The cabin buzzed with quiet activity as everyone prepared for the journey ahead.
Leather straps were tightened, canteens filled, and supplies spread across the wooden table in careful piles.
The smell of fresh bread drifted from the kitchen where Syanna packed enough food to last the first several days.
Outside, the morning sun poured through the windows, bathing the cabin in warm golden light.
Vistara walked from pack to pack, checking everything for what felt like the tenth time.
She stopped in front of Javon and folded her arms.
“Do you have your sleeping bag?”
Javon looked up with an exaggerated sigh.
“Yes, shorty.”
He patted the rolled-up bundle strapped to his backpack.
“I have my sleeping bag.”
Vistara frowned.
“I am not a child.”
“No…”
Javon said with a completely straight face.
“…you’re just child-sized.”
Syanna let out a laugh.
Vistara shot both of them an annoyed glare.
“I’m still taller than I was yesterday.”
“Congratulations.”
Javon nodded dramatically.
“At this rate you’ll be six feet tall by the time you’re eighty.”
Before Vistara could retaliate, Syanna reached into Javon’s pack.
“Then what’s this?”
She held up a neatly folded blanket covered in tiny embroidered foxes, mountains, and little blue flowers.
The room fell silent.
Javon immediately snatched for it.
“Give that back!”
Syanna raised it higher with a grin.
“Aww…”
“You packed your special blanket.”
“It helps me sleep.”
He crossed his arms defensively.
“I refuse to apologize for being comfortable.”
Vistara smirked.
“I thought blankets with little pictures were for children.”
“They’re not pictures.”
“They’re…”
Javon hesitated.
“…art.”
“They’re adorable.”
“They’re intimidating.”
“They’re adorable.”
“They’re aggressively intimidating.”
A quiet chuckle escaped Riven.
The room froze.
Everyone slowly turned toward him.
“…Did he just laugh?”
Javon whispered.
“I think he did.”
Syanna smiled.
“There it is.”
“We’ve been waiting days for that.”
Javon quickly pointed toward the blanket.
“It was for Riven.”
Riven blinked.
“…What?”
“I packed it for you.”
“You said you get lonely.”
“I never said that.”
Javon shrugged.
“You were thinking it.”
Riven calmly adjusted the strap on his backpack.
“I’m fine.”
“If I get lonely…”
He glanced toward Vistara without thinking.
“…I’ll just talk to Vistara.”
Silence.
Vistara’s cheeks immediately turned bright red.
She looked away so quickly she nearly tripped over her own bag.
“I-I…”
She cleared her throat.
“…That’s fine.”
Syanna slowly looked between the two of them.
Then at Javon.
Then back again.
Javon rubbed his forehead.
“You two seriously have to figure this out eventually.”
Riven looked genuinely confused.
“…Figure what out?”
Javon stared at him.
“You really don’t know?”
“…Know what?”
Aelwyn chuckled softly from across the room.
“It appears…”
He stroked his beard.
“…our young master possesses tremendous talent in many things.”
He smiled knowingly.
“…Except matters of the heart.”
Javon sighed.
“It’s painful to watch.”
Riven looked from one face to another.
“…I still don’t understand.”
“You’ve proven our point.”
Syanna laughed.
Before Javon could continue teasing them, Aelwyn clapped his hands once.
His voice instantly brought everyone’s attention back.
“Before we leave…”
He looked toward Riven.
“…you should know where we’re going.”
Javon nodded.
“The city is called Cliffhaven.”
“It’s built into the mountains and protected by the Greyfist Clan.”
Riven adjusted his backpack.
“…Greyfist Clan?”
Vistara stepped forward.
“They’re one of the oldest martial clans in Kavara.”
“They don’t rely on swords or spears.”
“They coat their fists in Vyr.”
She clenched her hand into a fist.
“Their control is so refined that they can shatter steel with a single punch.”
“They’ve trained that way for generations.”
Riven’s golden eyes lit with curiosity.
“…They fight barehanded?”
“They do.”
A faint smile crossed his face.
“…Interesting.”
Javon immediately pointed at him.
“Don’t.”
Riven blinked.
“…Don’t what?”
“I know that look.”
“What look?”
“The one that says…”
Javon imitated Riven’s calm voice.
“‘I wonder if I can beat them.'”
“I wasn’t thinking that.”
“You were absolutely thinking that.”
“…Maybe a little.”
“I knew it.”
Javon shook his head.
“Those people have spent their entire lives perfecting that fighting style.”
“They’re much stronger than they look.”
“So…”
He held up three fingers.
“When we arrive…”
“We pay the entrance fee.”
“Three silver items per person.”
Riven nodded casually.
“That shouldn’t be a problem.”
Everyone looked at him.
