Sier rubbed at his tired eyes as he got out of his bed. It was far more comfortable a stay than he remembered. He barely even needed to stretch with how well he slept. But, it never hurt to do so. Besides, he'd be out in the field soon so getting out of shape wasn't an option.
For the remainder of yesterday's daylight, he had been wondering where to go and what to do now that he's practically back at square one. He could try and join the Alagonian Guard, but that was more his sister's style. Settling down and opening up a shop for money never sounded too appealing to him. So, he figured he might as well get back into questing for the Guild.
But, what exactly was there for an E-Rank Guild member to do on his lonesome? Sure, he could try joining another squad, but getting kicked out of an A-Rank squad like the Dire Pack wouldn't exactly give a good impression. The reason wouldn't matter to them.
'Travel a road once, you remember where it leads. Travel it twice, you remember the scenery.'
A piece of advice Kade gave to Sier once. Not that it was at all accurate. The old knight wasn't exactly adept at handing out vague wisdom.
Sier smiled as he thought back to those days. He'd come a long way since then. Sure, he may be E-Rank, but he has far more experience than he did as a kid. So what if he has to head out solo? He knows what he's doing this time.
X
Mila looked to her right and greeted Sier with a smile. He sent the woman a quick wave as he walked up to the front desk.
"Good morning, Sier."
"Mornin', Mila."
"So, what will it be today? Are you looking to enter a new squad? If so, there are a few registered that match your rank."
Sier shook his head.
"Nah, I'll be headin' out on my own."
Mila's eyebrows furrowed in concern and her smile faded.
"Are you certain? The only available quests we have at the moment are oriented towards squads."
Sier nodded without any hint of hesitation.
"Aye. If it makes you feel better, I'll take a smaller job."
Mila stared hard into the young man's eyes for a moment. After a second of searching, she sighed and reached under the desk.
"The smallest job on our hands at the moment. The mayor of Holleon reached out to us a few days back, asking for help from the Alagonian Guard. The population of F and E-Rank monsters has been steadily increasing over the past two months."
Sier looked down and the parchment the woman handed him.
"It's a bit past their breedin' season. Maybe a dungeon emergence?"
Mila nodded.
"One was reported not far up the mountains, forming in what used to be a minor monster den."
Sier looked back up at the receptionist.
"Do we have a rank?"
"Suspected F-Rank, potential E-Rank."
The young man raised an eyebrow.
"Then, what's the problem? There's gotta be a squad here that could deal with it."
Mila nodded again.
"Of course. However, it's getting them to go to such a low ranking dungeon that poses an issue. One squad was sent out shortly before you woke up. Perhaps you can join them? Just for the quest, of course."
Sier shrugged, not minding the idea.
"Sounds good to me. I'll take it."
He pressed his thumb on an already filled box at the bottom of the parchment, right next to three other fingerprints. A faint blue glow lit up before disappearing shortly afterward. He then handed the paper back to Mila.
The Wood Elf nodded in approval as she took the paper.
"You had better be on your way, then. That squad seemed quite eager to depart."
Sier nodded.
"Before that, have you seen Ari anywhere? I tried lookin' around. Kade already left by the time I started."
Mila smiled.
"Actually, she was sent out with some of the guard to look after Holleon while the other Guild members deal with the dungeon."
"Gotcha. Thanks, Mila. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Mila waved as Sier turned to leave the Guild Hall. She muttered under her breath after he closed the door behind him.
"I truly hope so."
She had been feeling off for the past few days. When Sier arrived just the day before, she felt the strange sensation turn sour. She didn't exactly know what just yet, but something... unexpected was going to happen soon. And, with that feeling getting stronger in the young man's presence...
Well, who could say. Her "off-feelings", as her coworkers called them, have been wrong plenty of times before. Hopefully this would be one of those time...
X
Holleon isn't far from Alagon, only being three hours away if one were to travel on foot. The squad Sier was supposed to meet was probably nearing the town by now, if he had to guess. Though, that depends on their pace. From how early they were up and ready to head out, he could be dealing with some juniors. And some rather impatient ones at that.
Sier grinned as he thought back to how he acted when he and Yorrin first left the city. He was practically bouncing with anticipation, ready to go out into the world. His Elven friend was the calmer of the two, though he couldn't get his human counterpart to settle down no matter how hard he tried. But neither of them lacked any confidence, pushing on through any doubts that dared arise.
