"Alyssia!"
Even before the name was spoken, an arrow was already on its way towards the werewolf's body. It was stunned for a moment, but its eyes soon widened as it fell to the ground, the arrow still stuck where his heart was. The archer that had sent the creature to its death slowly walked up to it and inspected the arrow. She pulled it out to inspect the damage, completely ignoring the werewolf as it turned to black smoke below her. The arrow wasn't broken, only splattered with blood, and therefore passed the examination. It was quickly slotted back into place with the other arrows.
This archer, Alyssia, turned to look at the rest of her comrades, who were healing and resting. She knew that sometimes they would need to do that, but was it necessary for it to be so often? They were in Coill Dungeon, which was easy to Alyssia, but not so much as the others. She sometimes wondered how she had the patience to stay with them, but she quickly realised that they were her friends and that she would love them no matter what. She was like a mother and older sister to them, after all.
"I don't get why they need to rest up after every single room," said the boy next to her, running a hand through his black hair. "I mean, come on, it's only Coill."
Alyssia laughed and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking, Bandit. These guys are so helpless sometimes."
"Oi," said one of the girls from the other side of the room - Noelle, Alyssia's cousin. "Not all of us can be completely comfortable like you, you know."
Alyssia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know." She looked back to where they were heading next. She could see four switches in each corner of the room and sighed. It was one of those times where she need everyone's cooperation. She waited until everyone was back on their feet before entering the room, gesturing for the others to follow. Once they had gathered around, Bandit stepped in and took over, much to her annoyance.
"Alright, guys. Four of us will go to one switch each - that will be Alyssia, Noelle, Yale, and myself. The rest of you go to the dungeon door and wait there." He glared at Alyssia before continuing. "I personally would prefer it if we fight all the monsters here, but someone won't let me have my way. We'll all make a break for the next room afterwards, and if we get caught, I'll finish them off."
The group went to their posts, Alyssia running to the right switch nearest to the door. She looked at Bandit, who counted down from three, then whacked the orb with all her might.
After that, everything was just chaos.
Yale and Noelle ran into each other at the entrance, becoming a mix of black and green on the floor. Bandit had started protecting them from the red grizzly bears, but the other monsters in the room were already starting to notice and attack him. The other five - Milly, Timothy, Hestia, Shanna, and Maximus - had been seen by a werewolf, which some of them weren't fast enough to outrun. In five seconds, Milly and Maximus were on the floor, pinned down by the werewolf. Alyssia ran to help them, using magnum shot to injure the werewolf so her friends could break free. She defeated the monster in a couple of shots, then ran over to help Bandit, Yale, and Noelle.
"I can handle this!" Bandit yelled. He clearly wasn't capable of anything at the moment, as he didn't realise he was being hurt by his own sword.
Ignoring his protests, Alyssia shot her arrows at each of the monsters, making sure that they had done their job properly before taking them all out so they could be reused. She joined her team mates over in the middle of the corridor, which lead to their next room. She didn't complain about them healing this time, as they were definitely in need of it. She used her own magic to charge up her healing, which she used on Bandit who was refusing help from Yale.
"Hey, what the hell, Aly?" he questioned. "Can't you see that I don't need healing."
From over where she was healing Timothy, Noelle smirked and said, "Sure, and that's why you have a bleeding arm and leg as well as a huge gash in your cheek. Can you even walk properly after that twisted ankle?"
"Just a flesh wound," Bandit defended, sticking his chest out proudly. "I'll be fine."
Yale shook his head. "That Bandit."
And so the group continued to trek through the dungeon, which seemed longer with Bandit complaining about his ankle every few seconds and constant perverted observations from Timothy and Shanna. After what felt like ten thousand hours, they reached the last room, known amongst the citizens of Erinn as the 'Boss Room'. Hestia, who had grabbed the Boss Room Key, opened the door and revealed the boss - three giant ice sprites. These weren't something Alyssia hadn't dealt with before, so she grabbed her bow and charged in. Bandit followed her example.
The others hesitated near the door until Shanna shruged, held up her swords, and shouted, "Charging in with guns blazing!" Alyssia wanted to point out that she didn't actually have any guns, but kept it to herself. It wasn't the time for that. She did, however, roll her eyes when Maximus screamed, "For Narnia!" before helping Shanna.
Alyssia concentrated on her ice sprite, which she was sharing with Bandit. Even though he could get on her nerves, she thought the two of them made a great team. Outside of the battlefield? Well, that was a different story. She got along with everyone else in their group of friends, even though she could be at odds with Timothy at times, and she also didn't like newcomers like Milly (who she was starting to warm up to). If there was anyone she didn't like, they certainly wouldn't be with her now.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that the sprite had been defeated and that she was pointing her bow and arrow straight at Bandit, who held up his hands in surrender and said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. I know we have our arguments, but c'mon, Aly. You're not going to kill me."
"We're Milletians, we can't die," Alyssia said, but she put down her weapon nonetheless.
By this time, the others had finished killing their opponents and were celebrating. Timothy and Yale were dancing around in a circle, arm-in-arm, while Milly watched and giggled. Shanna wiped down her swords, Maximus pushing up his glasses while he inspected how clean they were. Hestia and Noelle were already on their way to the rewards room and out of the dungeon. Alyssia ran to catch up with them just as the others started to.
The reward chests in the back room were shiny as always, and she peered at her reflection just as she always did. She sometimes didn't like what she saw, and now was one of those times. Her elf ears had seemed to have become pointier, as well as her chin. Her pale blonde hair seemed somewhat childish, tied up in its two ponytails, just as it always had been. She would have to change it sometime. Everything on her was white, which made her skin and outfit look the same. She sighed and opened the chest to collect her gold before joining the others as they teleported back to the dungeon altar.
While our story may be centred around Alyssia, not everything important happens to her. It also happens to calm and cool Bandit, the funny boys Yale and Timothy, the underrated family member Noelle, the fangirl Shanna, the intelligent boy Maximus, the wanderlust victim Hestia, and the shy and romantic newcomer Milly. They don't believe they're anything special. They have their hopes, dreams, and insecurities, but maybe one day, just one day, they will figure out what is most important.
Whether they are ready to accept their future or not, it is already approaching. For as soon as they stepped out of that dungeon, they were greeted by a figure in a red cape and white mask. He spoke as if he were in a play, his voice dynamic and booming.
"Milletians! Avon is in need of your assistance. The guardians have not been vanquished, only subdued! It is only a matter of time before they arise again to take down Shakespeare. No one is in need of that! You, all of you, will be the ones to help."
And in a blinding flash, he was gone.
They blinked and rubbed their eyes. They were astounded! Astonished! Yet, so confused. It was only when a good minute had passed by that Hestia spoke up and said, "I thought Marlowe couldn't leave Avon."