Call to Adventure

Today it finally happened, and now as I recount today and am about to write about it, I feel impending doom lingering. This morning I was ecstatic, I had received a couriered letter, and that was especially exciting because I don't get many letters in need of the service of a courier. As I opened the letter, out of the corner of my eye I saw my mum staring at her newspaper, unmoving.
I think she may have expected this? As I read the letter, I see that Sir William from the Kingdom of the Sylvian Trust, no less is requesting that I meet him and a team of adventurers to the city of Aurora of utmost importance, once there we are to receive the details about our mission. The letter gave some minor detail of our itinerary until we arrived at the castle.
 
I read the letter to my mum aloud, she looked so proud of me. I really hope I've done the right thing. After rereading the letter multiple times, we started our normal process of preparing for a job for me. We found old maps of the City of Aurora and marked where I was to meet the other adventurers and Sir William, where we would be spending the evening at The Spread Eagle Tavern, mum was not amused by that at all, and the location of the castle. After marking the map and calculating travel times, we made a list of items that I would need to take with me. Luckily we had most items on the list already at the house, we did have to pull out some old crates of dad's adventuring equipment but only had to run to the general store for a couple of things.
 
As mum and I had lunch together, I couldn't stop thinking about the mission, I didn't expect it to start off this way. I miss mum and my cat. I am thinking I am not cut out to be a proper adventurer, I am not like the other that I am working with. I should have taken the job at the university. I could always go back, maybe.
 
I am glad that mum and I mapped out the coordinates where I was to meet everyone, I would have walked right by it without even knowing it. Many were already there. We fave Flokii, a dragonborn who talks a lot about battle, Hjuldrak who seems very upbeat while talking about bones and death, and Nadia who seemed very grouchy. Those three seem like real adventurers, like the ones that bards would sing about in taverns. Then there is Gibson, a warforge butler, and Nana who seems far too old to be on an adventuring party. She was talking about her grandson, he apparently stole her prized rosebushes? I am not entirely sure she knows what she is getting herself into but she reminds me of my mum a bit.
 
Sir William arrived a little while later steering a horse-drawn carriage. He introduced himself, but it seemed like the rest have worked for him before. We climbed into the carriage and there wasn't much chatter between us, save for Flokiii and Hjuldrak - they seem to be friends outside of work.
 
We had been in the carriage for a few hours, nightfall was upon us soon, and the wheel and axle broke off of the carriage. Sir William told us that he would call in the breakdown and would stay with the carriage until help arrived and they could repair the carriage. He told us to keep following the main road and we were only a few hours out from the edge of the city where we would find The Spread Eagle Tavern. He told us to go rest up and he would meet us there early tomorrow morning to escort us the rest of the way to the castle. He gave Nadia a Stone of Farspeech in case we needed to communicate with him. After Nadia and Flokiii tested the Stone of Farspeech, much to Sir Williams confusion, we were on our way.
 
Flokiii and Hjuldrak took the lead followed by Nadia while Gibson, Nana and I took the rear. We had been travelling for a while and the fog had picked up something fierce, at some point, we lost the main road and ended up in the forest. We decided to call Sir William and give him an update on the situation, but all we got was static on our end, we had no idea if he had received our message.
 
Flokiii tried finding a path back to the main road but stopped suddenly. He said that he heard something in the bushes. Flokiii and Hjuldrak readied their weapons almost in unison, Nadia put her hands up as if she were going to spar with the unknown force. I followed suit. Gibson's hand disappeared and was replaced by a blade of some sort! Nanna seemed cold and sore and I felt a bit bad for an older lady having to walk so long out in the cold. I don't know how long we stood there waiting and I had started to lower my hands, a very naked man covered in blood came rushing towards us!
 
Flokiii tried talking with him but I wasn't sure if it was his blook or someone else's. He dashed forward on all fours and Flokiii stepped up to square off with him. He must have intimidated him enough that caused the "man" to retreat back to the trees. He climbed up into them, disappearing into the foliage. Flokiii tried finding him, eyeing the treetops for any movement, listening intently but he couldn't find him. We decided to make haste and try to find the main road again. After a while of following a warn pathway that we had hoped would lead to the main road, it in fact leads to a small cabin. It looked quite cosy off from a distance, smoke coming out the chimney, a small wooden cabin in the forest, it looked rather picturesque - how wrong we were. Nana was the first to see it, she was so excited that we found a place where we could see if we could spend the night, so wanted to sit by the fireplace. She took off down the pathway to the cabin, she is like a turtle. When she wants to move, she really can book it. We caught up to her and when we stepped onto the porch, right before Nana was about to knock Hjuldrak said something that made us all stop in our tracks. Hjuldrak had wondered if this cabin could belong to the naked man that we saw in the forest earlier. Flokiii slowly and quietly swung the door open. There was a blazing fire in the hearth, a chair right in front of it. Flokiii whispered that it seemed like no one was home. It was then that Hjuldrak noticed the bones by the chair. We stood there, not sure what to do. That's when I heard it, meatal scraping sounds. You could see the dagger and the light dancing off of the blade as it was being sharpened with a rock.
 
I will admit this, I am not proud of it. While the others fought this creature, I froze. I stood outside the cabin, back to the wall and couldn't move. I never wanted to be home so badly, I wanted to sit with my mum next to the hearth working on a puzzle, cat in my lap. I missed mum, I missed home. I knew at that moment I had made a terrible mistake. I am not cut out to be an adventurer. Even Nana fought bravely and fiercely. I just stood outside and let them handle it.
 
I was able to regain control of my emotions and when I did, I stepped inside to see the creature dead on the floor. There was a lot of blood, a lot more than what was originally on him. There were a lot of bones, broken furniture, this was not a safe place at all. Suddenly, the creature leapt to its feet catching all of us by surprise. It bent over backwards and "ran" on his hands and feet to the hearth and up it! I was such a fright I thought everyone was going to hear my heart pounding.
 
We quickly left, keeping a weary out for the creature. The fog had lightened at this point and Flokiii was able to find a path to the main road. We arrived here at the Spread Eagle Tavern very late. There was one barkeep downstairs to greet us and give us a key to our rooms. For the name, it's surprisingly nice here. I've always stayed at taverns with common sleeping areas, I've never had a private room before. Maybe this is what one could expect to work for Sir William? I am glad I do not have to share the room with anyone. I don't think I would be able to hold my composure. There is a hearth in my room, it makes me think of the creature that escaped through his in the cabin. I have already locked the door, windows and the hearth gate. I think I will check one more time before turning in for the night.
 
I don't know what to do. If I go back now, I would be failing mum and dad, but it would be a lot safer. I could try and see if that position is still open at the college, maybe they would allow me to change my mind and come and work for them?