It was midday by the time Audriana and her winged friend reached the city of Brinehill. On their way here they saw many things and people of different races. People with long tails, three arms, or even rainbow hair! Back on Earth, she couldn't possibly have imagined such people would exist, but here they were in the flesh going about their own lives and having things to do.

What fascinated her, even more, were the Flying Bisons and the fact they could be used as air taxis, could you believe it? Taxis that were in the air! Unfortunately, she didn't have any Pieces on her or else she would have already been on the back of one. Getting on a Flying Bison would have to be shelved until she got her situation sorted out. As Audriana and Arden got closer to the entrance of Brinehill a small line could be seen forming. Hm, it seemed to get into the city they had to be checked out first, this was just like with her school's metal detector. There shouldn't be much of a problem. She hurriedly got into line before it became even longer and she was gradually pushed to the front as the line thinned out.

"Guild Card or any City Identification card?" What the hell was a Guild Card or that other thing?! Kris hadn't told her anything about this!! Did they forget to mention it? Or did they want to play a trick on her for being annoying? When the female guard was met with stunned silence she looked up from her clipboard and lifted a brow. "I guess you're a newcomer?" The female guard tsked, lifted a hand over the clipboard, and a pale shine covered the board for a second before a small card popped out of it. "This is a temporary card until you get a Guild Card or a City card. Also, be careful within the city as reconstruction is taking place." The female guard handed it over to her before making a gesture to move along.

As this was Audriana's first time in Brinehill, she took the liberty to look around and something Kris mentioned popped up in her head again. "It seemed like they were right, Arden." The butterfly gave a flap of his wings as a response. She was referring to the aftermath of the Worldshift that Kris said Sky Archipelago was recovering from. While she was on the road she could see signs of the earthquakes that shook the region but Brinehill looked like it had been impacted more. If this was just what you could see while entering the city,  she couldn't imagine what it looked like deeper within the city.

But she wasn't here to sightsee at the moment, what she needed to find was the Adventurer's Guild. So she started asking around before someone pointed her in the right direction. After a few minutes of walking, Audriana and Arden finally arrived in front of the Adventurer's Guild. The Guild looked to be in better condition than most of its surroundings. Someone was already ahead of her, they entered and she quickly caught the doors before they closed. "I don't want you to hurt yourself in here so just rest on my shoulder." At her words, Arden landed on her shoulder. Satisfied, she turned her head to look around the Guild. 

Brinehill's Adventurer's Guild seemed to have been set up recently, as there were common items that were used daily in Sky Archipelago missing. There were very few people in the Guild currently, which Audriana found weird. As she walked up to the front desk the male receptionist must have heard her footsteps because he quickly lifted his head from sorting some papers and smiled at her. "Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild! My name is Ryland! Don't mind the state of the Guild right now, we were still in the process of getting everything ready but the Worldshift happened." Ryland seemed embarrassed but he smoothly brushed over the topic and kept talking. "Are you here to register?" When she nodded the receptionist grinned widely.

"That's great, here's everything you need to do..." A short while later and Audriana had completed her Guild registration. The hand that held her Guild Card trembled a bit, she completed the first step towards her adventure. Though it was only a simple process of filling out some information she still felt proud of herself. "Aren't you going to give me a Butterfly?" Kris had mentioned she would get one after she completed her registration. Ryland turned to her confused. "Your Butterfly is right there though?" he pointed at Arden who perked up at the mention of his name. Caught off guard but quickly regaining her bearings, she spoke quickly. "Oh, sorry must have been confused." Her words were a bit awkward. Ryland gave her a weird look but soon turned back to his papers at his desk.

This at least explained why Ryland never gave her a Butterfly as soon as she was done with her registration, or was Kris's information incorrect? She turned to look at Arden from the corner of her eye but slightly shook her head and headed towards the Quest Board. Couldn't only registered guild members have Butterflies? Audriana wasn't about to add another question to her already long list of questions. Maybe when she grew more knowledgeable about this world she'd come back to this topic someday. Arden quickly went up to the board and seemed to scan it before turning to her. "That's really convenient!" The butterfly flapped his wings, seemingly glad he could help. Audriana gave a wave to Ryland who returned it as she walked out of the Guild. She found a bench on the sidewalk and sat down on it, she just needed to rest a moment.

Everything was going so fast, she was constantly on her feet, going here and there. Whether this was a world that held magic or not, in the end, Audriana was still a human and had no magic. She rubbed her stomach, she could feel herself growing hungry. Back on Earth she only had a small snack before she was abruptly pulled into another world. She had to earn some money fast, and just not for food. She needed a place to stay, somewhere with an actual bed and working bathroom would be preferable. Thinking of this a small status screen popped up. "Thank's Arden, now let's see what quests we can take." Audriana gently stroked the butterfly's wings.

She chose this quest for several reasons. It looked easier than the other quests and all she had to do was search for the child. Having chosen her quest, she got up from the bench. Audriana's body was feeling a little better so starting her quest now probably wouldn't bother her. The parent had mentioned what district they lived in so after she found the child she was going to personally hand them over to the parent. Maybe she could get more rewards that way when the quest gets evaluated. 

