"Back from the guild, are we?" Director Elshire greeted Mason, Alessia and I with a casual wave of his hand, legs crossed as he sat lazily on one of the common room couches. Those unmistakable sunglasses shimmered like glassy obsidian.
"Mhm," said Mason, "We got a beginner-tier quest. Asked us to kill a bunch of sack-elves in the Arrian region of western Eygron-Halaris. How inconveniently far from here."
"Look here, now," the director corrected his seating position, "the journey to Arris is considered to be close compared to other quest regions. It's even in-state; what've you got to complain about otherwise?"
"It's just not my taste, that's all." Mason crossed his arms and grunted. I took the liberty to continue.
"Director, do we get to keep the advance-pay?" I held up the sack of coins, jingling loudly as it made its way up. It wasn't anything heavy, but I assumed the trackers were what made it heavier than it is.
"Of course, Mr. Neswitt, it's all yours. I'm not greedy like the guild," he smirked.
"That's reassuring," Mason chirped. I have a feeling he's in it for the money. I can't blame him either — the reward looks incredibly enticing, and I could tell even with my limited knowledge of this country's currency.
"Typical Mason, chasing after money," Alessia clicked her tongue.
"Who wouldn't?" he grinned, teeth showing and all.
"Money is nice, yes," the director cut in, "but remember — above all, this is a test for Mr. Neswitt. I sincerely hope you two can aid him as well. An adventure can easily go wrong; that should be a natural thought for you two by now. And for Mr. Neswitt, I want you to exercise caution while on this quest — don't get ahead of yourself. You may not, ah, come back alive if you're careless."
I gulped. "Right. I'll be careful."
"Good," the director nodded with satisfaction. "I hope you can perform as you say — I don't want to send a search party to find you lot when you go missing and end up discovering your mingled corpses somewhere in the Galais River."
"We promise we'll be good, sir." Mason rolled his eyes.
"Then get preparing. I'll have you leave first thing tomorrow morning."
"Affirmative!" Mason saluted.
"Oh, I'll have to tell the Heartwoods about this. I can't just leave without saying anything."
"Ah, yes, your guardian family," the director stood up. "I'll send a message to them. In the meantime, prepare yourselves with everything you need. I'll only be supplying your rations and transportation. The rest is up to you."
With another wave of his hand, he turned and exited the common room, disappearing into the corridor leading to his office upstairs.
"Hey, Ernie?" Alessia poked me.
"E-Eh?! Yeah? What's up?"
"I was thinking if it'd be okay to visit your home. I'm curious to meet the Heartwoods you and the director talked about."
My face glowed elatedly. "Sure! I bet Rona'll love to meet you!"
"Rona? Who's that?"
"Oh, is it the girl that slapped you during our tour on your first day here?" Mason was struggling to stifle his snickering.
"Yeah, her. Rona Heartwood. Sort of my step-sister by now."
Alessia raised an eyebrow. "So she is that close to you? Oh-ho, Ernie. This is some interesting information you have here. She even slapped you!" Alessia was now sniggering as well.
"Ah, shut up," my face reddened. "We're not on very good terms at the moment..."
The giggling from Mason and Alessia stopped. They looked at me with concern in their eyes.
"Did you two get in a fight?" asked Mason.
"Well, yes. You witnessed half of it actually, Mason."
"Half of it... Wait, you mean she's still angry at you during this whole time? For a whole month?!"
I nodded very lightly, averting my gaze. "We're fixing it slowly, though. But it's still hard to talk to her."
"Oh... Ernie, you should've told us this sooner!" Alessia placed her left hand on Mason's shoulder. "We're friends, aren't we?"
I looked at the pair of concerned friends in front of me — I felt incredibly heartened by the fact that they've offered help.
"I could've," I said slowly, "but I thought it would be better to not worry you with my personal problems..."
"Oh, Ernie," Alessia approached me and put her hand on my shoulder now, "it's completely fine! We won't be inconvenienced at all, right, Mason?"
