Aksel awoke early in the night. The air was freezing, more than enough to make him appreciate the warmth of Vine’s makeshift bed. The moonlight beamed into the mouth of the cave, providing just enough light to look around while his vision adjusted to the darkness. His eyelids were heavy, begging for him to return to his comfortable slumber. But despite this urge, he felt the need to look around himself.
Vine was fast asleep, her head turned away from him with the blanket firmly wrapped around herself. Theo was also fast asleep, but unlike Vine, who managed to keep to herself while in her slumber, she had managed to pin Aksel’s arm under her head, her sleeping face peacefully staring in his direction.
Aksel wanted to move the arm away, but the sleeping bandit just seemed so peaceful, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. She could be annoying at times and had certainly been a pain in the rear to deal with, but even he had to admit, looking at her now, she was kind of… cute.
Aksel blushed as he turned away. He was not going there, especially while in this bed with her. He shut his eyes and tried to forget about it. He could already feel himself getting sleepier and sleepier, and that sweet smell in the air was just the right medicine to put him… back… to… wait?
Aksel cracked his eyes open once again, against every fibre of his being screaming at him to simply lie down and rest his weary body. Something wasn’t right, that pleasant, sweet aroma was completely out of place. He forced his eyes to adjust, using more willpower than he’d ever called upon before to stay awake. It was then he finally saw it—a thin pink mist, gliding faintly against the rays of moonlight, weaving its way through the air within the cave.
What is that? Aksel thought, as he tried to raise his body, only to fail, feeling as though a great weight was piled atop him.
The surge of panic and adrenaline helped mitigate the drowsiness, resisting the alluring comfort of the bed. Its loving embrace felt divine, however, as if an angel was cuddling up beside him, whispering in his ear, enticing him to lie back and relax with the others. Refusing to give in, his body jutted up, supported by his right arm. Under the new angle, Theo’s head slipped from his arm, giving him full access to his increasingly restricted body.
There was something at the end of the cave where the moss once stood, a figure of some kind, but not human in the least. It was long, and thin, with many arms undulating unnervingly. At its feet, many moving parts opened and closed repeatedly in a rhythmic fashion.
He tried to speak, but his throat had swollen so much that even trying to whisper was beyond his ability. Instead, he managed only a mighty, phlegmy, hacking cough. Even that didn’t rouse Theo or Vine from their rest, as they remained as silent as the grave. That wasn’t to say he didn’t get someone’s attention.
A thick, prickly limb coiled around his leg, dragging him out from under the covers and across the cold, hard cave floor, bashing Theo out of the way like a sack of meat. He could sense he was bleeding, but the numbing effect of the pink mist that intoxicated the air dulled any sensation of pain. Summoning what strength remained, he focused his gaze on the undulating creature he was being dragged towards.
The silhouette unveiled itself as a massive stalk, reaching from floor to ceiling with thick, powerful stems, far larger than the ones from the moss and more than sufficient to hang him by his leg. The moving parts at its base were some sort of flower, constantly producing that sweet smelling aroma that made his eyes and body so heavy—a feeling only the deepest of sleeps could alleviate.
This wasn’t merely grasping moss, the Dungeon-kin he originally told Theo about; this was something else, something clearly much more evolved and deadly.
It’s… it’s a… Vorwer, Aksel remembered within his hazy mind—a monster he read about in the A&A guidebooks.
It should have been impossible for such a creature to still exist here. The Heretica, a branch of the faith dedicated to eradicating all such dangerous creatures, had long since found and culled every variant of dungeon-kin plant that posed even a remote threat across Cirilya. Yet, as he dangled in the air, like a hooked fish suspended at the end of a fishing line, the harsh reality of the situation became clear.
He glanced back to the bed where his companions still lay silent, as the same tendrils that wrapped around his leg slowly wormed their way towards them. Again, he tried to move his arms, but the force of gravity was more than enough to stall his attempts.
I need… to escape, he told himself, trying again to reach for the stem holding his leg in the air, but once again, he was thwarted. His body was so heavy, with not even the strength to flail, to struggle in vain. His sight returned to the others—
“?”
He saw something new, something that wasn’t there before. A figure in humanoid form, like an oily shadow, standing next to Vine, it’s featureless face watching Aksel, unmoving, unreadable.
