The argument, as it couldn’t be described as a conversation between Darren and Zigferd, eventually concluded. Zigferd agreeing to leave Darren in the hands of SJ. As a town councillor, she was putting her reputation on the line with the town to support Darren with his side of events. Nothing she had heard or seen from him since he had arrived in Killic, apart from his stupidity with the alchemical components, led her to believe that he was to blame for Alice’s disappearance.
SJ had suggested that Darren’s alignment be confirmed, and Lythonian had been summoned. Alice was the only other in the town with an alignment token. Once Lythonian had arrived, he had confirmed that Darren’s alignment was neutral good. Having a neutral good alignment had still not put Zigferd at ease.
“We need to find Alice,” Darren said. Now that Zigferd had left, he wouldn’t stop pacing.
“We only know she went into the forest. Did she give you any information as to what she was doing?”
“Nothing, as I told that idiot town mayor on multiple occasions before you returned. What is his problem anyway,” Darren snarled.
“That is obvious, and her importance to the town has already been explained,” SJ replied with frustration. “Now, will you stop pacing and sit down so I can think.”
Darren stopped and looked at SJ, sitting in one of the armchairs. Walking over, he sat down facing her. “If they would just let me leave and go and search for her,” he said.
Two of the town guards remained at the cottage, and Zigferd had given them strict instructions not toto let Darren go anywhere alone.
“It’s best that, for now, you stay here and let the town do what it needs to.”
Floretta had returned, and the evening dragged on, with tension in the air because of Darren. Eventually, he retired to his room. Not long after there had been a knock at the cottage door and Terence had arrived. Floretta seeing another skeleton, had been shocked initially, until SJ had introduced him. The pair of them had then began to chatter away to each other as if they had known each other for years. SJ didn’t want to leave Darren alone in the cottage, so Floretta had said she would go and introduce Terence to Nexis, who had returned to stay in the Inn. The Inn repairs were well underway, and now the floor had been repaired, the downstairs could open again, even if not all the accommodation was available yet. SJ went to her room once Terence, and Floretta had left. As she lay back on her bed, Dave began to talk.
“I believe him,” Dave said.
“So, do I. I am not sure what has happened to Alice, from what Zigferd said it is the first time she has ever missed an appointment and not been seen. I hope she hasn’t been injured in the forest.”
“With the wyverns’ arrival, the chances are many of the forest creatures will have moved. That could cause creatures or beasts that wouldn’t normally come to certain areas of the forest to now visit or move closer to the town.”
SJ shivered involuntarily at the thought of Alice being attacked by any beasts. “I hope she is okay.”
“We may have a problem,” Dave said as SJ woke the following day.
“Morning. And what problem?” SJ asked, yawning and stretching.
“Darren has disappeared.”
“What do you mean disappeared?”
“He left early hours this morning.”
“How? Zigferd left guards.”
“He left out of the back garden.”
“Why didn’t you wake me? If you saw him go?”
“Erm. I wasn’t watching.”
SJ frowned at his response. “I better go search for him.”
“I would advise that you don’t. Let the guard do their job. You have enough to do.”
“But it’s Alice.”
“And it’s Fran, and it’s Bellakiy, and it’s Nexis, and it’s Cristy, and your training, and your…”
SJ cut Dave off, “Okay. I get the message.” Huffing, SJ slammed her fist onto the bed.
“I know you want to help with everything but you can’t. You need to leave things to others. Remember the town uses that quests, not just you, and you have two important quests to complete already. I would also still suggest that you create the quest for Darren.”
SJ was unhappy with the thought of not helping to find Alice but could understand Dave’s point. “Why would I even bother looking into a quest for Darren now that he has run off.”
“He hasn’t run off. He left a note.”
Frowning, SJ climbed from the bed and walked through to the lounge. Sitting on the table was a neatly folded piece of parchment. Picking it up, she read the note.
Sorry!
I have to go and look for Alice. Yesterday when the mayor was here, I didn’t tell the whole truth. I know Alice from Asterfal and had no idea she lived in Killic until two days ago. We met at the forest to talk so as not to draw attention to ourselves.
I am sorry for lying. I need to find her.
Darren
SJ was shocked at the revelation that Darren knew Alice from Asterfal. She had no idea Alice had ever been there, and she wasn’t sure how long Darren had been there either.
“I should go and tell Zigferd. Otherwise, I am not sure what the guards will do if they find him,” SJ said.
“Considering he is a level 20 Legionnaire, I doubt many of the guards could do a great deal to him unless in numbers. It isn’t as though he is a new Legionnaire, and his level is much higher than the vast majority in the town,” Dave replied.
