I ran toward the forest. Leaves raked my skin and bushes ripped at my clothes. I hope I’m not too late. I stepped into a puddle, soaking through my left boot to my skin in muddy water. I could sense it up ahead along with another mana signature. I burst through the bushes and kicked it square in the ribs. I felt the bones give way under my feet. The Aicron half-coughed half-yelped as it was flung to the side.
A young girl no older than ten was on the ground covering her face and crying. She seemed unharmed which was good enough for now. I had to dispose of the enemy first before tending to her. I walked to the Aicron. Blood leaked from the corner of its mouth. It tried desperately to get away. It was unable to walk properly and limped at a slow pace away from me.
It was a dangerous animal but I didn’t like needless suffering. I unsheathed my sword and sliced the Aicron’s head clean off. I sliced at the decapitated head once more before it could hit the ground. The black horn fell into my outstretched hand.
“Are you alright?” I asked the girl. To my surprise, she was completely silent. An ordinary person her age would have been bawling their eyes out but not a sound escaped her open mouth. Her eyes were clenched tightly shut, her tears were the only thing that escaped. I placed a hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes at the touch. I was able to calm her crying when I pointed at the dead Aicron. After staring at it for a moment her flow of tears stopped and turned into the occasional sniffle.
“Thank … you… for saving me,” she said.
“We shouldn’t have let it get away, I’m sorry for putting you in danger” I replied. “I’ll take you back.”
I knelt down with my back to her. She knew what to do and climbed into my back. When I met with the others they were busy severing the horns from the Aicron corpses.
“Is she ok,” said Edward.
“She’s fine, no thanks to you,” I said. Edward looked down in shame. When the horns were collected we walked back.
“I’m sorry, we didn’t mean for this to happen,” said Edward in a sad voice.
“Sorry, doesn’t cut it when you put not only yours but others' life on the line,” I said. “I’m surprised you all lasted this long without one of you dying. Your teamwork is practically nonexistent. You put yourselves into danger without knowing it and without having someone else to protect your back. Petros should have a sword that isn’t that dull, you should be spending more money on his equipment. Esmeralda would have died if not for my interference. She was so focused on getting the kill that she put herself in danger. Edward, you need to coordinate with the members of your party and support them efficiently from a distance. As for Lucia, you didn’t do anything wrong specifically so I’ll give her that credit. What she could do is direct and coordinate moves since when at a distance you get a better idea of the flow of battle. ”
My words were harsh but I fully believed they were necessary. They can’t continue by making these basic mistakes. I felt the little girl’s head fall on my shoulder. It appeared that she had fallen asleep.
I lowered my voice. “I understand you were doing your best but there are other things you need to consider.”
“You’re right,” said Edward, “we weren’t ready or prepared for fighting. We wanted to be adventurers without taking the proper precautions.” Edward sniffled.
“Maybe we aren’t cut out to be adventurers.” He laughed weakly holding up his bow. “ I mean, the only reason I have a bow is because I’m too scared to fight up close.”
“If only I knew more spells,” said Lucia.
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The journey back was a quiet one. When we had deposited the Aicron horns we split the reward and went our separate ways. I don’t think partnering up in a party is the right path for me. I can’t afford to be held back by my teammates. I had to nudge awake the little girl on my back. She had slept the entire way back.
“Where do you live?” I asked her.
She had pointed in a direction. She seemed to have difficulty speaking and making sounds in general. She hadn’t said a word other than her thanks when I had saved her from the Aicron.
She held my hand as she walked in a direction. It appeared she knew the way back. We walked through the market and several streets that I hadn’t been to before. The houses were more worn down and one could see places where sections of houses had been rebuilt crudely. A hooded figure stepped into the street we were walking down. Where had I seen that before?
“What are you doing with her?” demanded the person angrily. I put the child behind me.
“What does it matter to you?” I asked back. He spoke as if he knew her, but if so why was she hiding behind me?
“You kidnapped her didn’t you,” said the person. “Don’t expect mercy from me.”
I raised a hand. “You don’t understand I -”
The hooded figure dashed forward. I stepped forward and stopped the charge with my arms. Sharp spikes sliced into my arm. Not spikes, claws. I stepped slightly back and drew my sword. They swiped at me. Their claws dinged against my blade, the sound echoed through the alleyway.
“I told you, I didn’t kidnap her,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Why would I believe the word of a criminal,” replied the person swiping with their other hand. I ducked the blow and pushed them back. This person was no rookie, they were highly skilled and dangerous. I swung my sword in a wide arc. They easily ducked the path of the blade just as I had planned. I jabbed the pommel of the sword at his head. He leaned back swiftly just in time avoiding the impact. The handguard caught on his hood and ripped it partially off. The person had messy black hair and was young. A pair of black cat-ears protruded out of the hair. That explains the cat-like reflexes. I raised my knee to his stomach but he protected himself from it by placing his hand in between. We broke apart and I prepared for my next attack. We dashed forward again the distance between us narrowed to the last meter. The girl appeared out of nowhere and hugged him. I stopped dead in my tracks.
“What’s going on?” I said.
It clicked then. I recognised the voice. I had heard it at the Adventurer Guild. It belonged to the highest-ranked adventurer there. It was Wulf. That cleared it up somewhat but that only opened up more questions. At least it seemed she wasn’t in any danger.
It turned out that they knew each other. I explained to Wulf that I had rescued her and was taking her home. Wulf had begrudgingly accepted my reason. When I asked a question of my own about how he knew her, he simply ignored them. He didn’t seem to trust me fully though as he walked with us the rest of the way until we reached a rusted metal gate in front of a church that had seen better days. To the side of the church was a small house, candlelight was visible through the windows. knocked on the door. The face of a middle-aged woman opened the door warily.
“Emma!” she exclaimed, embracing the girl as soon as she caught sight of her.
“Did you bring her back, thank you,” she said to me.
I shrugged awkwardly
“Come in, come in,” she insisted. I tried to protest saying it was getting late but it was to no avail. I found myself sipping herbal tea in the living room full of children playing amongst themselves. Several of the kids had large scars on their arms and necks, some had bandages as well.
“Thank you again, for bringing her back,” said the woman. “My name’s Edith. The children snuck out and went playing outside the walls. They lost Emma and came back to get help to find her. I was half-worried to death when they came back without her. I really need to speak to the wall guards.” she said putting a hand on her chest.
“You probably noticed that Emma doesn’t speak much, she hasn’t spoken a word since her parents …” she said her words trailing off.
“None of these children know who their parents are,” she said.”Many of the children were sold off by their parents or abandoned. Many are from the holy empire, they have seen things no person ever should.” Edith’s eyes glistened.
“On the way here, we met with the adventurer Wulf, Emma seemed to know him?” I began.
“Oh, Wulf,” said Edith. “He was raised here, he visits from time to time. I think he despises me, to be honest. I should have done more for him.”
She leaned in. “Many of the children here including Wulf were experimented on in the holy empire. They were deemed failures and cast aside to die. It was then I took them in.” she put a hand on the ornament on her chest.
“As a follower of the goddess Lucia, I couldn’t leave them be.”
She told me a bit more about Wulf and the orphanage. It was connected to the church and was a non-profit. I hadn’t planned to stay for long but I ended up staying for several hours there even having dinner there. I thanked Edith for their hospitality and went on my way into the night.