The walk to The Order Of The Divine was a long, tiring and painful one, especially for the two ‘adults’ of the group. Alice and Oliver both couldn’t stand the constant bickering between Jos and Julian. It was friendly of course, but it was never ending, and just so, so damn annoying. And to make it even worse for Oliver, Jos didn’t care if the others knew where they were going, and he couldn’t handle being out of control.

Two days of walking passed, and everyone was finding it unbearable. The uneven and rocky terrain made it ten times more difficult, and the trees which surrounded them didn’t make it an easier to spot their destination. They were all hoping that they were close.

‘It’s just up here. I think.’

Jos subtly pointed up a small hill, stopping in their tracks. For a dense forest, the surrounding area was surprisingly lacking in mystery.

‘This doesn’t seem like much of a location for a magic cult’s secret hideout.’ Julian said, squinting because of the bright morning sun.

Jos laughed ever so slightly, ‘I wouldn’t call them a cult if I were you… It definitely wouldn’t end well.’

As they got closer, a natural path was noticeable, from where many other people had trodden. As the hill got stepper, they saw an old wooden door imbedded in the side of the earth.

‘Here we are…’ Jos stopped a few feet away from the door, turning back towards the others.

‘Well let’s hope this pays of… I don’t want two days of walking to amount to nothing.’ Oliver leant next to the door, sighing quietly.

‘Yeah, let’s hope.’ Jos faced the door again, knocking loudly. ‘Wish me luck.’

A small slit opened in the door, just large enough for two wrinkled eyes to look out.

‘Jos.’ The old elf’s voice sounded tired, and slightly annoyed. He wasn’t particularly thrilled to see Jos again.

‘Well it’s nice to see you too.’

His eyes disappeared, and his hand wen up to reclose the peephole.

‘Wait!’ Jos took a quick step towards the door, one hand out. ‘I know you don’t owe me any favours, but my friend here needs your help. The Ravens are after him, so, you know, I thought you’d want to know.’

The eyes didn’t reappear, but he lingered the other side of the door. ‘The others can come in, you stay outside.’

‘Alrighty.’

A few loud clanging noises could be heard from where he was unbolting the door. It opened quickly, and there stood a hunchback elf. Even though he was bent over, he still managed to be taller than all of the humans.

Once the door was fully open, Alice and Julian glanced back to Jos, almost as if they were asking if it was the right thing to do.

‘Go on in.’ Jos took a few steps back, leaning against a nearby tree.

Before the three of them could step in, a younger elf stepped out, arms crossed.

‘Seriously? A bodyguard?’

The older elf said nothing, but ushered the other three in. Despite Jos’ reassurance, even Oliver looked at Jos over their shoulder, unsure of the situation. It all seemed a bit too shady for his liking.

‘Have fun!’ Jos called out as they picked at their nails.

The bodyguard leant against a different tree, but stared intensely at Jos. There was a very awkward silence.

‘The name’s Jos.’

‘Yeah, I know who you are.’

‘Well, obviously you do. After the whole ‘I’m going to burn this place down!’ ordeal, I’m infamous. I only said my name in the hope that you’d catch my social cue and tell me your name.’

‘Riiiiight. My name’s Ruven.’

‘Ruven the Raven.’

He narrowed their eyes at their stupid (and pretty insensitive) pun.

‘If anyone’s gonna be a traitor it’s you.’ Jos noticed their stone cold glare. ‘Right, right. Insensitive joke, I get it. Jeez.’