While Bo and Sera were relaxing at the dinner table waiting for Iris to finish cooking, Jorron came through the hallway and sat next to them.
“So how was Keira? She didn't say anything crazy or get too pushy did she?” Jorron asked.
“Maybe a little, but that's okay.” Bo replied.
“As long as it's okay with you then I guess it's fine.” Jorron excused himself saying he could make them all dinner but was rejected by Iris who overheard him talking from the opening into the kitchen.
She said she would make him a portion of food as well.
They were hungry and luckily It didn't take long for their food to arrive, satisfaction blessed everyone's mouth as they ate the delicious food Iris had made.
“I wish I could enjoy this everyday!” Jorron complimented the food with a delighted expression.
Iris thanked him, and went on to explain how she made it after Jorron asked her.
The four talked amongst themselves until Sera asked Jorron a question, “Do you know how to get to the trial Jorron? We know we're supposed to find one of the doors that leads into it, but how do we find the doors?”
Bo and Iris’s attention moved towards this conversation since it was something they wanted to know as well.
“I do in fact know how to find some of the doors!” Jorron went on to explain. “There's four doors that lead into trial, each one will start you off somewhere different in the trial. ”
“We know where two doors are actually, one is close by but the other is with the Rookie Hunters, the other two are floating somewhere else.” He finished.
“Really! Can you show us the way?” Sera asked.
“Unfortunately the Keeper won't let me for various reasons, but I can give you a map that leads you to one of the doors.” Jorron jogged off to his room and came back with a scroll in hand.
“Here.” He gave the map to Sera. “Study this first and then when you're confident, follow it and you should find yourself at a door to the trial.”
“Umm Jorron?” Iris' voice chimed in. “Who are the Rookie Hunters?”
“Ah you don't know who they are? Well I guess they are a newer thing, probably not in any guides for the Lost Forest yet.” Jorron said.
“They’re a group of bandits really.” Jorron sounded annoyed talking about them. “They go around stealing wild artifacts from rookies like yourself. There's been no report of them harming or killing anyone, but nonetheless they’re still bandits.”
“If you can avoid them, that would be for the best.”
They finished dinner not too long after, Jorron thanked Iris for the food and headed off for an early rest while they found themselves relaxing back in their room.
Iris was sitting in a spare chair with the map in hand, studying it to try and burn it into her memories in case they somehow lost it.
Sera and Bo had already showered and were now lying in bed talking amongst themselves about many things like; trying to figure out ways to utilize Bo’s ember, how to better take on the challenges of the lost forest and what to expect from the trial.
They had read about the trial beforehand but nothing was that simple when it came to the Bridge. According to the guides, the Lost Forest trial was called the Lost Maze because it was made of an enormous hedge maze.
The maze wasn’t flat but instead, due to the gravitational anomalies, it went in all directions and ultimately created this weird 3-dimensional cube of pathways.
That was barely the surface of what the maze was about, the walls and floor could move, creatures and plants prowled the hallways of hedges and the fog was just as thick as anywhere else.
The hardest part of the maze were these sections that could be found along a path that would block the way, meaning if you wanted to proceed you'd have to get past the section
Each section found in the maze was unique and the contents were completely random. The sheer variety of things that had been recorded to appear was staggering - from gladiatorial arenas and large lakes to entire villages filled with empty houses.
They couldn't predict what would block their paths so they had to be ready to face any challenge.
Don't forget the horrifying creatures in the maze, they were more dangerous than those found in the Lost Forest, and many times scarier.
But as the day's exhaustion quickly piled onto them, Sera and Bo both fell asleep while Iris stayed up for a bit longer, still studying.
Iris took a look at the relaxed faces of Sera and Bo sleeping, before she closed the lid of the glowsap lamp that lit their room, made sure the door of their place was locked, then joined them in bed.
The bed was very large enough for them to sleep side by side and have room to stretch out their arms partially. Sera dominated the center of the bed being the largest amongst them, Bo took one side and Iris took the other side.
Tiredness closed Iris' eyes while the image of the map continued to float through her mind and not long after, she joined her friends in a deep slumber.
***
Day 4. (Just writing this so I can remember)
“Thank you for everything you've done!” They all bowed to Jorron, packed up and ready to head back out on their adventure.
“Haha, you're welcome!” Jorron chuckled and said. “You're always welcome here, so stop by whenever you need a safe place to rest or if you just want to hangout.”
The three smiled, waved goodbye and headed out the door.
They left the fog-free front yard back into the foggy depths of the Lost Forest once again, but now with a map and proper rest and recuperation.
Before they left In the morning, they got another checkup from Dr. Thorn and she said Sera was back to her peak while Iris might need another day or so to be back to full health. Iris had also spent a few hours studying the map some more even though Jorron said they could keep it because they had plenty of copies.
Following the map should be easy enough, but it did look like it might take them the entire day to get to the location of the trial entrance.
After a few hours of traversing through the forest, Bo approached Iris with a question. He wondered about what Dr. Thorn had said yesterday and didnt want to intrude then, but thought he might ask now.
He felt they were open enough to each other to ask some personal questions and even if she didn't want to say, that was also okay.
