The hours rolled by; the dirt roads expanded into the horizon, the open fields turned to lush green forests, and the smell of pine filled the air. We were making great time; Goldrose City was only an hour or so away now. It was just before noon, so I decided now would be a great time to break out the sandwiches I had bought in the market.
"Hey, everyone, let's take a quick break for lunch," I called out, pulling the cart to a stop by a small clearing.
Alice, who had been quietly humming to herself, perked up at the mention of food. "Lunch! I'm hungry," she said, clapping her hands together with a smile.
Vice jumped down from the back of the cart, stretching her arms above her head. "Good idea, Key. My stomach's been growling for the past hour."
I teased her, "You aren't full from all that food we ate at the party?"
Vice gave me a snort, and I took out the sandwiches. We settled down on the grass, the sunlight filtering through the trees creating a dappled pattern on the ground. I handed out the sandwiches, and we ate in comfortable silence, enjoying the peaceful surroundings.
As I finished my sandwich, I felt a strange prickle on the back of my neck, like we were being watched. Weird, we were in the middle of nowhere; I shouldn't be feeling like this, but something was giving me goosebumps. Vice seemed to feel the same way; she stood up, clutching her revolver in its holster, ready to fire if needed. Alice seemed confused by the sudden intense atmosphere. I gave her hand a squeeze. "Eat up, Alice, no need to be worried; probably just an animal."
Vice tried not to scare Alice and in a restrained voice called out, "Come on out; we know you are stalking us."
Suddenly, I heard laughter from inside our caravan.
A boy's voice came from inside, "An animal? I'm hurt; that's no way to talk to someone you just met."
How did someone slip by us so effortlessly? I mean, to already be inside our caravan without us spotting him, that was crazy. We all turned around quickly. Vice held up her gun defensively. The gun was aimed at a small figure stepping out from our caravan where I had just been sitting moments ago. The figure wore ragged and torn clothes, and a brown ragged cloak over his small body. He had black hair that draped past his ears and looked unkempt; he appeared around Alice's age, maybe a little older. His red eyes were a much deeper shade of red than Vice's and held an intensity to them. What stood out to me most were his pointed ears; they reminded me of myself, and yet were very different.
Their origin was hard to put a name on; they weren't that of full elves either, I would recognize that much. They were almost supernatural in origin; the figure before me filled me with an unknown terror. In the boy's hands, he held two bags, both of which were from our caravan. One was money, namely the money I had given Vice for the debt Marcus owed. The other contained our rations, bread, and some other goods. He laughed again once he saw my fearful expression, "Looks like you've got quite the setup here," the boy said, his voice dripping with amusement as he inspected the stolen goods in his hands. He casually tossed the bag of rations from one hand to the other, clearly enjoying the discomfort he was causing.
Vice pointed her gun at his head; her face quickly turned to rage. "Put that down! I don't care if you are a kid; I will blast you if you try to steal from us!"
The boy shrugged, "You can try, but I assure you it won't do you any good."
Vice snarled, "Who the hell are you, kid, and how did you get in here without us noticing?"
The boy spun the bags in his hands, "Doesn't matter who I am, lady; all that matters is I saw an opportunity and took advantage of you. You can call me Rune if it makes you happy." His red eyes flickered over each member of the party as if assessing their threat level. "And as for how I got in here," he added with a smirk, "let's just say I'm good at finding my way into places where I'm not supposed to be."
I frowned, eyeing him warily. "What do you want? Why are you targeting us?"
Rune yawned, a sound that sent a chill down my spine. "Oh, I don't have anything personal against you lot," he said casually, gesturing with the bag of money. "Just saw some easy targets."
Alice unexpectedly called out, "Don't bully Key!"
Rune looked down a bit surprised, "Who the- oh, I didn't see you there; you're so small. Ah, but in my line of work, little miss, everything is up for grabs. Survival of the fittest and all that."
Vice's expression hardened. "You won't get away with this," she warned, her hand steady on her revolver.
Rune stood with his arms out, "You've all been a good audience; tell you what, take a shot; I won't even dodge. You can pick a leg, an arm, or my head."
Vice looked ready to explode; her entire face was red. "You little shit, do you think I won't shoot because you're a kid? Well, newsflash, I ain't the type to sympathize with thieves." Vice took the shot; she aimed for his hand, probably hoping to get him to drop the bag. The shot rang out and stopped once it reached his arm; the pellet blew up on contact. Rune held his side, laughing as he mocked her, "I gave you your one chance, and not only did you aim for my hand, but you fired a BB pellet? I must say, you're not as tough as you make yourself out to be, lady."
Rune jumped off the caravan, "Well, that was amusing, but I think I should take my leave."
Vice shouted, "Don't you dare try to run!"
Rune mocked, "Or what, you'll shake your fists at me? Every show has its end; goodbye, suckers." He seemed to disappear without a second thought. One would think he was never there in the first place.
I couldn't believe my eyes; was it magic or something else?
Vice threw her cigarette on the ground. "Shit, he got us; damn it! Little bastard, he is not getting away with this!"
The tension lingered in the air as we gathered ourselves after Rune's brazen theft and departure. Vice was seething with frustration, her grip on the revolver tight as she muttered curses under her breath. Alice looked bewildered by the sudden turn of events, while I couldn't shake off the eerie feeling of how effortlessly Rune had infiltrated our caravan.
"We need to track him down," Vice growled, her eyes scanning the surroundings as if expecting Rune to reappear magically. "He can't have gone far."
I nodded in agreement, though unsure of where to start. "Did anyone see which way he went?"
Alice tugged on my shirt; she pointed towards the trees at the back of our caravan. "It smells that way." As a demi-human rabbit, she had a more advanced nose than any of us; she could track Rune once she got his scent down. Luckily, our little thief had been the type to show off, meaning she could memorize his scent to track him. I ruffled her hair, "Good girl, Alice!" She smiled softly, and I held her hand as we walked towards the trees. Vice took the lead, "When I find that little shit, I am going to give him the belting his parents oughta years ago."
Alice occasionally guided us as we walked in the direction of her nose, "Right. Left. It's close."
We moved cautiously, step by step, following Rune's elusive trail. The forest seemed to close in around us, the sounds of birds and rustling leaves fading into an eerie silence. It felt like we were entering another world, one where Rune held all the cards.
As we continued deeper into the heart of the forest, I couldn't shake off the feeling that Rune was not just a petty thief but something more elusive and dangerous. His red eyes and supernatural agility hinted at a mysterious origin—one that filled me with both fear and curiosity.
"We're getting closer," Vice muttered, her gaze fixed on the trail ahead. "Stay alert."
With renewed determination, we pressed on, driven by the need to reclaim what was stolen and confront the enigmatic figure who had dared to steal from us. We reached a cave system connected to a small mountain. I recognized the place as Blue Peak on the map; it wasn't a huge mountain, but apparently, it used to be a significant mining spot. The mountain used to have a small town near the base; apparently, it was wiped out a few years ago. All three of us stared into the large gaping maw of the dark tunnel before us. I was worried about Alice, but as our guide, we needed her to enter.
Vice patted me on the back, "Don't worry, Key; I will protect both of you, even if it costs me everything." I felt like she really did still blame herself for her party's death all those years ago.
I nodded, "Let's go in, but don't do anything crazy; if it gets dangerous, we run." With that, I took one last nervous breath and took my first steps towards the black, endless abyss.