"Damn... I guess my age is catching up to me."

Everyone stared at Stefan as Semilia angrily applied the strange paste to his wounds and his joints.

"Shut it! You should be thankin' Lea right now for healin' you! Fucking hell... This is the second time I had to fucking waste my herbs on your ass!"

"Gah?! That hurts!"

Semilia's slender fingers moved quickly to wrap up the bandages around Stefan's arm.

He stared at the Swordsman as he winced in slight pain. Others around him cast glances as Semilia scolded him like an angry mother who found her child playing in the fetid swamps near their tribe's territory. He chuckled a bit to himself. His yellow eyes looked around the small room in the rundown inn that they were currently in. The thin walls hid no conversation and he could hear a familiar group of people fighting to their right. A heavy sigh left his lips as his hands reached for his mug of tea mixed with milk and honey.

"Strange..."

The Goblin muttered softly as he watched Miu eat the biscuit he left on the floor beside him.

"Is there something wrong, Gob- Err, Sirius?"

Riel asked him with a concerned tone.

"No. Just thinking why Friend Semilia not use Meliscula Plant for paste."

"Melisc- Ah, that strange weed. I'd use it if I could, but it only grows near streams in forests."

Semilia said as she splattered the last of the paste on Stefan's chest.

He tilted his head at her as the scent of wild herbs and plants tickled his nose. Semilia sat down and wiped off the green paste from her hands with the wet cloth she used to clean Stefan's wounds. Her slender fingers moved and danced gracefully. Her azure orbs were glued to the cloth stained with crimson as the smell of blood and herbs intermingled in the warm water. For a second, he glimpsed the calloused fingertips of an Archer. He looked away instinctively and turned his attention towards Stefan instead.

The Swordsman stared out of the window as his hand moved to scratch his shoulder on its own. His eyes scanned the city's destroyed buildings, his expression as flat as the flatbread in Riel's hands. He was deep in thought. What went through the Swordsman's mind, he did not know nor did he thought about it too much. The question that kept his mind running was all about the Swordsman's injuries. Specifically, his lack of any grave or even fatal ones after having endured so much abuse at the hands and attacks of the Demon known as Ilfris.

"... This isn't how I pictured our little trip will turn out."

Stefan sighed as he glanced at the bandages wrapped around his hand.

"I wonder if we should continue east. At this rate, we might not make it to Windport by the time the stormy season rolls around."

"The question is if we could get out of Arenhein before it starts snowing."

Riel said as she took a bite out of the Elven flatbread. Stefan and Semilia nodded in unison.

"I doubt Arenhein would be nice to stay in during the winter after all the shit it went through."

The three let out a heavy sigh while he stared at them in confusion.

"Oh right! Sirius—weird name by the way—you have any plans now that you're technically an adventurer?"

Semilia's sudden question caught him off guard. He glanced at Riel, whose emerald eyes simply glanced at him while her delicate fingers stuffed the last bite of the flatbread into her tiny mouth.

"Err... Do not know where to go. West is too dangerous and east..."

He shuddered at the mention of his homeland.

"Nothing for me east. North and south the only place left for me to go."

"Hmm... To the frigid North or south to the jungle. A Goblin could easily survive in both places, but it won't be a comfortable life."

"And I fucking doubt there are any cities or towns that would gladly take in a disguised Goblin."

Semilia and Stefan stared at him pitifully while he silently pondered on which of the two should he travel to.

A chill wind blew past the open window and sent a chill down his back. Going through the mountain paths to the north is death. Death either through freezing to death or the many monsters and wild beasts migrating south. Heading south will mean that he'll have to live in the jungle where he'll be hunted by adventurers. Hard. It was a hard choice that he hoped never to make.

"He could... join... us."

His ears twitched at the murmur from behind him.

"The three of us are heading east to Windport to catch a ship that would ferry us west along the coast. Do you want to tag along with us?"

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Riel smiled at him, a foam of milk over her top lip.

"We already have a Mage in our party though... And we'd be stopping a few times along the way as well. Can he handle that?"

"The thing lived in a fucking dungeon for Gods' sake. If he wants to come with us, he'd probably be able to handle it than most adventurers. Although I doubt he'd find travel towards Windport easy."

He glared at Semilia's words. "Thing". He scoffed and shrugged his shoulders at the pointy-eared girl.

"Can't stay in east. I am exile from my tribe. Will kill if they find me... Maybe I could join party until I find a new place to live in."

Just as he said those words, Stefan pointed at the small bag near the foot of his bed.

"Left my bags and maps at the other inn. No, I think the Guildmaster already arranged for someone to fetch them. Sem, can you grab the ones in my bag?"

"Just a sec... Here, catch!"

"Hey! Don't-"

A rolled-up parchment flew towards Stefan, who managed to catch it just before it went out of the open window.

"Sorry."

Stefan growled as he unfurled the map in his hands.

"Be careful next time... Anyway, we could leave in three days and go south to Lakneor to catch a caravan heading east towards Leroun. From there, it would be a week's travel to Windport where we could catch a ship heading west."

"Leroun..."

Riel murmured behind him as she glanced at Stefan's map.

"It's strange, isn't it? The thought that four years has passed since we first met in Avharton. A simple Dire Wolf extermination quest brought the three of us across the continent and through thick and thin."

Riel said softly with a smile on her face while Semilia and Stefan let out sighs.

"Our first quest, huh? I remember Sem here chasing after us for "stealing" her quest."

