First Adventure: Road to Friendship - Part 3

The three girls had been traveling for a few hours now. Up until now it had been quite an uneventful trip. The girls had only encountered an old traveling merchant just before entering the woods they were in now.

In order to reach their destination, Wellstone, the group of three had entered an ancient forest, known as the Wayward Woods. It wasn’t called like this for nothing. Many adventurers and travelers lost their way in here by venturing too deep into the tangled heart of the old forest.

This huge forest connected the villages of Wellstone and Dragonville. Since the woods were located near the guild house in Dragonville, Kairi’s fellow mercenaries were often hired to undertake rescue missions to find stray people in here. Sadly, the missions weren’t always successful.

The mage was relieved that she had gotten permission from the guild to use a horse-drawn wagon to traverse through the woods. Especially Yumeo seemed like a type of girl who would try to explore bits and pieces of the surrounding area. Now the girl was forced to relax in the back of the wagon, which meant that the young mage didn’t have to keep her in check and could concentrate her attention on the surroundings.

“Are we there yet?” Yumeo asked from the back of the wagon.

“Aren’t you the impatient one? It’ll be another day until we reach Wellstone,” Kairi answered, glancing over her shoulder to see the blue-haired girl lying in the back of the wagon with closed eyes. The silver-haired mercenary was quite certain that this was the third time that the girl had asked that same question.

“Aw, but I’ve got nothing to do over here,” Yumeo whined as she sat up. “Hey Ryu, let’s play something!”

The little blonde-haired girl sitting in the passenger seat turned around and faced her friend. “…I’m enjoying the scenery. Can’t you think of something to do by yourself?”

“I’m asking you because I can’t…” the girl wearing the blue sleeveless yukata grumbled. “Can’t you come sit in the back with me?”

Ryu frowned. “Umu…then I won’t be able to see anything…”

“Then let’s play I spy with my little eye!” Yumeo suggested, trying to think of something to keep herself busy.

Ryu sighed as she turned back in order to watch the road in front of her. “I’m not a little kid anymore…”

“But you liked it when we played it a few days ago,” Yumeo told the girl with a furrowed brow.

“T-that’s different,” the blonde clarified. “I just played along with you because you seemed lonely back then…”

“Weren’t you the one who suggested it though?” Yumeo asked, thinking back.

“A-anyways, I’m getting kind of tired of this never-ending forest, so I’ll let you warm my spot for a few minutes after the next break,” the little girl suggested, hoping to stop the girl from saying such embarrassing things in front of their travelling companion.

“Oh yeah!” Yumeo cheered with a big smile on her face. The blue-haired girl lied back down and started humming happily. She knew exactly how to play her little friend.

Kairi had to laugh, seeing the innocent antics of the girls.

“What are you laughing about?” Ryu asked, slightly tilting her head.

“I’m just enjoying your conversation. The two of you are really close, huh? It kind of remembers me of my friends back at the guild,” Kairi replied, thinking of her comrades.

“Umu…” Ryu mumbled, apparently feeling a bit embarrassed.

The girls had been riding the wagon for a few hours now. The further they went in, the more mystical the forest became. The foliage became thick and lush, while the ancient trees flanking the road started stretching towards the group. Leaves, berries and nuts were scattered on the floor and occasionally little animals like rabbits and squirrels were seen. The forest’s canopy was so dense that only a few streaks of sunlight managed to touch the forest floor.

Even though the beauty of the forest brought a smile to her face, Kairi didn’t feel completely at ease. Some of them overgrown trees in the area had weird shapes on their trunks, which made it seem like they had faces. The unnatural looking mist that swirled on the forest floor didn’t help much either.

Kairi was broken from her thoughts by the blonde-haired girl next to her. “Hey, are you sure we’re going the right way?” Ryu had never gone through these woods before, so the girl was probably a bit scared.

“Don’t worry, Ryu. There’s only one main road in this place, so as long as we stay on it, we should reach our destination without much trouble,” Kairi told the girl, giving her a confident expression, hoping to stop her from worrying.

Since it was easy to get lost in woods like these, the government of the Wellstone had forced the military force to make only one road. Road signs were placed throughout the forest as well.

