AN: Starting from here, there may be certain points where I will use prompts from TheShatteredRose to fill in some story segments. Not that there's anything wrong with having nothing but explore and explore, but sometimes a little fun with another guild can add variety, and it never hurts to change things up a bit.
The day was still bright, as the Lux Guild finally set foot in the first floor of the labyrinth. The soft, wet grass soaking against their feet- well, for Keiko, the grass merely felt like an obstacle. The sun's rays pierced through the leaves, hitting the floor with enough sunlight for explorers to venture through the floor.
"Whoa… this is… beautiful..." grinned Korey, as he looked around in awe. "Ladies, and gentleman, this is the Yggdrasil's first stratum: the Tutelary Forest." Hilda declared, as the other girls started to wonder a bit from the group.
"It's so gorgeous… Out of all the forests I've been to, this one takes the cake." Kyo sighed, glancing toward Keiko as she knelt to place her hand in the water.
"Even the water here is pretty… Ooooooo~" the Therian cooed, making little ripples in the water.
"So, who's going to do the mapping?" questioned Demetria. "Well," Hilda began. "I won't be in charge of mapping the floors after a certain point on the third floor, but I can teach you how to make maps, Demetria. We're going to need someone with a sharp eye, and you proved that often back in Iorys."
"Alright," Demetria nodded. "I suppose learning never hurts…" Hilda takes out a piece of paper and places it in Demetria's hands, as she goes over how mapping works. The brown skinned Celestrian walks over to Korey.
"I'd never thought we'd see such a beautiful sight for the first floor…" she began, the fencer nodding in agreement. "Neither did I, Kyo… Once we're done with the mission, we can start climbing the Yggdrasil tree beyond the first floor." Korey hummed, noticing Keiko hopping around a bit before stopping next to Kyo and Korey.
"It's going to be so much FUN!" she chirped, as the fencer couldn't help but chuckle at her excitement. "You bet it will, Keiko. I guarantee it!" He beamed.
"Though, are you sure our current equipment will get us through this first floor?" Kyo inquired, seeing as everyone got new weapons to start off their journey through Yggdrasil. "I'm positive, Kyo. We're gonna need to get items from monsters in order for new weapons to be made, as Syrik said to us, it shouldn't be hard..." Korey reassured the Celestrian.
"Though certain monsters have conditional drops… And I've heard that explorers had quite a hard time trying to get some of them." Keiko protested, as Korey placed a finger on his chin, almost reconsidering his previous sentence...
"...Okay, maybe it WILL be harder than I thought." He admitted, as Keiko and Kyo laughed at his sudden take back of his sentence. Hilda and Demetria soon stood beside them.
"I've taught Demetria the basics of mapping, but for the time being, I will map out this floor and the second floor. After that, it's completely new territory beyond one particular point on the third floor." Hilda declared, letting everyone else know why they had to wait for as long as they did.
"Got it. Everyone ready to go get this mission done?" Korey inquired, though needless to say, he already got his answer when they nodded at him.
They start by marking off the left side of the beginning area, as Korey notices some fish around a certain part of the area. "This spot seems like it'd be a good spot to get some fish…" Korey noted, as Keiko overheard the Fencer.
"It sure will. But we'd be here all day if we do…" Keiko disputed.
Well, she's right about that. Depending on how good the fisher is, they'd either be here and gone in a few minutes, or just stuck here for hours. "...Good point. Let's just get back on track." He sighed, getting up to follow the others.
After coming across a guard whose watching over some chickens, they continue onward. Even conquering a mud puddle, for one weird reason or another... Yet, despite their searching and mapping of the entire area, they've yet to encounter one monster.
"I'm staaaarving…" Keiko groaned. Kyo rolled her eyes, "Seriously, Keiko? We JUST ate right before we left to go see Prince Ramus, how could you be this hungry already?" She questioned.
"She can be like that, on occasion... something I don't quite understand how it works." Demetria stated. "Well, once we're done here, we can get something to eat at the inn." Korey reassured the Therian, as she sighed, looking around a bit before noticing an acorn on the ground.
"Oooooh, an acorn…" she groaned, making her way over to it, with no one else paying attention to where she's going. "That's nice, Keiko, just don't try to-" Hilda stopped herself, both in speech, and in movement. She made a sharp turn to face Keiko.
"Don't eat that acorn, Keiko!"
