I’m Smil and this is my expe–my party’s experience with the encounter with Friend :D.

I’m Smil and this is my expe–my party’s experience with the encounter with Friend :D. I’m the only one remaining. With my writing I’ll try to best recreate the events that took place from the beginning.

Yesterday, while walking the Forest Trail 13 to rendezvous with my party –consisting of me, Holme and Oes– after a solo mission, I saw someone else standing with them.

“Who’s it?”

“It's our new member, Friend :D.” Holme the warrior usually was this cheery hardass yet today this rigid wide smile and unhinging happy tone felt very unlike him-but there's a different matter to deal with!! Such an important decision without me!?!? Infuriating!

“I go away for a week and y’all get a new member without telling me?! Where’d you even get it?!?!”

“On the forest trail 13.5 love.”

I stared at him for a while, waiting for him to declare this a joke. He didn't.

“Neither there’s a trail 13.5 nor do you call me love, what bullshit is this?!”

“Don't be like that Smil, give Friend :D a better welcome.”

“Wait wait what!? What is its name?” I thought I misheard again.

“Friend :D.”

“Huh!?” I was dumbfounded, Friend, a cult-leader name but that! “Say its name again.”

“Friend :D, you-” not listening to the rest of the bullshit.

That! In the end of its name! It did not sound right, not logical! I was able to understand it, an odd smiley face but I had never heard something like this before. It's part of no language I know and I know a lot of languages, even languages of many magical beasts and wild animals but never had I come across this. It felt wrong.

I didn't understand what to do, my two party members, standing still, too still, waiting for me to break the silence.

“What's its class?”

“It can turn crank wheels really well.”

The straightforward expression on his face increased my fury.

“Holme….I don’t have the best mood for jokes! It's a member of our party, the copy of its adventurer card you've, show it to me. I wanna see its usefulness.”

“I told you, it can turn crank wheels really well.”

I had good control over myself, “Give me the FUCKING! card.”

I thought my eyes caught a glimpse of something in the woods.

“He's Friend :D Smil, our new party member, don't be so rude to it.”

I didn't see who said that but my stomach churned. I thought it was Holme with his knack for speaking in funny voices, or I wanted to think that and that's why I left it there not wanting to think further of it, though that voice didn't sound funny.

With a deep sigh I tried to exhale out my built up irritation. “Card?”

The two just stared blankly at me along with it.

I didn't say anything further and started walking the trail to reach the next town. Whatever this was, I couldn't deal with it right now. They followed a little far behind me. Nonetheless it was still my party. Why’s it different now, we usually always travel together? I thought, but deep down, I now realise, I didn't want to know.

The town was 40 miles from here, it was already late at night. Until now I travelled through the night forests, without a problem, together with my party because it was safe, but now the same party made me want to reach the town as soon as possible.

I thought maybe I was overthinking this, that the times I felt something right behind my head, peeking from the corner of my eyes, intruding on my vision but when I turned to look, there was nothing there because there was really nothing behind me to begin with and I was just tired. That the three appeared like statues looking at me with their odd smiles when I turned to look at them was because, you know! A shady passerby must’ve given them the not so good herbs. And that it was a coincidence that I never really saw them walk behind me even if they appeared to be closing in on the distance that was between us when they started following me.

Therefore I gave up and started setting up my camp. A few metres in between the trees on the right of the trail was a small clearing where I set up my tent without them and I was not gonna share this space either! They wanted to act funny? Huh!? They could find a space and set their tent them-FUCKING-selves!

The lunch I had packed this morning –when everything was normal– was good, the only good thing in a while. Sitting on my travelling chair in front of the campfire, now I could only acknowledge things that provided more to me being uncomfortable.

I hadn't seen them since I went off the trail, in fact I hadn't seen or heard anything living, wild animals, magical beasts, birds or a single insect, since I first met those three! The forest was empty and dead silent, not even the sound of winds brushing through the tree branches. It was so pitch black, I couldn't see beyond the tree line surrounding my camp. It was like I was the most isolated person in this world sitting in this eerie forest and yet not. Where were those three?

Suddenly I didn't want to think more, so I went inside my tent to sleep.

I woke up to the sound of spellfire, ice crystal shots colliding with something hard, two people yelling which I couldn't discern. The spell belonged to Oes, the thief, he knew simple ice spells, a nice talent for a thief, I had also helped him tweak it a bit…

Before I knew it I was running through the woods because regardless of my past day experience it was still my party –I saw ahead a big rock wall/bottom of a cliff and human movement! – I was gonna help them!

“Oes Hold Them Off! Fire More Spells To Slow Them Down!! We Have To Make Out Of This Ali–Oh Smil! You're here!! We Are Saved! Please Turn That Crank Wheel!”

“Yes Smil! Turn that Crank Wheel!.”

My honest reaction: WHAT THE FUCK?!?!

Holme was swinging his sword in thin air while his expression said he was fighting a dragon or something and Oes was firing his spells on rocks! On damn rocks! Why the hell was I here for then!? It was a waste running all the way here! They really have gone mad and for all I care!!

Looking at them made me angry and angrier, so I turned to head back to my camp.

“SMIL! What are you doing? Turn the crank wheel! Save us!” It was Holme’s voice.

“Yes Smil! Save us!!” It was the other’s voice.

I wanted to kill them at that point, being so weird and annoying, making me feel like this, feel wrong! And what the FUCK is this crank wheel they’ve been talking about!?

I turned back to look at them, there was no DAMNED! CRANK wheel, but then…when I first got here I was only focused on Holme and a little on Oes, but then I saw, it. Standing in between them both, only standing, not doing anything.

For some reason I can't describe its form, you will only understand when you see it yourself. It's like you're looking at it but not, you know what it's doing because your mind tells you what it’s doing but there's no visual information your brain has to say that to you! Only a dark hazy shadowy figure. I knew whatever it was doing, it wasn’t speaking. I didn't want to stay there anymore but before i could turn my sight and run-

“Smil what are you doing? Turn the crank wheel and save us! Save us!” It was happening again, this was not Holme speaking and neither was this it, it was the other voice I had heard since noon, which my mind –by pure logic and in desperation to ignore any kind of uneasy doubt– had assigned to it now and to Holme in the noon. But no, it was Oes speaking…Oes couldn't speak. I had tried everything I could, Holme had rung every connection he knew but we couldn't give Oes a voice. How could he now– no, I…I didn't, I couldn't anymore, it was my breaking point. The next second I was at the town checkpoint, dirty and dazed, having left everything behind.

And there! I have detailed my encounter which I somehow survived, not exactly. It was too late to realise. I made a mistake, a grave one.

The more you think about it, the more you listen to its name, it takes over, it sort of turns your crank wheel so just REMEMBER! Whenever you encounter it! DON’T FORGET! Back the FUCK OU!- Hello, do you know my party member, Friend:D.