Three days.

Three days passed since Donavan and the others left the village. Three days of fun little revelations about what life would be as long as he was stuck in this godforsaken place.

For example; this new body did need food. After a few hours, his stomach started to growl. He had all the same cravings he had back on earth. Guess what this world didn't have?

Philly Cheesesteaks.

There was one thing this world seemed to have in abundance. One thing he would never want for as long as he lived—fucking deer jerky. The ultimate wilderness travel food according to Asheeri. It will last for two months at room temperature. Longer in the mountainous cold. Why was it so reliable? Because the shit was indestructible. It would've been easier to chew on an old tire.

But that wasn't it. With the need to eat, came the need for bathrooms. Which were absent in the wilderness, as was any form of proper toilet paper.

Wynn mentioned a type of leaf that was smooth on the skin and left a lingering peppermint smell. Too bad it looked exactly like another leaf that caused a burning sensation with a side of hives. Wynn could tell the difference easily.

Donavan had to play the world's dumbest version of Russian roulette every time he had to take a shit.

What his body didn't need was sleep. He hadn't so much as yawned in the past three days. His companions did sleep. Or at least Wynn and Jules did. Asheeri sat and meditated for a few hours and seemed to be fine. He'd ended up agreeing to keep watch most nights. That was a special kind of dull. Six to eight hours of staring at trees.

On the third night, the group had set camp in the shadow of a cliff face. Grey and weathered, it served as a buffer against the chill of the mountain breeze.

Donavan kept watch as the others set up their tents. He never realized how truly dark the world could get. Without thousands of manmade lights to hold the night at bay, it was an isolating kind of black. All those stories about how ancient people feared the wilderness made a lot more sense now. Anything could be out there, lurking between the shadows of the pines.

In this world, they weren't fairytales. Real monsters lurked about. Donavan hadn't found anything that posed a real threat to him, but could he count on that always being the case? He was only going to play a villain, what would happen when he came up against a real monster?

As if on cue, the hoot of some avian creature echoed out from the trees.

Ever since he'd left, he still couldn't shake that odd feeling like he was being watched.

"Yay, Fire!" Jules yelled, raising her fists into the sky.

Donavan turned to see the bunny girl crouched over a modest little campfire.

"Put that out, right now!" Asheeri said storming over.

"But it's freezing out here." Jules wined.

"Better to be cold than let the goblins and whatever else is out here know our location."

"Come on Ash." Wynn chimed, finishing up his tent. "It's just a little one, and it's only going to get colder as the night goes on."

Asheeri glared. "This isn't a vacation. Small groups off-trail are goblins' favorite targets. And we are getting deeper into their territory. Throw on some more layers. And my name isn't Ash, it's Asheeri"

"But then my outfit won't be as cute." Jules crooned, teeth chattering through the last word. "And Wynn will protect us if any goblins show up."

Wynn chuckled a bit nervously. "Actually I think it's Don who will be the one to protect us. Captain Caspiera said he was a force of nature."

Asheeri folded her arms and shot a look over his way. Donavan made it a point to focus extra hard on a tree. Maybe Asheeri would stop burning holes in the back of his head if he looked like he was zoned in.

No dice.

"What makes you so special then?"

Donavan slumped. It was better if he kept the topic of conversation as far from himself as possible. "Nothing, Jules is right, Wynn here is the savior. I just want to help him on his way."

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Yeah! Wynn is gonna be a legendary seeker one day!" Jules cheered.

Asheeri scoffed. "You think you have what it takes to be a seeker?"

Wynn, ever unbothered, laughed his boyish laugh and scratched the back of his head. "Well, maybe not right now, but I'd like to think I'll get there someday."

There that word was again. Donavan was gonna have to bite the bullet eventually. Plus the more questions he asked, the fewer questions they'd ask about him. "What is a seeker exactly?"

All three of them gawked at him. The only sound between them was the tearing of a mountain gust against the rocks.

"How do you not know about the seekers?" Asheeri said, breaking the silence.

"Secluded monastery, remember."

"Seekers are brave adventurers known worldwide. They go across the world on all sorts of adventures. They hunt lost treasures, fight terrifying monsters, and protect the common folk. They even record their adventures! That way people can read about all the amazing things they do." Jules's eyes seemed to twinkle with every word.

"They are more than that." Asheeri followed. "They are elite operatives. They have the skills to take on missions and threats that normal forces can't. They are the best of the best. They have special privileges and abilities and can operate across all borders. Kings and nations call on the best of them for the most dangerous and important of tasks."

Donavan eyed Wynn. "That's quite the goal."

Wynn smiled at the ground. "I don't know if you could say that I want to be all that. I just want to experience as much of the world as I can. If I can do that and help people at the same time, then that's what I want to do."

Jules made some kind of badly repressed screaching sound. "I just know you're going to be one of the best. You'll have your own special edition in Tales from the Fringe and everything!"

