A deep melancholy settled over the lower districts of Forgedalk during late morning. The vast majority of residents remained, and they would carry this atmosphere to mid-afternoon with the departure of more citizens retreating to the south.

The broken cobblestone streets were devoid of activity. The last clatter of wheels from wagons and clomping hooves from horses had faded as the procession exited through the portcullis. The muted shouts of soldiers keeping order outside the walls added to the disquiet. The open areas of flat, gray dirt between the squat buildings where children usually played were expressly barren.

A silent fear lingered in the air.

Humanoid monsters likely lurked within the city. A dungeon emerged within two days' march. The city guard pored most of its focus into the middle and upper districts of the capital, leaving the lower district to fend for itself. People in all levels of stature secluded themselves. Spellcasters with mastery of appraisal spells were in high demand to pacify distrust and anxiety among strangers and friends. And yet, they sometimes did more harm than good with their new heavy-handed authority.

Most lower-class citizens took this time at the end of the long week to purchase the essentials needed for surviving through the next. The people of the lower district were out in force at the middle district to purchase what was available to make up for the lost time caused by the riots a short while earlier.

Emily and Liam took this quiet opportunity to claim one of the empty square lots of dirt to practice spells and pole-arm exercises. Normally, they would descend the long, spiraling road to the southern gate of the city and practice in the open fields beyond the walls. But the bolstered layers of security for monster detection proved more of a hassle than the trip was worth. And so, they decided to practice a mere five minutes from their home.

“Bend Earth!” Emily shouted.

A short pillar of rock rose from the ground under her brother's feet. Liam dodged to the side, shifted on the ball of his foot and pointed his toes towards the merged stone. He brought his glaive down at an angle and halted just before it reached where the neck of his opponent might be. Unfortunately, the rocks had already collapsed at this point and didn't give him a reference to work with.

He gawked at the pile of rubble before giving his sister a quizzical look. “Woah, what happened?”

Emily stood there for a time with her arms still extended and stared at the broken earth. A teetering rock clattered down the pile and rolled along the ground to stop at her feet. She lowered her staff and rested a hand to her chest. She averted her eyes and didn't answer.

Liam stared at the flat of his curved blade and heaved a heavy sigh. He wordlessly settled the weapon's haft against his shoulder and looked nowhere in particular.

Emily felt his gaze when the awkward mood showed no sign of abating. She knew there was no judgment from him, but his frustration was palpable. The focus and dedication she exemplified in the past diminished into senseless habit. No, even worse, she knew her abilities were at a steep relapse. A spellcaster with an indecisive mental state was one that got people killed.

Everything changed after meeting Evan McCarthy and his guild. The world of adventuring she once envisioned was skewed and misleading. It was a cruel revelation. Glory. Love. A sense of accomplishment. The sentiments she derived from the stories of adventuring appeared as nothing more than a gross fallacy.

The dark ogre near Lamfell would've been traumatizing enough, but the weight of responsibility that pressed on Emily's shoulders during the mana surge left plenty of emotional turmoil. Her nights were plagued with the nightmares of what might lurk in the terrible dungeon. They always ended with its howling, gaping maw swallowing her whole, as if the mountain that harbored beasts was a beast itself.

She didn't blame Evan or his companions for any of it. None of them could have possibly anticipated such a dangerous escalation of a simple deirgu quest. After a few days of self-berating, she had even managed to forgive herself for her own inexperience. At first, she tore herself apart and said that she should've been more prepared, but even veteran adventurers needed a bit of luck.

Emily looked up when she noticed her brother's boots occupy the space near her feet. One of his boots kicked the rock aside, and it dolefully tumbled away until it rested back with the pile.

Liam's eyes appeared glassy as he rested a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. “Don't you get it?” he said. His mouth curled up a bit on one side. “You're supposed to be the strong one here.”

The tears flowed freely when she heard those words. She didn't bother trying to suppress it. She wrapped her arms around her staff and pressed her face against it.

“I can't do it,” she sobbed. The tears trailed down her cheek and clung to her staff. She cried enough that her hands started to soak and slide down. The feeling of falling and the heaviness in her hands beckoned her knees to give out, but her brother wouldn't allow it.

She felt Liam holding her up. His hands were free of his weapon to keep her steady. He let her cry for a long while.

“We worked too hard to give up now,” Liam said. Emily heard the tremor in his voice as he spoke. She lifted a hand to wipe the remaining tears from her eyes, but she realized all that remained were the dry streaks trailing her face.

