A New Adventure

A new day dawns as the Giora Festival has come to an end. Kaito and Rina discussed their plans for the three relics at the guild hall. With one of the three having been obtained by Mauld, they needed to get one of the other two.

“What do you mean you don’t know where the other two dungeons are!?” Kaito confronted Rina.

“I’m not some world traveller. I’ve only been to dungeons near towns and cities.” Rina retaliated.

The two were stuck in a stalemate. Both of them wanted to try to obtain another one of the relics, but neither of them could recognize the location of the dungeons explained on the scroll from the private study in Nakamura.

As the two bickered in frustration of possibly not being able to continue their conquest, Khrom noticed and approached them. He and Evona were still in town despite the festival having concluded.

“What’s all the noise about you two?” greeted Khrom as he tried to calm them down.

Noticing Khrom, the two became more civilized as Rina explained. “We’re looking for a dungeon, but don’t know its location.”

Kaito then held the scroll describing the dungeon’s location to Khrom to see if he knew anything.

“A hidden dungeon in a northwestern forest near a large tree,” Khrom read the scroll’s description out loud. “Sorry, can’t say I know of that place.”

Kaito and Rina’s frustration was visible. Kaito just wanted to search the area blindly, but Rina was opposed and pushed for a more solid game plan.

“I’m telling you, we can just search the area,” Kaito started arguing. “How hard can it be to find a large tree?”

“You don’t understand. There’s no human civilization in the northwest, and we can get lost or stranded,” Rina argued. “Plus, what if that tree isn’t as big as you think!?”

As Khrom sheepishly tried to calm the two down, Evona popped out from her spot underneath Khrom’s shield on his back. Evona observed the scroll while the others were animated.

“That’s the Nekana Tree!” Evona yelled, recognizing the location.

“Oh, Evona, you recognize this place?” Khrom asked, directing everyone’s attention towards her.

“Yep, it’s near Evona’s home village,” Evona informed the group. “Evona can show you the way!”

“Please do,” Kaito pleaded, putting his hands in a praying pose.

“That’d be much appreciated,” Rina also responded.

“We’d be glad to help you guys,” Khrom said, solidifying their group trip. “Though I guess Evona will be leading the way.”

With everyone in agreement, the group made plans to set out in two days. They would travel to Nekana Village, Evona’s home, and then take on the hidden dungeon together.

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The day had come for the group's trip to Nekana Village. Rina and Kaito walked to the meetup point fully prepared for their trip.

Most notably, Rachael was set to take care of the dragon egg while the group was on the trip. Apparently, Rachael also lived on the surface and was friends with Rina. She wasn’t too happy about babysitting, but Rina convinced her since Rachael owed Rina a favor.

“Hey, guys!” Khrom greeted the two as they approached. “The carriage is ready to leave. Are you guys all set?”

“Yeah, let’s get going,” Rina answered.

The group's carriage would take them to Bale Town. This small farming town is the most northwestern human civilization in the kingdom of Taelesta. The trip from Giora to Bale Town would take ten days by carriage, so the group had tons of free time.

Partway on the trip to Bale Town, the group struck up a conversation.

“So Khrom, how’d you get all your cool shields?” Kaito initiated. “And more importantly, where do I buy a cool weapon like that?”

“Oh, you can’t buy these types of weapons,” Khrom explained. “Or at least, not unless they're being sold in a black market or special dwarven shop,” he continued to clarify.

Khrom explained that the most common way of achieving special weapons, and the way he got all his, was by obtaining special material only found in dungeons. Many dungeon bosses can provide valuable and unique materials that can be made into special custom weapons. An adventurer may also get lucky in obtaining one by defeating a chest mimic that had stolen one.

“Throughout all my adventures with Evona, I’ve managed to get ten custom shields,” Khrom said as he concluded his explanation. “You and Rina have seen four of them already.”

Kaito started thinking about the four they’ve witnessed, and he realized. “Wait, that bed shield is one of the special shields!?”

“Indeed, it’s capable of revitalizing the user, allowing them to use more skills in battle,” Khrom explained, revealing the shield’s true purpose. “It’s quite refreshing, actually. Want to try it out?”

Before Kaito could respond positively, Evona interrupted from a seat beside Khrom.

“NO! This shield is only for Evona,” proclaimed Evona, being very protective of her sleeping area.

“Sorry, Kaito. I suppose you’ll get a chance some other time.” Khrom stated keeping Evona’s wish.

As the trip continued, the group of four eventually reached Bale Town. Due to the pit stops the carriage had to make, the trip took 14 days.

“We’re finally here!” Kaito sounded relieved as he jumped out of the carriage. “My butt is so sore from sitting down all day.”

“This is why I told you to take some time to walk alongside the carriage,” Rina lectured.

“I know, but that sounded more obnoxious than just sitting,” complained Kaito.

“Then you have nobody to blame but yourself, Kaito,” Khrom stated as he helped the carriage driver unload his carriage.

“I suppose so,” Kaito admitted, rubbing his behind to soothe the soreness.

“Well, we’ll be walking from here on out, so the soreness will go away eventually,” Rina mentioned, detailing the group’s next course of action.

As the group walked through town, restocking for the rest of their journey to Nekana Village, they came across a statue. It was a statue of a female arachnid, one of the beastfolk races.

“Okay… Why do they have a large statue of a creepy spider lady?” Kaito said uncomfortably.

“That’s one of the Hero Knight’s allies I told you about,” Rina clarified for Kaito.

“Her!?” Kaito exclaimed, shocked that the evil-looking statue was a good person.

“Lady Kaede is the pride and joy of all of us beastfolk,” Evona talked about the statue, informing the group from her regular spot on Khrom’s back. “The people of this town are close with the beastfolk, so alongside them, we all view her as our hero.”

“I guess you’d better keep your thoughts of her being creepy to yourself, Kaito,” Khrom suggested as the group gazed at the statue. “We don’t want the people here to hate us, after all.”

“I’ll keep that in mind…” concluded Kaito.

After the group was fully prepared for the rest of their journey to Nekana Village, they decided to take the rest of the day off. The next morning, they ventured to Evona’s hometown of Nekana Village.