‘Where the hell has she gone?’ Darren thought as he moved deeper into the forest. His tracking skill was active and following the faint trail that he believed Alice may have left. The skill was at level 10 and allowed him to focus on and follow a track set. He had used it frequently since his arrival in Amathera, hunting and tracking down injured animals that he had failed to shoot cleanly, and it had quickly levelled because of his initial poor archery.
Initially, his tracking skills only allowed for track identification, but with his level now and skill improvements, he showed what could only be described as a faded path, as though a mist or haze existed where they had passed. With each track set he analysed, he could assign it a colour, selecting a bright blue to contrast with the greenery of the forest. The forest had come alive with the sounds of creatures as the early morning sun had risen from the near silence during the night. He had waited until the first light to enter the forest, not knowing the area. He didn’t fancy walking upon one of the nocturnal beasts that frequented forest areas.
He had left the cottage just after 03:00, sneaking out of the window and climbing the fence in the back garden before skirting around the outskirts of the town to reach where he had left Alice the previous day. Since daybreak, he had spent a few hours travelling into the forest following the trail, winding through the mountain peaks. Looking at his display, it was nearly 09:00. ‘I hope SJ forgives me’, he thought.
He had met Alice in Asterfal at the Bugbear’s, and they had shared a couple of evenings in each other’s company. Nothing had happened between them, but they had seemed like kindred spirits. He knew she was a druid after they had spoken about their classes. He had only bumped into her on an off chance when he had left Master Rui two days earlier after finishing his training. She had been walking along the street, and they had nearly walked into each other.
The shock on both their faces when they realised genuine smiles had followed it. Darren had felt his heart skip on seeing her again. After a conversation in which Alice learned that Darren was the culprit for the Inn explosion, as well as the wyvern defence, she made him aware of her role in the town. She didn’t want to draw attention to him after his start in town, so they had planned to meet by the forest to talk the following afternoon in secrecy. They had spent several hours catching up properly, and Alice had promised to meet him again. He now had a reason to keep him in Killic. Alice was a beautiful creature.
It was as they had been just about to leave the forest edge when a hunting party had come upon them talking. Alice had passed pleasantries, knowing them all, and they had continued to the town carrying their successful haul of two hoglings. Alice had then told Darren to leave first so as not to draw attention, and he had headed back to town, that being the last time he had seen her.
The trail led him deep through the forest curving towards the base of the mountain area to the east, toward where the wyvern had flown Darren didn’t feel happy approaching the wyvern territory, but had no choice. He needed to find Alice to clear his name.
The trail had grown fainter as he had followed it and its dispersion made him stop and survey the forest area more closely. The brush was thick around him with tangling vines and thorn bushes. It was obvious from the surroundings that only forest animals would usually be anywhere near this area. There were none of the usual animal trails that covered many forest floors.
As he searched the area he identified tracks he didn’t recognise. There were several pairs of what could only be described as humanoid footprints, but nothing he had witnessed previously. The prints only had four toes. He squatted, looking at the tracks, tracing their outline with his finger. Looking at the size and depth of the prints, he guessed the creatures were similar in size to most humans. He triggered his skill. A new coloured trail appeared, and this one was much stronger than the faint trail. It had a red colour to it. Unslinging his bow from his shoulder, he lifted an arrow from the quiver on his back and nocked it on the string.
He could easily walk and hold the arrow on the string without any loss of balance or hampering his stealth. His high dexterity significantly increased his balance and ability to track almost silently. It was uncanny how quiet he could be while moving through forests, following the new trail, and keeping an eye on the remainder of the other. Both trails followed the same path. The trees began to thin out as he progressed, and he believed he was a few kilometres from the wyvern location and had to be at least seven from the town. The undulating land began to rise at an incline as he approached the side of one of the mountains.
He stopped as the treeline thinned further, observing the opening mountain ahead. The grey, stark rock faces a drastic contrast from the richness of the forest. The animal sounds had begun to fade as he moved nearer the edge. Even being on the edge of a forest, he was surprised at how quiet it had become. Looking up the rock face, he could see no movement, although a couple hundred feet up the side, he thought he could see the opening to a cave—the trail leading in that direction.
The bright blue trail was only just visible now, and he had seen no signs of any footprints for a long time, which led him to believe that if it was Alice, she was being carried by whatever or whoever had taken her. His heart was beating quickly as he moved towards the cave entrance, nervous tension building as he approached. The wyvern suddenly cried in the distance to the north, and he froze, scanning the skies, not seeing it airborne. Relief flooded him, and he edged closer, his hands clenched on his bow with unnatural tension.