"O-Oh, um, yeah! We'll help you out no matter what."
"Guys..." I was muttering my words now.
"That's what's friends for, right?" said Alessia. "To help each other?"
"Right," Mason appeared beside me now. "We're here for you, like you're here for us. Don't worry about inconveniences or whatnot — we're supposed to help."
I nodded.
"That is," Mason added with a grin, "if you'll help me, too."
"Mason!" Alessia half-shouted.
I laughed. "Of course!"
"Ernie..." Alessia looked between me and Mason, bemused.
"What are friends for, right?" I smiled broadly.
Alessia's mouth shook, but she resolved her will after sighing. With a chuckle, she said, "What are friends for indeed."
Suddenly, a thought flashed into my mind. This might just be the final piece of the puzzle to fix the trust between Rona and I... Yes...! This might just be it!
Like a lightning bolt glowing up the cloudy sky, the whole idea lit up and played itself through my mind. This will be the final resolution...!
"Guys," I said with widened eyes, putting a halt to their hugs, "I have an idea."
"That's how you usually look when you have one," Mason smirked.
"A-Ah, is it? I wasn't aware..." I said in a fluster. Suddenly, I'm self-aware now, with both hands touching everywhere on my face.
"Don't mind that bloke, Ernie," Alessia reassured, "You look the same as usual. Tell us that idea of yours."
"Right. It actually goes along with your suggestion, Alessia. I want you guys to come to my house."
"Uh-huh," Mason nodded. "Then what?"
"Then let the situation play out."
A long pause came. A bit too long, as it felt like it stretched on. Perhaps they were expecting me to say more?
"...That's it?"
"Yup," I grinned. "That's it."
"That isn't a very good plan..." said Alessia
"Oh, trust me, it is. Just promise me you'll come to my house."
"I will," said Mason, raising up his hand.
"Same here," said Alessia, raising her hand as well.
"Good," I nodded with vigor. "This'll be such a surprise. You'll see."
"If you three don't mind," a voice came from behind, and I whirled on the spot to see who sneaked up on us. The voice belonged to none other than Miss Nandisk, the receptionist girl. Her short brown hair with pink streaks were the same as I remembered. One of her hands were on her hips. "I have a message to relay."
"Oh, is it for us?" said Mason.
"Very much so, and from the director as well."
"Huh?" Alessia raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't he here just a few minutes ago? Why couldn't he just say it to us then?"
"He was here, yes — I saw it myself — but a new message came."
"Let's hear it, then." Mason sat down on one of the couches.
" 'Get preparing already,' was his message."
"..." We all went silent after hearing that.
"What?" Alessia brought her eyebrows together as she squinted. "What does that mean?"
"Oh, I don't know," Miss Nandisk's eyes wandered aloof. "Maybe it's because you're wasting your time chatting here and not actually preparing for your quest?"
"""...Oh.""" Mason, Alessia and I all realized in unison.
"Wait a minute!" Mason shot up from his couch a bit too wildly, knocking it back a bit, "How does he know we've been chatting?!"
Miss Nandisk smirked with every ounce of smug in her. "You'll be amazed by the powers of surveillance cameras," she gestured with her eyes to one of the inner corners of the rectangular common room's wall; what was mounted there was, in fact, a surveillance camera pointed right at us.
"Crap," Alessia cursed, "we need to get working!"
"You certainly do," said Miss Nandisk as she turned and walked back to the reception desk. All three of us rushed out of the common room and out to the field through the sliding door.
"Thanks for the message!" Mason shouted at Miss Nandisk before closing the door.
***
Our preparations consisted of a fair bit of training with our weapons and planning out strategies. I had a rough explanation of what the Arrian region of west Eygron-Halaris looked like as well. It is a large plains biome by the foot of a mountain range, which stretches vertically as the border of its two neighboring states, Gogris and Phantamis. The population in that region is fairly sparse compared to the middle and eastern part of the same state, but it serves perfectly as farmland—hence why Eygron-Halaris is considered the food producer state of Phrycantis.
