"He's not responding," Marcus said, glancing down at the bowl, then back at the crafting bench. He scrambled to his feet and disappeared from sight, arguments with Lincoln catching Hector's ear.

"It should work. I followed the recipe. I followed it to a tee," Marcus said, voice shrill and panicked.

"Are you sure?" Lincoln shouted back. "You've killed him, haven't you!"

"I did no such thing; it should have worked—it was a simple enough recipe."

"Simple, my arse!" Lincoln cried. There was a thud, glass smashing against stone, and then another thud as a form ran up and slid next to Hector. Lincoln's face popped up, mask missing, taut with worry.

"Are you all right?" he said, slipping Hector's mask off, resting a hand on his cheek and giving it light taps. "Come on, Hector, speak, speak!"

"Stop it, you idiot," Jodie said, shoving Lincoln back. "He's fine, can't you see his eyes moving?"

"I don't know if that qualifies as fine," Lincoln retorted. Hector agreed. Though his vision was no longer fading, he was as stiff as a rock, unable to move. Thankfully, he could still breathe.

As the moments passed, the two continued bickering, and motion began seeping back into Hector. He clenched his fingers, rolled his shoulders, and let out a heavy sigh.

"Can you two shut up?" he said, groaning as he leaned forward, Jodie assisting him, though caught off guard.

He scooped up his mask, which rested to the side, and let his thoughts work themselves out. Then he spoke. "It worked, but boy was it unpleasant," Hector said, letting out a gasp for fresh air. Though he'd been breathing, it had been tight, like breathing through a straw.

"You all right?" Lincoln said.

Hector eyed him. "I'm all right."

His friend's face tightened, a soft smile briefly flickering to his lips before he shoved off the grass and got to his feet with a grunt. "Good, good, I'm glad to hear it." Lincoln dusted off his hands and trudged back up. Hector followed him with his gaze.

There on the platform, Marcus, hands covering his head, looked up from the crafting bench.

"Hector?"

"Marcus, you did well." The boy's eyes moistened, and he let out something that could only be described as a chirp. Reaching down for the booklet, he snatched it off the table and rushed forward, leaping from the platform and thudding onto the grass.

"It worked, by the great lake, it worked!" He stopped a short distance away, raising his wrist and glancing at a point just above the bracelet. "The quest—it says complete as well. I got points. What about you guys?"

Groggy, Hector's head shifted, his eyes finding the bead at the centre of his bracelet. A screen popped up a moment later, stating he'd collected 30 points.

"Huh," Hector said, nodding at Jodie. "Seems it was worth it."

"Worth it, my arse—we almost died for 30 points."

"Well, this was only one room. There could be more."

"There is more," Marcus corrected, dropping to a knee and shuffling closer. "The map—it's expanded."

"What do you mean?" Hector asked.

"I don't know what you guys did, but somehow the map grew."

"Huh," Hector muttered. With the help of Jodie, he got to his feet and observed the destruction. The fight had torn up the ground, grass flung to the side in places, and large tentacles drooping over the area. The bulb was a ruined mess, with a puddle of purple liquid growing as its insides continued to leak out.

"I see," Hector said, eyes lingering on the mess.

"You see what?" Jodie asked.

Hector sighed, resting a hand on his hip and shaking his head. "Nothing; there's no point in commenting any further on destruction." He glanced at Jodie and gestured towards the plant bulb. "Did you at least get the beast core?"

The girl's eyes widened as if realising something, and she darted off towards the bulb, her feet making wet slaps as she ran across the damp grass.

"I'll take that as a no," Hector muttered, and then turned back to Marcus. "So, can we at least leave now?"

—- —- —- —-

Hector enjoyed Marcus's company. He was smart, inquisitive, and found the simplest things fascinating when you really got into a conversation with him. But it was that trait, that fascination, that could be a problem.

Even now, as Hector stood, arms crossed, waiting by the garden exit, Lincoln to his side, Marcus picked through the bushes, skirting around trees, and plucking at random herbs.

According to him, there was more than just the Leiser potion within that little booklet he'd found. There was another potion that could help them see in the dark and even give them the ability to breathe underwater for a few seconds.

How that would help them in the coming trials, Hector didn't quite know. But he left the boy to it.

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And so, they spent an hour waiting for Marcus to plod through the area, picking up herb after herb, and shoving them into his backpack.

Hector scratched his head. "Maybe I should have been a bit more demanding when telling him to be quick."

"You think?" Lincoln said from Hector's side. He sat leaning against one of the low garden walls lining the path, spear held in front of him, mask resting in his lap. He'd taken it off earlier, citing the fact that unless that door started opening, no one would see his face.

Hector could find no plausible argument against that—after all, cameras didn't exist in this world. And if going off the projection message used by his mother, devices that could record were rare and not used randomly for no reason.

"Well, either way, I'm sure the potions he makes will come in handy," Hector said, slipping a hand into his pocket and feeling around. Pulling them out, he frowned at the soft clump of purple petals and seeds in his hands.

He'd picked up some more of the plant and the strange, tiny acorns that sat underneath some of the thickest ones.

The effects of the marrow weed weren't fully clear to him, and it no doubt had other properties aside from just being part of a simple potion. Maybe if they took this out of this trial realm, they could grow more.

"Are they almost done?" Lincoln said, scratching his cheek and letting out a sigh.

