Chapter 15: Clue

"Thank you for your hospitality." Euphemia tells Matt with a pleasant smile. "We won't forget."

Matt looks a little worried. I can't blame him, though. The jar has dried around noon, and the most reasonable solution is to just stay in the village until tomorrow morning because when the sun becomes bearable enough for the skin, it would be too late to travel.

But that's for normal people. I am not one and by extension, so is my sister. And Bran… well, I'll do my best.

"Are you sure you're going to leave like this?" Matt asks, in a voice that sounds a lot like please, don't. "You can stay still for a day, we won't ask for more meat."

"No," Euphemia shakes her head. "It's okay. We have decided. Don't worry about us."

I hand over a basket of vegetables to Euphemia and she gives it to Matt. He looks shocked as he takes it.

"You're good people, Matt." Euphemia says. "And we appreciate everything you have done for us."

"For us, as well. Thank you." Raquel interjects with a smile. Then her face suddenly changed into a serious one. "Be careful on your journey, especially after a few miles away from this village. Bandits are rampant around those parts. They attacked us before, but they lost interest after a while. And, I don't know where you're going exactly but the nearer you are to the Death's Forest, the closer you are to monsters that prey and hunt any creature that are slower and weaker than them." Then she hands over what seems to be a magic artifact. A small ruby stone. "Our village chief said to give this to you as thanks. Hopefully, this will help you in your journey."

Euphemia takes it and I give it a closer look. The ruby stone looks old, and is probably older than any of us present right now.

It is a gemstone. Adrian says. Like a Gem Orb, it will absorb mana and glow but this one is exclusively for monsters and is a piece of a bigger gemstone. 

"This must have been expensive." I say, which is for Adrian but Raquel is smiling and Matt is the one who replies,

"It is but our village chief says it is no longer needed here."

I nod as Euphemia keeps the stone in her hand.

She tells them, "We will take care of it."

And now, the real reason why I decided to take Bran with us is revealed. Bran, with much difficulty, carries the big jar filled with water. He looks like he's about to give up but manages to act like he isn't. His action and expression are in two completely different spectrums, it's kind of hilarious.

"We hope to see you again." Euphemia manages to say before leaving. It's all empty promises but it doesn't really matter, does it?

We leave the gates with a wave, except for Bran who's suffering with the jar. He manages to walk for at least five minutes before he gives up. It's admirable, really. I immediately hide the jar with my Item Boxes skill and Bran still looks as shocked as the first time I showed him it. Unlike my sister who seems to be ignorant about what it means to be Awakened, I can tell Bran has some knowledge and knows that I am more than just a 'person who Awakened' but he also knows the saying, out of sight, out of mind. So he doesn't say anything but his face says it all.

As this is happening, Bran's face contorts before asking, "Where are you headed?"

"To the next village, I think." I answer.

Bran shakes his head. "No. No… I mean, Raquel wouldn't give us that gemstone if she… are you heading to the Death's Forest?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Bran frowns. "After what happened to me and the party I was with, I never stepped foot near that place. I told you this! Are you still planning on going there after I just released the warning and information?"

I shrug. "I can pay you now, if you want. Go back."

"You know I can't do that."

"What do you want us to do then?"

Bran is quiet. Then, he opens his mouth. "There's another way to go to the town without heading to the Death's Forest. It would take awhile but it's safer."

"I need to go to the Death's Forest." I replied, firmly. "You don't need to go. I told you, I'll pay you."

"Do you want to die?"

"I am Awakened."

Bran is about to open his mouth again but it's Euphemia who cuts him off. "Let's not argue, okay? We're still heaps far from the destination…"

Bran chuckles humorlessly, mockingly, even. "I was just lucky the first time I survived that forest. I was just running for my life, I don't even have a weapon —"

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That reminds me, I do need to learn how to use the bow and arrow. Well, this body should but when I was a knight in my previous life, I was serving a Duke. He was a commander in the battlefield and taught everyone he was in-charge of how to use every kind of weapon, even if it was all just basic stuff. Personally, my choice of weapon is a sword but I liked bow and arrow more. I enjoyed the adrenaline it gave me, when I finally let the arrow go and hit the target. Or not hit the target. It was more of a hobby for me, really.

"...phia? Sophia?" I blink back to reality and look at Euphemia who's shaking my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. What is it?"

"I was asking if we could stop for a bit. The sun is about to set."

I glance up to check the Northern Star blinking. So, I nod. "Okay."

The Northern Star leads us to a cave this time. Bran enters it first, cautiously checks for anything and nods his head.

I can tell there's not much inside, though, because Adrian keeps telling me how it is safe but there are a few clues about how someone stayed there.

Which is the same thing Bran tells us when we reach there.

"They stayed for around two days." Bran announces, pointing to the burnt woods and ashes in a particular place inside the cave. "It looks like they threw things that can be burned to keep the fire going."

"Bandits, you think?" I ask.

"Probably not." Bran answers. "Not only bandits have dens of their own, I don't think any self proclaimed criminals would look like an amateur in terms of camping outside. Whoever this was is just as inexperienced as you guys are." He says. And then adds, "I mean, you guys didn't bury the bonfire you did in the boulder." when Euphemia and I stare at him.

"I left it there, on purpose." I pointed out. "And I was right about you."

Bran awkwardly clears his throat. "I passed that test, huh?"

"You think they'll come back?" Euphemia interjects, worried.

"I don't think so…" Bran trails off. "They probably went somewhere because of their lack of supplies."

"Why do you think so?" I ask.

"Because they stayed here for two days." Bran answers. "They probably wanted to stay in a place that they thought was safe longer. But they left so I think it's because of a lack of supplies."

I counter, "Or the place is no longer safe."

"But if the former was the case, they could ask for help in the nearby villages. But Raquel and Matt never informed us about other travellers, right?" Euphemia counters.

Bran asks for the gemstone and Euphemia gives it to him. He walks closer inside and the gemstone never lights up. Also, Adrian has told me there's nothing inside.

Then it just means one thing. "They were probably hiding, then." I say. "They didn't want people to know where they were."

Bran frowns, confused. "From what?"

"I don't know. But keep an eye out for it, anyway." I ordered. "For now, we stay here for tonight and worry about it later."

The both of them nod and then we all do our own chores.

I take out some wood for fire which Bran does all by himself. And then I follow up those by taking out some potatoes, meat and spices, pots, utensils and all the stuff Euphemia needs to cook. And then I fix our beds, a bit further from the entrance.

Bran tells Euphemia, "Can I keep the gemstone? I'll sleep near the entrance, just in case some monsters come by."

He doesn't need to, but he does think he's working. So when Euphemia looks at me, I just nod. Euphemia finishes cooking and as always, it's so good. I really need to find another pot so we can cook rice with it. When we finish, we clean our utensils, keep the leftovers and wash ourselves.

Bran drags his sleeping bag near the gemstone and tucks himself in with his head looking outside.

Euphemia tucks herself in, too, and falls asleep in second.

After a few hours, Bran falls asleep as well. In my head, I tell Adrian to guard both of them. I walk out of the cave and if I am a normal person, I would have squealed on how cold it is. But I'm not a normal person so… anyway, I take some bow and arrow from my Item Boxes and find a better place to practice.

That's right. I'm about to Katniss myself up in here.

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