“Come on, Eir… You can do this.” I reaffirmed myself, and pulled the brown dirt-coloured hood back over my head.
I was just outside the borders of the village, looking at the wreckage that remained of a machine of some sort... When I saw them. Bright flashes caused by pillars of light, descending from the sky. It was brief for each, and minutes to hours lapsed between each one, but the strange phenomenons were enough to pique my natural curiosity. Although the adults were panicked about the lights when I returned, they ultimately decided to send a party to investigate in the morning. Despite my best efforts, I was ultimately denied to come with them, as it was viewed as too potentially dangerous...
Which meant the only time to see what had happened for myself was now...
The strange lights from yesterday must mean something new is out here, and I’m set on finding out what they were. I set out just before the crack of dawn and headed towards the farthest instance of the pillars, as to avoid the investigation party. Although I prepared thoroughly for this trip out here… I’m still nervous about heading towards the old outpost that Ma’ told me to stay away from. And yet my determination to be like those travelers who came by the village every week kept my legs moving.
“One, two… One, two…” I whispered under my breath as I marched on through the chilly wastes, the sun now cracking over the hedge of the horizon.
It was unclear to me just how far I’d have to continue on like this, but thankfully I had yet to run into any other form of life yet. I’ll take that as good fortune, but knowing how they, The Lost, normally behave… they’re likely all ahead where those lights came from. Any large spike in mana in an area like this would without a doubt, draw them all towards it.
The sun, now rising fully over the horizon, gave more light to the rough dunes ahead. It bore down on me unapologetically as I climbed the sandy hills. I stopped myself just before the foot of the next slope when I heard them. I closed my eyes, then lowered my hood, and focused… Just my luck.
Over the dune, I could hear the sounds of grunting, scratching, and banging. I guess that’s the old outpost up ahead… and those are Lost trying to break into it?
I was replanning my route to go around and avoid the area when I caught wind of something besides the Lost. After refocusing my hearing… “-ken hippies...” I could just barely make out the voice of a person…
Th-there’s people over there?! I quickly ran up the slope to the top of the dune, and my legs froze immediately. A pack of ten Lost, pressing against a board, being met with opposing force from the inside. I laid down prone in an attempt to hide myself, and think about what to do…
Every instinct in me is telling me to run. I’ve never had to deal with more than two Lost at a time before… so why wouldn’t my body be telling me to run? And yet… I’m still frozen here. T-those people, they need my help! But how can I help them… I had heard horror stories about lone travelers being beset by swarms of wandering Lost. Tales about how the unlucky travelers would continuously be dismembered and regenerate in a loop of torment, until they eventually lost their minds, becoming one of the Lost.
I tucked my ears back into my hood, and dragged it over my eyes. The disgusting view of the Lost combined with my hopelessness, made me want to puke. It was then…
“Out of the way! ARRGH!” The voice of a young boy shouted from the ruined outpost, followed by a large thud, mixed with the twisting sounds of impalement.
I looked up to see a young boy wearing truly out of place clothing, rushing back inside, as a more mature, silver-haired boy in similar garb stepped out, and gracefully danced with the spear his compatriot had just left within the body that now laid on the rough sands before him. He managed to knock down a few more of the Lost in gruesome fashion. I could hear the sounds of bones cracking, and organs erupting. This boy appeared just as skilled as some of the explorers I aspired to be.
But it was no use… A hopeless struggle that continued on unless one could accurately pinpoint and destroy the cores inside them, only that would end their eternal torment, and mindless search for life.
...Those people have clearly never fought Lost before… yet they’re still trying to fight their way out. How could they be so brave? I looked back down to the sands below me, and my eyes met with a few small rocks.
“Gah...!” I heard the mature boy’s shout of pain. Once I looked up he was already gone from view, with the board back up against the hole.
Their display of bravery must have inspired me in some way, as I had unconsciously picked up the small rocks which once laid on the ground before me. I stood myself up, then took a deep breath… “Come on, Eir. You can do this!”
I remembered the little combat training I had. Focusing my eyes on the targets, my left eye pulsed, allowing myself to see the traces of mana within them. They’re 421 meters away, no wind, and still targets. I’ve thrown farther than this in my sleep! With another deep breath, I began focusing strength into the abomination that was my right arm, took aim and…
I released the built up tension in my arm, and like that, the pebble left my hand and shot forth like a bolt of lightning. Good, the power behind it was desired, all that was left was the accuracy...
A direct hit.
The stone impacted against where the flowing lines my left eye saw coalesced, of which sent the Lost’s body sailing through the air, most of its torso exploding from the force of the impact. The gruesomeness of what I had just done almost made me throw up, but I recomposed myself, and put another pebble from my left hand, into my right.
