Rhea, Lucerna, and Row travel from the hilltop of Miasto and follow a stone path that leads from the main street to the outskirts of the village. The further they traveled down the road, the more the stone road was covered by grass, until eventually, the pathway was completely submerged by foliage. Rhea keeps her balance as she treks from the hilltops onto the luscious verdant fields, the view of green mountains surrounding the trio. 

Rhea’s eyes glide from left to right, caught in the wanderlust of this new world; a real treat for the eyes. On a clear blue sunny day, the hills could flaunt its beauty with a flock of white birds flying toward an open lake ahead. Wild horses galloped across the free stretch of field and small forest critters took shelter in trees, and small patches, or frolicked in the fields. Many docile creatures ran far and close, minding their business as they enjoyed life in the grasslands. 

Row holds his arms out, bathing in the glow of the radiant sun caressing his fair skin. He takes a deep breath and exhales.  

“Ahh, after being in my workshop for so long, it’s always nice to be held in nature’s embrace.” 

Lucerna leads the pathway down the hill. 

“This’ll be your hour break from working before you shut yourself off in your room for another week,” she chuckles. 

Row flicks the bang on his burgundy hair.  

“If you had as many projects as I did then of course you’d be glued to your seat for days on end. Instead, you're out using your endless luck to go through caverns unscathed while finding items no one has ever seen before!”

Lucerna frowns. 

“Most of those are just materials you use for building. And it’s not all luck. There’s definitely a fair amount of skill involved.” 

Row shrugs and smirks.  

“If we’re to consider luck a skill, then you’re the most skillful person in the history of everything.” 

A sigh escapes Lucerna’s lips. 

“Okay, now you’re just overhyping me…”

Row leans over to Rhea. He stands on his tiptoes while whispering to her. 

“Don’t you worry, Rhea. You’ll see what I’m talking about soon enough. That lady right there is the golden ticket I’m tellin’ ya! A Kotka among Kotkas! A first class, all expenses paid trip around Ziemia!” 

Rhea chuckles nervously. 

“Er… right…" Rhea looks around again, "And what place is this exactly?” 

Row’s smile carries toward the distant mountains. 

“These are the Fields of Zielony, a very peaceful plain. Our village tends to take small treks over to the water basin, whether to bathe or gather fresh water. The pure liquids are like none other, and hydrate the body entirely in a single cup.”

“Woooah…” Rhea was astonished. “Can we go over there now? I really wanna taste some!” 

“When we return to the village I’ll give you some,” Row smiles. “Miasto makes quite a profit from travelers beyond the sea. We exchange our water for foreign foods and materials. Since our water is one of a kind, people often make the journey here for a few gallons.” 

“Unfortunately we won’t be stopping by the basin,” Lucerna calmly interjects. “We’ll have to take a small detour away from that.” 

The trio finally makes it down the hilltop path. With a few twists and turns, as well as a short upward climb on a different path, they pass underneath a massive stone archway that leads to a flat wide field encompassed by a small lake. The sun shines at the center of the area, seemingly pointing to one of their supposed destinations. Lucerna points in that direction. 

“Over there.”

The three walk closer to the center of the field and see the small patch of white Zephyr lilies blanketing the edge of the hilltop. Water flows gently past the edge, running down the cliff into a sea of trees wearing wigs of purple foliage. 

Lucerna, Rhea, and Row stop in front of the small field of flowers and stare. 

“I found you right here, Rhea,” Lucerna said. 

I was… right here? Out of all places to end up? 

“I was about to make my way into one of the caverns, and there you were,” Lucerna eyes the flowing lilies. “In all of your large… naked… glory…” 

Rhea looked visibly annoyed. 

“Y-you don’t have to describe me like that…” Rhea sighs. 

Row crosses his arms. 

“How’d you manage to drag a lady of that size without alerting anyone in town?”  

“I was venturing out pretty early in the morning, so no one was really out by the time I came back with her.”

“I see,” Row nods. “Then that begs another question,” Row turns his head to Rhea. “Where did you say you were from again? How’d you end up in a place like this? Did someone just dump you here and leave? What happened?” 

Rhea looks down at the patch of lilies. Upon Row’s questions, Rhea is reminded of the moment the flying truck struck her, transporting her into this mysterious world. The cool blows of the wind battle against the warmth of the sun. Her drifting hair and saddened eyes watch the dancing lilies carried by the wind. 

“...I died.” 

Lucerna and Row’s eyes widen. 

“You… died?” Lucerna asked. 

