As their conversation wrapped up, I couldn't help but feel something.
'So that's what an actual leader is like?'
In our brief interactions Bern felt cold and pragmatic. That impression hasn't completely changed, but now I could see he definitely had more to him than met the eye.
He clearly held enough trust and respect for companions to share his full and honest opinion. He also held this young apprentice priestess, Amelia, at high regard – not out of reverence, but out of appreciation for her previous deeds and reputation.
'And that priestess…'
Initially, I thought of the small woman as just another person in their party, maybe a bit shy, if anything.
When she offered to cast that 'miracle', I was a little surprised, but didn't think too much of it – in this world, confirming somebody isn't some evil entity could very well be par for the course.
But what I didn't expect is her defending a very suspicious person she's never met with such vigor. This was much more than I could expect from someone who looked like a shy young woman, who wasn't even a full on priest yet, nor even being a full member of their party.
I've never been an overly religious person. I've gone to church a few times, mainly out of curiosity, but I just couldn't really connect to religion. It had nothing to do with the people or even the clergy -- most of them even seemed pretty decent, but the overall vibe just felt somewhat hollow to me.
Not that I expected much more back then – it felt like a social gathering where people came to recite a few sermons, listen to the priests' passionate speeches, and socialize within the community. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing I could bring myself to really care about.
This, however, felt different. No reverent speeches about faith, no lectures about her god's doctrine, but the resolve to actually stand up for what seemed to be her ideals, even at the face of imminent risk and dissatisfaction from her (temporary) companions.
If my impression of her was accurate, this young woman was the first genuinely good person I've encountered in this world.
'If I end up staying in that town they mentioned, I'd have to thank her somehow.'
But, thinking this far into the future irreversibly started attracting some other thoughts, so I forced my focus back on the present for now – specifically, the pair of footsteps approaching my temporary haven.
"We've reached a decision."
Bern paused for a moment, before continuing.
"First, let me be clear – we still don't trust you. However, our priest decided to speak on your behalf, so we shall respect her judgement."
Yeah… for a moment, I almost forgot they didn't know I could hear their conversation.
"If you want to follow us to town, I'll give you two choices."
He raised one finger, taking one hand off his sword's hilt.
"First, like you suggested earlier, you can keep following us from behind. As long as you keep your distance, we won't consider you a threat. Of course, if any of us is attacked by goblins or other monsters, we might reconsider this arrangement."
That sounded reasonable enough. Definitely as much as I could hope for at the start of this encounter.
"Second, if you wish, you could travel with the group. However, you must keep your sword sheathed, and you'd have to listen to any of my orders without hesitation. We will keep an eye on you."
This actually sounded like a much better option.
On one hand, I was quite curious about some of the things they talked about. Paths? Temporal Rifts? Even the town, Pine Harbor, was something I desperately wanted to know more about.
If I traveled with the group, I might be able to ask some questions.
On the other hand, I didn't know how far the town was, nor even what the outside area was like. If we had to stop on the way there, I wasn't sure I could even set a proper camp.
I did have a bit of time to rummage through the backpack during the standoff, and it clearly contained a sleeping bag and some camping supplies, but honestly, I had no real idea how to set them up.
I've already noticed I could do some things Sebastian (to whom this body seemingly belonged to) could do, but the farther those 'things' moved from instinct to learned skill, the harder it was for me to 'recall' them.
All in all, the choice was clear.
"I'll come with you, then."
"Alright."
The swordsman turned to leave, and I picked up my backpack, throwing it over my shoulder, and started sheathing my... wait.
"Ahem... actually..."
The situation suddenly felt like one of those dreams where you go outside, only to realize you're not wearing pants.
Bern stopped, and turned around with a questioning gaze.
"I've... I've actually lost my sheath".
During my short stroll through the tunnel, I did attempt to put the sword in the sheathe holder, just to see if it fit.
While it did fit, feeling the sharp, loosely strapped metal bounce against my back with every step, even through the armor, felt very uncomfortable. It felt that with one wrong move, the sword may cut my backpack or or the strap holding it, maybe even piercing me in the process. All in all, the sheathe holder was meant for a sheathe, not a sword.
Before the man in front of me could narrow his eyes any harder, I just sighed.
"I'll take the first option."
"...suit yourself. Just wait in there until we pass, then."
