𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃 | 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐢

𝐕𝐈𝐈. 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬

The second that Roni landed, she rubbed her hands together and blew her warm breath over her fingers. Since when did it snow in the jungle, and where were the others? She'd spawned completely alone, or so she thought.

She turned in alarm at the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow. A brute of a man came up over the hill followed by an army that she could smell from a mile away. She held back a gag and prepared to unsheathe the knife she knew was at her side.

"Rogue!" the brute laughed and then gestured to her outfit unfit for the winter climate, "I see you left in a haste."

The brute snapped with a flick of his wrist and a member of his party stepped forward to offer her a more suitable outfit, which she quickly accepted.

She didn't hesitate to throw the clothes on over what she was already wearing, she'd fix it later. She shuddered from the cold, and it definitely affected her speech. "W-what am I doing here? W-where's N-Nigel?"

The brute looked at her in confusion and shook his head. "I don't understand your question, fair Rogue. However, I do appreciate your swift arrival. I take it you accept my offer then?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Offer? What offer?"

The brute revealed the red, glowing jewel that hung around his neck. "I'm in need of someone to ensure that this safely remains in my possession. I'm told you're the best."

Roni quickly nodded her head, but her eyes refused to leave the jewel. "Yep. None better than me."

"Then it is settled," the brute nodded his head, "You will ride with us to Mount Zhatmire."

Roni really wasn't given an option as a horse was brought to her side. She mounted and allowed herself to merge with the rest of the pack. Okay, so she was alone in the mountains with characters that she'd never seen before. This was new, and she was stuck facing it on her own. She stilled her breath to keep calm and focus on how to escape. Last time they had to take the green jewel to the statue, so this time it looked as if she was protecting the red jewel from... okay it was a wild guess. She'd figure it out eventually and hopefully find the others.

A week passed and she still had no clue as to what she was doing. A few thugs had tried to break into the caravan and steal the jewel, but either she took them out or the hyenas got to them first. She didn't enjoy it, but it was the only way to survive. It'd been a miracle that she still had the three marks on her arm. The same pattern had gone on day in and day out. Like most days, Dagfinn the Hyena master offered her his flask once they'd made camp for the evening.

Although tempted, Roni shook her head and turned down the drink. "I'm working."

"You say that every day," Dagfinn rolled his eyes and took a swig from his flask. His accent was thick, but she had no idea what to compare it to. Maybe if a Russian and a German had a baby... that was a terrifying idea.

Dagfinn clicked his tongue and motioned for her to be quiet before pointing up toward the trees. Roni raised an eyebrow but quickly noticed the shadow darting between the trees. She nodded her head in agreement, but signed that she'd take this one. Dagfinn nodded his head as if to say he understood.

Over the past week, she'd learned quite a bit about her character that she hadn't discovered the first time around. First, her multilingual skill wasn't just reserved for the spoken language, she could also communicate using her hands or using a series of whistles and know exactly what was meant. Second, she was near silent despite the crunch that most fresh powder had. Finally, she might have been great with a knife, but she was outstanding with a rifle.

She climbed up onto the top of the wagon and removed the rifle that she had strapped over her shoulder. Normally she'd just shoot her opponent and be done with it, but she was growing tired of routine. She fluffed the end of the tranquilizer before placing it in the chamber of the gun. She got herself situated before taking aim with the help of the crosshair lens attached to her weapon.