Welwich Forest. Home to dozens of species of wildlife, ranging from the greatest wolves to most pitiable insect. It was a small, cozy place, rarely seeing anymore than a single visitor per new moon.
However, today was special. The woods were abuzz with excitement, both with the rumor of the Child of Prophecy and the presence of two travelers walking the main road. A man and woman they were. The woman stood head and shoulders above the man, but he walked with far greater presence, his exaggerated stride catching the eye of all the forest creatures.
A short sword hung from his hip, and a wicked looking spear whose head was wrapped in a clean red cloth was slung over his shoulders, and a dumb smile ate away at his face. A slender blade hung from the woman's hip, and she walked with cadence, a jarring departure from her companion's ridicules gait.
"Just because no one's watching doesn't mean you don't have to behave yourself." She said in a hushed tone, but immediately sighed inwardly when he turned to look at her with a mischievous gleam in his eye.
"But why should I? It's not like you don't behave differently away from the eyes of the public. Look at how sloppy your steps are. I've never seen you so out of step!" The man responded, his tone one of mock offense.
"Is that so... Damn. You made me lose count." The woman said softly. She stopped in a breath, and angled her scabbard out right in front of her companion's legs. He bumped into the thin roadblock, and his smile shifted to a horrified grimace as he lost his footing and tipped forwards.
Had his arms been free, he could have easily caught himself. Unfortunately, they had been occupied, so he fell face first into the dirt path, only having enough to to squeeze his mouth and eyes shut.
A short chuckle left the woman's mouth as she began walking again as soon as he hit the ground. As she passed him, she looked down at him, her normally stone face twisted by a slight smug grin.
"Jeez, Chelsea, you always were so petty. If only our employer knew you were like this." He muttered, more to himself than his traveling companion.
"Keep up Calem! We have a lot of ground to cover before dark." Chelsea called without looking back.
He wiped the dirt off his face and retrieved his spear, quietly muttering to himself as he jogged to catch up to Chelsea, who began marching faster.
As Calum caught up, Chelsea slowed her pace until she was walking at the same rhythmic pace as before. Calum clicked his tongue and resumed his previous exaggerated stride and slung his spear back over his shoulders, though he took more care to watch his step.
Despite their different attitudes, the companions shared the same thoughts. Track down and retrieve the rumored Child of Prophecy. It sounded more like a kidnapping with extra steps to the two of them, but Calum at least wasn't willing to bite the hand that fed him.
The thick green canopy of leaves shielded the companions and creatures from the harsh rays of the sun. Calum gazed up at the sky lazily, and sighed heavily. His smile faded, and was replaced by a neutral expression.
From the corner of her eye, Chelsea saw the change in her companion's expression. She didn't stop walking, but diverted a little bit more of her attention to her friend.
"Hey... Chelsea, can you do a job like this? For all we know, we're basically kidnapping this person, assuming they exist. I can do most anything for a price, but you..." Calum's tone was kind, and his voice was softer than normal. He trailed off without finishing his sentence, confident that Chelsea already knew exactly he meant.
The stern woman looked down at the ground for a few seconds, watching her feet as intently as she could. When she spoke, she picked her words carefully, as if she herself had trouble believing them.
"Our employer said that finding this child would save the world from war with the Thorned King. Part of me is opposed to this, but the other wants to do what I can to prevent another war. Sometimes I wish I was as rotten as you are." Chelsea looked up after she finished speaking, trying to gauge her friend's reaction.
She looked into his eyes, but he turned his gaze away before long. Had she seen a spark of guilt? When he looked back, that dumb smile was back once again, like always.
"Ha Ha Ha! You just can't pass up on a chance to insult me, can you?" Calum laughed, and the forest seemed to laugh with him, the chittering of insects accompanying his laughter.
"For a second there I almost thought you were being serious." Chelsea muttered. She began to march faster, forcing Calum to unsling his spear from his shoulders and jog to keep up with her.
Rather than say anything, he merely kept laughing as he followed her. Chelsea clicked her tongue and looked back at Calum. He was as scruffy as ever, his shoulder length brown hair had been pulled back in a ratty pony tail, and the light stubble one his face was starting to get a little long for her liking.
Calum fiddled with a long silver earring that hung from his left ear as he suddenly stopped and began to look around the forest. Chelsea stopped in her tracks, and laid one hand on the hilt of her sword.
"What's wrong?" Chelsea asked. Calum suddenly turned to the right, and gripped his spear by the center of the pole.
"I heard something. Music. Follow me, and look for auras." Calum said quietly, before leaping off of the path and into the thicket, carefully maneuvering his spear to avoid tripping over it.
Chelsea drew her sword and followed. She closed her eyes, reaching out with her mind. A dark world lit by alien colors appeared, thousands of layers of shades and tones stretched out as far as her mind's eye could see. Her other sense faded away, entirely useless before this dark world.
Aura Sensing was a difficult art, and one that only a select few could use. Chelsea had trained herself as much as she could, but even she knew her ability with this power was rudimentary at best. The small, dull colors that dotted the ground and trees were clearly insects, so she ignored those as she moved. As far as she could tell, sentience and autonomy determined the brightness of one's aura. With this in mind, she ignored the other dull auras in the area.