Now that he thought about it, Sier hadn't been back to Holleon for a while either. Maybe he should go check on everyone before he has to go into the dungeon.
The young man suddenly came to a stop. His head turned to the right, facing the forest at the base of the mountain range. He loosely gripped the hilt of his shortsword and got into a ready stance.
Not far in the distance, he could hear a faint rumbling and the sound of foliage being torn down. His eyes narrowed as the source of the sounds grew closer and closer. Realizing what it could be, Sier rolled to his left as something emerged from the tree line.
Sure enough, out came a charging boar that didn't stop until it crashed head first into a tree on the other side of the well traveled road. It shook its head as it backed away from the tree and turned around.
'Doesn't look too happy. That dungeon must have it riled up.'
It wasn't hard to identify the boar as a Rust Boar, native to this particular mountain range. They were named such due to the high concentration of calcium in their bones, giving their teeth and tusks the qualities of metal. Their saliva becomes toxic once the teeth begin to age and rust, to which the boar itself is immune.
As an E-Rank monster, rust boars served as a challenge to the founding members of the Dire Pack when they were starting out. Now, though, it's a whole different story.
Sier slowly drew his shortsword and held it with his right hand. He lowered his stance a bit as he waited. The rust boar huffed as it was getting ready to charge.
The monster let out a gutteral cry as it ran forward, ready to gore the young man before it with its tusks. Right as it reached him, however, Sier made his move.
{Quickstep}
In an instant, he maneuvered around the boar and slashed at its neck, landing a fatal cut. The boar skidded along the ground, becoming lifeless as it came to a stop.
Sier looked back at his work with a satisfied smile. While he wasn't exactly a strong Guild member, he could still hold his own rather well.
Walking over to the freshly slain monster, Sier reached into a pouch on his left hip and brought out a pair of leather gloves along with a small hunting knife.
Sier crouched down and carefully removed the less decayed of the rust boar's two tusks and stashed it in his pouch. He then reached into the pouch on his right hip, producing an empty vial which he filled with some of the boar's saliva. While the tusk wasn't exactly weapon material, it could be sold for some money depending on its condition. The saliva would be perfect for a poison coating to use in battle, though that wasn't its only use.
Over the years, Sier had found a hobby in alchemy. Since none of his other squadmates were as inclined or interested, he happily served as their resident potion brewer and material collector. He laughed, remembering how insistent they were on paying him for his work.
There weren't as many alchemists as there were in the past. There are many kinds of magic that serve similar purposes to the items they take the time to make. And that just reminded the young man how he didn't have access to a state of the art brewing station like he did back in Rauna.
Sier groaned as he was once again reminded of his situation. There were many things he no longer had readily available. Though, he supposed that's the whole idea of a fresh start.
Before he got back on the road, he dragged the rust boar carcass a little ways off into the woods. Hopefully, if anyone comes by, the smell wouldn't be too bad. He unfortunately has places to be and not a whole lot of time to haul off an entire cow sized corpse.
{Cleanse}
Sier's gloves and hunting knife were quickly enveloped by swirls of water so clean it sparkled in the sunlight. After a second of the water rushing around the items, it disappeared. He placed his now clean equipment back in his pouch as he made his way back to the road. He decided to pick up his pace a bit. He was already behind and that little altercation only set him back further.
Heading off, Sier didn't notice how the air surrounding the corpse of the rust boar began to grow heavy.
Back in the forest, a figure shrouded in a tattered, black cloak stood before the carcass. Floating next to him was a flowing, dark green and bright orange orb the size of an eyeball.
"That the kid, ma'am?"
The figure asked his question aloud in a deep, gruff voice, though he received no answer for a few seconds. After a bit of time, the floating orb next to the figure lit up, the flashes of light syncing with the speech of a disembodied female voice.
"Continue monitoring. This is showing some promise."
The figure groaned.
"Yes, ma'am..."
"You could do without the attitude, soldier. It's your life on the line, remember?"
The figure began walking off, ignoring the retort. The woman communicating through the device decided to just let it go. Shed rather save her breath for something important.
X
Cresting over a small hill, Sier's gaze shifted down a bit. The road continued a bit longer, leading into the town of Holleon. It was rather quaint compared to Alagon, but it was far more serene.
