Iris groaned and rolled over, but the knocks on the door continued.

"Hurry up!" Autumn shouted, "Eli says we're gonna leave without you!"

Iris swung herself upright and wiped the sleep from her eyes, "almost ready!" she croaked.

She blipped across the room, opened her bottomless bag, and started sliding everything atop the dresser into it. She blipped back to the bed, and did the same with everything on the nightstand. After a few more blips to collect dirty clothes from around the room, she got dressed in her wizard robe and hat. She had to look around for her second boot before spotting it in front of the door.

She stood in the doorway for a moment before stepping out, partially to make sure she hadn't left anything but also out of sentimentality. It wasn't the last time she'd see this room, they'd be back in a week or two, but it still felt like a meaningful moment to her. She was an adventurer now, and this was the first of many rooms she'd call home for a time before moving on to the next adventure, the next city, and the next temporary home. It had served her well, though she did hope the next one had a better view.

"See you soon," she said, smiling faintly.

"I'm docking your grade for this!" Eli's voice called from downstairs.

He gasped and jumped back as she appeared beside him and spoke, "you're grading me?"

"I am now," Eli said, "and you're failing."

She gave him a skeptical look and walked away. Everyone was gathered in the dining area of the tavern. Autumn was stretched out across a table with her arms dangling to the sides and a bored expression on her face, while Titus and Victoria were checking their bags and fastening pockets.

"What time is it?" Iris asked.

"After lunch," Eli said, clearly still annoyed.

"I tried to wake you up for breakfast but you just groaned," Autumn said.

"I tried at lunch," Titus added, "you threw something at the door."

Iris grimaced sheepishly, "sorry, I was out late."

Autumn shot upright, "did you go out partying without us?"

Eli turned a stern glare at Iris. He had strictly forbidden any of them from going out drinking the night before. After Victoria reminded him they were adults and not his children, he had changed it to a very strong suggestion.

"No!" She almost shouted, "no, I was just-- I went to see a friend."

"Ooooh," Autumn said with an obnoxious wink.

"Not like that!" Iris's face was reddening, "can we just go?"

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

They left through the Underbelly. It was busier than usual with many groups of adventurers carrying heavy backpacks stuffed with gear. With all their packs stowed in Iris's bag, the party was able to slip through the crowds easier than most. Iris stopped at a food stand to grab a meat skewer, then blipped to catch up to the others.

They took the side path up towards the city gates, then traveled along the main road for a time. The wide road wasn't crowded, but there were groups of adventurers ahead and behind them making the same trek. Iris blipped up beside Eli, who was leading the group.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked.

"We went over that at breakfast," he said without looking at her.

"Are you still mad about that?"

"Are you still tired?" he retorted.

She didn't have a reply to that. She was still tired, not to mention she had completely ruined her plan of waking up focused on adventuring. She desperately wished she could go back to sleep and try this all again tomorrow, which is the exact opposite of how she wanted to feel today.

"Okay," she said eventually, "point taken. I was irresponsible."

She looked at Eli questioningly when he didn't say anything.

"Uh, and I'm sorry," she added, "and I'll try not to let it happen again?"

He sighed, "I know you're having fun being an adventurer, and don't get me wrong, it is fun sometimes. We all still have fun too. But sooner or later reality is going to set in that fun is a only part of the job. You have to put in the work to earn the fun, or you'll end up broke, dead, or both," he paused, "I didn't understand that at your level either, but I wasn't deep in the Giantrock Region. I'd like to keep you alive until you have a chance to realize it for yourself."

Her expression relaxed and she started feeling guilty, "you take this pretty serious."

"If I don't, people die," he kept his eyes ahead of him as they talked.

"Alright," she said with a sigh, "give me some kind of punishment then. Double watch duty, or I have to pack up the whole camp in the morning. Or--"

"I guess I could put you on half rations," he pondered.

"Please don't," she pleaded genuinely.

He laughed, and they both relaxed slightly.

"Tell you what," he said, "you're on Autumn duty until we get to basecamp."

"Autumn duty?"

"Make sure she's not scavenging for berries when she should be paying attention, or picking fights with something or someone she shouldn't, or doing something dangerous because it looks cool."

Iris glanced back at Autumn, then at Eli with panic, "but that's everything she does."

Eli laughed again and clapped her on the back, "good luck."

After a while they broke off the main road and began hiking through the redwood forest. They were in a completely different part of the forest from what they'd traversed on the way to the city, though it looked pretty much the same. The only difference came from the season shifting ever-so-slightly during their week in the city, with the first of the late summer flowers coming into bloom. Most were of ordinary size, but some were giant flower buds larger than Autumn atop drooping stalks as tall as Titus. They were just beginning to creep open to reveal huge yellow-orange petals stashed away inside.

A short while after they left the road, a familiar screech echoed through the redwoods. Glimmer swooped over them, landing the side of a redwood and quickly folding her wings before kicking off like a cat and landing in front of Eli. He dutifully scratched her head and looked her over for injuries before they continued.

They set up an early camp between two fallen redwoods that provided ample cover on either side. While Eli fitted Glimmer with her saddle and Autumn prepared dinner, Titus filled Iris in on the plan.

"We're cutting across the forest until we hit a trade route where my monster's been sighted, we'll travel along that route for a half day before taking a detour through the woods, then we'll get back on the route and follow it until we cross a bridge. After that it's back into the forest, heading towards the ruins you're looking for," he was reading from his journal, where he'd scribbled notes that were nearly illegible to Iris, "oh, and be on the lookout for giant red wasps, elk, and an octopus."

"An Octopus? she questioned.

He shrugged, "I don't think we'll find one either, but Autumn says they're out here."

"In the forest?" Iris asked incredulously, "wait, whose idea were the giant wasps?"