Saiya glanced around nervously at the refugees outside the entrance of Mousafont. They were all huddled in a mass of desperation around the entrance to the city. Only a thin dirt path connected the gate to the outside wilderness, parting the sea of refugees. Thousands of hungry eyes stared at them. Their expressions begged for some kind of relief. It made Saiya feel like she was being watched by a group of predators in the wild.

  Why the Duke couldn’t do something about them, she didn’t know. It showed either a lack of care on his part or the fact that the city was in a much more precarious situation than Saiya thought. The reason didn’t matter, as they now had an obstacle to get by before making it into the wilderness outside of Mousafont. Not ten seconds outside of the city, and they were already in trouble.

  “Get moving already! You don’t have all day,” jeered one of the guards by the gate. He sounded like he was enjoying their struggle. Zeltara shot back a glare before returning her gaze to the mass in front of them. She got her and Kaztos’ attention.

  In a low voice, she said, “Let’s go. Just stick together and take it slow.” She gave Kaztos a look. “And don’t give them anything, Kaztos.” He seemed to pout at her order.

  “Why not? These people need some help. We could spare at least a little.” Saiya cut in before Zeltara could respond.

  “Do you have enough to feed everyone?” Obviously, Kaztos shook his head no. “Then what’s going to happen to the rest when you only give some food to a few people? They're likely going to attack us for the rest, angry that they didn’t get any.”

  After taking a moment to think, Kaztos seemed to deflate. “I just feel bad for them.”

  “I do too,” Zeltara said. “But we can’t do anything at the moment. Just remember what we’re adventuring for. We’re looking for a steady supply of food for the city. If we do a good job, then these people will get fed eventually.” She then signaled them forward. “Now come on. We’re burning daylight. I want to be away from the city before nightfall.”

  Saiya walked beside her friends along the dirt path away from Mousafont City. Destitute refugees lined both sides, staring at them with unveiled desperation. The feeling of their eyes on her quickly frayed Saiya’s nerves. The sooner they were gone, the better.

  Kaztos came to a stop beside her as the sound of a child crying reached their ears. Turning, Saiya saw a mother holding her son, both looking hungry. The sight tugged at her heart, but she prepared to turn away. But before Saiya could, Kaztos reached into his satchel and pulled out some food. He leaned down and held it out to the pair.

  “Here. I don’t have much, but you can at least have this.” The mother had tears in her eyes as she accepted the food. She rushed to calm her son down and feed him. Saiya watched as his eyes lit up in wonder as he devoured it in seconds. The boy looked up at Kaztos with reverence in his eyes.

  “Thank you, sir.” The voices around them drowned out whatever the boy was going to say. They huddled together as the surrounding crowd almost became a mob. The hungry refugees began to inch closer, breaching their bubble of space.

  “You have food? Can I have some?” A young man called out.

  “Please, I’m starving!” A woman shouted.

  A disheveled man stumbled towards them. “Give me some! I deserve it more than they do.”

  Dozens of voices joined in a desperate symphony that had Zeltara covering her ears. The people around them reached towards them, hoping to grab something for them to eat. Saiya grabbed her friends’ arms and yanked them along the path. The three had their hands on their weapons, prepared to defend themselves.

  “Hurry, we don’t want to stick around here.” Kaztos and Zeltara listened and walked along with her. They huddled together to avoid the agitated crowd. Saiya struggled not to panic as occasional limbs brushed against her. They had almost no space to make it through the sea of people. She felt a hand grab onto hers and squeeze. Saiya spun around, ready to lash out, only to see that it was Zeltara comforting her. The physical contact actually helped to calm her down. Her heart didn’t feel like it would beat out of her chest anymore.

  They made their way through the crowd after a few minutes. Despite wanting to stop, Saiya knew they should make some distance first. The three of them walked until they entered a cluster of trees a few hundred yards away. Even though all Saiya did was walk, she found herself having to catch her breath. Zeltara and Kaztos also took a few moments to recompose themselves.

  “Well, that wasn’t how I thought our adventure would start,” Zeltara said with a shaky smile. “So much for a glorious exit. I wouldn’t be surprised if those guards are laughing at us right now.” Her attempt at humor left much to be desired.

