Chapter 1: The Adventurer and the Court Scientist

Act 1: On a Mission into Enemy Lands

"Hey Davie boy, why are you so anxious?”

I perk upon hearing a familiar voice as I travel on foot through a dark and sinister forest. I must have spaced out at some point while navigating unknown lands. I curse internally. Only rookie adventurers ignore their surroundings, but an experienced traveler like me should know better. The sunlight never reaches the ground, yet it’s hot and humid. I must have succumbed to the wear and tear of traveling since the first rays of the morning sun blessed the land with its gifts.

I immediately feel better after drinking water from the canteen in my bag. The armor I’m wearing doesn’t help me stay hydrated, nor does the fact that we’ve been walking without a break. With my focus now restored, I attempt to fix my mistake. I’m looking left, then looking right, and finally checking the distant treeline.

Nothing to see, good. We’re not being watched. Probably.

Tightly packed trees block so much daylight with their overlapping foliage that it’s nearly impossible to see anything beyond a few dozen meters, even in the middle of the day. In a twisted way, those countless conifers competing for afternoon sunlight give me a creepy sense of unease and a fragile feeling of safety. However, the unease wins me over… a fact that Ken, evidently, noticed as well.

Davie boy? He hasn’t called me THAT in forever…

I turn my head, adorned with an assortment of unorganized brown curls, trying to squeeze out of my iron helmet. The young man who spoke to me takes note of my befuddlement, and I take note of how vastly different he looks with his short blonde hair. Unlike mine, it’s perfectly in order and stays that way even amidst battle and the fiercest windstorm. And, unlike me, he maintains a carefree attitude on a mission like this. Almost makes me a little jealous. He’s good-looking, too…

“Anxious? I’m not anxious!” I retort with a huff, and the young man laughs.

“Come on, buddy! We’ve been on dozens of missions into their territory, and you still act like it’s the first time. Relax, Dave.”

Dave, that’s me. Adventurer, 22 years old, single, and leader of an insignificant small guild that no one in town takes seriously. My role: I’m the tank, keeping everyone safe with my large shield and trusty sword. The mission I am leading my guild buddies on right now has been commissioned by no other than the man I have been talking to just now. While I’m the shield, he’s the brains.

“Ken, I know in your eyes this is just research and an excuse to get away from the high and mighty big shots at court, but for me, this is a serious job!” I lament as we traverse untrodden paths through the tight forest. ‘Ken’ is short for Kenneth. Although he is my commissioner, he is also my best friend and has been for as long as I can remember. We grew up together in a small village until demons decided to burn it to the ground and slaughter our families. Even though I was as frail as I was timid, Kenneth inspired me to take up the sword and join the Adventurer’s Guild.

And now I’m here keeping his ass safe, and he won’t even realize. This guy…

“Hey, I can fend for myself, you know?” Kenneth retorts, playfully swinging a sword he carries on his back. It’s shorter and broader than the long and thin blade I wield to increase my range in battle. He might have also become an adventurer if he weren’t such a smartass. He’s more courageous than I could ever hope to be, but he’s also smart enough to be granted the title of Court Scientist. Yeah, that’s right. That ass is directly working under the King despite being of non-royal descent, which also means we get paid the equivalent of really high-tier commissions without having the necessary track record at the local Adventurer’s Guild.

I can’t afford to screw this up either way. He’s my buddy. I have to take this seriously.

“You may be able to swing a sword when the going gets rough, but demons tend to prefer magic over physical combat. You know that, right?” I remind him, attempting to corner my friend. Bickering is our favorite pastime, in case you haven’t noticed.

“Yeah, but that’s why I’m paying you guys to keep me safe from everything that I can’t fend off myself,” Kenneth replies, putting his sword back on his back.

Correction: You’re using money from the royal treasury to pay us for a hopeless quest…

“Whatever, as long as you’re funding my barley at the tavern, I’ll keep your sorry ass safe anywhere,” I tell him with a sigh, and after a quick shared laugh, I decide to focus back on the mission.

We’ve been doing a lot of recon work over the past few months, trying to learn more about our sworn enemy: Demonkind. Most of the time, we leave their lands without anyone noticing. Sometimes, we get caught in bloody skirmishes with the enemy. Most of the time, we don’t gain any new intel, although sometimes we do. Today’s mission is to scout a small settlement, and we should arrive there soon. As always, I remain skeptical.