Oh, it’s you again.
The Vorwer turned the limp Aksel to face it, as the stalk began to move. The green stalk that made up its body split apart into six sections, peeling back from the top like a banana to reveal the insides. From edge to edge, it was littered with large, sharp, teeth like thorns that stretched all the way into the darkness of its acidic stomach.
Powerless, his torso passed the threshold, now inside the mouth of this horrific creature.
*CHOMP*
And just like that, he was eaten.
Aksel’s eyes shot open, his breathing rapid—
A foot crashed into his cheek before he could gather his thoughts.
“What?” Aksel exclaimed in his addled state. He notice he was still in Vine’s bed inside the cave, with both his companions sleeping either side of him.
Befuddlement struck him as he studied his ginger sleeping companion. Theo was a disgustingly messy sleeper, beyond what Aksel thought physically possible. During the night, she had somehow accomplished a near half rotation from her original position, placing her head on the solid stone floor while her legs intrusively pinned Aksel’s body. Her arms had also settled wherever they damn well pleased as her open-mouth snores reverberated around the cave. That was without mentioning the small stream of drool flowing down the side of her cheek.
Stupid dreams. There’s no way this thing is cute, Aksel repudiated his brain. That’s about as far away from angelic as you can get.
By contrast, Vine seemed to have never budged an inch, quietly dreaming without disturbing a soul.
Putting his hands over his eyes, he tried again to collect himself.
Just another nightmare… he thought, resigned.
For as long as he could remember, he had been the recipient of almost constant nightmares. Every night, he would fall into slumber, and dream of a demise most gruesome. Burned alive in his family home, drowned in the river, eaten by wild dungeon-kin, crushed under a runaway wagon, stabbed by competent bandits, murdered by family members, hunted for sport by elves, butchered by goblins…
Of course, not every dream resulted in his untimely demise, but those few times he did survive the ordeal, he found death was always the preferable option.
He surveyed the room once more. No mist of sweet pink hovered in the air, no Dungeon-kin silently waited in the corner of the cave, and as always, there was no shadow of a person watching him suffer, the one constant that never ceased to find him.
Just what are you?
The figure would never speak, never interact, and in most cases, would hardly move at all. No matter how brutal his demise, it would only observe.
He reached into his shirt to reveal a small pendant he kept around his neck. A small, wooden angel now rested in his palm. To others, it appeared little more than a poorly crafted trinket, beyond even the desire of Theo to steal. To him however, it was a most precious gift from a loving sister.
"Aksel, Aksel. Look what I made!” He remembered her words clearly, speaking with enthusiasm only a child could achieve. “It’s an angel! Now the bad things won’t come near you anymore when you sleep!”
She had never carved a day in her life, and yet she still made something like this for me. He smiled at the memory; his mind soothed just by looking at the little wooden idol. He didn’t care that it never worked as she intended, because he always knew that no matter what fate awaited him when he closed his eyes, a brighter world would always be waiting for him when he awoke.
One day, once I have the power of the Divine flowing through me, I’ll be able to end these nightmares once and for all. I just need a few more days to get tested, then I’ll know if it’s possible.
His mind cleared as he freed himself from Theo’s intrusive legs and walked over to the old firepit, the staple of the cave. Taking the opportunity, he gave his muscles a quick stretch in the new dawn light.
Having had her slumber disturbed, Theo slowly snorted herself into consciousness and rose to meet Aksel with a drowsy expression.
“Morning,” her morning voice greeted him, deeper than usual.
“Good morning,” he greeted back.
“What’s for breakfast?” Her arms stretched out with a yawn, before returning to rub her half-open eyes.
“We don’t have any food, remember? That’s why we didn’t eat anything last night.”
“Oh.”
Aksel glanced over to the last member of their sleeping party, still locked into her slumber like a witch’s curse. With little reason to remain inside the cave, he knelt beside her and attempted to rouse her with a gentle shake.
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“Vine, it’s morning,” he spoke softly, not wishing to cause distress.
“…”
“It’s time to wake up.”
“…”
Frowning at his lack of progress, he decided to move to more drastic actions.
Sorry Vine.
