Once again… Everything hurts. I open my eyes to the surprising absence of my parents. I suppose they must be readying breakfast. Sleeping with my clothes on means I do not need to go through the taxing motions of getting ready. I start slowly descending the stairs to the kitchen, realizing there is some sort of argument going on.

“There are rules for a reason-”

“In times of crisis-”

“Do not lecture me-...- must be punished.”

“Surely...”

I cut the argument short with my mere presence.

“Hey there, everyone.” I greet my parents… And the Hunters. All three of them, in my home.

“Volter…” Dariy’s voice is all I need to hear to know.

I am in trouble. Not that the presence of the three well-established Hunters, meant to deal with any and all threats, is soothing.

“We need to talk… Now.” Alayne commands.

Alayne’s voice is like a steady growling, always reminding me… I am nothing but trouble to him. Makes sense, seeing that he is the Leader. Even as a kid, I was always told not to disturb him. Of course, nobody could stop me.

It is not my fault. He has a rather majestic appearance, with blue scales instead of skin, like the mythic dragon that appeared in this area many years before I was born. The mythic dragon… a story my parents told me when I was kid just to make me eat all my food. I assume Alayne wil not be so kind when I tell him that story, even though I do not intend to do such an insane thing.

“Please...” Ean says. “Do come in. Take a seat. Do not mind us.”

The Hunters each take a seat, except Eadwald.

“Volter, you are injured. You need to rest.” Eadwald says, gesturing at the chair.

I accept her offer. Simply standing tall, trying to fake some semblance of strength, is exhausting. The added knife wound to my side does not make things easier. Eadwald is almost as big as Alayne. My parents say she is an elf, but she does not look like one.

She wears heavy black armor, reinforced with hardened rope. The marks and scratches indicate extended use. She probably did not miss her first attack against a goblin. She does not carry the usual long-sword and shield she uses and her long red hair are not tied as usual. I assume that means they do not intend to take my head. Hopefully.

“I am absolutely disgusted by this kid’s actions. The Outsider going away, I get. But this kid has no idea what it is doing.” Modesta says.

He is a dwarf, like Travlon. Modesta’s skill is unparalleled. He wields magic like no one else, making sure every resource in this Village is put to good use. He is the one who can accelerate the growth of our plants, ensuring our survival.

My parents grow the field and tend to it, but without Modesta… The crops would take three months and more, instead of the two weeks we now need to harvest our food and use the seeds once more. His skill is almost as powerful as his negativity and desire to make my life difficult. His large hands are full of cuts and burns, showing the results of magical experiments that he has done in his life.

“Now wait a minute-” Dariy tries to interject before being cut off from Modesta.

“Silence. If the kid thinks it can go on multiple adventures, it can probably handle the consequences… Unless, of course, the parents have not taught the kid some follow-through.” Modesta says.

He sure knows how to rile someone. I look at my parents. Ean definitely is angry, holding on to various kitchen utensils like they are murder tools.

“Allow me to get you some water, friends.” Ean says, walking out of the room in a rather calm manner.

“Well then, Modesta, would you rather be burying Hollis?” Eadwald says. “Those were the risks. Have you no thought to spare for this boy’s efforts?”

“It is not about the risks. It is not about my thoughts. It is about the kid’s clear lack of thoughts that we are here to talk about.” Modesta says.

I always found it weird that he has no beard. I was told dwarves were supposed to have long, proud beards, like the intricate one Travlon has. I will have to ask Sylvar about that.

“I agree with Modesta.” Alayne says.

Ean comes back with water for everyone. He goes back to strangling an imaginary enemy with a bandage.

“Anything wrong, Ean? Do you find our presence here strange?” Alayne says.

A bit of smoke comes out of the Leader’s nostrils. I have never felt such danger in this place. My parents were always loving, even when I was a brat. I do not like this, not even a little. I was expecting congratulations for the rescue, a repeated one, as well. Instead I have to listen to them talk endl-

“Focus, Volter.” Alayne’s voice booms in the room as he slams his scaly hand, with its elongated nails on the table.

The distinct sound of wood cracking is not enough for the tension to let go. If anything, everyone is even more serious, as if I could suffer the Leader’s whim right now. I need to speak. But… I cannot.

“Travlon claims that he never asked for you to leave this place. That it was you that urged Meuko to come along, even though he only asked for Sylvar. Is it true?” Eadwald says, clearly not disturbed in the least about the whole slamming a table thing.

I cannot tell them Meuko joined because Julie sent her.

“Yes, I was the one that gathered everyone up. Sylvar could not stop me and trust me… he tried.” I say, trying to play off my clear trembling as reaction to the pain.

