When I reached the main hall, I found a small cluster of people gathered around the base of the Goddess's statue. Ro-Saleh's perfect face was twisted with concern as he listened to three villagers, two men and a woman, all of whom were mud-splattered and exhausted-looking. Na-Ya stood beside him, her usual serene expression replaced with a look of pure compassion.

  I hung back near one of the pillars, not wanting to interrupt, but I was close enough to catch pieces of their conversation.

  "... attacked the grain stores three nights running now," one of the men was saying. "We've lost most of our reserves."

  "The children are too frightened to sleep," the woman added, wrapping her shawl tighter around her shoulders. "Something's out there, I swear it, milord."

  Ro-Saleh ran a hand through his hair. "Do you know anything else? Have you seen anything that could point us in a direction?"

  "Not as such, milord. It's been so wet, the footprints are all gone. All I can say is I know I saw somethin', and it weren't no bear." The older man's eyes were filled with anger. "Would that I were younger, I'd hunt the beast down meself!"

  Na-Ya lifted her hand. "There's no need for that. We can and will help in any way we can."

  "Thank you, mistress, thank you." The older woman knelt and grabbed Na-Ya's robe. You don't know what it means to us for you all to look after us like you do. Your help means the world to us."

  "It's our honor, ma'am." Na-Ya lifted her back to her feet and helped her settle down on one of the benches. The woman grasped at Na-Ya's arm like she were a life preserver.

  The younger man spoke. "If this continues, we won't have food before next harvest."

  "Fear not. We will fill your stores if it comes to that." Ro-Saleh placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "We'll send help. I promise you that. Give us a few hours to organize a group."

  The young man nodded and ushered the two older folks out of the hall.

  Na-Ya and Ro-Saleh said a few words to one another before turning to me. Ro called out and waved me over. "Thanks for waiting. Let's talk, my friend."

  Walking up to the sun elf, I bowed my head the way Renard had taught me to when speaking to superior warriors.

  "None of that. You don't have to be so formal."

  "Yes, sir."

  He smiled. "Now that you've gained a class, you can use my name. Just call me Ro."

  "Sorry, Ro. Old habits die hard."

  "Don't apologize. It shows you're disciplined." He clapped my arm.

  Turning to Na-Ya, I said, "Good afternoon, Na-Ya."

  "And to you, Alex."

  Inclining my head to her, I said, "Sounds like it was a rough night for them."

  "Rough week, more like." Ro walked over to a pew and sat down. "They've had some predator or monster prowling around. It's snatched more than a few sheep and cattle, and they're afraid one of the kids will be next."

  "Do we know what it is?"

  "I have ideas. They're pretty certain it isn't a bear or wolf, so that makes me think it's a gloomfang, or maybe a colony of trogs"

  "Gloomfangs. Aren't those the dog things that turn invisible during the day and live in the trees?"

  "Mostly correct. They're not quite invisible, but they're naturally hard to spot. They become visible when they're exposed to fire or bright light."

  "Got it." I shoved that into my mental database. "And trogs are like gremlins, right?"

  Na-Ya cocked her head. "Gremlin?"

  "Ah, sorry. That's a word from my world." I thought for a minute. "They're like tiny goblins, but they're monsters instead of mortals."

  Ro nodded. "Yeah, those are the ones. Nasty things. Eat everything." The elf considered me for a moment. "Good, you know your stuff. That makes this easier."

  "What's that?"

  He paused, studying my face. "Renard wants you and Tristan to go along with us Templars to the villages. Real field experience, he said."

  My stomach did a little flip. I hadn't left the temple since I arrived in Reial. "When do we leave?"

  "A few hours. Long enough to get our stuff together." Na-Ya spoke up, her voice calm but urgent. "Pack light but bring everything you might need. We don't know how long we'll be out there."

  "You're coming, too?"

  "Of course. If it is a gloomfang, the Goddess's magic will be helpful. And if any of you get hurt, I can patch you up."

  I nodded, trying to look more confident than I felt. "Do you think Tristan and I are ready?"

  Ro nodded. "Without a doubt. You've been ready. I'm certain this experience will do both of you good."

  I took a breath. "Okay."

  Words appeared in my mind:

  You receive the quest [A Shadow in Goodfield]

  [A Shadow in Goodfield]: A mysterious force has been hunting beasts in the village of Goodfield. Assist the villagers of Goodfield against this hidden threat.

