As the sun rises from the west, its rays of sunlight pierce through the darkness of the past night, engulfing what was, to turn on a new chapter. Marking a new dawn that is to come.
"Ngh.. ha.. it's morning already?" Celeste said, stretching her body lazily on the ground where she slept, the chirping sound of birds indicate that a new day is here, a new day for adventure.
Not long after, her companion,Valeria, also stirs slightly in her sleep and later wakes up besides Celeste, yawning and sighing. "Hm... That was a rough sleep.. we should really consider sleeping at an inn, sleeping on the ground inside a cave like this is non-ideal." Valeria complained as she slowly rises to her feet, she grabs her scabbard that she had place besides her.
"That would be nice, but it's not like we can afford a night at an inn.." She glance at her pouches, inside it there's only a few silver coins that barely worth a loaf of bread. After some time, she also rises to her feet and grabs the staff besides her.
"Well.. you're right of course, we hadn't got a chance to take any commission in any village we went to.. if this continue, we might not be able to afford food at all." Valeria respond, she knows that if they don't do something about their current financial struggle, they would probably die starving.
"Alright, that's enough dilly dally for one morning." Celeste ended their conversation. "If I'm right.. there would be a village nearby, maybe we can find something or someone that could help us, we are short in funding, and also short in hand, I hope someone would lend us a hand." Celeste said with hopeful tone, the two girls are really desperate for a helping hand.
Valeria snort. "Heh, don't get your hopes up, these days, not even a commoner would want to lend us a hand." She said the sentence with disgust and annoyance at how they were treated wherever they go. "You know what? I would rather believe that a giant beast with three legs exist rather than placing my hope in people these days." She adds.
"Well.. we better not delay here any longer, let's get going now." Celeste said calmly as she walks out of the cave, expecting Valeria to follow. As she does, the bright light of the outside world slowly comes in contact with her skin.
Celeste breathe deeply, savouring the fresh air of the morning air before continuing her walk to their destination, Valeria quickly follow, her hand rested at the pummel of her sword. Their journey has always been a rough one, but it's a journey they share and live to tell the story. Even if their adventure won't be carved in history, the universe will remember it well.
The journey towards the nearby village passes in a blur, the occasional chirping of the birds and squeaking of squirrels echoes within the forest.
Suddenly, Valeria stopped. Her hand instinctively fly to the grip of her sword. "Celeste, stop!" Valeria shout, she seems to be hearing something lurking in the bushes. "We've got company." She said to Celeste, her voice firm. Celeste hearing the words, grips her staff tightly "Do you know who or what is approaching?" Celeste asked, her voice is a bit shacking and panicking, but she maintain her confident posture.
"Right there, in that bush, I hear something. And it is something big. It could be a bandit, or worse, a beast." Both of the girls are unsure what lurks inside the bush, but it is one thing for certain. Danger.
The bush shakes even harder this time, when suddenly, a wolf lunges out of the bush towards Celeste. "Celeste, on your left!" Valeria shout a warning at Celeste, urging her to move out of the way, the sudden lunges of the wolf startled her, but she managed to dodge the attack just in time and landed on the ground. Valeria seeing the wolf also falls to the ground after failing to attack Celeste, seize the chance to make a counterattack."You outstayed your welcome!" She lunges towards the wolf with her sword, killing it in an instant.
The wolf drop dead on the grass, as blood flows from it's neck where it has been cutted. Valeria, panting from the sudden tension, looks at Celeste. "Are you alright?" She asked her with a hint of concern in her eyes. Celeste nods. "I'm.. fine.. just a bit startled.." Celeste slowly rises to her feet, using her staff as a crutch.
"We.. should keep going, or else there will be more danger coming our way." Celeste urge Valeria to quickly get out of the forest, who knows what monstrosity lies beneath the peaceful surface of the forest.
Then, both of them resume their walk towards their planned destination.
After what feels like an eternity, Celeste finally saw a small village in sight. She turns to Valeria excitedly. "Valeria! Look! That's the village!" She said excitedly, knowing that they're finally out of the forsaken forest.
