Adventure Together

"You felt that, right?" the boy asked the lady. The both of them had felt a burning on their marks the moment they passed by Jake. They immediately stopped when they felt that sensation.

"Aaron is out of town. He is the only one with a mark in this town, so that means there is someone new," she said. She turned around, but Jake had vanished from sight.

"Let's go, we aren't allowing that person to get away," she said and leaped onto a roof. She started running along the roofs at a crazy pace while the boy floated on a cloud of sand beside her.

"What do you think someone with a mark will be doing in this town?" the boy asked.

"What else do you think? Gathering resources. No one knows when the Hundred Trials will start, so all Chosen are going about gathering resources.

The fight doesn't start when the trials begin—it started when you become a Chosen," she said. Her eyes darted around, looking for Riven. Finally, she spotted him coming out of an alley and getting into an inn.

"There he is," she said and leaped off the building, landing right outside the building.

[...]

Inside the inn, Jake climbed up the stairs and got to his room.

"They are outside the inn. They followed you," Drake said.

"Shit, we didn't lose them. Did they notice I have a mark or something?" Jake wondered out loud. He recalled the burning sensation that he had gotten—did they get the same feeling as him? Is that why they were following him now?

"Keep an eye out, Drake. If things get too bad, I might summon you," Jake said and pushed the door. Inside the room, he saw Crypt on all fours giving Ophelia a piggyback ride.

Immediately Jake saw this, his eyes widened and he burst into laughter. He couldn't hold it back. Crypt immediately got embarrassed by the situation he had found himself in. He quickly removed her from his back and got on his feet.

"Master, it's not..."

"Don't worry about it, Crypt. Thank you for keeping her busy for me," Jake said after getting a good laugh. He waved his hand to tell Crypt to forget about it.

"Welcome back," Ophelia said in a happy tone. Her face was flushed red from all the excitement she had with Crypt.

"Thank you, Ophelia. I have something for you," he said and dropped the bag on the ground.

"These are all yours," he said. Her eyes lit up when she saw the bag filled with different dresses. She couldn't hide her excitement at all. She rushed at the bag and pulled out a beautiful white and sky-blue trim dress.

"They are here, Master," Drake suddenly said. Jake immediately got up and walked to the door. Crypt also felt their presence. He walked to the side and picked up his spear.

"Ophelia, dress up, okay? I want to check something," Jake said and opened the door. His eyes locked with the lady first.

"You?" she suddenly said. Her hands moved toward her massive sword.

Seeing that she might be there for a fight, Crypt shot forward and slammed her out of the way and into the opposite wall, his spear pressed against her neck.

Jake immediately came out as well and closed the door. He didn't want Ophelia to know what was happening.

"I knew it," the lady said, as if she had discovered something. She let go of her sword.

Seeing that, Jake signaled Crypt to step back, so he did, but kept his guard up.

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?" Jake immediately asked.

The lady let out a smile before she responded. "My name is Seer, and the little one beside me is Rion. Sorry for the trouble, but I believed it was called for," she said and then raised her hand, showing her mark. Rion did the same, showing a similar mark to what Jake had.

"You passed us earlier today and we felt the mark. You are a Chosen, right?" she said.

"And if I am?" he asked, already ready to fight.

"There's no need to fight—well, not yet," she said. Her eyes closed into slits as she said that. "But before we get into those details, I have an issue with you. Yesterday night, you killed someone that belonged to me.

I was on my way to search for the person that killed him, only to mistakenly run into you, and also discover you are a Chosen," she said.

"So those bunch that tortured children belong to you?" Jake asked. He balled his fist as he asked that question. She noticed his reaction.

"Let's not get all right and wrong here. This world is anything but good—it's survival. The town of Lumber is one of the safest in the kingdom.

The cruelty that happens everywhere is far worse than some kids suffering. At least they make their daily bread from the same people you claim torture them," she said in a casual tone. She was trying to provoke Jake and see his reaction.

"I see. Then it's my bad for getting involved and taking down your men, but just as you said—it's survival. In survival, the strong are the ones on top, so your men failed at the game of survival," Jake replied.

'The mouth on this kid... I'm trying to piss him off and somehow he's making me get pissed off. I like him already,' she thought.

Jake saw that she was taking a lot of time to respond, so he decided to speak. "Are you going to attack me for killing them?" he asked.

She heard the question, and her lips curled into a smile. "Initially, that was what I wanted to do when I found the person to blame, but now that I discovered that you are a Chosen, I have a different idea.

The Hundred Trials will start at any time, and no one knows exactly when, so it's best if we started gathering resources. The only other Chosen in this town has left as well. Rion and I were planning to leave too.

So how about this—join us. Let us adventure together—dungeons and ruins—just for now. We can go our separate ways when the trials begin," she said, giving her offer with a smile.

"And if I refuse this deal, I'm guessing we will have to battle to the death right here," Jake said.

"You catch on quite quick," she said.

'There is no reason for me to refuse. With their help, I can gather the resources needed and information. There is a risk to it, but it's better than a death battle here.'