Master Of None

"You wouldn't think the marshes in the snow and ice would be beautiful, but they are." Su had started to fall in love with the frozen loom on the edges of the water. Some of the marshy grasses or cypress trees covered in ice. Even the animals and small monsters that blended in to their surroundings. 

"The river mice are pretty cute. Their fur is supposed to be a muddy brown color but in the cold, they change to a pure white to blend in. It's a defense mechanism but one that makes them a lot less hated as a pest." Walker laughed because he knew that these mice were a huge problem for a lot of the villages and even merchants that traveled the area. 

"I want ten of them for pets and I refuse to budge." The idea that Remey had in her head was that the mice could partner up with alchemists and reduce the stress with their adorable fur. 

"I'm sorry to tell you, but they would definitely eat all of your herbs and seeds. You would have an infestation in  a matter of a few months." Walker felt a little bad bursting her bubble but knew it was for the best. If Remey snuck a few of them back to Genesis then things would get messy. 

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, mom!" The response was sarcastic as all else but Walker just shook it off and kept walking. There had been a soft breeze for most of the day making them all slightly chilly. Yet, they had been in a pretty good mood while traveling since they had not encountered any deep mud or monsters. 

"Hey! Up ahead we have some rocky ground so it will be even easier to move since we won't have the mud to worry about. The river also seems to get lower from the bank." Gil and Midnight had two regular rabbits with them. One was obviously pounced on by sharp claws while the other had been shot through the eye with an arrow. 

"Alright, we will stay away from the edge then. I knew the river was like this around here but I didn't expect it to be so drastic. There might be some flying monsters around that live on the steep banks." It was good that Walker was thinking this way since the threat of flying monsters was always around. But having an increased chance of running in to them was very notable. 

"I will keep an eye on the edge then. If anything tries its luck then I will block them." Su raised her twin shields so that she could be ready as they moved ahead. 

The speed of the water was increasing and Alice was amazed by the white water rapids farther below them. She had never seen this before and wondered just how dangerous it must be. "You know, some people use boats to go down those. Apparently, it is fun. But a lot of merchants won't take the risk because the chance of losing the boat is too high." The story that Walker had been told as a child resurfaced in his mind while Alice looked ahead at the water. 

"You will never catch me on a boat in that. With my luck, I will flip over and need to swim for my life. Plus, who knows what lives in that water. If something can survive in that then it has to be tough. "Also, firing an arrow from that would be challenging to say the least." Gil shook his head while trying to imagine how he would have to hold his stance while hunting in rapids. 

"Those rocks would pummel you in to sand. Look at how fine that sand bar is. It's pure yellow. That definitely didn't come from the ocean." Remey could think of a few uses for the sand down there but didn't want to risk getting it. Fine sands were perfect for the filtration processes of some potions. However, it was very rare that she would need to do so since the potions she made required the ingredients to be ground or dissolved. 

"How could it come from the ocean? This flows to the ocean? We are following it upstream?" Gil focused on the single thing he thought he could win over Remey with and ended up with a single hit to the arm that knocked him to the ground. 

"Just because I make healing potions doesn't mean i won't punch you. It just means I can punch you harder because I can heal you now." The response from Remey made Alice laugh and nearly fall over on the path they were Walking. 

"And I think you broke Alice…" Walker had not seen her laugh so hard. The fact that her pristine laughter had become so hard that she wasn't even making a sound anymore shocked him. He hadn't expected this reaction from her but began to feel the need to laugh himself. Laughter was just too infectious. 

"And now you two are going to walk separate from each other. And If I need to put one of you in an earth fortress I will. I have the highest defense here. Add my shields and you can be trapped forever." 

"And now you have Su making threats. A broken Alice and a threatening Alice. Today is just a mix of crazy." Midnight huffed at them and started to growl. It was a sobering sound that made them all stop in their tracks. The only one that didn't fall in to a battle stance was Alice. She was still too inexperienced in adventuring to immediately react this way. But she was about to learn. 

A shadow flew over them and the sound of screeching birds caused Walker to change the eternal orb in to a hexagonal shield. His eyes glanced up and appraised the enemy that was circling them. 

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