Author Notes: Apologies for the wait. Enjoy the chapter!

The title is a phrase from "The Walking Song," in The Lord of the Rings: "Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread, Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are all alight. The world behind and home ahead, We'll wander back to home and bed."

Kirito swiped a hand across his brow while Klein and the others cheered behind him. Multiple bird-like monsters stood in front of them, giving off a dying screech as they began to break off into fragments. Kirito didn't bother to look at the screen that popped up in front of him before he hit accept to the rewards of the battle. His inventory bag was getting steadily filled over the past few weeks, only to be cleared out when they came into town to sell what they could.

They were all focused on getting stronger; increasing their stats, their levels, and their gear. If Kirito was honest, it had been extremely awkward in the beginning. Not because he begrudged them for their lower levels, but because he had grown used to playing solo. He had assumed it wouldn't be too difficult to start assisting others but what Kirito discovered was that it was. Which made him admire Klein a little bit more for managing their small group and keeping morale up.

"What you thinking there, Kirito?"

Fingers wiggled themselves in front of Kirito's eyes. Kirito blinked and followed the hand up to Kunimitz's inquisitive gaze.

"Just thinking about our fearless leader," Kirito deadpanned, gesturing over to where Klein was whooping loudly over a dropped item. He was also doing a bizarre—at least bizarre in Kirito's opinion—victory dance with his arms thrown around Dale's and Issin's shoulders.

Kunimitz laughed and waved back when he caught Klein's eyes.

"Come on," Kunimitz suddenly called, grabbing Kirito's arm and dragging him towards the rest of the group, "You've got to celebrate too."

Kirito started to protest but he was dragged across the short distance and before he knew it, Dale pulled him in close and he was made to join in the celebratory dance.

World Ahead

By Gia Pang

Chapter Three: The Lonely Mountain, Part 1

« Do you want to create Fuurinkazan? »

« Cost: 100,000 col »

100,000 col. Countless monsters, money drops, and hundreds of miscellaneous items were traded for more col. It was tricky work because they didn't want to run themselves ragged. Once they started tallying the money, the knowledge of how close they were to their goal spurned them on to work longer in the field. In the end, each person had contributed a considerable amount of col to set up the guild. Klein imagined briefly what he could do with that much money. He could have a girl on each arm, the best food and gear, and Kirito groveling for scraps.

"Why are you smirking?" Kirito asked, blowing at a couple wayward strands that kept sliding in front of his face.

"Nothing that'd interest you," Klein laughed, mentally pushing the image aside.

Klein took a deep breath, scanning the textbox again. He checked and double-checked for the spelling. He scratched his head nervously while staring for what seemed like hours. He could feel the others glancing at him curiously but his finger remained wavering over the « Accept » prompt in front of him. He took a deep breath and pressed the button. The screen changed to « Congratulations. Fuurinkazan has been created. You are the guild master. »

Klein huffed and grinned widely at his friends, his new guild mates. He flashed a thumbs-up and was rewarded with cheers from the others.

"Well, our fearless leader," Kunimitz called out, sending a grin over at Kirito's eyeroll, "What's on the agenda for today? Back to the field?"

Klein immediately nodded, fingers moving automatically to pull a map of the 2nd floor. Walking forward so he stood at the center of his friends, he spread his hands out, as if expanding the map out with his fingers. Prompts popped up in front of the others asking if they would like to share in the observation of the map.

"Whoa, why didn't we do this sooner?" Harry One yelled, blinking widely as he looked down at the ground where the holographic map floated above the ground.

"We weren't a guild before," Klein reminded, "it's just one of the perks."

Kirito suddenly leaned forward, tracing a finger along the western border.

"The wasteland beyond the savanna…" Kirito scrunched his forehead as he regarded the map.

"What's over there? Any interesting? Something you saw in the beta version?"

Kirito stiffened at the last question. He cautiously looked up, noting the lack of angry faces first. Klein was off to the side, smiling apologetically but not looking too concerned by the question. Presuming this meant he was on his own, Kirito straightened back up and met their eyes.

"I didn't check that area out very well, but I heard from other testers that it was really difficult." Kirito attempted to shrug nonchalantly, but he wasn't sure how believable it looked to the others. "I don't think we should head in that direction."

