Chapter 1 - A Cry for Help

Izzy belongs to Aeolus.

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"Just a few more miles to the next town. You can hold out until then. Just a few more miles."

That's what Izzy kept telling himself at least. He had been carrying his big bag of equipment through the rugged terrain for the past few days, and it was only now that the surrounding scenery began to change.  The grassy hills and curving dirt paths had given way to an open forest with lush vegetation. The canopy above allowed only a few rays of sunlight to beam to the forest floor, serving a natural spotlight for the vibrant flowers growing through the brush. Calls of birds echoed in the distance, and the sound of rushing water gave away that a stream was close by.

However, all Izzy could focus on right now was the aches and sores he had accumulated on his trek. A scratch from a thorn bush on his right bicep. The blisters on his feet he picked up from traveling in sandals. But the constant strain on his back was the worst pain of all. He had to set his bag down somewhere, just for a little while. Wait for the pain to go away and continue on his journey, that was the best thing to do, right?

Izzy followed the sound of the babbling brook and set his bag down by large boulder by the riverbed. He let out a sigh of relief as his bag collapsed with a thud and leaned up against the rock. Izzy took his canteen out from his bag and chugged the what remained inside. He watched as stream rolled by, its surface showing a clear image of the pebbles beneath. He crawled over and filled his canteen up in the stream, the water washing away the dirt and sweat on his hands.

The water felt cool after spending hours in the humid breeze, and Izzy was not one to waste an opportunity. Setting his canteen down beside him, Izzy reached down and pulled off both of his sandals. Gingerly, he placed his feet within to cooling stream and breathed a sigh of relief. This was just the pick-me-up he needed. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and let the water do its work.

"Help!"

Izzy's eyes sprung open. He sat straight up and scanned the riverbed. Nothing.

"Somebody, please help!"

Izzy could've sworn he heard someone call out to him. It sounded faint, like a voice off in the distance, but someone definitely was calling for help. A young woman, if he had to guess.

"Anybody, please help me!"

If someone was in trouble, then Izzy certainly wouldn't help her by lying in the grass all day. This wasn't the first time he had to rush to someone's aid during his travels, and it definitely wouldn't be the last. He leapt up and sprinted towards his bag, neglecting to put on his sandals in his rush. He reached inside and pulled out his dual scythe-daggers, perfect for close-quarters combat.

Brandishing his signature weapons, Izzy sprinted down the stream towards the direction he heard the cry for help. "Hang on!" Izzy shouted as he navigated across the riverside's stone barefoot. "Help is on the way!"

"I'm over here!" the voice cried out from behind. Izzy skidded to a sudden halt, kicking up loose gravel as he slid. Now the voice was coming behind him? How could he have just passed by someone in danger without noticing it? He thought to himself that maybe the heat was starting to play tricks on his brain.

"Over here, please!" The voice was clearer than it was before, but Izzy still couldn't see where it was coming from. He decided to retrace his steps, taking special care to observe anything that he deemed suspicious. As he went further back down the bank, Izzy noticed something rustling in the bushes. Tiny grunts of frustration shook the leaves off the shrub as he got closer. Taking his dagger, Izzy gently lifted some of the branches aside and saw the source of the cries: a small fairy trapped within a spider's web.

"Oh, hello!" the little fairy called out. "Thank goodness you came. I was flying around when I seemed to got myself caught in quite a sticky situation." She made a half-hearted chuckle before her face sank down again. "Sorry. Would you mind getting me out of here please, if it's not too much trouble?"

Izzy was a bit at a loss of words. He had always seen fairies fluttering off in the distance during his travels, but he had never seen one up so close. Still, he knew how fragile they were. He laid one of his daggers down by his feet and carefully reached inside the bush. He gently cupped his hand behind the fairy and the web, and slowly pulled her out to safety. She spat a few loose strands of webbing out of her mouth, but was thankfully uninjured.

"That's the last time I go berry-picking alone!" The fairy spat a few loose strands of webbing out of her mouth, but was thankfully uninjured. Izzy stood still as the fairy sat in his hand, picking off the remaining threads from her hair and body. She was sparsely dressed and had only a few loose leaves wrapped around her body to cover her torso and waist. Her long fuchsia hair contrasted against her green surroundings, and her pair of wasp-link wings flapped as they shook the last strands of web off her body.

