It was early in the morning when all two members of Guild Shiragiku met at the Dozing Lamb. Dubhan was waiting at the bar already, new scythe leaning next to him, when Allouet stepped down the stairs into the room.

Dubhan waved him over, and Allouet nodded to the scythe and said, “I see that matter is resolved. That was rather quick.”

“The smiths in Omaros do good work,” Dubhan said. “’Sides, they know me and they know it’s not gonna be the last time one of these things breaks, so I usually ask them to keep some materials and parts at the ready for it.”

“Impressive networking. It's early for drinking, though, isn't it, Dubhan?"

“We're not here for drinking! We're here for work! Adventurers come in and out of here all day, so people who need help from them make requests here too." Dubhan gestured down the bar where a swordsman in patchwork armor was chatting up the bartender on duty and looking over several papers she’d placed on the counter.

“There's no dedicated organization for that?"

"Well...” Dubhan shrugged. “Eh, I guess everyone just figured this works. Sometimes there’s big jobs at the church for guilds, but that's pretty rare and that stuff’s probably out of our league."

"I see..."

“But, now that we’re an official guild, it’s time for us to start working our way up to that! Plus… Between me and you, I could use the money if I’m gonna cover rent this month.”

Allouet’s attention flicked back to the scythe. “Did it cost that much?”

“Hey, these things are high-quality!” Dubhan gave a firm pat to the raven-headed design on the scythe, nearly causing it to topple over as he forgot it was merely propped up on the bar.

“Does it need to look like that? I imagine the costs would be far lower if the design were less… detailed.”

Dubhan’s gaze was locked on the scythe for a moment. “Uhh, yeah, don’t tell too many people I let these things break, alright? Anyway!” Sweeping that topic aside, Dubhan waved down the bartender.

The process of taking on jobs from the Dozing Lamb was a rather informal process, as most of the requests and the rewards being offered up by clients were simply detailed on fliers that the bar’s staff kept track of. On this day, most of them were simple. Requests to retrieve materials from the labyrinth were common, but Dubhan pointed out one in particular. “How about this one?”

Allouet leaned in to read the paper.

‘Somebody, please help! My precious kitty Belle and I were out looking for fruits in the labyrinth when we were attacked by a group of monsters. Belle chased the monsters off but ran off after them and I haven’t found her again. I’m going back in to find her again in the morning, and if anyone can help me find her, I’ll reward you, I promise! She’ll be wearing a pretty bow.’

The note for the request was signed by the name Rena, with a monetary reward listed below. “I think I know her,” Dubhan said. “She’s a medic that works at one of the clinics around here, nice girl. I had no idea she had a cat.”

Allouet took the paper and read it over once more, frowning. “I would not think a cat would stand very much chance to last long in the labyrinth, but… I would also not expect one to fight back against monsters. Successfully, no less.”

“The cat’s got spunk!” Dubhan said, grabbing his scythe and standing up from his seat. He took the paper back from Allouet and waved it in the bartender’s direction, calling out, “We’ll be back with one cat!”

“Not that I am trying to disregard Rena’s concern, I am sure she must be worried about her pet,” Allouet was saying as he and Dubhan descended the path into the labyrinth, “but is this the sort of work that most guilds start with?”

“What do you mean?” Dubhan asked, seemingly oblivious to the question’s meaning.

“Seeking out lost pets is not… the usual thing one would ask an adventuring guild for, is it? It isn’t the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Hmm… I dunno, I don’t think you can really categorize all the work adventurers do. I’m sure there’s some weird stuff mixed in there too, you know?”

“I suppose… Oh.” Allouet paused in his steps briefly as he and Dubhan passed through the outer walls of Yggdrasil and into the labyrinth. Dotting the grass were numerous flowers that had not been present the last time Guild Shiragiku had entered the labyrinth only a few days ago. Flowers with many small, layered petals shimmering with dew in the early sunlight, each of the flowers displaying beautiful pastel shades of pinks and purples.