Issin nodded thoughtfully, "Maybe we can check it out when we've covered the rest of the area."

Kirito quietly agreed, still not sure how the others felt about him being a beta tester. He had assumed they didn't know when they treated him so normally at the first meeting. Were they just waiting till the guild was formed to ask him?

"Don't look so glum Kirito!" came a cheerful call as a hand clapped him roughly on the back.

Kirito stumbled forward, turning around to see Harry One standing with a friendly grin. Kunimitz stood next to him, pointing his fingers in a 'V' over his forehead to mimic Kirito's serious face. It was hard to take the player seriously when he was always making funny faces. Kirito rolled his eyes automatically before he remembered he was supposed to feel awkward about realizing they knew his status as a previous beta tester.

The others laughed good-naturedly at his stunned expression. Dale stepped forward and placed a gentler hand on his shoulder.

"We knew you were a beta tester before. Klein had told us that first day. It doesn't change anything for us, promise."

Kirito couldn't help a quick look at the others' faces. He couldn't detect any guile on their expressions, just an openness that had become foreign to him in the game.

"Thanks, uh," Kirito cleared his throat, feeling something close to embarrassment, "I really, well, just—thanks."

Kirito was thankful that Dale did nothing more but give his shoulder a friendly squeeze before stepping back.

"Well," Klein called, clapping his hands with glee, "Back to the map, lads. Anything strike our fancy?"

Kunimitz walked towards the bottom the of map, swiping a hand through the hologram along the southern border. His finger stopped at a small brown cabin on top of what looked like a flat-topped mountain. There was no way to tell the height of the mountain based on the map.

"There's got to be a quest over there, and it's not too far from town if we need to restock or trade in some items."

"How tall is that mountain?" Issin asked, stepping closer to peer at the hologram. It was taller than the surrounding trees, but the scale was difficult to judge.

"Can't be too bad, I don't see it from this distance," Kunimitz joked, swinging around and cupped his hands around his eyes as if he was looking through binoculars. The buildings in Urbus stood in the way of Kunimitz's line of sight.

Issin snorted, nudging the other to cease his antics. "Sure, sure. If it's the tallest mountain on the floor, you're keeping first watch if we have to sleep there."

"Deal!" Kunimitz agreed quickly, throwing a hand out and grasping Issin's before the other could put his own out for a handshake.

There was silence as the others regarded the location. Kirito wracked his mind as he considered if he'd been to the area in the beta version. He did recall roaming the southern area and encountering some ox-type monsters but nothing like a cabin or human settlement. Either he bypassed it or was just added to the official release.

"Looks good to me."

Kirito heard Dale and the others murmur sounds of agreement. Klein vanished the map and made a motion to pull his own inventory up.

"Double-check your inventory to make sure there's nothing else you need. If we're all good, we can set out now and see if it's a quest we can tackle."

Kirito joined the others in the check but he had already done his own appraisal after their last fight with monsters in the field. He waited patiently for the others to affirm their readiness. This would be the first quest they completed as a guild. Kirito wasn't the superstitious type but his mom always had a saying about how the start of a journey can be the most dangerous one. He hoped it wouldn't be the case for their new guild. For all their sakes.

Klein peered up at the sun before looking across at the wide expanse of rock. There was a sparse scattering of trees to the left which would offer some shade. It wasn't a dense forest so it would be unlikely for them to be ambushed from other monsters or players, but it did provide some shade. There was nothing much to say about what was on the right side because the rock...dominated the rest of their field of vision.

"This mountain is huge," Kirito muttered, his droll tone causing a weak chuckle from Kunimitz who stood still beside him.

Everyone had their neck craned upwards as they took in how wide and how large the mountain they had been adventuring towards for the past half hour looked like. It was a pale-clay colored mountain, not unlike the ground they stood on. There wasn't much vegetation at the base of the mountain, save for a couple of parched looking bushes growing from large cracks in the ground.

"But at least there's stairs," Kunimitz reminded, gesturing towards stairs that were roughly hewn into the side of the mountain.

