Chapter One

## All for cabbages

[...]

Somewhere, far away from the town and inside the forest, an unknown maiden had been left stranded after what appeared to have been a terribly and traumatic incident, leaving her barely conscious in the dirt. In the middle of broken trees and debris from a fight stood a masked assassin, Masa, whose leg would soon be used as clinging support by the mysterious stranger. Although she told the girl to let go, she seemed to understand it as allowing herself to die, which she could not fulfill due to being very well alive. Out of nowhere, the girl jumped back onto her feet and proclaimed Masa her hero, whom she would forever be indebted to for saving her life. Realizing how much her head was pounding from a fresh bruise, the strange girl searched for comfort in Masa's arms, only to be cruelly rejected. Seeing as her service of protection was no longer needed, Masa walked off, only to be followed by the girl who revealed her name to be Eponine. As a sign of elaborating on her previous wish not to be followed, Masa drew her weapon, a bloodied katana, which Eponine quickly cleaned off with a handkerchief, thinking that to be the intended use of the blade. Now furious, Masa firmly stated that any attempt to follow her or get close would result in slashing Eponine, which lead the follower to sit down on a tree stump, where she determinedly waited like a loyal Charmander, while being observed by Masa from the safety of a tree branch. When sundown dyed the sky red, Eponine addressed her hero once more, trying to remind her that they would need to find shelter before the dark, but after only receiving a shrug as a response, she claimed the ground as her bed, where she fell asleep within minutes, face first in the dirt.

## Escaping

[...]

Already believing himself out of the range of trouble, Avandias made his way into the forest, where he heard the alarmed scream of Eponine, who had awoken due to the explosion heard from the dungeon. Knowing he could not ignore a maiden in distress, Avandias made his way towards the source, but before reaching it was briefly interrupted by Genovieve, who had heard his calls for the person who had let out the scream, and who appeared to be wounded. While the two conversed about her need of medical attention, Eponine put in her best effort to wake Masa, who had fallen asleep on her tree. Begrudgingly, the assassin responded to the whiny needs of her follower by pointing towards the city, signaling that they would be on their move. The call of Avandias had not been ignored though, as Eponine promptly called out for whoever was in search of her, naive as she was, and warned them about dangerous debris from the fight. After avoiding the obstacles in the foliage, Avandias reached the girl, but quickly noticed her more hostile shadow. Contrary to the expectation of the man, Eponine proudly introduced the woman as her hero and best friend for life, before giving away her name quite foolishly and receiving an introduction from Avandias. Masa, finally fed up by her stalker's persistence, drew her sword and threatened to slice Eponine's throat if she followed her any further, which caused Avandias to take action in form of trying to diffuse the situation via speech.

[...]

After becoming terribly lost in the undergrowth, Feyrith quite literally stumbled upon his fake master once more, where he joyfully exclaimed to him as "my lord!", knowing he could save him from the bugs. Unaware that this statement was a hoax, Eponine's attention perked regarding the royal title and she quickly suggested that a person of royalty is likely heading towards Ulmery to bring a Philactery into their possession.

While this unfolded, Elias pondered about his involvement and if he should warn them about the approaching group of soldiers and their hounds, but decided that it wouldn't be god's intention for him to interfere, so he continued on his way to Ulmery, hoping he could at least loot the bodies if they happened to die.

However, nighttime approached and the distance to the city proved too great to continue during night. After thinking about how she could get everyone to move and take her up on her offer to be their guide to the city, her brain connected the dots between a bunch of strangers being in the forest and the noises she had likely heard, concluding that some of them had to be criminals on the run. With the threat of the soldiers, as well as a creature called the "Sasserwash", which Eponine would not elaborate on, she urged them to find shelter. Instead of taking the offer however, Avandias felt himself unsafe, believing the stranger may know something about his heritage, and decided to drop the ongoing dispute to ride off on his horse once again. With no other choice left, Feyrith joined the group instead, not wanting to be eaten alive. While most of the others accepted, Masa retreated back to her tree, wishing to no longer engage with the group, while Gen had to disappoint as well, due to her discomfort in staying with big groups for a long period of time. The two parted with the rest, who then made their way towards the nearest inn.