"Huh? Why not?" As Keiko turned to face Hilda, the Therian was blissfully unaware of the acorn breaking free, gaining eyes and feet, before jumping and hitting Keiko on the head. "Owww!" She yelled, getting knocked to the ground as the Acorn attempted to tackle her head multiple times.
Everyone else's attention turned to Keiko when she heard her yell in pain. "Keiko!" Korey gasped, bringing out his weapon as he swiftly went to Keiko's side. Demetria pulled Keiko away from the sentient acorn and helps her up.
"You bloody idiot! Why did you think it was just going to be food for you?!" Demetria shouted, as the other Therian weakly reached for the Acorn. "It looked so innocent, I just wanted to eaaaat it…" She replied.
"That's a Rabid Acorn, Keiko." Hilda began, placing the map away. "Alone, or with groups similar to it, it poses little to no threat, but when grouped with two other creatures, these guys can become a problem real quick." she explained. Korey quickly realizes she did not draw her weapon.
"Aren't you going to help us fight it?" he asked. "And end the fight like that? I already have some experience fighting against these creatures, you know... because..." Hilda looked away from Korey, the fencer recalling what she meant.
"Oooooh, right, right, I getcha…" He uttered, before focusing his attention back to the Rabid Acorn before him. "Kyo, let's show it how its done!" The purple haired Celestrian nodded in return.
"Got it." Kyo hummed, taking out her staff as it emitted a purple light, before turning red like a raging fire. "Taste Fireball, sucker!"
She points at the Rabid Acorn, as the energy condenses together at the end of the purple light, forming a literal fireball, launching it at the Acorn as it falls backwards from being hit. Beta hears a bush shake, growling as another Rabid Acorn shows up to assist in the fight, making its way right for Kyo. "More company. Go get 'em, Beta!" Demetria ordered, shooting an arrow at the Acorn to get its attention.
Upon being hit, the Acorn turned to the source of the attack, only to be greeted by Beta's sharp claws in its face, launching it back. "How about this?! Optic Thrust!" Korey yelled, swiftly running to the launched Rabid Acorn and cuts through it, as its now split corpse falls to the ground, as the other Acorn finally managed to get up.
Keiko starts growling. "Why you'll… you'll pay for this, Mr. Innocent Acorn!" She screamed, charging right for the Rabid Acorn.
The poor thing didn't even see it coming. Before it did anything else, Keiko went in, swords swinging like a madman, and just cutting the Rabid Acorn to shreds. And it kept going for a while.
"I think it's dead, Keiko." Korey said, befuddled by Keiko's constant swinging. "Keiko, I think that's enough…" Hilda tried, but still no sign of the Therian stopping anytime soon. They turned to Demetria, who sighs before taking a deep breath.
"Keiko! That's enough!" She yelled, getting the Masurao to stop swinging wildly. "Wha-?!" Keiko blinked, looking where the Rabid Acorn once stood.
It literally turned into mere powders of what remained of it. Freaking brutal, yet surprising, coming from somebody who called an Acorn, 'Mr. Innocent Acorn'. "O-Oh… d-did I just do that?" She asked, looking at the others when she did.
"Yes... Yes you did." Korey confirmed, before a sudden snarl made everyone on high alert. "Seems like we've attracted something..." He uttered, as Hilda blinked in surprise.
"Huh… here I thought we wouldn't see them this early into the first floor." She spoke to herself. "See what, Hilda?" Keiko inquired, curious as to what she was talking about.
"...A Wild Dog." She began. As if the timing couldn't be excellent, a giant red hound-like creature rushed out of the bushes, charging right towards the Harbinger.
"Hilda, watch out!" Korey warned just in the nick of time. She swung her scythe at the dog, causing it to stop then and there, leaping backwards to the others.
"Thanks for the warning. I've heard that their bites can hurt quite a lot. I suggest you be cautious and not stand too close to it." She thanked Korey, before warning everyone of its bite.
"Understood! Take this!" Demetria shot an arrow at the Wild Dog, as Beta shortly followed suit, scratching the enemy before backing away before it could strike back.
Kyo's staff soon starts emitting a light blue glow where the purple light once remained. "Icicle Lance!" Kyo raised her staff into the air, before pointing at the enemy, as a few icicles launched from the lance. The Wild Dog flinched every time the icicles hit it.