The preparing took about two or three hours, the sky already at dusk before we even finished. Once we did, however, we'll be able to get some well-earned rest; but first, there is something that needs to be done.
"Ah, we're finally done with preparations! That took so long!" Mason grunted as he sat heavily down onto the nearest couch he could find in the common room. Alessia and I both share the same thought as him, and it shows from our sore hands and legs. Even though we're tired, we didn't have the audacity to voice it like him.
"Get your butt off the couch, Mason. We still have one thing left to do," Alessia scolded.
"What? There's still more?!"
"Not preparations for our quest, no," I said. "You agreed to visit my home, didn't you?"
At that, Mason's eyes widened, memories of a few hours ago suddenly flushing back. He jumped to his feet clumsily, slightly rocking the couch again.
"I forgot!"
Alessia and I chortled.
"Figures," she said. "Let's clean ourselves up and get going."
After a nice, cold shower that sent chills around me refreshingly, all of us headed to my house. As we went through the ever-lively streets of the town, the dusky sky was beginning to show the first signs of twilight.
"Ah, I haven't been to an actual house since like, forever," said Mason, as we crossed the cobbled street with passers-by and carriages alike.
"Same," said Alessia. "I've been living in the training camp ever since I got here."
"Seriously? You two don't have a place to call home?" I asked, bewildered by their sudden story. I knew they lived in the camp, but I merely thought it was on their own volition, and that they do have their own homes.
"The camp is our home, Ernie," said Alessia. "I'm not from here, you know that. I just happen to come across the camp a few days after I arrived here, which was years ago. Before that, it was sleeping on the streets for me."
"That's terrible! How did you manage to survive?" I half-shouted in concern for her, even though it was something long gone. I realized just how lucky I was to cross paths with Mr. Heartwood that day. So many people in this world are living in places no one would ever think of, and they have no choice. I felt bad for those people, and for Alessia, since I found somewhere to call home, when so many other people couldn't.
I scowled under my breath. It was terrible. Those thoughts that made me feel guilty for being so lucky, as if my situation was child's play compared to some other people... it resurfaced inside me. This guilt that Mrs. Heartwood helped me to fight was now climbing back up. I couldn't face it.
I tried my hardest to subside them. I don't want to waste any more of her help. It would just be unfair.
"Oh, it's nothing, really. I've been doing the same even before I came."
"What?" Mason's mouth was agape. "So, what you're saying is—"
"Yes, I'm homeless. It wasn't always like that, though."
"Why? What happened?" I asked.
"Well... I used to have a place to call home. Back on Earth, in a country Ernie may know as the United States."
"Uh-huh, the USA. So you're from there?"
"Yes," she nodded. "And in Texas, of all places. You see... my heritage is of African-American—African for my dad, American for my mom. I had a nice place, with brothers and sisters, even..."
"You have siblings?!" Mason exclaimed.
"Yes, an no. I do have siblings, but they're a fleeting memory now." She paused for a bit; face tainted with sorrow. "They're all dead. My two brothers, my dad, my mom. They're all gone. And it's all my fault."
Mason and I almost jumped when Alessia revealed them to be deceased. What's more, she is the cause of all that? I don't believe it.
"Don't say that!" I cried. "You only think it's your fault because you're still alive! I don't think it's true!"
"You don't know the whole story. I could've done something, yet I didn't. I was foolish to have just run away."
"'..." I couldn't say anything.
"It ties to my heritage. I mentioned I was African-American, didn't I?"
"Wait... you don't mean—"
I looked at Alessia with incredibly worried eyes, and all she did was nod. Mason didn't have much of a clue what we're talking about, since he wasn't from Earth, but I didn't pay him heed. Alessia's situation was all that I focused on. I could almost see where her story is going. A story so commonly told back on Earth, about race and prejudice. The unfairness of treatment of certain people.
