It quickly became apparent that they weren’t going to be able to skin the beast in a reasonable amount of time. After hacking at it for just over an hour, the group had collected just under half of the scales. Arek had also managed to lop off the creature’s large horns, which he placed protruding from the mouth of his travel pack.

Arek used his cleaver to carve away a large, heavy chunk of the beasts flesh. He raised it with a small frown before shrugging and summoning his guandao. He used it to impale the large piece of meet and then slung it over his shoulder.

“Let’s get moving. We don’t want to stick around after all the noise we just made,” Arek said.

“Are you going to cook that?” Ming asked, licking her lips as the Happy Sunflowers started back up the mountain.

“I was planning on it.”

“I’m not sure a campfire is a good idea,” Belmont warned. “I doubt that wyrm was what was making the forest feel so unsettling. I feel a little better after killing it, but something still feels off. I think we should avoid drawing attention to ourselves.”

Arek’s face fell. “Damn. You’re probably right. I’m sorry, Ming. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Maybe I could keep it in my bag of colding?” Malissa offered. “It’ll be a tight fit, but there’s a chance I can stuff it in there.”

Arek swung the chunk of meat over to Malissa, who pulled it off his guandao with a slight grimace before prying her white bag open as far as it would go and stuffing the meat into it.

The bag’s mouth was just barely able to stretch around the large cut, and it was with no little effort that Malissa forced it inside. She let out a sigh and wiped her hands off on a nearby tree.

“Thank you,” Arek said. “It would have been a shame to waste even more food.”

“I agree,” Ming said, watching Malissa’s bag as if she wanted to eat the meat raw – which wouldn’t be entirely out of character. “All food should be transported directly to my stomach to avoid spoilage.”

“Don’t give her any ideas,” Belmont said. “It’s fine to waste food if it means we get out of the unsettling forest sooner. You are not going back to the wyrm’s corpse to get any more meat from it.”

Ming’s face fell and she let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine. We better get to Red Mount soon, then. I want to eat something tasty.”

The Happy Sunflowers fell back into silence. The fog continued to fade until it had completely vanished, but the forest was still dark. Time started to become an abstract concept. Without a view of the sky, the group chose to break for ‘night’ whenever they started to feel tired.

Time wore on slowly and maddeningly. They were attacked several other times – once by another wyrm, and the others by a group of rather large leopards. The Happy Sunflowers fended their opponents off each time, but the heavy atmosphere of the forest and the long journey made each one harder than the last.

The higher up the mountain they climbed, the harder it seemed to get to breathe. However, as they continued their trek, the trees started to thin out. The tall, dense foliage grew lighter and shorter. The trunks grew farther apart and, finally, daylight started to peek through the tiny gaps between the leaves.

Once they spotted the light, the Happy Sunflowers redoubled their efforts to leave the forest. Their pace increased until they were all practically jogging by the time the seemingly endless wall of trees suddenly came to an end.

The party burst forth from the tree line and onto the top of a large plateau. There, silhouetted against the mountains by the setting sun, was an enormous city. A tall, ornate wall rose up around it.

Curving buildings of red and brown towered above the walls, looking over the rest of the city. Four massive braziers burned at each of Red Mount’s corners. They were each easily the size of several houses. Enormous pillars of smoke rose up into the sky from the braziers, forming a heavy overcast cloud of smog far above the city.

Aside from the path before them that led up to the city, Red Mount was surrounded by sheer cliff. They were so high up that the clouds were actually below them.

“Wow,” Belmont breathed, unable to form any further words.

“It’s beautiful, in a strange way,” Arek said. “Although, to be honest, it could have been the ugliest city I’ve ever seen and I’d still love it. Anything to get out of that damn forest.”

“Agreed,” Malissa said, shuddering. “I smell bad enough to knock the next Wyvern we fight out. I need a bath and a bed.”

“Food,” Ming said.

They started towards Red Mount, the weight of their travels bearing down on them. Luckily, the city was only a short walk away from the edge of the forest. As the group grew closer, several guards at the gate glanced in their direction. They wore red and brown uniforms, with armor made of wood strips belted together with chain.

Despite the sound of their armor, it was in good shape and polished with something that almost gave it a metallic sheen. The men stood in prepared stances, watching the Happy Sunflowers approach cautiously.

Arek saw a myriad of emotions pass across the guards’ faces, ranging from shock to fear. All to late, the orc realized that he’d forgotten to wear his mask. He sighed. It was too late for that now.

“Halt,” one of the guards ordered. “What brings you to Red Mount, and what is your affiliation?”

“Travel,” Malissa said. “And we’re just an adventuring party.”

“That walked through the forest instead of flying in?” Another guard asked.

“We’re only F rank,” Belmont said. “We can’t fly.”

The guards exchanged a glance.

“F rank adventurers survived the forest? Not likely.”

“We might be due a promotion soon,” Arek said. To their credit, the guards handled his speech well. Their eyes widened, but not a single one of them flinched.

“What’s your group name?” The first guard asked.

“The Happy Sunflowers,” Ming said, blinking at the guards with wide, innocent eyes. “Look, I’m really hungry and everything is starting to look like food. Please let me in.”

“If they survived the forest, they might be able to help,” one of the guards whispered to the other. Arek’s ear twitched, but he did his best to pretend that he hadn’t overheard them.

The guard just grunted.

“Red Mount is a neutral zone. Guilds are not permitted to settle here, and we have our own laws, independent from the adventurer’s guild.”

“That’s fine,” Malissa said with a weary yawn. “We’ll behave.”

“Then welcome to Red Mount. You’ll find an inn down the main road on your right. Just remember that breaking our laws is punishable by imprisonment or death, depending on the severity of the crime. As for you, orc, we have no issue with monsters within our walls. However, if you fail to control yourself, you will be killed.”