Kirito followed his line of sight to regard the stairs. They were about as simple as one would expect out of stairs carved from rock. There was no railing on the side, not even rope to find purchase on. He licked a finger and held it in the air. A gentle breeze stirred but nothing strong enough to tousle his hair. He looked over to where Klein had walked. The other was examining the line of stairs as it curved around to follow the mountain. Dale and Issin flanked him, saying something to Klein but it was just out of hearing. Kirito was tempted to offer moving up first to check it out but he had a feeling more than one person would be against that notion. If he had been on his own, he would be halfway up the stairs by now.

Dynamm and Harry One had wandered back towards the trees to see if it was suitable for camp if they decided to sleep overnight. The day was still early enough that they had some leeway to decide if they wanted to sleep in the inn again and just venture back in the morning.

Kunimitz was muttering and occasionally pouting as he looked at the mountain, but Kirito was aware that the other was staying at his side for a reason. They made sure no one was on his own, that everyone had back-up. It was automatic, Kirito could tell, and he wondered at how well they adapted to his addition to their group. Once again, Kirito had to give Klein a mental nod at how cohesive the group was.

"We could still try heading up the stairs," Kirito said, loud enough to clue in Kunimitz that he was being addressed, "Maybe there's a way up the rest of the mountain."

Kunimitz nodded, eyes flickering from the mountain to where their fellow guild mates were standing at the base of the stairs.

"I think so too. A mountain this size would mean stone steps of over two thousand." Kunimitz motioned him to follow as he approached Klein and the others.

"What are you guys thinking?" Kunimitz asked, tapping Dale on his shoulder.

"We can't see how far the stairs go but there might be more to see once we start climbing." Dale replied. He raised his hand abruptly to wave Dynamm and Harry One to join them. "We've come this far and we still have time to head back if the hike is too long."

"We don't know if there are monsters along the way or traps in the stairs so we need to move carefully," Klein began once he realized the rest of the guild had joined them, "Pair off, Dale take the rear."

Kirito watched silently as everyone seemed to find their partner instantly. Klein tugged him to the front. Kirito secretly preferred the front as he was used to confronting enemies first but he didn't think Klein would be so willing. It was relieving to know that the other wasn't always going to push him back just because of his age. Even if Kirito didn't want to say it out loud, he considered himself a strong player.

They moved as a single unit along the stairs. Apart from the wind becoming more brisk as they ascended, there was nothing to indicate any traps along the way. The silence that had descended earlier in the trek slowly lifted as small conversations began among them. Kirito maintained his silence, continually scanning the wall to their left for any kind of marking. He found it unlikely for a monster to be hovering around the mountain without being seen or heard by them. Based on what he had seen when he roamed the game on his own, the majority of encounters with monsters were in hidden rooms and passages. Assuming it applied to this mountain, Kirito was keeping an eye out for a stone lever or stone step that would trigger the opening of a passage into the mountain.

Klein abruptly stopped, throwing an arm out to halt the others' movement. Kirito looked around but couldn't see what was the cause for the pause.

"What's wrong Klein?"

"I thought I heard a… bell."

"A bell—whoa!"

A great rumble was heard from the mountain and for a moment, everyone was frantically grasping at the wall for fear of toppling over. No cracks appeared in the walkway but there was a distant boom heard above them that sounded like something heavy falling to the ground.

"I hope there's no ball rolling down the steps," Kunimitz joked.

"You never know," Kirito murmured darkly, "We could still get flattened."

"Quiet," Klein called, and motioned up ahead. "It flattened to a path now."

Sure enough, the steps leading them upwards had suddenly leveled out to horizontal path that suddenly veered left and upwards in the form of a ramp.

"Are we already at the top?"

Issin whistled in appreciation when he risked a quick peek over the ledge.

"Quite the drop from here guys, guess we made it."

They walked faster onto the flat plane and practically jogged the rest of the way until they stood on top of the mountain. Lush, green grass stretched before them. Tiny pink flowers popped in haphazard bunches from the ground. A massive cabin stood at the center of the area, large wooden logs making up the structure. The most distinct feature were the large windows dominating the anterior part of the cabin which were currently reflecting the sunlight overhead. Behind the cabin stood large fir trees, extending beyond like a great forest. It was the complete opposite of the terrain below. A forest oasis in the middle of a desert. The group was quiet in their observation of the area so they were able to hear the tinkling of bells in the distance.

