As the light dissipated, I opened my eyes to be welcomed by a beautiful expanse at the foot of a mountain. Then an ear piercing voice assaulted my ears whispering words into them : [ Dormant welcome to your first trial! Conquer and you shall receive, fail and we shall take.]
The words shook me to the core especially that last bit. Before I could get used to my surroundings another voice this one less familiar took me out of my thoughts. " Hey kid! Start moving or we'll leave you behind!"
I turned to see a tall bearded man with skin like caramel ,clad in leather armour,a large great sword swung on his back ,standing next to 5 more men of varying sizes,age,height and skin tone all having different weapons.
A tall dark skinned with two twin daggers;two short chubby twins with ivory white skin each having an axe in hand; a man wearing glasses carrying a wooden staff with a large blue gem at it's peak and lastly a huge masculine man with bandages covering his hands
Memories flooded my mind in fragments, of a boy not to far from me in height and looks talking to these men about... an expedition and a job? Is that why I'm here, to help these men on a job? Easy enough but, what's my job here? I immediately felt a sudden weight at my back. 'Bags... a porter! ' I thought in realization.
"C-coming " I stammered rushing to them.
-----
We walked for what felt like hours, the sun still burning bright before the bearded man whom i named warrior told us to stop and rest. He called for me or the thing on my back rather. He took out dried me wrapped in greasy paper and a round canteen of water which where passed around ending at me.
The meat was surprisingly soft and after a bit of chewing I could taste some salty and smoky flavours. The water was cool and refreshing as it flowed down my throat.
Taking this moment of rest I collected my thoughts. From the limited information the Awakened Clans gave out to us slum rats, trails were meant to be a sort of test. To pass said test the most common solution was to either kill abominations or humans.
But this trial doesn't seem to need that solution or atleast for know. Somewhere deep inside I felt that killing these people didn't seem to be the solution. Like some sort of intuition. So for know I'll hope to either reach the peak of this mountain or encounter some monsters I could kill, but for that I need a weapon.
Before long we continued our ascent up the mountain. My boredom bit at me so I quickened my pace quickly reaching the warrior at the front of the group. The other members moved out of the way neglecting my presence and scanning the area. I cleared my throat catching his attention and asked
" If I may ask, why are we climbing this mountain? ". with his deep voice answered " scouting mission- " before he could finish a rustle came from the bushes. Everyone tensed up and before too long a large beast slowly walked out of the surrounding forest in front of us, it resembled a large wolf with razor sharp fangs, claws and silver fur.
Warrior shoved a short sword at me pushing me back. I ran too a far corner while everyone else got ready for battle.
The man I deemed a sorcerer spoke some incomprehensible words before a red hue enveloped the rest. There muscles seemed to become more defined and they gripped there weapons tighter.
I watched in anticipation as the wolf lunged at warrior, its jaws wide open. Warrior swung his great sword in a wide arc, barely missing the wolf's snapping jaws. The tall dark skinned man darted in from the side, his twin daggers flashing in the sunlight as he struck at the wolf's exposed flank. The wolf howled in pain as his blades bit deep into its flesh.
The Twins charged forward, their axes raised high. They swung in perfect sync, their blades biting into the wolf's shoulders. The wolf stumbled, its movements becoming more labored. The sorcerer stood back, his staff glowing with magical energy. He muttered an incantation, and a blast of liquid like energy shot forward, striking the wolf with incredible force.
The martial artist lunged forward, his massive frame barreling into the wolf. He grabbed its throat, his hands closing around its windpipe like a vice. The wolf's eyes bulged as he squeezed, its body going limp. With a final twist of his hands, the last remnants of the wolfs' life left it's eyes. The group stood panting, their cheats rising all falling rapidly.
I felt a mix of awe and fear as I watched the group fight the wolf. They moved with a precision and coordination that I'd never seen before. My former thoughts of them wavered but didn't break.
After a moment's rest the warrior thrust his arm into the beast and after a bit of searching he pulled out his arm with an ord the size of a fist in his hand.
He quickly put it away and started butchering the beast with the help of the others. Building up courage I went to help too. Me being new to this didn't do a great job but with everyone's guidance I gradually became better.
...
'Keep it.' The warrior said as I tried to give the short sword back. 'Thank you' with a slight bow I left to get the luggage back. On my way there I examined the sword.
The short sword lied nestled in a leather sheath, adorned with intricate designs that seem to dance in the light. The sheath itself was a rich brown color, worn in places from years of use, giving it a well-loved appearance. A small metal clasp at the top held the sword securely in place. The sheath was engraved with intricate runes that shown slightly and the sword itself had these too.
After a short search for a campsite we set up camp. I got tasked with that and getting firewood.