The day had arrived and it was almost dusk. We were preparing supplies. It was supposed to be a long mission, so we took some rations. Aside from our normal weapons, Vyth had made something. It looked like a small wooden barrel, but it had a few small holes in it. I didn’t get a close enough look at it, as Vyth teasingly kept it away from me, saying that it’s a surprise.

We silently walked through the forest, checking our surroundings constantly. To say we were on edge, is an understatement. We didn’t think they had a trap set up for us, but couldn’t rule out the possibility. We went to the forest's edge, where we could see the village. I remembered the first time I had seen it. It didn’t look all that interesting then, but now it gave me a bit of a sense of dread. I noticed that a few more houses had sprung up since the first time I’d seen it. It’s been slowly growing.

“Well, what now, Othokentir?”, Sklarsklaricin asked.

All eyes were on me. They were banking on me coming up with a good plan, but I didn’t even want to enter the village. I thought for a bit. What if we started out of the village? Or under it.

“How about we dig a tunnel that leads under the village? We could set up a temporary base and multiple hidden entrances to escape to”, I proposed.

“Then let’s start there!”, Vyth said.

He was pointing to some shrubs which were on the edge of the forest closest to the village. We went to it and began digging. It took a long time, but we managed to dig all the way to the villages centre. There, we dug out a chamber for us. We started planning out the lay-out of our base, deciding where we’d dig out a chamber for storage, where to put traps and which traps to use.

It was simple. No tiny tunnels leading to different parts or large chambers with much purpose. Just a sleeping chamber and storage, all connected with a tunnel each. We returned to the forest to collect materials for traps and bedding. Turalisjtilsin dug out a second tunnel leading to the outside. It came out in the same forest, but a good bit removed from the first tunnel.

Both tunnels had a tripwire at the entrance, which if triggered, would drop some rocks in a small box with other rocks in our sleeping chambers. It’s not that loud, but it’s good enough to alert us. Each tunnel also has a pit trap with wooden spikes at the bottom. Lastly, each tunnel has a small mound of earth with a few holes. They’re wasp nests we had managed to take from the forest. It wasn’t easy, as we needed to sedate them first with the spray of a skunk, but it was worth it. The tunnels have a few a actual dirt mounds, so it wouldn’t be suspicious. The idea is that they’ll crush the nest and get attacked by the wasps.

The entire process took up the whole night. We were exhausted. We went into our lair and slept on the grass we had collected for our bedding. Sleep didn’t come all too easy, knowing that we’re right under our enemies. But, the exhaustion helped.

We eventually woke up. The sun was still shining, but it was getting close to dusk. It was like winter, when it's always still night time when you have to go to school. Except, it was summer. It was like the whole cycle had been flipped. Something I only now took notice of. I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary, so I left through the second entrance, which was under some shade.

When I got to the surface, I saw Vyth and Turalisjtilsin sitting next to each other. Both were just staring at the village quietly. It didn’t take long for them to notice me. Vyth gestured for me to take a seat next to him. I sat down and observed the village with them, watching the people work in the fields in the distance and children playing outside. Some went inside already, while others headed for the bar.

Among them, I recognised one of the adventurers. He looked human. From what I could tell, he wore leather armour and had a bow over his shoulders, with the quiver on his back. He entered the bar. The sun was setting. It was almost our time.

“What’s the plan?”, Vyth asked.

“For now, I just want to look around for a good spot for me to stay in during day time”.

“You don’t want to try and kill one?”, Rekiwr asked as he came up to the surface.

“Our mission was for me to learn more spells from their elf companion. Let’s not take any risks this time”.

Rekiwr seemed a bit disappointed by this, but let it go. I’m sure he’s not the only one. Getting rid of even one would greatly help the tribe. However, we stand no chance. Not now. Probably never, to be fair. We could never reach their level, but at least we can make up for it through sheer numbers.

We waited for a while, waiting until it was dark enough to obscure our presence. While waiting we did see the man in armour go to the bar. He was carrying what seemed like a wooden box about a fourth his size. The few people who were still out, heading home, seemed to stare at the box. One even got a bit jump scared.

“Othokentir, did you see that?”, Vyth asked.

“Yeah, I did”.

“I wonder what that was”, Turalisjtilsin said.

The streets were empty and it had gotten really dark. Light still came from some houses and the bar, but it wasn’t likely we’d run into someone. We entered the village and began looking around. Splitting up seemed like the most efficient method, but I didn’t want to risk it.

I had to mainly see her practice. Following her and the other adventurers was also an option, but one I’ll only consider if she doesn’t practice anywhere here. If she does do that, the open area at the other end of the village would be a great spot. Next to it was a typical barn. It could probably serve as a good hideout.

We approached the barn stealthily. I signalled for the rest to stay put for a moment. I had to check if there were any animals. Good thing I did, as there were cows in there. I tried to stay out of sight, because I’m sure I’d startle them. I went back to the others to explain the situation. Once they understood, we all went in.

We went to a corner, behind some hay bales. There, I climbed up a wooden pillar up to the top floor. There wasn’t much here. Certainly no more cows. There were some crates and tools that looked to have been created 3 generations back. The floor was smaller than the one bellow, with it being in an U-shape as well. Railings taller than me stopped anyone from falling off. It had no windows, so I went to the side facing the open area and poked a little hole in it with my claw.

“Hey, Othokentir! How about this as a hiding spot?”, Sklarsklaricin asked.

He pointed to a few of those crates. They were put in a way that left a small amount of space in between. They were also close to another one of those pillars, allowing for a quick escape if need be.

I had my spot. I looked back through the hole, to see if it was in the right place. I could see a large part of the area and even saw a damaged dummy made of hay. They do train there. I lucked out! Everything was set up. Now, I just had to wait for daytime. The others returned to the hideout. Except for Vyth. He didn’t feel good about leaving me alone, but I’m sure he’s also excited to see magic in action. I even caught him discreetly making another hole while I looked around the barn.