Proceed to prologue

It had been several days since she had turned 18 but her excitement had not faded. She had spent many years fantasizing about becoming an adventurer ever since she had first heard of tales of adventures from travelling merchants and bards. The villagers were concerned for her safety as Elena was naive and had not been exposed to the corruption of the outside world. They attempted to dissuade her but she had her mind set and would not be swayed, and consequently they had come to an agreement that she would not become an adventurer until she became an adult. Now that she was 18, all that was in the past.

Excitement had kept Elena from sleep.

"Finally... tomorrow I will head to the capital..."

Elena whispered to herself while reflecting on fond memories of the village, and how everyone was so welcoming and kind to her. She would have to leave her village life behind her, and bid farewell to everyone tomorrow, but she swore that she would return some day.

Several groups of travelers had visited the village recently and had planned to leave early morning. Elena would have to travel alongside one of the travelers to venture to the capital. When morning came, Elena did not have a wink of sleep, still, her excitement kept her from being tired. All the villagers showed up to depart with Elena and say their farewells. Their worries were apparent on their faces, however they all smiled to alleviate Elena's nervousness.

Elena had checked, double checked and triple checked that she had everything on her before she left. The village was remote and had few visitors, thus the village did not have a considerable need for money as everyone had shared between each other. The village spared what little money and had given her a dagger they managed to obtain from one of the travelling merchants as a tool for self-defense.

There were several groups of travelers who were all departing from the village. Elena did not have a horse, so she could not travel toward the capital by herself, furthermore it would be a lot more entertaining having a companion to converse with, however she had not yet decided whom she would travel with. There was a caravan with many people that planned to travel around the mountain range, and stopping at Frel'k Village before traveling to the capital. There was also a lone merchant who intended to traverse directly through the mountain and toward the capital on his carriage, which would be considerably faster than taking the roundabout route the caravan was taking.