"It has been days since I laid my eyes on one, thankfully we are out of danger. ...for now." Valeria breathe a sigh of relief, at least they have returned to civilization.
Out of the sudden, Celeste smells something. "Hey, did you smell that? It smells like.. freshly baked bread." Celeste's stomach growls in hunger, she hasn't eaten anything the whole day, and her hunger is finally catching up to her.
Celeste quickly reached for her coin pouch, looking at the amount of silver coins inside. "Hm.. I hope this will be enough. No, it must be! I'm not eating rock or stick anytime soon." With that said, she quickly rushed off to the village, leaving Valeria behind.
Valeria seeing Celeste storms away shakes her head and quickly catches up to Celeste. "Celeste! Wait for me!" But Celeste doesn't listen, she just keep looking around where the smell of bread is coming from.
Suddenly, Celeste's eyes falls on a small bakery, where all the fresh breads are being displayed for sell. Celeste who is unable to contain her hunger, rushed straight to the bakery. "Excuse me! I wanted to buy a loaf of bread please!" She said with a high pitch, like a woman in a hurry. The owner of the bakery calmly replied. "That'll be five coins." He said without making an eyes contact.
Celeste checks her coin pouch, her feeling completely shattered when she saw she only had three silver coins. "F-five silver coins..? I.. I only have three.." She said with a trembling voice. "No money, no bread. Now move along." The word hits Celeste like a punch to her gut, she slumps in defeat, turning back facing Valeria.
"Hey, are you alright?" Valeria asked, her voice firm but not unkind. "I'm so.. hungry.." Celeste exclaimed as her stomach growls even louder. She feels like she would die from starvation, until suddenly. "Um.. miss, are you hungry?" A boy approached Celeste, carrying a basket in his hand. "If.. you're hungry, you can have my bread stick, it's.. not much, but it is better than walking with an empty stomach."
Celeste eyes lights up as she turns to the boy. "Really? You would give me this bread for free?" She asked the boy for confirmation. "Yeah, really. They are an old bread though, it is a freshly baked one." The boy explain to her as he holds out the bread stick to her.
Celeste shook her head. "No, no! It's okay! It's better than nothing, and.. thank you for your kindness, we'll repay you some day." Celeste accept the bread stick from the boy. "No needs to repay me, grandpa always said, what comes around goes around." The boy said with conviction. "Anyways.. I'll take my leave now, take care ,miss." The boy turned to leave.
"W-wait! Hold on" Celeste shout, urging the boy to hold on for a moment. "H-huh?" The boy startled by Celeste's voice, slowly turns around to meet her gaze. "What's your name boy? We didn't catch your name earlier." Celeste asked with curiosity, while Valeria just watched the interaction behind Celeste. "M-my name..?" The boy was confused for a second, and then he finally replied. "My name is.. Noir." The boy said hesitantly.
"Noir.." Celeste says, testing the name on her tongue. "I'll remember it, thank your, Noir." She gives a warm smile to Noir and pats his shoulder. "Um.. your welcome miss..?" Noir stopped, hinting to question both of the girl's name. "It's Celeste, and this is my companion, Valeria. We are partners and adventurers." Celeste said with confidence. "Adventurers? That's so cool! Maybe.. someday, I would have a chance to see the outside world too." Noir said with a hopeful tone, he knows the price of exploring the outside world is to leave behind the farm and the place he once called home, but but he can't ignore the thrilled of venturing into the unknown.
Valeria steps forward. "Well, of course you can, adventure is not forced on, it is a choice" Valeria says with unwavering confidence. "So when you get the opportunity to do what you really wanted to, seize it." She adds, her words spark a flame inside Noir's heart. A feeling of the need to step out of his comfort zone.
Noir nods. "I understand miss Valeria, and I'll remember your words. When the time is right, I'll heed the call of the unknown, and start my own adventure!" Celeste smiles warmly at Noir. "We know you will." Noir turns to leave, but before he depart, he looks over his shoulder and said "Thank you miss Celeste and miss Valeria, I'll be going now. May we meet again , under a new dawn." Noir then starts walking, his figure slowly disappearing into the crowd.
