Berik and Beacon sat by the fire as the sunlight slowly faded. Berik kept an ear out for anything that might sound sprite-y but Beacon just seemed resigned. She poked at the fire with a stick and stared at it, hypnotized the way all people are when something is burning safely.
The [Fighter] couldn’t imagine sleeping next to Beacon. The tent was small, meant only for one person. He should be a gentleman and offer to sleep outside. But, every so often, he would smell her despite the wood smoke. She smelled of lilac, black currants, and something else that he couldn’t put his finger on. He realized he must seem like an idiot, sitting there sniffing at the air, so he frantically tried to come up with something to say.
“It’s a nice night, isn’t it?” he asked.
She nodded, and Berik cursed himself. He shouldn’t have led with a closed-ended question like that! He tried again.
“So…uh…Euclid. What’s up with that guy?” Berik said.
Beacon didn’t look up from the fire. “He’s a strange one, I know. But I think he’s a good guy. I hope he’s doing okay with Key. She seems nice enough. I’m sure he’s fine.”
Berik tossed a pinecone into the fire. “No, I meant…are you and he…you know…together?”
Beacon finally looked at him. “Why?”
“Well, you’re always…um…together,” Berik said.
Beacon shook her head. She took a portion of her hair and, in a flash, braided it into a neat plait. “I’m helping him.”
“Helping him? How?”
She sighed. “I thought I’d help him find a job. Build a life for himself.”
“So you got him a job in the Dungeon League?” Berik asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Can you imagine him working a regular job?” Beacon said. “As a merchant or an innkeeper? The people would run him out of town if they didn’t string him up.”
“Good point,” Berik said. “But, damn, he’s intense.”
Beacon nodded but said nothing more. The sound of the crackling fire continued as night wore on.
“Camping out in some rich guy’s garden,” Berik said. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
“Not much of an outdoorsy guy, are you?” Beacon asked.
He gave a nervous laugh. “Nope. City boy, born and bred.”
She chuckled. “Until I got to Dawnport, I’d sleep outside every night.”
“What? Why?”
Beacon looked up at the thin plume of smoke drifting into the sky. “It was my job.”
“Doing what?” Berik asked.
“Keeping the peace. Maintaining balance.” Beacon flashed him a smile. “I’m a ranger, remember?”
“Right.” Berik huddled closer to the fire. He wasn’t exactly cold after the sweltering day they had, but it was just pleasant to be by the flames. “How about I sleep outside and you take the tent?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Have you ever slept outside?”
Berik looked away so she couldn’t see him blushing. “No. But how hard can it be?”
Beacon gave him a disbelieving look but then resigned herself to some inner decision. “Sure. Sleep outside. You’re very gentlemanly.”
“Hey, it’s my pleasure,” Berik said. He had the odd feeling that he had done or said something wrong, or at least something stupid. But he saw no way of going back now.
Beacon let out a yawn. “Speaking of which, I’m going to tuck in. Keep the fire going, would you?”
Berik had no idea how to maintain a fire. You just threw sticks in it, right? How hard could it be? “Sure! You can count on me.”
“I knew I could.”
Berik’s heart swelled. And with that one bolstering of confidence, he decided to go for it. “Maybe after we finish this quest, you and I could go out. We could get some dinner or something?”
For a moment, Beacon was silent. Berik felt like he couldn’t breathe. But then she gave him a small smile. “Sure.”
“Great!”
“Okay. Goodnight.” And with one last look over her shoulder, Beacon crawled into the tent and lay down. Alone, with the cheerily crackling fire, Berik laid out his bedroll and decided to try and get some rest. Where he lived in the city wasn’t exactly quiet and restful. There was always someone yelling at someone else, a dog barking, or a brawl breaking out after the yelling didn’t stop soon enough.
But the sound of the outdoors was noisy in a whole different way. Every twig that snapped, every rustling of leaves could be a predator lurking just out of sight. Berik understood they were in the garden of a nobleman, but that didn’t make it any less plausible that a bear had snuck in and was ready to tear them all to pieces. And there were still the sprites to deal with! He hadn’t heard or seen any trace of the diminutive fairies, but he was determined to prove himself in this quest. Beacon seemed familiar with them, but he still wanted to show her that he was dependable despite his ignorance.
He closed his eyes, but sleep evaded him. He couldn’t find a comfortable position to sleep in. Wearing his armor didn’t help anything either. And the fact that Beacon had agreed to go on a date with him kept him awake on top of everything else. Where would he take her? What would they do? How could he possibly impress her? She was a ranger! Did she even like fine dining?
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Berik tossed and turned until exhaustion finally claimed him. But it wasn’t even a deep sleep that took him. No, he was suspended in an irritating state of half-sleep, where he couldn’t keep his eyes open, but he also couldn’t shut off the incessant chattering in his head. Was that giggling he heard? Or just some nocturnal rodent of some sort? Maybe a tiny owl?
A slight breeze ruffled his hair and caused his eyes to snap open. Owls didn’t giggle or snicker like that. Sure, he was from the city but there were some things even city boys knew. Something tugged at his blanket, and when he pulled back, the unseen thing yanked it completely off and tossed it in the fire. A spray of sparks illuminated the night and the fire blazed brighter as the blanket burned.