Holleon is mostly made of wooden homes, with some stonework used for the foundations of the other buildings and the paths. A river flowing down from the mountains to the North naturally splits the town into two sections, a residential area and a marketplace. On the west sits the marketplace, where there are various shops and a tavern surrounding the town square. To the south of the town is their farmland that grows from the nourishing mountain waters. In fact, it comes from the same subterranean water source as Alagon's springs.
If Sier had to guess, the team of guards are in the tavern at the moment. Hopefully, the squad that took the quest would be there, too.
X
Walking through the town was almost surreal for Sier. People he'd known were more grown up than before, now having families of their own. The buildings no longer showcased the passage of time. The river that split the town was so clean you could see the bottom.
All in all, it was clear Holleon had gone through some delightful changes. Sure, there weren't as many Guild members running around the place, but the cobblestone streets were still full.
"Oi! You, there! Gimme a hand!"
Sier looked over when he heard a familiar voice call out. Though, it wasn't a voice he could put a name to. Standing next to a stall, unloading boxes of fresh vegetables from a wooden carriage, was a tall woman. She was mature, having a few grey streaks that complemented her pitch black hair that reached down to the middle of her back and had a natural curl. She wore a revealing white blouse with a dark brown dress strapped over her shoulders.
Sier jogged over to help unload the rest of the cargo.
"Cheers, hon."
As he placed down the last two wooden boxes, he dusted off his hands and turned to face the woman.
"Not a problem, Miss."
Just as he looked at the woman, the two of them came to the sudden realization of who the other was.
"... Miss Garnelle?"
"Sier?"
The reactions weren't swift, but to say they were mixed was an understatement. The busty woman was overjoyed, quickly running up and wrapping the young man in a warm hug. Sier, on the other hand, tried his damnedest to maintain a smile.
"Ah, I'm so glad to see you back!"
He would have responded in kind if his voice wouldn't come out too muffled to understand.
"By the Gods, how have you been?"
The woman let go of the embrace and placed her hands on the young man's shoulders, getting a better look at him.
"Could be better. Here on business at the moment."
"Oh, right, the dungeon."
She let go of Sier and dusted off her dress.
"My, you've grown so much. You're nearly up to my chin, now."
Sier chuckled a bit.
"I've been gettin' that a lot lately."
The woman laughed as well. This woman, Miss Umir Garnelle, was one of the last people Sier wanted to run into at the moment. In the past, she had been rather... chatty. Not all of her qualities were ones the young man was entirely fond of.
To put it in more simple terms, Mila is like a caring, doting older sister. On the contrary, Umir is the aunt you know a little too much about but still can't help but care for.
"Say, if you're here for the dungeon, you'd want to go by the tavern. All those guards are there with that squad they sent, I believe."
Sier nodded with a small grin.
"Aye. I'm a little behind already, so I should probably be goin'."
Umir's deep blue eyes lit up and she let out an exaggerated gasp.
"Oh my! Then, we'd best hurry!"
Sier tilted his head slightly, desperately hoping he hadn't heard that correctly.
"We?"
Umir nodded without any hesitation.
"I'll walk with you. Come, let's get going!"
Without any warning, she grabbed the young man by the hand and began dragging him along. The passersby of the town watched them, not exactly surprised by what they were seeing.
It didn't take much longer to get where Sier was going, only being across the town square. Even so, Umir felt it necessary to break the silence.
"I take it you've already visited Alagon?"
Sier nodded, wrenching his wrist free of the woman's firm grasp.
"Aye. That's where I got the quest, actually."
Umir nodded along, a thought coming to her mind shortly afterward.
"Say, where's that handsome little elf you were traveling with?"
The mention made Sier flinch slightly.
"It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell ya' next time."
Umir lost her smile hearing the tone in the young man's voice. It wasn't exactly hard to tell whatever happened was undesirable.
"I see. Well, we're here. Be careful with that dungeon, Sier."
Sier looked back up and nodded to the woman.
"I will. Be safe."
Umir waved as she turned around, heading back to her stall in the market. Sier turned back around, walking up and opening the door to the tavern. The moment he did, all eyes were centered on him. One set in particular lit up bright as she saw who was at the door.
"Sier!"