Hilda couldn't help but whistle in surprise, looking at the Warlock with a smile on her face. "Impressive... I never thought you knew the weakness of a Wild Dog this quick." She complimented, as the purple haired Warlock blushed a little bit.
"Heheh, I may have guessed that on my own but... T-Thanks for the compliment. " Kyo admitted, trying to hide her blush as Korey rushed in for the final blow on the enemy.
"Hiyaaah!" Korey yelled, slashing his sword at the Wild Dog, as it let out one last whimper before it falls, no longer breathing. Korey takes out his weapon, and cleans the sword of the blood on it, as everyone started to calm down from the battle that occurred.
"That takes care of that… And we didn't even have to suffer more severe injuries." Korey took a deep breath, sheathing his weapon as everyone else started to sheathe their weapons too.
"That's a start." Hilda nodded, before turning to Keiko, who was rubbing her head where the Rabid Acorn hit her. She notices Hilda, and looks to face her.
"Although I can only advise you- more specifically, to everyone: there will be points in the labyrinth where we can get food. But whatever you do, do not go trusting suspicious food, like the Rabid Acorn. If more Wild Dogs were around, that would've been quite disastrous…" Hilda explained, as the Therian gazed at the ground for a few seconds.
"I'm sorry, Hilda… I'll try and heed your advice." Keiko apologized, feeling the Harbinger's hand pat her shoulder. "Apology accepted, Keiko." she beamed.
"It's a learning experience for all of you, and I'm only telling you what I know so that you all can survive the labyrinth. Cause while it is pretty, we're not even close to starting on our journey. To die here this early is, shall we say, a kick to the face..." She continued, getting the map she previously stowed away back out.
"But now that the monsters are gone, we can proceed back on track." Demetria beamed, getting up from petting her hound. "Right… The sooner we get the samples and the map complete, the better." Korey concluded, leading the guild away from the area the battle occurred.
After walking around for a few minutes, they spot the huge tree they had seen earlier from the entrance of the stratum. "This must be the tree where we get a branch sample, right?" Korey asked.
"Indeed. There should be one that's close enough for us to reach it..." Hilda noted, as Demetria points to the nearest one.
"There's one. Keiko, can you reach it?" Demetria queried, as Keiko stood under the branch and grabbed the branch, snapping it at the end portion. "Got it!" Keiko exclaimed, as Kyo chuckled to herself.
"Talk about cheating with height..." Kyo grinned, as Korey scratched his head. "Well, she does have those shoes that make her seem more taller than one would expect." He explained, leaving the Celestrian to shrug.
Demetria walks over to Keiko, before her eyes glanced at something in the water. The Harbinger noticed and walked up to her. "What's up, Demetria?"
Demetria turned to look at Hilda. "There's something down where Keiko pulled the branch sample, but I'm not sure what it is..." She replied, pointing to where she saw the item. Korey bent down and placed his bag down beside him.
"Allow me to try and get it." Korey hummed, reaching in the water. It took some time to get an actual grip on it, but he soon gets it out of the water, washing some of the dirt on it revealing the item to be a box of sorts. It was decorated rather fashionably, jewels and gems placed all around it.
"Whoooaaa…" Kyo gasped, looking at the box from afar. "That's soooo cooool!" Keiko squealed, as Demetria knelt to her knees to gaze at it.
"It's so beautiful..." Demetria chirped, shocked at the sheer beauty of the decorated box before them.
"Is that a jewelry box?" Hilda inquired, as Korey looked at it from multiple angles to be sure. "Seems like it. But who would leave it here on the first floor?" Korey wondered.
"I'm not sure who, since nobody seems to be around to confirm its theirs..." Kyo also wondered. "Can you try opening it?" Keiko inquired, thinking there might be some way to open it.
Korey attempts to slip his fingers through the line and break it open, but after trying a few times, nothing seems to come to fruition. "Can't get it to open..." He admitted, the box quickly vanishing from his vision.
"Let me try..." Demetria spoke, as she tried bashing it against the ground, hoping it would eventually give in. "Don't do that, sis! What if the thing inside that box is fragile?!" Keiko exclaimed, as Demetria stopped in her tracks.
She did have a point. It's a box. It's most likely containing something within it. Demetria dusted off the dirt on it and sighed in defeat, handing it back to Korey.
