It didn’t take long for Loup and Leonce to reach the tower ruins, and upon the two walking over the ancient stone bridge, they immediately began to scan the area for the Astrid Root. Loup smiled a predatory grin as he spotted a small grouping of the plant, and carefully began to dig them up, trying his best to preserve the treasured stems and roots while Leonce busied himself with studying the tower – his academic curiosity getting the better of him in that moment.

“You going to help, or just stare at the tower all day?” Loup asked as he loaded a few of the plants into a sack.

Shooting his brother a grin, “Likely stare at the tower~”.

Loup rolled his eyes as he continued to gather the required amount to complete the request, while Leonce just scanned the old watch tower.

“It’s weird though,” Leonce noted, as he brushed his hands against the ancient stone.

“What is?”

“This. This tower. By all rights it should’ve collapsed in on itself long ago, yet here it stands. As if its vigil has yet to be completed,” Leonce observed.

After tying the sack and hanging it from his belt, he turned to focus on his brother, “What?”

“Look at it. The wood’s all but rotted away inside, and those were what acted as the support beams. There’s no central pillar of stone, or something holding it together beyond its own weight, but even that doesn’t add up…” He continued, walking over towards the entrance, “Sometimes I forget how strange this valley is.”

Loup raised a brow, somewhat unsure what he meant by that, “The valley’s strange? In what way?”

“Think about it, Loup. We have a Mage calling our village home, when they generally dwell in cities, as they have everything they require there, and even if we do consider the rarity of the herbs we have here, it still doesn’t make much sense to leave centers of culture and education,” He replied, “Of course there’s also the ruins deeper in the forest we’re all forbidden from entering due to the numerous beasts that often dwell there, and finally, we got this strange marvel of engineering. Damnedest thing this…” Leonce explained as he continued to study the ruins.

Taking a breath, Loup just shook his head, “Strange or not. We got more important things to focus on… namely our job. You know, the herbs?”

“Fine! You’re right. Lets get the flowers and be off then~ Better to get these requests done as fast as possible. So, where in the hells are we supposed to find the flowers, Hmm?” Leonce asked.

Loup nodded behind his older brother, prompting the blond to glance over his shoulder and see only a thicket of trees, prompting him to arch a brow, “Really? Deeper into the woods? Sure that’s wise, little Wolf?”

He shot him a pointed glare at hearing the nickname, “I’m sure. Come on.”

“Alright, deeper into the scary beast-filled woods we go I suppose~ But don’t go expecting me to fight anything. I see something larger than a boar, and I’m running with my tail firmly between my legs.”

Loup couldn’t help but chuckle, “Still sticking to that act?”

“Always~” Leonce smiled.

Trying to move as quickly as possible the two entered the woods, jogging outside the road, hoping to find the flower sooner. Loup assured Leonce the flower would be easy to find, as he and their father often found the rare flora whenever he took Loup hunting with him. Leonce didn’t question whether his brother was speaking the truth either, as he knew for sure his little brother knew where they were going and what they were looking for. In truth, Loup was the one leading this expedition, Leonce was just along for the ride so to speak. But, the further they breached the woods, the more on edge the older brother was. The birds were still chirping, and there was still a fair bit of activity around the woods, but the atmosphere changed from light to dark. A heavy sense of dread began to well up within the older brother, and he slowly drew free a small dagger from its sheath, holding it in a defence-ready stance.

Loup meanwhile was the very image of calm. He kept his own pistol holstered still, his eyes laser-focused on the task at hand. Unlike his older brother, he would be able to tell if something dangerous was moving towards them. The sounds, the forest life, and even the trees themselves would react to anything potentially life-threatening. It was why he didn’t bother to react or get into a defensive posture like Leonce. Before long, he found what he was looking for. Pausing, he brought a closed fist up, calling for his brother to stop, only to point down to a small gully below wherein the rare flower was found in large flower beds.

“There…”

Leonce peered over Loup’s shoulder, a bit amazed at the sight before them, “Wow. That’s actually rather surprising.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Loup nodded, “I knew it wouldn’t take us long to complete these tasks.”

“I can see that now. Didn’t know there’d be that much just… there, you know? Seems rather odd to see such a rare flower in such a place, in that large of a flower bed at that no less,” Leonce noted as he slid down alongside his brother to gather a few of the rare purple-pedal flowers.

Loup shrugged, “Nature’s weird that way.”

Leonce shot him a confused look, “All the books I’ve read seem to give the idea that such a flower bed is stupidly rare… so rare in fact that it makes me question if this is some sort of trap or… well, you know, a witch’s garden.”

Loup paused mid-pluck, pausing to look over at Leonce, “If it is, all the more reason to gather what we need and move on quickly.”

“Agreed!”