"Ah! Freedom!" The little fairy flapped her wings and darted all around Izzy. She flew up and down, much faster than anyone could keep track off. Izzy stood up and watched as she maneuvered across the tree branches up above. She loudly cheered as she zipped through logs and under mushrooms before landing on top of Izzy's fishing hat. "I'll never forget your kind generosity, wandering hero!" She leaned over the brim of his hat and hovered upside-down in front of him. "By the way, what is your name?"

Izzy stammered as the fairy continued to dangle in front of him. He wasn't expecting fairies to be this up-close and personal. "Uh…  Izzy. Izzy Toshido. I'm an explorer." There was a bit more to it than that, but he felt that was as good an introduction as any.

"Izzy, eh? Well, you can call me Iris!" She launched off from Izzy's hat and reoriented herself right-side up. Her wings batted as she stayed suspended in the air, almost like a hummingbird. Izzy could feel a soft breeze from Iris's wings beating inches away from his face. "So, what are you doing all by yourself deep in the woods?"

"I was just taking a break. I'm trying to get to the next town over and this was the quick---"

"You mean Aldenville?" Iris flew closer towards Izzy's face. He had to take a step back to make sure there was still some breathing room between the two of them. "You're not going to get there anytime soon cutting through here! Do you know how many lost souls wandered through these woods and never returned?"

"I can't say I have."

"Eight." With how Iris had been acting since they first met, Izzy couldn't really tell if she was joking or not. If she was, her face didn't seem to give it away. Izzy watched as she rubbed her chin as she stared him up and down. Her blue eyes were lost in thought. "You came here barefoot?"

Izzy glanced down at his feet. They were covered in dirt and peat moss. "You're never going to be a proper explorer if walk around barefoot outside."  He looked back up to see a growing smile spread across Iris's face.  Her legs dangled freely in the breeze. "Unless you can fly of course!"

"You'd be surprised about the things I could do." Izzy reached to pick his dagger off the ground and gave Iris a knowing smile as he made his way back down the riverbank. Iris fluttered beside him, keeping up with the brisk pace Izzy was walking at.

"Surprised? At what?" Izzy kept on walking, as he enjoyed leading the little fairy on for a bit. "Wait, do you know any spells? Are you a mage? Can you actually fly?" Izzy simply chuckled and simply pressed ahead. Iris looked at the man in front of her and couldn't help but wonder what secrets he was hiding from her.

Then, she got an idea. Iris zipped up high and plopped right down on Izzy's hat, covering his eyes. "Hey, what'd you that for?" Izzy adjusted his hat so he could see where he was going. Iris sat comfortably atop his head.

"It occurs to me that you don't know your way around these woods, and it's very easy to get lost here. Especially at night." Izzy looked up at the sky peeking through the canopy. It had taken an orange hue, which meant that it wouldn't be long before nightfall. "You wouldn't want to become number nine, would you?"

Izzy had traveled in the dark alone a few times before. And he also had more than his fair share of near-death encounters along the way. "So, what do you suggest we do?" He couldn't see Iris, but he could hear her wings buzz ever so slightly.

"I suggest that we make camp for the night and head for Aldenville first thing tomorrow!" By the boldness in her voice, Izzy almost wondered if she was the seasoned explorer of the two. "I can take you to the quickest route to the city's borders. You'll need someone familiar with these paths to get you there in one piece. And trust me, I know a lot about this forest!"

"Well, so long as you don't stop us to bring attention to something every five minutes, I think we'll be okay". Iris stamped Izzy's hat over his eyes again, almost causing him to trip over himself. "Okay, I take it back! I know when I've gone too far!" Izzy laughed as he pulled his hat back up as Iris tried her best to contain her smile. "You are okay though, right?"

"Don't worry about me. It's nothing a few stories over a campfire can't fix." Iris sat back Izzy lifted up his heavy backpack. For some reason, Izzy didn't feel like carrying his bag felt like that big a chore to him right now. Something about this place gave him renewed spirits. Izzy thought to himself that if he and Iris were going to get a fire started, they needed to find a nice open space together. After all, that's what explorers do.

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