The inn was in chaos.
Nyxwings crashed through the windows like giant feathered battering rams, their wings thundering as they flapped into the crowded tavern. Guests were stampeding in different directions finding exits. Screeches echoed off the wooden walls, sharp enough to make teeth ache. Glass exploded in all directions. The air filled with smoke, feathers, and the unmistakable scent of soup—now airborne and aggressively assaulting a row of unfortunate patrons.
Beams shook. Mugs shattered mid-toast. A bowl of stew was launched with such velocity it splattered against a mounted deer head like some bizarre modern art installation.
"What did that innkeeper tell you again? This is the safest place around?" Isaac said dryly, already unsheathing his sword.
"Stop blaming the victim, okay!" Kassie shouted over the chaos, yanking a dented helmet from her inventory and jamming it onto her head just as the group of Nyxwings landed on the Inn's roof. The groaning beam from earlier finally gave in and collapsed. More Nyxwings flocked towards the new found entryway.
"Guys! They're coming this way!" Hans said still clinging to the manalara sapling.
One particularly large Nyxwing flapped its wings with the force of a hurricane gust. A nearby table spun through the air, did a full somersault, and lodged itself in the ceiling beams like an upside-down chandelier.
A woman screamed.
Someone else cheered—either from adrenaline or ale.
In the middle of it all, a bard clung to his lute for dear life, strumming wildly as if magical music might ward off the beasts.
While some brave souls drew swords, staffs, or frying pans, others took... less heroic approaches.
The burly thug patron who had bet against Kassie about the Manalara trees was now curled beneath a table. Whimpering as a Nyxwing pecked furiously at his bald head like it was some kind of shiny stress toy. "Mommy! Mommy!" he squeaked.
A richly dressed merchant stood frozen mid-sip of his wine, wide-eyed in terror. One Nyxwing locked eyes with his extravagant, feather-laden hat.
There was a brief, intense moment of intense prey or predator eye contact.
Then—swoosh. Hat gone.
The Nyxwing flapped off proudly, now wearing the plume like a fancy fascinator. The merchant gasped, clutching his heart. "That was imported ostrich!"
Isaac ducked avoiding a flying stool and grabbed Kassie by the wrist. "Move!"
"But my investment! Hey if you break something you have to pay for it!" Kassie wailed, flailing like a cat getting dunked in a bath.
"Great go and send the invoice to the cave later!" Isaac barked, kicking a stool aside as they exited to where the Innkeeper fled.
Hans trailed behind, cradling the glowing sapling like a baby. "Wait for me!"
Kassie, panting, fumbled open her inventory with trembling fingers. "Dang it! why couldn't the game glitched and made my stamina infinite instead — Flame Lash? Flame Lash? Where did it go!"
Behind them, one Nyxwing let out a shrill cry and dove straight for Isaac.
Isaac spun, blade flashing. His sword slashed across the beast's wing, sending it crashing into a fence with a squawk. But before he could catch his breath, another came at him from the side.
"Isaac! Look out!"
Kassie shoved him out of the way and threw up her hand. "Inferno!"
PHOOF!
A tiny puff of smoke. A flame the size of a candle.
"...What." Kassie stared. "Why didn't it work!?"
The scroll in her hand crackled and glowed. Then text appeared:
[Intelligence Requirement Not Met: +1 Needed]
"Are you KIDDING ME!?"
The Nyxwing slammed its talons down on her shoulders. She felt a penetrating pain as she was lifted in the air. She yelled, "Isaac!!"
Isaac slashed the creature away and hauled her up by her arm, "Stay on the side will you!"
"Being bird food wasn't exactly my priority today you know!" She shot back.
But Isaac couldn't say another remark because three more surrounded them. But it changed its target from Kassie and Isaac to the lanky man standing behind them.
"Guys, a little help here!" Hans cried out, running in dizzying circles while clutching the Manalara sapling. Kassie and Isaac's heads followed his frantic path, bobbing and weaving like two spectators watching a lanky basketball player travel between courts.
Kassie blinked. "Right - uh..." She started scrolling through her inventory. "Weapon drops... Wait, what's this?"
Isaac grabbed her hand again "We got to move!"
"Wait we have to save him!"
"Think about saving yourself first - you don't even have a weapon how are you saving him?!"
She pulled out a tiny silver whistle—slim and small metal but sharp enough to blow a piercing note.
"What are you playing them a tune, should I call the bard so you can make performance?!" Isaac questioned her.
She blew it.
PFFTTT!
The whistle's shrill blast sent the Nyxwings shrieking in pain and flinching back like vampire pigeons hit with garlic—but in the shadows, they hissed softly, eyes glowing, ready to strike again.
Isaac was in disbelief "It's working!"
