A/N: Please Read!
This has been updated as of 8/30/21
It took me longer than expected, but I wanted to go through this story, revamp it and not just tweak a few things. That said, at a certain point, there may be inconsistencies in the story or a sudden drop in writing quality after a few chapters (I will include a note at the beginning of said chapter as a warning). Just FYI!
...
It's a surreal feeling—opening one's eyes to find the world upside down. There was no thought of how it happened, no clue what took place the moment before; I simply knew that I was staring at a bright blue sea. Time, which had to have been only a few seconds, felt like minutes. I waited, wondering when the tether around my ankle would give and let me fall into the blue abyss.
Rational thoughts set in, and I noticed other peculiar things.
There was the tingling feeling in my arms for one thing, and a pounding sensation in my head. My left leg was also in an awkward position, being free of the rope that encircled my right ankle. It was then that it occurred to me that I wasn't in a good situation. Realization finally hit like a brick, and I concluded that I was upside down. The emerald green tree tops above came into focus, framing the sky. The ground itself was just out of reach, with my fingertips barely grazing the wayward leaves that were scattered on the ground. A strange ring of bright red mushrooms danced in and out of my sight. The bottom of my white shirt was uncomfortably reaching down to my neck…or was it up?
And I wanted to get down, but there was one slight issue.
My body didn't want to move.
Being suspended from a tree by what appeared to be a rope trap, I listened to the sound of my breathing. The air felt suffocating, and each breath I took was heavy. Strands of frizzy brown hair were plastered to my face. There was a moment of frustration, followed by defeat. With my arms reaching down towards the ground, it was when the question that had to be asked the most presented itself: What the hell kind of a mess did I get myself into?
…
"Holy cow, she's alive!"
The situation wasn't helped by the fact that my vision had blacked out. In fact, as one would imagine, it made things worse—especially when you discover that you're not alone. The voice was what dragged me back to focus. Through a haze of black dots, I could tell it belonged to a pale face with green eyes. The only reason why I bothered to take notice was because of how close that face was to mine. A faint groan escaped my lips, with words unable to pass.
As if I wasn't uncomfortable before.
"Rather than stare, untie her, Yuri," a second voice spoke harshly. The person—Yuri—suddenly jolted. Before he could utter a response, a distinct snap echoed loudly, and the pressure that was holding me up disappeared. The next thing I knew, my face was inches from the ground, but the impact never came. A pair of arms had halted my descent, and I mumbled out words of gratitude.
"Hey Precht, that was rude!" Yuri snapped. He let me go, and I rolled onto my back. Taking a few breaths, I slowly sat up. My vision slowly began to clear up, although it was as if I was looking at the world through a glass bowl. The young man who was next to me only a moment before had already made his way over to the other blond standing close by who had been identified as Precht.
"You were being slow. It'll get dark out soon, and the quicker we leave the better."
My ankle was throbbing. One quick glance down revealed how puffy it was; slightly red and with a single purple wring wrapping all the way around. On the upside, my shirt had settled back down, and I felt immense relief from being on solid ground. My heartbeat could no longer be felt thrumming through my ears. And as I adjusted myself to my new place on the ground, Precht and Yuri now appeared to be in an argument. Or a one sided conversation, I noted. With strange curiosity, I watched as the younger blond of the two waved his arms, his mouth moving fast. I couldn't catch what he was saying.
Then again, my head was still spinning.
While Yuri continued his conversation, I felt another pair of eyes on me and I slowly turned my head to the left. The eyes did not belong to the stoic-faced Precht. There was a third man, not quite as old as Precht, but not as young in appearance as Yuri. He glanced at the two in faint amusement as if it were a common thing for his two companions to bicker, before turning his focus back on me. And he had the fluffiest black hair I had ever seen, with muscled arms as thick as tree trunks.
He extended his hand, and for a moment I stared at it. Reaching out my own, I grabbed his hand and he pulled me to my feet. I steadied myself and craned my neck to survey the area I found myself in. I looked over the man's shoulder and then past the other two men. No matter what direction I faced, everything appeared the same. There were still trees as far as the eye could see. Not dense enough to block out the sunlight, but enough to make a person feel very lost. "Hey, umm…"
"Warrod."
"Warrod," I repeated. I winced as I applied pressure on my foot. It was burning with a red-hot, static filled pain. Silently, I hoped it was only from the blood starting to circulate again. "Not sure how to put this, but can you tell me where this is?" I suddenly noticed the silence. The others had stopped their conversation and looked back over to me. Yuri had said something snarky. Warrod paid them no mind, however.
"This is the Woodsea."
'The Woodsea?' I thought quietly. Raising a hand to my chin, I couldn't help but be confused. I wasn't familiar with a place called the Woodsea. The only thing clear about the name, however, was that it was referring to the forest we stood in. I furrowed my brow in confusion. No matter how many times I ran it through my mind, the name did not sound familiar in the least. "Can you tell me where exactly this forest is?" I finally asked. Yuri's jaw dropped.