  Reward: Gain a Level

  Na-Ya smiled. "Do you know where Tristan is? I went to their room, but they weren't there."

  I couldn't help but grimace.

  Na-Ya definitely noticed, because her smile faded as fast as it appeared. "What?"

  "She's in my room. She was taking a nap in my bed."

  Na-Ya and Ro-Saleh exchanged a look. "So... You two talked, then?"

  "Yeah, we talked."

  Ro pretended to cough, covering that shit-eating grin that I could definitely see through his fingers. When he spoke, I could hear the laugh in his voice. "That must have been a very enlightening conversation."

  "Yeah, it was."

  "I wouldn't say that. I'd say you're dense." He dropped his hand. He was totally grinning!

  "Dense. Sure." I felt my face get hot. "That's me."

  "Don't be too mad at her. She doesn't have many friends, and she values you far more than you know." Na-Ya's face was the picture of compassion. She was way too nice. It was annoying. "You're her favorite person, and the change is complicated in the best of times. So many feelings."

  "Oh, I'm not mad at her. Not too much, at least. I just wish I knew sooner."

  "Would that have changed anything?" Her sapphire eyes were on mine. I always forgot how similar they were to Tristan's.

  I crossed my arms and thought about it for a moment. "Honestly, not really. She's my best friend. I've honestly kind of known for a while, but I was holding off thinking about it. Now that we've crossed this hurdle, though, I feel dumb. I wouldn't change anything."

  Na-Ya placed her hand on my arm. "That's what I wanted to hear." Her eyes hardened as she took me in. "Just know that she's precious to me. If you aren't willing to take her seriously, I ask that you keep your distance. I'd rather she avoid getting her heart broken." Her tone promised violence. It made the hairs on my body stand on end.

  Her heart broken? "Why would you think—"

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "A conversation for another day. With her." Na-Ya smiled, turned, and walked away.

  "She can be scary when she wants to be."

  Ro laughed. "Very."

  "Is she always so cryptic?"

  Ro laughed. "Absolutely." Slapping my shoulder, he added, "Now go get ready. And tell the mutt to get her ass in gear." With a grin, he turned and walked away, disappearing down a side hall.

  ***

  Back in my room, I found Tristan sitting up on the bed, sleepily wiping her face with the back of her hand. Her hair was sticking up at odd angles, and there were pillow creases on her cheek. With a yawn, she said, "I fell back asleep."

  "I can see that."

  "What's happening?" she mumbled through a yawn.

  "Some villagers are struggling with a monster of some kind," I said, moving to my gear chest. "They're super scared, so the Templars are heading out to take care of it."

  "Makes sense."

  "Renard wants us to go too."

  That woke her up fast. Tristan sat up straighter, suddenly alert. "A real quest?"

  "Looks like it. We leave in a few hours."

  Tristan was on her feet immediately, her hands running through her tangled waves in a futile attempt to smooth them out. A large smile split her face. "A mission! I should go get ready." She headed for the door, then paused. "Alex."

  "Hm?" I rummaged through the trunk, pulling out my armor piece by piece.

  "Thank you again...for being great about everything."

  "Don't worry about it. I wouldn't change a thing. Really."

  She hovered for a moment by my door before exiting. A few steps into the hall, I heard her say, "A quest!" That was cute.

  After she left, I began the familiar ritual of gearing up. Ever since I'd graduated from pond scum to Recruit, I was given real armor. It was old and rusty in spots, but it was mine.

  Gambeson, breastplate, pauldrons. Greaves. Cuisses. Bracers and gauntlets. Helmet, belt, pouch, sword, shield.

  Done.

  Reaching down for the small pack I'd started keeping for exactly this kind of situation. Drawing my sword, I checked the blade in the dim light of the lamp, making sure the blade was clean and the edge sharp.

  Whatever was out there, I wanted to be ready for it.

  Throwing my pack over my shoulder, I walked to the door. Giving my room a final scan, I nodded and exited, excited for my very first quest in this new world of mine.

  ***

  Three days in, I was far, far less excited. The rains never let up, the trail was muddy and slow-going, and all we had was the light of our lanterns to guide us. Ro led the way, accompanied by Na-Ya and Tristan. I was taking a position in the rear with two other templars.

  On one side of me was Jorn. His red hair was plastered to his head, and he was sulking. He'd complained almost endlessly about having to leave the Temple. By the second day, his grumbling chased Tristan to the front. Which was probably for the best. We'd been kind of awkward.