Hans scrambled to his feet and clung to Isaac and Kassie's safe zone. "We got to get out of here!"
Kassie ran out of air, as soon as she stopped blowing the whistle, the Nyxwings flapped their wings ready to attack.
"Keep blowing!" Isaac scooped her up, one arm around her waist, and bolted.
Hans clutched the tree and stumbled after them. "Wait for me!"
They hid in the hollow of a crumbling stone ruin a short distance from the inn. The sky was filled with the distant flapping of Nyxwing and the occasional shriek that sent shivers down their spines.
Kassie clutched the whistle ready to blow at the sign of danger. Isaac had his sword out, eyes scanning the skies. Hans was trying to cuddle the sapling, which now glowed faintly like a smug house cat.
"How are we getting out of here?" Hans whispered, barely louder than the rustling leaves. His voice was trembling, and he clutched the Manalara sapling like a stuffed animal.
Isaac didn't answer right away. He crouched behind a fallen stone wall, sword still drawn, eyes scanning the skies like a seasoned hawk. "They're pulling back from the inn," he muttered. "Looks like they're...searching. Circling." He squinted. "Wider range. Higher altitude. They're splitting up."
"They're scouting," Kassie said quietly. She hugged herself, the whistle still clutched in one hand. "Looking for something."
"Or someone," Isaac added grimly.
Kassie's eyes narrowed, tracking the pattern of the Nyxwings overhead. "Wait... do you think it's the Manalara sapling?" she whispered.
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than something large landed behind them.
SCREEEEEEE!
A Nyxwing lunged out from behind a moss-covered ruin, its eyes glowing with predatory recognition as it locked onto Hans—and more specifically, the glowing sapling in his arms. It let out a piercing shriek that echoed across the treetops.
"Oh no," Kassie muttered.
Then, like bats erupting from a cave at dusk, the entire Nyxwing colony twisted midair and veered in their direction—one terrifying, synchronized sweep. It was like watching a living shadow blanket the sky.
Hans gasped, eyes huge. "No, no, no—don't tell me it really is the tree! But why?!"
"Because it's soaked in mana and humming like a glowing five-course dinner bell!" Isaac snapped, already on his feet. As the screeching female Nyxwing dove toward them, he intercepted it with a quick, fluid strike—his blade cutting through wing and feather with a flash of silver. The creature tumbled, limp, into the underbrush.
Isaac turned to Hans. "We need to get rid of it."
Hans stumbled back, clutching the sapling tighter, cradling it protectively. "No! You can't! This is my village's last hope! You can't just throw it away like... like it's a piece of trash!"
"Your magical bonsai is literally painting a target on our backs!" Isaac said, teeth clenched,
Kassie peeked over the edge of the ruin, her eyes wide. "Uh, guys? We've got less arguing time and more feather-death-inbound time!"
From above, the sky grew darker as the colony descended—each Nyxwing flaring its wings, eyes locked, talons gleaming.
Hans shook his head wildly. "You can't! My entire village is depending on this sapling!"
Isaac looked at him. Then at Kassie. "Fine. You lure them away. We'll run."
Hans blinked. "What?"
"It's simple. You take the glowing bird magnet. You go that way." Isaac pointed into the darkness. "We go this way."
"You're sacrificing me!?"
"No. I'm volunteering you."
"You can't volunteer someone like that! Be serious we have to think of a way out of here" Hans looked pleading.
"WE?! I just met you! Why do you two keep dragging me into your mess?" Isaac groaned.
Kassie's eyes snapped to the sky the entire colony was now above them "Guys, they're coming this way!" she shouted.
"Damn it give me this thing!" Isaac hissed snatching the manalara sapling from Hans.
"No I can't let you! The monk said it's a very important tree the last of its kind!" Hans using all of his weight to fight against Isaac's strength.
"Wait! You can't!" Kassie clutched the potted sapling as well, remembering what Hans said was true —this tree was key to forging legendary weapons strong enough to take down the final boss. Losing it would be like tossing their only hope in the fire.
But then, a larger, more menacing Nyxwing swooped down nearby—looking way too familiar.
"Why's that one so much bigger?!" Hans asked, eyes wide.
Isaac grimaced. "That's the male. You know, the one whose nest you intentionally torched."
The Nyxwing let out a loud, mocking screech, clearly vengeful.
"Okay now you can throw it" Kassie retracted her earlier musings, and given she's facing a more immediate danger, she decided tomorrow's problems will be tomorrow's problems.
Isaac gripped the sapling tightly, coiled like a spring, then launched it with a sharp flick of his wrist. The little tree sailed through the air in a perfect arc—like a basketball swishing clean through the net.
"My tree!" Hans cried.
Just as the sapling seemed destined for a clean landing, the massive male Nyxwing swooped in and caught it mid-air—macho style—like a cheesy romance hero dramatically clutching a rose between his teeth.