A bright, shining blue and red aura appeared. She knew this one, it was familiar. Calum sprinted roughly ten meters ahead of her, carefully maneuvering the trees and bushes while still maintaining a pace that was clearly inhuman.
Looking past his aura, Chelsea saw another shining aura. This one was a glimmering white, and a deep purple. As of yet, she couldn't quite tell what the colors meant, only that no two people's aura was exactly the same. Nevertheless, this aura clearly belonged to a person. It sat alone, surrounded by smaller auras, seemingly belonging to the forest creatures.
"Calum, there's a man about twenty meters ahead, in a clearing. The forest isn't as thick to the northeast, so that should get you there the fastest." Chelsea said, opening her eyes. Calum looked back at Chelsea and nodded, but rather than sprinting away like she'd expected, he slowed down.
"Now that I'm closer, I think it would be wiser to put away our weapons. Surely you can hear that music?" Calum asked.
Sure enough, as Chelsea's hearing returned, she could hear a lively tune, the type of music that would commonly be used at a village dance or party.
"Mind you, we should still keep our guard up. While it could be a trap, I doubt it." With that, Calum slung his spear over his shoulder and let his other hand swing freely as he walked toward the music.
Chelsea followed his lead, in her own way. She sheathed her sword, but couldn't take up the same casual approach her companion did, instead defaulting to her usual march.
The music grew louder as they approached, and both Calum and Chelsea found themselves fighting the urge to dance or otherwise cut loose. It was nothing more than a weak pull at the back of their mind, but both of them could tell that magic was at work.
As they came to the tree line, they looked into the clearing. The grass shook back and forth slowly, as if moved by a breeze. A man stood atop a moss covered stone that stood at the center of the field, preforming a fast paced dance as he played a lute. It was standard fare for a performer, though he did seem to be abnormally skilled. The companions had never met anyone would could move with such grace on such a slippery surface.
They looked around the clearing, searching for the man's audience. However, they saw nothing but an empty field. Puzzled, the two turned back to the man. He flashed a dazzling smile their way, and both Calum and Chelsea blushed and looked away.
"Hello there, my fine fellows! I'm afraid I'm sold out right now, but I've nearly finished this set, so if you've got any requests, I'd ask that you hold them for just another minute or so." The bard began to play faster, his song clearly reaching its climax. The companions looked at each other and then at the clearing again. There was still nobody there.
By chance, Chelsea looked down. The grass was swaying faster now, increasing in speed and vigor as the song neared its end.
Is he playing to the grass? How could that even be- Chelsea's thought was interrupted as an insect leaped from the grass and began buzzing excitedly in the air. She looked at the grass again, this time more closely. What must be thousands of insects churned around, shaking and moving wildly, thus shaking the grass with them.
The color drained from Chelsea's face as she took a step back, closer to the tree line. She wasn't particularly scared of insects, but seeing this many in one place had to be an omen of famine or plague of some kind.
It seemed as though Calum had noticed as well, though he stayed put, instead opting to reach out and catch the lone bug that was buzzing about in his hand.
"I would ask that you refrain from manhandling my audience, kind sir!" The performer said cheerily, though with a slight edge of steel to his tone.
Calum nodded and released the bug, who despite its capture, had not stopped dancing for even a second.
The music reached a fever pitch, and more of the insects began to fly up from the grass, buzzing about joyously. With three quick strokes of his fingers, and stamp of his foot, the song ended. The bard bowed to the crowd of insects, and they all began to fly and crawl about wildly, chittering taking the place of applause.
"Thank you, thank you. To all a good afternoon!" With that, the bard sat down on the stone, and took a deep breath. The bugs began to leave the field as a buzzing collective, one which the companions danced away from gingerly.
"So, you must be the travelers my friends were speaking of earlier. Welcome to Welwich Forest. You may call me Robin Goodfellow, so what may I call you?" The bard flashed another one of his dazzling smiles at the pair, who blushed, but didn't look away.
"Calum."
"Chelsea."
The two introduced themselves in a quiet manner, and Robin stood up and walked over too them, offering each a handshake, which both accepted.
"Well met. So, what brings you to this lovely forest?" Robin asked, his tone smooth like butter.
The duo exchanged a look, and nodded in agreement.
"We're searching for someone. The rumored Child of Prophecy." Chelsea said, adopting her usual stern and formal tone.
A twinkle appeared in the bard's eye.
"Oho, how intriguing! I've got a story or seven for you, should you have the time and coin for me." Robin said, flashing another grin at the two.
"We have a wealth of both, kind sir." Calum said confidently, patting a pouch at his side.
The bard's eyes flashed with a look that held equal parts greed and intrigue.
"Well then, have a seat, for we have very much to discuss~" Robin said in a sing-song way, guiding the two over to his stone. He patted the rock, and the two sat awaiting his narration.
To think more are looking for that person so soon... Oh dear, just what is going on? Robin mused before starting his first tale.