"Tales from the Fringe?" Donavan asked.

"Oh my gods, you've never read Tales from the Fringe! It's only the best thing ever. I should have the last three issues." Jules scurried over to her pack and ripped her way through its contents. "No, no, no, no! You must've thrown them out with all the other stuff. The latest issue had a whole spread about Kasha the Nightingale!"

"Sorry about that," Donavan said. He hadn't meant to throw away anything truly important to the girl.

"It's ok," Jules said. Though her ears did droop a little. "I always buy several copies of each issue, so I can still show you them when we get back to the village."

Asheeri cleared her throat. Donavan expected her to make some snide comment. Instead, she was blushing and had a sheepish look on her face. "I have a copy." She murmured.

"Are you a fan too?" Jules said, ears straightening back up. "Whose your favorite? wait let me guess. is it Valexia of the Golden Tome! Or no, maybe it's Seven-sands Grisha."

Asheeri ignored Jules's questions and reached under her cloak. "Here, don't get any dirt on it."

Donavan took it. The book wasn't quite the right word for it. What he now held in his hands was far closer to a modern-day magazine. The cover was a full-color painting of a young woman clad in scanty armor. She was plunging a spear down into the skull of some kind of snake monster. Above the picture, a title read 'Tales from the Fringe, Kasha the Nightingale's Journey into the Forgotten Jungle.'

It looked almost identical to pulp magazines from the nineties. The type that introduced characters like Conan the barbarian and Cthulu to the world. Donavan flipped through the pages. It wasn't just the cover that had full-color art. There were articles about different seekers including portraits and interviews. There were even advertisements for different brands of armor. It seemed that the seekers were something like celebrities in this world.

Donovan frowned. This was a relatively medieval-style fantasy world. Yet there must've been some method to mass produce and distribute this magazine. Especially if it was as popular and available as Jules and Asheeri made it sound. Which meant there had to be some kind of technology or magic that was the equivalent of a printing press. And if that was the case then that meant that this world had media outlets that were accessible to the common folk. If he ended up in a bigger settlement he'd have all sorts of information at his fingertips. Not to mention the layout and articles were expertly done. Before he knew it, Donavan found himself lost in an article about various kinds of monstrous flora.

"These are all real adventures? not just made-up stories?" Donavan asked, not looking up from the magazine.

"Yeah! The Seekers Lodge makes sure to verify any info that Seekers bring back." Jules beamed, "It isn't just for entertainment. It's got all sorts of useful info. Like what supplies seekers recommend when traveling through difficult terrain. And information on different monsters and how to stay safe. So everything in it has to be verified before it's published."

Then something clicked. A sly smile grew on Donavan's lips. He glanced over at Jules "You want to write for this magazine, don't you? That's what all the papers you were carrying when I bumped into you were for."

Jules's cheeks were already flushed from the cold. It didn't stop them from becoming even more rosy. The bunny girl stared down at the ground and fiddled with her hair.

"Um... well, yes I would love to, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"She'd have to become a seeker." Asheeri commented. "A special type of seeker called a chronicler. They travel with Seeker squads to record and verify all the things they come across."

"So why not just go and become a chronicler then?" Donavan asked Jules.

Asheeri laughed, "No one just becomes a seeker. Certainly not her."

Jules frowned at the ground. Donavan scowled at the elf, about to speak, but Wynn beat him to it.

"I think you're already on your way Jules. Maybe the first adventure you can record is us saving the villagers. We can become seekers together."

Jules looked up at Wynn, eyes wide and glittering. "You-you really think so?"

"Of course. We can do anything if we are willing to work hard for it."

Asheeri sniffed and rolled her eyes.

Donavan probably would've been rolling his eyes too, but something about Asheeri's attitude had left a bad taste in his mouth. Had that been how he was walking around in this world? Sneering and condescending at everything that seemed beneath him? Sure, Erwin's world ran off trashy anime logic. But despite Jules's pink hair and bunny ears, she had feelings, wants, and insecurities. Amongst those wants was the desire to be a writer. Donavan may have been a literal critic, but at the end of the day, his job was to help writers, not destroy them.

"I agree with Wynn," Donavan said. "If it's important to you, then you should go for it."

Jules's eyes seemed to somehow grow wider and even more sparkly. She stood tall and put her fists on her hips. "If Wynn says I can become a seeker, then I know I can do it!"

oh, well fuck me then I guess.

Donavan chuckled despite himself.

Something whistled through the air. A translucent bubble of blue energy popped into existence around Jules. Something cracked against the barrier.

Donavan blinked and looked at the object that had struck her. The broken shaft of a small arrow lay at Jules's feet.

"Huh-?" Jules began to say.

"Everyone get down!" Asheeri yelled.

The night filled with the sounds of dozens of projectiles whistling through the air.