He held the pose for a glorious half-second.
Then he was swarmed.
The shrieking female Nyxwings descended on him, flapping and clawing like a feathery reality dating show gone off the rails.
The forest rang with high-pitched screeches and the sound of something getting violently shredded—though whether it was the sapling or the macho male Nyxwing - none of them stuck around to find out.
They didn't stop running until the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows through the forest. Only then, with the Nyxwings' distant screeches fading behind them, did they finally dare to slow down and catch their breath.
Isaac slumped against a tree, panting. Hans collapsed dramatically on forest floor. Kassie leaned forward, hands on her knees.
Hans whimpered, his voice cracking with emotion. "That was... my village's last hope. Gone..."
Kassie gently opened her palm, pulling from her inventory a tiny twig with a single silver-tinged leaf—snapped off in a desperate, lightning-fast moment. "I saved a piece," she said softly.
Hans blinked, his eyes wide in disbelief. "You did?"
She gave a small, reassuring grin, holding it out like a precious treasure. "It's not much. But maybe it's a start."
Hans cradled the twig as if it were made of the finest crystal, his hands trembling slightly. "Thank you..." he whispered, voice thick with both relief and reverence.
Hans's face lit up with overwhelming gratitude, and he took a step forward as if to throw his arms around Kassie.
But before he could, Isaac's hand shot out, blocking the advance like a referee calling a foul. "That's close enough. You two aren't that close," Isaac grumbled, eyebrows raised.
Kassie slumped back with a dramatic groan. "I can't believe this... my inn—my thirty gold coins!" Her dream of lying low until she unlocked all the vending machine levels and snagged a dimensional teleportation was gone in a blink of an eye.
Isaac still accusing, "Why would you even trust that old hag in the first place, she charged you two gold coins for two crappy rooms?"
"She said it was safe!"
"There's nowhere safe in this world," Isaac stood dusting himself off. "Dungeons pop up like mushrooms. Dungeon monsters spill out. Adventurers can't keep up. You think that place was some kind of magical walled sanctuary?"
"Magical walled sanctuary..." Kassie's words hung in the air as she froze, her eyes widening with sudden realization.
Wait—a real sanctuary did exist.
The Dukedom of Urcole. Isaac's reclaimed home turf. She'd heard the stories, but hadn't really believed it until now. What had started as a modest Barony had grown under Isaac's hands into a full Dukedom. In the game, it was legendary—encircled by enchanted walls that shimmered with ancient magic, and topped with a powerful barrier protecting the capital city itself. No dungeons dared spawn within hundred miles of its borders. No monsters dared set foot inside. It was, quite simply, the safest place on the entire continent—a rare haven in a world that constantly lurched from chaos to calamity.
Her gaze flicked to Isaac and a spark of hope ignited in her eyes.
Looks like I really do need to stick with this grumpy guy after all.
Isaac groaned, eyes fixed on the tiny twig Hans was carefully cupping in a small patch of dirt. He couldn't help but wonder how on sweet Serendale Kassie had managed to salvage that scrap. "Well, I'm not sticking around for those things to get a whiff of that again."
Kassie's voice rose in panic, desperate to keep him close. "Wait, you can't just leave us!"
"Follow if you want but I'm not carrying dead weight" His usual grumpy line.
"Dead weight?! You're practically half-dead yourself!" Kassie pointed out his legs not keeping a straight line.
Isaac feeling a little embarrassed his wobbly legs giving him away. "I'm perfectly fine! You should be more worried about whether that thing "—he glared at the sapling as if it were a cursed relic—"could attract even more of those flying vermins."
"We're safe now, you know! Nothing's followed us since," Kassie argued, trying to stay hopeful. "We just need to feed it enough mana—and it's getting dark anyway. Do you even know where we are?"
Hans stepped forward, eager to help. "My village isn't far from here. As thanks for saving me—and my manalara tree —please, let me invite you both."
"It's not a tree it's practically a sprout at this point" Isaac crossed his arms.
Kassie smack him on the head "Honestly can't you say something nice!"
"He's right but still even this tiny sprout I'm sure will make a difference." Hans smiled at the little bud on the palm of his hands "Like our village, we're a small village but we've got strong fighters. You can rest there until day light."
Isaac shook his head. "No thanks. I'm headed to Arvandale." He then looked at Kassie "You should follow me Arvandale is safer compared to this area."
Hans's face lit up with a grin. "Great! Our village is actually a shortcut to Arvandale! I'll tell the chief you saved me, so you can pass through without paying the gate toll."
Isaac opened his mouth to reject the offer outright—but his aching legs, empty coin pouch, and general loathing for surprise tolls tugged at his pride. He sighed through gritted teeth. "...Fine. Lead the way."