I hope it is working.

“Then… It is as Travlon said.” Modesta says.

I think Modesta is a good friend of Travlon, though I cannot be sure of anything right now. My mind can barely process this encounter. Still, I will not risk saying anything unnecessary.

“All I could think of was saving Hollis’ life. We not only brought her back from an attack, but we then searched for a very specific component of the much needed cure. We knew you were not here so-”

“So it is our fault now. Is that what you are trying to say?” Alayne cuts me off.

I do not know if he is trying to test me or if he has already decided that I should be held a prisoner or something.

“No… never. You are the ones that keep this Village safe. Nevertheless, we could not reach you and we knew Julielle needed that egg for a cure, as fast as possible. We were doing the best we could with whatever we had.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“A noble reason, if not extremely irresponsible.” Eadwald reminds everyone.

“Did your parents not warn you about that endeavor?” Alayne says as he looks over at my dads. No matter what, he cannot possibly blame them. I will not let him.

“They did not even know. I made sure to stay away from them for the entirety of the day.”

“If we knew, we would have stopped him. You have my word.” Dariy says.

Ean decides to remain silent. I do not know how to interpret that. If there was ever a time to save himself, it is now.

“I see...” Alayne responds.

His expression is not one that I can read. His scaly face makes it hard for me to detect feelings. His elongated mouth and sharp teeth make him seem aggressive, but I cannot say for sure. His claws are scratching the table, making marks across the wood. His scales have a blue color, something that appears calm but let us be honest, I am so scared of him.

Being blue does not change that. His tail is hidden behind his long brown coat. He does not wear armor, as his skin is probably protective enough. The weird thing is that he is sitting in a chair, when he is slightly bigger than Meuko. I just noticed it. How can he do that?

“That is not the point.” Modesta exclaims. “We must figure out what we need to do about this kid.”

“I say we train the boy.” Eadwald says, much to everyone’s surprise.

“What?” Alayne growls. He was not expecting that.

“You would?” I ask, knowing my face expresses more disbelief than anyone present.

“Absolutely not. I have to tend the fields, make candles for all of you, refine our materials… do you have any id-” Modesta is cut short.

“Not you, Modesta. I will train them. I see no problem with that. Is that fine with you, Alayne?” Eadwald has somehow taken control of the entire situation… Almost as if she wanted this to happen.

“This is not what we discussed, Eadwald. You know I do not want ANY surprises.” Alayne sounds angry.

I really should stay out of this. Then again, I do have a problem when it comes to knowing when to quit.

“I already have a trainer. I do appreciate the sentiment though… Eadwald?” I say her name with some hesitation, not knowing if I am… Allowed to say it.

“Eadwald is just fine, Volter, but the blacksmith cannot show you all there is to combat. You should accept help when it is offered.” Eadwald says.

I would agree with her, were it not for a certain knife in the dark I was scared of.

“I think we should make a second squad of Hunters.”

Silence. No one expected me to say those words. They were confident, clear, concise and direct. Unlike anything I have ever been in the entirety of this morning. To be honest, I did not know I would say that until a moment after I said it. Now I must deal with the consequence.

“Are you insane? Did a goblin hit you while you were sleeping?” Modesta says.

I took him by surprise so much, he could not even think of a better insult than a goblin.

“You would tell us what to do?” Alayne says.

If I had a word to describe him right now, it could be as… Insulted, to say the least. I look at everyone in the room. My parents both have a face of pure dread, but they do not say a word. They do not try to stop me. They know they would make matters worse… this is my fight to have. Just them being here would make me feel safe… If not for the obvious face they make of, well, dread.

“I have not seen such… stupid bravery in my life. Do you think you could handle the training?” Eadwald seems to amuse my statement.

“It is not about being able to handle it. I will train as hard as I can. But only Sylvar, Meuko and I can work so well as a team. We are only three which means it is easy to prepare for an outing and we have different skill sets that help in combat. We have already handled goblins and a griffin. We have what it takes.”

“How DARE you-” Modesta says as he gets up, throwing the chair on the floor and creating electricity in his hands.

I might have overstepped.

“What do you have?” Alayne says, raising his hand, with an inquisitive voice and stopping Modesta from… Possibly burning me and my entire family along with the house.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“What is it that you offer? Sylvar knows the woods, can shoot a bow expertly. Meuko is strong, can clearly handle herself in combat and can take a lot of punishment if needed. We have all seen her work. But you… A weak human, still a kid… How can you offer something to the group?” Alayne says.

I notice that his eyes, even though they were round on the inside, they are now slit. He has not blinked, not once. Somehow, I have to defend myself here. If I do not, everything I did for Hollis will mean nothing.

