The fire had burned lower by the time the conversation drifted away from magic. The cave was dim now, lit mostly by the soft orange glow of the remaining coals. Outside, the jungle had fully come alive with the sounds of night creatures. Chirping insects layered over distant howls and rustling leaves
The four of them sat around the small fire, the tension of the day fading into something quieter and Korr had stretched out against the cave wall, lazily tossing a small pebble up and down in his hand. "Still can't believe you went after that gorilla alone," he said with a crooked grin. "Thing's half the size of a damn house"
Soren shrugged slightly, staring at the last strip of cooked meat in his hand. "It was fighting something else. I thought I could finish them both off"
Draven let out a low laugh. "That's either confidence or stupidity"
"Probably both," Korr added
Thalen glanced over from where he sat cross-legged near the fire, his black eyes reflecting the dim light. "Still you are lucky that we were around and found you. Its never safe to adventure alone in these kind of places"
Soren took another bite of the meat, chewing slowly
Draven told a story about a group of rookie adventurers who had tried to hunt a swamp beast without realizing the creature could breathe poison. Korr kept interrupting the story to exaggerate parts of it, claiming the monster had melted an entire tree with its breath
"Complete nonsense," Draven muttered, shaking his head
"It happened," Korr insisted with a grin
Thalen only smiled faintly while preparing another cup of water
Soren let out a quiet chuckle despite himself
It had been a long time since he had simply sat around a fire listening to people talk like this and for a while the jungle, the monsters, and the constant tension of surviving out here faded into the background
Soren blinked slowly, pressing a hand to his temple. At first it was a faint ringing but now his head slowly began to start hurting whilst the world infront of him which was previously motionless now started to spin
'What the hell'
He hadn't moved much. His body was tired, sure, but this felt different. The cave seemed slightly heavier somehow, the air thicker than before
Korr was saying something but the words blurred together for a moment
Soren frowned
'Focus'
He straightened slightly, forcing his mind to clear
The dizziness didn't go away. If anything it grew worse, a faint wave of nausea rolling through his stomach
His heartbeat picked up and he looked around at the three men in the cave with him. Normally when someone in the room is panicking like this the normal thing to do would be to be at least a bit panicked or try to help the person, but all three of them just continued to sit down without a care in the world
They were all far too calm
His thoughts began moving faster now
'Did I get hit by something earlier?'
He mentally replayed the fights from the day. The serpent. The smaller monsters. The cuts on his hands. None of them should cause this and another wave of nausea hit him harder this time
Soren's breathing grew slightly heavier
'Think'
His mind ran through every possibility. Poisonous plants. A monster bite he didn't notice. Exhaustion. Then a different thought crept in
The food
Soren's gaze slowly lowered to the empty cup in his hand. The water Thalen had prepared. The meat they had cooked. His stomach tightened
Another detail surfaced in his mind
'Their intent'
From the moment he met them he hadn't been able to read it
Not once
Soren's heart began pounding now
His grip tightened around the handle of his sword
Across the fire Draven was still speaking casually with Korr, but Soren noticed something different now
They were watching him
Waiting
The dizziness suddenly worsened
Soren with one hand clutching his sword and another hand resting on his temple now started stumbling backwards to create distance
'I thought it was weird that my magic didn't work on them, but what if they knew before hand what some of my skills were and came prepared?'
Soren eyebrows now furrowed
'But what was the point of going through this whole act then?'
Countless thought began to race throughout Soren's head but then it clicked
'The bounty'
The memory surfaced clearly now. The notice. The wording
Alive'
Of course. If they attacked him outright, the fight could get messy. Someone could get hurt. He might even escape
'So these bastards put something in the food or water to avoid all of this struggle. I finally thought I could relax. I finally thought I could take a break from this death game, but no it always going to come back to this isn't it? To these people its just a bounty, but to me its my life!'
Soren's breathing was rough now as he raised the blade, trying to focus through the fog forming in his head
"You…" he muttered hoarsely
His other hand lifted slightly as he tried to gather mana at his fingertips
Railgun
The mana refused to condense properly. His control slipped like water through his fingers
Draven sighed
For a moment the friendly expression he had worn all day simply vanished
"Yeah," he said quietly
Before Soren could react, Draven stood and stepped forward quickly. The movement was fast, practiced.