The front door opened and an NPC stepped out, a golden exclamation mark hovering above his head. He had a fishing rod and bucket grasped in one hand and a small wicker basket in the other. Without a word, they moved forward while the NPC began to set up his fishing rod. A wooden stool was already propped up with the basket and bucket placed next to it. The male NPC remained silent, even when the group formed a semicircle behind him.

Kunimitz cleared his throat while Klein reached out and tapped the man on his shoulder.

"Aaahh!"

The bucket at the man's feet was unceremoniously kicked into the lake while his rod clattered to the ground. The NPC blinked up at them, his hat having fallen in his startlement. Bright blue eyes framed by wispy blonde hair met their equally surprised faces.

"Visitors! How unexpected," spoke the NPC, standing up with a laugh and brushing at his pants. "Not many people bother to make the trek up here."

"Why don't people come here?" Klein asked.

Kirito moved closer to the NPC, examining his attire and expression. Klein watched him patiently, expecting Kirito to offer some insight.

The NPC rubbed the back of his head, an embarrassed laugh escaping him. "It's a long trek up the mountain, to be sure. The ones that come up are usually asking for what I make. I'm a jeweler, actually. They call me « Anaheim »."

"Anaheim," Dale began, "Do you take money for your jewels? Or do you need something to be done?"

"Of course I take money!" Anaheim gave another laugh and shook a finger at them. "It's a lot of work you know! I'd lose my livelihood if I just gave away jewels left and right."

He bent down to retrieve the wayward bucket and set it by the stool.

"But I don't have anything for you right now. You're welcome to come by the cabin. I use the bottom floor to entertain guests but there's a small library upstairs if you want something to read."

Dale scratched his head, turning to the others.

"Can't figure out what he wants. We could check his library for more clues."

Harry One plopped down on the ground next to Anaheim. "I'll keep an eye on him while you search the cabin."

Dale nodded, "I'll join you. Best not to split up."

"It might be a chain quest," Kirito said after a considering glance at the NPC. He walked towards the basket and peeked in. With a small, satisfied smile, he straightened and turned to the others. "I think our safest bet is to keep our number small while we check out his place."

"Why," asked Issin, "what was in the basket?"

Kirito leaned closer, "Seven sandwiches. Seven apples. Too much of a coincidence for it not to signal our number."

"That doesn't leave any food for Anaheim," Issin pointed out, "what if he wants an even number of players?"

"I considered that," Kirito gestured back to the basket, "but seven or eight means that we can split up safely without triggering a major event."

Issin mulled over his reasoning before nodding in acquiescence.

"Let's check all the rooms in the cabin!" Klein called, urging the others to follow him inside. Kirito brought up the rear, glancing once more at the Anaheim as Dale settled on the NPC's other side. Nothing in the scenery shifted when their party moved away which helped relieve any residual doubt in Kirito's mind. It was only when he had crossed the threshold to the cabin that he remembered hearing the sound of bells.

"He had Lady Sylvia, The Crane Overhead, and Mister Ben Bunny on his nightstand."

Klein spread the books out on the grass.

"Hey Anaheim, do you, uh, like to read?"

"'Like to read,'" Kunimitz mouthed, rolling his eyes skyward, "Good one Dale!"

Dale elbowed him in response but kept his eyes trained on Anaheim. The NPC was still sitting in his stool, holding his rod steady as he fished. They had been sitting there for quite awhile but Anaheim hadn't shifted from his seat.

"I have a library for a reason, you know!"

It was the same response, or another variant of the response, that Anaheim had spoken after repeated questions.

Klein fell back against the grass and gave a loud sigh. "There's only so many things we can bring up. Why is triggering this quest so hard?"

Kirito ignored the whiny tone, surveying the random assortment of items they were able to carry from the cabin. A couple books, a basket of string, and a small wooden sword. They had immediately assumed there would be more NPCs in the home, like a wife and child, but the place was deserted. When asked about others living in the home, the NPC remained strangely silent.

Ring… Ring…

"Where is that coming from?" Klein wondered aloud, pushing himself back up.

"I hear it sometimes, but then it goes away."

"Maybe he has some chimes hanging around his house."

Kirito looked back at the NPC.

"Anaheim," Kirito called, "why are there bells ringing?"

Anaheim suddenly stiffened in his chair. He pulled immediately began to reel in his line. "Bells you say? We must hurry back inside. They don't normally come this close but it's getting late."

