By the time vestiges of the afternoon sun were glaring down over him as best they could through the perpetual Veil covering the sky, Nikolas had reached the end of the cobbled road leading north from Junnhaven. He left the stone road and took to the dirt trail leading into the forest, using the well-trodden pathway as his first scene to investigate.

  “Sending a copper into the forest…” Sera spoke up, peeking out of his backpack before slowly emerging to float alongside him as he followed the winding trail. “What are you expecting?” she asked him, reaching out to touch a dew drop right as it slid off a leaf next to her. It stayed balanced on the tip of her wooden finger for a while before sliding away within the blink of an eye.

  Nikolas shrugged in response. “I haven’t thought about it much. This is just a way to stay busy,” he said, his head constantly on a swivel to spot anything out of place around them. The midday hours were active with the frequent chirps of birds passing by overhead and small critters foraging in the lower levels, with insects rustling the leaves all in between. “I doubt she stayed on the main path. Someone would have found her yesterday if that were the case,” he continued with his analysis.

  “You wouldn’t be so free if you spent time honing your magic…” Sera commented with a hint of disdain, glaring at Nikolas. “It’s bound to hurt you at some point now.”

  Nikolas paused, breathing out a sigh before speaking. “You know how I feel about using… them.” Although the mask obscured his expression, it wasn’t tough to read his stubborn defiance against her encouragement.

  “Fine. It’s not worth forcing you to learn anyway,” Sera replied, rolling her eyes and levitating a few meters higher to get a better vantage point. “You’ll use it when you need to, and I’m sure that time isn’t too far away.”

  “Isn’t it better if I can handle everything thrown at me without relying on magic?” Nikolas reasoned, raising one side of his cloak to quickly glance over everything he had prepared. There were multiple rows of vials tucked away inside a bandolier, each of which shined with a different hue. Glowing particles lagged behind them in a rapidly fading trail as he moved ahead. “Besides, if the situation needs me to use magic, then everything’s gone to shit anyway.”

  “You’ll learn, someday,” Sera ignored the boy’s logic, shaking her head in a worried manner. “I can sense an odd mana signature a few hundred feet away to our right.” She announced, before floating down to his shoulder and pointing towards her finding.

  “Suppose that’s her then,” Nikolas replied, waiting for Sera to seat herself before veering off the trail and walking through the shrubbery which marked the edge of the trail. Once he was on the other side, he picked up pace and broke into an agile jog, making his own way through the forest.

  “She’s lower than us – there’s a drop off in front,” Sera warned Nikolas as he ran right at the location of the mana signature. He took in a sharp breath of air as he jumped, digging his fingers into the tree trunk next to him to help him turn and slow down his fall. Looking down, he seemed to be approaching the bottom of a small ravine.

  Nikolas landed on his feet, kicking up a small pile of dead leaves and cracking a broken branch as he did. Somehow, Sera had been able to maintain her spot on his shoulder without once falling off and now stood up, spotting something.

  In front of them, under the shadow of the ravine and covered by its trees, there was a pale, red-haired girl laying there, passed out. Her clothes were muddied and torn in some places, and there was a deep wound above her right ankle, which had bled all around her during the involuntary slumber. Her expression looked pained, with dried tears lining her cheeks.

  “Well, that explains why she didn’t return,” Nikolas commented, rushing to her side and taking off his backpack, examining her injuries. “There’s a trail of blood leading all the way here - she probably got attacked by something and crawled here to find safety.” He spoke out loud but to no one in particular, simply voicing his thoughts.

  “Can your potions help her?” Sera asked, floating behind the girl and lifting her head up slightly. “We need to wake her up as quickly as possible so that she can drink something.”

  Nikolas shook his head. “I don’t have any healing items for humans, but there’s water,” he said, pulling out a water canteen and handing it to Sera. He shifted closer to her leg and lifted it up, inspecting the wound. It looked like she had been bitten by something and that it had taken off a chunk of her flesh, nearly exposing her bone. The wound also went all the way around her leg. “Looks like a wolf bite, or worse.”

  “She might choke if I try to make her drink right now.” Sera mumbled as she rested the canteen on the ground next to her. Instead, she tried pulling the girl into an upright posture against the earthen wall behind her. Once she was steady, Sera pressed her wooden fingers on the girl’s neck, trying to find a pulse.

  Nikolas rummaged through his bag again before pulling out one of his spare shirts and folding it to match the wound’s length. Wrapping the purple attire around her leg, he tied the shirt tightly to close the wound from outside exposure. “It’s probably infected too. I could clean that… but we should get her back to the guild.”

  The redhead remained unconscious while Sera monitored her, but a sting of pain from her exposed flesh being touched woke her up suddenly. “OW-!” she cried out, freezing for a second as she saw Nikolas right in front of her and Sera above her head. It was quite the terrifying sight for the girl to open her eyes to, a disjointed wooden head and a clandestine, masked fox both looming over her. “OH Cerdiwen-!” She screamed, her pitch disturbing the relative peace of the forest.

  “Hey, calm down,” Nikolas stood up and backed a few steps away from her.

