"Anna!" I awoke startled. Zach had shook me awake. Instinctively I shoved him off me and he almost fell over. "Oh sorry I didn-"

"Zach! What the hell?!" I snapped at him. "Don't scare me like that!" I noticed it was just him in the caravan. "Where is everyone?" I said, groggily standing up from the seat in the caravan.

"They're all outside, we just arrived in Ghalaron." Zach said, motioning me to climb out of the caravan. I did so. Everyone was sitting around on logs inside of a barn. Hay filled the floor and our caravan was stuffed in the far back of it. The barn was red as assumed and lit up with an assortment of lanterns.

"Good morning." Julie said as I was looking around. "We're parked just outside the city, we don't actually need to go inside the city unless we're picking up supplies." She mentioned. "I paid rent, so don't worry about that."

"We'll be leaving soon." Kayden mentioned. He held a map in his hands and gestured for the group to follow him over to one of the walls. He pinned the map to the wall, spreading it out so I could see the entire thing.

"This is Rainsong Forest." He said. "We are here. Ghalaron is here. And, the last known location of the Lich was atop this plateau." He pointed to the different locations on the map, as I wondered how we'd get on top of a plateau.

"We can scale the plateau and hopefully find a way to surround the lich in his home in order to bring him down. We have enough space to keep ourselves occupied, so be sure to stay away from the edges." Kayden was very serious about his explanation. "Once we get to the Lich, I would like to speak with him first. I don't want any unnecessary bloodshed." He turned to Zach who was looking aimlessly up towards the top of the barn.

"Zachary!" Kayden shouted, bringing him back to this plane of existence. "Are you listening?"

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"Huh, what, yeah." Zach said cluelessly. "Get to the lich, kill him, leave. Got it boss." Kayden sighed and just rolled his eyes.

"Okay. Anyways." He continued. "Julie, I want you on the lower ledge, in order to jump up and defeat the Lich if we are in trouble. Or catch Zach if he falls." Kayden glared at Zach who just awkwardly laughed.

"Any questions?" Kayden's actions really did portray leadership.

"I have one." I said raising my hand. "Why can't Julie just help us in the fight?" I asked.

"I can't help because all of the upgrade points you get from killing monsters would go to me instead of you five." She mentioned. "I will only help if it's dire, as I am much too high rank for us to share any points." I nodded, understanding her answer.

"Great." Kayden said. "We can leave now."

"Let's do this." Zach said, unsheathing is blade from his belt and putting it over his shoulder.

"I will be helpful if I can." Stephanie said. "Will we be taking the caravan?"

"That's not a bad idea, however I feel that we can arrive quicker by going off the path and fighting a few monsters in the area." Kayden said before gesturing towards me. "She's never fought with us before, so she can learn a bit on the way."

"Complain about me more why don't ya." I joked poking Kayden on the back. He laughed.

"Don't worry everyone, the noob here won't hold us back." Zach said pointing at me. "She's pretty powerful." He put his hand on my head like he would to a child.

"I will cut you." I said drawing my knife about halfway.

"Okay! Okay! I'll back off." Zach said laughing.

We left the barn, and the first thing I noticed was the sound of rain. It wasn't pouring, but just the slight blissful sound of falling rain. I felt the rain touch my skin as the scent filled my nostrils. I adored this feeling, I felt enlightened to be outside.

The surrounding environment was a lush mix of green and blue. Tall trees that reached over us like a canopy were in the distance. We followed the path to arrive at this wonderful forest. I couldn't help but smile at the rain, and the forest. It was beautiful. The clearing that the barn had been in held a path that led directly to the city. The forest was very clamped together and much of it was still in tact.

I was glad for Kayden's directional skills as I knew I would get lost very easily here. We continued moving through the forest as a brisk pace. Trees, vines, undergrowth all irradiated my vision like a drug. I took it all in and adored the phenomenal feeling I had.

The forest was absolutely beautiful, and I could not wait to explore it.