I roused myself out of meditation and the first thing I saw was the mana essence sitting in my hands. Once again I inspected it but I saw no changes in the density of mana. My gaze turned to the window to see the sun making its way up. Looking like it was early enough, I got out of bed stretching before grabbing my blade and heading out the door.

Once outside I began making my way to the guild right away. While I was walking, I started thinking about the mana essence and if I was doing something wrong or that's how it normally was. The guild was in sight when I decided to put it aside until I met someone who knows more.

When I was inside the guild, I saw Ilise standing in the spot she normally was and began walking towards her. “Good Morning Crim! Are you ready to start your quest?” She asked with a smile.

I nod to her “Will the carriage be ready right away?”.

“Yes! Most of it is already set up, I just need to report to the Branch Master and then he will set up the driver for you too!” She answered with.

Happy with the answer, I then proceeded to ask “How long until I should come back?”.

Ilise pondered for a moment “Hmm… I would say in a couple of hours, if not the latest will be at noon.”.

After hearing what she told me, I then let her know I’d be back around noon before I took my leave. Once I confirmed how long until I should be back, I wanted to make it to the inn before those two left.

When I was just about back to the inn, I saw the carriage upfront with Chelsey sorting out stuff inside. I called out to her once I was near and when she saw me, she greeted me with a smile as she put aside what she was doing before exiting out the back.

“Were you just coming back from the guild?” She asked. I nodded to her and then she followed up with “How will things be for you?”.

“They told me to come back around noon at latest. They just need some time to finish packing up their carriage that I will be using.” I answered her.

“I see.” Chelsey said before placing a finger upon her lip “Will you be okay? I know you can fight but do you know how to drive a carriage?”.

“That’ll be fine, surprisingly they are also setting up a driver for me too.” I let her know.

“Oh that’s good to hear, they shouldn’t be a bad person if they are employed by the guild, right?” Chelsey voiced out.

I nodded to her before changing the topic “What about you guys, it seems like you guys are ready to leave.”.

Before Chelsey spoke, I saw Vaero come out of the inn carrying a crate towards the carriage. “That should be the last thing we needed to pack, other than that it's like you say, we are ready to leave now.”. She then looked towards the carriage with a bittersweet smile “Thanks again for the carriage, I might not be able to now but in the future, I’ll make sure to repay you for saving my life technically three times now.”.

I was curious about how she would be able to repay me. “I look forward to when we meet again then.” I then told her. After I finished speaking, Vaero jumped out of the back of the carriage and came up to us.

“We’re all ready to go now, Chelsey.” he told her while she was still gazing at the carriage.

“Okay.” She said as she turned her eyes towards me. “I guess this will be goodbye for now, Crim. I hope the next time we meet, it won’t be us in danger again.” She says, letting out a soft giggle. She then came to me and gave me a hug “Once again, Crim. Thank you for saving Vaero and I. I’ll definitely become a merchant that no matter where you are, you’ll hear about my name.” She told me as she let go, still holding a bittersweet smile.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

After I heard her words, I then turned to Vaero who looked like he had something to say as well “I may not fully trust you but it’s very close to it. I also can’t downplay you saving me on multiple occasions.”. He then reaches his hand out towards me “Next time we meet, I’ll be a worthy sparring partner.”. I grabbed his hand and he started shaking it, I felt his determination by the grip he had on my hand before he let go.

“You two have helped me out a lot as well so I hope I can see you two aga-” As I talked, the two figures in front of me turned into silhouettes that caused me to feel a sharp pain in my chest. It didn’t last long before I came to my senses and saw Chelsey with a worried look. “It’s okay, my body’s still just readjusting to the mana now inside of me.” I quickly blurt out to not worry them.

She looked like she accepted the answer as her face returned to normal. “Until we meet again, goodbye Crim!” Chelsey then says as she begins walking to the back of the carriage.

“Stay alive, Crim. I want to know if you truly are a good person.” Vaero voiced from over his shoulder as he walked towards the front of the carriage.

Several minutes passed by before the carriage began moving towards the gates. I saw Chelsey waving at me still with a bittersweet smile as they slowly disappeared from sight.