Hector shook his head, stepping over. His gaze lingered on Lincoln for a moment before he shifted and sat down on top of the wall. How would he broach this?

Lincoln's behaviour lately had been annoying, to put it kindly. He'd shied away from fights that were—in Hector's opinion—easy enough. Well, that should be easy enough for Lincoln, at least. And he'd practically abandoned even improving.

The only thing he put some effort towards was cultivation. That was a pleasant change, but apparently, it came at the cost of his desire to get better as a fighter.

Hector scratched his cheek and let out a sigh. That wouldn't work. If they all couldn't fight, if they all couldn't contribute, then it was sad to admit, but Lincoln was becoming a dead weight.

"Lincoln?" Hector croaked. The words—how should he put them? Would Lincoln even see his point? "I need to—"

"All right, we're done." Marcus's voice split the air as he crunched down the path, Jodie at his side, shaking her head. Going by his body language, the task had gone well, though Jodie seemed more annoyed by the whole thing.

Frowning, Hector pushed off the wall, and Lincoln looked up at him.

"Something wrong, Hector?" he asked. A leaf floated past his eye and landed in his lap.

"No, nothing." Now wouldn't be a good time to broach the topic. Perhaps when they got back. "How did it go?" Hector asked, turning to Marcus.

"It went excellently. I think I have enough supplies to make at least ten vials of the Leiser potion and perhaps four or five of the other two."

"I hope you do. I literally scuffed my knees crawling around for your damn herbs," Jodie said, bending over and dusting green stains off her pants. "Look at this." She gestured at her legs and sighed. "How am I supposed to get this clean?"

"You could just buy more," Lincoln said, groaning as he used his spear to clamber to his feet.

Jodie shot him a glance, one that promised violence if he continued to speak. And thankfully, Lincoln didn't. Instead, he stepped back, turned on his heels, and made his way over to the door. With a slight slap against his skin, his mask was back on his face.

"So I assume we're ready?" Hector asked, shaking his head.

"I think so. There's nothing else I can really scavenge here, and I think my bag's pretty full. That is..." Marcus's eyes shifted to the ground, and he scratched at his head. The wind blew through his hair, ruffling it and dislodging bits of plants stuck to his man bun. "Maybe you guys could purchase some bags and help me stock up on more—"

"No," Hector said, cutting him off. "We're not stocking up on any more. We have an inheritance to get, and we don't have a lot of time, Marcus."

"I know, but—"

"Marcus."

His friend fell silent, head sagging, as he plodded past Hector. It was tough to be strict with his friends. On one hand, he wanted to be just that—friends.

But it was becoming increasingly clear, especially with how often their lives seemed to be at risk lately, that just being friends and accommodating each of their whims wouldn't be enough. To do so would put them at risk.

"Was everything okay over there?" Hector asked, turning to Jodie.

The ginger nodded, raising a hand and combing it back through her hair, tightening her ponytail as she did. "Well enough. He was excited, to say the least. I mean, I understand it, truly." Her gaze moved past Hector, no doubt lingering on Marcus behind them. "He's finally got a role that he feels he can fill for the group, finally contributing in a meaningful way. Ah, I don't know. I don't really want to take something like that away from him or dampen his spirits, but I see your point."

Hector raised a brow. Was she saying he'd said something wrong? Maybe, but then again, his decisions lately hadn't exactly been stellar. He'd have to consider it. Hector sighed and turned.

"Well, we'd better get out of here," he said, moving to the front door and pushing on it.

The door didn't budge.

Lincoln, at the side, sniggered; his foot crunched on gravel as he took a step back. "I think it opens inwards, Hector. I mean, that's how we got in."

Hector's neck reddened slightly, his cheeks flushing. How had he forgotten that they'd pushed the door to get in? Well, Marcus had pushed the door.

He took a step back, examining the structure. Its intricate design with detailed decals painted a picture that was fitting for the garden.

At around chest height, two brass handles sat on either side of the door. It would do no good to watch Marcus strain against them again. So, Hector stepped forward and pulled.

With a slight pop, his efforts were rewarded as the door began opening on its own with a low groan of steel grinding against steel. Stepping back as a soft wind washed through, with the dull, clean scent of the hallway making its way up to his nose, Hector paused.

In front of him stood a collection of people. One girl, seemingly the leader, had her brown hair tied up in pigtails. Clad in sturdy-looking leather armour and with a large halberd strapped to her back, she stood at the front of the group.

The girl narrowed her eyes at them and then glanced back at her group, focusing on a boy in particular.

"Were you expecting this?"

The boy she glanced at shook his head, his posture shrinking slightly as if he'd made some grievous miscalculation. "No, there shouldn't be anyone in here. This is only available to people completing the quest. And as far as I'm aware, I'm the only one with it."

"Well, you and the noble," the girl corrected him before turning back to Hector. She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"

Hector frowned, the shock of seeing people on the other side of the door slowly fading, and then it sank in. That was kind of rude to demand who someone was when you were the one who appeared out of nowhere.

"Who are you?" Hector retorted.

The girl blinked at him and shook her head, a soft smile coming to her lips as if she'd forgotten her manners. "I am Eileen, leader of the Flower Bank Mercenaries."

Lincoln gasped, and Hector glanced towards him. The boy gripped his spear tighter. The look of shock in his eyes faded as he met Hector's gaze.

"The Flower Banks, Hector. You know, the ones that literally caused the mess with the bugs."

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