"You've never heard of the Worth Woodsea? One of the largest forests in Fiore?" He answered in disbelief. Turning to the man beside him, he pointed at me almost accusingly. "See, Precht? This proves it!" Precht was unconvinced by whatever Yuri had been talking about. He merely shook his head and adjusted his grip on the drawstring sack thrown over his shoulder.
"We are wasting daylight," He spoke dismissively. "Keep your theories. We have a lot of ground left to cover."
Theories?
"Hey—!" Yuri started.
"Precht is right, you know," Warrod cut in. "We'll need time to find a place to set up camp as well."
I glanced between each of them as they spoke. "Can we hit timeout for a second? Is there some sort of party around here that I don't know about?" I asked sarcastically. "Can somebody just tell me what we are doing out here?" The three men stopped and stared as if realizing that I was still there. Warrod shifted his feet, while Precht had a calculated look in his eyes.
"What do you mean by we?"
"Precht, this girl does appear confused. We should help her out, especially if this one," Warrod jabbed his thumb at the younger blond, "Is the reason for this trouble."
"What'd I do?!" As soon as the words left Yuri's mouth, Warrod raised an eyebrow.
"You are the one who set up that rope trap," The other blond replied plainly. "Fine, we'll bring her along. But as soon as we get to the nearest town, that's the end of that. Mark my words, if this girl turns out to be a thief, you two are paying me back from your own pockets. Now, can we get a move on?"
A thief?
"That is acceptable," Warrod nodded his head in agreement.
"That doesn't really answer my question…" I looked at the three uncertainly. "Are you guys some sort of hikers, or…"
"Oh, right," Yuri answered. "We should probably introduce ourselves. That guy's Precht Gaebolg, and he's Warrod Sequen. And I'm Yuri. Yuri Dreyar. We're treasure hunters from Slyph Labyrinth."
The moment he said treasure hunters, I pondered his words. Treasure hunters wouldn't have been on my list of guesses. I studied their faces briefly, wanting to see if it was a joke, but nobody showed any signs of breaking. I did take in how odd they seemed, particularly in regards to the way they were dressed. Yuri was decked out in a fur lined leather jacket with a black turtleneck as if he was ready for winter, but Warrod was dressed in a sleeveless green shirt. The straight-faced Precht was dressed a travel cloak of sorts and…'Was that a knife?' He shifted, and I could see something hanging from the belt at his waist. Definitely a knife.
"And what's your name?" Yuri broke the brief silence. "Come on, we gave you ours and now it's your turn."
My name?
"Well, my name is…"
No…It's not that…
"Umm…"
Maybe it's—
"I…don't know?"
There was a collective moment of contemplation about the words that came out of my mouth. It was followed by an exchange of eye contact and an unspoken conversation between the three treasure hunters. "That," Yuri finally said pointedly, "Is not good."
"Do you think…amnesia?"
"That's highly unlikely," Precht answered.
My mind was definitely spinning now, but it wasn't from being strung upside down. I opened my mouth to respond and took a step forward. Before I could figure out what to say, my foot kicked something on the ground. Glancing downward I studied the offending object before a spark of hope entered my mind. It was a yellow cellphone.
Was it mine? Had it fallen out of my pocket?
Before the others could act, I scooped it up. Warrod asked what it was, a hint of curiosity in his voice. I tilted my head at his words, briefly catching a glimpse of Yuri's face. I couldn't understand why they were so confused. Turning my attention to the device in my hands I almost frantically started pressing the power button. "It's a cellphone," I supplied. There was silence, but my eyes didn't leave the screen. "If it'll just turn on, I should be able to figure out if it's mine or maybe call someone I know…who knows me?" I fumbled with the phone for a while longer. My heart began to drop, and the hope I had was erased.
"It's…out of power."
I stared at the dead screen.
I was ashamed to admit it, but tears welled up in my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I shoved the device in the back pocket of the black cargo pants I was wearing. What was I going to do now?
"I'm not buying that excuse," Precht interrupted my thoughts. "Amnesia does not work that way. A person can forget memories before a traumatic event or after, but to forget one's own name? A simple rope trap is not enough to cause such a result and I see no physical evidence to suggest otherwise."
"Relax, we'll see if she's lying with this," Yuri spoke up. He reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled something out. He held it in the palm of his hand with a confident grin. I tilted my head and opened my mouth, but couldn't find words to say. All of this had to be some sort of strange dream.
"What…What is that thing supposed to do?" I finally managed to ask.
"This?" Yuri answered. He extended his arm with a cube-shaped object pressed between two of his fingers. "It's called Judgment Field." To my shock, a bright flash of light emitted from the object, and I shielded my eyes in response. Upon opening them, I saw a wall of faint blue light. Wordlessly I reached out and ran my fingers through it. The light was a fine mist, almost like water. The air itself felt damp and humid. I pulled my hand away and rubbed my fingers, but there was no water.
"Now, answer that question again," he said. "Who are you and where are you from?"