She gently pushed away from her brother when she calmed down somewhat.

“Thanks.” She ran a wrist over her face. “I'm just...such a weakling. Every day I trained and studied...but, it's like I'll always be preparing – not actually doing a damn thing.”

Liam had nothing to say in response. He simply stared at her. He rested one of his hands on the handle of his glaive and slowly shook his head.

They stayed there for a time, both brooding about the future and what the recent past spelled out for it. Emily didn't want to be the one to break the silence. Thankfully, she didn't need to.

Liam suddenly let out a short laugh. He snorted, then whipped his head back and planted his hands on his hips as the mirth completely took over.

Her bewilderment was complete as his miserable tears changed to more of a delirious elation. Emily stomped the ground a few times and vied for his attention.

“The hell is up with you?” she shouted. “One second you're bawling like me and now-”

Liam raised a hand to stop her and gripped at his stomach. “I-I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you. I just can't believe how stupid we are. Hahaha!”

Emily was about to shout a retort back at him when she realized what he was implying. It was something that she regretted ever since they parted ways with Evan. Their own grievances seemed silly compared to the terrible mistake they'd made.

They'd been solemn and lost within themselves after finishing the quest. The members of GRIM had gone to the Guild Union together and then...nothing. Hardly any words were shared among them when they returned to the city. It was clear that Evan was giving them their space. He also continued to blame himself for much of what happened, despite what she and the fox woman, Ash, had to say about it.

But I was... Her thoughts trailed off as she tried to convince herself, but she realized how futile and selfish it was. Everyone went through the same life and death situation. By working together, they survived. But she'd been so absorbed wallowing in self-pity, hating that her outlook on the world was like a childish dream. Hating herself for those naive thoughts in the first place. Hating that she didn't even have the strength to utter a few words.

I never...really thanked them, she thought.

A veteran adventurer had taken the time to hear their request without hesitation. Evan had taken them in. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't Kirie or Asa's fault. It wasn't anyone's fault.

Emily realized that such an experience was supposed to make people stronger. Through adversity, a person reached maturity and gained a resilience that Emily would've envied if she remained docile.

“Are we stronger, Liam?” Emily asked. She clenched her teeth and forced her eyes to meet his.

She frowned when she noticed that his glaive was held in both hands. He stood in a staggered stance and motioned with his weapon towards the sorry pile of rubble she made from her earth spell.

Emily took it as a challenge and pointed her staff at him. “You know I can do better than that!”

Liam bent his knees and took up a defensive stance. “Fine, prove it.”

She cast aside her disparaging thoughts and was about to oblige him when a voice interrupted the beginning of her incantation,“You two seem well.”

Emily and Liam shifted their stances towards the calm voice. They stared across the dirt lot and saw an individual in strange black garb watching them. A white mask was strapped to the side of her head to reveal a pretty, stern face with dark green eyes. Midnight black hair hung to her shoulders with a black butterfly clip holding a single thin braid in front of her shoulder. Tucked back on her head with a tight length of cloth were what appeared to be demihuman ears – rabbit ears if Emily ventured a guess.

The woman strode towards them methodically until she was a comfortable distance for conversation. She looked between the two siblings, expressionless. Emily was convinced those eyes could discern her exact thoughts and personality without question.

The young woman formed the faintest smile before speaking again, “You are acquaintances of Evan McCarthy?” It was more of a statement than a question.

The siblings didn't answer. They shared an uncertain look.

“Dumb question,” another voice said, one that Emily immediately recognized.

She looked past the person in mysterious attire and saw a familiar woman step out into the open. Her brunette hair shifted a bit as her fox ears twitched with annoyance. The sling holding her injured arm in place fed Emily flashes of the battle with the dark ogre. It was impossible to forget the strong demihuman with the dual scimitars.

“You're Ash,” Liam said.

The fox woman frowned. “I'm glad you remember. Guess you have your wits about you somewhat.”

Emily's face flushed at the blunt statement, but she managed a hesitant nod. The other woman, however, spoke in a strange manner with her succinct words and rare hints of emotion.

The black-clad woman crouched down and pulled a leaf-shaped dagger from the confines of a wrist bracer. Another was revealed with an imperceptible movement of her fingers as she drew it from an unseen sheath concealed somewhere around her ankles. She placed the tips of both short weapons in the dirt and drew a respective line for Emily and Liam. Without a word of explanation, she stood and backed away. She returned the daggers to their homes and gestured to the lines at their feet.