Once they were gone, I stood there for a while longer, deep in thought about what I just saw before they left. The silhouettes of the two I saw were familiar to Chelsey and Vaero but not quiet. I was confused on why I saw it but decided to put it in the back of my mind while I go to the guild to see how close it was before I could leave.

When I made it back to the guild, I saw that there was only one girl at the counter now with Ilise nowhere to be seen. Confused on where she was, I approached the counter and thought that the other girl might know. “Hey uh… Do you know where Ilise is?” As I talked, I realized I didn’t know her name.

“Greetings Crim. Ilise is currently preparing for a trip, she should be back here soon, is there anything else I could do for you?” The lady told me.

I was surprised to hear that Ilise was going on a trip and wondered if she wanted to go somewhere after hearing that I was going to the Forest of Tranquility. “Other than that, I was just wondering how much longer until my carriage is ready.” I asked.

“The carriage should be here soon as well with her.” I was slightly confused on how she answered it but decided to not worry about it and figure out how to fill the last bit of time.

After I finished talking with the other guild girl, I turned towards the busy tavern side and decided to have a quick bite before leaving then. Once I found an empty table and sat down, there was a wench who quickly found their way to me, already asking what I would like.

“I’ll just get some bread, meat and water, miss.” I answered her and she quickly nods before turning around and tending to the other tables.

I lost myself thinking about the things coming up next. I was partially excited to go to Marawa since it was the place I heard in memory but was worried since the thing that said Marawa was a book about dark secrets there. My thoughts then changed to what the creature for my quest might be and what kind of place the forest will be. Not long after, the wench started laying things out in front of me. When I looked at the food, I didn’t really feel hungry but decided to start eating to pass the time.

I was just finishing up when I felt someone approaching me and quickly turned around, reaching for my blade. What I saw was Ilise but instead of her normal look, she had her black hair now braided going behind her, a black chemise with a red tunic running down it. On top she had an opened up black cloak that had a small red rose imprint on the left side of her chest. “Are you all ready to go?” She asked with a smile.

I was confused momentarily about her sudden change in outfit before telling her “I just have to pay for the food and I’m all ready to go.”.

“Okay, I’ll just grab a few things I left here and wait out front.” Ilise says as she walks towards the door by the counters.

I looked at her confused as I watched her walk away before turning back around. I decided to quickly finish up my food before calling over the wench and paying for it. Once the wench put away the payment and began taking away the dishes, I got up and walked towards the exit.

Once outside, I was greeted with a carriage of the same size that Vaero and Chelsey were now using except the fabric that covered over the back was black. I then turn to my side to see Ilise standing there, patiently waiting.

“Are you all ready to go now?” She asked me.

I nod to her before questioning her myself “Where’s my driver?”.

She giggled “It’s me. I was as surprised as you when I found out after talking with you this morning.”.

“What about the guild?” I then inquired.

“Fa- The Branch Master told me that you need someone to watch over you for the promotion quest and wanted me to do it and also someone he could trust for the delivery.” She tells me. “Don’t worry, I know how to drive a carriage. Before I was working at the desk, I had to do a few deliveries myself.” she says, assuring me. “Also at least this time you won’t have to bring back proof!” she adds on.

While I thought everything over, it started to make sense why she changed her outfit. “I guess you do get to see the Forest of Tranquility after all then.” I voiced out.

Ilise rubbed the back of her neck while looking slightly embarrassed and smiled “I guess I do.”. She then shakes her head “Anyways, Crim. Let’s not waste any more daylight and begin the venture!”. Ilise then started walking towards the front of the carriage and by the time she was getting up into the coach seat, I began walking towards the back and climbing in myself.

Once I was inside the carriage, I saw about eight boxes with four on each side that had cloth overtop of them. Shortly after I sat down near the front of the carriage, Ilise’s head popped out from the cloth that separated the front. “Are you all good to go here?” She asked me. I nodded to her and with a smile on her face, she disappeared back behind the cloth. The carriage then began moving and I looked out the back and through the crack, watching the castle behind the guild slowly go out of vision. I then saw the inn come in view and slowly go before we arrived at the village gates and passed through with no worries.

I then watched Trennent slowly disappear from sight as I thought about the memories I found there and the people that I went separate ways from.