New Allies and Old Memories

"Hi, my name is Larissatehl Honael. You can just call me Lariss." I had been eating my dinner when she sat across from me. The moment I looked at her a warmth filled my forehead. She had long dull pink hair with pointed ears poking out. There was a thick longbow on her back and her armor was highly detailed with vines and leaves.

"Hello, I'm Wilmaer. How can I help you?"

"I understand you're a freelancer looking for work. It just so happens that I am in need of a good sword to help me complete a quest. Are you interested?" She said.

"That depends on the quest." Even if I hadn't felt the spirit mark on my forehead, I'd still be interested.

It had been nearly a week since I had completed the sewer clearing quest. There hadn't been another quest that I qualified for by myself and Raginhard found out that Gunnar and Sunngif of the Burnished Axes had been discouraging people from working with me. Living in the Union wasn't too expensive so I wasn't strapped for coin, but I needed work to pay to improve my magic.

"A few days southwest of Torinheim is the Forest of Gosigronn. There's an abandoned village in the forest and I have been requested to retrieve a few personal items from the village." She said.

"What rank is the quest?" I needed to decide what abilities I was going to display.

"It isn't an official quest through the Union but a personal one. If I had to guess I'd say it's an easy C rank." She said.

"I'm only a D rank, are you sure you want to take me?" I said.

"Please, your representative is claiming you to be an Eldritch Blade. You're at least a C rank. Of course you could be lying about that, in which case you'll die as I run away." She said.

"So why are you asking me for help? I'm still new here. Your guild or more experienced freelancers might be a better fit." I said.

"Ha, guilds. I heard you completed the sewer quest by yourself. So you have to have some skill. And you wouldn't be the first person to downplay their skills in the assessment. Plus Gunnar is bad mouthing you in the way he only does of people he's secretly jealous of. Pissing that frostbit wart off is a bonus." She said.

"I take it you two don't have a good past."

"I've been in several guilds in the four years I have been with the Union but the Burnished Axes were by far the worst."

"Is it just going to be the two of us and what are your qualifications?" I asked

"I'm a C ranked archer and an expert tracker. I would go by myself but my new freelance representative told me she won't support me if I keep trying to go off on my own. It was something about an archer needing a meat shield." She said.

"I think I can manage being a meat shield. What about compensation?" I said.

"It will be a base payment of six gold. We'll split any money made from harvesting monsters evenly. Other loot will also be evenly split based on value. But keep in mind I am looking for specific items and they won't be included in this arraignment." She said.

"I can work with that." I said.

"Great. I'll have a basic contract drawn up. We'll be leaving in three days, have any preparations you need to make done by then." She left shortly after that.

I finished my meal and I left a message for Raginhard with the main counter. I wanted any information he could give me on Lariss and the Forest of Gosigronn. Back in my room I placed the weights I had obtained on my vital areas and spent the night cultivating my Osgar aura. Neither of the moons were near being full and if I was going to be a meat shield I might as well be the best one I could be.

The next morning I went to the Union general store to get camping supplies. My limited funds became even more limited. I had no idea what I would be facing in the coming days so I bought anything that might be of use; a tent, bedroll, various cooking implements, rope, waterskin, crowbar, axe, and a number of other odds and ends that I used to use when I went camping with my father.

Camping with my father. It wasn't just Duke Osgar that came to mind when I had that thought. Philip Adams had been an eagle scout back on Earth and encouraged his sons to do the same. The outdoors were a big part of both my childhoods. The lessons imparted from my first father made me a quick study for the lessons my second father taught me. If time here went at the same rate as on Earth, Philip would be in his 80's if he was still alive.

I quickly paid and left the Union. Nearby there was a park that I had found a few days ago. It was perfect to train the Lydos Lineage when one of the moons were full. There was a secluded area behind some large boulders and blocked by trees and large bushes. Tears started to flow once I felt I was alone.

It didn't matter if Philip and Diana Adams were still alive on Earth, I'd never see them again. My wife, my children, my brothers, I'd never know what happened to them. All their good days, all their bad days, I couldn't be a part of them. It had been weeks since I had accepted my memories from Earth as real but this was the first time I realized how much I had lost.

With my dagger I carved a cross into one of the boulders. It didn't have any meaning in this world but I wasn't mourning people from this world. Afterward I didn't head back to the Union right away. I wandered through a market and pretended that I was back on Earth at a renaissance festival that my family had gone to. I wanted to balance out my sorrow with happier memories.

Near lunch I entered the Union's main hall and was soon joined by Raginhard. From his expression I could tell my emotions were still visible but he didn't pry. Instead he just started to give me the information I asked for last night.

"Larissatehl Honael joined the Union a little over four years ago. She's been a member of five different guilds leaving each for unknown reasons. Most of them would love to have her back. The Burnished Axes are the only ones that have bad blood with her. After leaving them she had Gunnar brought up for disciplinary action.

"She's a C ranked archer and may be eligible to advance to B rank. A number of guilds and freelancers often have requested her tracking skills over the years. Her track record of quest completion is above average. Currently she is represented by Borhildr, who also has a good track record within the Union.

"Just like you, members of the Burnished Axes have been discouraging other adventures from working with her. Her current quest isn't an official Union quest so I don't have direct information about it. Adventurers are allowed to take personal quests like this but you won't have the same backing from the Union until you're B ranked or above.

"When it comes to the Forest of Gosigronn, the Union does have extensive information about the area. 52 years ago it was home to a number of non-human villages. Then a ritual gone wrong in one of the elven villages corrupted many of the villagers. Within five years the forest was overrun with monsters. It even left the forest with a field of psychic disruption that gets worse the further in you go. You need to take precautions or you'll get lost in confusion.

"Over the next two decades Adventurers completed nearly a hundred quests in the forest. Since then monster activity has been relatively calm outside the center of the forest. The Union still receives one or two quests a year from the surrounding villages to help handle any threat that makes its way out. Unfortunately, the only quest available for the forest at this time is B ranked and you'd need either a B ranked or three more C ranked adventures to take it."

"What do you think? Will the two of us be able to survive in the forest?" I asked.

"That's difficult to say... Larissatehl is very capable but I don't fully know what you're capable of or what threats you might come across." He replied.

It was a difficult question to answer. What Raginhard knew about me was that I was a Novice in basic aura and could use some magic to aid my swordsmanship. He no doubt gleaned that there was more to me but how could he make a decent judgement without knowing what that was. I also doubted he'd get any quests for me that were above what he knew I was capable of. Hiding all of my abilities could hurt me in the future.

"Between you and me, my basic aura is near the peak of the Intermediate stage… I also have a Lineage in the Intermediate stage. My mana core is silver and I have three earth, four air motes and one fire, water, shadow and lightning mote. If you're going to help me take on quests I guess you should have a better understanding of what I'm capable of." I said.

"With that information I do believe the two of you will be able to make your way through the forest as long as you're cautious. Here's what you need to keep an eye out for." He spent the next two hours reviewing the dangers of the Forest of Gosigronn.