With the flair of a showman about to make his grand reveal, Aksel grabbed a hold of the cover and pulled it free, presenting Vine’s semi-curled up body for all to see. Small mumblings arose from the sleeping dead as her body registered the sudden change.
“… Cold,” her soft voice quietly protested, as her eyes slowly opened.
Not much of a morning person, are you?
“Sorry for the wake-up call, Vine, but we need to get going,” He informed her, hovering over her unmoving frame.
“… More time.”
“Denied. Sorry.”
“… Aksel is cruel.”
“Aksel is hungry, has a quest to find a home somewhere, and is still a long way off Carnifex. Also, I’m sick of this cave.”
“… Aksel is cruel,” Vine repeated her complaint, before a loud rumbling emanated from her stomach. Slowly raising her upper body like a resurrected corpse, with messy hair sticking up in places, she clutched her gut and gave an emotionless glance towards him. “… Breakfast?”
“For the love of First,” Aksel sighed, ready to hit the road.
---
The unlikely trio travelled down the empty road towards their new destination. Treda-lake, the largest city in the resettlement region, was their primary goal, though it was agreed they’d all stop off at Carnifex to resupply. Despite the odd mixture of people, Aksel presently had one concern.
“Erm, Theo?” He decided to address the elephant in the room.
“Yeah, need something?” Theo answered innocently.
“Why are you still dressed for… ‘Combat’?” Aksel finally worked up the nerve to ask. Despite receiving her original clothes back, the bandit of their party was still dressed proudly in her revealing attire. “Didn’t you get your clothes back already?”
“O-oh yeah,” Theo responded, scratching the back of her head while refusing to make eye contact. “Funny thing about that. It turns out that I accidentally… Sold them.”
While he’d heard of people selling the clothes off their back, he had never heard anyone claim to have done it on accident before.
“Sold them? Who in Mythrin is buying your dirty laundry?”
“… I am,” Vine freely confessed without an ounce of hesitation or shame, albeit with her usual passionless flare.
Bewildered once again by this strange girl, he dared to ask.
“Why?”
“… It came with my towel,” she said, pulling forth the legendary blanket of drying, the piece of cave cloth that deserved nothing less than the mercy of a roaring fire, yet was forced to continue soldiering on under new management.
“Apparently, I sold them back to her when I was distracted,” she admitted with a hint of shame in her voice, filtered through her resignation.
“Can’t you just buy it back?” He offered a reasonable answer to her problem.
“Don’t you think I tried? I’d have better luck convincing the wind to stop blowing than bartering with that bloodfallen negotiator.”
“… 2 gold for the clothes… I’ll even throw in a towel,” Vine opened the bidding at a ludicrous price.
The men and women of the West and the resettlement region could live good, happy lives for months, perhaps even years with such wealth. Yet, that was the starting price for the cave bandit’s old wardrobe. Not to offend Theo, but he doubted that—even in its best condition—it was worth even a hundredth of that amount.
“Do you know how much a gold coin is worth? Because I can tell you right now, nobody will ever pay 2 halos for those clothes.”
“… Lyric told me, to always sell things for more… if the person’s desperate,” Vine told Aksel about her cutthroat business tactics. “… She needs clothes, and I’m selling clothes… profit,” the slightly heavier emphasis on the word profit made Vine seem vaguely sinister, despite being as threatening as a butterfly wrapped in cotton.
“So, thanks to her, I’m walking into town looking like… this,” Theo gestured to herself, emphasizing her point.
“Well, at least you’ll be ready if a fight breaks out,” Aksel smirked.
“A fight’s gonna break out right here if you keep making fun of me!”
He couldn’t help but release a small chuckle, before offering up an apology. Despite their rather poor introductions, he had grown fond of the unfortunate bandit. Though he wouldn’t count her among the short list of friends he’d acquired over the years, he certainly didn’t object to her company. If anything, it was a refreshing change of pace, one he wasn’t aware he needed.
The trio continued to walk the long road ahead of them, though the landscape never changed. Endless greens and browns of the forests and fields stretched out before them, punctuated with the occasional dip in the land from what used to be craters, now reclaimed by nature.
