The snow was beginning to melt, but it was still cold outside. Near a forest, a wagon and company were at a completely dry dirt patch — which was a miracle compared to the muddy ground all around — where they decided to setup camp. The cool air mixed with the crackling of fire made for a very peaceful night. There was not a single cloud in the sky so the stars were in full view, making it brighter than normal outside. The smell of stew boiling on the open flame was enough to make anyone hungry, but that wasn't the only thing getting cooked that night...
Phil's dad let out an enormous sigh with his elbows on his knees and hands clutching his face. "So Phil, you couldn't light a fire so you turned to magic. Normally that might be reasonable solution, but Jack was clearly against it and you continued begging anyways." In the end he lighted the fire. The crater Jack made had actually been beneficial in blocking out the wind from hitting the fire and served as seats around the edges. It was a circle about the size of the wagon wide and knee deep. The pieces of wood that didn't get completely shattered had either been dried out or turned to charcoal which helped keep the fire burning. Overall, the explosion had been very helpful in making a comfortable camp, but regardless of the current circumstance, relying on a stranger, especially a reluctant one who was probably a beginner with magic and who you didn't know anything about... was the height of foolishness to say the least.
"So why didn't you stop him Rui?" With each sigh it felt like another one of his hairs was graying. He was much too old to handle this amount of sudden stress. While the camp was undeniably more comfortable, because of the loud explosion, many animals and perhaps monsters woke up which made the night that much more dangerous. It didn't help that the smell of our food and light of our fire might attract some. We had decided to camp near the forest to be shielded from some wind, but now it became a source of unpredictability. More than once already we had seen the shine of eyes watching us.
"Well... Phil wasn't able to light the fire no matter how much he tried so I thought it could be a good idea... I don't know much about magic either so I wanted to see it when I could..." I didn't know if he even wanted a response, but I did so anyways, averting my eyes all the while. It didn't feel right to leave him hanging like that.
Phil's dad let out another sigh and ended that conversation there. Staying angry over a long period of time was hard especially when what's done was already done and there were other issues to think about. "Since so many animals are awake now, we probably will need someone to stay up to keep watch in case anything happens." He explained that even though many animals would be attracted, they would usually be too cautious to come out or attack if they saw us alert. Animals naturally waited for a perfect time to strike when their prey was distracted so after a while they would leave. There would be some unpredictable animals who might walk out anyways such as bears, but a loud noise should be enough to drive them away. He gestured towards the pot. "Use those if you ever need to make some noise. If it scares the animals away then great. If it doesn't, the noise will probably wake us up anyways so we'll be prepared." Worst case scenario, a monster might show up but monsters were pretty rare close to towns. Phil's dad and Jack would take the first watch. Because they were more used to this type of life, they made a conscious decision to take different shifts so Jack and I wouldn't be clueless. Since there were only two people who really knew what they were doing, we decided to only have two shifts. The girls were already sleeping so we'll just let them be.
"Hey get up..." Phil was whispered while nudging me awake. "And don't forget your sword." I got up with a yawn and stretched. Looking out the back of the wagon, I could make out the moon still high in the sky, but starting to fall. The sun wouldn't be far away now.
Stepping outside of the wagon, I was met with a gust of wind and shivered. I quickly made my way to the fire and set down my sword, letting out misty breaths to warm my hands up. Phil handed me a warm cup of water and sat himself down on the other side of the fire across from me. He explained a few of the basics during a night watch such as staying alert and the basics of dealing with certain animals. The night really was peaceful though and while we did hear the shuffling and cries of animals every now and then, it added to the ambiance. A few times we saw rabbits hopping close, but getting startled and turning away when they noticed us eyeing them. One big problem though, you couldn't get through a night watch on ambiance alone. The conversation had died down soon after the start of the watch and the silence had gone on for long enough that it felt weird to break it.