Berik tried to sit up, but he was paralyzed! He couldn’t move! Something glittering and sparkling streaked in front of his vision like it was a tiny shooting star. He squinted. It wasn’t just one figure. There were many little creatures flying in formation!
They looked like teeny people with insect wings that beat frantically to keep them moving. The only thing that kept them from being oh-so-adorable were their beady black eyes. With all of his strength, he turned his head and tried to shout a warning to Beacon. All that came out of his mouth was a pathetic squeak.
“B…ea…con,” he tried to yell, but a mouse could probably be louder than him. From his new vantage point, he could see the swarm of terrible little fairies each had a tiny twig that burned brightly in the night. They swooped down and began to circle the tent, leaving behind a shimmer of hot air in their wake. Finally, all as one, they dove at the tent with their little burning brands held high.
But before they set the canvas on fire, it sprang up like some kind of ambush predator. Spreading wide, the tent engulfed the entire sprite swarm. Beacon held the tent and spun it around, sealing off any means of escape.
Somehow, Berik’s enchantment broke. He was able to move again and he shoved to his feet in an instant. “Beacon! The tent is on fire!”
A cold look came over the ranger’s face. “I know.”
Before the fire could completely engulf the tent and her hands, she swung the bundle and slammed it to the ground. Twice more she swung the tent, and twice more came the little screams of anguish from within.
“Help me out here!” she commanded.
Berik didn’t waste a moment. When she slammed the tent to the ground again, he was right there to stomp the murderous little creatures with his heavy iron boots. Honestly, he used his boots more than his sword. Was it always going to be like that in the League? Would he make a name for himself as Berik the Stomper? Before he could fret for too much longer, the fire was extinguished and the sounds of terror ceased.
Berik tried to catch his breath. “I thought…you didn’t want…to kill them.”
Beacon shook her head. “I forgot to tell you. They fey can’t die. Not really.”
The [Fighter] stomped out some of the small fires that had started from their incendiary struggle. “What do you mean?”
Beacon extinguished the ruins of the tent with the contents of her water skin. “They don’t really die. If they get too hurt, they return to the Fey Realm. They rest up and come back a few years later. Sometimes, it takes a hundred years for them to return. But they always return. And they are always vengeful. That’s why I do what I do. That’s why I’m a ranger.”
Berik watched her. Gone was the sweet-faced, full-figured woman he had come to admire. A hardness had come into her eyes, a hardness that he recognized from the face of the Watch veterans. Those oldsters had served for too long and had seen the depths of humanity.
Suddenly, he realized she didn’t have anything to fear from the likes of someone like Euclid. She summoned her character sheet, unintentionally giving Berik a quick look at her base stats.
CHARACTER
* NAME: Beacon Patch (Human) (Fey Marked)
* CLASS: [Rogue]
* HIT POINTS: 13
* ARMOR RATING: 13
* LEVEL: 1
* XP: 0/300
BASE SCORES
* MIGHT 12
* AGILITY 15
* VITALITY 14
* INTELLECT 8
* ESSENCE 13
* PRESENCE 10
PROFICIENCIES
Simple weapons
Martial weapons
Light armor
Medium armor
Shields
SKILLS
Animal Bonding
Nature
Berik couldn’t help but grin. “Haha, we’ve got the same Intellect score! Hey, what's Fey Marked mean?”
Beacon quickly swiped over to the Quests page. “It’s rude to look at someone’s character sheet without asking.”
QUESTS
* Feisty Fey: Remove the pesky sprites from the garden. 20/20.
Berik scratched the back of his head. “Sorry about that. I can show you mine if that makes up for it.”
Beacon shook her head. “Not right now.”
“Okay, no problem. But, hey! Looks like we did it!” Berik said. He hoped he hadn’t made her even angrier with his stupid offer. “It seemed like way more than just twenty sprites, though.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Beacon said. She glanced toward the mansion. “We should probably report back to Coach. Oh, but he didn’t even show up for practice today, did he? Where’s that dumb Arcane Eye thing? Hopefully, he’s still watching.”
She and Berik looked around the forest clearing and, soon enough, they found the enchanted orb hidden in an overgrown shrub.
“Okay, Coach. We did the quest. Feisty Fey, twenty out of twenty removed. They set Beacon’s tent on fire, though. Sorry about that,” Berik said. He summoned his own character sheet and showed the Quest page as proof of his deeds. “I hope we’re all good.”
He and Beacon were met with only silence. They looked at each other in confusion.
“Did he forget that he can speak through the damn thing?” Beacon asked.
“Maybe he left for a moment. Had to go pee or something,” Berik said.
They watched the motionless glowing ball for a little longer until Berik crouched over it. “I’m just gonna take it inside,” he announced.
The Arcane Eye let out a squealing scream, like a blade on a sheet of metal. Coach Beardenbeard’s voice could be heard over the awful din.
“No, get back! Keep those claws away from me!” Then they heard the sound of thumping and of struggling. A mighty war cry followed and then it went silent.
Beacon and Berik dashed inside the mansion. They had no idea what had happened, but Coach was in trouble. And they were there to help.