Blinking at the sudden actions of the NPC, they all gathered up and followed the NPC as he jogged back towards his home. Once the door was secured, he led them towards the dining area of his home. The fireplace that was off when they first searched the area was already lit.

"Who is 'they' Anaheim?"

Anaheim propped his fishing rod against the window and took a seat at the table. He steepled his fingers together and regarded Klein's party with seriousness.

"Harpies," Anaheim spoke solemnly, "They live in the forest. They're evil creatures. A traveling caravan had set-up camp two nights ago deeper in the forest after passing my place. I offered to house them here but they declined."

"Harpies," Kunimitz shuddered, "I don't think I want to run into them."

"You don't," agreed Anaheim, "but they've become more a problem every passing year. They take important things from me. Tools I leave out when I'm mining. They're vile beasts."

"Is that why you don't have any jewels for us?"

Anaheim nodded. "I've been able to fend off one or two but they've been moving in larger groups now. I'm not enough on my own. Without the things they've taken, I can't continue."

"We'll get it back for you, Anaheim."

Anaheim leaned back in surprise and smiled. The golden exclamation mark flashed once before switching to a question mark.

They all collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, kind travelers!" Anaheim pulled an antique watch from his pants pocket and regarded the time. "I suggest roaming the forest soon. The harpies are known to sleep at this time after catching their meals. There should be a much more reduced number. You should search the « Encampment » for my tools. I think they're keeping all the treasures there."

Klein pulled open a map over the dining table and pointed to the new dot that appeared near their location.

"A search and retrieval quest with the occasional monster," Klein summed up. "With the NPC being a jeweler, we might get something worth our while."

"There should be minimal interaction with monsters for this. But it's good to know that most winged beasts have a strong defense. If we attack their back, we can do more damage." Kirito gestured towards Harry One. "Someone shielding would be good to keep near the front to block arrows."

Harry One grinned, "Count on me!"

"But Klein's right, it's mostly a search and retrieval quest. If we're careful, we shouldn't run into any enemies." Kirito reminded.

"Let's head out now, who knows how long those harpies will be sleeping for!"

They shuffled outside of the cabin and moved in pairs to the entrance of the forest. The sun was no longer directly overhead but it was still high enough to indicate how much time in the day they had. Harry One was leading their group with Klein occasionally leaning forward to murmur something in the other's ear. Kirito, who had partnered up with Klein, was keeping his head forward while his eyes scanned the area. As the NPC had hinted, they didn't encounter any harpies as they made their way towards the encampment. It was easy to find because there were still several tents and a large wooden caravan still parked around a long-dead campfire.

They spread around the area to look for anything that could belong to the jeweler. While there were plenty of pots and pans strewn about the area, no mining tools were visible.

Kirito heard a small, muffled sound at his feet when he stepped around the wooden caravan. There was a small sack that, upon shifting with the tip of his boot, revealed women's jewelry. There was a even a small gold mirror tucked inside with a transparent gauzy material wrapped around its reflective surface. Feeling a strange compulsion to pocket the item, Kirito added it to his inventory.

"Any luck?" Klein called. He was standing at the center of the encampment. Other members of the guild made their way to the center. Kirito took one more look around the area before joining. They all had one or two items in their inventory but no one was sure as to what the NPC was expecting. Dale had found two pick-axes but nothing else. Kunimitz was the only in the group pocketing the stacked firewood.

"Let's head back," Klein suggested, "we can sort through them back at the cabin."

The walk back to the cabin felt shorter than the trek into the forest. They walked single-file back into Anaheim's home where the NPC was still seated at the table.

Dale stepped forward and presented the pick-axes to Anaheim.

"Thanks! I still have some in my shed, but extra « 2 pick-axes » doesn't hurt!"

As each member stepped forward to present the tools, Anaheim continued to respond in a similar fashion. Klein stood back, scratching the back of his head as the items they had left to give dwindled down. Kirito had been waiting to go last and wondered if the items he found would be the ones to trigger the end of the quest.

"Thanks! « 56 stacked firewood » will certainly keep me warm in the winter!"

"Geez Kunimitz, fifty-six?!"

"They were just lying there, what was I supposed to do?"

"Oh I don't know, leave it at ten, not fifty!"

