TBATE - Strings of Fate

12 - The Way We Are

--TESSIA--

A few days later, a man knocked on the door of my training room. I greeted him, and he told me that he was here to take me to take me to meet with the party of adventurers I would be doing missions with.

I went back to my room, washed, changed into light armor, equipped my weapon, and grabbed the bag I had already prepared. In it, I had a change of clothes, some rations, and toiletries. A knife. Some flint to light fires in tandem with the steel knife. Rope. Other miscellaneous items that I knew would be helpful to have in the beast glades.

Then, I made my way outside, where I found a carriage waiting for me. Before I entered, the driver handed me a package. It was addressed to me, from Gran. I opened it to reveal a guilded card with my name on it, a beautifully crafted mask, and a note.

The mask had a white base, with wavy green lines travelling across its surface. It had a butterfly-looking shape, covering my eyes, nose, and parts of my cheeks while leaving the area in front of my mouth and the bottom of my nose open to the air.

I put it on, and it fit perfectly. "Why has she given me this?" I wondered aloud. To my surprise, despite not covering my mouth, the mask altered my voice to make it sound more mature.

I looked at the note, hoping it would explain. It read:

"Dear Tess,

These are my gifts to you for your trip to the beast glades. You should know how the adventurer's license will help, but as for the mask, I hope that by giving it to you, I will reduce the chance of a person recognizing you as the princess of the kingdom of Elenoir. I had a voice changing effect added as well, so that you would be treated as an adult while looking to buy or sell goods.

I hope you have a pleasant time adventuring. The party you will be adventuring with will be notified when your time with them is over, and I will send someone to pick you up at that time. You have the ability to contact me with a communication scroll at any time, so feel free to do so if there are any problems.

The party you will be adventuring with is called the Twin Horns. When I hired them, they were told that you were a student with high potential at Xyrus academy. There was no mention of me tutoring you or your status in the elven kingdom. You can choose what else you want to tell them about yourself when you meet them.

Learn lots. Try not to die.

Cynthia Goodsky"

I smirked in amusement at Gran's closing line before leaning back and gathering my thoughts. I was glad for the mask. My fighting style and looks are altogether too unique, so it certainly wouldn't stop those who have met or fought me from recognizing me. However, I didn't need it to. It's not like I was going to try to do something and hide from the consequences later. It would stop strangers from recognizing me as the princess of Elenoir, and it would change my voice so that I wouldn't be belittled for my age. This was good enough for me.

I was also glad that Gran hadn't told the Twin Horns about my identity. I knew they would have been vetted beforehand so they most likely wouldn't bring me any danger, but I wanted to meet them and be sure first. I felt a little bit silly due to how paranoid I was being, but this was my first time alone since I was captured all those years ago. The years had made the pain of the memory dim, but I still wanted this experience to be... a little less sad than last time.

The carriage ride didn't take long. Soon, we arrived at the Adventurers Guild Hall. I left the carriage with my mask on and saw the driver leading me to the door of the building. I entered with the driver, and he directed me to a group of adventurers who were standing in the corner, staying out of the way.