"I already told you, I don't know."
I had no idea what was going on.
Evidently, that was enough to convince the three men in front of me.
…
"I'm sure someone in the next town over will recognize you," Yuri said as he turned his head back towards me. Precht walked out in front of us, and Warrod was to the side. We stalked along a narrow trail through the woods, with beams of sunlight peppering the ground ahead. Not long after the discovery of the phone, which I assumed was mine, I found myself in the company of the three treasure hunters as I trekked along through the vast green forest.
I still wasn't sure how to feel about traveling around the woods with some strangers. What if there was out there looking for me? And there was also something else that I couldn't ignore. How did I end up in the middle of a forest, and why could I not remember? It was as if there was a wall in my mind, and it blocked me from remembering anything. Nothing about the situation I found myself in was comfortable in the least.
They had been silent at first. Warrod tried making small talk after a while, throwing what I assumed were attempts at jokes. None of the three men had any idea what a phone was. On top of that, I discovered a watch on my wrist that had stopped on July 7th at 7:07. According to Yuri, oddly enough, the date was nowhere near July.
The march through the woods felt like a slow progression, and through the leaves the sun gradually drifted higher in the sky. Yuri and Warrod would exchange a few words as we moved along, and Precht would comment sparingly. Evidently he wasn't as much of a grump as I originally believed. All things considered, I did get the slightest feeling that he didn't trust me. Not that I blamed him.
I didn't trust any of them either.
Not long had passed before I began to entertain the thought: Perhaps these people weren't all that bad? There was something that made me want to trust them. It was that or continue to dwell on the fear that I was going to be murdered…or worse. It wasn't exactly like my mind had much to think on currently, and the woods were stretching on and on in front of us. Warrod did mention it was the largest forests in Fiore (wherever that was), so I shouldn't have been surprised. It reminded me of…
Wait, what was I thinking of again?
After some amount of time, Warrod and Yuri had been bantering back and forth in an attempt to figure out what to call me. They had come to an agreement that I couldn't simply be called girl. As much as I could see reason in that, we were having no luck. Not that I didn't appreciate the effort, but none of the names felt right. It wasn't my own, even if I couldn't remember what it was. There was a lot of time to figure it out, however; the closest town was more than four days away. Or, at least that's what I thought Precht said.
Four days.
"How about Daisy?"
"That seems…too frilly."
"Blue?"
"No thanks, I'll pass."
"Marigold?"
"How about…Oak?"
"No offense, Yuri," I spoke up. "But the names you're picking kind of…don't work?" I stopped myself short from saying anything rude. I didn't know these people well, after all. It did cross my mind how nice they were being though. Warrod had been throwing out a variety of what I recognized as plant names the entire time. Yuri on the other hand had been dishing out all sorts of weird names. Precht of course had been silent on the matter.
Yuri hummed in contemplation. "I would resent that comment, but I've come to a decision that you're just being picky," he answered. "The names I've offered are top notch."
"Can you just settle on a name and remain quiet?" Precht spoke. "My ears have heard enough of this conversation."
"Don't you have any suggestions?" Warrod asked. "You could just agree with one of the names and then we would have half of a consensus…Or you could throw in your own suggestion."
"Finn."
"What was that?" Warrod repeated. Precht mumbled something under his breath.
"If it will end this conversation, then Finn. F-I-N-N. Take it or leave it," he said gruffly.
Part of me was taken aback by his response, but I thought for a second. "Why not?"
Yuri was baffled. "Hang on, isn't that a boy's name? One of my names had to have been better than that."
"Hey, it can be a name for a girl," I defended. "Besides, its' short, rolls off the tongue, and isn't some random word. It's an in-the-middle name, and I think I can work with that. So, it's nice to meet you all, I'm Finn…Yes, that sounds like it can work." Yuri craned his head back to glance at me as if to say something. There was something amusing about the whole exchange, and I couldn't help but smile.
"You're really weird." He said bluntly.
"This whole situation is weird."
As the shadows of the trees grew, the sunlight began its slow descent into darkness. The forest floor was still dotted by the numerous specks of light seeping through the tree leaves overhead, but they were quickly beginning to fade. I never actually realized just how fast the time had passed when we were walking; the day was already over. Ahead of us, Precht had stopped. He turned around to face us and announced what everyone was waiting to hear. We would be stopping for the night.
"Great, I'm starving!" Yuri exclaimed.
"I saw some pretty good mushrooms back over that way." Warrod said thoughtfully. The three men set down their stuff on the ground and I watched Warrod walking straight back into the woods and out of sight. Yuri had assembled a rough fishing pole and went the opposite direction. Unsure of what to do with myself, I slowly approached Precht. He had busied himself with sharpening the knife in his hand when I asked if I could help.
He responded with a sneer. "You want to help, eh? I was just about to skin these." Holding the knife in one hand, Precht used the other to reach into one of the small bags he carried and pulled something out. Dangling by the ears were two rabbits—freshly dead. I had no clue exactly when he had caught those or how. "Have you any practice with this? No?" I didn't notice that I had taken a step back, or that my jaw had dropped open.