“Iris, I have been wondering since yesterday…”
“About what?” Iris curiously asked.
“Well… Dr. Thorn said you had some old injuries, I was just curious to know the story.” Bo bluntly stated.
Iris looked down while fidgeting her fingers.
This was a telltale sign that Bo had recognized after staying with Iris for a while, it meant she obviously had something to say. She was just either nervous or afraid to say it.
“Remember, your secrets are yours, I'm just curious about you after all.” Bo said and didn’t see the red blush running across Iris’s cheeks.
“I'm also curious about you!” Sera’s mighty hand clamped onto their shoulders as she leaned in towards them getting a giggle in response from Iris.
“What's so funny?” Sera asked.
“Nothing nothing!” Iris continued giggling at how Sera acted.
“My story isn't too interesting.” Iris went on to explain. ”My parents were both Crossers living in the Sea of Misery, and that's where I was born… We were attacked by a group of rogue Crossers and we ended up getting separated.”
“Honestly I don't really remember much, I only remember being injured after our boat capsized and then somehow waking up in the Gladesdale orphanage.”
“Not an interesting story really.” Iris said and turned back to see the shocked expressions of Bo and Sera.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“W-what?” Iris looked confused.
“Not an interesting story!” Sera shouted, “That's like the most interesting story... but it's also quite sad since you got separated from your parents.”
“I'm sorry to hear that.” Sera said at the end in a gentle tone and wrapped Iris in a big hug. Bo also joined in the hug.
“It's okay, that was a long time ago, I don't even remember their faces.” Iris squeezed out while being partially suffocated by Sera. “But I won't lie, that was one of the reasons why I wanted to become a crosser as well, I want to see if I can find my parents.”
“Don't worry, we will do our best to help that happen!” Sera announced after letting go Iris. “Isn't that right Bo?!”
Bo nodded, “We’ll help reunite you guys and take revenge on those rogue Crossers!”
“N-no need for revenge, that's asking too much!” Iris stammered.
“It's never too much to help a friend!” Bo said and Iris' face went red once again.
“Aw, that's so sweet of you.” An unknown woman's voice suddenly sang out from the fog prompting them to summon their badge weapons in response.
They quickly dropped their backpacks to the ground to not impede them if an attack was coming.
A pair of glowing green eyes illuminated a tiny speck in the fog, and then five more pairs appeared, not approaching any closer and leaving their bodies out of sight.
“What do you want!?” Sera announced in a neutral tone, not sure if they were enemies or just passersby.
“It's quite simple actually. We want all your artifacts, any money you got and maybe a little snack if you have any.” The woman said, chuckling at the end.
“You the Rookie Hunters then? Didn't think we'd run into you so fast.” Sera’s face steeled and she threatened them. ”I'd like to see you try to take our stuff!”
“You guys do look pretty strong…” her voice trailed off and then suddenly she burst into a high pitch squeal. “Wait wait are you… Madeline Might's daughter!!”
“Huh?” Sera’s tough face collapsed into one of confusion. “I am her daughter…”
“Ahhh! Really!!” The woman came into view and they saw a gorgeous blonde haired woman wearing a tight black outfit and her green eyes looked at Sera in pure admiration.
“You look just like her, it can't be! You're really her daughter wow!!” She rambled on. “That's gonna make this fight so much better!”
“Huh?”
Before Sera could say anything else, the blonde woman rushed her and threw a punch right at her face.
Sera ducked at the last second as the fist soared right where her head just was, in response she spun her ax and pushed the woman away with the blunt end.
“I thought you guys didn't hurt others?” Sera asked.
“Oh. Well for the most part.” The women stopped and explained. “Most people just give us their stuff since there's six of us, but if they don't, then we beat them up a little.”
“So you're nothing more than low life bandits!” Iris barked from the back.
“How rude. Unlike most bandits, we don't kill or permanently injure others okay? We're good bandits!”
“So you're still bandits then!”
The woman paused for a moment then said, “That doesn't matter!”
She then dashed at Sera once again and the other five of her companions followed along and attacked them.
Bo didn't want to leave Iris’s side so he stayed and waited for the three bandits that ran to him and Iris, waiting for his chance to strike.
Unfortunately, they were vastly outclassed.
Sera managed to fend off two by herself for a bit, including the blonde women, but once a third joined, they managed to pin her to the ground with a sword dangling an inch from her neck; if she tried to push them off, the blade would go right into her throat.
But she knew they didn't want to hurt her, or at least that's what she thought, so she wanted to stealthily activate her ember and release a powerful attack but before she could even move she felt a foot press down onto her chest.
“Stay down.” The blonde woman said and Sera felt a mountain of weight press into her chest making her unable to move even when she activated her ember.
Bo was faring a little better because he had Iris helping him on the side, she wasn't the greatest fighter but she had practiced how to support the front line.
Bo played it defensively, only striking when they got close while Iris used her club to ward off anyone trying to flank him. In the moment, she realized she made a very poor decision in how she carried her potions, they were neatly wrapped and packed inside her backpack for use, not able to be used in times of need.
This was a devastating shock because with the potions, they would probably be able to surprise the Rookie Hunters and make a break for it, but now if she wanted to use them she had to rummage through her backpack.