  “We’re trying to help you, dear,” Sera explained, floating away to stand a few feet away from the girl to give her some space.

  “Who- who are you!?” the redhead demanded in a scared tone. She tried to crawl sideways along the ravine wall to put more space between them but a fresh pang of pain ran through her leg, forcing her to stop. She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath as she summoned the strength to move again.

  “... I’m Nikolas. The guild sent me to look for you,” he spoke after taking a pause to decide that it would make it easier if they introduced themselves. “And this is Seraphim. She’s my friend. We found you lying here and wanted to help you.”

  The girl stared at both of them for many seconds before paying attention to her leg and seeing a cloth in the same color as Nikolas’s shirt wrapped around it. “That… did you just do that?” she asked, pointing to the cloth.

  Nikolas nodded, slowly reaching for his backpack so as to not alarm her. “You had a really bad gash on your leg, so I wrapped it up. I don’t have any first aid supplies on me, but we can get you help once you’re back at the guild.”

  “O-okay,” the girl whimpered. Her expression betrayed frustration with everything as she sat there, glaring at her damaged clothes and the other scratches she could feel on her body.

  Sera floated closer to the girl, picking up the water bottle and bringing it closer to her. “May I know your name, darling?” she asked as she offered the bottle to her.

  The girl accepted the bottle with a nod, drinking a few refreshing gulps and recovering her composure before replying. “I’m Clarisse… Thanks for helping me.”

  “It’s not a big deal, Clarisse,” Sera reassured her. “I’m happy that we were able to find you before things got worse.”

  Nikolas simply nodded, pulling another one of his shirts from the backpack and offering it to Clarisse. “At least until we get back to the guild. Your outfit isn’t in the best condition right now.”

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  “Oh… Alright.” Clarisse accepted his shirt, staring at its plain purple color before slipping it over her attire. She had to pull her long hair out of the opening for the head and some of it was stuck under her, making it an awkward moment until it finally came through. She tried to stand up, but the pain in her right leg made it unbearable. She was certain that a fall was inevitable before something supported her.

  In an instant, Nikolas had spotted her about to fall and grabbed her arm, keeping her from keeling over as Sera pushed her up from behind until she was upright again. “Did you think you could walk already?” Nikolas barked, the intonation in his voice indicating skepticism. “You’ve lost a lot of blood, so take it easy.”

  Clarisse looked down and saw that her right leg was shaking, unable to stand even with support from both of them. With a heavy heart, she shook her head. “I don’t know how else I’m going to get back.”

  Nikolas waited for her reply, but he had already decided what to do about their predicament. “Hop on,” he said, turning around and taking a knee so that the back of his cloak was facing her and his arms were positioned to support her legs.

  “Wait- really?” Clarisse asked, feeling embarrassed by his proposition. She looked at Sera with a queasy face, unsure of what to expect from her yet expecting something.

  “Do you want me to carry you then?” Sera asked, though there was a touch of sarcasm mixed in with the genuine kindness in her offer. “I can hold you by your collar cuff.”

  “Oh… sorry, I don’t want to be a bother to you like this.” Clarisse said as she slowly got onto Nikolas’s back and held onto his shoulders for support.

  Nikolas stood up, seemingly carrying her without much effort. “It’s okay. The more we think about it, the more awkward it becomes for both of us.” He consoled Clarisse, making sure to support her legs properly before looking over at the backpack on the ground.

  “I’ll take the backpack then.” Sera volunteered, easily picking up the bag in her hands and floating alongside both of them. “Let’s head back to the city.”

  “So, what happened to you?” asked Nikolas, glancing back at Clarisse. She had found his shoulder to be a satisfactory resting spot for her head and put her hands around his neck to support herself as they walked back towards the city. “When we found you, you were just laying there, unconscious.”

  “Uhm - I was on a quest to get snow rabbit hides,” Clarisse replied, wincing as her leg shifted when Nikolas walked. “I thought it would be pretty easy, but I got attacked by a pack of… somethings.”

  Sera floated next to them, rising up slightly to get to Clarisse’s level. “Can you describe what they looked like? There shouldn’t be much else in the forest besides the usual animals.”

  “I don’t know what they were - they were small like dogs but with no fur…” Clarisse felt a shiver run up her spine as she recalled the attack. “They had spikes on their back and made a weird screeching noise before they attacked me. I- I didn’t even see them coming before they surrounded me…”

  “Strange. Doesn’t sound like anything endemic to the area around Junnhaven.” Nikolas stated, thinking about what might have attacked her. “Do you have anything like them where you’re from, Sera?” he asked her.

  Sera shook her head. “I’m not sure. There are a lot of different species there, and many of them don’t match with their counterparts in the overworld. Maybe it was a warg? But those have fur…”

  “What do you mean, overworld?” Clarisse asked. “Where are you from?” she continued, curious about what Seraphim just said.

  “Ahaha, that’s just what we call the- ” Sera began, but she was interrupted by Nikolas.

  “It’s nothing. She likes to pretend that she’s from a far away land sometimes,” Nikolas covered up for Sera’s slip, subtly readjusting his hands over Clarisse’s leg and causing her to let out a painful hiss. “Anyway, what happened after that? Rika was worried that you didn’t come back.”