“Yeah…” she repeats. “I died. I’m not from your world. Or… I’m pretty sure I’m not. Kotka, Miasto, Ziemia, I’ve never heard or seen anything like that until I came here. I was killed by a truck today, and, well, now I’m here…” 

Rhea stands in between them. She twists her body to look left and right, her eyes hovering to see their perplexed expressions. 

“So is this heaven or hell or… purgatory?” 

“Th-this isn’t the afterlife, at all,” Row stammers. “I can assure you you’re among the living…” 

A frown settles on Rhea’s face. 

“Then I don’t know why I’m here… or how I even got here to begin with.” 

Lucerna looks at Rhea curiously.  

"What were you doing in your other life before you got here?” 

A wave of sorrow covers her purple irises as her eyes are fixed on the flowers. She utters an empty word. 

“...Nothing.” 

The winds carry her sorrowful words across their ears. Lucerna and Row absorb the anguish in her tone, letting it fester in their minds and move to their hearts.

"Hardly had a family... had no friends... nothing..."

Lucerna aches as she can feel the echoes of pain writhe in Rhea’s voice. Row takes a moment to quell the trembling pang through his chest. He takes a moment to inhale before responding. 

“A very interesting reply you’ve given us, Rhea,” Row thinks aloud. “If we were to entertain this idea that you come from another world, then we know nothing of the situation you’ve gone through in your previous life, and while it's hard to make judgments based on no knowledge, I’ll refrain from jumping to any conclusions or pressing you further for the time being. Regardless of that, I suppose our best course of action is figuring out how it is you’ve ‘died’ there and ended up here; maybe even figure out a way to send you back to where you came from?”

Rhea’s eyes drop to the ground beneath her feet. 

“Maybe…” 

Row smiles. 

“And the best way to do that would be to investigate the loot cavern! Isn’t that right, Lucerna?”

Lucerna, having her eyes fixated on Rhea, feels herself awakened when Row calls to her. 

“The loot caver- o-oh yeah! Right! Most definitely!” 

“Why do you guys think that?” Rhea asked. 

“Guess I’ll begin with the existence of the cavern. It’s nothing too complicated. The Loot Cavern has been located next to Miasto for thousands of years. Many adventurers before us would scavenge the cave in search of rare weapons and materials, but since the cavern is dangerous due to the presence of monsters, many adventurers end up going in and never coming out. The deeper you go, the more rare items you’ll find, but the scarier the monsters will be.”

Lucerna nods. 

“Yeah, and to be honest, a lot of the loot I find is from picking it off of skeletons, likely corpses from adventurers for the past thousand years. I don’t try to go in too deep or linger for too long, but with company maybe we can take an extra step forward and see what’s deeper!” 

Row pivots his head to Lucerna. 

“E-excuse me?”

Lucerna pivots her head to Row. 

“Hm? What’s up?” 

“Are you crazy?” Row questioned. “The only reason you’re still alive is because, for some reason or another, your luck manages to carry you out of the most ludicrous of situations. “Don’t think that can last forever or carry you through life!”

“I know that,” Lucerna pouts. “But if we’re gonna find a clue to how Rhea got here our best bet is probably the cavern.”

Row rolls his eyes. 

“And that is a very dangerous, ‘probably’…” 

Lucerna smirks. 

“Heh, I thrive on danger.”

Row’s eyebrows furrow. 

“And I thrive on safety! More numbers do not make a safer party!”

“That’s not true,” Lucerna calmly retorts. “Besides I’m well equipped.” 

“With what?” He asks. 

Lucerna holds out her hand and flexes it into a claw formation. Her fingernails elongate and sharpen. She smirks. 

“I got these bad boys.”

Row does not seem impressed. 

“Ah, yes, little Kotka claws. Great. And what do we have?” 

“You guys don’t need to have anything. I’ve been here enough times and the monsters aren’t all that crazy. I can protect you two no problem.” 

Rhea rolls her eyes. 

“This idea sounds like the easiest way to charge straight into a problem.” 

“Considering your body was close to the cavern, we could end up finding a clue inside the cave as to how you were transported. It’s either that or we head back to town and try to sneak past the Super Senior, and I’m sure he has a lot of questions for you, Rhea.” 

Rhea looks over at Lucerna who is smiling softly and standing confidently. 

“Are you sure you’ll be able to protect the both of us?” 

Lucerna gently smacks her closed fist between her chest. 

“Leave it to me!” 

Rhea sighs. 

“Alright…” 

Rhea turns her head, staring into the darkness that envelops the cavern. Lucerna stands confidently to her left, while Row stands anxiously to her right. Rhea takes a deep breath and then exhales.

“Here goes nothin’...”