With that, the two adventurers continue their stroll in the village, looking for any tavern to get a commission. This is the only way for them to overcome their financial struggle, or they will ended up with a little to no money at all.
After what feels like an eternity, they finally founda a tavern, as they entered it, they saw most of the customers were elderly men and drunkards. Ignoring the crowd, both of them went straight to the tavern keeper. "Hey, you. Do you have any commission here?" Valeria asked the tavern keeper. "Commission? Sorry, we don't. We haven't done commissioned here in years." Valeria and Celeste slumps, once again, they're sucked with only three silver coins in their pouch. "Hmph, I should've expected that.." Valeria turned to leave "Wait! Hold on a second!" Valeria turns back, facing the tavern keeper. "I know someone that might be able to help." The tavern keeper said "Really? Who is it?" Celeste asked with curiosity, she leaned closer to the keeper "There is an old lady three buildings from here, go to her, she might be able to help you out." Celeste and Valeria looked at each other for a moment "Thank you for the information, we'll take our leave." Said Celeste firmly.
The adventurers step out of the tavern and quickly went to the place mentioned by the tavern keeper. "Three buildings from the tavern.. this should be it right..?" Valeria said, an unsure expression can be seen on her face. "Yeah, I think so, this building looks.. a bit inhabitable though.. I wonder if anyone actually live here." With a deep breath, Valeria steady herself to take knock on the door. Knock, knock, knock. "Hello? Someone in there?" Asked Valeria as she leaned her ear closer to the door. Suddenly, the door opened by itself, Valeria who was leaned on the door stumbled forward and landed on her front. "Ouch.." she grunted. "Why the hell did it suddenly just open like that?!" Valeria temper rised, when suddenly, a voice called out to her. "Patience young one, great things comes to those who waits" she saw an old lady with a walking stick slowly approaching her.
Valeria quickly rise to her feet, Celeste approach Valeria from behind, helping her getting up. "Are you.. the old lady that the tavern keeper talked about?" Valeria asked, brushing the dusks off her armour. "Indeed I am, and I've been waiting, I know what you seek. Come, and I shall show you, what never has not been foretold." The old lady starts walking further inside the building, expecting both of them to follow.
The two companions were unsure, but desperation get the better of them, and so, they follow the old lady. The building is dusty, the ceiling is full of spider webs, and the furnitures are collecting who knows how long dusks. "Do not meddle in things you need not to, and focus on what is." The old lady warns.
The old lady then stopped at a table, on the table is a stone tablet, with ancient writings written on it. "This is the Tablet of Prophecy. It tells a story of an adventurer, who will soon conquer the power of the Tree of Life." The old lady explained "Tree of Life? But that's just a concept, are you suggesting such thing-" Celeste words were cut off by the old lady "The only thing that doesn't exist, is what you believe doesn't. In truth, there are many things we human never truly understand, bound by mortality, we succumb to what others has made.. normalcy. But indeed, only by exceeding the bounded fate, do we truly embrace the nature of human."
"Take this tablet with you, it shall guide you, in return, rewarding you with whatever you ever wished for." The old lady's face suddenly turns grim "But be warned, out of all heroes, only one will live to tell the tale." She spoke again "You're lacking a third member, the rope that binds you together, find it, and you shall begin, a journey foretold throughout history."
Both Celeste and Valeria was awe struck by the old lady's words, unsure what to do, they opened their mouth to speak, but suddenly, they were teleported out of the building. Both of them were startled, unsure what to do next, they look at each other. "What the.." Said Valeria, confused "That was.. a lot to take in.. normalcy? bounded future? Wishes? It's all so.. hard to understand.." Question after question raced Celeste's mind "She said to search for a third member, a.. rope that binds us together. But she never mentioned anyone specifically.." Suddenly, a name rings in Celeste's mind "Oh! Right! The boy we meet earlier, Noir right? He said he wants to be an adventurer when the time is right, so why don't we invite him to join us?" Celeste offers a suggestion "But he is just a kid, no? Don't you think he would just slow us down?" Valeria criticized the suggestion "That doesn't mean he is less capable than us, after all, he is the only one who was nice to us. Maybe fate isn't all twisted after all." Celeste replied, trying to see things on a more positive perspective.
