Two days later…
Me and Avy stepped through the forest, finally having made it back into the less dense and overgrown part of it. The celebration at the gorgan clan had been rather exhausting and with Avy's state at the end of it, we had basically been forced to spend about a day extra, just so she could recover. After she had recovered, we had set out almost immediately, saying our goodbyes to the clan as well as Lina and Deina.
Though, they did say that if we ever needed something – a favour or anything else – the gorgan clan would always be willing to help. Avy yawned lightly, stretching out and gently swaying onto me.
I gently caught her, pushing her back onto her feet. "Tired?"
"We've been walking for hours now… I cannot wait to return to bed." I gently laughed at Avy's reply, before looking back at the road in front of us. One thing I had learned about her during this time that we spent travelling to and back from the gorgan clan was that Avy hated long journeys.
Or rather, she hated long walks, would be more precise.
"We've been away from Ordial for almost a week now. I wonder what has changed." I commented, with Avy rubbing her eyes a bit, shrugging in response. As we walked down the path in the forest, I began to catch glimpses through the trees of the walled town in the distance.
We were not far from it anymore. Soon we'll be… 'home' — I suppose I could call Ordial that at this time. "Come on Avy, step it up. We're not far away now." Avy simply groaned in response, looking at me with tired eyes, however picking up her pace either way.
Once out of the forest, it was a rather short walk to the front gates of Ordial, where two guards stood. As we approached, one of them rushed towards us, stopping us. "Hold on, please present identification."
I raised an eyebrow. "Identification? Why?"
"Standard procedure."
Strange… I don't remember needing to present any identification last time we went into Ordial. Well, I can't really argue against a guard now. I reached into my pouch, rummaging a bit before taking out my adventuring guild card, presenting it to the guard.
The guard examined the card, before seemingly being taken back by it for a second. However, after shaking his head, he handed it back. "Thank you for compliance Mister Riyo."
"No worries." I placed my card back into my pouch. "May I ask why identification has to be presented all of a sudden?" The guard looked at the other one, who simply shrugged. Then, he looked back at me. "Well, no harm in keeping the public informed. There have been recent reports of a dangerous criminal snooping around Ordial. The Duke ordered the guards to make sure anyone who comes through the gates has valid identification."
"Ah, I see… So just a criminal on the loose. Then I guess caution makes sense." I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, good to know. I suppose if I see anyone suspicious I'll make sure to report to the guards."
"Thank you Mister Riyo. Now, you and your companion may pass."
"Thank you."
The guard returned to his position, allowing me and Avy to enter Ordial once more. The town was bustling, busy as I had expected, with people moving all over the place. However one thing that was a bit out of the place was just how many adventurers were on the streets. Adventurers weren't in themselves a new sight, but I had never seen them roaming the streets in this quantity.
I turned to look at Avy. "I have to go to the guild. If you want, you can head to the inn to rest." Avy looked at me with tired eyes and nodded. I sighed, taking out the inn room key and handing it to her. "Come on, head on over then. Oh and one more thing.." I leaned in a bit closer, whispering.
"Maybe try thinking about how you could change your appearance. It's better we follow Sir Harcone's suggestion."
"Right right…" Avy walked away from me tiredly, leaving me alone.
After a quick exhale, I flipped around and swiftly moved off towards the Guild building. On my way there, I encountered more and more adventurers and adventuring parties. "Seriously, surely this isn't normal?"
Maybe the adventuring guild was enlisted to help with finding and catching that man that the guard spoke of? It wasn't an impossible scenario.
After a bit, I spotted the familiar guild building. Quickly moving up to the front doors, I was about to enter when I heard a familiar voice call out. "Mister Riyo, it has been a while!" Looking at who was calling to me, I spotted Jarvis going about his day, wearing some casual clothing and a child beside him, holding his hand.
The child was mostly human in appearance with some features that were similar to Jarvis. "Hey Jarvis, is it your day off or something?" I walked back down the stairs to the lizardman, who simply chuckled lightly. "It in fact is my day off."
I eyed the child. "And who is that?"
"Ah, meet my son, Lavle." Jarvis gently pushed his son towards me, encouraging him to say hi. The little boy seemed shy, clinging to his father, eyeing me strangely. I gently smiled and waved at the boy, while Jarvis laughed again. "Sorry, he's rather shy."
"No worries at all."
After a shared light laugh, Jarvis placed his free hand on his hip. "Where have you been for the last week? You up and vanished."
"Ah, I was busy with some other things. It's not really important."