Emily shared a confused glance with Liam before staring at the shallow grooves in the dirt. A part of her wanted to back away from the strangeness of this woman. There was nothing in her demeanor or actions to suggest hostility, but this foreign attempt at interaction confounded her. It was as if the woman forced them into a lesson of some sort. The problem she faced was actually figuring out what the lesson might be, or if she even had the will to acquiesce.

How does she know Evan? Through Ash? Emily wondered. She looked at the woman. The mask covered her face now, and it was impossible to see her eyes through the narrow slits. Somehow, the woman had moved again without her notice. She went through even the simplest actions without any wasted motion.

“Um, Ash, can I ask something?” Emily stared at the fox woman, who was now crouched and mindlessly drawing her finger through the dirt.

“Go ahead,” Ash answered.

“Were you an adventurer?”

“Something like that,” Ash answered immediately. “Now, no more questions. I'm afraid you don't have much time to think about what you really want.”

Emily didn't know what it was about Ash that made her obey – whether it was her brusque personality, straightforwardness or the underlying good-willed intent that she suspected, but she stopped thinking. An unexplained lesson required an equally ambiguous solution. This reasoning made the most sense to her.

She figured that there must be some trust between Evan and Ash. The masked woman had to be an ally, but Emily wondered what purpose she served. Ash coming to see them alone should've been enough.

What I really want? Emily looked at the two demihumans. She understood that their involvement with GRIM meant something, and it was something greater than any of them.

I want to say 'thank you,' Emily thought. She knew that GRIM was made up of individuals who deeply cared for each other. Something else was happening to the guild behind the scenes. But they weren't bad people. Could people who risked their lives in such a way for each other possibly have ill-willed intent?

They almost seem like a family.

Emily looked up at the masked woman and clenched her fists. “Who are you? And why should you care what we do?”

A plain scowl marred Ash's face as she went back to her lines in the dirt.

The other woman stared at her through the thin slits of the expressionless mask. She crossed her arms and lowered her head.

“I bear no hostility. I want to help GRIM,” the woman finally said. “But I won't until I know more. Your decision might influence me, even if just a little.”

Liam took a step forward. His foot brushed the line in the dirt. “And what does that have to do with us? We have no reason to trust anything you say.” He turned to Ash. “No offense, but we barely know you.”

Ash dismissed his apology with a shrug.

“Exactly,” the masked woman said. “You don't need to. All that is required is your own conviction.”

Emily stared at the line. Her eyes widened when she realized she had moved closer to it in the time the woman spoke.

I don't know who she is, but what she says makes sense.

She tore her eyes from the ground and looked at her brother. Despite his previous words, he seemed to notice that his feet had also moved.

To hell with it. No thinking, Emily thought.

Emily stepped over the line. She glanced next to her and saw that Liam had done the same. He sensed her gaze and nodded to her encouragingly.

“Sometimes, all we need is that one extra push. But it's better if you take that step yourself. You still have time,” the woman said, her voice muffled by the white mask. “They are departing from the south gate.”

Emily didn't know what spurred her forward. Was it the woman's words? Was it the step over the line? She wasn't sure, but her legs were suddenly carrying her out of the empty lot. She watched Liam running beside her as they turned down the broken cobblestone rode and headed for home. Just before they disappeared behind a building hugging the intersection, Emily glanced back at the dirt lot and saw that only Ash remained, watching them carefully but with a clear smile on her face.

Their small house sat in the nook of two gnarled trees that bordered a triangle of other ramshackle buildings. The siblings launched themselves over the the low fence bordering the yard and only slowed when they were within inches of the front door. The delay only lasted a few seconds as they sucked in a few deep breaths to compose themselves.

When they burst through the door they noticed the pair of backpacks leaning against the wall in the front hallway.

They called out for their mother and father, but only the silence of the house answered.

Emily wrote up a quick note and left it on the kitchen table. They rushed down the winding roads of the lower district. They leapt over more fences and broke through the untamed foliage separating properties. The shortest route possible took them to the southern gates of Forgedalk in less than ten minutes.

Emily found herself shifting nervously in place when the guards stopped them for the monster screening. The adventurer documents were already out of her bag ready for inspection. The guards gave them a cursory look before letting them through.

