They should have known that they would not be let off the hook so easily.
Nikola was the first to be given a quest, but all of them knew that all of them would be put to work.
"I have no idea how to replant the patch of the forest which was burned last month," Nikola uttered, even as he rode the horse to the place. "I thought we had three months!"
"We all thought that," Jack said, his face the very picture of grim determination. "But that is neither here nor there. You have the power to do so, so you must use it!"
Nikola sighed. He looked at the deer trail they were traveling on. The footprints on the road were strange.
That was his last thought before a small dart hit his neck. Dimitri was there to make sure Nikola didn't fall over, but the damage was done.
Their buffer was out of commission.
Jack leapt off his horse. His sword and shield held at the ready.
Only for Jean to point at a tree. There were goblins on it.
"We have to run!" He yelled, as he looked between Dimitri and Jack.
"No. I won't stand it!" Dimitri roared, as he hopped off the horse. He placed Nikola under a tree, being careful to remove the dart.
He just hoped that he hadn't lost his lover to something as silly as a goblin made poison dart.
Those who could heal knew how to take a life. Dimitri was a modern person. He knew what to do.
His mana flooded the area. Goblins screams were heard.
"What did you do?" Jean asked, awe in his eyes.
"I made their hearts explode," Dimitri said with a slight grin. "And I will do much more, if they have reinforcements."
But no reinforcements came. The party made a fire and began to cook some of the mana rich food they had stored in Nikola's bottomless bag.
Waiting for him to wake up.
****
There was a wild river streaming to the right and a field with fig trees to the left.
Nikola knew that he should go to the fields. Find peace.
But he refused to leave his family behind. He wanted to go back to them.
The water was ice-cold. He still tried to swim against the current.
"I want to live!" He yelled, only for water to get in his nose. He coughed, continuing to swim against the current.
There was only one thing left to do from now on.
Only one path forward.
Nikola summoned his mana and poured it in the water. The current finally stopped raging. The brunette swam for as long as he could.
Then he saw it, a small window!
He took hold of its frame with wet hands and began to open the window. It was small, he knew that his chances to open it were close to none.
And yet, once he was through, he opened his eyes to see Dimitri sleeping next to him.
Nikola knew only one thin: he couldn't trust Tangra to protect him.
Perhaps he never should have.
****
Dimitri woke up to Nikola making the breakfast. The brunette was making eggs in a pan. Where he had gotten them, considering that Dimitri didn't remember them packing them, he didn't know.
And yet, he still went to his soulmate and sat by him.
"Morning," Dimitri greeted. "How do you feel?"
Nikola flipped an egg. Thinking that it was now or never.
"You know, if they are going to be targeting me all the time, I think I need a new armor," he didn't find it important to tell the man that he had died. What was the point? It was not like they could change it all.
Nikola didn't want Dimitri to worry. That was the last thing on his mind.
"Sure. Let us just get you to the forest," Dimitri murmured, as he smiled at him. Nikola smiled back, knowing full well that the vampire was going to hold his word.
Their other two companions woke up when the eggs were ready to be served. Nikola smiled at Jean, who had smuggled into Jack for warmth and was blinking the sleep out of his blue eyes.
"Come now, eat and let's go!" Dimitri ordered, already piling food on his plate. It was not that he needed it, but he found it calming that he had something to chew.
Nikola looked at the canopy above their heads. It was strange to him that an entire patch of the forest was now a wasteland.
If they had been back on Earth, then he would have thought that the forest was burned down by an arsonist.
But they were in this new world, so he thought that a curse was not out of the question.
After they ate, they packed and continued on. When Nikola saw the black miasma coming from the dead remains of the trees, he knew that he was way over his head.
Fire demons flew around the forest. There was an opened portal.
There were just four of them. He doubted that he could repel them as easily as he first thought.
Dimitri made a sing for them all to stop. As soon as they were huddled together, Nikola opened his system. Sharing his screen, so the other would get the system's answers as well.
"What is this place?" Was the brunette's first question. "What is with the demons? How do I combat them?"
"One question at a time, ok?" The system snarked at him. "First thing's first: this is a graveyard. A long forgotten one. It had not been visited for so long, that the demons had made it their turf."
That didn't calm Nikola any.
"The demons are fire demons. You will need a water melody to get rid of them. Here, the music sheet! Do hold the flute while you read, so I don't have to explain it to you, ok?"
Nikola sighed.
"You know, you aren't very helpful," he muttered under his breath.
"And I'm not supposed to be, so, zip it."
The brunette took the flute and began to read the music sheet.
Thinking about how unfair the world was as he did so.