The little girl softly hummed a cheery tune as she read the open book in front of her. The slowly dimming light of the sun barely illuminating the pages as they shook with the swaying of the carriage moving down the road. So engrossed in her story, the little girl jumped when her Mother placed her hand on the child's shoulder from behind the driver's seat.

The woman gave a chuckle before gently brushing away a strand of the girl's wayward hair and speaking.

"Merry, close the book, dear. It's not good for your eyes to be reading in this light."

The young girl turned around and gave her Mother a pleading look that only a 7-year-old girl could give,

"Please, Mother, just a little longer. I've nearly gotten to my favorite part!"

Merry looked at her Mother with an upturned lip, her eyes round and begging. The older woman gave a hesitant smile; her only daughter always did know just how to pull at her heartstrings.

Before she could break under the power of her daughter's puppy-dog eyes, however, a large, balled hand landed on the top of the young girl's head with a light thud, making her wince slightly,

"Now, Girl, Listen to your Mother. Close the book and start getting ready. We'll be making camp soon."

The girl's father's hand went from fist to open palm as he softly patted Merry's head with his free hand. The other never left the carriage reigns, nor his eyes the road.

With small tears in her eyes, Merry cast her eyes down and reluctantly closed her book, handing it back towards her Mother. Merry's father softly stroked her chestnut, shoulder-length hair before turning and smiling down at her with soft eyes. The little girl returned the grin before sticking her tongue out at him and crawling over the seat and into the back with her Mother.

The man driving the carriage simply chuckled and shook his head. After all these years, he still didn't know what he had done to deserve such a beautiful wife and sweet little girl. But he could not help but think that this was what true happiness was.

Watching the sweet family moment from atop a nearby horse, a young man in bright plate armor couldn't help but smile. Having spotted him watching them, Merry peeked shyly from the back before dipping back with an Ehp!

Embarrassed, the girl's father scratched his head and turned towards the young man with an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry about that, Sir Hero. She's still shy around strangers. Though she'll have to get used to it eventually if she ever wants to take over the Trade. Though I'll admit, it's not often you see a genuine [Hero] around these parts."

The young man gave a short wave and his own awkward smile, before responding.

"No no, it is perfectly fine. I know how young girls can be; I have a sister that will be the same age this year. Besides, I'd hardly call myself a true [Hero] yet. This is my first route outside of Order grounds. I still have a long way to go before I'm worthy of my Sigil."

The older man nodded as he stroked his thick bread.

"Aye, your first trip around the Ring, is it? I remember my own, though I imagine it was a lot less exciting than yours will be. I'm not fool enough to go hunting down Demons or fighting off Miasma Beasts."

As the man spoke, a mocking laugh sounded from the back of the carriage, as the man's wife shouted,

"Ha! Don't pretend you and Matthew had it easy, Thomas. I quite distinctly remember you two limping back from your first trip around the Ring with a half-destroyed carriage and 10,000 weight in Debt. If it wasn't for Caroline pulling some strings, you two would have been hauled off by the GIU for all the crap you got into."

Thomas shivered slightly at the mention of his best friend's then-fiancee-now-wife. Even as a young lady, that woman terrified him. Still did, too.

The older man coughed into his hand, face visibly red, as he tried to project an air of wisdom once more.

"*cough* As I was saying... Don't worry so much, lad. Every [Hero] has to start somewhere. You have a good head on your shoulder, I can tell. I'm confident that you'll grow into your responsibilities. Just keep moving forward and do what you can. That's all we can ask of you. That's all anyone can... don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

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The young "Hero" simply pressed his lips together and turned his eyes back towards the road, digesting the words of wisdom from the older, more experienced man.

As the group fell back into silence, two tiny eyes peeked out once more from the back of the carriage and stared at the young man on the pretty horse.

Hero.

That is what her father had called him. She had read the stories before, stories of the gallant Order of knights chosen by the Hero's Sigil to cleanse lands thick in Miasma.

But in truth, all Merry could see was a boy even younger than her father, not the shining Warriors of Legend. Seeming to feel her gaze, the Hero turned and met her eyes. Merry jumped, but gathering her courage, she leaned out from the back and stuck her tongue out before quickly ducking back into hiding. The Hero simply smiled awkwardly and gave a light chuckle.