"I see… Well, good to see you again. You actually came at the perfect time." I raised an eyebrow. Then, after throwing a look around, I leaned forward a bit closer to Jarvis. "Is it related to the strange influx of adventurers?"
"Indeed it is actually. Ordial Adventuring guild is preparing to carry out its first dungeon raid this year."
Dungeon… raid?
That was something new. "Dungeon raid? What's that?"
Jarvis looked surprised, before gently chuckling and patting me lightly on the shoulder. "I would be surprised, but you aren't exactly clued up on how a lot of things work. In short, a dungeon raid is an event carried out by the Adventuring guild where adventurers are able to participate in a large-scale raid of a large dungeon. In Ordials case, the raid will involve the dungeon known as the 'Fire Princes domain', the entrance to which is located under Ordial."
A raid of a large dungeon huh…
Sounds like the perfect opportunity to grow more powerful as well as gain some sweet loot from monsters.
"Dungeon raids are usually also the perfect opportunity for adventurers to rank up."
"I thought you needed to finish a certain amount of commissions to rank up?"
"Usually, yes. However, dungeon raids are an exception. If the adventurer proves their might during the dungeon raid, they may be promoted to a higher rank much, much faster – there are even tales of some adventurers going up by a whole four ranks from one dungeon raid." I looked quite surprised by the information Jarvis gave me. While skipping the rank ups via a dungeon raid was most certainly not a good idea…
Being higher ranked than D-Rank would certainly come in useful when it comes to journeying, especially since I wish to go on an adventure across the world with Avy. After a bit of thinking, Jarvis shook his head, lightly hitting my shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts. "If you want to sign up, just head inside the guild and talk to the reception. The Fire Princes domain is a relatively low rank compared to most other large scale dungeons, so a D-Rank like yourself should have no issues participating."
I rubbed the back of my neck and then backed up. "Well, then I think I will do just that. Have a good day off Jarvis!" I flipped around, swiftly moving back up the stairs to the guilds front doors, while Jarvis waved a light goodbye, before continuing his walk with his son.
Inside the guild was as lively as always.
I had expected no less from a place where adventurers gather. Walking up to the closest free receptionist, I took out my adventuring card. "Good day, I heard that the guild is organising a dungeon raid? I'd like to participate if possible."
The woman in the reception looked at me and smiled brightly, adjusting her bow a bit. "Of course. Please, present your adventurer card." Handing it over, the woman examined it, her expression changing for a moment. This was already the second time today where someone looked surprised after seeing my adventurer card… Is something up?
After a moment, she shook her head.
"Apologies for the delay. Mister Riyo correct? There is a registration form to fill out to sign up for the raid. Allow me to go and grab it." Then, she handed me my card back, before moving into the backroom of the guild. I waited at the reception for a bit, before she eventually returned with the documents, handing them for me to sign.
Going through them, I filled it out with all the required information as well as signed everywhere where my signature was required. After finishing my registration form, I handed it back to the receptionist, before placing the quill to the side. "Thank you Mister Riyo. The dungeon raid will take place around two days from now. Simply be here at the guild entrance in the morning."
"Got it. Thank you." I was about to move towards the quest board to accept a commission or two, however the receptionist suddenly stopped me. "Hold on, one more thing Mister Riyo."
"Huh? What is it?"
I raised an eyebrow.
After a moment of silence, she shook her head. "Nothing. Have a good day." She smiled and moved away. I felt a bit confused at that interaction — was she about to add something? It felt like it may have been important…
…Well, guess if she kept it to herself, it wasn't that important.
Moving to the quest board, I picked out a few commissions on it, bringing them over to a different receptionist to confirm my acceptance of them. After everything was confirmed, I moved out of the guild and back into the streets, swiftly making my way out of the town and back into the forest.
I wanted to finish the commissions I had accepted before sunset, so I was not keen on wasting any time in completing them.
Meanwhile at the Inn…
Avy unlocked the room door, entering it and closing it after her. Dropping the key onto the table, she fell face first into the bed, groaning a bit. "It's been a full day and a half since that celebration, how in the name of the Dragons do I still feel the headache from that liquor…?" She pushed her face into the bed's pillow.
While at the time, Faofa had tried to stop her from drinking as heavily as she did, she did not heed his warnings and continued to drink with the gorgans of the clan. In the end, she might have ended up emptying a barrel or two on her own…
Sighing, she flipped around onto her back, staring at the ceiling.