  Still, Kaztos managed a halfhearted chuckle. “Well, best to temper our expectations then. We already knew that the life of an adventurer wasn’t always glamorous. I just didn’t expect an act of kindness to go that way.” His words reminded Saiya of what he had just done. With rapidly growing anger, she marched up to him.

  “Why did you give them food even after we told you not to? We almost got mobbed because of your stupidity.” Her words were just under a yell. Kaztos had the audacity to seem surprised before he leveled a severe look at her.

  “And why wouldn’t I? You saw what was happening, right? The boy was crying.” Saiya said nothing, but felt her anger begin to diminish. “Would you really have left that kid hungry when you could have done something about it?”

  Saiya would have. She had been about to, in fact. It wouldn’t be any different from the rare times at the orphanage when food became hard to come by. You didn’t offer up your food, as no one else would give the same courtesy. It was best to look after herself then. This should have been the same.

  But thinking about it now, it left her with a rare feeling of shame. She had been about to abandon a child with no thought of helping. Things were different now. They technically had an excess of food. Sure, it was dangerous, but did that really justify inaction? She turned away. “Sorry, you’re right.” Saiya felt a hand land on her shoulder.

  “It’s alright. That was stressful for all of us. I’ll try to keep our safety in mind in the future. I didn’t expect the others to react like that.” Saiya nodded, still turned away.

  Zeltara said, “I don’t know how you didn’t realize that. The looks on their faces should have shown that. That and Saiya gave you a warning. Still, that was a cool thing you did, Kaztos.”

  He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. “I just forgot in the moment. Again, my apologies for putting us in danger.” Zeltara dismissively waved her hand.

  “Like I said, it’s fine. But we need to figure out what to do now.” Saiya turned back to the conversation.

  “I thought you already had one,” she said. It made sense since they were in such a hurry to get out of the city. But Zeltara just shook her head.

  “There wasn’t much of a chance of making one since we rushed out of there so fast.” Zeltara sighed. “Maybe we shouldn’t have done that.” Saiya decided not to dignify that with a response.

  Kaztos said, “It’s not like we can do anything about that now. Going back doesn’t seem like a good idea.” He gave a reassuring grin. “But I’m sure we can figure something out.” Zeltara pulled out her journal.

  “Well, we can go either south into the plains, north into the forests, or east toward the caves and plateau. I don’t know about you two, but north seems like a good idea. We have the supplies to make a deep trip into the forest. From what was said, nobody on the first expedition seemed to bother.” Kaztos shook his head.

  “I disagree. The choice is obvious. We should go east toward the plateau. I’m sure we can find our goal at the top. We can handle whatever trouble the first expedition ran into.” His confidence almost surprised Saiya, but it was Kaztos. He would probably sound sure jumping off of a cliff if he thought it was the right thing to do.

  Still, she couldn’t let him lead them to somewhere so perilous. “That’s a stupid idea. We don’t know what the first expedition faced in those caves. We could easily get killed. Hell, it killed a significant portion of our predecessors.” Kaztos seemed to consider her words before rejecting them with a shake of his head.

  “Nonsense! We’d figure it out. We've always had before. This time will be no different.” Saiya rolled her eyes at his blasé attitude.

  Zeltara chimed in, saying, “Well, what do you think, Saiya? Should we head north or east?” She thought for a moment before answering. The north and the south were viable options. But one stuck out to her.

  “Neither, let’s go south instead. It’s fairly safe, from what we’ve heard. It’ll allow us to get used to traveling by ourselves. No need to rush into things too quickly.” Zeltara looked skeptical at the suggestion.

  “I’m not sure we’ll find much down there. Plenty of people on the first expedition likely thought of that. They probably explored most of the area already. There’s not going to be much left for us.” Saiya shrugged, unconcerned. Their safety meant more than the mission at the moment.

  “Then what do we do?” Kaztos asked. “We all want to head in different directions.” Saiya wondered that herself. This might be the first time they’ve been in a three-way disagreement. She prepared herself to convince Zeltara to her side. Kaztos would probably be like a stone wall in this instance. Then again, Zeltara could have a stubborn streak herself.