  On the other side of me was Maven, one of Tristan's other friends at the temple. She was a muscular woman with short-cut sandy hair that barely reached her eyebrows. Serious and snarky, she was quite cute in a tomboyish way. We'd talked plenty of times before, but this was the first time we'd really spent any amount of time with one another. She and Tristan were close. Close enough that, until recently, I was convinced "he" was super into her.

  "Goddess, save me from the rain," Jorn complained for the hundredth time.

  "Save it, Jorn. You know that whining brings more rain."

  "Who asked you, huh?"

  Maven's face darkened. "Have you ever heard of the saying about keeping your mouth shut unless you have something good to say? You should do that."

  "And you should respect your elders. What does Renard teach you kids these days?"

  "Respect goes both ways. And you've earned none of mine. Maybe if you closed your mouth once in a while and learned from our captain, I might respect you more."

  "I've learned everything there is to know and more!" Jorn puffed his chest out, but it didn't go past his gut.

  "More like you've eaten everything there is to eat."

  "That, too."

  Maven glared at him, but a grin broke out across her face. "You're incorrigible, Jorn."

  "So I've been told, Maven."

  I chuckled as the banter between the two continued. "You two always like this?"

  Maven's smile faded. "When I have the displeasure of being forced to work with the lech."

  "I am not a lech. A scoundrel, absolutely. But not a lech."

  "Just shut your whore-mouth and watch where you're walking, Jorn."

  "You mind your own damn busin—oooo!" He tripped over a stump and face-planting into the mud.

  Maven slow-clapped. "Don't fall too far behind, Jorn!"

  We continued, and the sound of Jorn's sputtering grew more and more distant.

  "Just our luck being sent to the farthest village out, huh?"

  "Yeah, for real." We'd already walked through five villages. According to Jorn, there were three to go, which would take about two more days.

  "You're from another world, right?"

  I nodded.

  "How's that going?"

  I shrugged. "Not bad."

  "Have you adapted okay?"

  "It's been mostly fine. There are worse places to be. I got lucky, getting scooped up by the temple. Things could be far worse."

  "Getting scooped up by Tristan, more like. I'll never forget the day they dragged your sorry ass home. You looked like shit."

  I laughed. "I really did. And I'm fortunate she found me."

  "She?"

  "Yeah. She."

  "About damn time!" She nudged me. "You know how many times I've had to hear her complain about you not noticing? You were giving her a complex."

  "I don't know why she just didn't say something."

  "She didn't know how you'd take it."

  I shook my head. "I don't get it. It's not like anything would change."

  Maven shook her head. "It's... kind of complicated. Be patient. She's been through some things."

  I wished I knew what those things were. She knew everything about me, for the most part. "She said something about keeping everyone quiet. Why?"

  "She hates attention. Growing up quarter-elf does that to you."

  "Wait, she's a quarter-elf?"

  "Yeah? You don't know that?"

  "She never talked about it."

  Maven stopped. "Seriously?"

  "Yeah."

  "Huh..." Maven shook her head and started walking again. "I'm gonna have to have a serious talk with that girl."

  "If you don't mind me asking, how? I mean, I get how, but, like, what's the backstory there?"

  "Not my place to say. It's kind of a long story, and it's a little tragic. When she feels safe enough, she'll tell you. I'm sure of it."

  "Fair enough." I had no idea Tristan had a tragic past.

  Maven stretched. "I guess you don't know she's Na-Ya's cousin either, then?"

  My feet stopped. That's why their eyes were so similar! "That makes so much sense."

  "It does, doesn't it? Those elf eyes of theirs are so striking. Bluer than blue."

  "Holy shit, yes. Her eyes are gorgeous."

  Maven grinned. "Oh? Go on, loverboy."

  Realizing what I said, I felt my face get hot. "Shut up."

  Her grin got wider. "What do you mean by gorgeous, Alex? Have you been staring into her eyes, thinking about what could be?"

  "No." Except for that one time I dreamt she was a girl. Given everything that I knew now, that one ended up being a prophecy.

  "Tell me. I want to hear all about how you enjoy looking into her beautiful eyes."

  "Shush. I'm trying to not make things weird."

  "Oh, honey, you're well past that point now."

  "Maven. Please." I didn't want to think about that.

  "Fine, fine. But don't dilly-dally. Just tell her you like her already."

  "I don't..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

  Oh shit.

  I was a thousand percent into Tristan.