Faofa went to the guild and most likely has gone out on some commissions by himself… Which meant she had a lot of time for herself and herself alone. While usually, she'd try everything to stick to Faofa's side, this one time… Maybe a little alone time was good.
"I won't be able to fall asleep with a headache like this… But what do I do? I don't wanna die of boredom…" Closing her eyes, she thought about it for a little bit. What could she do to keep herself 'entertained' for a bit… or at least, until Faofa came back.
Thinking, thinking, thinking…
No ideas were popping into mind for a bit.
Then, Faofas words echoed a bit in her head. Thinking on how to change her appearance… Maybe she could do just that. Change how she looks while he is gone — it could be a small surprise for him from her! With a slightly smug expression, she hopped onto a sitting position on the bed, before hopping out and stretching out.
"Alright, gotta figure out the best look I could give myself that will make sure no one can recognise me, but also… maybe one that will make Faofa fall for me…" After saying that, her cheeks lit up brightly, as she buried her face in her hands. While she was open with her affection towards Faofa, saying something like that outloud, even for her, felt embarrassing. After a moment, she took a light breath, before looking around. By the coatrack stood a mirror.
Walking over to it, she looked at her reflection and examined herself carefully. How could she change her appearance…
Maybe first it was better to figure out what she wanted to change? Maybe the eye colour, hair and clothes… That was really all that there was to her appearance that she could alter with magic. "Right. Let's get to work!" She announced to herself, before closing her eyes and concentrating her magic.
One after the other, she tried new appearances.
A more casual appearance, a more 'royal' appearance, a more 'adventurous' appearance – shifting colours of her entire outfit constantly as well. However, no matter what she did, none of the appearances looked… right.
All of them looked off to her.
Eventually, she groaned in frustration and leapt onto the bed again, burying her face in the pillow. "How hard can it be to come up with a new appearance that I like?!" After a light scream into the pillow, she calmed down. Laying there for a second, she pushed her head back up and stared at her hands for a moment.
Every appearance she tried looked off.
None of them looked like she wanted.
Maybe it was better to wait for Faofa and get his opinion…? No, she wanted to make this a gift for him, a surprise. So she quickly threw that idea out of her head, before rolling over onto her back once more, staring at the ceiling of the inn room.
Silence.
Long silence.
She simply laid in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Then, she seemingly got an idea, as she hopped up and looked at the mirror again. "Perhaps I could…" Getting out, she walked over to the mirror, taking in a deep breath. After a moment, she focused her magical energy and began altering her appearance. Magic swaying around her, her appearance shifted one last time.
Once finished, she opened her golden eyes slowly, looking at her reflection.
Examining her appearance, she smiled. "...Finally. I think he'll like this appearance a lot." She stated, posing a bit and examining every nook and cranny of her chosen appearance, before happily hopping back into bed, laying on her side.
"Hopefully he likes it.." She closed her eyes gently, deciding to get some sleep now that she had finished the whole appearance alteration business. While her headache made it difficult, it wasn't long before she was deep in slumber.
Evening…
I moved through the dimly lit streets, exhaling lightly as I rubbed the back of my neck. "I was not expecting it to take so long… Why on earth are devil rabbits so fast…" I sighed heavily. One good thing that came out from this was the pay I had received for completing the commissions.
About one hundred and thirteen silver coins and fifty four coppers.
Not bad, if you ask me.
Stretching out, I picked up my pace. Avy must be worried as hell about me, I mean, I was gone for a lot longer than I had expected. Hopefully she hasn't thrashed the inn room while waiting for me….
Chuckling lightly to myself, I looked at the starry sky above, gazing at it as I walked. It wasn't long then when I reached the inn, entering it. I was greeted by the receptionist who told me that my companion was already in the room – which meant that Avy was at the very least here still. Thanking the receptionist, I moved up the stairs and through the quiet, dim hallway.
Finding my room, I gently and slowly opened the door, looking inside. The room was rather dark, the only light in it being from the window where the moonlight shone in from. Raising an eyebrow, I walked into the room, closing the door after myself. "Avy—?"
I was then suddenly tackled to the ground, with a familiar weight on top of me. I sighed, looking at Avy, who was burying her face in my chest. "Avy, what the…" I cut myself off, noticing that her hair was different. Did she change her appearance while I was gone? I mean, I know I told her to think about it, but I hadn't expected her to do it while I was gone. The woman looked up at me with her now golden eyes, a shy smile across her face.
"...What do you think?"
I raised an eyebrow at first, before realising that she probably wanted my opinion on her new appearance.