"I was a disgrace to the people in my country. They hated me, particularly my dad, for where we descended from. We weren't welcome in their community, even if we're citizens of the same country, with passports and all. They didn't care. All they could see was the differing skin color, which was the reason to purge us. Just because my family wasn't white. How unfair was that?!"
Alessia wasn't crying, but I could sense tears in her eyes any second now. I couldn't empathize with her completely, but I knew full well how unfair it all is. The reasonless hate towards minority groups has been an issue for a long time. Even if people like her didn't do anything wrong, they're still wronged. Just because they were different, they weren't allowed to live.
"It was on a certain day when police officers came to my neighborhood. It wasn't just ordinary police, either—the SWAT team, you know? They came and raided all of our houses. They knew where the black families lived, the African-American families lived. They came like a storm, destroying and killing those who fought back on site. Those who couldn't do any better just surrendered. They were captured and sent away.
"My family was lucky to be the last ones to get raided. We had time to prepare. We faked an arson, burning our family house to the ground. I felt so terrible watching it all go. All my memories in that place, gone in a single instant. It was for the better, we thought so foolishly. We thought it was enough to confuse the raiders. We ran away with so little of our belongings left, in our car driving away from everything.
"But they got the better of us. They knew some of us would escape. What they did was wait by the borders of our neighborhood—wait on every road that leads out of there. We were caught red-handed, and they didn't so much as bat an eye before shooting. Our car exploded. The gas tank got hit, and the explosion almost killed all of us.
"I was lucky to only get second-degree burns. You can see a few of them here" —Alessia showed us the back of her neck, where a red mark could be seen faintly on her right shoulder, stretching to her upper back— "they're as good as healed, but the mark will never go away. It hurt so much that day, I can practically feel it."
"That's horrible..." Mason looked with disgust, not at Alessia's scar, but revulsion towards those people that caused her this pain. I want to share the same feelings as him, too, but I can't bring myself to feel two things at once. Alessia's story has already been bad enough.
"I escaped with a few burns, but my family did not. Mom, dad, Brandon and Caleb... they all died. Even after dad fell onto the ground, they kept shooting him... even though he was already dead! How much did they hate him?! I didn't understand, and I still don't! I hated looking at it, so I ran. I ran so much my legs hurt. I ran away from all that chaos, into a forest and away from that neighborhood. I don't know how I managed to do that, but I did. I felt guilty for leaving them behind.
"The next few days were horrible. I was left prowling on the streets, in search for water and food. I had nowhere else to go, and nobody else to find. I was alone in the streets."
"How did you survive?" asked Mason.
"I begged for money. The pedestrians that were kind enough gave me some in pity. I lived off that money for a few months."
"A few months?!" I exclaimed.
"Yes," Alessia nodded, "a few months. I saved a bit just in case as well. And when I got enough, I decided to leave that place altogether. I wanted to leave behind that toxic place where my family died, and start anew in a different place. I took a ship to Europe, using my passport as authorization. The United Kingdom didn't need an official authorization to enter for minors, so I chose that place.
"The ship ride was miles better than the streets in the nearby towns around my old neighborhood. Even though I wanted to stay there forever, the ride was bound to end. Two weeks later, I arrived at the UK. The same story goes there—I was homeless, living in the streets and begging for money. It was a much better place than the US, but the fact that I was homeless still remains.
"Then, it came. The twinkling light came on a cold winter day. It formed a message, telling me I'm a 'Chosen One,' and I was invited to the 'Other Side.'"
"Something similar happened to me, too," I said. "Did a white portal open up for you?"
"Yes. It told me to step through the Gate and get to the Other Side. That time, I thought the 'Other Side' meant the afterlife, and I was more than ready to meet my parents. All I wanted was to have somewhere nice again. I thought everything would end when I stepped through that Gate, but my expectations were wrong.
"The journey through the gate was hell. It was like I experienced jet-lag, sea-sickness, zero-gravity and atmospheric compression all at the same time. When I got here, though, it all just disappeared."
"I get you," I nodded vigorously. Mason, who didn't understand what we're talking about, only scratched his head.
