Autumn awoke with a head pounding with the beat of a full bardic band parading. Not helping matters was the obnoxious trill of her alarm. It caused the furious, alcohol-induced headache to batter violently against her skull.

She was hungover for the first time in her life.

With a groan like a newly arisen dead, Autumn wrenched her crusted eyes open. A mistake as the bright lights above sent a flash of pain through them. With a cry of distress, she shut them in a hurry and sent an arm questing for the alarm. She silenced it with a heavy slam and blissful quiet reigned once more.

Autumn lay face down on her bed. Stained and smelly clothes still clad her body. Somehow, she’d removed her armored boots while absolutely pissed alongside her robes and hat. They all now lay in a crumpled heap on her floor. Her mother was going to give her a disapproving look about that later. 

Last night’s memories were fragmented and hazy. Everything after her fifth shot of whiskey was a blur. She prayed that the few things she could remember were merely figments of her overactive imagination. 

Autumn rolled over once her eyes had adjusted to the light. 

She still felt awful. 

Not only did it feel like she’d swallowed a mouthful of cotton, but sweat drenched her entire body. It beaded across her like a shiny film. Her sodden tunic reeked of whiskey as it clung tightly to her chest. Body odor permeated the room.

The smell caused her to gag and her stomach to clench painfully .

With a groan, Autumn staggered to her feet, and a sudden wave of vertigo crashed into her. Along with it came bile rising in her throat. Clutching her mouth, Autumn rushed out of her bedroom and to the bathroom across the hall. Thankfully, she made it to the porcelain bowl in time.

Autumn coated the toilet with the remains of the alcohol and her undigested dinner. 

She felt much better now. 

Still half asleep, Autumn washed her mouth at the sink before grabbing her toothbrush. While purging the foulness from her mouth, she gazed up at the girl in the mirror. 

She hardly recognized her. 

The once unruly curls of twilight now were straighter than a razor blade. They cascaded down to fall at her lower back like a great ebony shroud. Her fringe had grown just as long, draping past her face and almost hid her sunken eyes. The swelling around her eye had vanished by now, leaving behind only a patchwork of green, purple, and yellow.  

It was the steel in her jet-black eyes that was the most unfamiliar to her.

Turning away, Autumn switched on the shower. The pouring hot water created a swirling mist of steam, fogging up the mirror and the foreign girl beyond. Autumn stripped herself of her unclean clothes. Her movements were awkward as she pulled at her wounds. Eventually, she freed herself of the restrictive bindings and stood naked in the privacy of her bathroom.

While she’d never been unfit or overweight, Autumn had a streamlined physique. That of a runner. However, over the days and weeks of intense training and increased diet, she’d put on some muscle. Now a dense core of chiseled abdominals was forming and her arms no longer were noodle thin. 

That wasn’t the primary thing that caught her attention. That honor belonged to a myriad of shallow claw marks criss-crossing her pale, bruised skin. Groups of four distinctive lines of red ran across her front, sides, and back. To accompany them, she had a pattern of bite marks all around her neck, breasts, and inner thighs. 

It looked like some beast had ravaged Autumn, and judging by the soreness in her intimate core, someone had.

With a fierce blush cresting her face, Autumn ducked into her shower and cleansed herself of grime. As much as she wished to luxuriate in the heat, she forced herself to shower quickly and redress in a pair of clean clothes. While standing in front of her mirror, Autumn adjusted her robe’s collar to hide the marks of ardor on her neck. 

Once satisfied, she grabbed her pack and dashed out to meet the rest of her team. 

“MOM! I’m heading…out.”

Autumn paused as reality crashed back into her life. Lingering at the door, she spared one last look to take in the sight, smells, and sounds of the life she’d had. Patting the doorframe, she departed. 

Pyre was awaiting Autumn when she finally made it to the dining hall. The doors had been especially kind today; it only took a half-dozen tries before she got to where she was heading. Breakfast lay in wait on the tabletop. Beside the plates of food was a series of murky-looking potions.

