Life and Death Decision

Chapter 7

We took the rest of the day to relax, the burden of that choice finally behind us. Though I was happy that she was able to make that choice rather quickly, it does mean that I have another person to worry about in the middle of battle. She's, by no means, incompetent; she did most of the heavy lifting that time with those two mages, but it's still someone else I have to keep track of. The two of us met up the next day at her grandmother's house, though I did leave a note for Baz and Tyme, telling them to come here when they're done with their jobs. "Last chance to turn back," I said, sitting down across the table from the kid as her grandma rocked back and forth in a chair.

"Not happening. Hey, can we go shopping?" Chipper than she was for the past few days, she raced around the room as if she had just consumed an entire tray of sweets. "Can we? Can we?"

"Are the clothes we bought before not enough for you anymore?"

"Well, if I'm going adventuring, I'll need a weapon, right?" She tilted her head, placing a finger to her chin as she got excited at the prospect of seeing the world. "Oh, wait! Follow me!" She ran over to me, trying to pull me out of my seat; I was in full armor and wasn't exactly the lightest person. But I decided to humor her, following her to the back of the house into the garden that she tended with her family. She walked up to a sturdy looking tree, placing her hand on it at the leaves on one of the branches changed from green to cyan. "Please, lend me your strength..." The moment she shut her mouth, part of the branch withered away, leaving the rest of it to fall to the ground beside her. "Thank you, Mr. Tree."

She took the piece of wood, feeling the strange leaves between her fingers before she knocked all of them off by spinning the whole thing over her head. "A staff, huh? Do you know even know how to use that?" I asked as I watched her hit herself.

"I don't, but I have muscle memory. I'll be fine." She tried to reassure me, tossing it into the air before she stretched out her arm to suddenly catch it. "See? Like magic!"

"We'll talk about that with the others when they get here. Let's get back to wait for them." She followed me as I returned to the inside of the building just as Baz arrived with his face covered in dirt. "What's up with you?"

"Oh, this? A couple of the farmers' animals went missing, so I had to keep an eye on the rest of the herd. I couldn't just let it slide either since wool prices have been going up, every sheep just got more valuable, so I followed them everywhere..." He knocked the dust off of his shoulder, walking in and instantly getting drawn by the bright blue branch that was in the kid's hands. "What's with the stick?"

"Stick? It's my weapon! Feast your eyes on the legendary Arbonlade!" She said, boldly striking poses.

"Where'd you get it?"

"Hahaha! It was a gift from the king of the fields. Lord Gra-"

"It's a branch from a tree in the backyard," I said bluntly before I received a blow to the head and my vision was filled with cyan light. "Ow."

"Boo! You're no fun! Baz, let's play" She tugged on his sleeve much like how she did to me earlier; she also couldn't move him.

"In a bit. So, what's the plan now?" The swordsman chuckled, grabbing her to sit her down in the chair beside him. "The nearby crypt again, a second run to get everything we missed?"

"Maybe, but now something else is on my mind. I won't bring it up unless it becomes important though." I replied, looking out the window to see if our last member was nearby; she wasn't. "How's your pay for those jobs you've been doing?"

"It's not too shabby. Wanna join me?"

"I'm good. Anyway, it's been quite a bit of time now, she's usually very punctual." I kept glancing out the window before a knock came to the door. "You're la- Tyme? Are you okay?" Her body fell forward, her weight falling on my arms as the other two rushed over to see what was going on.