It had been a couple months since he took on protection duty for the small farm village but Lucas still enjoying his rewards; he bought several books with character sets he had yet to learn, but most importantly he had eaten like a king and lived luxuriously. He had no need for more money, so work was not on his agenda. Instead he slept until the afternoon, studied magic till darkness fell, then shared tales with the other adventurers in the guild hall, accompanied by unendending food and drinks, until the sun rose once more.
The sun was already at its peak when Lucas made his way down the stairs and into the guild hall, he greeted a few other adventurers, some of whom seemed to remember him but he had no recollection of when they might've met, a few of them also remarked on the incredible stench that radiated from his body. The staff at the hall were already familiar with his routine, so his food had already been prepared and waited for him. He grabbed his plate and made his way to his favourite secluded corner, but to his dismay it was already occupied; he opted for the next best choice, a seat with his back facing the sun. He would've preferred death, but he figured it would inconveince those around him if he died in the middle of the hall. He clutched his plate while eating as if it was the only thing keeping him alive. His table quickly cleared as his smell killed others' appetite.
"Finally, some quiet" he thought to himself.
The only one that remained was no-nose Nathan, he was called that because he had lost his leg a few years prior and no one knew how, pointed behind Lucas "Do you know her?"
Lucas turned to look behind him "SHIT FUCK, how long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to regret it" Sparrow said with a short chuckle "How have you been? Judging from the smell I would say not in a bath" she continued as she took the seat opposite him.
"I could do with less sarcasm and less volume" Lucas replied as he rubbed his forehead.
Sparrow leaned over the table and shouted "YOU COULD DO WITH WHAT?!"
"Ah fuck, I hope you have another reason for being here other than being an asshole"
"Yes, I do. A very good reason in fact" she stood up and placed her hands on her hips "I am going to become an adventurer"
"Great, good luck. Sign up sheets are at the front desk" Lucas pointed with his fork and continued eating.
"You don't seem too excited about this earth-shattering, mind-blowing, news"
"Well, I kind of expected it considering all the questions you asked me. In fact, I need to go to the desk anyway, so I'll escort you, and it's definitely not because I want to see this cart-wreck" he said, leaving his seat and waved his arms in a wide circle, gesturing at Sparrow.
The pair walked over to the desk, Lucas pushed his way through the people queing, Sparrow followed, although more sheepishly and apologetic.
"Oi, Barty!" he shouted.
'Barty' peeked from behind a shelf and walked over to the pair.
"You do realise other people work here as well, right?"
"Yes, but you're my favourite" the smug smile that had been vacant until now started to resurface. Lucas had mostly cured his hangover and returned to his regular self.
"Ah Miss Sparrow it's lovely to see you again. How can I help each of you today?"
"Hi Barty, I would like to become an adventurer" Sparrow replied with the same pride she had when she first announced it.
"Of course, I will have to go through a series of questions to determine if we could accept you, so would you mind if I attend to Lucas before we continue?"
"Oh no, please take your time" is what she said, but internally it felt like the excitment could kill her at any moment.
"How can I help you today, Lucas?"
"I just came to collect my silver emblem"
"Ah right. Well, usually we would require an exam, but seeing as you have refused promotion on several occasions" 'Barty' quickly left and returned with a small pouch "Here you go, Lucas you are now a silver ranked adventurer. Congratulations"
"Thank you very much. I look forward to leaving this country. Don't miss me too much"
"You could disappear tomorrow and the only difference I would notice is an empty complaint box and less paperwork"
"You'll miss me"
"Now, Miss Sparrow. I need you to answer the series of questions I am about to ask you honestly. First, do you have any combat experience" 'Barty' asked.
"No"
"Any special skills relating to combat? Such as magic, innate strength, no sense of pain, willingness to take drugs or herbs that inhibit your state of mind in favour of combat ability"
"Ummm...no?"
"Okay, Any knowledge relating to a new method of combat or weapon crafting?"
"No"
"Any special knowledge regarding the Chaos era or any of the "war powers"?"
"No"
Each answer left her feeling a little less confident in her chances of becoming an adventurer.
"Unfortunately, I cannot approve your application to become an adventurer today. Please try again at a later date when you have improved in one or more categories"
"Wait, you didn't ask me any of those questions when I applied" Lucas interjected
"We recently had an increase in the mortality rate and want to reduce that somehow"
"I was ten! You thought it was okay to let me be an adventurer?!"