“I… Am…”

“Come on now… You have the audacity to break as many rules as possible in this Village, then ask to be trained and given the influence of us Hunters and… You have not even thought about whether or not you deserve it?” Alayne says.

His direct voice is frightening. I can see why he is the Leader of not only the Hunters but the entire Village as well. I just claimed he should allow me more freedom, right after disrespecting him repeatedly… I am dead.

“I do offer things in that particular group.” I answer. “I am weak, so I find the easiest way to do things. When we were bringing Hollis back to the Village, I thought of carrying the berry sacks at our backs so that we would have protection if goblins fired at us. A thought that was only possible because of my preparation, my possession of rope at the time. Like I said, I gathered everyone up. The only reason we could leave and come back so quickly was because of my urgency. I am a kid, so I listen to what Sylvar and Meuko have to tell me. I learned about what to do when an arrow has hit you, something I used that same day to retain some use of my arm when a small spear pierced my hand. So… I do have things to offer.”

Silence again. Modesta would probably attack me just to remind everyone that the Hunters are in charge, but he does not want to offend Alayne. That is the only reason my house is still standing. Ean has his fists clenched and the smoke around him means that he has some sort of fire spell ready to use. I cannot move around so I am useless now.

All I have is my word. I hope that is enough. Otherwise, Sylvar will never stop judging me, even when I am dead. Alayne looks at Eadwald and they both nod to each other.

“Very well. Rest for a few days… After that, Eadwald will train you. We will see if your group is worth anything.” Alayne says.

Modesta rests his hands, lighting dissipating around him.

“Thank you, Leader. I will do my best. I have to ask though… Did you not see Sylvar and Meuko before coming here?” I realize that they were asking me about what happened.

The rest of the group should have told them.

“They were… Indisposed. No matter, we learned everything we should. Do not cause any more issues, or I will have your hide… If I have to choose between you and the Village… I will not hesitate, understood?”

“Yes, Leader.” I nod.

“Modesta… no more arguing.” Eadwald says as she leaves the kitchen.

“Fine, I would not spend one more minute in this awful place.” Modesta follows.

“See you soon.” Alayne says as he begins slowly walking out of the kitchen.

As soon as the three of them are out of sight, Dariy closes the door while Ean sits on a chair, panting.

“You did not just do this.” Ean says in his usual trembling voice. He was ready to fight Modesta.

“Well… Our son was recently stabbed from someone in this Village and now… He wants to join the Hunters. Great.” Dariy growls.

I can understand his worries.

“Can I have something to eat, please? It has been about two days.”

“Right away.” Dariy says, acting like nothing happened.

“I hope the food tastes as awful as this situation you brought here on us.” Ean smirks.

“With my hunger… Anything is good right now, but I get your point.” I say.

“If they attack us like this ever again, I will burn them.” Ean continues.

“And you wonder about who our son is more alike.” Dariy says.

“As if you did not have a knife ready.” Ean remarks.

“That is another matter entirely. If they made a move, I would gut them.” Dariy says.

“Food… now…” I weakly remind them, touching my bandages to make sure I am not bleeding out from stress.

Sylvar must be feeling good right now, with Julie and Meuko. I am the one that has to deal with three powerful people here. I trace the crack and skid marks on the table, reminded of the fact that they could enter this place at any point in time and just… Destroy it. I need to get stronger.

“Hey...” Dariy says as he looks at me. “You are safe now. Eat and feel better already.”

“Yeah, how did we not think about that? Just feel better.” Ean says.

“Dad… Do not talk to dad like that.”

“Sorry.”

“Love you too”

“Now… eat with me. I am so hungry”

And we ate. That was just a morning. I did not dare leave my house today. Frightened was all I could feel. My parents knew that, so they did not try to appease or anything. They did their job as usual and came back during the evening.

I spent all day thinking about many things… How to get stronger, how to become a Hunter as fast as possible, techniques I could learn from Sylvar or Blago. Julie visited during the afternoon to heal the rest of my injuries. When she reached the new knife wound… She knew.

I implored her to not say anything until we figured out what was going on. After explaining the entirety of my stressful morning, I asked her about Sylvar and Meuko. Apparently, all three of them were sleeping so heavily, the Hunters could not wake them.

Modesta got tired of that pretty quickly so he just left and came straight to my house and the other two just followed. We knew everything that happened recently was weird but decided to wait until the whole group was gathered. After she left, I made sure my body was working like before.

At least I had that going for me. No more pain. I quickly had dinner with my parents and went to sleep. Somehow… I was tired, even though I barely moved today. Now I need to get some rest… Or so I thought.