  “Hey there!” A man’s voice called out before Saiya could start. The three of them jumped and spun towards the source of the call. She saw a group of four walking towards them. Two men and two women, all dressed for battle. Saiya noticed Zeltara didn’t seem to hear them coming. Did their argument distract her?

  Zeltara waved at the group. “Hey. I recognize you from the expedition meeting. Do you need something?” Saiya relaxed. If they were expedition members, then it wasn’t likely they’d prove dangerous. She took a closer look at the approaching group.

  The person leading them was a man who looked to be in his early twenties. He had dirty blond hair, green eyes, and fair skin. He wore steel plate armor and carried a two-handed sword on his back. His expression was open and cheerful. As he approached, he said, “I saw you out here and decided to introduce ourselves. I’m Halidorn. This is Uya.” He gestured to the woman beside him.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  She was of a similar age to Halidorn, with light blond hair and hazel eyes. She wore leather armor and a short cloak over her pale skin. A bow and quiver rested on her back. Uya pouted at the man beside her. “I wanted to introduce myself. Don’t go stealing my thunder!” Halidorn held up his hands nervously at her whine. Uya rolled her eyes and turned back to them. “Yes, my name is Uya. And this is my sister Rya.” She pointed to the girl behind her, who shrank in on herself. Uya giggled. “Don’t mind her. She’s shy.”

  Rya bore a close resemblance to Uya. She looked to be in her mid to late teens. Like her sister, she seemed to wear leather armor underneath a cloak. The visible throwing knives grabbed Saiya’s attention. It seemed like they had similar weapons of choice. Maybe they could exchange tips. Rya stared at the ground as she softly spoke. “Hello.” Everyone paused to see if Rya would say anything else. She didn’t.

  “And I’m Randon. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” The last of their group said, a man who looked to be in his thirties. Randon stood the tallest of the group of four, wearing a long robe. He carried a staff, making Saiya wonder just what spells it could do. The very beginnings of gray appeared at the base of his short red hair and beard. There was a twinkle in his green eyes that spoke of something Saiya couldn’t yet discern. He gave them an exaggerated bow during his introduction.

  Zeltara smiled as she returned the gesture. “It’s good to meet you. I’m Zeltara, and these are Kaztos and Saiya. We’re team outsiders.” Kaztos grinned at the group and waved. Saiya stayed back and observed their reaction.

  Halidorn looked ready to speak when Uya rushed forward toward Zeltara. She pinched the elf’s cheeks and said, “Aw! You three are so cute! You‘re a bunch of baby adventurers, aren’t ya?” Halidorn grabbed Uya and pulled her back and then put her in a headlock.

  “Sorry about that. Uya tends to get overly excited. We’re known as Team Yinsdal. We’ve been an adventuring team for the past four years, though Rya only just joined us recently.” Zeltara rubbed her face, looking annoyed. Meanwhile, Uya struggled to get out of Halidorn’s grip.

  Ignoring the struggle in front of him, Kaztos said, “Well, it’s great to meet you. But did you need something, or did you just want to introduce yourselves?”

  “We just wanted to meet you. You seemed like one of the few other competent groups at the meeting. There wasn’t really anyone else there that could really be called adventurers. It’s impressive, especially since you all seem so young,” Randon said. Halidorn nodded in agreement.

  Zeltara laughed nervously. “Yeah, we are pretty young. This is actually our first official adventure.” Halidorn nodded.

  “I guess it just speaks to the times we’re in. People need all the help they can get. Just be careful. The first couple of months are the roughest.” Of that, Saiya could only agree. The wasteland was an experience she didn’t want to go back to.

  Kaztos said, “We will! Thank you for the advice. I’m sure meeting you can only mean good things for us.” Halidorn smiled at his enthusiasm.

  “Yeah, it’s always good to know your fellow adventuring teams. That way you know a couple more friendly faces out in the world. Never know when you'll need help. Though I noticed that the three of you seemed to be discussing something serious as we walked up. Did you guys need help with anything?” Uya finally escaped the grapple and glared daggers at Halidorn. He looked unaffected, making Saiya wonder how often this happened.

  “We were trying to decide where to explore,” Zeltara said. “There was uncertainty with us about where to go first.” Halidorn hummed in thought before answering.

  “Well, I can understand the hesitation. That might be one of the most important decisions you make while out here. Having it as your first one must be tough.” Kaztos chuckled, gathering everyone’s attention.