The swordsman, in no mood to argue, turned back and walked to his group, and quickly explained the situation.
"Alright, we've wasted enough time here. You've heard everything, so let's keep moving."
The group began their march once again, returning to their previous formation and passing the shaft one by one.
Bern just passed by without even looking, while his two companions threw quick gazes and continued on.
As the priest passed, I didn't see her face, as I couldn't help but lower my eyes in shame. I really did lose that sheathe, I swear.
Lamenting the loss of the previously underappreciated piece of equipment (which was perhaps still laying somewhere in that dark cave), I waited for the group to proceed farther ahead, before saying my goodbyes to my temporary shelter once and for all.
***
The tunnels dragged on and on, twisting and turning. We passed by a few more torches, which were left by the party earlier.
As I followed the group from behind, I barely stopped myself from opening the status panel – more specifically, its last section.
Trying to chase away the thoughts that I absolutely didn't want to deal with now, I instead focused on listening for any movement, and counting the rotting wooden beams. One beam. Two beams...
As we walked, each torch we came across was closer and closer to the end of its natural lifespan, until eventually the next torch stand was empty, with smoldering remains spread across the floor underneath.
The party, however, clearly knew their way back even without the remaining torches lighting it, and after passing by yet another intersection, I suddenly felt a breath of fresh wind, carrying a faint pine smell. I was finally about to leave this mine behind.
After a few minutes, the group turned the corner into another tunnel, and as I followed them, I could finally see it – the exit.
As the shaft itself was sloped slightly upwards, I could not see much of the surrounding area yet. No, even if it wasn't, I wouldn't be able to see much, as what I did see was a starry sky, serving as the background for the barely visible outlines of massive pine tree crowns.
The group ahead of me, which was moving in relative silence until now, barring some casual conversation between the priest and one of the women, suddenly stopped, just as they reached the exit.
Illuminated by touch light, I could see the half-elf crouching down, looking at something on the ground. Looking more closely at the ground near the exit, I could discern a familiar sight – dry bloodstains.
"Those marks... wolves. Must have dragged the goblin corpses while we were inside."
"Do wolves usually drag corpses? I don't remember seeing that before."
The dwarf was confused. I had no clue if this was something regular wolves usually do, but then again, even if I did, my common sense didn't exactly apply here.
"The packs in Red Pine Forest are quite smart. Maybe they thought whatever killed the goblins was still inside. Maybe their instincts told them this area was too open to leisurely eat. Whatever it was, you can see the marks of the corpses being dragged, but there is no blood. That means the blood was dry by the time they got here."
"Damn elf, stop yapping and tell us the numbers! How long ago did this happen? How large was the pack?"
What followed was a click of the tongue loud enough for even a regular person to hear from where I stood.
"Based on the time since we entered, the blood could finish drying up anywhere one to three hours ago, so it could be any time after that. As for their numbers – quite a few prints. I'd say seven to ten. One set of tracks is larger than the rest… there may be an alpha wolf leading the pack."
"Bah! Let's hope they had their fill, then. Best not run into those beasts."
"If we move back the way we came, we should be back in town before daybreak. The direction they dragged those corpses leads deeper into the woods. Maybe they had their fill and ran back to their lair."
The half-elf paused before continuing.
"But if not, and they're still hunting around this area, this could spell trouble."
Xin stopped talking, directing his questioning gaze at the party leader.
"We could camp here tonight. This shaft would be much easier to defend than facing a pack of wolves in the woods. But, if there were more goblins back there, they could have started a pursuit by now. And if any of them are smart enough to use one of the other exits nearby, we could be caught between the hammer and the anvil."
Once again, the weight of the decision fell on the leader.
"...We keep moving. Our group is large enough – a pack this size might not even risk attacking, especially if they aren't starving. Wolves are also afraid of fire. Xin, how many torches left?"
The half elf rummaged through his backpack, which evidently held the parties' torches.
"Four, including my reserve. Each one of you has one as well, right?"
Both of his companions nodded.
"Six torches."
"Alright. If we move at the current pace, it should take two.. lets consider it three hours, just in case. Those torches should last us just long enough."
Bern stood in thought for a moment, then threw a quick glance at me.
Six torches... six members of their group... Ah.
"Sir Bern!"