At some point, Vine managed to slip away from them like a seasoned rogue, escaping their notice. Fortunately, she was only a few yards down the road, crouching down to stare silently at something on the path. Aksel and Theo traded glances that spoke more than a hundred words, both equally puzzled by her actions.
“Hey, is something wrong?” Aksel spoke up, attempting to gain her attention from whatever had distracted her.
“…”
Vine didn’t respond to his calls; instead, she picked up a small object and held it out in her hand, seemingly trying to analyse it, like a jeweller determining the value of an unknown gemstone.
“Vine? You okay there?” Theo attempted to make contact.
“…”
Once again, silence was her only response, as she was far too enthralled by her task to answer. Just before the pair backtracked to her, however, Vine nodded to herself, stood up, and pocketed what appeared to be a small rock into her even more mysterious bag. Without a word of excuse or explanation, she returned to Aksel’s side, her eyes fixed on him, waiting for their journey to continue. Aksel, however, just gazed back in confusion.
“Are you… collecting rocks?” Aksel asked directly, convinced that he must missing something. Without a moment’s hesitation, Vine nodded in confirmation.
“… The small ones are nice.”
“Is that so?” He decided to run with it. “Do you have a few then?”
“… No.” Bringing out her mysterious bag, Vine stuck her hand inside and revealed its contents without batting an eyelid. Her hands were so full of small stones that, in her careless display, a few began sliding out of her hand and returning to the ground below. With her exhibition complete, she ignored the wide-eyed stares of her companions and calmly poured what pebbles remained in her hand back into storage, moving to recover the rest shortly after.
“… I still need more.”
“How many rocks could you possibly need?!” Aksel couldn’t contain himself at the incomprehensible comment.
“… Enough to fill the bag?” Vine answered, tilting her head while responding to him, before returning her gaze back to the ground.
“Why are you asking me?”
“Aksel,” Theo calmly gained his attention, pressing a hand on his shoulder. “Let it go. You’re never going to win.”
“I know, I just… whatever. I suppose you have a point,” Aksel gave up, defeated.
“Why do you make that sound like a surprise?” Theo raised an eyebrow.
“Do you want me to answer honestly?”
“I want the next hero of mankind to start putting one leg in front of the other so we can get moving, I’m starving over here.”
“Well, unless Vine has any food under those rocks, we’re still going to be out of luck for a while,” he replied.
“Ugh, how is it that neither of you have any food on you?”
“… I ate it,” Vine’s answer was so simple, Theo couldn’t argue.
“I’m just traveling light. Honestly, I expected to eat last night when I got to Carnifex.”
“Argh, this is what I get for traveling with vagrants.”
“If I’m a vagrant, what does that make you?”
“A beautiful, amazing, wealthy bandit that can’t find any good help these days.”
“You forgot humble too.”
“Says the person who thinks he’s going to become the next hero of humanity. Sorry, your humbleness, allow this starving bandit to step aside to make way for the size of your most humble ego,” Theo said sarcastically, offering a mocking bow.
“… What’s a hero?” Vine asked, deciding to derail that conversation with one of her own.
“You don’t know what a hero is?” Aksel spoke in disbelief.
Heroes were a universal concept, held by every race in Mythrin, as far as he knew. All children are told tales of men and women that overcame great hardships to accomplish even greater deeds. Yet, Vine spoke as if the word itself was unknown to her. Whatever the case, Vine nodded her head in agreement. “Erm, okay. Where do I even start…”
“Oh, is our resident hero struggling to explain what a hero is?” Theo gave a mocking grin—one Aksel ignored as the group continued their travels.
Class was now in session.
“Okay, let’s start here. Tell me, Vine, if you had to guess, what do you think a hero is?”
“… You?” Vine answered bluntly, causing Aksel to grimace and Theo to snort, poorly attempting to hide her amusement.
“Okay… So, from the beginning then,” Aksel sighed.
Vine stared at Aksel attentively, though her expression never changed. Her lack of understanding on topics as basic as heroes raised more questions than Aksel hoped he would get answers for. However, a part of him, the one that loved all things divine, realising the boundless opportunity to educate the ignorant girl beside him as to the glory of the profession, jumped on the chance more eagerly than he let on.
