Chapter 2: Three Travelers

Chapter 2: Three Travelers

Zeth narrates. “It has been a month since I escaped from the Hawk prison. However, ever since then, I have had this feeling that my life is half empty from time to time, and I don’t know why. It’s strange. I have also just been living in some forest area the whole time.”

It’s night, and Zeth is sitting at a campfire he started in the woods, trees surrounding him on all sides. He is still wearing the gray jumpsuit, but it’s worn out. Over his campfire, he is cooking a skewered squirrel. While it cooks, he looks up at the starry night sky.

"I miss home. I miss my parents," Zeth says quietly. "To make matters worse, I have no idea where in Harmone I am. I just need a sign… something that will help me get home. I know some people pray to the Light Goddess to guide them, so maybe I should try that."

Zeth raises his hand up high. "Light Goddess Harmona, please send me a sign that will help me return home. Something… Anything… Please…"

He lowers his hand and begins to eat his cooked squirrel, his eyes gloomy through the whole first bite.

“All I can do is hope for the best,” he thinks.

After he finishes eating, he walks over to a small pile of nearby dirt and sprinkles it over the fire, smothering the flames. He stirs the ashes with a stick to make sure no embers remain, then drops the stick and gives the ground a gentle stomp for good measure. With the fire safely out, he sits underneath a tree. His eyes start to close.

"Tomorrow brings new hope…"

He falls asleep, giving himself some earned rest.

***

The next day.

Zeth is training. He looks at a dead tree, charges magic into his arm, and then punches the tree, causing it to break into two pieces. He wipes sweat off his forehead.

"Well, that should do it for today," he mutters.

He continues to wear the gray jumpsuit, now with the sleeves torn off. He starts to lie down to rest, but soon takes notice of three strangers walking by in the distance, even though there are many trees in the area. His eyes widen.

"Other people? Yes! I’ve finally found other people! They should know where this is, so I can finally return home!"

Zeth starts running over to the three strangers walking through an open part of the woods, two of whom are males and one of whom is female.

Zeth waves his arms while shouting. "Hey, strangers! Over here!"

One of the males, a young man with completely short and flat light brown hair and green eyes, wearing a red adventuring tunic, shouts, “It’s a bandit!” as he forms a shard of ice in his right hand and fires it at Zeth.

Zeth’s eyes widen as the ice shard barely misses him and strikes the tree next to him, blasting off a chunk of bark.

“Woah there!” Zeth shouts, surprised by the stranger’s sudden aggression.

The girl, who has neck-length blonde hair and bright blue eyes, wearing a purple adventuring tunic, reaches into her hip pouch and pulls out a tiny sword, which grows to a standard-sized one instantly. She rushes forward, sword held out, and stops as she reaches Zeth. She holds the sword’s tip up to his throat. He gulps as his eyes widen.

“I’m s-sorry if I did something to make you angry…” Zeth stutters.

The young man who threw the ice shard glares at Zeth. “Don’t try to play dumb with us, bandit.”

Adventurer – Joe – Age 18.

“Huh!?” Zeth gasps in shock. “Bandit!?”

“I should cut you down where you stand!” the girl declares.

Adventurer – Emily – Age 17.

The last of the three, a young man with short brown hair that sticks up at the front, brown eyes, visible stubble on his face, and wearing a green adventuring tunic, walks closer to Zeth even as Emily keeps her blade held up close to Zeth’s throat.

“Wait,” the young man says. “I want to talk to him first.”

Adventurer – Kurt – Age 22.

Zeth thinks, “Nice! One of them is actually going to give me a chance!”

“Don’t try anything funny, bandit!” Emily warns.

“I’m not a bandit,” Zeth replies. “I’m just a regular guy!”

“Let’s talk,” Kurt says with a neutral expression. “If I catch you lying…” A blue flame-like aura flares around his body as he finishes, “…my magic will put you down.”

Zeth gulps once again.

“If you’re not a bandit, what are you doing out here in the woods all alone?” Kurt asks. “Bandits love areas like this.”

Even with Emily’s sword still held close to his throat, Zeth calms down enough to answer. “For an entire year, I was trapped in a Hawk Clan prison. I escaped, but I have no idea where I even am. Look at what I’m wearing! Surely, you wouldn’t expect a bandit to be wearing this!”

Kurt examines Zeth’s clothes, rubbing his chin in the process. “Yes, that does look like a prisoner’s jumpsuit, and its torn condition would indicate that you’ve been wearing it for quite a while with no other options.”

“There,” Zeth says. “Is that enough to prove I’m not a bandit?”