The siblings walked at the fastest pace they could muster that wouldn't draw anymore questioning looks as they weaved among the many wagons filing onto the road towards La'abrine. They risked peaks inside the folds of covered wagons, searching for familiar faces. They hurriedly asked other riders for any information about two catgirl demihumans that might have passed by.

Please, be here, Emily thought desperately.

Soon they reached the open road. A clear view of the wide plains and distant, undulating hills greeted them. Some of the wagons had managed to break free of the crowd. Emily's eyes scanned them carefully for any sign of familiarity. One of them caught her attention.

Emily tugged at her brother's armor and pointed at one of the hills in the distance. He nodded eagerly and they broke into a sprint. They recognized the man standing atop the hill wearing the black attire. The white symbol of double-edged axe and staff was plain on the front of his scarf as they drew closer.

It seemed the leader of GRIM and his fellow adventurers had just finished preparations for departure. Emily saw the two catgirls pulling at Evan's arms as they made their way to the wagon. The archer, Anya, laughed at the silly display. A burly warrior with short black hair sat on the wagon with a foot propped on the buckboard as he tossed the reigns for the horses between his hands.

Evan halted in his tracks when he saw the siblings standing slightly below him on the hill's slope. The rest of the group followed his gaze with looks of pure shock when they noticed them as well.

The leader of GRIM was the first to break the silent exchange. The catgirls released him as he strode forward to stand in front of Emily and Liam. He looked them over a bit, as if he might discern any changes to their appearance. The time they'd been apart was deceptively short.

Emily suppressed a gasp when the guild leader removed the scarf from his face to reveal a broad smile. She'd seen his face when they made the journey to Forgedalk after their battle against the dark ogre. He had removed his scarf as she was sleeping and gave it to Ash so she could better support her injured arm. Emily had been surprised back then to see a man who appeared to be no older than his mid-twenties. She'd always known he was her senior by a few years, but the way he carried himself always made her think of someone older.

“Been a while,” Evan said simply. He flipped one end of the scarf over a shoulder and held the front in his hand.

The words tumbled from Emily's mouth before she had a chance to stop herself, “Please, take us with you!”

Liam fell into a deep bow next to her. “We won't be a burden!”

Evan's eyes betrayed no emotion as he stared at them. He eventually motioned to the rest of his companions. “Do we have room?”

The big warrior sitting on the covered wagon pretended to examine behind him. He made a fake count of the supplies and the space needed. “I'd say just enough.”

Anya gave them a thumbs-up. “I love the enthusiasm, but don't expect to join for free!”

“Hm, that is true,” Evan said. He looked to his demihuman companions. “Kirie. Asa.”

The catgirls straightened themselves and stood at attention. “Yes, sir!”

“They are under your charge, “ Evan announced. “You'll be responsible for any training. They may not be able to accompany us on every quest, but I will have other duties prepared for the guild.”

“That is sound reasoning, sir!” Kirie made a terrible salute that only reached her shoulder as she stuck her tongue out.

Asa made it a point to look at Emily and gave her a half-smile. "I won't go easy."

Evan nodded and addressed the siblings, “Are my terms acceptable?”

“Of course, sir!” they answered in unison.

He waved for them to follow, and the siblings eagerly trailed behind him whilst receiving a few slaps on the back from Kirie and Anya. They all jumped into the back of the wagon when Evan signaled that everything was in order.

Emily lingered last in line and stared up at the other adventurers who waited for her expectantly.

This time, for real. We'll be adventurers, Emily thought.

Emily saw one of the catgirls crouched at the edge of the wagon. Kirie extended a hand to her and grinned. “Make sure you take care of me, Healer.”

Emily clasped her hand and let out a short yelp as the strong catgirl heaved her into the wagon. She stared around at the other adventurers until her eyes settled on Evan, who was turned away from her at the moment as he discussed some last minute details with the warrior holding the reigns. He had pulled the scarf back up over his mouth.

As Evan's head turned slightly to the side, she could once again see the white stitching of the crossed axe and staff.

Emily nodded inwardly as the symbol finally sparked her full recollection. She never truly forgot that one time when she saw the members of GRIM walking down that red carpet at the Guild Union. It had been a happy coincidence running into them after Anya's suggestion.

There had been a thought that briefly nagged at her, but she had been swept up in their fervent atmosphere. She remembered what didn't quite connect between their first meeting and that terrible Siren Incident.

Someday, she hoped that he would tell her why Kirie called him 'Alphonse' that one time.