Pyre gestured towards them. 

“Hangover cures, only 30 silvers each.”  

Autumn obediently took one. The potion looked like Pyre had just scraped up some mud from outside. Giving the Alchemist a wary look, Autumn downed it and prepared for the worst. However, it wasn’t that bad. It didn’t taste great by any means, but it wasn’t as awful as it looked.

Just as she was getting into her breakfast, the others arrived. Tired eyes and clutched heads signaled their varying states of hungover. They gratefully took a potion from the table, which Autumn noted in the party’s expenditures. 

“Sorry for leaving so abruptly last night, there was a meeting called for the captains to go over the route going forward. I hope nobody got into any trouble.” Nethlia said as she piled her plate high.

“...” Autumn hid her blush with her hat.

“Well, last night I found the alchemy labs…eventually. They were very well stocked, so I could craft some more minor healing potions and synthesize a few flasks of Alchemical Fire. The quality should be good, if not higher than before.” Pyre said with pride. 

“That’s excellent. We’d best eat fast. It looks like everyone else is getting ready to leave. Make sure you have all your things.”

True to their captain’s words, all the other parties were finishing their breakfasts and getting ready to leave. Autumn's gaze collided with Eme's, causing an immediate blush to spread across both their faces. The pair swiftly turned away. Liddie squinted and looked suspiciously between them.

As she was leaving, Autumn caught sight of several of the server golems giving her a queer look. Behind them she could see they were crafting some sort of picket signs that read: fair compensation for fair work! Autumn hurried out the door. 

Whatever that was about couldn’t be her fault, right?

With a final farewell, the convoy departed the comforts of the Misplaced Inn and traveled towards the Bitter Forest and Bogward beyond. 

Temperate rainforests that reached high into the sky once dominated the entire region. Now they only bordered the gap between civilized farmlands and the rotting disorder of the swamplands. Like an open maw, the rainforest yawned before the convoy where the road carved into it. As they entered beneath the thick canopy, the ever-pouring rain ceased, blocked out by the towering trees that twisted together in search of even an ounce of sunlight. Only small droplets even made it to the darkened floor far below. The lanterns were lit in a hurry to light the way forward. As a cool air descended on the party, Autumn bundled herself up in the warmth of her robes.

A wave of cacophonous sound crashed upon Autumn. 

Buzzing, chirping, howling, roaring. Everything from the squeaking and singing of bats and birds to the howling and roaring of jungle cats and monsters poured forth. From the hidden understory to the cloud-topped canopy high above came the noises of conflict and life.

Frankly, it was intimidating. 

Onwards they continued throughout the day. 

Nature had almost completely reclaimed the Bog Road. Shallow roots of massive trees twisted across it while rotting detritus covered every hole and divot, turning them into wheel breaking pit-traps. The estimate for a two-day journey extended out to at least four. Bugs and insects constantly harassed the party throughout the day. As she was still recovering, Autumn could not drive fear into their primitive minds. Luckily, there was an alchemical solution. 

“Adventurer-grade insect-repellent: 10 silvers each.”

Autumn was already getting sick of being in charge of finances. Who knew it was Pyre who was the penny-pincher of the party? Autumn was also ninety percent sure the girl was driving up the prices. Ok, maybe eighty percent sure.

After reveling in the sight of fleeing mite clouds, Autumn scurried up to the front of the wagon. Autumn plopped herself down beside the Nethlia and stared out at the lush rainforest. Vibrant greenery shone under occasional shafts of light. She could even see the occasional singing bird resting on branch limbs.

Autumn had never experienced this kind of place on earth, and in the Feywild, she hadn't been able to appreciate the scenery. So now she did.

It was nice.