"Sorry, kid, nothing personal"
Something heavy slammed into the side of Soren's head
Pain exploded across his vision as the world spun violently. His legs buckled instantly, the sword slipping from his grasp as darkness crept in from the edges of his sight
Draven caught him before he hit the ground completely
"We all need that bounty"
Soren tried to move. Tried to speak. His body refused to respond
The cave blurred into shapeless shadows
The last thing he heard before everything went black was Thalen's voice
"See? Told you the dosage would work"
Sometime a couple of days later
Rin had never felt the palace corridors so large before
Her footsteps echoed softly against the polished marble floor as she followed behind Alaric. Royal guards lined the hallway at intervals, each standing perfectly still in silver armour that reflected the dim torchlight. The further they walked, the quieter everything became
Rin wiped her palms against her cloak without realizing it
"You don't need to look like you're walking to your execution," Alaric said calmly without turning around
Rin swallowed. "Easy for you to say"
The old man adjusted the sleeve of his black suit as he walked. His grey hair was neatly combed back, his glasses resting low on his nose. The black rose pinned to his chest stood out sharply against the dark fabric
"The king simply wishes to hear your account," he said. "Nothing more"
They stopped before a pair of tall doors carved with the crest of Stormguard. The guards posted there opened them immediately
The throne room stretched wide and high, banners hanging between massive stone pillars. At the far end sat King Rael Stormguard upon a raised platform
He was exactly as people described him. A large imposing man who looked to be in his forties, with broad shoulders and a short blonde beard that framed his stern expression. His yellow eyes carried a sharp intensity that made Rin feel very small the moment they landed on her
Alaric stepped forward and bowed slightly
"Your Majesty," he said smoothly. "This adventurer, Miss Rin, claims to possess information regarding the individual tied to the current bounty"
The king's gaze shifted to Rin
"Well," he said simply. "Please speak"
Rin suddenly felt her throat tighten
She forced herself to step forward
"I… fought him," she began nervously. "The man on the bounty. Soren"
The name hung heavily in the air
"I thought he was just another criminal at first," Rin continued. "But during the fight… something was wrong. He could read my movements. Not like guessing he knew what I was about to do before I even did it"
The king leaned forward slightly
"Explain more"
Rin nodded quickly
"It was like he could sense my intent somehow. Every strike I made he reacted to immediately." She hesitated before continuing. "And his magic… it's strange. I've never seen anything like it. He cuts himself and uses his blood"
She gestured with her hands as she spoke, trying to recall the moment clearly
"He makes it explode. Compresses it somehow and fires it like a projectile. It nearly killed me"
The room had grown quiet
"And you are certain it was him?" the king asked
"Yes, Your Majesty," Rin said firmly. "And… he escaped. He's already left the kingdom"
That statement seemed to weigh heavily on the room
The king leaned back into his throne, his expression becoming distant
His mind turned carefully through the information
'He escaped the castle. If word spreads about this, suspicion will only grow'
His fingers tapped slowly against the armrest
'I cannot draw more attention to this matter and I cannot act personally, I cannot afford to give them any slight advantages'
His eyes narrowed slightly
Yet letting Soren roam freely was equally unacceptable
Before he could speak, Alaric stepped forward slightly
"If I may offer a suggestion, Your Majesty"
The king looked toward him
Alaric's glasses reflected the light as he spoke calmly a slight light flashed in his eyes
"Why not send his former classmates"
A brief pause passed
"Dorian. Anya. Noah. They know him the best and they are also children of fate prophesied ones sending them wont draw suspicion it will also help them grow as well"
For a moment the king seemed almost dazed, as though weighing something deeper behind the idea. Then he slowly nodded
"Yes… that could work"
He turned toward three figures standing further down the hall
"You three will take charge of this task"
Dorian stepped forward first. He was tall, broad shouldered, his tanned skin and brown hair giving him the look of the ideal knight. Beside him stood Anya, average height with wavy black hair framing sharp brown eyes. Noah lingered slightly behind them, dark skin and braided hair giving him a more relaxed appearance, though his eyes were sharp
"All three of you are rank two adventurers now," the king continued. "Consider this an opportunity to gain experience"
His voice hardened slightly
"Your former classmate Soren has escaped the kingdom. You will locate him… and bring him to justice"
The three exchanged stunned looks
"He escaped?" Noah said quietly
Dorian's expression darkened
Anya's eyes narrowed
The king continued
''I feel the same as you, he is a disgusting criminal who also killed those closest to himself. I don't know how he escaped but I am giving you three the chance to avenge your fallen friends and also go out and learn about this world''
Silence fell over the group
Dorian's fists slowly clenched
Anya's voice was cold when she spoke. "You're saying he's still out there?"
"Yes," the king replied
Noah shook his head slightly in disbelief. "That monster…"
Dorian stepped forward
"We'll find him," he said firmly
Anya nodded beside him
"He won't escape again"
Noah exhaled slowly, his expression tightening
"Yeah… we'll bring him back"
The three stood united now, anger and determination clear in their faces
To them there was no doubt
They would be the ones to capture
Soren wasn't a former friend anymore
He was a monster who had murdered their classmates, no matter the reasons he had for doing it they still couldn't comprehend how he could go through with those actions and refuse to take any accountability
They intended to hunt him down and avenge their fallen friends