"On second thought, I'll just help Yuri."
The thought that I was traveling with murderers popped back into my head.
Backing away, I quickly turned around and marched in the direction I saw Yuri go. Apparently he didn't go far off, because soon after I left the camp I ended up at a small river. The blond was already sitting with the rod in his hands, concentration on his face. I sat down next to him and he didn't move a muscle. Still thinking about the poor rabbits, I remained silent.
"I take it Precht was working on those rabbits? I don't blame you. I prefer to deal with fish, but sometimes I get stuck with them. Oh, and if he said anything, don't worry about it; he tends to be short with others when he doesn't want to be bothered." This was something they did all the time evidently. As we sat there, Yuri made small talk with me, offering a bit of information, like how most of their treasure hunts sent them to various places all over the continent. I nodded along as he spoke and listened eagerly. There were more people like them, with their guild being the main hub for information gathering and sharing. They had their researchers and scholars, and then there were those who actually sought the treasures. It sounded as though Yuri and the others never spent a day being idle.
The more he spoke, the more I began to think that adventuring like that sounded incredible, if not unbelievable. I had enough trouble as it was coming to terms with the fact that I had to go to the bathroom in the woods…That and I was starting to feel incredibly grimy not even one day in. It made me wonder what kind of person I was before, if I was the type to stay indoors. "We may not have all the flare of a mage guild, but we're still the best," Yuri finished.
My brain stopped and wondered at what he said: a Mage guild? Before I could ask him what he was talking about, the rod in his hands twitched. "Gotcha!" Yuri shouted suddenly. In a flash, he leaped to his feet with the rod still in his grasp. He started pulling with all his might, trying to reel in the fish that was on the other end. I found myself standing beside him, trying to see into the water, but it was murky at best.
He struggled with the line. Fighting against the catch, I watched in faint amusement as he stumbled back and forth, edging towards the water and then taking a few steps back at a time. He really didn't know how to fish. "What's the matter," I began saying jokingly, "You're acting as if a shark is—"
"Ah ha!" He shouted triumphantly as he yanked the pole back with a snap of his wrists. The sound took me by surprise, but not as much as what I saw next. A massive fish the size of a cow came flying out of the water, and any words I had died at the tip of my tongue. The creature landed with a solid smack against the rocks, and I was baffled. For the second time that day, my mouth dropped open in disbelief as I watched the fish writhing on the ground. Nothing about this made sense. The little river he was fishing out of couldn't have housed a jumbo-sized purple fish, and yet there it was. While I remained baffled by the impossibility, Yuri in the meantime was quite pleased with himself.
"How is that possible?" I said awestruck.
"That's just how it's done," Yuri said flashing me a grin and a thumbs up.
Before I knew it, I was sitting around a campfire with my new companions, munching on a small meal of roasted wild mushrooms and fish. I had no intention of touching the rabbit that Precht was dealing with earlier. The forest was shrouded in darkness now, and aside from the fire, there was no light except for what the stars gave off. However, there was certainly no shortage of them dotting the sky from what I could see.
"You're sure you don't recall anything?" Precht asked. "Any sort of useful information?"
I glanced up at him from the skewer in my hands and shook my head.
"No, sorry."
"No need to apologize for something you can't help," Warrod said reassuringly. "One step at a time is good enough."
Over the past hour, the trio had been telling me about Fiore and some of its history and trying to see if anything jogged my memory. They were hoping that maybe a single word would catch my attention, anything that might give me a little kick. As they spoke, I couldn't help but be amazed. Absolutely none of it sounded familiar. And at one point I even thought that they were pulling my leg when they were trying to convince me that magic was real, something that I knew was logically impossible. That had been what Yuri was talking about earlier with the Mage Guilds or Wizard Guilds.
But apparently it was real.
That Judgment Field thing from earlier?
That was a magic device of sorts.
They even showed me a map; in addition to Fiore, the treasure hunters had pointed out numerous different countries and continents. As they spoke, there were names and places that floated through my head, but I couldn't figure out if they were included anywhere by scanning the brown paper laid out before me. I had asked too if they might have heard of any of them: the east coast, D.C., America.
They didn't recognize any of it.
I even tried drawing pictures in the dirt of some symbols or objects I could see in my mind's eye. One was of a constellation of what might have been a ladle. For some reason, I remembered it the most, but it was absent from the night sky above. I had glared at the drawing for longer than I should have and began to wonder if it was maybe backwards from how I had drawn it, or even upside down.
"It makes me wonder," Yuri speculated, "Do you think you could've had your memory erased by a wizard?"
"A wizard? Out here in the middle of this forest?" Warrod answered with good humor. "Not to mention one that knows how to erase a person's memory? That does seem far-fetched."
Was such a thing even physically possible?