It was Amelia who exclaimed, coming to the same conclusion.
Walking in the darkness behind the group, with the wolf pack roaming around - now that I think about it, if I just followed my original plan without getting noticed, I could have ended up in quite a predicament.
Well, I was still in a predicament. While I did find what looked like flint stones inside my backpack, what I did not find was a torch.
"What? He seemed capable enough back in his hole. He can probably handle a few wolves if it comes to it."
While I was grateful for the dwarf's high opinion (or complete disregard?), I definitely didn't think I could handle a few wolves.
Maybe with my current senses, I'd be able to react fast enough to fight one wolf. If I was feeling especially confident about my new abilities (I wasn't), I could maybe fight two of them, although I wouldn't be getting out of that fight without a few bites.
But a few? More than two? No, no chance in hell I could handle that many.
Should I just camp in this shaft instead? If I could see the direction they're going, I could probably make my way to their town tomorrow mo-
A loud dwarven scoff brought me out of my thoughts. Ahead, I could see the priestess shooting one last angry look at the dwarf, before turning back and walking towards me – unlit torch in hand.
As she approached, her expression grew slightly more nervous, but her steps remained resolute.
"W-we are going to enter the forest. It will be a few hours until we reach town. There might be wolves there, so please take this torch."
Her voice, slightly trembling at first, gradually gained confidence, as she extended me the torch.
I extended my left hand and took the torch – my right hand was still holding the sword, which, as my wrist was starting to ache, I eventually figured out I could somehow rest on my shoulder pad with proper balancing. Wait, wasn't this posture quite intimidating? No wonder the young priestess was so nervous. But changing it right now would be even more awkward, so I decided to just bear with it.
"... thanks."
"No problem! We have enough torches in the group, so it wouldn't matter if we had one -"
"No. For earlier. Thank you."
The priestess seemed momentarily flustered, before finally flashing a genuine smile.
"If you hear any wolves nearby, please don't hesitate to come closer. Be careful."
And with those words, she returned back to her group.
I continued standing there, sword in my right hand, torch in the left.
'How do I even light this thing up?'
***
In the end, I managed to light the torch.
Back when I first rummaged through the backpack, the stones I found were actually a pair of whetstones.
However, I did discover something else – a tindersack!
What was a tindersack? A tindersack was simply a sack that contained a flint stone (a stone that has some crystalized quartz on it), a rusty looking strip of metal, and typically some form of tinder (easily flammable material).
How did I even know what it was? Surprisingly, it wasn't because I ever watched any of those survival shows. Rather, at a certain low period of my life, I've spent dozens of hours in an online game running around and lighting fires with a tinderbox, so at some point, I was curious enough to look up what a tinderbox was in real life.
The contents of the sack matched what I remembered, with the exception of the tinder (or what I thought is the tinder) being some kind of thick black liquid in a small, thick glass vial.
The only problem was, despite knowing what it was, I had no idea how to actually use it.
I tried rubbing and striking the metal thing against the stone, but no sparks seemed to come out.
To my great relief, I found an unknowing guide – the half-elf, who I managed to see striking the stone against the steel (not the other way around) in a sharp downward motion to produce a shower of sparks that instantly lit Bern's torch.
Finally finishing my battle against the torch, I hurried after the group who was already exiting the mine.
As I exited the mine, I finally got a full view of what lay ahead.
The mine shaft was located slightly above the base of a small rocky hill, which the group was now descending.
In front of me, illuminated by the dim blue moonlight, lay a forest composed of massive pine trees – some of the largest I've ever seen in my life.
Their lush crowns stretched into the starry sky, most reaching heights of a few dozen meters.
Under the sapphire-like moon-glow, their needles - which, judging by the forest's name, originally wore a shade of red - attained a faint purple hue, creating an air of mystery and wonder.
The trees themselves were somewhat sparse, but clusters of bushes and other foliage made up for their low density.
The night was filled with the sound of wind, the rustling leaves, and occasional chirps and buzzes of unknown insects. As I started descending the hill, I also heard a "hoo" in the distance – apparently this forest had owls, too.
The atmosphere was almost tranquil. If I didn't know of the dangers lurking in this dark forest, I would consider this a chill night stroll.
Following the others, who made their way down onto an overgrown trail, I officially entered the Red Pine Forest.