I would use less power on this next shot so as to not make myself gag from the visual fireworks on every kill. However, that would require more accuracy, of which I was more than confident in. I needed this efficiency if the Lost ever turned their heads towards me. Thankfully, they were too distracted with the door to worry about their friend's death. But that would not last for long, especially as I continued to take out more of them.
Throw after throw. Shot after shot. They started to run towards me, and I missed a few here and there, but thankfully the distance between us made up for it. Soon, all of them were down, and none would ever get back up.
I took a minute to recompose myself and take a deep breath…
Alright, I did it! Wait till Ma’ and Pa’ hear about the fact I took out a horde of lost by myself! Speaking of which, why were they... Oh… I had forgotten about the reason I instigated such a thing. Quickly I started running towards the dilapidated outpost.
“The door… Don’t tell me I’m too late!” As I approached, I noticed the plank of wood they were holding up had been broken into. Quickly, out of worry I ran in without second thought, and before I knew it, I was surrounded.
I was both relieved, and terrified at the same time. They were fine, but they were also pointing various weaponry at me from all angles. The kid who had so valiantly charged out with a wooden spear before, was now hiding behind a girl I could only assume was their leader. While the boy who followed up with that attack, was now holding and pointing a knife of some sort at me.
However, they were all hesitating now…
“You’re… a kid…?” The leading girl spoke, and in a brief instance afterwards, the silver haired boy quickly removed my hood as I stood there… petrified.
As soon as the hood went down…
That’s when I saw them… Those fluffy protrusions of pure happiness on the top of his head, twitching at the sound of every slight movement we made.
“Gaaaaah, you’re so cuuuute!” Livie already had him in a death hold, petting his head and scratching his ears. As she did so, the cloak that was covering most of his body ended up moving away. Black fur could be seen in spotted patches running along his tanned skin, and while his left arm was clearly human, his right was anything but. Where his palm should have been, instead laid thickened pads, with retractable claws instead of nails, and black fur running up and past his shoulder.
“Livie get away from it.” Arashi ordered in concern. “We don’t know what it’s capable of.” He pointed his kitchen knife back at the small cat-like child, no bigger than Ollie.
Livie defensively pulled the animal-eared boy closer towards her, then stuck her tongue out at Arashi.
“He was the only one capable of saving us!” Yusha grabbed hold of Arashi’s arm and lowered it. “We should at least thank him for that.” He gave Livie a thumbs up with a wink, causing Arashi to sigh.
Livie’s eyes glistened. “Yuuushaaa… You understand!~” She stood back up, still holding the child, before placing him back down on his feet, and stepping quickly back towards my side. “Come now, everyone~”
We all bowed on Livie’s command, Arashi begrudgingly followed suit. “Thank you for saving us!” We all shouted our gratitude for our little saviour. I began to wonder if he really was just a child, as my eyes glanced at the crimson sands outside, but those worries were quickly dashed away.
A look of confusion was frozen on his face, as he slowly reached back for his tattered hood to pull it back over his head. “Y-you’re welcome.” He grabbed his right arm in shyness, then hid it behind his back out of view. He was clearly uncomfortable with his own appearance, and our obsession with him had put him far out of his element.
“I’m Livie, by the way~” She had already left my side and snuck behind him, poking at the arm he was holding. “So what’s a smol thing like you doin’ out here in the first place?” The sudden sounds of her voice from behind, had caused him to jerk forward suddenly, making him trip over his own feet out of fear for another barrage of intensive cuddling.
“Woah there…” Swiftly, Yusha caught him with his arms. “We’re not going to hurt ya.” He smiled down at the animal-eared boy. “You can start by telling us your name. I’m Yusha by the way.” He let the boy go, and gently patted his shoulder.
“I…” He paused as he looked around the room at all of us, until his eyes met with Ollie, who was now at my side holding out his left hand in greeting.
“I’m Oliver, but you can call me Ollie.” He smiled at the nervous cat, glad to meet another person near his own age.
“My name is Eir…” He reached out and hesitantly shook Ollie’s hand. “I’m out here because…” He paused again, as though trying to remember something, or perhaps make up a story.
I reached forward to pat his head, although far less aggressively than Livie had before. “My name is Michirin, but you can call me Mimi.” Stepping back, I nudged Arashi closer with my arm, forcing him to do the same as I.
“Arashi.” He said in a cold introduction for himself, zipping back up the bag he had just put his knife back into. “Alright, Kid… Did you happen to see anything strange out here yesterday, like bright lights in the sky, for example?” He was straight to the point like always.