  “It’s less that we’re unsure where we want to go and more that we’re all too sure. The three of us all suggested different directions. I wanted to head east, Zeltara suggested we go north, and Saiya preferred us going south. We were having a debate about which one to choose.” A debate that Saiya planned to win before they were interrupted.

  Halidorn nodded, seeming to understand the situation. “We were having that problem too. Usually, there’s a general direction to head towards during an adventure, if not a direct path. Go to this place and take care of that problem. Even the vaguest instructions give a general area or direction. This is the first time that the instructions were ‘go anywhere but west’. We all wanted to go in different directions ourselves when we talked about it.”

  Uya asked, “How about we figure it out together? I’m sure we can handle this without any problems.” Zeltara, Kaztos, and Saiya exchanged looks. Saiya shrugged, not caring either way. It didn’t matter to her at this point as long as this got figured out somehow. Kaztos nodded with a grin.

  Zeltara turned back to the other group. She pulled out her journal. “Sounds good. I drew a map of the landmarks the expedition showed us. Let’s go over them.”

  Halidorn smiled while Uya gave a squee of excitement. Saiya could just overhear her mutter ‘cute’ to herself. Halidorn said, “You’re prepared. That’s good in this profession. Sure, lets look give the map a look.” Halidorn and Uya joined Zeltara and Kaztos to look into her journal. The group began to talk among themselves. Saiya stayed back, not wanting to huddle together with everyone.

  Instead, her gaze drifted over to the other two adventurers of Team Yinsdal. Randon gave the gathered group a wistful smile. His mind seemed to be elsewhere, and Saiya wondered what he was thinking about. He then noticed Saiya staring at him. He gave her a small wave before turning back to the group.

  Saiya then glanced over at Rya, who had been as silent as her this whole time. The girl was only a few years older than them and seemed to exude nervousness about the situation. She seemed to be fixated on their surroundings, as if expecting something to jump out at them. Her eyes darted around and landed on Saiya. She flinched upon seeing Saiya stare at her. Saiya said nothing, but tilted her head at her.

  Rya also tilted her head. She then raised her hand as if to wave but didn’t complete the motion.

  Saiya copied the motion and softly smiled.

  Rya returned the expression and gestured towards the group with her eyes.

  Saiya rolled her eyes and shrugged. She then made a mocking gesture with her hand, indicating incessant yapping.

  Rya’s shoulders shook in silent laughter. Saiya joined in, deciding that the other girl wasn’t so bad.

  Randon watched the exchange with open amusement. “Glad to see you getting along with someone like you, Rya.” Rya flinched in surprise. The two girls shared matching blushes at being called out. They then exchanged glances and came to an understanding. They would get him back for that comment. Randon interrupted their forming pact by pointing back to the group. Saiya listened in again. It seemed that their conversation was winding down.

  “So, it’s decided then,” Halidorn said. Uya, Zeltara, and Kaztos voiced their agreement. Saiya wondered what she had missed. She prepared to ask when a soft voice spoke up beside her.

  “Um, excuse me? But what did you decide?” Rya asked. The group all turned to look at her. The timid girl squeaked and tried to hide behind Saiya. It didn’t work well since the girl was over half a head taller than her.

  Uya gave her sister an indulgent smile. “Did you space out again, Rya? How many times do I have to tell you to pay attention?” Rya muttered out an apology, which irritated Saiya.

  “We were actually talking to each other,” she said. Not exactly the truth, but close enough. Zeltara and Kaztos gave her a grin.

  “Oh, did you make a friend there, Saiya?” Zeltara asked. Saiya gave her a deadpan stare. She wanted nothing more than to get through this conversation fast.

  “Yes. Now, what were you talking about?” She ignored her friend’s look of surprise for admitting that. Saiya wasn’t that bad, was she? The group likewise ignored as Uya ran over and bear-hugged her sister over her making a friend.

  Halidorn said, “We decided it was best to wait and try to gather more information. We can go to the plateau and investigate the caves before deciding what to do next. If it seems safe enough, then we can go in and clear it of that monster. But if it seems too dangerous, then we can go somewhere else. By then, we’ll be far enough from Mousafont that any direction will lead to somewhere new.” It sounded like a good idea to Saiya. But that left one question unanswered.