Exhaling, I pushed her off of me and got back up, getting a good look at her new appearance with the moonlight serving as my light. Replacing her previous light brown colour scheme, she was now closer to a dark, emerald greenish colour scheme, mixed with black and white. A golden necklace hung around her neck, while the same feather cloak hung from her shoulders, covering mostly her white shirt.
Her sleeves were black, with a pair of black gloves which covered up her talon like fingers. From the waist downwards, it was pretty basic — just a pair of black trousers with some boots that matched her new overall colours.
I smiled gently, patting her head. "You look great."
Her shy expression didn't disappear, instead she pulled her hands into fists. "Just 'great'...?" She asked. I raised an eyebrow. What did she mean by 'just great'? Was she expecting a deeper compliment or something? I brainstormed for a moment, before sighing and standing up, picking her up into a princess carry, carrying her over to the bed and laying her down.
She looked at me surprised, blushing greatly.
"You look lovely. It suits you."
She looked at me with a heavier blush, before quickly looking away and rolling onto her side. I laughed lightly, before taking off my jacket and boots, throwing them over to the chair in the room, before sitting on the bed. "Anyways, I wanted to mention that I signed up for Ordials dungeon raid that will take place two days from now."
Avy rolled back around, looking at me.
"Dungeon raid…?"
"Basically a big event where adventurers go to 'conquer' a large dungeon. The one that will be at the center of this raid is apparently known as the Fire Princes domain and is located below Ordial." Avy looked at me with curiosity filled eyes, before exhaling. "You like getting into trouble a lot…"
"Trouble? It's not trouble Avy." I lightly laughed, before dropping onto the bed, Avy pulling her legs out of the way. I stared up at the ceiling. "I was wondering, will you accompany me in this raid or will I be going alone?" I turned my head to look at her. "I won't force you to join me, if you don't want to."
Avy looked away for a moment.
"No, no - it's fine. I'll also come." I stared at her for a bit, before exhaling and smiling towards her. "Then we'll head to the guild and sign you up together with me tomorrow. Alright with you?"
She nodded gently in response.
"Great." I laid down next to her, before pulling the blanket over us. "Alright, goodnight then." I said, swiftly trying to fall asleep. For a bit, it was peaceful. Then, I felt as Avy clung to me from behind, wrapping her arms around me. I opened my eyes, looking back at her a bit. She buried her face in my back.
I sighed, using 'Shadowlord' to remove her glasses and place them onto the table in the room. "Did I make you worry that much with how long I was gone?"
"...No.."
I raised an eyebrow. "Then—?"
"Just let me sleep like this for tonight." She cut me off, not moving from her spot. I stared at her over my shoulder for a bit, before exhaling and laying back down. Even though I didn't share Avy's affection, I wasn't going to stop her from expressing it towards me. Besides, being hugged like that when going to sleep… It felt nice.
It felt relaxing.
But at the same time, it was a bit strange.
For ages I had grown used to sleeping all by myself, so sleeping together with someone – especially this intimately was quite new for me. After a moment of silence, I closed my eyes. "...Have a good rest Avy."
She didn't respond — she simply snored gently.
...Guess she was already asleep.
Taking in a light breath, I slowly drifted off into sleep myself – the moon outside shining gently in through the window. Arvalor came out from the shadows, looking at the sleeping pair before rolling its eyes and settling down in the room itself, laying down to sleep.
Adventuring Guild.
Gidou sorted through documents in his office, the entire guild quiet and drooped in darkness. While sorting, one document stood out to him – it was a registration form for the dungeon raid. Usually, he'd not pay much attention to it, simply taking note of the name and rank of the adventurer, this time… The name on the paper was rather special.
"I see… So she's participating this time around as well? I wonder why…" He stated gently, brushing his beard before placing down the document. On it, the name 'Lyrra' was written down.
A bit lower from the name, her rank was listed.
Lyrra the Wild.
A-Rank adventurer.
After her document, Gidou's eyes caught another interesting name – this time, for a completely different reason. Picking up the document, he examined it for a bit, groaning slightly to himself. "...I should instruct there to be a more careful watch on this one…"
Placing the document down, he stood up and walked over to a nearby coffee table, picking up a metal kettle from it and pouring himself some coffee. Back on his desk, the document that he had placed down next to the previous one gazed up at the ceiling, a name and rank all too familiar on it.
Additionally, a bit lower was a note added by one of the guild employees.
Riyo Komeno
D-Rank adventurer.
Note:
The Duke of Ordial wished to meet with him.