Ryu nodded as she looked towards the row of trees to her left. “I guess that makes sense. I can imagine it’s pretty easy to get lost in here.”

“I’m sure a forest this big has some secrets hidden deep within. I’d sure love to explore this place one day,” Yumeo announced from the back of the wagon.

“Although I’d like to delve into places like these as well, this forest is much too dangerous for that,” Kairi explained, increasing the pace of the wagon by giving the two horses a cue with the reins. “It’s easy to get lose in here and there are many dangerous creatures lurking in the dark as well.”

“Dangerous creatures?” Ryu inquired.

The silver-haired girl nodded. “Although you won’t find any dragons in this forest, there are other scary animals like bears and snakes.”

“Bears?!” Ryu beamed, her eyes growing wide. “There are bears here?”

“A-apparently so,” Kairi replied, a bit taken back by the girl’s sudden upswing. “I have never seen any myself though. I guess they live deeper in the forest.”

“Mou…” the blonde-haired girl murmured, looking down.

Kairi was confused by the girl’s behavior. “You sound a bit disappointed?”

“That’s because Ryu loves bears,” Yumeo, who had gotten up from her lying position, was now standing right behind Kairi, resting her hands on the mage’s backrest as her long blue ponytail was flying in the wind.

“Haha, I never would have thought,” Kairi mentioned, laughing softly. “I can picture her holding a teddy bear though…”

“I know right,” Yumeo agreed, grinning.

“W-what are you guys talking about? There’s no way I’m still sleeping with something like that!” Ryu protested, puffing her cheeks.

Kairi had to smile because of the childish action of the girl. Looking around, the mage started to recognize parts of the forest. She had followed the exact same road with her comrades last time after all. The girl then looked upwards for a bit before nodding. “It’s getting a bit dusky. We’re going to find a place to build camp.”

“Huh? But it’s still early,” Ryu noted, a bit confused by Kairi proposition.

“There’s hardly any sunlight entering the forest anymore, which probably means that the sun is already starting to set. It probably won’t be long before it’s completely dark in here,” Kairi explained.

Looking towards the canopy of the woods, the blonde-haired girl nodded. “I guess you’re right, but shouldn’t we at least continue on for a little bit more. I want to get out of this forest as soon as possible.”

“Traveling in the dark is very dangerous, Ryu,” Kairi started, looking the blonde-haired girl in the eyes with a serious expression on her face. “Remember, there’s no magical road lighting or anything like that in here. Once it’s dark, we won’t be able to find a place to rest and there’s no telling what kind of creatures will try to sneak up on us. Bandits and kidnappers like to strike when it’s dark outside as well.”

“O-oh, you make a good point,” Ryu told Kairi, a few sweat drops forming on her forehead. “It’s not like I’m scared or something, but it might be smart to stop for the day.”

Yumeo sighed with a smile on her face, because she knew that her friend was just acting tough. “So, what kind of place are we looking for?”

“If I remember correctly, there’s a small cave around here. Me and my comrades rested there during our last mission in this forest. If we can find the cave, we’ll rest in there,” Kairi said, tracing her memories for the exact location.

“So how do we find this cave?” Ryu asked, looking around.

“Search for a big oak tree on the left side of the road with a big arrow on it. The arrow will show us the way. It’s supposed to be around this area.”

“Found it!” Yumeo exclaimed, pointing towards the left.

“W-what, really? That was fast!” Ryu cried out. The girl hadn’t even started looking yet.

Kairi turned to the location Yumeo was pointing towards and found the tree in question. A big arrow was carved into the trunk of the big tree. “That’s the one. I guess my memories weren’t playing tricks on me. We’ll be leaving the main road over there. It might get a bit bumpy, so hold on tight.”

The young mage led the wagon off the road, driving over roots of the trees around them. Before long, they came across a huge wall of rock. A small opening was barely visible, obscured by bushes and broad trees. It made for a great hiding spot.