  Tristan had been my only real anchor in Reial, and I valued my relationship with her more than anything. I hadn't wanted to see anything that could have jeopardized that. But I knew. Deep down, I knew.

  Stupid, stupid brain! What the hell was I going to do about this?

  Maven chuckled. "The feeling's mutual, you know. She's crazy about you. Girls don't just sleep in another person's bed for the fun of it."

  "Maven!"

  "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But really, everyone sees it but you two."

  How embarrassing. "Oh, I'm sure we're the talk of the temple."

  "Oh, for sure. Everyone's taken bets."

  "Shut up."

  "Six months ago, I bet a hundred crystals that you two'd start going at it before the turn of the year. Everyone else jumped on board after that." She glared at me. "You lost me good money."

  "That can't be real."

  She shrugged. "Believe what you want."

  She was insufferable! "Is it that obvious?"

  "From my vantage point, this is what I see. You spend every day together. You're constantly giggling at your own little inside jokes. You bicker like an old married couple, and you support one another like it's the most natural thing in the world. You both light up when the other is near, and you're constantly lifting each other up. What would you think if you were us?"

  "I... yeah, I guess that would be pretty obvious." It all came so naturally with her.

  "It really is. You two have to be the biggest idiots I've ever met."

  Rude. "Has anyone even told you you're too blunt?"

  "All the time. That's half of my personality."

  That got a laugh out of me. "And the other half?"

  She looked back toward me and grinned. "Equal parts competence and trouble."

  "And how much of you is sass?"

  "Oh, that's infused into the whole package."

  I couldn't help but laugh. Looking her over, I couldn't help but understand why Tristan had told me Maven was attractive a dozen times this past year. The woman was hot as hell, and her confidence was something.

  As if she read my mind, she looked back at me and smirked. "You're not my type, big boy. I like 'em cute and dainty. If I can't carry a girl around all day, she's not for me." She reached over and tapped my cheek. "Not that you're hard on the eyes or anything. It just wouldn't work between us. I'm a girl's girl."

  I laughed again. "Noted." Maven was something else. I could see why Tristan was friends with her. "Honestly, I thought Tristan had a crush on you this whole year."

  "She used to. I had to let her down. Not my type, and I don't shit where I eat. Plus, she's kind of like a little sister to me, and Na-Ya is her guard dog. I don't know how you got past her. You should take it as a compliment."

  I was learning things. "I didn't know that Tristan liked girls."

  "She's part elf. Elves don't give a shit about that stuff. They just like who they like." A strong wind rustled the leaves overhead, sending sheets of rainwater down on us. We both pulled our hoods up.

  Interesting. I hadn't read anything about elven sexuality in Arden's books. "So you're friends, then?

  "Definitely. We've known each other forever."

  "I didn't know that."

  "Yeah. I came to the temple when I was ten. She showed up like a wet cat on the doorstep a year later. I think she was six or seven then."

  "You grew up at the temple?"

  "Yeah, most of the Templars have."

  "How'd you end up there?"

  She smiled. "I got mad at my folks and wished for them to get eaten. The next morning, I came downstairs, and that's what happened. Serves 'em right."

  I laughed... but she didn't. "Oh, God. Are you for real?"

  She frowned. "How... How could you be so cruel?" She covered her face with her hands. A sob spilled out of her fingers.

  God, I was such an idiot! "Maven, I'm so sorry!"

  She looked at me through her fingers.

  Her eyes were dry.

  Lowering her hands, her frown broke into a grin, which turned into laughter. "Oh Goddess, your face!"

  "Ass."

  "So worth it."

  "I repeat: ass."

  "And proud of it!" She placed her fist against her chest in a mock salute and cackled. "My folks fucked too much and couldn't take care of us all. I was the youngest, so they shipped me off to the temple. Ended up spawning four more after me, too, the horny bastards. Still, I really can't complain. The temple's treated me well. Gave me a better life." She looked me over, then started laughing again. "Your face was so good..."

  "Shut up."

  As she laughed, Jorn finally caught up to us, his chest heaving from exertion. "You guys could have waited for me..."

  "And deprive you of the exercise? Not a chance."

  "I'm fighting fit!"

  "For a hog."

  He gasped for air. "Wicked wench."

  "Lustful lech."

  "Uh... cruel cur."

  "That one wasn't your best."

  He grunted. "I know it."

  "Love you, too, Jorn."

  I couldn't help but laugh along as the two kept prodding at one another as we continued our march toward the furthest village surrounding Light's Hope.