Humans and Demons share a bloody past, although they’re both sapient species. According to Kenneth, they are so alike that they can interbreed. But if you ask me, I’d rather have my balls served on a platter than make out with the same breed that took my family and my childhood back when that war broke out ten years ago… Kenneth is trying to study them as per the order of the King himself, attempting to learn the reason behind their sheer hatred for humanity, which drives them to wipe out entire villages, slaughtering every last man, woman, and child without so much as batting an eye.

If you ask me, he’s wasting our time… but I suppose a job is a job. I can’t be picky here.

“You still can’t forgive them, is that it?”

Kenneth shakes me out of my ramblings as we cross a small creek within the uninviting and ominous forest home to those demons. While humanity prefers vast open stretches of land ripe for agriculture and animal husbandry, demons live scattered in dark forests and mountains. A large stretch of forest bordering an extensive mountain range is home to a massive local population of demons warring with our human community. Many villages have fallen to their frequent raids, but the border city of Mauer, where my guild operates, still stands strong.

“Of course. How could I ever forgive those bastards?” I shout agitatedly as distant memories attempt to push their way into my conscience, but I give them no chance to materialize. “They took everything from us, Ken.”

“They took everything from me but you,” he points out as he puts his hand on my shoulder. “Your timid ass saved us there.”

“Yeah, like running away is a glorious thing to do…” I sigh upon recalling my cowardice. Kenneth had been smart enough to chase after me back then instead of joining the village Militia, which got wiped out shortly after… “Listen, Ken, I’m not in the mood for reminiscing right now. We’re on a mission; we have to be vigilant.”

“Right,” he admits, and helps me take in our surroundings.

Trees, more trees… and no demon in sight. Good.

Feeling a little better, knowing (or rather, assuming) that no one is watching our movement, I entertain Kenneth in this conversation anyway.

“So, have you forgiven them then?” I ask. He returns an answer immediately.

“I have not.”

“But?” I inquire. Kenneth is usually more wordy than that.

“But I’m convinced that slaughtering every single one of them doesn’t solve anything. There has to be some other way, and I’m trying to find it, Dave.” While explaining, he gets more and more riled up. “Say we go raid a village and kill some demon children’s parents.”

“Sounds like a plan; let’s do it right away,” I interject with a deadpan expression. I’m not being serious, though.

“Those children will hate humans and grow up to take the same actions upon mankind.”

“Yeah, so just kill the brats, too,” I interject once more.

“But what if they’re called Dave and just lucky to make it out?” Kenneth grins, although his grin quickly fades.

“Don’t ask me how to end the cycle of hatred that keeps the war going; you’re the brains here,” I return, but he always has a witty response up his sleeve.

“And you’re the adventurer, so get better at leading me to interesting places without getting us killed,” he playfully demands. “Otherwise, the King’s just going to recruit every able man in this country and send them on a suicide mission to exterminate them.”

“Is he planning on doing that?” I raise my brow.

“Beats me, but the war needs to stop either way, and you, my friend,” he says, mustering me with a grin. “You have the opportunity to work towards that noble cause.”

I also muster him, although I have to look up because he’s tall while I’m short. Then, I let my shoulders sag and reply.

“Between you and me, I’d rather just kill them all, but I’ll do whatever you say, and I’ll make ‘them’ follow your stupid ideals if I must as well.”

I look behind me, where, some distance away, a few more figures are trailing a short distance behind us, busying themselves in a conversation of their own. I’ve brought these loyal followers of mine into danger more often than I’d like to admit, so I’d really like to know what we’re doing this for.

“Just to be clear, do you actually have a plan, or are we just scouting as usual and not amounting to anything past a few skirmishes that may or may not reduce demon numbers by an insignificant amount, or our own, for that matter?”

“I do have a plan, or, shall we say, a hunch,” Kenneth replies cryptically as we climb a steep hill while circumnavigating fallen logs left and right. “Rumor has it that the settlement we’re heading for is a training ground for their kids.”

“You mean like a school?” I deadpan.

“Yeah, but they teach how to raid a village and useless stuff like that,” he replies, but he’s not grinning this time. “Basically, it’s brainwashing. They teach them to hate us.”

I nod grimly. “So what are we gonna do? Crash the party?”

“That depends on what we find there,” he says in a tone that suggests the conversation ends here. I don’t mind as a sudden commotion within my party behind me catches my attention.

I wonder what’s going on…

Knowing my party members, I’ll likely enjoy listening to them when they get rowdy. Meanwhile, I’m keeping my eyes on the path ahead.

Better be safe than sorry…