Eventually their attempts burnt out, and the three ended up sharing about talking about some of the hunts they had been on. Exploring new places, going in search of treasure—it had to be some kind of a bedtime story. All of it was too far-fetched, but in a way almost seemed fun. Something told me that this kind of stuff was something that I wasn't familiar with before. "This next one is big," Yuri spoke. "Can't tell you what it is, but we've been after this information for a while. It won't be long now before we'll be swimming in Jewels."
As I was thinking: it was like fantasy.
Was I maybe a part of a guild?
There was some muscle on my body, but it wasn't much. That and I carried absolutely nothing on me. All things considered, the chances of me being in a guild were absolutely zero. After all this was resolved, maybe I would consider joining one. "It's not just fun and games," Precht cut in as if reading my thoughts. "It's very dangerous and not to be taken lightly." He turned his head slightly to look directly at me. "As soon as we reach the next town, we'll be leaving you in the care of the locals; they should be able to help you from there."
Tossing the skewer aside, I lapsed into silence. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if the treasure hunters hadn't come around. I would have had to figure my way out of the woods. Quietly, I concluded that the outcome wouldn't have been good. It made me think a bit better of my situation.
I was very lucky indeed.
"We should get some rest. We've got a lot of distance to cover tomorrow," Precht stated.
The fire reduced to embers at some point, and I had turned my eyes towards the trees above, trying to see past the leaves and to the stars. There was a tree at my backside; it wasn't the most comfortable, but I had no room to complain. Warrod had at least offered me a spare blanket, but aside from that I gathered they traveled light.
Soon, I found myself drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
…
The next day went by much the same as the first, and so did the one after that. We woke up, ate the leftovers from last night's meal, and walked.
And walked.
And walked.
Not that I minded it. The stiffness I felt in my legs from the first day of it had begun to dull, and I found myself enjoying being outside. My mind still felt just as blank as when I first came to, but it was getting easier to deal with, especially when all I had to do was focus on getting to the next destination. Evidently, that wasn't a good thing, however. Precht suggested that I should have at least remembered something relevant by then. With his words, worry crept back into my mind, but I fought the feeling back.
Without asking the treasure hunters, I took it upon myself to gather the firewood for the camp. Warrod helped me gather it, and Precht even took the time to show me how to clear a spot for the fire. The food began to taste better with each passing meal. At the end of the second day, Yuri took to showing me—of all things—a collection of small bombs that he carried with him. He even showed off the small glass cube that he kept tucked in the pocket of his jacket, the item he had called Judgment Field.
I finally learned that the trio was heading for a port town called Hargeon, and it still a ways away from the town we were currently moving towards.
"This isn't good."
It was late in the third day that something unusual happened that broke what had been becoming an almost normal routine. As we walked alongside a narrow road that was cutting through the forest, we came across wagons and the creatures, what appeared to be giant purple pigs, that were hitched to them. They were all about the road. "Keep your guard up," Precht warned. There wasn't a soul in sight, and the animals were fidgeting. I stuck close behind Yuri as we approached one of the wagons. They were still filled to the brim, some with personal belongings and others with crates of goods.
"It's a merchant caravan, but where are the merchants themselves?" Warrod questioned cautiously. Precht beckoned to him, pointing out something nearer to him.
"What do you make of this?"
"There's something really weird here. I feel…strange. Like we're being watched, but by what? The trees?" I whispered to Yuri. Peering out from behind him, I glanced around. That was when I noticed there were no birds chirping anymore, only the sound of the wind. Other than that, the area was completely quiet. Suppressing the chill traveling down my spine, I moved away from him and got a closer look at the treads on the ground. There was an odd feeling that I couldn't shake. "Does something like this usually happen?"
"Would you leave this stuff in the middle of the road for someone else to find?" He asked back. "By the looks of it, this wasn't the work of bandits it has to be something else…Wait a second." As Yuri stepped forward, his attention was on a shallow print on the ground; shallow, but big. It stood out in stark contrast from the wheel treads.
It was then that I noticed a strange shadow hovering over mine. I stared at it and blankly thought that I had been standing directly under a tree. Then I decided to remember the fact that I wasn't near one. We were standing in the middle of the road in the forest. There had been enough of an opening to clearly see the blue sky above us. In muted silence, I turned my head back over my shoulder. For a split second, all I could do was stare. There was a hulking figure—with far bigger muscles than Warrod.
It looked like an ape.
"OhMyGod—IS THAT BIGFOOT?!"
"You have got to be kidding me."
"Yuri, you two need to move!" Precht shouted.
Before anything else could happen, Yuri grabbed my arm. In the next moment, the ape let out a screech I had never heard before. Finally, I felt my adrenaline going. As we darted out of the way, the creature swung his massive fist, and I watched as the cart we stood next to crumpled under the force. The pig creature that it was hitched up to took off sprinting in the opposite direction. Yuri was already reaching for where he kept the bombs on him, but Precht moved quicker. Flicking his fingers, a glinting string appeared to stretch from the palm of his hands. The strings wrapped around the monster's legs before the blades attached to the end of each strand buried itself into the bark of a tree.