“Wait here. I’ll go check if the coast is clear,” Kairi ordered, jumping off the wagon. “Keep an eye open at all times. If you see or hear anything, call me right away, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Yumeo replied, taking Ryu’s had in her own. “I’ll make sure nothing happens to this girl.”

The innocent gesture brought a smile to Kairi’s face. “Thanks, I’ll be back in a minute, okay?” She then turned around and started making her way towards their potential resting place.

“Y-Yumeo, please let me go. This is embarrassing! Kairi might still be looking our way…”

“It’s fine. She’s already long gone.”

“Umu…”

The friendly bickering behind her became softer and softer as Kairi made her way through the foliage. It didn’t take her long to reach the small and jagged opening of the grotto. Gathering a little bit of mana in her hand, she shot a small ball of light towards the opening of the grotto. Although Kairi was specialized in water- and ice-type magic, a low-level light-type magic skill like this was easy for her to cast.

When nothing happened after the ball had rolled inside, the girl gulped and slowly made her way inside. One step at a time, the young went further in. The magical ball was emitting a dim light on the cavern floor, which made it able to see the inside of the cavern.

The firewood Kairi and her friends had gathered last time were still present in one of the corners of the small area. It seemed like nobody else had found out about this cave yet. Small rocks were scattered on the floor, which made walking a real pain. Although it wouldn’t be very comfortable, this would probably be the safest place to stay the night. There was only one opening too, which meant that they didn’t have to worry about being assaulted from behind.

Kairi picked up some of the firewood and placed it in the center of the cave. The mage then used one of the basic fire-type spells in order to make a small fire, illuminating the area much better and creating some heat at the same time.

“Alright, time to get the girls,” Kairi concluded, getting ready to leave.

“Ah!”

“What? Ryu?!” Kairi exclaimed, hearing the cry of her short traveling companion.

“L-let me go!”

Hearing another shriek, the silver-haired girl started running as an automatic reaction, not even registering the scattered rocks right in front of her. Her right foot stepped right on top of one of them, causing the girl to lose her balance. Her shins, knees and hands hit the unforgiving rocky floor hard, but the mage managed to push herself up right away.

“Damn it!” the silver-haired mage cursed as she ran out of the cavern. Her legs were hurting like crazy, but she didn’t have time to worry about that.

The girl ran through the bushes in front of the rocky hideout. Gathering a great amount of mana in her right hand, she created a sword made out of ice, ready to strike if needed.

Seeing the shape of the wagon in the distance, she increased her running speed by focusing some mana in her feet and used the momentum to jump up, landing on top of the vehicle.

“Ryu, where are you?!” the mercenary shouted as she looked around with focused eyes, scanning the area in order to find the blonde foreigner.

Her blue eyes soon made contact with a pair of golden ones. The small girl had a shocked expression on her face. Looking further down, Kairi noticed that the blonde girl was being lifted in the air by someone from behind. As they were in the shadow of a giant tree, it was hard to make out more. It didn’t matter though. Ryu needed help. She couldn’t waste another second!

“K-Kairi?”

“What?”

Not even registering the voices, the mage with the silver pigtails used her increased speed to jump down the wagon, landing right behind the kidnapper. She thrust the blade of ice forward and stopped right before it connected with the back of the person in front of her. “Let that girl go right now or pay the price!”

“H-huh?”

“Now!” Kairi demanded, raising her voice and letting the tip of the blade make contact with the back of the criminal.

“Wah!”

The person did as Kairi ordered and dropped the short girl, who landed on her knees with a thud.

“Ryu, get away from that person!” Kairi told the blonde.

The girl didn’t do what Kairi expected her to do and turned around, crying out with pleading eyes. “Kairi, s-stop!”

With furrowed brows, the mage once again told the girl to move. “This person was trying to abduct you. Get back, quickly!”

“B-but it’s Yumeo!”

“What?”

Only after hearing that name, did Kairi take a good look at the person before her. The first thing that caught her attention was a familiar blue ponytail. Widening her eyes, she quickly withdrew her blade and took a step back. “Y-Yumeo?”

As soon as the weapon left her back, the blue-haired girl fell down to her knees. “Hehehe, you’re really scary when you’re angry, Kairi. I think I might have wet myself just now…”

“W-what the hell were you doing!?” Kairi exclaimed, letting the blade of ice disappear. “I thought Ryu was being kidnapped!”