"It was the same yet again, homeless on the streets in this very town, albeit with a lot more disappointment. I thought it was over, but the same kept happening. I'm on the streets again, homeless and moneyless. What's worse, it was a place I didn't know at all. The people couldn't understand what I said, but they at least knew my situation, and some kind people even gave me money.
"Literally four days later, someone approached me. That someone was the director of the camp. I could still remember that day like yesterday—the man behind those sunglasses saved me. He stretched out his hand and asked if I would like to train in his camp. I could only do so much as nod that time, but I seriously wanted to hug him, to express the amount of gratitude I felt. I finally found salvation."
"...Wow. You've had a rough time," said Mason.
"Yeah, it was bad, but hey—I'm here now, right? Better than ever."
"You sure are. Come here!" Mason wrapped his arms around Alessia, his face full of warmth.
"E-Eh?! M-Mason— wha—"
"You too, Ernie!" Mason paid no heed to Alessia, and grabbed me as well, embracing both of us in his arms.
"Why?" I asked softly.
"Because," Mason said slowly, "you two have suffered more than I can imagine. At least let me hug you."
"Stop it, Mason," Alessia said with a shaky voice. "We're in public!"
"Who cares?" Mason tightened his grip, and I could sense a few stares from the surrounding people. Good thing Mason's tall figure blocked my line of sight—my face might be burning hot pink by now.
After a few more seconds of hugging, he let go. "There, feel better now?" He put his hands on his waist.
"...It hurts to say, but I do feel better," Alessia confessed.
"Then that's great. Come on, don't we have somewhere to visit?"
At Mason's words, we continued the journey to the Heartwood house, under the now dark night sky with faded stars twinkling high above.
***
"We're here," I announced when the three of us reached the front gate of the Heartwood house. It looked the same as always—a wooden, medieval-like design, semi-detached with a wall separating the other half on the right. I opened the gates with a spare key I was given and walked through the front garden. Mason and Alessia looked around in wonder, stepping slowly as they went.
"This is nice, Ernie," said Alessia.
"Mhm," I sounded my agreement. "Wish you two could have a place like this, too."
"We already have more than what we asked for," said Mason.
"Yeah," Alessia continued. "Much more than we deserve, too."
"Don't say that. You two deserve it."
"I want to think so, Ernie, but I can't help myself. It's ingrained inside me," said Mason.
"Me as well," said Alessia.
I shrugged. "Anyway, prepare yourselves. A bit of confusion may arise with you two suddenly appearing. I haven't informed the Heartwoods about you visiting."
"Don't worry, we're perfectly ready. Open the gates!" Mason pointed with outstretched hands.
"Already did," I gestured to the gates behind us with an amused smile as I opened the door to the house. The small crack of light slowly expanded as the door swung open. Soon, a warm, golden light enveloped us from the inside of the house.
"I'm back, Mr. and Mrs. Heartwood!" I exclaimed, taking my shoes off and entering the house. There, sitting on the couch, was Rona minding her own business. James Heartwood sat across her, reading a book; while Arianna was in the kitchen, evident from the sounds of dishes being washed.
"Ah, Ernie, you're back—and you brought friends!" James shouted the last part with excitement, slamming his book shut and shooting up from his seat. "Welcome, welcome! Make yourselves at home!" He smiled warmly, cleaning up the couch and coffee table.
"Oh, it's fine, we'll make do. Thanks for having us," Mason said politely.
"Oh my, Ernie, are these your friends?" Arianna appeared from the kitchen, poking her head out curiously. "Very nice to meet you."
"Likewise. I'm Mason Bruggs, Ernie's best friend from camp—"
He was cut off by the smack on his back; the culprit of the slap was Alessia. She cleared her throat and said, "Thanks for your kind company, Mr. and Mrs. Heartwood. I'm Alessia Hayes, a best friend of Ernie's, and fellow other-worlder."