"Are you sure it's not magically guarded?" questioned Hilda. "I can't be sure. Even if I happen to know what it is, getting it off might take some time..." Kyo spoke up after trying to detect its mana. She probably wasn't proficient enough to detect what kind it is.
"Oh well. Might as well take it with us and see if we can find any means of opening it..." Korey shrugged, placing the jewelry box in the bag and started to stand up. "I suppose it can't hurt to take it along, seeing as that didn't happen before on my first visit…" Hilda agreed.
"So all that's left is the dirt sample, right?" Keiko commented, as the white haired girl nodded in return. "Right. The map segment Ramus required to be drawn is already done, so the sample of dirt is all that remains." She explained, letting Korey take the lead once more.
It didn't take them long to find the spot in question. The ground had a different texture compared to the floor they've been walking on this whole time. Kyo grabs a sample, slipping it into a plastic bag that Korey had brought in his bag.
"Done and done~" Kyo beamed, giving the sample to Korey to place in the bag. "Well, that about does it for the mission, I must say." Demetria hummed, glad the mission is over with without any major issues.
"Indeed. Everyone did a fantastic job." Korey grinned, giving everyone a smile, which caused a few of them to smile as well.
"The second floor onward won't be this easy, Korey. We must exercise caution at all times." Hilda reassured him, recalling the words she said earlier from their battle with the Wild Dog and Rabid Acorn.
"Right. Anyways, let's report to Prince Ramus." Korey concluded, after looking up at the sky to see what time it was. They made their way back to the entrance of the Tutelary Forest, and walked back to Iorys, making it back around sunset.
Prince Ramus was reading a book that intrigued him, before he noticed the Lux Guild approaching him. He placed the book down as he stood up and walked over to the approaching guild.
"I see you've returned. Did you get the samples, along with completing what I outlined on the map?" Ramus inquired.
"We sure did!" Keiko replied, handing him the samples, and Hilda showed off the map to him. "Ah, marvelous work. Marvelous work indeed." He hummed, handing the samples of the dirt and branch to the guard next to him.
Korey placed a finger on his chin, seeming to be in deep thought for a moment before looking at the Earthlain prince. "So, why make us go through the labyrinth to get a sample of wood and dirt?" he inquired.
"It's to make sure that the explorers are worthy of traveling through Yggdrasil. And you all passed with flying colors." Ramus explained. "Exploration of the Yggdrasil is now open to you, members of the Lux Guild."
Needless to say, Keiko, Demetria, and Kyo both cheered in joy, as Hilda and Korey grew smiles on their faces. "Oooooh, it feels like I'm dreaming…" Keiko sighed, placing her hands next to her cheeks.
"Seeing the prince again, or the fact we're finally exploring Yggdrasil?" Demetria inquired, confused by what Keiko meant. "Prooobably both~" Keiko replied, leaving her twin sister to sigh and shake her head.
"Now that you're able to explore the labyrinth, you can now buy an important item known as the Ariadine Thread." Ramus began. "They're helpful since they return you to Iorys in a matter of seconds. Just show this card to Syrik and he'll sell you them." he continued, picking up a card and hands it to Korey.
"I see. I guess it can't hurt to get at least one or two of these Ariadine Threads before we head back into the labyrinth." Korey noted, placing the card in his bag.
"You're also now able to handle the quests at the tavern. We only allow certified guilds to tackle the quests that are posted there." Ramus added.
"Probably for a good reason, I assume?" Kyo queried, as the Earthlain Prince nodded in response.
"Anyways, we should head back to the inn, night's about to fall." Hilda declared, as everyone took note of the sky's color slowly changing. "Good idea…" Demetria concurred.
"I hope you rest well tonight." Ramus hummed, waving good-bye to the guild before him. "We will, your Highness." Korey waved back, before catching up with the others.
As they arrive back in Jenetta's Inn, the green haired Therian hoped over to them as soon as they entered, wondering how the exploration mission went. Hilda and the others took turns on explaining how it went, and that they made it with not problems whatsoever. "That's wonderful! Soon, you'll begin climbing the Yggdrasil for real!" Jenetta hummed, clapping her hands in joy.
"Yeah, everyone's excited to get started. It only feels like yesterday that we started out recruiting three guild members..." Kyo chuckled, already feeling like they've accomplished so much.