“Let me explain. Heroes come in two clear and distinct categories. The first is a person that is chosen by a higher being, such as an angel, to serve as their instrument in this world. These people have their potential awakened and are granted abilities to perform feats beyond their ordinary counterparts.
“… Like what?”
“Like creating divine weapons from your essence, blasting your enemies with the First’s holy light, or even flying through the air like an angel!”
“… I’d like to fly.”
“I know, right? Heroes are just the best! They’re all paragons of justice, saving the weak from the strong but graciously accepting surrender when offered. They don’t discriminate and live to help the people. They’re just so cool! I recently re-read the stories of Kale Saturn, the first divine hero, and his angelic companion, Cassiel. It’s still amazing to believe they managed to singlehandedly turn away the first united goblin horde right as they were at the gates of New Arkania, as it was called back then, before driving them all the way back to their mountain holes. Hey, did you know that the elves he saved there set up their own nation call the Saturn Freehold? They worship the two like they’re their own gods, which is technically okay since they were blessed—”
Aksel stopped himself after his enthusiasm got the better of him—only made more apparent in the comparative calm on Vine’s sedentary face, along with the barely restrained snickering of Theo. Regaining himself, he continued his explanation.
“Right, so, the second type is a hero summoned from another world—usually one who has already been killed in their own, though it’s not always necessary. Theoretically, anyone with enough materials is able to do this, though your results can vary wildly depending on who it calls up.
“… What’s a summon?”
“It’s… How do I put it? It’s sort of like a call for help. The false gods would often call on heroes from worlds completely disconnected from our own to fight for them.
“… Ohhhhh… Why?”
“That’s hard for me to answer. I heard that those heroes usually arrive with innate abilities or are able to learn magic rapidly. They would occasionally bring over some knowledge with them as well, like technologies, ideas, vocabulary, stuff like that.”
“… Okay… What’s a false god?”
I guess she really doesn’t know anything, Aksel thought, not letting it interrupt his flow.
“False gods are the beings that once ruled this world, back when mana flowed freely around us. They were creatures so powerful, that the elves, beastlings, humans and demi-humans worshipped them as their deities. Of course, when the true god returned and banished their mana down into the depths of Mythrin, those same supposed gods fled from this reality to save their cowardly hides.”
“… True god?”
“Yeah, The First.”
Vine tilted her head; not understanding what he meant.
“Okay, wait. You must know about The First. He’s the divine creator of this world. The first god to ever exist. You know, freed humanity from the elves, gave us the six, later seven commandments, created all the angels that are dedicated to protecting us. You know. The First.”
“… What’s an angel?”
Aksel halted after hearing that comment, with even Theo offering a befuddled expression at Vine’s complete lack of basic information. Not knowing about The First was bad enough, but not knowing what an angel was, given that they are the most prevalent idol in human history, was like not knowing what hands were. Literally impossible.
“Okay, you’re messing with me, right? Everyone’s heard of angels.”
Vine tilted her head again, presumably indicating to Aksel that she was not included in the term ‘everyone’, although he had suspected this for a while now.
She must have been locked in a room without windows for her whole life, Either that or her brain’s leaking or something.
“Okay, that’s fine, I guess. So, angels are divine beings said to be born from the feathers of The First’s own wings, given life, and handcrafted into the perfect lifeforms. Every angel is overwhelmingly beautiful, amazing and powerful.”
“… Like Theo.”
“Wha— No! there is no comparison between angels and that red headed walking misfortune.”
“Hey!” Theo protested his comments.
“Angels are stronger than the false gods of magic, excelling at any task they set their minds to, and have a level of beauty any man or woman would fall for at first sight, regardless of that angel’s gender. That’s practically the opposite of Theo.”
“HEY!”
“… I see,” Vine nodded along.
“Don’t just agree with him, I’m standing right here!” Theo yelled but was ignored.
At that moment, Vine turned her attention back to the ground as another perfect collector’s item came into view.
“You’re… going to keep doing that, aren’t you?” Aksel asked with a resigned expression, anticipating Vine’s peculiar behaviour.
“… I’ll leave no stone unturned.”
“Or taken, in this case.”
With the occasional rock collecting added to the itinerary, the group continued on their journey, drawing ever closer to the village of Carnifex.