After staying for a bit longer in the room, I leave with a tray of snacks in hand. Rayla, John and Sher Aka are waiting for me where I left them.

  “So!? How did it go? What were they like? Did you see their faces!?”

  “Uhm, a bit confusing but good, nice and yes.”

  “Wait, you actually saw their faces!? What do they look like!?”

  “Out of respect for them I won’t tell anyone, not even you, ane. Sorry.”

  “Aaaaw really?”

  “Yeah, sorry.”

  “Sigh It’s fine…So what were you guys talking about?”

  I recount to them what happened excluding the fact that they are cursed too.

  “So that’s what that smell was! I was so confused, I thought John farted or something.”

  Looking almost offended, John says, “Really? That’s the first thing you say after hearing that? Your brother just told you he can’t be cured, aren't you concerned!?”

  “That’s not what he said. He said there is a chance that the Everglade will work and if it doesn’t it’s possible to cure him if we sacrifice people.”

  “Are you…Are you implying that you would do that?”

  “Of course. There is enough scum in this world, no one said the ones needed to be sacrificed had to be good people.”

  “Rayla…You can’t be serious.”

  “I also don’t want people to be sacrificed for me, ane!”

  Petting my head, she answers, “I know. Don’t worry, you won’t have to do it. Even if you do decide to take that option you won’t have to stain your hands.”

  “Okay, I won’t take that option though.”

  “That’s okay too. Did anything else happen?”

  “Well…They gave me this pendant. With it…If I charge it up for ten full moon nights I can remove the curse for one day…”

  “Really!? That’s amazing, oki!!!”

  Sher Aka asks, “So, after that day is over, you’ll become cursed again?”

  “Yeah…So in a way it’s useless for me because I will forget about it the day after…But at least you will be able to know who I am! I just…I just hope I’m not a bad person.”

  Rayla gives me a hug, “Even if you are, as long as you keep the memories you made after you become cursed you can’t stay a bad person. And even if you do, I’ll stay by your side regardless.”

  “Thanks, ane.”

  After we’re done hugging, Sher Aka says, “There is something I’d like to talk to Rayla about in private for a second. How about you and John go ahead and wait outside? We’ll be right back.”

  “Alright, see you soon.”

  —--------------------------------------------

  “If you want to reprimand me for saying I’d sacrifice people for Thoma then don’t. I won’t change my mind.”

  “I won’t reprimand you for it. I just wanted to say if you are going to do it I’ll help.”

  “You will?”

  “As you said, there is enough scum walking this earth, I’d do the same for my little brother. I know John and Thoma Ahad will not agree to it but sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness instead of permission. If the Everglade doesn’t work out, let's go hunt down some slavers, you and me.” Sher Aka says while holding out her hand.

  Rayla takes her hand and answers with a determined smile, “Yeah, I’m sure the two of us can get ten or so people together.”

  —-------------------------------------------------------------

  Meanwhile outside the guild.

  “John, you often take the night shifts, do you know when the next full moon is?”

  “It’s tomorrow. The weather seems fine right now too so hopefully it’ll be a clear night…Say, Thoma Ahad I think your sister went a little too far with saying she would sacrifice people for you.”

  “Yeah…I agree but I also know she only said it because she cares. As long as I don’t want it she won’t do anything.”

  “I think so too but it’s best to be sure. That’s probably why Sherry is talking to her right now. She’s very level headed so she’ll give her a talking to and the matter should be resolved…”

  “John, can I ask something of you?”

  “Sure.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “If I…If I turn out to be a bad person that takes advantage of you, Sher Aka and Rayla then…You have my permission to kill me.”

  Looking at me almost in shock for a second he answers, “Yikes, where did that come from man…That’s pretty heavy…But I respect your wishes. But for the record, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  “Thanks John.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  Rayla and Sher Aka then come outside as well and we all restock our supplies, take a bath and the next day leave east for Airity, the town right next to the Skar mountain ridge where we hopefully will find a good guide. It’s about three days of travel to get there but it is a well traveled and protected road so it’s pretty safe.

  In the evening of the first day, I anxiously look at the sky to see if any clouds are going to be in the way but thankfully it stays mostly cloud free for the entire night and the next day, when I wake up, the crescent moon on the pendant seems to have gotten a little fuller.

  “Only nine more to go…”

  The other two days also go by smoothly and we arrive in Airity at noon of the third day. It looks less like a town and more like a makeshift tent city full of merchants and different guides trying to sell their services.

  “10-Day guaranteed travel with good weather! 3 Big Silver per person!”

  “12- Day travel! Good food made by a cook! 2 Big Silver!”

  “15 Day Travel, only 1 Big Silver per person! Only groups of ten or higher!”

  While prices and services seem to differ from guide to guide, there is one thing they have in common. They all have signs that say ‘No adventurers under A-Rank welcome’.

  “Why don’t they take adventures, John?”