"And what if he wanted fifty stacked firewood, huh?!"

"That's absurd!"

Kirito wisely kept his mouth shut as the other members teased Kunimitz. He stepped forward, opening his inventory to transfer the items to Anaheim.

"Where did you find this?"

The talking in the background ceased as everyone turned to regard Anaheim. He had stood up from the chair, the items in Kirito's inventory now materialized on the table. The golden mirror from before was in Anaheim's hand. On the table was a gold necklace, a pair of lace gloves, and a small teddy-bear with one ear bent, nearly torn off.

"I found it by one of the caravans," Kirito started, "is it what you were looking for?"

Anaheim nodded, his expression very grave and very sad. He stood up and motioned for them to follow him. Without a word, they followed Anaheim out the front door. He veered abruptly to the right, making for a separate, but dense gathering of trees to the side of the home. It was when they were closer that they made out two gravestones sticking out from the ground. The engravings on the front were indiscernible but the words 'Mother' and 'Son' stood out prominently. Fresh flowers were laid out in front of both stones.

Although it was part of the game in the world, Kirito was disquieted by the somber scene in front of him. Anaheim immediately went to his knees before the grave stones and laid the the items in front of their former owners. When he placed the teddy bear next to the flowers, his hand lingered longer before falling away. Anaheim made no move to speak or gesture.

"Is the quest over?" Harry One whispered, shifting restlessly.

"Ssshh! Give him some time!"

"Give him—are you nuts? Did picking up all that firewood addle your brain?!"

"Look!"

Two ghostly forms rose from the graves to stand on either side of Anaheim. The question mark over his head had disappeared entirely as the first ghost, what appeared to be his late wife, began to speak.

"Thank you for bringing Anaheim peace. There is nothing in our graves, you see, nothing that he could bury before. Until now."

She laid a hand on Anaheim's shoulder. Although the NPC didn't speak, he let out a relieved sigh. He remained kneeling.

"Thank you for helping papa, misters! He can be happy now!"

The young boy spoke while raising the ghostly form of the teddy bear his father laid down moments before, in his hands. He wiggled the bear's arms as if to say goodbye.

"Whoa. This is giving me the heebie-jeebies." Kunimitz shuddered, while peering from behind Klein's shoulder.

Kirito silently agreed but kept his eyes on the characters in front of him.

There was a ping in his ear before prompts appeared in front of them.

« Congratulations, you've completed the quest!

Result

EXP 250

Col 500

Items 1 »

Kirito clicked the prompt to find the item offered. The quest offered between three rewards, a helmet, a dagger, and a fishing rod. The stats on the items were better than Kirito had expected. Hearing the low murmurs of appreciation behind him, Kirito considered the dagger before ultimately choosing the helmet. Based on what he had seen in the past, he could probably get more from the blacksmith if had a helmet to melt down.

Loud laughter erupted behind him and he turned to find a very red-faced Dale half-seriously shaking Kunimitz by the collar.

"I want to level my cooking skills," Dale muttered, finally letting go of Kunimitz's shirt.

"You want to cook for Shelley, don't you," Kunimitz sang, clasping his hands together and making kissing faces.

"Cut it out," Dale spluttered, reddening at the mention of the female player's name, "don't just say her name out of nowhere!"

The humor of the situation was catching on to the rest but Klein cleared his throat to direct their attention back to Anaheim. He had been kneeling in front of the gravestones throughout the exchange but had now stood up to face them. There was a small smile on face and the ghostly forms of his wife and child slowly faded away behind him. Anaheim spread his hands out and stepped forward.

"Thank you for finding these items. They belonged to my family. I cannot repay how much this means to me. Perhaps you would do me another kindness and stay the night before you continue your journey?"

« Continue quest? »

"I guess a simple retrieval quest was only the beginning."

"What do you think, boss?"

Klein looked away from Anaheim to regard the others. Everyone was relaxed in their stance. Even Kirito, who had edged closer to Dale, had turned to him. They were all patiently waiting for his call. Their unspoken trust filled Klein with quiet wonder. He wanted to tell them he trusted them just the same as they trusted him. He hoped they understood, even though he couldn't get the words to come out right. Judging by the smiles and the thumbs-up being thrown his way, they had gotten the message.

"Let's do it."