Luke found himself in a desolate wasteland, unfamiliar with anything he had ever seen or read about before. A voice came from him."Go, get out now," Luke yelled in an unfamiliar voice. "Selene, he's going to kill me, then you. Run."
Who was Selene, and why did he sound like this? The scene stretched out before him as a monstrous demon loomed ahead, nothing like the demons he had read about. The earth beneath it quivered under its weight.
"No, Michael. We must fight together," the woman said.
Michael? Luke thought. Who was Michael? What was that thing, and who was that woman?
He woke just before daybreak, a single tear streaming down his face. "Who is Selene?" he whispered before rising. "Come on, Elena. It's morning," Luke said, gently poking her on the nose.
"Five more minutes," she exhaled, rolling onto her side. Her hair was tangled from restless sleep. "I hate waking up earlyyy…" She cried as she rolled out of bed.
Neither of them had slept well. It showed clearly as they packed up camp and set out.
"Hey, Elena. I had the weirdest dream last night," Luke said. "There was this massive demonic creature, far larger than anyone should be able to imagine. The ground below him shook in fear as he stood there, Elana."
"Sounds like it's something I wanna fight," Elena chimed in, finally fully awake. "I bet I could kill it."
"No… not even if you tried your hardest," Luke said quickly. "This was something I don't think even tier five guild teams could handle. It looked like it could wipe mountains out in an instant."
"That sounds incredible," Jarret said from a few steps behind them, his breath heavy with excitement. "Can you explain more?" "What did you see Luke?."
Luke tried to reach for the rest of the details, but they slipped away. His chest tightened as a sense of dread settled in. His pulse flaring.
He glanced back at Jarret with a concerned look. "No, that's all I remember. I just can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. Things are adding up faster than I can count."
"You think the bear and the dungeon encounter are somehow connected to each other, it would line up with what the guild was saying…" Elena asked as she walked toward Luke.
"Dungeon encounter? Do tell," Jarret said, book and pen in hand in an instant.
Over the next few hours, the trio worked their way through the forest, taking out small forest fauna and minor monsters along the way. They never broke stride, working together with practiced ease.
"Now this is what I was expecting when I took that quest," Luke said as he used his magic more offensively against the weaker creatures.
"Earth Spike," he called, a spike of earth formed from the ground below, rising to hover just in front of his hand. He thrust his palm forward, and the spike launched.
"Why didn't you use that on the dive?" Elena asked, genuine confusion on her face. "That spell rocks."
"I can't focus on protecting you while also dealing damage," Luke said. "You never stay still long enough for me to split my attention."
As if to prove his point, he raised a rock shield just in time to block a gray wolf's attack.
"See? Just like that," Luke said. "You only look forward. Somebody has to have your back."
A flutter again. Still faint.
"Next time try it. We'll see how we can work it together with my frost magic," Elena replied, cleaving her sword through another wolf. The last one.
"Man, we have got to be getting close, right?" Elena asked after they had walked another couple of hours. "You said two days. It's day two."
"The village should be coming into view in the next few hours," Jarret said. "We'll start seeing more and more flattened roads the closer we get."
"I can't wait to eat and sleep in a bed," Luke said. "This job pays enough for us to afford separate rooms for once while we stay overnight."
"You don't want to stay with me," Elena asked quietly. "That's fine. I wouldn't want you peeking at me anyway." She came back louder this time.
"Elena, I swear," Luke said as he covered his face from view. "I just thought you would enjoy a night alone. We've been cooped up the last few weeks. You haven't had much time to yourself."
"What if I don't want time to myself?" Elena asked, a clear look of mischief on her face. "What if a bear comes and gets me in my sleep? Who will protect me?" She giggled, walking ahead of them.
"Sounds like you may want to reconsider," Jarret said. "She may sound like she's joking, but I don't think she is," he finished quietly.
That made Luke's heart skip and his pulse race. "Yeah, I don't know. She likes to tease me all the time. I can never truly tell what she's thinking."
Smoke rising was the first sign of the village.
"Shouldn't be much longer," Jarret said. "About an hour until we're there. When we get there, I'll head straight to the clinic and meet you two at the guild center after."
"Sounds like a plan. Is there an inn you suggest we stay at?" Luke asked. "We'll only be staying the night, so whatever is cheapest works."
"Well, if you want cheap hospitality, it can only be Alril's place. Her prices are fair and her plates are large. Other than that, if you have shards, you can stay uptown. Don't expect the same hospitality though."
As the crew drew closer, the village came into their sights. Elena decided to run ahead, yelling something about shopping.
"I better catch up to her quickly, or you'll be waiting instead of us," Luke said.
"No problem. It's not a bother. Good luck with your hunt," Jarret said as he walked into town in the opposite direction. "The guild hall is at the center of town."
They waved at each other one last time, and Luke headed into the village to search for Elena, the familiar tightening in his chest returning.
"I've got to find some answers," he murmured, rushing toward the shopping district.
"But first, I have to find Elena," he added. "She always runs off without thinking."
And this time, Luke couldn't shake the feeling that finding her might change everything.