The crowd soon stopped at the area the group was once in, the ropes.
A few people rushed through the crowd, making their way to the ropes with hooks in hand, and scrolls tied to their waists. They hastily got on the ropes and started making their way down. The crowd cheered on as more went to the ropes, joining the others in their journey down.
"What even is this about?" Quill crossed her arms in curiosity.
"Seems to be simple commission work. But with higher stakes rather than just money." Marcus replied, his tone suggested he already knew what was going on.
"Well this one says something about grabbing a plant. Even details how they look and their color." Myo started talking behind them, keeping the scroll under his tunic.
"If it is to guarantee a way out of this. It would be best if we heed the commission. We will begin descending down." Calliope ordered. The group soon stepped out of the crowd, more people were emerging out as well, grabbing on the ropes and rappelling down.
"These ones are rather daring. They don't seem bothered by death." Celestine commented.
With little time to waste, they grabbed onto the rope. With hooks in hand, they began their descent.
Below him, Colton could see the rest of the people from earlier. They went down fast, uncaring for their own safety or lives, periodically stopping their descent with their hooks to take a breather, only to return to rapid descent.
"These people are mad." Celestine looked on, concerned by their complete lack of safety.
"Well, by the looks of it. Given the reward and where they live, as well as the the time limit. I won't care for my own life as well and do all it takes." Marcus responded, his tone was neutral, unbothered by what he was looking at.
Compared to them, the team was more safe, but far slower. Everyone tried to go faster, but because of the ropes tied to their waists, their movements were limited. All they could do was try running on the rocks to make their trip faster. Or simply let their weight move them down.
The people that were climbing under them were already out of sight, below the white clouds.
"I wonder if they even survived." Celestine pondered, looking down with curiosity.
"If they are that desperate to finish the commissions. I guess so." Marcus replied. His tone still remained neutral.
The trip took an hour or two before the team descended the clouds and finally saw the bottom of the mountain. The cold breeze pounded them every second, causing many of them to shiver on the descent.
"Myo, what specifically is this herb?" Calliope questioned. Myo was just behind her, keeping up with the rest of the team.
"To be more specific, it's a plant that grows near the entrance of caves. It resembles a flower but larger. Says here it's for medicine." Myo explained.
"Ah, brings me back to my young merc days." Marcus spoke once he finished, laughing with joy.
"Mercenaries take on those jobs?" Celestine asked him, still keeping her eyes on the ground below them.
"Well, lower ranked mercs, independent or just in a weak company would take jobs like these. Small jobs that yield a tiny amount, but should help you gain some reputation." Celestine was fascinated by his words.
After a few more minutes, they finally reached the ground. The team found themselves standing in a forest with large trees. Colton felt as if something was watching them, but the forest was mostly silent.
Rocks, moss, trees, plants, all dominated the area. But light still managed to pierce through. From above, more people began to arrive. Once they landed, they wasted no time in running around.
"We only have a day deadline, we should move." Calliope ordered. The team instinctively took our their weapons and walked into the forest.
The forest was larger than the one in the other world, the team could smell a strong scent of wood and flowers all around them. In the distance, they could hear the frantic footsteps of other people running around.
"Something feels rather odd…" Quill felt uneasy, looking around with her bow aimed in front of her.
"Agreed, jobs in the forest are always a no go if it's quiet. That's what my old captain once said." Marcus replied. Soon the team shared the same uneasiness as Quill, looking around with wide eyes, expecting something to come out or a sudden noise from the bushes.
As they descended deeper, their movement was suddenly stopped by a loud scream, silenced just after a few seconds.
"What was that?" Celestine was horrified by the noise, she moved closer to the others for safety.
"Seems one of them was attacked by something. Probably a wolf."
"Man, this place really feels different from the other forests i had to go to." Marcus joined in, the two seemed to be the most knowledgeable on the forest.
"Myo, do you know anything on this place?"
"Like I said, I just got here, I barely know anything. And no, I don't have knowledge books with me to act as payment." Myo replied. Calliope only stayed silent afterwards.