"Are you still alive? Additionally, we had prior knowledge of your abilities and you were recommended by a high-ranked adventurer"
Barty organised his papers and made prepared to leave "If that is all, I will be taking my leave. I apologise that I couldn't have been of more help today Miss Sparrow, but I wish you the best for the future"
"No it's alright, thank you, Barty"
Sparrow was a little dismayed with the results of her exchange; it had taken so long to not only convince her parents to allow her to do it, but to convince herself that it was the right decision. It would have been an entirely new experience, and now it seemed like she would never reach her goal. Lucas, on the other hand, was thrilled with his new emblem, he had already replaced his bronze one and was now admiring it around his neck.
"So what are you going to do now?" he asked.
"I don't know, maybe learn to fight or something then try again?"
"Do you know where you're going to do that?"
"No, do you know a place?"
"No, but I do know of a place where you can learn magic"
"Really?!" her previous vigour had returned, maybe all was not lost.
"My dad has been trying to get me to go, I'll ask him if we can both enroll"
"YES, that would be amazing! How long would it take to learn magic? What magic would I learn? Can I learn more than one? How do people get around there? Do they fly?"
"As long as you want, Whatever you want, Yes, I don't know, potentially. If you're not busy today we can head over to his house and ask him"
"Yesssss... wait his house? You don't live with your dad?"
"Nope, I live here, I rent a room upstairs. I usually go see him once a week"
"Thats odd"
"That's life, we both work as adventurers so it makes more sense to live where it's easier to work from. I'll probably buy a house later on, but for now it's easier for me to live in the guild hall"
The pair left the guild hall and made their way out of the city. The headed in the opposite direction from where Sparrow entered the city. There was a small dirt road that cut through an evergreen forest that sat on the outskirts of Dementir. It looked almost entirely unused, it was a dirt road so it would be hard to tell if it was used or not most of the time, but now they could see that it wasn't used much, it seemed almost private; grass grew between the cart tracks and on the side of the road, there was very little sign of humans trespassing. They walked through the forest, it felt cooler than the city, the trees formed a canopy allowing only glimpses of sunlight through. Every now and then a deer would run deeper into the forest as they walked past. This area wasn't used to humans.
In the centre of the forest, the canopy opened, showering a single house light. It was a very average looking house, it had a short fence surrounding its yard, a plain brown front door, and a swing on the front porch, the only thing that stood out as odd was a sign that said "Rabbits beware".
Lucas walked through the gate towards the door "Wait out here, I'll go check if he's in. Do not go through the gate"
Unsure why, but unwilling to find out why, Sparrow stood in the road outside the fence. Over the time she has spent with Lucas she has learnt that most of the time he is pretty relaxed, even when he is in danger, but his warnings, while rare, were meant to be heeded.
As she stood in the road, a dark figure appeared behind her. It loomed over her. She was afraid, she wanted to call for help but nothing came out. Her voice was stuck in her throat. It was clothed in shadows and wore a white, beaked mask.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" it asked in a deep voice.
She was still unable to talk, she stood frozen. She took a step backwards. But her front foot wouldn't move, so she was left just leaning.
The monster repeated its questions. This was the end for her, she wasn't trained to fight and now a monster of epic proportions stood before her. She could feel her conciousness slipping, and what sounded like the flutter of angel wings. Yes, there it was, the tunnel of light that all the stories foretold.
"Dad, what are you doing?"
Yes, the monster, 'Dad', wait, DAD?!
With a jolt her conciousness returned to her body, the angel wings were birds that had chosen an inopportune moment to start their journey. Lucas stood beside her and pushed her upright once more.
"Dad, this is my friend Sparrow, Sparrow this is my dad, Crow" said Lucas.
Sparrow, still not fully aware of what was occuring, stuck out her hand, which the monster shook.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm sorry if I scared you" said Crow
All Sparrow could manage was "noitshoanrg"
"We wanted to ask a favour, but I don't think now would be the best time" said Lucas
"I agree, let's head inside and we can discuss everything in the morning. Let me just do the imprint, and you can take her inside"
Crow stood over Sparrow once again, she felt something cold around her sternum, it felt like it was both inside of her and not at the same time. It felt like nothing she had ever experienced. This was the final shock that pushed her over the edge. She fainted.