  “So, are we traveling together?” She asked.

  Zeltara answered. “We haven’t actually decided on that yet. Kaztos and I wanted to talk to you about it.”

  “We’re fine with going with them at the start of our journey. I believe it’d be a great way to learn from a more experienced group,” Kaztos said. “What do you think?”

  Saiya took a moment to consider the proposal. She couldn’t really see any serious downsides. A larger group meant they would be more protected, assuming they could be trusted, that is. Still, being around four new people for who knows how long sounded exhausting.

  Uya interrupted her thoughts by appearing inches in front of her face. She grabbed Saiya’s hands and said, “Oh, please decide to come with us! I promise that we’re great company. We can get to know each other better and-” That’s as far as Uya got before Saiya shoved her to the ground and took a few steps back.

  “Back off,” Saiya said. Zeltara walked forward and helped Uya up.

  “Try not to get into Saiya’s space. She doesn’t like it.” Uya brushed herself off and gave Saiya a smile.

  “Sorry, I got excited. But please come with us.” Randon took a step forward, getting the group’s attention.

  “It would be nice for you to come along. You are new adventurers, and we’d like to make sure you guys are safe at least in the beginning.” Saiya tried not to be insulted at them questioning their competency.

  Meanwhile, Zeltara let her feelings known. “We can take care of ourselves. We don’t need you babysitting us.” Kaztos put a hand on Zeltara’s shoulder.

  “I’m sure that they didn’t mean it like that. But don’t underestimate us. We can handle whatever the wilds throws at us.” Seeming to sense a potential argument, Halidorn cleared his throat to get their attention.

  “That wasn’t what Randon meant, right?” The older adventurer agreed and gave a quick apology. “We’re sure that you can take care of yourselves. It’s just that adventuring is dangerous. Even the most experienced can get hurt, or worse. We just want to travel together to make both of our teams safer to start. Who knows what’s out here.”

  Uya nodded in agreement. “Right! Getting to watch over a couple of cute kiddos is just a bonus. It reminds me of when Rya first started out.” Rya grumbled at her sister’s antics but said nothing.

  Zeltara looked towards Saiya and Kaztos. “Huddle up?” The two nodded, and they walked a few feet away and huddled together. “Alright, what do you guys think? I’m still leaning towards yes.” Despite her words, Zeltara still seemed unsure.

  Kaztos said, “I know what you’re getting at. Going with them would make things safer. And we could pick up a few things from them. But...” He trailed off.

  “But it’d be like we’re their underlings. If we’re not careful, then we might not get any credit for anything we do while with them. They may even end up bossing us around.” Zeltara paused as the argument settled over them. The point mattered little to Saiya, but she could see that it bothered Kaztos and Zeltara. For different reasons, they needed the fame that adventuring provided. A more established group that took all the credit could threaten that, even if inadvertently. Zeltara turned to Saiya. “What do you think? Do they seem trustworthy?”

  Saiya sneaked a glance over at Team Yinsdal. Randon, Halidorn, and Uya seemed to be animatedly conversing while Rya offered the occasional input. Halidorn started to laugh, causing Uya to try and tackle him. This failed to bring him to the ground, and the other two laughed at their antics. Rya glanced over at them and offered Saiya a smile before continuing to watch the chaotic roughhousing in front of her.

  She wasn’t usually one to trust newcomers readily. Saiya knew it took time for her to warm up to people. Zeltara and Kaztos were an exception in that regard. But something about this group seemed to lower Saiya’s metaphorical hackles. While she could do without Uya and Halidorn’s antics, Rya and Randon seemed nice to be around. She didn’t think they would betray them either. Nothing in their demeanor seemed to point in that direction. They were friendly with them from the very beginning, without being overly so to the point of suspicion.

  Finally, Saiya turned back to Zeltara and Kaztos. “Yes. I don’t think they’ll do anything underhanded.”

  “But that still leaves us with our issues. How do we make sure we stay independent from them?” Kaztos asked.

