Get Along Now

The next few hours following Ariana’s conversation with the captain were a whirlwind of accusations and charges, confessions and arrests. 

It seemed that there were a number of laws in place that protected the guards from certain consequences that would impede their duties, and most incidents went unnoticed.

The situation had escalated far beyond Ariana’s actions to the point where she and Ellie were practically forgotten. 

The next day, Ariana and Ellie were told that they should leave town. They packed up and headed off to the north road out of town.

On the way out, they spotted Hayden with a horse and a covered cart. “Howdy, strangers.”

Ariana looked over. “Hayden? What are you doing here?”

He looked back at the cart. “Well, I recall saying I knew where to get a horse. You forget about that?”

Ariana laughed a bit. 

Ellie shrugged and hopped into the cart. “It beats walking to the Demon Lord’s castle.”

Ariana smiled and sat with Hayden. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Hayden nodded. “I was getting sick of this town, anyhow.” 

The three took to the road together. 

As they traveled, they learned more about each other and from each other. 

Hayden taught Ellie how to handle a knife. It was tricky at first; she cut Hayden’s knee open at one point, or one of her hands, but he had his healing magic, so it was fine. 

They also traded knowledge on tailoring and weaving. There were quite a few times when Hayden pricked his fingers. Ariana summoned some acorn thimbles to help prevent that. 

A few days later, there was a girl with large glasses and a tall staff sitting by the side of the road. She was settled on a large bag. 

She looked up at the group, and a wide smile went across her face. She hopped up. Her arms waved, and she bounced up and down. She was… prodigiously bouncy. “Heeey!” She shouted.

Ariana waved back. “Hello!”

The girl ran up to the cart. “Hey, hey! Do you guys have room for an Outworlder?”

Hayden chuckled. “We’ve got three in here already.”

The girl seems surprised. “O-oh! Well, um… is there room for one more?” 

The group all looked at each other. There are shrugs of “sure, why not” all around. 

Hayden thumbs back at the cart. “Hop on, stranger.”

The girl giddily dances in place a bit before running around the back to leap in. She struggles a bit, and Ellie helps pull her in. Hayden gets the cart going again.

Looking at the two side by side, they couldn’t be more different. Ellie was slim, pale, dressed in dark colors, had long straight hair, and generally seemed mellow. This girl was a ray of sunshine, curved, lightly tanned and freckled, had short wavy hair, and was dressed in frilly pastels. She had a knee-length skirt, and her ensemble was topped with a matching beret. 

She settled in. “Thanks for letting me ride along with you guys. I’ve been waiting for a while. Oh, I’m Sophie, by the way.

Ariana moved into the back to sit with them. “Why were you waiting, Sophie?”

Sophie looked to the side. “I… kind of was left behind by my previous group.”

“Left behind? That’s awful!”

“Yeah, there was a little disagreement… but it’s fine, I don’t need anyone, anyway.” She said as she partook of their company. 

Ariana sat a little closer. “If you don’t mind my asking… what was the disagreement about?”

She pouted a bit. “Stupid levels… It’s not my fault, all the level stuff is based on killing, I’m a healer! They said I wasn’t strong enough to keep being part of the team…”

The others looked at her. 

Ariana was stunned a bit. “Based on… killing?”

Sophie looked around at everyone. “Yeah? When you kill something, the experience of it increases your levels. The more stuff you kill or the stronger the things you kill, the faster it goes up.”

Ariana sat silently. 

She was level 9, and all she had killed was White Tusk. It dawned on her what Koichi’s claim to Level 35 meant.

Sophie seemed puzzled. “Why? What levels are all of you?”

Ellie glanced at Ariana. “I’m still at level 1…”

Hayden never took his eyes from the road. 

“…Level 2.” He muttered.

Sophie looked to the side. “I just recently hit Level… 3.”

Ariana looked down at her hands. “I… I’m… Level 9…”

Hayden glanced back.

“Wow,” said Sophie, “The party I was with was way higher levels… one girl was at 28, this other guy was at 27, and our leader was at 35.”

Ariana looked to her. 

The cart had gone silent.

Sophie looked around. “H-hey… It’s not like we went around killing people… it was all monsters, you know? And… bandits… and…” She looked Ariana over again. Then she looked at Ellie. “…Oh, god…” She clutched her staff a little closer.

She seemed slightly panicked. “S-so um… my levels… There was a spider that attacked our group, it was a big spider, like massive, it um… it came at us while everyone else was asleep, you know? I… I hit it with my staff… a few times…”

Everyone was silent a while longer.

Ariana sighed. “When I first arrived… I found a town called Loomholm.” Ariana told the story of how she nearly died to White Tusk.

 Sophie looked at her staff. “That was… intense…”

Hayden kept his sights down the road. “…First year since I came here. Did some boar hunting. One of them goblins ambushed us, stabbed my partner. Knife was poisoned, came for me next. Made a call, our lives or his. Gained a level.”

Ellie turned to Sophie. “So… were you summoned like Koichi or was it… the hard way?”

Sophie was quiet for a minute. “Ha… haha… Y-you’re not ready for how… Awesome my story is!”

Ellie sighed. “Probably better than mine…”

Sophie put a hand up theatrically. “There I was atop the mountain, fighting the dragon that would have destroyed the world. I was down to my last potion and my final stand. I was about to end it all, but then… “She looked slightly shaken for a second. “There I was-there he was the… father of darkness… and he had stabbed me in the back. I lie dying, the dragon laughing, the father of darkness looming, and then… I-I woke up here with my magical abilities!”

Ellie looked at her skeptically. 

“What? I-it’s true!”

Ariana sighed. “In any case… have you had a hard time adjusting?”

“No, not particularly. I was pretty used to the idea of hopping worlds and magic already.”

“You said the leader of your group was level thirty-five… was Koichi a part of your group?”

“Yeah, he was, actually. You know him?”

Ariana looked down. “Yes… He’s planning to kill my son.”

Sophie goes wide-eyed. “Wait, what?”

Ariana tells Sophie the reason for her travel.

Sophie is quiet again for a while longer.

Ariana smiled at her. “I don’t blame you if you think worse of me. Koichi didnt accept it, either… but I know that there’s a better way to end all of this. No one needs to die.”

Sophie shifts a bit. “Koichi’s a jerk, anyway.” She smiles a bit. “Sounds more to me like a challenge!” She raised her hand. “Stop the demon lord with the lowest levels we can! Challenge runs are always cooler!” 

Ariana laughed. “I don’t think I fully understand what you’re saying, but… thank you. I welcome the support.” 

Sophie looks at Ellie and Hayden. “You know what? Four is the perfect party size!”

Hayden chuckled. “Make yourself comfy, I suppose.

Ellie sighed. “It’ll be a bit more cramped in here…”

Ariana rolls her hand about. “We could always spruce up the cart a bit to make it softer.”

Sophie pumps her fist. “Woo! Pimp my cart!”

Hayden shouts back. “There ain’t gonna be any of that!”