‘What a horrible decision’ Iris berated herself which left a slim opening for an attacker to slip through and pin Iris to the ground.
The four others who were not pinning anyone to the ground, were now solely focused on Bo and were a little stunned at how well he defended himself.
Using strength and his vast quantity of endurance, he made sure to make every swing with his machete powerful, making approaching him dangerous if a strike landed.
There was only so long he could last though, quickly they found an opening and tackled him to the ground. They turned him so his back was to the sky, and one of the bandits straddled him and pinned his limbs down so Bo couldn't use his strength and could only struggle.
Now the gang was all fully pinned on the ground, their fates up to the whims of the bandits.
“Well that was fun!” The blonde woman wiped a drop of sweat off her forehead and motioned for her companions to look through their backpacks.
They didn't dump their backpacks out but neatly took everything out, even from the small pockets, and sorted everything into piles.
Eventually they created a pile of wild artifacts; the compass, the food bag and the box used to send potions to Madeline. Then there was a pile of their spare lang, their rations and water and some other piles.
“Will take these three wild artifacts, the money, and also these potions here.” She lifted one of the potions up and said. “Thanks for labeling them, it makes it easier for us to use.”
“We’ll take these and be on our way. Good luck with the rest of your adventures.” She waved goodbye ready to leave.
“You can't take the metal box wild artifact!” Iris suddenly shouted.
“Oh, Why not?” The woman asked, looking back and down at her.
“I use it to send Madeline Might potions, which she’ll get angry if she doesn't get them. You don't want an angry 5 star crosser coming here when she doesn't get her potions do you?”
“Hmm…” The woman rubbed her chin. “Okay, I’ll believe you this time. Here you go.”
She squatted down and placed the box next to Iris's head then took off followed by the rest of companions, leaving them no longer pinned to the ground.
They were robbed, beaten, and defeated.
You could tell the bandits weren’t even fighting for real either because none of them got hurt, if it was a real battle to the death, they were probably dead 100 times over.
Considering the bandits were most likely 2 star crossers if they lived in the Lost Forest, 1 star more than them, that meant they each had two abilities.
They didn't see anyone use any abilities except for when the blonde woman pinned Sera down with a single foot. Maybe one of them did and they couldn't tell, but that didn't matter, they got their asses kicked.
Bo kept lying on the ground, disappointed in himself not being able to protect Iris or use his abilities to help.
‘I need to get stronger!’ A raging passion burned through him. He was mad at himself and the only thing that could placate this feeling was becoming stronger and proving he could protect his friends from harm.
He thought he could, he did it with the giant gray venus plant, but not this time.
Strength and power was the key. The first step would be to beat the second trial and receive a second ability. Then came more training, harder training, anything to get stronger.
He could feel the same anger and sadness radiate from Sera in a red fiery aura and he thought this was the perfect time to use his ember. He felt an inkling on how to use the powdered emotions and felt this was a good time to stock up on some.
“Sera. I know you're angry, so am I, but can I take your anger? I know it's a little selfish of me to strip you of your emotions, but I think this is a good time to use my—”
“Take mine.” Iris suddenly chirped.
“Yours?” Bo turned to look at Iris, he didn't feel any anger at first but then he saw something he hadn't seen before.
Absolute fury.
A black mist spewed forth like an endless stream from Iris’s body, covering her like a murderous shadow engulfing its victim. Bo felt intimidated for the first time after seeing her powerful aura.
Iris was furious. She was furious at herself for being weak, for not preparing her potions better, for not being able to help her friends when they needed her.
And most importantly, she was furious they made her friends angry.
“Take my anger!” Iris said with a defining tone.
Bo could see the resolution in her eyes and nodded.
He reached out and pressed his palm onto her back and then activated his ember.
[ Soul Power: 15 ]
He felt the tide of fury flow straight into his body. He watched as his Soul Power dropped fast and even then the black mist of emotion didn't seem to end.
‘I've never felt this much emotion from Iris before’ Bo thought.
After almost 30 seconds straight, he felt his ember automatically deactivated because he had run out of Soul Power. He had taken a big portion of fury from Iris, but there was still plenty left.
A new popup appeared in his emblem stats.
~ ~ ~
Badge Weapon
[ Machete ]
~ ~ ~
Embers
[ Formless into Form — Access the formless items of living beings and turn them into form. ]
[ Restrictions: Use the souls of beings you've slain to power the ember. ]
[ Soul Power: 0 ]
Stored Emotions
[ Intense Fury: 15g | Iris Faith ]
~ ~ ~
Now he could see the emotions he had stored, and the owner of which the emotions belonged to. He would make sure he used the fury of Iris to take vengeance against the Rookie hunters, and take their stuff back.
But for now, they weren't in the right mindset and they didn't have any useful wild artifacts to take on the trial. For today, they just needed to calm their lingering emotions lest it get the better of them.
They decided to head back to sanctuary and talk things over about how they would proceed, then get back to their adventure.
They promptly followed the map that the Rookie Hunters hadn’t taken, back to the sanctuary and once again arrived at its entrance— quite a bit sooner than they thought.