"Fuck off. The two of ya' would've taken a week to kill all those Dire Wolves if not for me. In fact, Riel here wanted to burn the entire fuckin' forest to smoke out those wolves."

Riel glared at Semilia while the Low-Elf let out a snort and a chuckle. He tilted his head at the three of them.

It was nice. It was a sight he always wanted to experience for himself. He watched silently as the three of them laughed and relieved fond memories while he sat just beside them with bread and tea in hand. He had no fond memories he could share. No memory the four of them could laugh over. No shared experiences except for the time they spent with one another down in the depths of the dungeon. So he sat in silence instead. A piece of tea-soaked bread in his mouth as he listened to the three adventurers' laughter.

"Goblin! You're from the east, right? From where exactly?"

Stefan smiled as he laid down his map on the bed. The Goblin blinked at him a few times while he pulled himself off of the floor.

"Err... I..."

The Goblin stared at the map. His yellow eyes moved to the top of the parchment, at the large forest that lay near the foot of Aren's eastern side.

"Here. Oekan Tribe lived here, in forest called Gir Oald."

"The forest of Meric. Lethuanian lands, huh? You know your way around Lethuan, Sirius?"

Lethuan? Meric? These were names he never heard before, yet Stefan bombarded him with questions about it.

"No. Did not travel much. I know many things about this part of forest and the hills and passages around the mountain, but not a lot about land outside forest and tribe."

"Not much of traveller then, are ya'?"

Semilia's shoulder pressed against his as she looked at the spot on the map where he pointed at with his fingers.

"Seems that you two have something in common. Your village was in a forest as well, right?"

"D-Did you really just compared Low-Elves with Goblins?!"

The three of them laughed while Semilia angrily glared and pouted her cheeks.

"I can't believe this... That's pretty fucking speciest of you! Low-Elves aren't like Goblins who make their dirty fucking dens in dark, damp forests! No offense, by the way."

"It's okay. But tribe didn't live in den, and forest wasn't damp or dark."

The Goblin forced a smile as he looked at the borders of the forest.

"Isn't here..."

He muttered softly at the absence of the name he expected he would find there.

"Is there something wrong, Sirius?"

Stefan asked as he glanced at where he was staring at.

"Nothing... Nothing wrong... Oekan, Kakir, Kerike, Lokat, Takirl... Those are tribes in this region. Most dangerous is Takirl. Goblins who ride Dire Wolves in hills here while the Lokat are good Shamans. Kerike and Kakir are big tribes that raid villages, and Oekan..."

"Let me guess, it's the weakest?"

He shook his head at Semilia as he stared at the forest he once called home.

"Strongest. Other tribes submit to Chief of Oekan. Many Hobs live in Oekan tribe and they are best in war and killing. But been years since last war..."

The Goblin sighed as he shook his head.

"But Goblins are very weak. Many things in forest scare Goblins, and they are scared of Humans and Dwarves. Also, many adventurers come to kill Goblins and take ears."

He glanced at the three who stared at him. He flashed them a toothy smile as he sat back down on the floor.

"But I do not really care. It is part of how world works... I guess. Oh! Riel from east as well, right? From where?"

He shifted the topic quickly since the uncomfortable stares of Stefan and Semilia slightly worried him. The Mage blinked at him as she glanced at the map.

"My village isn't on the map as well, but I lived here in Leroun. I used to live there... Err, why don't we talk more about our trip? That's a good way to take our minds off things, right?"

Riel shifted in her seat as she nervously glanced out of the window. Yup, still destroyed.

"Hmm, there's not much to talk about anyway. And I can't do much with all these injuries, you know?"

"You've been through way worse. Remember that time an Ironhide Boar managed to get the jump on ya'? Shit, that was pretty fucking grizzly having to fix ya' up."

Semilia shuddered at the thought of an unpleasant memory.

"Ahaha! Sorry about that. Anyway, I doubt we'd be facing anything on the road on the way to Windport. Besides, Sirius here is... Sirius and Riel is here to take care of any strong enemies."

The Goblin simply nodded along with Stefan's words.

Swept up again by these three again. He said to himself as he looked at how the three of them smiled at one another. Sure, Stefan's lips is slightly purple but he was still able to pull off a nice smile by the looks of it. Still, he wondered why he was going along with it all. The most logical thing for him to do right now is to slip away and head south instead of going with them east. He sipped on his now cold tea while Semilia and Riel talked about what things to buy in the next few days.

Footsteps. His ears twitched at the sound of rapid footsteps as they climbed the set of stairs that led to the second floor of the inn. The footsteps approached rapidly. He thought the person would pass by their room at the speed they were running. The footsteps came to an abrupt end. Heels screeched just outside their door and loud pants and wheezing could be heard outside as the person behind the door steadied themselves. The four of them watched carefully as the door swung open and slammed against the wall with a loud thud.

"I-Is Sir Stefan here?!"

A familiar young boy held up two letters, both with different seals as he panted heavily.

"Orien? What're-"

"The Guildmaster and the Head of the Library wants a meeting with you, Sir Stefan."

The young boy rushed towards him, his arm outstretched and a frantic look in his eyes.

"It's about your treasure, sir... The one the Goblin gave you. It seems there's something wrong with it."

Everyone's eyes turned towards him as his hands instinctively moved towards his Bags of Holding and cussed softly.

"Mi'karil ikn Il karthin."