  “I’m not sure…This must be a recent change. Let me ask one of them. Excuse me, sir?”

  “Yes? Would you like to take my guided tour? Only two and a half big silver per head," a slightly disheveled looking man in thick winter clothing answers.

  “Actually I’d like to ask first why no one wants to take adventurers.”

  “Oh, that’s because Rayden has been sighted in the mountain pass.”

  “Who?”

  “Rookie Killer Rayden. He’s a cannibal that hunts adventurers. He seems to have it out specifically for adventurers rank C and lower. No one knows why but he doesn’t seem to touch the merchants.”

  “How does he know who is an adventurer and who isn’t?”

  He shrugs, “Beats me. My guess is, he has spies all over this place.”

  “And how do the guides know who is an adventurer?”

  “Well, we aren’t stupid. If you can’t prove your occupation you’re either a criminal, an adventurer trying to hide it or stupid. Neither of which we want to work with.”

  “Hmm…Do you know anyone that will take adventurers on a tour?”

  “Sure, there are tons of rookies trying to prove themselves, none of them I’d say are very reliable though. If you want to get over the mountains, you’ll have to either wait till Rayden is gone or take the rookie lottery. Some of em might be great, others won’t know a crevice from a valley. Either way it will be dangerous.”

  “Alright, can you point me to where the rookies gather?”

  “Sure, usually all around the mid plaza over there.”

  “Alright, thank you Sir.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  John drives us a little further to the center into a quiet corner and asks, “Alright everyone, what are we going to do?”

  Rayla responds, “Well…We can’t stay here, so we’ll have to take the risk with one of the rookies.”

  “But what about that Rayden guy, ane?”

  “We’ll just have to take our chances. The trip is pretty dangerous regardless, if we’re unlucky we could get killed by the weather, an avalanche or monster attack. There was never a guarantee of safety for crossing these mountains. Does anyone disagree with what I said?”

  “No.”

  “Nope.”

  “I trust your judgment, ane.”

  “Alright good, so…How should we go about choosing someone that will take us?”

  Sher Aka confidently answers, “Let me do that part. I have a lot of experience with people. I’m not confident that I can point out a spy but I am confident that I can find someone that is capable.”

  “Sounds good to me, I give you full authority on this decision.”

  Sher Aka then steps out of our wagon and walks down to where the rookies gather. At first, she seems to get somewhat swarmed by people but one after another the crowd thins out and she is left with a woman that looks like she’s in her mid twenties. Sher Aka seems to talk to her for a bit and comes back to us.

  “I found us a guide. Her name is Myra. She’ll take us for three Big silver and eight regular per person.”

  “But weren’t most of them a lot cheaper?” I ask.

  “That was actually part of my thought process. She was the only one that didn’t advertise at outrageously low prices and when I asked her about the reason for the price she was able to give me a detailed breakdown of the budgeting behind it.”

  “Huh.”

  “She also says she’s travel ready right now. So after we finalize the contract we can get going, minimizing the amount of time we spend here and thus the amount of time Rayden has to find out about us.”

  Rayla hands her our money “Sounds great. John come back here to the wagon. Let Sher Aka take the reins for now.”

  “Sure.”

  Sher Aka then takes the reins and follows Myra to a tent near the outside of the town. Myra talks to some people who start to put supply boxes onto a wagon and then get on themselves. After thoroughly reading it, Sher Aka signs the contract and hands over the money and walks back to us together with Myra.

  Myra then introduces herself to us, she has blue eyes and short red hair, “Hi there! My name is Myra. I'll be your guide for this trip. Before we go, I’d like to give you a small overview of this trip and some ground rules. Food and drink will be provided by us, though we do recommend that you have your own provisions in case we can not camp or in case we do get separated. In the case that we get separated, it’s important that you follow the paths and occasional signs. Under no circumstances try to take a shortcut or make camp at places not designated for it. The reason for that is that these are the only places that are structurally and location wise safe enough to camp and move. Usually there are also emergency houses built in these locations, feel free to use firewood and the supplies in there as needed.

  Depending on the weather conditions, it will take us about twelve days on average to pass the ridge. The most dangerous days will be the first and last three days because there are no safe houses in these areas and bandits are more likely to show up. In the case that we do get robbed, I recommend you hand over all your valuables and negotiate to keep the minimum amount of food and clothing you will need. Only fight them if you’re 100% certain you will win.

  As for the travel rules, always stay close to us. If we blow a horn, that means go pick up speed because we have reasons to believe that danger is imminent. We also can not afford much downtime in case we need to stop for bad weather, so we will cook meals and take breaks only in the morning and evening or if there is a place for the animals to feed and drink.

  Any questions?”

  Rayla asks, “What do we do in case Rayden shows up?”

  “If he shows up we will run and you will most likely die. It’s the worst case scenario.”

  “Gotcha…”

  “Any more questions? No? Then let’s get going.”