"It sure feels like it, Kyo." Korey agreed, as he lets out a yawn, before placing some money in front of Jenetta. "Anyways, we need a room to rest, Jenetta." He groaned, trying to stay awake.
"Ah yes, your room. Let me show you to your room for tonight~" Jenetta graciously accepted the money, before skipping to the stairs, motioning for the guild to follow her. She stops at the third door on the second floor, opening the door for them.
"If you need anything, feel free to let me know!" Jenetta added, as Korey, Keiko, and Demetria passed by her. "Got it, Jenetta." Hilda noted, before closing the door after Kyo came in. Korey opened the curtains to reveal the gorgeous night sky...
"Well, this room is more bigger than the other room..." Kyo commented. "Still got two beds though." Keiko sighed, not liking the idea of having to deal with two beds. They were close to having more beds, but not in the way she expected it to be.
"I guess she just expects us to be all comfortable with each other, or something." Demetria shrugged, unable to find the right words to call Jenetta's attempt of 'group bonding'. "But there's only one man in our entire guild. Here I thought a guild full of girls would tickle his fancy, or something." Hilda disputed.
Keiko couldn't help but snicker at what Hilda said earlier. "That's something I certainly never thought you'd say..." She began, seeing the Harbinger's cheeks turn red and attempted to hide her face from the other girls.
"Argh, Keiko, why'd you have to point that out?!" Hilda groaned, as Keiko chuckled to herself. Korey sat on the bed and took out the jewelry box from the bag, gleaming at it in wonder.
"Just what are we going to do with this thing? We can't take it around the labyrinth with is, it'll just be dead weight." He asked, as Kyo placed a finger on her chin.
"I don't know. We just don't have the right means of opening it somehow..." Kyo uttered, feeling like they were getting nowhere with this subject matter.
"Either way, we might as well prepare to for bed. Come on, girls." Demetria sighed, motioning for the girls to follow her, following closely behind her.
As Korey stands up to place the box down, he is startled by the sound of the window crashing behind him, quickly turning to face the source of the crash. "What the-?!" he yelled, as the girls swiftly turned to face the same noise he heard.
In front of the window was a Therian. From his garb, he appeared to be a Masurao, with black hair and light brown skin. "Excuse me sir, this room doesn't belong to you!" Demetria exclaimed, as the Therian stands up from crashing through the window.
His purple eyes darted to the Fencer, who had a tight grip on the jewelry box. "Jewelry box... must obtain!" The man yelled, charging right at Korey, swinging his fist at him. Korey dodges the first swing, before he gets picked up by the Therian and thrown against the wall on the other side of the room.
"Agh!" Korey screamed in pain, falling onto the bed below him. "Korey!" Hilda yelled, grabbing her scythe as Kyo activated her staff.
"That's my friend, you bastard!" The Celestrian exclaimed, starting to cast a spell, as her staff's purple light soon changed to a golden yellow. "Feel the Lightning!" Kyo screamed, as lightning bolts emerged from her staff, striking the Therian and getting his attention before he could get any closer to Korey.
Hilda made her move, charging right at the Therian, as her scythe is soon enveloped in electric miasma. "Paralyzing Reap!" Hilda slashed at his chest, causing him to flinch back, taking a few steps back as he covers his chest, blood soon staining his hands.
"Why you... pesky Harbinger!" The man snarled, attempting to move closer to Hilda, who backed away from him. "Air Blade!" Keiko hollered, slashing at the Therian so fast that it created a physical form of air, making direct contact with the Therian Pugilist.
Beta jumps and attempts to bite the Pugilist, but the man punches Beta away before he gets an arrow to his left arm. "Graaah!" he yelled in pain, clutching his shoulder.
"It's over, you intruder! You can't outmatch us!" Demetria exclaimed, as the man looked around to see himself cornered and surrounded. He clenches his fists in anger.
"You keep shiny jewelry box for now... But next meeting, won't be so lucky!" the man grabbed an item from his pocket, and tossed it to the ground, as smoke appeared from where he stood, causing everyone to cough at the sudden surprise.
When the smoke vanishes, the Therian is gone, but the window is still destroyed.
"What the hell was that about... That was just rude to bust into our room and try and steal our prized jewelry box!" Keiko growled, placing her sword away now that the threat had been cleared.
"I have no idea, Keiko..." Demetria sighed, as she tended to Beta to make sure he was alright. Hilda climbed onto the bed and turned Korey over, who still had the box close to him.