It slightly hurt her morals to take advantage of someone's plight to gain money, especially someone with a child, but when you're on the verge of being homeless and starving can having morals feed you? Audriana quickly shook her head at those thoughts, she was terrified of being such an immoral person. Arden seemed to sense her rising emotions as he fluttered around her worriedly. "...I'm fine, let's just focus on this quest." She gave a small smile and the butterfly seemed to be pacified by this. The parent mentioned that they were in Brinehill's main marketplace and had been separated during the chaos caused by the Worldshift.

Honestly, this information was quite vague. Would she have to search the market up and down? Plus the marketplace was in the heavily damaged area of Brinehill but she was sure she could get access to them by giving the guards her Guild Card. She could plan the next steps she would take once she was in the marketplace. 

Soon she was in front of a couple of guards, behind them she could see destruction. Homes, shops, and buildings lay wasted, cracks run throughout the ground, pillars of some buildings creaked and swayed under the heavy weight they were shouldering. Flames roared out of broken windows and some distance cries could be heard. On the way here she heard people calling this place The Zone, whether or not the name held importance she didn't know. "Stop! To pass through here you must be a registered Adventurer's Guild member or have direct authorization from The Council!" The Council? It seemed Brinehill was governed by some people. Anyways, Audriana whipped out her Guild Card and handed it to the guards.

Her card was looked over, flipped over and even [Appraisal] was used on it. They handed it back to her once it was deemed legit. The barrier spell that prevented Audriana from going in had been lifted and she stepped inside. The barrier quickly closed again and one of the guards turned to her from the other side. "Take care, many areas inside The Zone still haven't been checked out thoroughly and there have been reports of wreckage toppling over." That's all the guard said before they turned back and took post. She knew coming here was dangerous, she had come so far and she wasn't ready to give up now.

She, Audriana Takao wouldn't give up yet. Filling herself with newfound determination, she and Arden marched on. There were other people here within The Zone that she passed on her way to the marketplace, many adventurers such as herself but other's were medics, volunteers helping in the clean up, or just simple people who were searching for missing loved ones.

Portions of the marketplace were damaged but as long as she stayed on the safe side of the marketplace she'd be fine. She didn't know where to look, honestly, where could she even began? But she knew she had to find this kid fast, the sun was slowly setting over the horizon, and searching in the dark would only complicate her quest. "Arden, could you head to the other side of the marketplace to see if you can spot anything?" Audriana was lucky she had a companion who was able to fly, this made the task of looking out for things easier. The butterfly headed off and she started rummaging through stuff.

After flipping over some wreckage she had built up quite a sweat. A girl like her who had everything handed to her on a silver platter wouldn't be used to such hard work even if the aforementioned hard work was just simply flipping things over. Her palms had turned red but she had a smile on her face. "Besides the unfortunate circumstances, I find myself doing this in, it's actually quite fun. It's kinda like a prop hunt or hide and seek." A low chuckle escaped her lips. "Hm... what's this?" Audriana noticed a small furry leg underneath some rubble and carefully pushed it out of the way so she could see what it was. It was a stuffed bear with one eye missing and a lopsided smile stitched on its face. When she flipped it over to the back she could see the initials T.Y.

She looked at it for a few more seconds before turning her gaze away, it was just some old toy and didn't interest her in the least. Audriana brushed some dust off her hands and as she was about to get back to digging around she heard the sound of something flying through the air. She turned and saw Arden who stopped as soon as he was spotted. She hopped to her feet, she had been with her butterfly long enough to know when he wanted her to follow him, it was strange really. They hurried through the market, dodging and making sure not to trip any sharp objects that may cause harm.

Arden landed beside a tarp that covered some kind of cart. Audriana gave a grateful nod in the butterfly's direction. Arden had helped her out twice now, leading her to Kris and now finding this child whom she needed to find to complete her quest. She crouched down and gently lifted the tarp. Immediately she saw a trembling child who looked scared but put on a tough face. "Hey, I'm not here to hurt you. Your parent filled out a request to the Adventurer's Guild to have someone find you." She even pulled out her Guild Card in case the child didn't believe her. At her words and show of proof their tough expression crumbled. The child plowed into her arms and began weeping. 

"I want to go home, please take me home! I want to see my mommy and Tiddly!" The child wailed and their hands gripped her white dress shirt tightly. "I know, I know I'll take you home to see your mommy and Tiddly." Audriana softly caressed the child's hair and sighed. She understood this kid, on a personal level. After she fell into this world she was alone, with no one to hold her hand or tell her it was going to be alright. She wanted her mother too, she wanted her comfort, she missed the soft touches of her mother. Audriana hugged the child and she didn't know when but her tears began to fall too.

Two children, both wanting to go home held each other tightly.

fyrre

Excuse any grammar errors! I've had this chapter in the drafts for a while and only today tried to edit most of it but now it's finally here!