Coincidence or Luck

There were those among the Familia that had gained access to the talismans during the tasks that they had carried out during the time that Mallory had entered the Familia but there were others that may not have participated for various reasons.

They could have been unwell on that day, away on another task or were just on their day off so they did not get the chance to use them.

Mallory had listened in to each of them and had stepped forward to explain to everyone. "Now that we are here.. I will go over the details of the task and let you know what is expected of you. We need to investigate this area for traces of humans or monsters.

Anything you find needs to be reported back and there is no room for heroes that just go off on their own. Even if you have the protection of the talismans, there is still a risk to your lives so do not be careless."

Even if they had the talismans to prevent them from being harmed, there were always other ways that they could become overwhelmed.

It was easy for them to be trapped in some way and be unable to escape so the talismans could not overcome those kind of situations and it was just as bad if they were cornered with no way to escape.

The talismans each had a limit to how much they could take and there was a limited amount of talismans that could be used to protect them from harm.

Further in the forest, Swaine and Franco had walked together quietly which had shown that they were a little more experienced than others and worked well together.

Little noise was made as they walked forward and surveyed the area until there was a sudden change that happened between them.

The foot of Swaine had got caught on something all of a sudden but he failed to notice so when he continued walking, he had tripped forward into the body of Franco who was in front of him.

A small thud came from where they had fallen over and Franco had turned towards him to glare towards him. 'Idiot.'

He was about to open his mouth to scold Swaine when a voice had come from nearby. "Did you hear something?"

"I am sure of it."

"Hmm.. must have been an animal.

"Alright, lets go back to the camp since there is nothing here."

If it had been a short moment later then it was likely that Swaine and Franco may have ran into them and would have been found.

The area where they had fallen was out of the line of sight of those people and was blocked off by the thick bushes so Swaine and Franco had been shielded from their view at that time.

Whether it was luck or coincidence, they both had escaped from being detected and had waited until there was nobody around before getting up again.

They both had climbed up onto their feet again and went back the way they came so they could make a report back to Mallory.

Upon receiving their report, Mallory had asked. "Did you get a closer look at them or find out their numbers?"

Franco had responded. "We heard two voices but dared not look so that we would not be discovered. They did mention a camp so there will be larger numbers gathered there."

Mallory continued to ask. "Depending on your next answer, we will have to proceed with more caution so I will ask… did they sound anything like they were friendly forces or were a part of the carriage that had went off road?"

The marks and other things that were left behind on the road were enough to form the conclusion that there had been some kind of accident or attack which had led the carriage to be taken into the forest.

It needed to be known whether it was a natural accident that had happened or if it was the work of monsters or humans.

If it was the result of monsters or an accident that had happened then the survivors could have taken a detour off the road for some reason whether it was to set up camp somewhere or to make a temporary stop so they could tend to their wounds.

If that was the case then there did not need to be a cautious approach towards entering the forest further but it was good to consider the worst case scenarios too.

If it was done by humans then they would still be on alert and would be hostile to outside forces that came near them whether they were the remaining survivors or the people who were behind what had happened on the road.

The compass had pointed out that there was danger or ominous signs ahead so Mallory still had some understanding towards how she should proceed but it was good to not rely too much on the tools she had for every little thing.

Even if she knew the answer from the compass, it was still a good idea to not skip over the basic steps and to let the others get their own chance to make their own contributions

Franco answered bluntly. "Hostile and dangerous."

Swaine had added. "I have heard guys like those in the inns at times and those similar are usually caught up in some bad stuff. They did not sound like city folk too and spoke very roughly."

Mallory turned to the others and said. "First task. Sneak in and find the camp. Try to avoid detection but if you are seen then do not confront them on your own. Franco and Swaine will split into two groups.

Team one will be made up of me, Nia, Swaine, Hiiro and Tia. Team two will be made up of Franco, Maeve, Jaco, Noire and Fitz. The first to be detected or the last ones to find the camp will have to pay some kind of penalty to pay later."

Nia raised her hand and frowned. "Why are you taking me away from my own group-nya?"

Mallory let out a sigh before explaining. "You are a part of a bigger group now so it would be better to learn to work with others outside of your usual group. The newbies are not the only ones that are being tested for their suitability right now."

Nia had nodded in a hurry. "Okay-nya!"

The two teams were being led into the forest by the more experienced members of their teams while Mallory was busy pulling her bike up into the tree and had secured it in place before catching up to her own group.