Visionless

different perspective,

"I think it's about closing time for today," I murmur to myself as I look around the empty guild hall. Everyone's gone home, and the place is eerily quiet. Ms. Eldez should be taking over for the night shift, but where is she?

"Ms. Eldez?" I call out, but there's no response. "Maybe she's in the office room," I think, heading upstairs. I knock on the door, hearing a muffled response from inside.

"Yes, who is it?"

"Ms. Eldez, it's me. I'm going to close up the guild for tonight!" I say, still outside the room.

"Come inside; I can't hear you," she replies.

"Oh, okay." I open the door and find Ms. Eldez, the senior receptionist, sitting at her desk, sipping tea.

"Would you like a cup, dear?" Ms. Eldez offers me a cup of tea with a gentle smile.

"No, thanks. I'm just here to tell you I'm going to close the guild for tonight since everyone left."

"Very well, have a good night, Ms. Receptionist," she responds absentmindedly.

Did she forget my name? I've been working here for three weeks; how could she forget? "Ms. Eldez, it's midnight, and my name is Varin, not Ms. Receptionist," I say, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

Ms. Eldez laughs. "Oh, right, apologies. I'm quite forgetful," she says before she remembers something else. "Oh, and before you go, make sure to put the request items in the storage room."

"I already checked, but there wasn't anything left to put away," I say, hoping to finish this conversation quickly so I can go home.

Ms. Eldez seems a little confused. "That quickly? I swear there were a lot more items to put away."

She thinks for a second, then exclaims, "Oh, that's right! I brought some of it up here." She gets up and walks over to a drawer, opening it to reveal a glass jar filled with a green herb.

"Right, I brought it up here to make tea!" She looks back at me. "Would you like some tea, dear?"

"No, Ms. Eldez, I already told you I don't want any. Also, why do you have that? Isn't that for one of the requests?"

"Oh, don't worry. I already sent the requested amount listed in the request form. This is just the leftovers."

"Leftovers? How? Didn't the requestee order several bags? Did I remember it incorrectly?" I wonder aloud, trying to recall.

Ms. Eldez laughs. "No need to think too hard about it, Varin. That little adventurer brought more than enough for there to be leftovers."

"That's right—the kid that comes every day and takes the same request for herb collection! He always brings in a ton and leaves them on my desk! He just empties out the bag on my desk, and I have to clean it up every time!" I exclaim.

Ms. Eldez laughs again. "Yes, that one. He's quite energetic."

"Where the hell does he even get so many?" I wonder aloud.

"I actually wonder about that too," Ms. Eldez says. "This plant has become quite rare over the months, especially due to it being summer. This herb only grows during spring and is collected then as well, so to see this much of it is quite odd."

"Really? What's it used for anyway?" I ask, curious about what the kid has been up to.

"These are mostly used in medicine. I've heard it's great for dealing with pain," Ms. Eldez says, thinking for a moment. "It was requested by the local church if I remember correctly."

"Huh… You said it was rare this time of year, but where has that kid gotten so much from?"

"You seem very interested in that little adventurer," Ms. Eldez notes. "But you're right, it is strange that he has managed to collect several bags worth."

Ms. Eldez sits down with the glass jar, a contemplative look on her face. "The only place that could potentially have this much of the stuff is the cursed forest."

"The cursed what?!" I shout loud enough that it even surprises Ms. Eldez.

"Oh, right, I forgot you were new to the town," Ms. Eldez says before continuing. "Back in the day, there used to be an adventuring group known as the Red Tooth. They got a request to find a lost dog of a local noble. If I remember correctly, the request specified that the dog got lost in the forest, so they went there to look for it. They searched for several hours but couldn't find hair nor hide of the dog, so they decided to come back and look elsewhere—all except one of them."

"What happened next?" I ask with a bit of fear in my voice.

Ms. Eldez gives me a confused look until she seems to remember something. "Oh yeah, the story, I'm sorry, I almost forgot."

"So… are you going to finish the story or?" I say expectantly.

Ms. Eldez responds, "Oh right, the story. Ahem, all but one of the adventurers go back to the town to rest and look for the dog another day. The one who didn't come back with them stayed in the forest to look for the dog a little longer. The next day, the group goes back to look for their friend in the forest so they can resume searching for the dog, but they can't find him at all—no footprints or anything they could use to track him. He just disappeared. The group was quite worried for their missing friend, so they decided to look for him in the forest for an entire day."

"And?" I ask, wanting to know more.

"And nothing. None of them ever returned," says Ms. Eldez.