“Oh, yeah, we didn’t get to see these last time! People also call this forest the Forest of Dawn cause of these flowers, they bloom in the morning. They would’ve closed up already by the time we came here last time.”

Allouet was quiet, a small smile on his face as he looked over the sight. He abruptly came back to the situation at hand after a moment, saying, “Oh, but we don’t have time for sight-seeing. Rena would have already come here by now, I should think.”

Dubhan looked around, scanning for any sign of recent activity. “She’s probably further…” He was cut off by a sudden scream further out along the path, and began running, Allouet keeping up behind him.

The two hardly had to go far before they came across the source of the scream. A blonde-haired girl in a heavy white coat, messenger bag slung over her shoulder, was cowering as a she was stared down by a war bison—a stout, round thing with short yet muscular legs, its lips pulled back in a snarl far too aggressive for an herbivore and its tail swishing back and forth fiercely. It lowered its head, pointing its excessively-large horns forward in preparation to charge.

Dubhan sprung into action, intercepting the war bison before it could move. He swept his scythe low across its legs, toppling the hyper-aggressive animal over to the ground. Before the bison could right itself, Allouet had summoned a series of icicles that flew towards the beast, piercing its body and ending it swiftly.

With the threat handled, Dubhan turned to the girl. “Are you alright?!”

The girl clutched at the strap on her bag, her eyes frantically searching for further signs of threats before she nodded and said, “I… I think so. Th-thank you, it… It came out of the trees so suddenly and started trying to gore me… I was lucky it missed the first time.”

The girl was young, barely an adult, and the sweater, half-pants, and colorful high socks she wore under her coat and boots looked more like casual wear than adventuring garb. But Dubhan recognized her face when he looked at her. “Oh! Rena, it’s you!”

“Huh?” The girl, Rena, looked over Dubhan with a confused expression. Then, her face lit up with mutual recognition. “Oh! You’re, um… I’ve met you before!”

Dubhan held his hand out for a handshake which the girl nervously accepted. “Name’s Dubhan,” he said, then gestured to his approaching warlock companion, “and this is Allouet.”

Allouet nodded to Rena. “A pleasure. You’re the one who posted the request, then? About your missing cat?”

“Yes, that’s right! Does that mean you two are here to help?” Rena asked, her wide brown eyes glimmering with hope.

Dubhan smiled at the girl, standing his scythe up tall beside himself. “Guild Shiragiku, here to help! But… the forest is pretty big. Were you planning to search the whole thing?”

“Well, when I was with Belle, we were out gathering medicinal herbs by a river. I think should be able to make it back there, so I was planning to start around that area. Do you have a map?”

A map. That was one thing Dubhan hadn’t considered thus far in his explorations of the labyrinth’s surface. He was about to make a comment on that when Allouet pulled a rolled up sheet of canvas from his coat and said, “Yes, I’ve one right here.” He unrolled it to reveal a map depicting the commonly-used trails and landmarks of the forest, with room for additions to be made.

“Wait, you do?” Dubhan asked, not bothering to hide any surprise at his guildmate’s preparedness.

Rena shifted over to Allouet’s side to look over the map. Allouet, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow to Dubhan. “Do you… not? If we’re going to be entering the deeper areas, this is going to be rather vital.”

Dubhan shrugged. “I always just memorized the paths out here, I guess I figured that’d be fine.”

Rena nodded eagerly in agreement. “Mm-hm. I always forget to get a map of the forest, but Belle’s really good at sniffing out the right trails.”

“Why do you people not have maps?! What is wrong with you both, this place is called a labyrinth.”

“Let’s see, I think… It should be right here.” Rena’s finger pointed out one of the trails on the map. “That’s where I saw Belle last, so I’d like to start there.”

Allouet sighed and let the topic rest, turning his attention back to the map. “Very well, let us begin our search there.”