It really had only been half a day of getting to know everyone so there should've been a ton of things to talk about, but... it was just hard. We had already done basic introductions and had conversations over dinner and once again between just me and Phil so what else was there to do? I was starting to nod off again, and that was when Phil broke the silence.
"Don't go back to sleep. Well, I get that it's hard to not be sleepy when the night is so peaceful, but we are on watch duty right now." I instantly felt my skin crawl at sat up straight. It was a more serious tone than I expected and it felt like getting scolded after you were caught doing some you obviously knew was bad. By the time I raised my head, Phil was already looking away towards the forest and sipping his water so I relaxed. There was a fine line between staying totally alert the whole night and wearing yourself out and relaxing too much and drifting off.
"It is pretty hard to not fall asleep though given how peaceful it is. Are most night watches like this?"
"Well yeah I guess. I kinda got used to just enjoying the silence. Most times we do have more experienced adventurers who can watch on their own to be fair."
That sentence struck me as odd and I had a sudden realization. Besides Phil's dad, all of us were amateurs. Kids who haven't even gotten their start on life yet. Ema said that she was going to become an adventurer meaning her and Ema weren't yet and couldn't have officially been hired. All things considered, it was a terrible party to be a part of especially when considering the safety of a merchant wagon. Looking back at how I got here, his dad simply let me hitch a ride for free no strings attached. Even the meal was just given to me.
"Dang I just realized how much we're imposing on you," I couldn't help but say.
"Don't worry about it. That'll just make things awkward between us. It was my dad's decision anyways so any blame would lie with us."
Our conversation reached a natural lull, but was soon interrupted by the crunching of grass. Phil quickly turned around and reached his arm behind his back. The wind blew up his shirt, revealing a dagger which I hadn't noticed until now. Seeing his reaction I reached for my sword as well and got ready. The crunching of grass seemed to be going further away steadily and eventually became silent. It felt like an eternity waiting at the ready but eventually I let out a sigh of relief.
Phil, however, was still at the ready. "Don't let your guard down just yet. The smartest of animals wait for that moment before rushing out," he said in a quiet but firm voice. As soon as he finished talking, the noise of crunching grass came back. I felt chills go down my body and got back to being alert.
Sweat dripped down my face. This situation really drove home how unprepared I was for any of the adventuring life. If I was this out of my depth just travelling to the next town, I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I was alone like I had planned to do the day before. My adventure may have ended before it even began.
This time, the crunching was getting closer. The moon was a quarter away from the horizon and the sky was beginning to light up, but it was rising from the side of the forest. It was still too dark to see clearly into the forest at the approaching figure, but a long shadow was cast from its depths and was steadily getting closer.
The figure reached the last line of bushes obscuring them from us. Phil had his dagger firmly gripped at this point. I had my sword half unsheathed and was prepared to fight at any moment. One foot stepped out and we could make out a robe. They had a good on and were looking down, obscuring their face. Then the next foot came down. Phil and I had fully drawn our weapons and had them pointed, but there was no reaction yet.
Suddenly their head jolted upwards, revealing their mouth moving quickly, followed by a waving of their arms. It was unknown what they were doing, but it could've been magic so we sprinted towards them at full speed to stop whatever they were doing. After seeing the destruction earlier in the night, we couldn't afford to take risks. Surprisingly, Phil threw his dagger at the figure but it only landed their feet, before pulling out a second one — where and when did he even? I only remember seeing one sheath.
Lucky for us, the first dagger was enough to startle them causing them to try to back away quickly and tripping on their own feet.
Just as we were about to reached their position and swing, the figure swatted their hand to the side, causing a strong gust of wind to blow by. It carried the loose dust and leaves caused by the explosion last night, forcing us to shield our eyes and be momentarily blinded. The wind was still blowing, but the debris had already blown by, allowing us to see with a squint. Enough to see the hood of the figure get blown back, revealing a face of a teary-eyed girl flapping her mouth with no words coming out.
It was Ame.