“Ah!” Eir shouted out, as though he remembered something. “Yes, that’s why I’m out here. I wanted to be the first to see what happened.” His expression dropped from being thrilled, and returned back to shyness.
“Why would ya wanna be the first out in a place like this?” Livie brought her finger to her chin and tilted her head.
“And what do you mean by first?” Arashi gripped the strap on his bag tightly, worried that more people are yet to stop by.
“Well… My home is sending out a group to investigate, that didn’t let me join them, so I came out on my own before they left. To prove that I can be an explorer!” A brief look of excitement shot over his face before fading away to a look of guilt. “They were right… I should have listened and stayed home.”
Livie leaned forward and began to gently pet Eir’s head from atop his hood. “Nonsense. We’re safe because of you. Thanks a bunch, Eir!~” Livie’s grin was met with a small smile in reply.
“This investigation party you mentioned… when do you think they’ll be out this far?” I bent my knees down to reach his eye level, and tilted my head.
“Errr… probably in thirty minutes…” Eir lowered his head towards the ground. An aura of guilt pouring from him once again.
Arashi looked down to me, and I nodded back. Thirty minutes isn’t much time at all, and I’d like to avoid a direct confrontation with them while we have Eir by our side. We need to get our things together and head to the city, hopefully avoiding a meeting with people who are ready for a fight. If a child like Eir is capable of taking out a horde of things by himself, then lord knows what a group of grown-ups are capable of. Then…
“I-I can go talk to them. I’ll tell them you’re here if you’d like. Besides... I need to let them know I snuck out here alone… but I also want to see the look on their faces when I tell them about all the Lost I took out on my own!” Clenching his fists, and raising his head with a smile. “I’ll go by myself and let them know you’re here.”
‘Lost.’ The word he used to refer to those things echoed through my brain… I gave my head a quick shake and put that thought on hold. “Eir, that would be a great help. Thanks.” I patted his shoulder as his face grew a slight blush.
“Gaah!~ You’re so brave Eir. Who knew a hero could fit in such a small package?~” Livie gushed her affection, like a proud, overly-supportive elder sister. Eir pulled his hood farther down to hide his eyes, nodded his head in thanks, and ran out the door.
“W-wait!” Ollie shouted after Eir, causing him to halt his run and turn around. “We’ll see you later, friend!” Ollie grinned innocently at the shy animal-eared boy.
Yusha stepped out immediately afterwards, with his hand pressed forward. His index and middle finger extended out to form a peace-sign. Signaling his best wishes to the departing Eir.
Eir nodded once more with a grin, and wandered over the bright sandy dunes ahead. His meeting with the investigation party, to inform them of our location and intent, will surely have them expecting us as peaceful refugees. Now then…
“Get everything together. Conceal anything that can be seen as threatening. Arashi, feel free to retrieve the spear Ollie made and use it as a walking stick.” I swiftly ordered after quickly standing back up. “Livie, what did you make of Eir?” I turned my gaze towards the green haired girl, with a tone that said ‘answer honestly.’
Livie pouted in refusal, before voicing what I had asked anyway. “‘Kay~ But first, I need to get it out of my system… HE’S ADORABLE!! Ok… done… maybe...” she stood herself back up straight, and saluted in an over exaggerated military-like posture. “Obviously he’s some kind of beast-person, like in fantasy games, however… the asymmetric patches of fur were very unusual for such a fantasy race, but oh em gee they were so soft... Ahem… I don’t believe he ever had any hostile intentions towards us, nor do I have reason to believe this investigation party he spoke of will be of any threat to us, based on how he spoke about them of course.” She brought her arm down from salute and swiftly brought it to her side. “End of report, SIR!”
“Based on how he spoke of them… Hmm” I pondered. If Eir is as friendly as Livie believes then I’ll have to assume that those currently coming towards us will be close to the same. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that they will take us as prisoners, or worse. We’re heavily unable to defend ourselves if the situation arises, as proven by our run in with those… Lost.
“At the very least, language doesn’t seem to be an issue in this world. That kid understood us perfectly.” Arashi scoffed, before walking off into a corner and leaning against the wall.
“Yo, Mimi.” Yusha placed his hand on my shoulder to grab my attention. “Are those things what Arashi told you about last night?” He had a fire in his eyes. Likely upset we kept him in the dark about it.
“Correct. Those are indeed what Arashi believes he saw while scouting yesterday.” I turned my body towards him, letting his hand drop from my shoulder. “We didn’t want unnecessary worry for something we didn’t know anything about. It would have distracted us from our sleep.” I responded honestly.