“I still have plenty back at my cave.”
Javon blinked.
“…Your cave?”
“The one I lived in with Raku.”
“You have silver just…”
He gestured aimlessly.
“…lying around?”
Riven shrugged.
“Well…”
“Yeah.”
“Raku told me to keep anything valuable I found while hunting.”
“A lot of the creatures I hunted had swallowed silver ornaments, jewelry, and coins.”
“So I just kept them.”
Silence.
“…How much silver?”
Riven thought for a moment.
“I don’t know.”
“A few sacks.”
The room went completely still.
Javon’s jaw slowly dropped.
“A…”
He blinked.
“…few sacks?”
Riven nodded.
“I never counted it.”
Javon looked at Aelwyn.
“Aelwyn…”
He looked back at Riven.
“…Do you realize this idiot accidentally became rich?”
Aelwyn smiled into his beard.
“I was beginning to suspect as much.”
Riven frowned, genuinely puzzled.
“…Is silver really that difficult to find?”
The question hung in the air.
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
Javon blinked.
“…Excuse me?”
Riven tilted his head.
“I asked if silver is difficult to find.”
Javon stared at him for several long seconds before slowly rubbing his temples.
“Riven…”
He let out a deep sigh.
“Is it difficult to find?”
He laughed once in disbelief.
“It’s rare enough that people kill for it.”
Riven’s golden eyes remained completely emotionless.
“…Oh.”
That was all. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
No surprise.
No concern.
Just a quiet acknowledgment.
He adjusted the strap of his backpack and calmly turned toward the forest.
“I’ll be back.”
No one answered.
They simply watched him walk away toward the mountain path leading to his old cave.
The moment he disappeared between the trees…
Javon slowly turned toward Vistara.
“…Vistara.”
She looked up.
“I don’t know where you found this walking treasure chest…”
He pointed toward the forest where Riven had vanished.
“…but whatever you do…”
“We are never letting him out of our sight.”
Syanna rolled her eyes.
“You make him sound like a sack of silver.”
“He basically is!”
Javon threw his hands into the air.
“The man accidentally became wealthy because monsters kept eating jewelry!”
“Who does that happen to?”
Syanna couldn’t help but laugh.
“It is pretty ridiculous.”
“I know!”
“He spent years living in a cave and somehow ended up richer than half the merchants in Thunderwood!”
He folded his arms proudly.
“I’ve officially decided.”
“My life goal is to become Riven.”
Without warning…
Syanna stepped forward and swung a punch toward his shoulder.
Javon grinned.
“Aha!”
He leaned back just enough for her fist to whistle harmlessly past him.
“I learned your patterns.”
He pointed confidently at her.
“You can’t hit me anymore.”
He folded his arms with a smug smile.
“I’ve evolved.”
Syanna simply smiled.
“Oh?”
“You think so?”
Before Javon could react…
Her fist shot forward again.
This time it drove directly beneath his ribs.
THUD.
“…Oof!”
The sound escaped him more than the word itself.
Every ounce of air left his lungs.
His eyes bulged.
His confidence disappeared instantly.
He staggered backward two steps before collapsing onto one knee, desperately trying to remember how breathing worked.
Syanna calmly shook out her hand.
“I was aiming for your shoulder.”
She smiled sweetly.
“You moved.”
Javon looked up in disbelief.
“…That…”
He wheezed.
“…felt intentional.”
“It was.”
Vistara crossed her arms, trying—and failing—not to smile.
“We aren’t staying with Riven because of money.”
Her voice softened.
“We’re staying because…”
She glanced toward the trail where Riven had disappeared.
“…he’s important to us.”
For just a moment…
No one spoke.
Even Javon stopped pretending to be offended.
The words settled warmly over the group.
Then…
From somewhere farther up the trail…
A quiet laugh drifted back through the trees.
Riven.
He hadn’t gone far enough to miss the conversation.
The soft chuckle was enough to make everyone smile.
Beside the cabin, Aelwyn stroked his beard, a gentle laugh escaping him as he watched the young group together.
“It appears…” he said warmly,
“…our young master is finally beginning to understand what it means to have a family.”
Javon slowly pushed himself back to his feet, still clutching his ribs.
He inhaled carefully.
Then immediately winced.
“…This…”
He took another painful breath.
“…isn’t fun anymore.”
Syanna smiled innocently.
“Oh?”
“I thought you’d learned my patterns.”
Javon glared at her.
“…I’m going to need another lifebinder.”
Syanna laughed.
“I am the lifebinder.”
“…Then I’m doomed.”
“Are you coming? We have a long way to go till we get to Sabaercrest.” Spoke Riven
The group started walking towards the Riven ready for the adventure that awaits them.