"Did you say other-worlder?!" Rona jumped up from her couch, rushing to Alessia's front. Mason and I were knocked aside, and I could hear James and Arianna chuckling with delight.
"A-Ah, yes, I am an other-worlder. Might you be Rona? Ernie talks about you a lot."
Rona's face went slightly red, stepping back a bit with an embarrassed yet sullen expression. "O-Oh, I didn't realize that."
"Well, it's all good fun," James broke the awkward atmosphere. "Come, we'll serve you some drinks. Any preferences?"
"You've got orange juice?" Mason said excitedly.
"We most certainly do," James chortled in amusement. "Have yourselves a seat. And please don't scare our guests away, Rona." With that, James disappeared into the kitchen.
I could sense the embarrassment rising in Rona. She hid her face under her straight blonde bangs, face almost red as beet.
"Are you alright, Rona?" I asked her with an ulterior motive.
"I..." Her line of sight was directed to the floor, but her urge to look at my face was strong. Her balled fists shook as she tried to word her thoughts.
"...I'm glad, Ernie," Rona said softly, almost inaudible had I not approached her closer.
"I'm glad, too." I smiled warmly, putting a hand on her head.
"But I—"
"It was both our faults. I won't deny that."
"...You're so unfair!"
"Heh, I might be. But I had no other choice, did I?"
"...Maybe. I wasn't happy with myself, you know. I hated being so distant with you."
"Same with me. I didn't like it without you. So, what do you say, Rona? Do you want to call it a truce?"
She smiled at me wryly, swiping my hand away from her head. "There was never a fight between us."
"I'll play by your game, too, then."
The four of us took our seats, chatting merrily as the night went on. James and Arianna joined us too, asking away questions to each other, drinks both orange and clear in transparent glasses held in our hands, or placed on the table. The topic then went to our quest.
"So you're leaving tomorrow?" said Rona.
"Yes, and we'll be back a few days later."
"Ah, I received a letter from Lagardo not long ago. This'll be your first quest, Ernie. Are you excited?" said James. I recognized the name 'Lagardo' from the message the director sent me about my quest—his name was Lagardo H. Elshire, apparently.
"More nervous than excited," I said, scratching my head.
"Just be careful. You never know what's going to happen."
"Ah, please do take care of yourselves. Can I trust Mason and Alessia to take care of Ernie?"
"You can count on us," Mason pounded on his chest with one hand, while Alessia nodded.
"I'll be fine, Mrs. Heartwood," I said.
"I hope I can have your word, Ernie," she said sternly.
"Aw, I wish I could go too," Rona pouted. She has wanted to go on an adventure since forever, and I feel a bit bad that I get to go while she doesn't.
"But you're still young, Rona. Maybe next year," James said.
"You won't keep that promise, I know it!" Rona retorted.
"You know, Mr. Heartwood, there are lots of kids in camp that are younger than Rona," said Mason.
"I know, Mason. I used to learn at your camp, you know."
"Really?" Interest sparked inside me.
"Ah, but it is a story for another day."
"Come on!"
"I'm keeping my mouth shut," James said, creating a zipping gesture using his free hand by his mouth as he walked away and into the kitchen.
"That's unfair," I complained.
Arianna chuckled. "Well, it is a long story. We might need more time to hear it."
"What? You know it as well, Mrs. Heartwood? Tell us!"
"Ah, did I say that? My, I should keep my mouth shut as well." She made a similar gesture of zipping her mouth, chortling again as she disappeared into the kitchen with her husband.
"Sheesh. They're no fun."
"It's alright, Ernie. We've got our hands full tomorrow anyway," said Mason, before taking a gulp of his orange juice.
"We certainly do."
Our conversation shifted topic, and our gathering merrily went on. Tomorrow will be the day my quest starts. Thinking about it just sends shivers down me. All I can hope for is to have a smooth journey and return back. I've got no say in what might happen during the quest, as disaster or miracle have an equal chance of happening that far out. For now, I'll just enjoy what I have left. It'll be tumultuous from here on out.