“Kidnapped?” Ryu timidly asked after standing up and brushing of the dust from her yukata. “Why?”

Ryu’s innocent expression didn’t do anything to alleviate Kairi’s anger and confusion. “I suddenly heard you shout ‘Let me go’. I thought something was going on!”

“Oh that,” Ryu uttered, thinking back. “Yumeo was being a bit too clingy, so I told her to let me go.”

“Aw, come on. I was just hugging you!” Yumeo whined, slowly standing up after catching her breath.

“T-that’s embarrassing. Of course I’d become angry,” Ryu almost whispered, looking away with a blush adorning her face.

Kairi’s legs finally gave in as she fell down to her knees. “What? You’re telling me I did all of that for nothing…?”

“Hehe, I think that you’ve kind of overreacted there,” Yumeo snickered, walking over to the fallen mage with an apologetic expression on her face.

“Overreacted?” Kairi mumbled, slowly standing up with grinding teeth. “Did you forget why I’m here? I’m here to protect this little girl from danger. So, if I hear her scream, do you think it’s overreacting to get to her as soon as possible…?”

“K-Kairi? Are you perhaps a bit angry?” Yumeo asked timidly, taking a few steps back.

The silver-haired mage’s eyes were unfocused as she took a step forward, making a fist of her left hand. “Are you telling me that my legs are looking like this because I overreacted?”

Looking at the ripped and bloodstained stockings of the mage, the blue-haired girl started to become really scared. The almost robot-like voice the mercenary was using at the moment didn’t help much either. “K-Kairi, please calm down. I-I can explain.”

“D-don’t ever do that again, you idiot!” Kairi cried out as she knuckled the blue-haired girl on top of her head.

“Ouch! I promise, I promise!” Yumeo shouted, covering her head with her hands.

Seeing the blue-haired girl cower in fear before her, Kairi turned her focus to the other girl. As soon Kairi’s eyes met those of Ryu, the latter started quivering and tears started forming in her eyes.

Kairi couldn’t bring herself to punish the little girl who was at the verge of crying. She closed her eyes and let out a breath, calming herself. She then walked past Yumeo and placed a hand on Ryu’s tiny shoulder. “Please understand that it’s my job to keep you safe. I’d like you to act a little bit more mature about this matter as well.”

The girl looked Kairi in the eyes and nodded. “Umu, I’m sorry.”

Kairi gave the girl a small smile. “As long as you understand. Anyways, I’ve checked the cave and it’s okay to enter it. Let’s go. It’ll be dark before we know it.”

“What is this difference in punishment?!”

Hearing Yumeo’s cry behind her, Kairi looked over her shoulder and pretended like she was still angry. “Did you say something?”

The blue-haired girl’s eyes widened when she noticed the mage’s expression. She started to walk towards the cavern with a fast pace. “N-not at all. Ryu, let’s go!”

The little blonde-haired girl nodded and headed after her. “Y-Yumeo, wait.”

“Wait a second, girls. I’ll bring the wagon too.”

Kairi sighed as she noticed that backs of the two naïve girls. It was good to know that a little bit of fear managed to keep those two in check. She then looked down and noticed the state of her stockings.

“Good thing I’ve brought an extra set of stockings with me…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, two masked figures clad in black coats were sitting on top of some of the highest branches of a big oak tree. They had a perfect view of the girls below them.

“That new girl has some skills. She must be a mercenary. After defeating that guard, the little kid’s parents must have gotten scared.”

“Oh well, it’s not like we can’t handle a single mercenary. She’s just a little girl too.”

“She’s a mage though. We have to be careful.”

“No need to worry. We have our own mage as well.”

“They’re entering the cave now. H-hey, did the cave suddenly disappear?!”

“Hmm, the girl must have cast an illusionary spell, making it harder for us to find them.”

“How clever, this is going to be fun! So, we’re still following the plan?”

“Yes, we strike tonight. This time I’ll definitely catch you, Suzuka Ryu.”