Right as Precht reached for the knife at his hip, the beast fell over in a heap. All of us remained still. Warrod was the first to approach with caution. "Vulcans," he started. "We've stumbled onto a group of forest vulcans. Not only that, but this one has been beaten pretty badly. No doubt this is what attacked the merchants, but the merchants apparently fought back. These beasts shouldn't even be in this locale."
I stared on at the creature in awe. The fists of the creature were larger than its head, and its fur had a greenish tint I didn't have the chance to notice before. As soon as I stepped out from behind Yuri, I inhaled sharply. The vulcan's body started to peel apart before my eyes. As the fur flaked away, I watched it seemingly vanish into thin air. Even more shocking, that was when a body appear from underneath. It was a man.
And that man was breathing.
Moments later, Precht and Yuri had propped him up against one of the wagons. Warrod had produced an odd, curly blue leaf from his pack. Rubbing the leaf between two fingers, he swiftly held it up to the unconscious merchant's nose. The man coughed from the odor, his eyes snapping open. While I felt relieved that he was awake, I was still in disbelief. I hadn't a clue what happened to the monster that disappeared as suddenly as it came. It simply shredded into pieces. "Anyone want to explain what just happened? Where did that vulcan thing go?" I asked.
"That," Precht answered curtly, "was an example of magic, Finn. More specifically, possession magic; the only kind of magic a vulcan can use." Vulcans needed a body in order to exist, and had developed an ability to help them survive. Whether or not they had an actual form outside of possession was unknown, and the vulcans themselves were subject to a lot of old folklore, being compared to demons. The vulcan we came across was one of several different types. Still, Precht concluded, there was a lot of research that still needed to be done to understand such creatures.
Whether it had died or simply went somewhere else after it left the merchant's body was unknown.
"Speaking of which," Yuri cut in, "Where there is one, there are others."
"You're…right," The merchant spoke up. He grabbed at Precht's cloak with trembling hands. "You haven't found the others, have you? My friends, my daughter…Last I remember is they had made it away from the other vulcans. They're cornered though—stuck in a cave somewhere underneath the ridge somewhere over that way. Please, can you help them?"
There was a brief pause of silence.
"It would not be in good conscience to leave things as they are. On top of that, vulcans running amuck will only hamper our progress. We'll need a plan," Precht considered dryly. Raising a hand to his chin, he thought quietly for a moment, the stern look never leaving his face. Glancing at Warrod and Yuri, he nodded his head firmly. "It is doable. Warrod, Yuri?"
"Hell yes, this'll be a breeze," Yuri responded confidently.
Warrod answered Precht with a smirk. "We'll need to figure out the numbers first and where precisely they are positioned, but I agree. The forest at our backs provides decent cover to help with evasion, not to mention a few well-placed traps." Turning away from me, they began developing a plan among themselves. Making myself useful, I helped the merchant settle into one of the Wagons. He was pretty weak, unable to stand up without support.
After he was taken care of, I Inched my way back over to the treasure hunters. I tried listening to what they were saying and caught snippets of their conversation. "Can I help?" The words slipped out of my mouth before I even knew what I was saying. The three stopped and turned to me.
"Absolutely not," Precht answered.
"I'm with Precht on this one," Warrod added. "Vulcans—particularly male ones—are notorious for going after women. It wouldn't be safe for you to be involved, and you might be better off remaining here by the road."
I thought for a second. "But wouldn't it be better if I went along? I just can't stand by and do nothing. If it's searching for stuff, the more eyes the better. I can help you guys find those vulcans and we'll be on our way quicker, right Precht?"
"And if one finds you first?" Precht questioned. "In addition to putting yourself at risk, you'll also be slowing us down."
"Then I'll run."
"Maybe…" Yuri finally spoke up. I looked at him hopefully. "Maybe that would be a good idea. Just think about it for a second. We could leave Finn by the road, but if a vulcan shows up, she's toast. If we take her with us, we'll at least know if she goes missing. Not to mention, we can also use her as a lure."
"Say what now?" I asked confusedly.
Suddenly, Warrod had a strange scheming expression on his face. "You do make a fine point. If we are to make sure those people are out of harm's way first, we'll need to draw the vulcans away. Precht, what are your thoughts?"
"Perhaps we will take your help, Finn," Precht answered curtly. "And since you're the one who suggested it, Yuri, you and Finn will take one direction while Warrod and I will take the other."
Yuri heaved a sigh. "Is this because I opened my mouth? Here I was thinking that she'd tag along with you, Precht."
The vulcans had not left behind a single set of tracks that left us a clear path. Searching the surrounding stretch of the road revealed two different paths branching off from each other. Our task was simple. Scout the area and return within a certain amount of time back at the road. While I didn't have a clue how much time we had, Yuri seemed to know. I didn't ask. As for the merchant, he remained with the remnants of the caravan, tucked out of sight in one of the carts. According to Warrod, he was too out of it to be of help anyways. And as he and Precht headed off, Yuri watched with an unamused expression before we too started on our way.
