keiken and CZ, as well as the Swords of Darkness, made their way down the stairs of the adventurer's guild. They were intercepted by the lady at the missions counter. "Miss Kei?" She asked, causing the dragonoid to tilt her head. "You have been specifically requested for a mission." keiken blinked under her hood, "By who?"
"By me." A new voice appeared as a boy walked in front of the stairs. "Allow me, to introduce myself, I am Nphirea Balear." keiken held up a hand, "Sorry, but I'm working on another job right now. Maybe afterwards." Peter leaned over her shoulder, ushering her to accept the quest since she was specifically requested. The cloaked girl shook her head, "I'm not that type of person." However, Peter refused to let up, "At least listen to his proposition first!"
keiken begrudgingly agreed, and everyone went back upstairs to discuss. "I need to harvest herbs in the forest near Carne village. All I ask is that you protect me, and provide a little assistance in collecting the herbs." keiken brought a hand to her chin. A bodyguard assignment? And as a personal request would be sure to bring more than an independent monster expedition. The only thing is, she wasn't very well suited for detecting threats or collecting herbs.
She crossed her arms as she leaned back in her chair. "Alright, here's my proposition. Peter, may I hire the Swords of Darkness to come along with us for this quest?" Peter blinked at her, causing her to elaborate. "My skills are more suited for battle, I wouldn't do well. But Lukrut is a ranger, and would be good at detecting threats. And if we're heading into a forest, it would benefit to have Dyne's assistance as well." The group nodded, "You possess a keen insight, Miss Kei." Dyne complimented her. She waved him off, "Please, just call me Kei. I'm not big on formality." Everyone at the table smiled, and Nfirea agreed to have the Swords of Darkness come along. But as they headed out, keiken kept her eyes on Nfirea's back, something was off.
She and CZ strayed a little behind the group. "CZ2128," The automation lifted her head up, "Don't bring out your weapon unless instructed. And help me keep an eye on Nphirea Balear."
The entire group was now on the move in a wagon towards Carne Village. After a few hours of peaceful travel, they all took a break in a nice spot near an area of water.
"Enjoy this. Things will start to get dangerous from here on out." Peter said seriously, keiken nodded silently. This was her first time properly leaving Nazarick since they arrived. She knew Ainz was probably watching over them, and CZ would take care of her blind spots, but she still fears having to get serious. keiken sighed, a problem for later.
"I just realized that this is the Wise King of the Forest's territory." Ninya spoke up, drawing CZ's attention with keiken still in thought. "Wise King?" The automation spoke softly, for the first time since they've met this group. After the moment of surprise wore off, Nfirea went into explanation. "A very old and wise magical creature. Not only can it cast magic, but it is very physically strong. If its razor claws don't finish you off, its snake tail will." keiken finally tuned into the conversation, humming in interest.
When they started packing things up again, Ninya started introducing things like creation magic to keiken, the dragonoid lighting up with the new information. "Yeah! And there's also Alarm to alert you when danger is near." keiken clapped her hands together, engaging the mage with new questions to continue the conversation. CZ and the others laughing lightly at the two.
The friendly chatter continued as they all traveled. "Y'know kei, you're much more–" Lukrut suddenly stopped speaking, drawing everyone's attention as his expression became serious. "They're on the move. Coming from just past the tree line right there." He pointed his thumb to an area of the forest, to see a large group of ogres and goblins coming from behind the trees. Peter advised Nfirea to hide in the cart, "Kei." He said, causing the girl to perk her head up. "How should we split up the group?" The girl grinned from under her hood, "The Swords of Darkness should stay close to Nfirea. I'll go up front with CZ and prove that we're worth some real money!" Peter nodded in agreement, "Alright, we'll give any support we can from behind!"