The team were now close together with the healers at the center. Everyone was getting more weary. Periodically they could hear other screams, some closer, some farther.
'Feels like the forest ambushes' Colton thought to himself. He began to remember moments from his past in the army, particularly the older days of the kingdom, when the forest around them was a hostile place that surrounded the kingdom.
Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the bushes. Before anyone could react, Myo was tackled to the ground.
A man in torn clothing stood on top of him, holding a knife in his hands.
"I'm sorry I'm sorry, I just need to get out of this place!" The man had tears in his eyes, with deep regret in his voice.
But as he prepared to attack Myo, Calliope drove her sword into the man's back. His body vanished in a few seconds, leaving only the knife.
"Thanks. Thought i would walk around with a gaping hole in my chest." Myo thanked her. He got up from the ground, dusting off his clothes.
"Why would he come up and attack us like that? Aren't we in the same position?" Quill wondered, confused on what just happened.
"If you're desperate enough, you'd do anything. I saw many mercs fight outside taverns to decide who gets a job. Hell, some killed each other for petty jobs like getting jewelry." Marcus calmly replied.
"Interesting…" Celestine commented at Marcus' explanation, unsure if she should ask a question or keep quiet.
After a minute, the team continued on their journey. They were unsure of where they were going, but they had to move quickly.
"Wonder if that's the only threat in this place." Quill wondered. Everyone was more focused on looking around, with weapons close to their chests.
An hour had passed, and the sun above was starting to inch closer to dawn. The team moved quicker than before, desperately trying to find a cave. But to no avail.
While on the move, an idea struck Quill.
"Boss?" Calliope turned to her.
"Perhaps I could help by climbing the trees, they seem tall enough to find anything." Quill explained.
"Very well, do not take long." Calliope replied, to Quill's delight. Without delay, she scaled up the tree next to her, quickly disappearing in the thick leaves.
As they waited, a loud rustle emanated from one of the bushes. Everyone immediately looked at the bush with weapons ready.
The rustling only continued, becoming more and more loud by the second. The healers stayed behind them, ready to heal any injuries they might get.
After a few seconds, the rustling suddenly stopped. To their surprise and confusion.
As they looked on, the bushes suddenly broke apart, and a large figure jumped out at them. Colton was slammed to the ground as the figure stood on top of him. From the looks, it was a wolf, but larger, and with a black coat.
The wolf suddenly began scratching and attacking Colton, the others tried to kill the wolf but to little avail.
The wolf stopped slashing after a few seconds, and turned its head towards the rest of the group. In a moment, it lunged towards Marcus and started mauling him. The twins quickly joined the fight, ignoring their own safety.
Oliver and Clarissa stabbed at the beast, but it barely moved. After a few strikes, the beast slashed at them with its claw, throwing them to the ground. Myo continued trying to kill the wolf with his daggers, but his efforts were in vain. The beast smacked Myo, throwing him to a nearby tree.
In the middle of its attacks, an arrow landed on it, briefly stopping the attack. Another arrow landed on the creature from above.
More arrows landed on the beast, forcing it to move away before finally collapsing. Quill jumped down from the top, looking at the beast. She wore a smile, satisfied with what she did.
The twins got up from the ground and wasted no time in healing Colton and Marcus.
The beast was giant, nearly double the size of them. Its coat was pure black with red eyes. Once Quill got closer to inspect it, the beast started to vanish. Her arrows clattered to the ground.
"Well, this is why I hate taking on forest jobs. We should just wrap this job up and head back, I wanna get that climbing crap and this forest done with already." Marcus got up from the ground. The twins were both annoyed at the sudden attack, using up more of their energy.
"Sorry for the wait, but I found a cave close by. Hopefully it isn't littered with things like that." She turned around, glancing at the spot the beast was in.
"It seems the beast is weak against your weapon only. Odd." Calliope pondered.
The group returned on the move, this time sticking closer together, with Quill near the front.