Kurt thinks, “That’s the Eagle Clan insignia on his jacket. If he’s actually an Eagle Clan member, he should know the answer to this question without thinking about it at all.” He asks aloud, “What is Kunasha?”

With no hesitation, Zeth answers, “It’s the home of this country’s population of Eagle Clan members, the very city I grew up in.”

Kurt smiles as his magic aura dissipates. “Stand down, Emily. This guy is truly not a bandit.”

Emily lowers her sword and Joe lets the magic energy charging in his hands fade.

Zeth lets out a big sigh of relief. “Thank goddess you listened to reason. My name is Zeth, and all I want to do is find my way home. Why did you think I was a bandit?”

“Since we’re introducing ourselves, my name is Kurt, and these two are Emily and Joe,” Kurt says. “Sorry about the aggression, but my hometown is near here and we have had issues with bandit attacks lately. The town is pretty rural so coming across a random person in the woods usually means they are a bandit.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Zeth replies. “I’m also sorry that I was a little bit too hyped when I was trying to get your attention. Could I ask you three if you know how to get to Kunasha from here?”

Joe offers a suggestion. "No need for us to just tell you. You could join us. We’ve been doing some traveling, but if you need help getting back home, we can take some time to do that."

“Are you sure?” Zeth asks, raising an eyebrow. “It was a misunderstanding but you did try to kill me just a moment ago.”

“Yeah, that was an ‘act first, ask questions later’ moment for me, but I promise I’m a pretty chill guy. And you did prove yourself to be not a bandit.”

Emily nods. “Same for me. At least I held some restraint and didn’t actually attack. I personally think that you coming with us would be a great idea!”

Kurt smiles. "If someone needs help, I'm not going to turn them down."

Zeth hesitates for a moment but soon smiles. "Sure. It beats being alone all the time out here in the woods."

"We were on our way back to my hometown, so come with us and we'll figure out how to help you get home from there,” Kurt says.

"While we’re there, I could use a change of clothes," Zeth adds.

Kurt chuckles. "That can be done."

***

They walk through the woods, passing through many trees and plants along the way, and soon reach the outside edge of town on a higher elevation. Smoke rises from a few areas, and some buildings are partially destroyed. The travelers come to a halt, alarmed by the scene.

"What happened?" Zeth asks.

Kurt looks around in shock. "This wasn’t like this earlier!"

"Let’s go and see if everyone is all right!" Emily exclaims.

They rush toward the destroyed buildings. An overhead view of the town reveals the damage, smoke drifting above collapsed rooftops, rubble in the streets, and many worried townspeople gathered in small groups.

Kurt’s eyes scan the chaos until they land on a familiar figure.

"That’s my father!" he shouts, breaking into a run.

A man in his late forties turns at the sound of Kurt’s voice. His short brown hair is starting to gray, and a pair of glasses rests on the bridge of his nose. Despite the tension in the air, he seems relieved as he sees Kurt approaching.

Kurt’s Father – Beck.

"Kurt, there you are," Beck says, stepping forward to meet him.

"What happened, Dad?" Kurt asks.

"It was awful," his father replies, adjusting his glasses with a tired hand. "It all happened so suddenly. No warning, no sign it was coming."

"Was it the bandits?"

Beck nods grimly. "Yes. Those damn bandits came again. Only this time… they brought destruction too."

"Damn them. How did they do it?" Kurt growls.

Beck looks away, eyes filled with helpless frustration. "I wish I knew. I only saw their escape."

"Why don’t we go after them and take them down?" Zeth suggests.

Beck turns to him with disbelief. "Are you insane?"

"I have magic power," Zeth replies calmly. "So, I can fight."

Joe steps forward beside him. "And you already know that we have magic power too.”

Zeth’s confidence grows. "I think the four of us can handle bandits. Let’s put a stop to them!" He glances down at his torn clothes, then rubs the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "But first, I should probably change into something less... prison-y."

Kurt chuckles. "I got something for you."

***

A bit later.

Zeth emerges from Kurt’s house with new clothes. He has on a white shirt with an unzipped, short-sleeved black over-shirt that has a blue X pattern. He’s also wearing brown pants.

"How does it look?" he asks.

"I think it looks great," Emily says.

"Much better than that worn-out jumpsuit," Joe confirms.

"You can keep it too," Kurt adds.

"If everything is all set, then let’s go!" Emily cheers.

The four of them start heading toward the exit of the town. Kurt furrows his brows as he walks with a serious expression on his face.

"This will be the last time they ever attack our little town," he mutters.

Zeth has met three new acquaintances. And now the four travelers begin their first journey in what will lead them on the path to deciding the fate of the world.

Chapter 2 END

To Be Continued in Chapter 3: The Bandits’ Base