In short order, we found the ridge. That was the easy part. It wasn't exactly clear where we were supposed to search though. The ridge itself wasn't a straight line, and consisted of several hills curving in and out of our sight. Staying under the cover of the trees, we moved forward carefully and kept our eyes open. "Nope, nothing here either. At this rate, maybe Precht and Warrod have had some luck," Yuri spoke quietly.
I listened to him, but didn't respond at first. We kept going forward and covering more ground. The minutes were ticking by. That was when I started to notice the silence again, like before. I stopped and stood still. "We should be getting back. The tracks have gone cold in this direction," Yuri announced. He turned to me. "What's with the face? You're not bummed out we didn't find them, are you?" There was a strange humming, or perhaps that wasn't the right description. It was like the air itself was pulsating; faint, but it was there. The sensation almost tickled my skin with warmth. It was a similar feeling that I had earlier.
"You don't feel that?"
I took a few steps forward, and the feeling dulled. Backing up a few steps backwards, it felt stronger. Not by much, but it was there.
"What do you mean?"
Maybe it was all in my head, or maybe it wasn't.
"This way."
"Hey—where are you going?"
Walking forward, I stared at the ground to avoid tripping over roots. I placed my hand on one of the trees beside me; I steadied myself as I moved. We traveled a bit further away from the ridge where we started and moved inwards. Yuri was trailing closely on my heels. The sensation would fade out, and I stopped. The treasure hunter bumped into me as I changed my direction. He put a hand on my shoulder.
Snap!
Before I could say a word, Yuri pulled me to the side and slapped a hand over my mouth. That was when I heard something big trudging by us just on the other side of the tree we were behind. Twigs or perhaps roots were cracking under the feet of something heavy. And it was not just one. If my heart could have been beating any faster, it would have pounded a hole through my chest. Yuri slowly lowered his hand, and reached into his back pocket.
There was motion to the right of us that caught my attention. My eyes locked with Warrod's. Evidently Yuri noticed him too, because Warrod nodded to us as if conveying an unspoken message. Glancing down revealed that Yuri had pulled three of his bombs out of his pocket, and he was balancing them carefully in the palm of his left hand. I swallowed the lump in my throat. He was planning on using them. Tapping my shoulder quietly, Yuri gestured in Warrods direction.
Once.
Twice.
I nodded my head in understanding. He wanted me to head towards Warrod. And as I took one short step forward, Yuri suddenly moved. He threw one of the bombs over his shoulder and I heard a crack followed by a bright flash of light appearing at the edge of my vision. "Go!" Yuri shouted. Not a second later, I reacted, digging my heel into the ground as I took off.
There was howling and screeching coming from behind.
The ground rumbled.
I propelled my arms at my side and darted forward. As soon as I reached Warrod, he began to move as well. "Follow me!" And follow him I did; not that there was much of a choice. Yuri was right behind. It was a wonder how Warrod had ended up where we were. There was also no sign of Precht.
"How many are we dealing with?!" Yuri shouted.
"Five or nine. Still hard to tell. Still got that special grenade of yours?"
"Of course I do!"
That humming sensation was buzzing in and out and in and out. And then I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. "Watch the right!" I called out—and not a moment too soon. A giant arm tore through a tree beside us. Warrod pivoted, and met the arm with a powerful fist. To my surprise, the vulcan went flying.
Our feet weren't the only ones pounding the ground beneath us. The rumbling got worse. Over my shoulder, there were at least two more faces in pursuit. I was getting tired, and I started to wonder if this was how it was going to end; being chased through the woods by a mob of angry, oversized primates. Even if it was too late, I realized then just how dumb of an idea it was to tag along on this little hunt. I didn't have any skills to offer.
None.
Warrod slowed down and ran beside me. "Head for the clearing up ahead," He spoke to me between each step. "See it?" Sure enough, there was plenty of light just in front of us. The green shade of the trees was thinner. And when I opened my mouth to reply, I realized that I was all alone. Warrod had disappeared. And so had Yuri for that matter.
I was by myself.
I wanted to scream, but couldn't find the air to do it. Instead, I charged headfirst into the clearing, only to be met by the sight of three more vulcans emerging from the other side. I came to a dead stop in the center, the dirt crunching beneath my feet. The pounding behind me stopped; the four vulcans that had been pursuing us had slowed down. They were staring at me in an unnervingly human way. And I stared back. Some of them bared their fangs, but it wasn't hostile. It was creepy.
"Wo-man!" One of them screeched out.
I stopped moving and was awestruck. "They speak?" I muttered to myself. My breathing hadn't slowed down. Warrod did mention something about that. I tried to keep my distance, but the vulcans moved in, and I was surrounded with no way out. In that moment, I was like dwarf among giants. Throwing my arms out in front of me, I shouted at them "Stay back!" That only seemed to goad them more.
I was going to die.
And then something happened.