Valeria sigh "..Fine.. we'll go by your plan, but I won't be the one babysitting him of anything happens." She said firmly, leaving no room for argument. "That's alright, besides, the more the merrier, right?" Valeria rolls her eyes "Hmph, whatever. Let's get this over with."
The two companions went on their way, the once bright day is almost coming to an end, the sun is about to fall, and the moon is about to rise. They've been searching for hours, yet, luck is not on their side. Valeria sigh "I told you this was pointless, we've been searching for hours! Yet the boy is nowhere to be found." She sigh again, deeper this time "We are wasting our time ,Celeste."
"Ngh.. maybe you're right.. and the day is about to end, it's best if we call it a day here." Valeria nods, searching for any place they might be able to get some rest. Suddenly, Valeria eyes landed on a farm near them. "Look, Celeste, there's a farm nearby, maybe we could ask them if we could stay for the night. At least there won't be a need for us to sleep on the ground." Celeste nods in agreement and follow Valeria from behind.
Upon reaching the doorway, Valeria knock on the door "Hello, anyone home?" She continue to knock on the door until someone opened it, to their surprised, it was Noir, the boy they found earlier in the market. "Noir! There you are! We've been searching for you the entirely day!" Celeste leaned closer "Looking.. for me? Why?" The boy asked "Uh.. we'll discussed that tomorrow, right now, can we sleep at your place? Anywhere is fine. Please?" Valeria plead to Noir to let them rest at his place. "Uh.. sure miss Valeria, come in." The boy invited the two girls inside.
Both of them stepped inside the house, the atmosphere is cozy, and it feels like home. "This place isn't much, but it's home." The boy said humbly "Grandpa, I brought friends to come over, can they stay for the night?" Noir's grandpa gaze slowly turns to the girls "Of course , Noir, remember what I told you, a friend in need, is a friend indeed. Treat them as you would any guests." Noir nodded.
"You guys get cozy first, I will return with some tea" Noir rushed off to the kitchen. "He is.. very active, isn't he?" Celeste said warmly, there's a hint of compliment in her words. "Indeed, he is. But enough about him, I can tell that you have other reason for your visit, mind telling me?" Noir's grandpa raised a question, both of them were taken aback, that their intention was quickly discovered by the old man.
"With all due respect, sir. We are currently looking for a new adventuring partner, your.. grandson, may just be the person we are looking for." Valeria said firmly to avoid any confusion "Hm.. is that so? And what makes you think he would have wanted that? What makes you think that's the best for him?" Once again, the old raised a question, spreading the seed of doubt even further.
With a deep breath, Celeste replied with a firm tone "Sir, we might not know what best for someone, but I can see it in him, the spark in his eyes, the urge to be free, to venture into the unknown, and to bring a new dawn to light. That's what I see in him. So.. I beg of you, give him a chance, to travel with us. I believe.. he is meant to set the dawn anew." Celeste announce her words with pride and conviction.
"You made a bold claim girl, one that is hard to deny, but even harder to accept. But, I'm willing to give you, a chance. And giving my grandson a chance, to follow the footstep of his father. You have my permission, outsiders from a far." The old man agrees to Celeste's demands, knowing the great challenges his grandson will face in the near future.
"Thank you, thank you so much, sir! We promised we'll take care-" Celeste's words were cut off short "No need dear, I want him to learn, because I know, not even I can protect him forever." Celeste was taken aback by the old man's words, but she doesn't press the issue further, instead she nods, understanding the gravity of his words.
"I'm back with the tea." The conversation was interrupted by Noir's voice, he is carrying a tray with three cups of tea. "Ah Noir, you're just right in time, we have a question to asked you." The boy tilt his head "What is it miss Celeste?" Asked the boy with curiosity "Would you.. like to go on an adventure?" The boy drops the tray, tea spilled on the floor, for a second, the boy looks confused, but then, his eyes light's up with joy "Really?!"
[---End of Chapter: 1---]