Both brothers got the required amount, and once stowed away, Leonce was first to peak over the edge of the tiny gully, looking around to see if any beasts had crept up on them, but thankfully, the sound of life still echoed about the woods, giving him some degree of relief. Loup was next, and after a quick look around, he nodded and climbed out, followed closely by Leonce.

Thus far, it seemed their luck had held out as they emerged from the woods and stepped back onto the stony pathway leading to the town. Even Loup looked back, a little surprised at how easily they were able to escape the woods, but he wasn’t about to question it.

“Come on, the faster we get these plants submitted, the faster we can avoid going back home,” Loup said, breaking into a run.

Leonce didn’t need to be told twice either, as he knew full well what their dad would say if they came home after the letter they left. They told their parents they were leaving home for a life of glory, adventure, and excitement. Instead, they were still in Oakenhart. It was embarrassing to think about, as even the very thought made Leonce blush a bit at how stupid he’d look going back home after writing all that.

After a lengthy run, the two came to a stop in front of the Guild once more, this time panting and a little worse for wear, given all they had gone through to get to this place. While their adventurer wasn’t particularly exciting or that action-packed, to them, it was just the start of something that could very well be great – or well, that’s what they told themselves as they pushed the two massive wooden doors open and stepped inside.

“Got it!” Leonce announced proudly, while Loup unloaded the bags of herbs onto the desk before the Clerk who stared at them a little surprised to see them here already.

“Oh? Oh! You actually got everything? That – that’s rather impressive and a little unexpected…” She mumbled, counting the herbs before marking off each and giving a small pool of coins to the two.

As Leonce began to count the coins within the bag, he couldn’t help but notice the Clerk staring at them, prompting the brothers to look to one another.

“What?” Loup asked, “Did we do something wrong?”

She shook her head, “No. In fact, you performed rather impressively if I’m being honest… so much so I can’t deny you entry into the Guild,” She said, pausing a moment to look past the two and note the arrival of the only team of adventurers in Oakenhart, “Which is why… we’ll be giving you a final exam~”

Leonce raised a brow, “Oh? I didn’t think you guys had that stuff?”

Technically, they didn’t, but this was her final chance to try and scare off the two young men before they found themselves in a job where not many emerged unscathed.

“Of course! It’s a way to ensure potential adventurers have what it takes to work in such a dangerous field, which is why…” She paused, waving over the group leader, a stocky tall man dressed in armour and leathers he could barely fit his muscle within, “You’ll be working with our Bronze level adventurers here – Iron Shield!”

The tall, stocky man looked confused and tilted his head, looking for the answer, only for Vanessa to pass him a new request.

“Iron Shield here are being tasked with clearing a cave not far from the terraced farms, as there have been reports of Goblin activity in and around the area, prompting fears from local farmers and the town that there might be another Goblin incursion into the town’s outskirts. So to prevent such, we’ve been tasked with performing three tasks,” She began to explain before she pushed herself up from her desk and to a nearby map, “The first is to perform a search for any signs of Goblin activity, and if any is fine, you are to log it, mark down the areas then move onto the second.”

She gave the group time to catch up, though they didn’t need to be told, as it was more for the benefit of the brothers, as the group had done this a few times. They didn’t need to be told this, and so the other three members just found a spot at a nearby table and waited for Vanessa to finish her briefing.

“The second task is actually to scout out the cave the Goblins are reportedly living within and see if there are any external threats such as traps, guards, etcetera. And finally… clear the cave,” She said, her tone shifting away from her usual bubbly tone to a more determined and darker one, “This is the final task and by far the most dangerous one. This is why we’re going to use this as the perfect chance to test your determination and skillset. If you’ve never taken a life…” She looked to Leonce, easily able to tell he wasn’t one for hunting like his younger brother, “This will be the best way for you to learn and come to terms with the deed. Make no mistake: killing these creatures is paramount to the success and safety of the valley. If you let even one survive, it will gather others and attack with such ruthless brutality that you’ll think you’re in a horror novel.”

Her warning was enough to give the two a slight shiver running down their spines. But they weren’t going to back down. They couldn’t. So, acknowledging the task given to them, they made to interact with the others sitting at the table while a lone figure, a woman whose face was obscured by the heavy brown cloak, stepped up to whisper in Vanessa’s ear.

“Why’d you scare them like that?” She asked

The Clerk glanced over at her, then back at the boys, “They’re young…”

“So? What does their age have to do with anything?” She asked, confused.

“Nothing, just… hoping they’re prepared for the life they’re choosing to live…”

At that, the cloaked woman came to understand, but still felt it a little odd, as she was about the same age as them, and she hadn’t said anything about her place with Iron Shield. Shrugging, she turned to rejoin her companions to plan out a proper plan of action. All the while Vanessa watched a while longer, her mind flooding with potential bad ends for the two. She wasn’t sure why she was worrying about them, but she was.