"Ms. Eldez, perchance, is this forest the one that's really close to the town?"

"Why yes, how did you know?"

"Don't worry about it. Back to the story, did anyone go look for them?"

"Yes, actually," says Ms. Eldez.

"And?"

"And none of them came back either."

"WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T ANYONE DO ANYTHING TO STOP IT?"

Ms. Eldez sighs. "The town eventually took measures. After losing so many adventurers, they decided to seal off the forest and declare it cursed. People were forbidden from entering, and it became a taboo place. That's why it's surprising that the little adventurer you mentioned can find so many of those herbs."

I sit there, absorbing the story. "So, you're telling me this kid has been venturing into a cursed forest daily, bringing back rare herbs, and no one has noticed?"

Ms. Eldez shrugs. "It seems that way. Quite resourceful, isn't he? But also quite dangerous."

"Resourceful or reckless," I mutter. "It's one thing to forage, but to risk your life daily in a cursed forest? That's something else."

Ms. Eldez chuckles. "Perhaps the little one has a guardian angel watching over him. Or maybe he knows something we don't."

I glance at the jar of herbs again. "Either way, we owe him for these supplies."

Ms. Eldez nods. "Indeed. But be careful, Varin. Curiosity can lead you down dangerous paths."

"Ms eldez there is something i dont understand about the story, why did the adventuring group give up on the dog, i mean its just a dog!"

 "yes it was just a dog, a dog that belongs to a noble that was willing to pay 25 gold for whoever brought it back". ms eldez says.

"25 GOLD COINS?" i shout at the absurd number.

" now now i think that's enough yelling for tonight, you should go home" Ms eldez says.

" oh right i forgot , anyways goodbye MS eldez see you tomorrow"

I finally pack my things and head out the door of the guild, eager to get home and rest. As I make my way through the dimly lit streets, I spot the guild manager walking toward me.

(Oh gods, please don't notice me. I don't want to talk to anyone else right now,) I think to myself, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Ah, if it isn't our new receptionist!" the guild manager calls out, noticing me despite my best efforts.

"Ms. Varin, right? How are you this fine evening?" he asks with a friendly smile.

"I'm fine, and you, guild manager?" I reply, trying to sound as polite as possible.

He laughs. "No need for formalities outside the guild. Just call me Dyrk."

"Alright then, Mr. Dyrk. I think it's quite late. Where might you be heading?" I ask, hoping to sound normal.

(God, I hope that sounded normal. Please just walk away, I don't want to talk anymore!)

"Oh, I'm heading back to the guild. I left some paperwork there and I'm heading back to get it so I can work on it at home."

"Oh, why not work on it in the morning?" I suggest.

"I can't sleep very well, so I try to do some work to tire myself out."

"Oh... uhh," I stammer, unsure of how to continue the conversation. (What the hell do I say to that? How do I continue this conversation? Should I continue?)

"Mr. Dyrk, you used to be an adventurer, right? Do you know anything about the missing people that went to the cursed forest?" I blurt out, hoping to steer the conversation away from small talk.

"Missing people! Who went missing? Do you know them? Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Mr. Dyrk's voice is filled with worry.

"No, no one went missing. It's just a story Ms. Eldez told me before I left, and I was wondering if you knew anything about it," I clarify quickly.

"Oh, then no, I don't. Actually, did she give you any names?" he asks, his concern fading.

"Yes, she mentioned something about the Red Tooth adventurer group," I reply.

"Red Tooth? Red Tooth... hmmm, no, it doesn't really ring any bells... No, wait, I remember something. I don't know if what I'm thinking is the same thing, but there used to be an adventurer group known as the Red Fang that went missing almost 50 years ago. But that's all I know about them."

"Red Fang?" I echo, intrigued. "Do you remember any details about them?"

"Not much, really. They were a well-known group back in their day, took on some dangerous quests. But one day, they just vanished. The cursed forest was mentioned a lot in rumors, but no one knew for sure. It became a cautionary tale for new adventurers."

"That's... unsettling," I say, thinking about the little adventurer who has been collecting herbs from the cursed forest.

Dyrk nods. "Yeah, it is. If you hear any more stories from Ms. Eldez, let me know. I'm always curious about the old days."

" heh ok ill let you know if she tells me anything, goodby for now Mr dyrk.

i finally make my way home and open the door to my house.

( wait how dose Ms eldez know about the story if it happened 50 years ago ? shes doesnt look a day over 25, hell she might be younger then me! ahh whatever im tired ill just go to sleep).