A silver chain wrapped around my extended arms, binding them together. The vulcans stopped in a daze, and I felt my feet leave the ground. My arms were wrenched forward, and my body with it. Before I knew it I was sailing through the air, right underneath the arms of one of the monsters. As my eyes struggled to keep up with the speed of what was happening, I saw a small glass ball passing over top of me, right into the center of the clearing.
Precht grabbed ahold of me and we landed on the ground in time to avoid the roaring thunder that followed. The glass ball shattered on the ground, and lighting sprang into existence. It tore through the clearing with a loud crash, sending sparks through the air. None of them stood a chance.
One by one, the vulcans collapsed.
One by one, they disappeared from existence leaving nothing behind.
The static energy lingered in the air.
…
As it turned out, Precht and Warrod had found the people huddled together in a cave with one vulcan guarding the outside and waiting for someone to wander out. The other vulcans had scattered in search of something else. Precht was able to judge by the tracks where they had gone. After taking out the lone vulcan and freeing the merchants, Warrod came after us and Precht waited near the clearing they had come across.
"I guess I should have expected you liked sparkly things."
"Things with style," Yuri corrected with a wink. "Bet you didn't see that one coming. Still, it's a shame I had to use that one. I've got others, but not of the same caliber. That shock crystal was worth at least three times as much as the rest." We were sitting around a large fire, in the company of the merchant group. There was hot food being passed around that didn't consist of wild game, and for that I was grateful.
Rather than find myself angry with the treasure hunters for keeping me in the dark (a rational response), I found myself relieved; almost giddy. Maybe adrenaline was still running through my system, but I couldn't begin to process everything that had happened in that short span of time. After returning to the road, we finally left the forest behind and traveled in the company of the caravan. In spite of everything that happened, there was a festive mood among those people.
Food was roasted on the fire, and bowls of stew were passed around. Somebody had pulled out a stringed instrument and began playing. Two children skipped around the wagons, playing with the pigs that pulled the carts. Yes, there were children that had been traveling with the group as well with their parents. Seeing these people had an effect on me. It made me feel like I had done something worthwhile.
A few of the women traveling with them had provided me with soaps to use, and, for the first time in a while, I was clean. A quick wash up in a nearby stream cleaned the sweat off my skin and the grease off of my hair. On top of that, one of the women had provided me with a fresh set of clothing and even a bag. They claimed that because one of the carts were destroyed, it would no longer be possible to transport some of their wares.
They were simply happy to have gotten out of the mess they were in, but they were helping me more than they knew. To top things off, the food was abundant and incredibly good.
Warrod joined us. "I asked Renault about your device, but he is unfamiliar with it—says he's never seen anything like it." He handed back the phone and I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. It had been Warrod's suggestion that the merchants might know something with all of their experience of the world, but it was a dead end. Evidently, not even the head of the caravan who we had rescued earlier, Renault, did not know anything. "It's not powered by lacrima, that's for certain. Wherever you're from, you've ended up quite far from it. How you ended up in the Woodsea must be quite the tale."
"If that's the case…would it even be possible for me to find someone who knows who I am?" I finally asked.
Warrod and Yuri shared a look. "Well, it doesn't sound likely does it? You know, we were talking, and it might be a good idea if you came with us—not that we're sharing any treasure with you, but—" Warrod smacked Yuri on the back of the shoulder, and the blond glared. "What I mean to say is, do you want to travel with us?"
"It's not permanent," Warrod amended. "It appears that Yuri's earlier theory about you having your memory erased has some credibility. You still can't remember anything about yourself, can you? There may be something yet to jog your memory that we haven't come across, or perhaps clues that can make sense of the things you do know. The situation may be better than sitting around in a strange town somewhere."
I blinked and thought over the offer. Compared to before, it was quite the change. Glancing at the two with suspicion, I spoke the first few of many questions that sprang into my mind. "But why? And Precht is in on this too? He would actually want me to go with you guys?"
"You were able to track down the vulcans without a trail, and Yuri is convinced that you may be a tracker of sorts. Whether or not that was a fluke remains to be seen, but if that somehow proves to be true, however unlikely, it may be useful to us," Precht cut in. Based on the expression on his face, the man seemed indifferent to the situation. He slipped the bag off of his shoulder and set it down by his feet before sitting. "Understand this," he continued, "If you travel with us, you'll need to pick of certain skills which I know that you don't possess. Carrying your own supplies is your responsibility. If we decide you've become too much of a deadweight, then that will be it."
'Well, that's harsh,' I thought to myself. Shrugging my shoulders, I considered his words before speaking. "I don't exactly have much of a choice, do I?" I finally responded. What Warrod said before seemed right to me. I didn't expect to figure out much by staying rooted in one place. Traveling around, there had to be a chance I'd run into someone or something familiar. Doing that on my own, however, was a task I accepted as impossible without help. And now here there were three people willing to put up with a stranger with incomplete memories.
Was it luck or was I meant to be there?
"I'll go with you guys."
...