"Are you alright, Korey?" Hilda asked, as Korey attempted to sit up. "I-I'm fine... But why the sudden concern over me all of a sudden?" He inquired, feeling a little confused.
Hilda's cheeks turned red, as she tried to avoid eye contact with him. "I-It's just because you're our guild leader! We wouldn't want you dying to a Therian Pugilist of all things, that's all!" She exclaimed, concluding the discussion rather fast.
"My dear guests, what's with all the ruckus going on up here?" Jenetta's voice asked from the other side of the door. Demetria gets up from petting her hound and opened the door to speak with Jenetta.
"Listen," the dark skinned Therian began. "as strange as it is to say this, some Pugilist decided to bust through the window and started to attack us over a jewelry box we found in the first floor of the Tutelary Forest." Demetria explained.
"Oh my... no wonder I heard a window crash earlier!" Jenetta gasped upon seeing the proof of the window crash. "I don't want to risk it happening again while we're asleep so… mind taking us to another room?" Demetria asked.
The green haired Therian nodded. "Why, of course! I just have to make sure I have someone repair that window tomorrow. Right this way, my beloved guests!" She motioned, as everyone grabbed their belongings and followed behind the innkeeper.
Thankfully the room she picked was father from the scene of the attack. Keiko and the others didn't mind if it was similar to the room they were in earlier, they just decided to get to sleep as soon as possible. When morning arrived, the sound of knocking on the door soon rouses Korey from his sleep.
"Ugh... who could it be this time?" Korey sighed, sitting up and rubbing his eye. The same knocking sound occurs again, causing Hilda to groan in annoyance.
"Do you think it's Jenetta trying to tell us that it's morning?" Hilda asked, as Korey was unaware if that was the case. "Let's go check, just to be sure..." He uttered, as the two got out of bed and made their way to the door. When Korey opened the door, he was- for lack of a better word, surprised at who stood before them.
Some guy with a dark red coat, red hair, blue eyes, and light brown skin lowered his hand and looked at the two people who were looking at him. "Terribly sorry for disturbing you at this hour, but is this the room where the Lux Guild is residing in?" He asked, seeming a little bit lost.
"Y-Yes... that would be us." Korey stammered, as he let out a yawn and stretched his arms. "Who are you, anyway?" Hilda asked, having never seen the man before.
"Oh, terribly sorry, I haven't introduced myself. The name's Drayce, leader of the Angelward Guild." Drayce introduced himself, extending a hand as if in greeting.
"Drayce, huh… I'm Korey, leader of the Lux Guild." Korey uttered, before introducing himself and shook Drayce's hand. "And I'm Hilda." Hilda disclosed her name, shaking Drayce's hand after Korey withdrew his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you two. Do you mind if I discuss something to your guild in the lobby about something?" Drayce asked, as Korey tilted his head, seeming a little slow on the uptake.
"About what?" He asked, just so he can get a refresher going on in his head.
"About the attack that happened last night. I heard there was a fight here and I wish to know the details of what happened." The red haired man explained.
Korey and Hilda stare at each other for a couple of seconds, before glancing back at Drayce. "Sure, just allow us a few minutes to get dressed and wake up our other guild members." Korey agreed, seeing a smile bloom on Drayce's face.
"Got it. See you in a little bit." He said, making his way down to the lobby as Korey closed the door, before turning to face the other girls.
"Rise and shine, girls! I repeat, rise and shine!" Korey announced, eventually getting the girls to stir from their sleep.
"Is it... morning already?" Kyo asked, rubbing her eye as she sat up. "Yeah, it's morning, Kyo. Better get dressed right away." Korey instructed, going off to get dressed himself.
"Why's that?" Keiko inquired. "Somebody wishes to discuss with us about the attack that happened last night." Hilda explained, as she starts getting dressed.
"At this time of day...?" Demetria groaned, questioning why someone would speak with them this early. "Better now than never, Demetria." Hilda urged, not wanting to argue with the Therian in the morning.
"Alright, Hilda..." Demetria sighed, getting up to let the other girls get dressed. After everyone is dressed, they take their possessions, items, and weapons, making their way down to the lobby. Korey notices Drayce waving at them, and approached him.
