almost wonder if she's really only five. Today she helped me catch up on tasks I'd been putting off for days."
Reinhardt noticed the dark circles under Eir's eyes. His gaze dropped, shoulders slumping.
"Is my request… pushing you too hard?"
Eir stopped, looked at him, then rose from her chair. She took his enormous, calloused hands in hers.
"That girl is important to me too. To the village. We'll share your burden together."
"…"
Eir searched his eyes.
"Her condition has stabilized."
Reinhardt shifted slightly.
"The darkmor you've been harvesting these past 2 years has slowed her illness. She can walk and breathe now without pain."
Reinhardt bit his lip.
"Thank you… Eir…"
She smiled warmly.
"Alice's been talking all day about how you'll take her on an adventure tomorrow. Make sure you do, Reinhardt."
"But she—"
"Uh-uh! That girl has lived under these stone roofs her whole life. If the illness doesn't kill her, the confinement might."
Reinhardt stiffened.
"If I hear from Alice that you didn't take her out, I'll tell Marcus to confiscate your ale."
Reinhardt's eyes widened in horror.
"Not the ale!"