  Clarisse furrowed her brow at Nikolas, but decided to not protest. She had a feeling he had timed that on purpose. “I was afraid to use my magic at first, but after I did, those things ran away. I couldn’t walk so I found a safe spot and tried to weather the night… that’s all I remember.”

  “Let me guess – something related to fire?” Nikolas spoke with a disinterested tone, and although the mask hid his expression it was easy to tell from his tone that he wasn’t trying to put much thought into it. “It’s just a shot in the dark, but who knows.”

  Clarisse fumed, but she couldn’t really do much besides bonk Nikolas’s shoulders for fear of falling off. “Was it the hair which gave it away? Or that I didn’t want to use it in a forest…” she played along with his joke for a moment before changing her tune. “The hair runs in the family. The magic, not so much. Just me and my dad. Svaha must’ve taken a liking to us, haha.”

  “So what is it exactly? I’ve seen many versions of pyromancy over the years.” Sera spoke up, intrigued by her seemingly generic ability. “Each form is just a little bit more different than the last despite how common it might seem.”

  “I think - well I don’t know it very well but I think I can make fire anywhere on my body.” Clarisse responded, raising up one of her palms only to decide not to try and cast any magic. Her reluctance came from the feeling that there was no way she had enough mana to show it off right now. “Sorry, maybe once I get better I can show you.” Unconsciously, she began fiddling with a lock of her hair.

  “It’s alright, we’re almost there anyway.” Nikolas interjected. They were well within the city walls by now, and en route to the guild hall. People on the streets made way for them as they approached out of common etiquette, although not paying them any mind. There was business afoot, and still much profit to be made before evening set in.

  Clarisse had been absorbed in their conversation long enough to not notice how many people they were surrounded by. She buried her face in Nikolas’s back with a muffled groan as soon as she noticed the kind of stares they were getting.

  “Relaaax.” sighed Nikolas, picking up the pace as they got closer to the guild hall. “It’s pretty common for adventurers to help other adventurers, and injuries are part of the job.” He glanced back to reassure her.

  “Speaking of, how long have you been adventuring for?” Sera pitched in with a question she had been meaning to ask her since the beginning of their conversation.

  “Umm… this was my first quest.” Clarisse replied, her voice wavering slightly as she spoke. “I-I only moved here a month ago and joined the guild a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I could take this job.” She sounded defeated, knowing that her first ever quest had not only turned into a resounding failure, but she also had to accept help from someone else to get back. “I wanted to do something on my own before joining a party…”

  “Poor thing-” Sera spoke under her breath, pitying the young girl. “You don’t even look old enough to have some experience under your belt.”

  “That’s not out of the ordinary,” Nikolas shrugged his shoulders. “A lot of adventurers start out that way. You should try to get a party first to get some experience before trying out solo quests.” He advised her.

  “Maybe I will…” replied Clarisse, not feeling much better at receiving sympathy from both of them. “You look like you’ve been doing this for a while though. Do you have any other tips for me?”

  “Off the tips of my fingers, plenty.” Nikolas said, taking a turn which led them back to city square. The guild hall was just across the street now. “But they’re better saved for another day. Focus on recovering first, and maybe finding a party.”

  “Alright…” Clarisse said, feeling nervous about returning to the guild in this manner. “Thanks again for helping me, Nikolas and Sera…phim.” There was something vaguely familiar about that name, but she wasn’t able to pin it down at the moment.

  “I’m sure you’ll be able to find good teammates and get some experience soon.” Sera smiled as she tagged behind them, letting Nikolas lead the way through the arch into the guild hall.

  As soon as they entered the main hall through the front door, Rika looked up from her desk. At first she was excited, hoping that it was someone from the post office bringing them a new batch of quests, but then she became alarmed as soon as she realized that Clarisse was injured. “Kid, are you okay? Do you need a cleric?” she asked, running up to them from her desk.

  “Yes ma’am, that would be great. Thank you.” Clarisse said, feigning a smile on her face as Nikolas walked by the other adventurers who were still waiting for the next quest. She could hear their hushed voices as they passed by and assumed the worst of it in her anxiousness.

  “Third door to the right. I’ll call him over right now.” Rika said to Nikolas right before rushing off to the backside of the building to fetch one of the guild clerics.

  Nikolas followed her directions, finding a door ajar which opened into a neat room with a bed on the far end and a first aid cabinet next to a desk near the door, with a couple of chairs for the clerics and patients to sit on in between. He lowered Clarisse onto the bed before heading back to the door, accepting his backpack from Sera. “Take care, Clarisse.” He said, waiting for Rika to return.

  “Wait- what about your shirt?” Clarisse asked, not wanting both of them to leave so quickly. “When should I give it back to you?”

  “I’m fairly certain we’ll see each other around if you plan on questing again. It’s not a big deal,” Nikolas said, moving aside as Rika and the guild cleric came around. “See you around.” He gave her one last glance before leaving.

  “Bye-!” Clarisse called out right as Rika left the room, shutting the door behind her and leaving the cleric to begin tending to her wounds.

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