  Zeltara scoffed. “Besides just leaving whenever we want? I’ll just make it known from the start. Besides, it’s not like we’ll be sticking with them forever. It’s just until we make it to the plateau. Until then, we can learn a thing or two from them. Are we in agreement?” Kaztos voiced his agreement while Saiya nodded. “Then let’s tell them.”

  They broke the huddle and made their way back to Team Yinsdal. Halidorn saw them approach and asked, “So, did you make your decision then?”

  “We’re willing to go with you, but we have some demands to work out,” Zeltara said. Halidorn seemed surprised but nodded.

  “Okay, what are they?” Zeltara took a moment to think before answering.

  “First, we’re to be treated as an equal group to yours. That means you and I have to come to an agreement when a decision needs to be made. And no bossing us around.” Halidorn seemed to relax upon hearing this.

  A small smile grew on his face. “Sounds good. Anything else?” Kaztos stepped forward with a serious expression.

  “While we’re traveling together, we share equal credit for anything we discover.” By now, Uya and Randon had joined in, giving them amused looks. Saiya guessed they didn’t have to worry about anything then.

  “Of course. It’s only fair. We’ll even split any treasure we find between the seven of us evenly. How does that sound?” That wasn’t even something Saiya even thought of. Glancing at Zeltara and Kaztos, it seemed like they didn’t either.

  Zeltara then gave them a wide grin. “You think there’s treasure out here?” The question made Halidorn and Randon laugh as Uya gushed over them again.

  Between chuckles, Halidorn said, “No. But you never know. Still, it sounds like we’re in agreement, right?” Zeltara nodded.

  “Yes, we’ll travel with you until we investigate the plateau. We’ll talk about what to do then.” Uya cheered as Halidorn and Zeltara shook on it.

  “Sounds great,” Halidorn said. He then released Zeltara’s hand and looked up. “We should get going soon. It’s already afternoon. Assuming you’re fine with it, of course.” Zeltara nodded. “Excellent. I don’t want to travel at night. That can be dangerous.” Kaztos chuckled at the remark.

  “We know that all too well. Walking at night isn’t an experience I’d want to repeat often.” Zeltara nodded in agreement while Saiya shuddered. The less she had to think about those nights in the wastes, the better.

  Randon said, “Oh, seems like you have some experience about that. Want to share it with us?”

  “Well, it’s a long story,” Zeltara said. Halidorn shook his head and began heading east.

  “You have plenty of time to tell us along the way. This is going to be a long walk. But like I said, we should get a move on.” The group began to follow Halidorn. Their adventure now began in earnest.

  Almost immediately, the large group split up into smaller sections. Halidorn and Zeltara walked at the front. The elf began to regal him with the story of their time in the wastes. Kaztos and Uya followed along. They occasionally gave their input while also having their own conversation. Saiya figured those two would get along well. They were both filled with excess energy and all too willing to get into people’s personal space.

  That left Saiya walking in the back with Rya and Randon. Of everyone there, those two were the ones she was happiest to be with. Rya seemed to agree, giving Saiya a small smile while walking beside her. Randon took up the rear but was close enough to take part in a conversation with the two girls. Not that Saiya was willing to start one. Neither did Rya, for that matter. They were happy just to travel in silence together.

  This didn’t seem to bother Randon, who seemed content to just enjoy the silent companionship between the three of them. The front of the group seemed all too willing to make up for their lack of socializing as they engaged in loud conversation. It gave Saiya solace that at least Zeltara and Kaztos now had people to burn their energy with. Before, she was afraid that they’d turn to her to be their sounding board. No, Saiya was all too willing to enjoy this unexpected break on the path to the unknown.

  The surrounding trees thickened, progressing into a forest. Saiya relaxed as they entered the wilderness proper. From the blowing of the leaves to the small noises of animals and bugs nearby. It was something she had missed in the past few months. It reminded her of the forest back in Urada. She would sometimes go explore the woods with her parents. Whenever they decided to let her out of the house, of course.

  Despite the rocky beginning, Saiya would say that this was a good start to their first adventure. She wasn’t sure if they would be able to handle themselves, but it seemed like they didn’t need to yet. They now had a more experienced group to watch over and teach them for a short time. They seemed friendly, but Saiya decided to keep an eye out just in case. The last thing she wanted was a knife in the back, as unlikely as it might be. For Saiya, she could accept nothing less.