"Sorry if we kept you waiting." Korey chuckled, taking a seat in front of Drayce, as Hilda took the seat next to Korey. "It's fine, Korey, I'm in no rush." Drayce replied.
"Who's this guy, Korey? Is he a friend of yours?" Keiko inquired.
"Heh, I wish I knew him. Only met him a few minutes ago." Korey chuckled in response to Keiko's question.
"The name's Drayce, guild leader of the Angelward Guild." Drayce introduced himself to the other guild members. "Interesting name... I'm Demetria, and this is my twin sister, Keiko." Demetria motioned to the 'taller' Therian beside her.
"Pleased to meetcha, Mr. Drayce!" Keiko hummed. "My name's Kyo. It's certainly is nice to meet you, Drayce." Kyo spoke, smiling at the Dragoon before her.
"The pleasure's all mine. Please, take a seat." Drayce motioned to the other chairs, as Kyo, Keiko, and Demetria sit down on the empty chairs.
"Now then," the red haired man began. "from what I understood, somebody came into one of the rooms in this very inn and attacked someone from this guild in particular. Am I right?"
Everyone nodded in response. "Yes, that's correct. Although the attacker went straight towards me, he seemed to be after this thing..." Korey began, taking out the jewelry box in question and placed it on the table.
"A jewelry box?" Drayce pondered. "Tell me; where did you find that?" he asked, wanting to know where they found it.
"We found it on the first floor of the Tutelary Forest. We didn't know why it was there, and we certainly can't open it, no matter how hard we tried..." Hilda explained to Drayce.
"I see..." Drayce placed a finger on his chin. "I guess if you can't open it, there's no way of knowing what's inside." He muttered to himself.
"I don't quite get it though," Demetria wondered, looking at Drayce as she continued on. "the man that attacked us was Therian, yet he fought like a Pugilist. Do you have any idea why that's the case?" She continued, hoping the Dragoon would have an answer.
"As far as I know, since explorers are working together to get through Yggdrasil, the government allowed for every race to learn the skills of a particular class." Drayce explained, placing his hand down part way through his explanation. "If a Therian can become a Pugilist, they can, much like an Celestrian can become a Botanist." He added.
Drayce turned his attention back to the jewelry box. "Still, why would someone target a jewelry box of all things?" He questioned.
Korey shrugged in response, having no idea why the Therian Pugilist went for the box. "Beats me. For all we know, something of value is inside, we just need to know how to open it." He sighed, glaring at the jewelry box.
"Then allow me and my guild to assist you." Drayce began. "You see, unlike other guilds, we're not interested in exploring the Yggdrasil."
Hilda looked at him in surprise. "You're not? Then, why do you go to Yggdrasil for?" She asked, wanting to know more about Drayce's guild.
"We're more interested in the treasures and myths the Yggdrasil contains, Hilda. I believe this jewelry box may be something worth your while." Drayce continued, explaining his answer to the white haired Harbinger.
"I see... well, all of us are quite intrigued on what may be in the box." Hilda glanced at the jewelry box. "Korey, what do you think? You're our leader, after all." Demetria asked, as everyone turned to face him, waiting for an answer.
Korey let out a deep sigh. "As much as I want to leave this to a professional, I can't say I'm intrigued by whatever may be in this box. And even if that Therian Pugilist comes back, we'll have more in numbers than he might have..." Korey mumbled to himself, before shaking his head to rid himself of the thought, looking at Drayce with confidence in his eyes.
"We'll be glad to have you assist us, Drayce." Korey declared. Drayce's smile made itself apparent once again. "Thank you, Korey." He thanked.
"So, where do we start?" Kyo inquired. "Let's start by heading to my guild house. Follow me." Drayce began, getting up from his chair and pushed it in, motioning for Korey and the others to follow him.
Korey grabs the jewelry box, and starts following Drayce, with the four girls following close behind him, heading out of the inn as Drayce stands next to a caravan. "We'll be going to the Crescentia via caravan. It's easier than walking all the way there." Drayce continued once everyone was close enough to hear him.
"Crescentia?" Korey questioned. "That's the name of the guild house I inherited. Great name, isn't it?" Drayce quickly explained.
"It sounds cool!" Keiko hummed, giving Drayce a quick chuckle. "Thanks. Now, let's get in." He urged, letting the girls go in the caravan first, as he and Korey follow them soon afterward, as the caravan began to head towards Drayce's guild house.