Turning his eyes back towards the road, the Hero's face took on a more serious gleam, his eyes scanning the surrounding woods. As he did so, he asked Thomas,

"Is it safe to make camp here? Should we not press on to Whitewood?"

Thomas simply shook his head and replied.

"No. We'll never make it before Dark. And besides, there is a small cave a little farther along the road we can use. As long as we are vigilant, there should be little danger."

The Hero frowned as he watched the quickly sinking sun. He wanted to press the issue, but he still wasn't very experienced in this sort of thing yet, having only just started his travels. True, the Order had trained him in wilderness survival and navigation, but training and experience were two different things.

In fact, if it was not for the good luck of meeting this Trader family on the road, he would have been hopelessly lost by now. In the end, he decided to defer to the father's experience and stay silent. However, the Hero could not shake a feeling of unease in his heart, like the calm before the storm.

~~~ Roughly an Hour later ~~~

Time passed, and daylight began to slowly fade into dusk. The small group continued until Thomas gave a small shout, pointing towards a small stone bridge crossing a shallow stream.

"That's our marker there. If we follow the path upstream for about three or four minutes, we'll come to a small cave. We'll make camp there for tonight. The path is too narrow for the carriage, so we will have to carry the more valuable goods and hide the carriage on the roadside. Merry, help your Mother gather the camping gear."

Merry gave a slight nod and started to dig through the mess in the carriage for their camping supplies. Thomas and the Hero worked quickly to unbridle the carriage horses as the two women began moving small crates from the back.

Standing on the edge of the road, the Hero could barely make out the shadow of a small cliff in the distance, though the cave the [Trader] had spoken of wasn't visible from their location. A quiet rustling in the trees was all the warning the young man had before he glanced up, eyes bulging a the sight of the figure falling towards him.

Only carefully honed reflexes saved him as his buckler shield just barely blocked the heavy, gravity-powered blow that would have otherwise crushed his skull like a ripe melon.

____________________________________________________________________________

Merry and her Mother chatted quietly in the back of the carriage as they prepared the camping supplies. They spoke of their journey so far and what they planned to do once they reached the Trade City, Whitewood. As they talked, her Mother smiled gently as she stopped Merry from sneaking several heavy books into their bag.

She never understood where the girl's love for books had come from; she herself was just a plain farmer's daughter who'd caught the eye of a traveling merchant and could not wrap her mind around the idea when her cute daughter spoke about the "worlds inside of the Books." But it made Merry happy, and that made Her happy in turn.

As they worked, something landed on top of the canvas-covered carriage. Too soft to be a fallen branch or the like, but two heavy and controlled to be some forest critter like a squirrel or Tree-Rabbit. Both women's eyes shot towards the top of the carriage, eyes watching the large bulge as it slowly crept closer to their location.

Merry stood frozen, unsure of what was happening, even as her Mother silently crawled towards her, eyes never leaving the thing on top of their carriage. As she wrapped the young girl in her arms and opened her mouth to sounds the alarm, they were started by the sudden sound of breaking wood in the distance and the wild neighing of the horses.

The distinct sound of a blade leaving its sheath quickly followed, accompanied by the sound of clash metal and the grunts of combat. As the two huddled closer together, crawling deeper into the carriage, Thomas's voice called out through the chaos.

"Merry, Martha! Quickly, hide!"

Merry whimpered quietly in her Mother's arms as the next several moments were filled with the sound of combat, the ringing of metal on metal, and the panicked neighing of the horses.

Just as the sound of fighting seemed to slow down, the Hero's voice cried out in a panic.

"THOMAS! WATCH OUT! THERE'S MORE OF THEM!"

Suddenly, the sound of whistling wind cut through the chaos, followed by a sickening thud. Someone outside gurgled as if choking on air, as a figure leaned up against the canvas sides of the carriage. Merry's father stumbled backward into view in the next moment, a large arrow protruding from his chest.

Thomas silently looked down at the arrow, dumbfounded, before turning his eyes to Merry and Martha. The light in his eyes was filled with fear and confusion, but above all else, a desperate pleading scream for them to run, to hide.

Then with a gentle smile, blood leaking from his mouth. He fell.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Martha's wailing shriek ripped through the sounds of combat outside and echoed through the Forest.