Chapter 14: The Companions

The little girl’s eyes were blue, her hair was blond yet dirt covered it well, her clothes was of a commoner’s attire. Her face turned serious and asked a question to Ben.

“Are... you here to save us?”

Ben blinked as he should've expected prisoners and grabbed the silver keys from his pocket and quickly unlocked the cell door.

Ben: “Yea… I just happened to see this place. I’ll help you both back to town.”

“Where… where are we?” The girl asked in a cautious tone.

Ben: “You’re in the forest of Rerne Village.”

“.... Rerne Village…. that means we’re still there...”

The other girl coughed lightly. Her frazzled hair was in the color of red, almost bright as a rose. Her clothes were also the same as the other girl’s.

“Please… help my friend.”

Ben simply frowned and searched within his thoughts of what he was carrying in his black space.

(Hmm… black box… I should have a sort of antidote within here.)

Ben placed down his bag and pretended to grab an antidote from it. He entered the cell and handed it to the little girl. Who quickly popped open the cork with her feeble fingers, placing the bottle in her friend’s mouth. Dropping the bottle onto the ground she quickly ran her fingers over her friend’s throat trying to smooth it down.

“Uhh…” her body settles down.

“... thank you for saving us… especially from the goblins. My name is Aelina and my friend here is Isabelle.”

Ben: “How did the bandits catch you?”

Aelina frowned…

Aelina: “We… were caught while we were trying to get to Rerne Village…” Aelina’s head faced the ground.

Ben: “Alright, let's go back to the village. The adventurer guild there will help you out.”

Ben finally decided to leave, after cutting some of the goblin’s ear and taking the bandit’s bags of coins that were on their waist. Handing over two bags of coins to Aelina. She immediately refused.

Aelina: “I.. I can’t possibly take this.”

Ben: “Take it… you’ll need it when you’re out there. Especially for your friend there.”

Aelina simply looked at Isabelle’s face that was leaning on her shoulder.

Aelina: “Right.. off to Rerne Village.”

*******************

The lumbercutter’s shack came into view as they walked on, Aelina with a sudden spurt of speed, ran up to the shack alongside with Isabelle.

“Grant! Are you in there?” Aelina called out.

(.... she knows him?)

Aelina knocked on the door as she continued to carry Isabelle on her back. Realizing that Grant wasn’t in the shack she turned to Ben.

Aelina: “Hey, do you know where Grant is?” Her voice was full of anxiety yet familarity with the name Grant. It was as if they were brothers and sisters or were co-workers that haven't met each other for awhile.

Ben simply scratched his neck. After a few moments… Ben finally decided to be direct yet sincere.

Ben: “He… passed away.”

Aelina’s eyes widen.

Aelina: “N…. n… no way. Such a strong warrior couldn’t die that easily!” Aelina was filled with distressed upon hearing Ben's words. Disbelief, her head lowered as her eyes shut, as if trying to squeeze this pain from her heart.

Ben: “If you want… we can go to his grave.”

Aelina:“How did he die?” Aelina opened her eyes once more, as if she had not experienced the moment of saddness she asked with seriousness looking into Ben's eyes.

Ben: “He fought against a horde class disaster alongside a rank C monster. There weren't enough troops to fend against it… however, he managed to kill the level C monster.”

Aelina:“.... heh… without a proper healer, of course he’d die….” Her shoulders slumped a little, causing Isabelle to drop a little as well.

Ben: “So… what business do you have with Grant?”

Aelina looked at Grant’s shack and back at Ben.

Aelina:“How well did you know him?”

Ben: “Only for a couple days…. he also helped me understand about the red aura.”

Ben’s fist was surrounded by red aura, he showed it to Aelina. Her eyes widened and suddenly narrowed.

Aelina:“I see…can I take a look at his place first?”

Ben handed over the key to Grant’s shack. Abbs gave the key to Ben after Grant’s burial, saying to keep this until Ben decided to leave this village one day.

Aelina opened the door. The small room had a small workshop with multiple small hatchets hung on the wall. A crate filled with black dull gemstones was left open, cobwebs were formed. A square carpet was on the ground, a symbol of a tree with a shield in front was on it. Aelina knelt down and pushed the carpet off of the ground. Revealing a old rugged trapdoor on the ground.. Ben’s eyes widened as he himself did not know about it, every since he obtained Grant's key from Abbs.

“Follow me…” (Aelina)

Aelina leaned Isabelle against the wall, she and Ben quietly descended down the small stairs. Within the small basement a shrine was there, a red orb was there and a large broadsword hung above it within it there was a black crystal.

“.... I see… no wonder he passed away.” (Aelina)

Aelina’s eyes shut, she stood there standing with her back towards Ben… her fist was balled up with silent rage. Ben simply kept silent, as he saw that Aelina's shoulders shook a little.

“Could you… come back tomorrow…” (Aelina) She managed to mutter out her words, deliberately hiding an emotion from Ben. It was too obvious that there was some emotional attachment, however, Ben had to ask this question.

“.... before I go… Can I ask you who are you to Grant?” (Ben)

“... A friend… a fellow companion…” Aelina looked at Ben, her pupils turned from blue to green. A faint glow emitted from her eyes. Eventually dimming down within a few moments. Aelina’s eyes turned back to blue.

“....a savior’s companion…now .. could you leave me for now.” (Aelina)

“Savior’s?....” Aelina’s back was facing towards Ben, he knew it wasn’t a great time to ask her about the questions. He could and he should read the atmosphere in this instance.

“.... well here’s some antidotes and some potions just in case you want to use it on Isabella. There’s a healer in the town as well.” (Ben)