## Reaching Ulmery

While some individuals traveled alone, Eponine's companions had spent a rather peaceful night at the promised nearby inn and eventually made their way towards Ulmery on the safest and most relaxing path possible. Meanwhile, Masa had the honor - or bad luck - of encountering the infamous Sasserwash when the predatory creature chased her out of the forest while remaining as mysterious as it had been before.

[...]

### Group One - Sandsharks

While waiting for everyone to step through the doors, Feyrith began to wonder who their third member may possibly be, appreciating the fact that he had been paired with Azariah, a familiar face. Not soon after, a stranger rushed towards them, claiming to be their missing team member. The strange boy was covered in a thick layer of clothes, way too hot for the weather inside Ulmery, which was reason for his shortness of breath and late arrival. Knowing they would miss the start of the tournament, the boy grabbed his teammates and pulled them through their assigned door, which lead them into the sandy dunes of a desert.

Although Feyrith was at first happy to not be thrown into a forest with a bunch of bugs, he soon realized that the drifting sands underneath him were anything but enjoyable or safe. Fearing to trip, he inquired if he could just stay put, while Azariah slowly began to sink into the sand beneath her. With two teammates stuck, the stranger unraveled some of his clothing layers and bound them into a rope, which he then tossed to the two to hold onto. Feyrith wished to use the unpleasant situation to share introductions, while Azariah proved anything but fond of the development. However, due to poor calculation of weight distribution, the additional pull on the rope caused the three to further tumble down the dunes until reaching the very bottom. Happy to not have died, the boy then picked up on Feyrith's earlier question for a name and introduced himself as "Lorian". Upon being asked about his thick clothing, Lorian explained that he expected bad weather and that he had to rush to the tournament, implying that he had a routine with them, supported by his confusion about the two attending their "first philactery race". Feyrith then concluded that, since the tournament is including challenges, the nearby ruins would be most likely the place to find what they were looking for. After brainstorming what enemies could await them inside, Lorian asked if either of them are capable of fighting, to which Azariah responded that she has a sword, but Feyrith had to disappoint, as he identified more as a medic. Just as Lorian asked for the name of the tournament host, and made a quick notice that the host is a lord, a small, furry creature approached the three. Feyrith inquired if the creature happens to be a hellhound, which had been mentioned by Lorian earlier, but Lorian confirmed it to be anything but a hellhound as the creature burrowed into the ground and dashed forward to attack them. Due to the danger, Lorian advised the other two to run and they made their way to the ruin entrance.

[...]

Outside the tournament, Iglas found himself alarmed by the short time the public transmission on the cube visual had been canceled out, and would soon have his worries confirmed as an employee of the royal hosts approached him, handing him a small scroll. While the mage accepted the scroll, another group exited their first challenge, losing one member in the process.

### Group Two - Chin Jelly's Adventure

[...]

Upon entering, Eponine and Sunny were hit with a gust of snow and the wind seemed to be getting stronger by the moment, meaning they had entered a frost location. Just seconds into arriving, the group found themselves on a thin layer of ice, which began cracking underneath their feet. Only Sunny managed to react and managed to grab Eponine to carry her to a safe spot, while Xin's weight caused the surface to collapse, now trapping him inside icy water. While Masa was indifferent and trusted Xin's experience to pull himself out, Sunny prepared to go back for him while advising Eponine to defend herself of any danger by using the sword she had handed her prior to entering the door.

[...]

## Break

[...]

The revelation of the mystery had to be delayed, as the tournament bells rang once more and Lord Aislin retook his place inside the arena's cube, congratulating victories and consoling losses with praise. After musicians and other entertainment passed, the host announced that the real trial would finally begin, and the grand prize awaited the contestants inside the walls of the hedge maze Palinoia. All those who raised their hands would be teleported into the new area, while others were free to drop out. While hands were raising in the air, Elias happened to find a coin, which he lifted up to look at it, unaware that they were being sent away to the new, strange land.