Over the creaking of wheels and general noise of the forest, there was an awkward cough. Autumn glanced over at Nethlia. The berserker’s face flushed with embarrassment as she struggled to speak. Multiple words fell silently from her lips as she squirmed in her seat. However, she eventually found her courage once more.

“Um. I just wanted to say…that is I…I wanted to apologize to you. For yelling at you, I mean! Back in Everwatch? Urg, I’m making a mess of this.” Nethlia took a breath. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you or Liddie. You were right about the party being unable to continue on. Not that it means it’d be ok to yell at you if you’re wrong! It’s just that I was raging and…no, I shouldn’t be making excuses.”

Even though Nethlia was in the wrong, Autumn’s heart ached seeing the sorrowful state of the berserker. With a comforting hand, Autumn reached out and patted Nethlia’s hunched over shoulder.

“It’s ok. These things happen right? We learn and move on?”

“No, it’s not ok. I should have been better than that; I fucked us in that fight. By jumping through that window, I put us in a dangerous position and got you, Edwyn, and Nelva hurt. If I had just…waited, we could have hit those raiders in the back.”

The leather reins squealed unnoticed in Nethlia’s tight grip.

“The truth is, I’m not cut out to be a leader; too angry, too bullheaded, too stupid. I was always just the girl-who-hits-things in groups I’ve been in. This is my first time leading and I’ve already done a piss-poor job of it.”

Autumn shook her head. 

“That’s not true. I don’t think any of the rest of us could lead.”

“So, I’m the best of the worst huh?” Nethlia chuckled.

“That’s not what I meant!”

“I know. It’s just that I’m so angry all the damn time! And I don’t know why. I think…I think I just don’t want to lose any more friends.”

Quiet fell between the pair. The wagons plodded along, rocking over roots and stones. 

“Did I ruin things between us?” Nethlia asked quietly.

“...I don’t know, but I’ll accept your apology for what it’s worth. So you can stop avoiding me.”

Nethlia blushed.

Suddenly, the convoy ground to a halt. Shouted calls from up ahead floated down the line. A fallen tree had blocked their path forwards, and it’d take at least an hour to cut a path through. With the sudden abundance of time on their hands, Autumn opted to stretch her legs. So she jumped down.

The dense foliage glowed under the pillars of broken light.

“Hey witch! Care to take a look around? We’ll be here a little bit and we’re running shy on fresh water.” 

Liddie called out to Autumn. In her hands she waved a few empty waterskins. Behind her Pyre and Nelva exited too. The alchemist held a copper sickle in her gloved hands while Nelva carried a few empty pouches. Hearing Liddie’s words Pyre spoke up. 

“Don’t eat any of the plants or fruits. Nearly everything in the Bitter Forest is poisonous, hence the name. Other than that, most of the beasts won’t bother with you unless you intrude on their territory.” 

“There you have it! To adventure!” Liddie shouted with a grin. 

Autumn turned to their captain. 

“Nethlia? Is that fine?”

Nethlia jumped slightly in her seat. She cast a quizzical look at Autumn before straightening. 

“Sure, just don’t go out of earshot. Be back in an hour and stay safe.”

“Sure thing boss!”

Liddie looped her arm into the crook of Autumn’s and practically dragged her out into the dense undergrowth. Contrary to Autumn’s expectation, the pair had a relatively undisturbed journey. The only obstacle was a group of brightly colored flowers that were clearly toxic, but it was easy enough to stay away from them. After a short trek, they heard the sounds of a pounding waterfall and burbling brook.

As the pair broke through the brush, Autumn took in the waterfall. It was just barely taller than her as it crashed down a rocky bank. A worming thought crept into Autumn’s mind: what if there was something behind it? 

It was a classic, right?

Turning to the pirate, Autumn asked. “Hey Liddie, what are the odds there is a loot-cave behind that?”

Greedy eyes cast a skeptical gaze over the waterfall. 

“Highly unlikely.”

The pair shared a look as sparkling grins danced upon their faces.