“...I see.” He crossed his arms and slouched his shoulders. “Are you sure Arashi should hang onto that pole? You saw how he acted towards Eir.”
“If you can take it away from him yourself, then you can worry about him having it or not.” I let slip a light giggle as his face shot with fear. “Don’t worry, Arashi isn’t a violent ape. If anything, he’ll drop it if the Party asks him to. Right, Arashi?” I called out Arashi’s name, not taking my gaze off Yusha.
“Yeah, of course.” Arashi responded absentmindedly, his hands fastening the straps on his backpack, as he checked the contents laid out inside.
“You look like you’re getting ready for school~” Livie teased while zipping up her purse, then grabbed Ollie’s hand and swung it back and forth in slow motions. “We’re all set here.” She grinned brightly.
“Good.” I gave them a nod. “Now all that’s left is to wai--” I was cut off by the sudden appearance of several men and women just outside the door, one of them having stepped inside, lance gripped tightly at his side. I could hear Yusha gulp from beside me at the heavy aura which dropped over the room.
“You must be the ones who rescued Eir.” The tall man with a similar fashioned cloak to Eir’s shouted in greeting, although he had the story all wrong. “Your clothes are even more off putting and out of place than he mentioned.” He paused for a moment to look us over. “Say… Your clothes… Where are you even from…?”
“Excuse me, bu-” He cut me off before I could speak up.
“I’m sorry, where are my manners, that was rude of me! You have our deepest gratitude. Truly!” His expression changed from one of apology, to exclamation as he expressed his group’s thanks.
“You wouldn’t believe the kind of story Eir tried to tell us. As if he could take out all the Lost out here, hahaha!” A hearty laugh echoed through the room, as a woman with a tophat and goggles stepped forward abruptly. “Howdy! I’m Celly, and this big lump of a man right here is my brother, Jerry.” She sternly nudged the loud man beside her with her elbow.
“Apologies for not introducing myself sooner.” He raised his large hairless arm to rub the back of his head. “I already sent Eir back home. A kid like him shouldn't have come out here on his own...” Larry pouted before sparking back up to continue his speech. "Not to worry though! I made sure to send him back safely with a brave explorer! Speaking of which... the people behind me are all explorers who volunteered to aid us in investigating the lights from yesterday, which appeared out in this area. They’re a kind bunch, and don’t bite.” He chuckled as he stepped to the side to reveal the few other well-equipped adults outside the door.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Michirin.” I bowed in polite introduction. “These are my friends. We somehow ended up lost here, and have nowhere to go at the moment.”
“If that’s the case, then there’s always room for you back in town.” Jerry crossed his arms with a bright smile on his face. “We can’t have Eir’s saviours going unrewarded.”
“Uh, mister… Eir is the one wh-” Ollie tried to speak up in correction this time, but was again cut off by the drum that is Jerry’s voice.
“Sis, I’ll guide them back myself and introduce them to Keinz and Julie.” Jerry waved at us, signaling that we should follow.
“Alright Jerry. Make sure to treat them to a warm meal as well.” Celly waved back to us as she walked out the door, leading the rest of the Investigation Party further beyond the dunes, deeper into the desert.
“Let’s get going ourselves, kids! The sooner we get there, the more time you’ll have to adjust to it.” Jerry marched the opposite way of Celly, looking back every so often to make sure we were keeping up with him. I looked over at Arashi, who could only let out a sigh at our circumstances, before ultimately following the log of a man that was leading us.
Keeping my handbag held by my side as we all marched and slugged our way through the desert, I couldn’t help but turn around and raise both my thumbs up with a smile towards my friends following behind me, more sighs escaping Arashi’s lips each time I did. Things were going better than we could ever hope for after a very unexpected encounter this morning. Perhaps finding a way back home wouldn’t be too far off from here.
In the distance, there it was. A relatively small town, reminiscent of ones I saw while watching western movies with Hikari. Surrounding the town, large walls which appeared to be in the process of being built. It somehow felt like we had been suddenly dropped in the wild west of America, yet more barren, but also slightly more advanced.
Now arriving at the edge of town, Jerry looked back to us and raised his arms in pride. “Welcome! To my humble home, Sos Gearr!” Jerry went on laughing warmly. Overly proud about the small settlement which he called home. “I know it’s an odd name, but we gladly took it over, ‘Outpost #87.’ The explorers just suddenly started calling it that… I believe their reason was, ‘It’s the perfect place to take a short break.’ But hey! What do I know?”
Considering its name supposedly meant ‘short break’, it was fitting, the town clearly looked as much, considering how recent it seemed, but regardless I couldn’t complain. This was it, our first checkpoint of hopefully few to follow, and the first step in getting back home.