‘Calm down,’ he thought as he edged closer.
When he got within fifty feet of the entrance, the sun reflected off the brilliant white polished skulls of several animals that covered the ground. He wasn’t sure what lived in the cave, but this wasn’t a good sign. A ranger walking into a cave was never a good idea. He was not trained or adept at melee fighting, and a cave was a melee class territory. Any cave systems he had ever visited previously were only ever as a support member of a party.
Reaching the entrance to the cave, there were red streaks around the sides as though someone had dipped their fingers in blood and drawn them across the rock surface. What or whoever had done so only had four fingers. The trail led inside, and he stopped listening carefully. The sun was high in the sky, and his display showed it was 10:55. It had taken several hours to reach the cave following the tracks. He could hear no sound, and he quickly checked his inventory. Placing the arrow back in his quiver and shouldering his bow, he withdrew a torch and began to light it. The cave was dark with no visible light source. His half-elven heritage gave him improved sight but he couldn’t see in the dark.
Once the torch was lit, he held it and his bow, gripping around its length and the bow’s grip. The arrow he had nocked did not rest perfectly with the bulk of the torch in its way. It was not the easiest of options, but at least he wouldn’t be walked into a cave blind and could use his bow, even if not with the level of accuracy he could normally maintain.
Listening keenly for any sound, Darren began to edge his way inside. The cave was natural and had no sign of being carved out of the rock face. It also surprised Darren that there may be creatures or beings this close to town that may have kidnapped someone that was not known of. The forest had been thick, but he would have expected that the areas around the town would have been cleared fully of anything hostile, knowing how long the town had been established. It still amazed Darren the vast areas of Amathera that possessed the characteristics of untouched wilderness.
Darren’s senses were heightened with his increased apprehension of entering the cave. The rough stone walls of the entranceway followed a tunnel that wound upwards at a sharp incline, rising swiftly into the mountain’s interior. The going was tough, and by the time he reached the top of the tunnel, his thighs burned. The tunnel’s width narrowed substantially, and he lowered his bow reaching as he reached the narrowest point. The path ahead was the shape of an inverted v. Even crouching, he could not move through easily. He could crawl, but that would make him unable to respond to an attack. Looking at the dirt-covered floor, he could see what he assumed were drag marks created by someone’s heels. He placed his bow on his shoulder and drew his short sword and proceeded forward.
He had been through a cheese press when caving as a teenager, and the tight feeling of the rock against his chest as he turned sideways, squeezing through, brought back unpleasant memories. Gradually, the tunnel walls began to part again, and as he continued, he returned his short sword to its sheath and retook up his bow. Edging forward, he approached the entrance to a cavern.
Taking a minute, he stood just out from the entrance and listened. The only sound he could hear was the spluttering of the torch as it continued to burn, casting a glow ahead of him. The cavern looked small and he carefully moved forward. As he entered, he swung his bow around in a wide arc, covering the extent of the chamber. On either side, there were two further tunnels leading off. The trail he had been following headed to the left, and looking down again at the ground, he squatted, seeing the outline of the four-toed creatures in the dirt. There were no longer any signs of anything being dragged.
He had lost the ability to work out where he was in the cave system, taking a moment to open his display to ensure that his map was updated with his location. He didn’t want to continue following a maze of tunnels and not be able to return. Once confirmed, he moved across the small chamber and entered the trail tunnel. The blue trail had stopped completely, Darren knowing that all trails faded over time. He only believed that this trail he followed was still so easy to track because of the potential number of creatures that had made it.
Following the trail, he could feel the sweat on his palms as he continued, his breath shallow, trying to be as quiet as possible. It felt as though his heart was in his head, and he could feel his blood pumping in his temples. Letting out a deep, controlled exhale, he tried to steady his nerves and relax. He had travelled what he believed may have been another few hundred feet when he heard a noise. Instantly freezing, he listened intently. The sound was distant and low, but he was unsure how far it was, knowing that sound travelled differently in tunnels. There appeared to be more than one variation of whatever was making the sound. He couldn’t see ahead as the tunnel had been winding, and he was unsure of the sound. Creeping further forward, he continued cautiously, now straining to hear.
When he approached a fork in the tunnel, he saw the first sign of a light being cast from ahead. Stepping back again, not wanting to give his position away, he backed down the tunnel and taking the torch found a crack in the wall where he could wedge it. Doing so, he flexed his fingers where he had been gripping both the torch and bow and then nocking an arrow again proceeded forward slowly to the fork.
