“A terrible bargain.” Timothy remarked while he threatened the witch, “Now, you must have a death wish messing with Arwin.” The witch coughed up blood when suddenly her skin started to crack like the mirror; the wrinkles on her skin became more visible; her white eyes began to bleed. Timothy’s wife, Rosa, entered the tent as well, and she didn't seem to be surprised as she stated, “This witch is bound to the mirror; that’s how she was able to trap Arwin in that nightmare world.” Rosa covered the shattered pieces of glasses with the tablecloth and continued, “It’s too late for her; she’s going to die.” Arwin shifted her gaze at Rosa, who is now showing her distaste for Arwin; she didn't even try to hide it, so Arwin smirked, “You seem to know a lot about witches.” “I grew up in a house of one.” “Ah, and you don’t seem to like me either.” Arwin remarked, making Rosa look at her, and replied straightforwardly, “Yeah, let’s just say I don’t like t

The next morning, everyone was up early, Mark was honing his skills in throwing the needles- he has to make sure he won’t kill anyone. The doctor was prepping some of Mark’s needles by dipping them onto his sleeping potion. Timothy was tending Rosa as he makes mental notes of their plan- he keeps playing different scenarios in his head as they went ahead with their plan. Arwin, on the other hand, had one thing in mind: her ship, the Night Rose. As the sun started to set, and the people were starting to go home, they began their heist. Everyone was in position, and Gloin would serve as everyone’s signal. Gloin was just at the dark alley corner of the guild as he started lighting up some explosives as it began to tear up the huge wall there. The guild members immediately confronted Gloin. They were ready to beat him up. Rosa was subtly passing by and called the officers, “I would like to report a crime. Yes, I’m currently located in this guild. Can you hurry up, please

The next day came; Mark woke Arwin up, saying in a mocking manner, “Breakfast is ready, princess.” Arwin pulled Mark in and sat on top of him; Arwin smirks, “Next time you’re planning to mock me, you better be ready for the consequences.” Mark was blushing, but he looked away and shoved Arwin out of the way as he stood up, “A-anyways, wake up, we’re all eating.” He immediately left, which made Arwin chuckles softly as she muttered to herself, “Ah, so innocent and cute as always.” Arwin comes down to see everyone waiting for her at the dinner table; she felt nostalgic as the scenery reminded her of a distant memory she had. It was her crew members from Night Rose's first meal together with her crewmates who weren't exactly ideal members- they were scavengers, hunters, and rascals, so a meal together meant a lot to them. Arwin caught herself smiling at the mirror in front of her as she reminisced about the past. Gloin took all of his blacksmith

Arwin smiled as she saw Timothy; she remarked, “Good to see you on your feet again, Timothy.” Gloin invited Arwin to dinner as he said, “In celebration of hell rejecting Timothy’s application, Rosa cooked us another fine meal! Mark caught some fine pigs lost in the forest.” This caught Arwin off guard; she asked, “In the forest?” “What? Are you deaf now or something?” Mark mocked Arwin, so Arwin laughed awkwardly and tried to change the topic, “So… what are your plans after fixing the ship?” “Hmm, Rosa and I might find a place to settle down, but for now, I guess we could stay here, lay low a little, you know?” Timothy replied, stuffing his mouth with some pork belly, causing everyone to have a good laugh. Gloin replied as well, “Yeah, I guess we can stay here for a while. It’s not that bad staying here with you weirdos.” “Look who’s talking!” The doctor laughed as he continued, “But I agree; I’m planning to stay awhile to learn more f

Arwin walked further in the forest, the rest of the crew started to feel a little off – like a tingling sensation of nostalgia that they can’t exactly point out. Arwin tried to keep her focus as she navigated through the trees marking them with a sigil to remember the path they just took. To everyone’s surprise, Rosa halted and said, “Everybody stop, don’t move.” “Why Rosa? What’s the matter?” Timothy worriedly asked, remaining where he was as instructed. Rosa explained, “This forest. It’s changing- as if it’s adapting to our fears and past continuously sucking us deeper. It knows what makes us tick, and it’s using it to its advantage.” “What do you mean?” Arwin asks “Quick, what do you see?” Rosa asked from everyone. Timothy was the first one who replied, “A… forest and it- it’s snowing.” Arwin was next, “A forest…filled with the people…I killed.” There was a brief silence, but then, Rosa asked Gloin, and Gloin replied while t