"What do you see?" the young lad screamed from the bottom of a tree, The lass that met me at my awakening clung to the branch, staring beyond the horizon to see what she could find, but alas, it was nothing but greenery and forgotten civilization for miles.

"Nothing noteworthy." She mutters a sigh, escaping her lips, as she looks for a way back down.

"Should we just wander and hope we find a town then?" The boy suggested, worry laced within his words.

I walked up to the two of them.

"It seems like someone's awake." The girl commented, sliding down to meet me, her sword drawn.

"Why did you join this test, elf!" She walked closer to me, nothing but anger laced in her eyes. The young lad came between us, his hand stretched out to block her path.

"H-hey, he's our teammate; we shouldn't be fighting him."

Upon closer inspection, the two of them seemed to be humans, their gazes set to me, one carried fear, but the other carried nothing but hatred.

"S-so, why did you join this guild?" The boy muttered.

I took a while, trying to process everything that was unfolding before me, reaching into my backpack, the two of them watching me intently.

"I'm here-" I stated, and my sentence paused until I had the feather firmly in my grasp, the sun shining through its golden strands, illuminating the floor with a faint golden hue.

"To get a license and find the fallen phoenix." I declared.

"All this just to find a mythical creature? Did you not hear the burden you must carry? you'll practically be a slave." The girl pointed out.

"The four continent's doors don't just open for anyone," I stated, my bag resting on my back once more.

"They only open their doors for Guild members, guards, and wanderers, and you of all people should know that as a wanderer, there are places you can't go."

"What made you think we were wanderers?" The girl inquired, her hand gripping her blade.

"There's no humans on the southern continent—well, none with magic like the two of you."

The boy slowly lowered his hand when the rouge had calmed, a soft sigh escaping her lips.

"Although, what could be so great that you two join the test? You know the risks as well."

"We-" The mage tried to speak but was interrupted by the rouge, her hand blocking his mouth, telling him to stop.

"We have no need to speak to you about our ambitions, just stay quiet and follow us." She turned to the mage, nodding at him, and he nodded back, going behind me, his staff to my back as the rouge led the way.

The journey from then on was a quiet one, feet crushing twigs and dry grass that stood in our path, quiet and rushed breathing, the staff that pressed itself against my back moving ever so slightly, the hands of the wielder trembling at my presence.

The whole experience seemed confusing to me. Why were they acting this way towards me? Did I piss them off somehow? Maybe it's because of my quest... No, that's not it. They have been weary of me since the beginning. Though they didn't kill me as I remained passed out, I wonder why that is.

"Hey," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper.

"What is it, Elf?" The boy spoke up, his voice shaking.

"Thanks for not killing me while I was unconscious," I murmured.

"We couldn't kill you, doing that would shoot ourselves in the foot later." The boy pointed it out.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"But if we must, we will." His words rested on nothing but empty threats, my ears perked up to something that was hiding amongst us.

"Hold on..." I stopped in my tracks, the mage stepping back slightly, and the staff still pressed against me.

"What are you doing!? Move!" he demanded, his voice still trembling with fear.

"Shut up for a second!" I snapped. The rouge turned back and was about to draw her blade, but she stopped when I stretched my arm out to her.

Silence befell our group, the sound of rustling shook the greenery that surrounds us, a shadowy presence crawling across the trees in the distance and the crumbled architecture.

"You hear that?" I inquired, my voice breathy and shook.

The rouge gritted her teeth and walked up to me, grabbing me by the collar.

"What games are you getting at?!" She yelled.

"I don't hear a thing! Are you even taking this test seriously?!"

Quickly, I grabbed her hand and pulled it off of me, pushing her to the ground. As her body collided with the blend of dirt and concrete, her eyes loomed over a snake-like figure that missed her by an inch, its jaws lined with rows upon rows of teeth and bloodshot yellow eyes.

Its body squirmed past the path where she stood, her hands trembling against the dirt that held her.

"Do you believe me now!? Or do you still think I'm deceiving you?!" I shouted as the creature dragged its huge body between us.

The rouge didn't say a word, her mouth fell agape in shock, and the boy by me was quivering in fear, his staff clutched to his chest.

"Honestly..." I muttered, my teeth gritting in frustration.

"On your feet! Or do you want to die pressed against your grave!" My ears perked to the same sound as before, the snake-like creature dashing out towards me.

As if in an instant, I drew my sword, the blade colliding with the beast's massive fangs as it shot me upwards, trying to devour me.

My hand pressed against the blade to keep me from falling, my own weapon cutting my arm, crimson dripping into the mouth of the beast, giving it a taste for my blood.

Its actions grew more and more desperate, my grip tightened around the hilt of my sword, the other pressed against the blade, desperate not to fall into its bottomless pit.

"Are we going to help him or-" The mage pondered, his gaze focused on me as I shot up to the sky with the serpent beast.

"This is such a pain-" She muttered, getting up from the ground and drawing her blade once more. Running up towards the beast.

The mage saw her movements and was a bit overwhelmed by all that was happening so suddenly. Soon, he gathered his bearings and followed. The two of them came to my rescue.

'I can't hold on much longer.' I thought to myself, the sting on my hand already growing numb, the creature was about to win, and my journey would be over before it even began.

"Elf!" I heard a voice shout towards me, my eyes panned down below to see a water ball hit the creature in the face, turning it off course, and my body was about to fall and plummet to the ground.

The rouge ran up the back of the beast before it fully collided with the earth, her shoes dug into it with each step up, using her dagger to grip onto it every time she slipped. When she finally got up to the head, she couldn't quite reach me, her body disappearing within a mist before finally appearing by my side.

"Huh? How did you-" My question was put to the side as she wrapped her arms around me, setting a dagger in her mouth as we fell, the creature's blood still fresh on the cold blade.

"Hold on tight!" She shouted, her voice muffled from the blade.

A stream of ice flew up to us, custom-made for our fall.

As we slid down the massive slide, the creature came back for seconds, breaking the slide as it shot for us.

The rouge pulled me down, my back embracing the icy slide, or at least what remained of it, the creature's stomach exposed to us, Taking this opportunity, the two of us rammed our blades deep within, the cut swallow due to its skin but still effective.

The slide came to an abrupt end, shooting us to the bushes with a loud thud. The mage ran over to us to see if we were alright.

"Are you two still alive?" He asked.

"I'm fine," I reassured.

"Me too."

The roar of the creature shook the earth once more, cutting our reunion short for the time being.

"We need to get out of here." The rouge announced, running up ahead to get out of harm's way, both me and the mage nodding at her claim as we followed her from behind.