CHAPTER 34: APOLOGY ACCEPTED

Things, blessedly, got normal after those few remaining goblins were dealt with. Her actions today indicated that she’d never been on a Quest in her life, which itself suggested that she’d never seen the aftermath of a Quest before. There was always an almost otherworldly stillness in the air following any sort of battle-filled Quest. Perhaps it was the aftereffect of adrenaline? Your body had gotten so used to the sounds, scents, and sights associated with battle that once they were over, you naturally began to anticipate it starting back up.

Judging by the pensive look on Isobel’s face as she explored the silent battlefield, it was clear that she was struggling with this. Felled trees, craters from powerful clashes and collisions, and the lingering scent of smoke and burnt wood. There were signs of a battle. The world itself remembered combat. But the present reality of the place–the stillness–indicated no such truth.

"Is it always this tense after a Quest? It’s like I’m waiting for one of the goblins to get back up and start fighting again," Isobel said, poking the large goblin I’d killed with the tip of her boot.

"You get used to it," I shrugged, following closely behind her, observing the scenarios to make sure that no other goblins were waiting to pounce. "The forests themselves are a living ecosystem, though. Some animals and monsters wait for moments like this to attack, so it’s always best to stay sharp. We’re still pretty close to Podros, though, so we should be safe for now."

"That’s good. I don’t think I can handle any more aura use today. It seems I’ve magically stretched myself thin." Under her breath, she continued. "I have far more endurance training to do..."

"So this was all training for you?" A voice called from a ways back. It was Lyra, herself coated in blood like Isobel and me.

Isobel winced, though her face suddenly took on a defensive air. "Did I not tell you that today was a test? I wanted to know that you two would be able to take care of lazy recruits, and you’ve shown to be able to–"

"Isobel," I interrupted, not wanting to start another

argument between the two. "I understand where you’re coming from, and your example is a realistic one, but in the real world, anyone who proves to be that much of a liability will almost always be left to die. People would rather eat someone’s revival cost than suffer through an entire Quest with someone unable to contribute to the mission. Because you were here, neither of us could finish this Quest as easily or quickly as we otherwise would have on our own."

Isobel darkened, her eyes wavering between me and Lyra, who’d moved to stand beside me. "I know precious little about ’Adventurer Culture’, so I can’t confirm whether anything you’re saying is true or not, but." She sighed. "I suppose that this little test of mine may have been a bit... unnecessary. It requires further refining to be helpful for any of us. Forgive me."

"Apology accepted," Lyra nodded, patting Isobel on the shoulder. "Oh, and sorry for taking things up a notch. I was in a morning mood."

Isobel chuckled. "Water under the bridge. Forgive me for...swearing at you."

"I’ve been called worse. And I imagine you’re going to call me worse in a few seconds."

"...Why is that?" Isobel asked, tilting her head. I held back a laugh.

"You see, you said you didn’t know much about ’Adventurer Culture’. Well, let me be your teacher." Lyra cleared her throat before continuing to speak like some wisened old lady. "As practiced in the days of old, let it henceforth be known that it is he who performs least adequate who shall perform the arduous task of satisfying the Guild’s most frivolous instruction. Dally shall he not, for it is solitude that he risks to obtain."

"Can we bring that to the modern day?"

"She’s saying you have to do the Kill Order since you did the worst."

Isobel gave me an incredulous look. "But the Kill Order was to kill the goblin raider bosses, no? You two did that!"

"Yeah, but the Quest Fairy won’t look for that. We need to bring physical proof."

Isobel’s demeanor shifted as realization slowly dawned. She looked at me as if to save her from this predicament, but considering I’d been tasked with taking those Bulette Hearts out during the last Quest, I wasn’t feeling particularly charitable. So, I looked away.

"You wanted to roleplay as an Adventurer," Lyra noted. "Well, this is what we do. If you don’t wanna be put on Kill Order duty, work your heart out. That’s how we motivate each other to not fall behind."

With that, I tossed a small knife to Isobel. She looked it over as if weighing her options, ultimately deciding that the best one was to kneel beside the gobin boss we’d been standing behind.

"Do you remember when I apologized for swearing at you, Lyra?" Isobel asked as she took the blade to the creature’s neck.

"I do. Might I say, that was the highlight of my–"

"Well, I take it back."

Thankfully, Isobel didn’t take too long. She’d finished her grim task relatively quickly, something that I probably should’ve been concerned by, but a growing hunger and desire to wash this goblin blood off of me made it difficult to care that much. In the end, the heads of the goblin bosses were rounded up into a massive cloth sack that the Guild itself had providedhortly after, I decided to summon the Quest Fairy to confirm that the Quest could be turned in. Lyra revealed the tiny blue orb of a woman who’d been asleep in a jar. It floated out easily, growing to be the size of my hand. The blue woman seemed to be made of water with a dress that appeared to be molded to her skin like that of a wax figure. Despite the appearance, the dress flowed with the wind, as did her long, wavy hair.

Quest Fairies never spoke. They were capable of speech, but they usually reserved it for people they were close to. Instead, their thoughts were conveyed through body language and hand movements. In our case, the Quest Fairy gave the three of us a polite curtsy upon introduction. Isobel was, of course, the most enamored by the creature. She approached it with clear interest, surrounding the Fairy like a kid at a zoo. The Fairy seemed to revel in the attention, allowing Isobel to more closely observe her and even hold her in her hand. Once it’d had enough, it continued on to its actual job of observing the battlefield. It didn’t take long for the Fairy to confirm that we’d completed the Quest... especially since we’d killed significantly more than the thirty required to succeed.