Lilly walked with John back to his camp, where his two companions were setting up. John introduced her to his party members.

“Guys, this is Lilly. She doesn’t bite, I think,” John said jokingly.

“Only sometimes.” She winked. She looked at his two companions, one of which was a mage at level 42, and a ranger at level 51. John himself was a level 47 warrior.

John gave what she took as a smile back. He gestured to the mage. “Lilly, this is Amy, our trusty mage.” 

Amy was human, had a short stature, blond hair that fell down to her shoulders in ringlets, slightly tanned skin, and bright emerald green eyes. She wore a set of light leather armor, a pouch hung from the waist, and a staff strapped on her back. 

“Hello! It’s simply wonderful meeting you.” Amy walked over to Lilly and suddenly came in for a hug. 

“It’s nice to meet you too?” Lilly tentatively hugged back. Amy smelled like lavender flowers and was a full head shorter than her.

“Sorry, Amy is a bit touchy sometimes,” John said apologetically, scratching the back of his scaly head.

“It’s fine. I had a friend like this back home.” She laughed lightly, looking down at the short woman embracing her.

Pulling back, Amy looked her up and down. “You really do look spooky! What is that cloak made of?” She asked, eyes filled with curiosity. 

Lilly smiled and deactivated her cloak. “It’s a skill. Supposedly, it’s made of shadows.”

Amy’s eyes widened when her cloak disappeared. She looked like she was bursting with questions, but before she could say anything else, John stepped in and placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“That’s enough, Amy. Let her breathe a little. Anyways, Lilly, meet our elusive ranger, Eli.” John gestured to the elf.

The elf wore a green hood, a bow and quiver slung over his back, steel vambraces, and a thin rapier attached to his hip. He had pale skin, long, pointed ears that stuck out horizontally, and long vine green hair that covered his facial features. He was sitting on a rock, tending to the fire. Glancing up for a moment, he appraised her and nodded once in greeting before bringing his attention back to the fire. 

“He’s quiet, an elf of few words, but he’s the reason we’ve managed to stay alive, keeping us in the know and warning us of traps and ambushes,” John said. 

“Nice to meet you, Eli,” Lilly said, then came over and sat down a few feet from the fire.

Their camp was set up fifteen meters or so from the caravan. They were on the edge of the remaining forest. The rest of their trip would be in the plains. John’s party chose a small clearing with a fallen over tree as their campsite. 

Amy came and sat down right next to her, while John prepared an iron pot over the fire. When he was done with that, he called for Amy. She stayed where she was, but raised her hand, palm facing upwards. After a few seconds, a ball of water formed above her palm then floated over and fell into the pot. 

“Are you a water mage?” Lilly asked.

Amy smiled cheekily. “Actually, my class specializes in explosive magic, but I can use a few other elements like water.”

“Oh. I was actually thinking about learning some magic, do you think you could teach me?”

Amy looked at her. “I can certainly try, but magic that you learn outside of class skills requires you to learn the appropriate magic theory. It’s probably best for you to go to a university for that.”

Lilly sat in silence for a few minutes while John cooked dinner. He poured chopped potatoes, onions, and various seasoning into the pot. He stirred the pot when he looked at her.

“So what’s a lone rogue doing, taking a mission like this alone?”

Lilly looked at him for a few seconds, before looking over at the setting sun, leaning back on her hands. “No reason, really. I just wanted some fresh air.”

John nodded solemnly. “Well, our party has actually been looking for another member. How about you join us for this mission and consider joining our party? We’ve only been adventuring for a few months but I’m sure we can impart some of our experience to you.” 

She sat there thoughtfully. She hadn’t thought about joining a party, mostly because she didn’t know anyone on Azalea. After her first mission, she was painfully aware of her inadequacy when it came to being a solo adventurer. It might do her some good to have reliable teammates watch her back.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll join you for this job. After that, I’ll have to think about it.”

“Great!” Amy said. “Come on, John, how much longer is the food gonna take?” She gave John the puppy eyes. 

He sighed and added the finishing touches to the pot. A few minutes later, John passed out bowls of potato soup flavored with small chunks of rabbit meat. The party ate their dinner, Lilly mostly staying silent while Amy regaled her with stories of their adventures. John injected tidbits from here to there, usually to make small corrections or adding in important information that Amy cruised by, but he mostly let Amy steer the conversation. Sounds of lutes wafted from the other campsites, where the other parties loudly ate and sang. After an hour or so, things started to quiet as adventures retired to get some sleep. Lilly once again climbed a tree but found it difficult to sleep, so she spent the night peering into the trees, the stars shining down from the night sky.

***

The caravan proceeded on its way past farmland and meadows. Little to no trees obstructed their view, with the occasional hill rising in the distance. Lake Shia glittered on the right, the far shore lost to the curve of Azalea. One of these days, Lilly mused, I’ll have to find a well and calculate how far off that horizon is.

A light breeze passed over the fields and washed over the travelers. Today, Lilly sat with John’s party, in a wagon designated for the guards. Lilly spent most of the time listening to Amy talk about her adventures through university, about the times she accidentally set herself on fire, and how she’d blow up her surroundings testing out new spells. 

It seems that you can cast magic using mana without having the class or skill for it, but it took years of studying how to manipulate one’s mana without the help of the system. Amy, in particular, has a class for explosion magic, which fits with her bubbly and flashy personality. 

When asked about her origins, Lilly gave a similar version of the story she gave to Vinny and his family. Currently, she was portraying herself as a daughter of a retired adventurer, looking to make a name for herself after hearing her father talk about his adventures. When asked for specifics, she would usually deflect and ask questions, but mostly she didn’t talk at all. The party eventually got the message that she didn’t exactly wish to talk about her past, which included her own personal jobs. 

Throughout the journey, Eli was rarely present with the group, mainly spending his time scouting the area ahead and keeping John informed on the situation. Lilly rarely saw him except at rest stops.

Four days in, the caravan stopped by a bridge, which led over a river coming from Lake Shia. About half of the adventurers and merchants went to the other side of the river to camp there and scout the area. Their party was setting up their campsite for the night on the south side of the river when yelling came from the western side of the caravan.

Lilly quickly got up from where she was sitting, cloak activating and wrapping her body in shadow. She looked at the caravan, watched as a rain of arrows strafed the wagons. After the arrows landed, she quickly blinked over and jumped on top of the wagons, trying to get a read on the situation. Lilly covered her eyes, the light of the setting azure sun obscuring her vision. Exiting from behind a hill up ahead, she could barely make out the glinting swords raised in the air, about a dozen silhouettes rapidly approaching.

Behind the silhouettes, wisps of bright flames twisted and turned in the sky, gathering in the form of a shifting ball of flames.