Chapter 120: - A Reckoning
Lia looked Abigail dead in the eyes, her mind rushing over the senses screaming at her to be wary. A summoner was no joke, and it appeared even to Lia, that Abigail knew who she was as well.
In order to ease the tense air around them, Lia spoke cautiously, making it appear as though she was a valued business woman, and was not to be undersold or underestimated.
"I have not yet sold it to this man, but you want it?"
"Yes. I will pay whatever the price is."
Abigail was excited to see the conversation had not fallen off track as the two women eyed one another, knowing full well who the each other were.
"This man has quoted me 20 gold. I feel as though it would be rude to turn my scale towards you when I offered it to him first though."
Abigail nodded, fully understanding the situation and reached for a small bag at her waist.
"Then I will buy it from you, and give Mr. Tent a fee for helping me attract the sale?"
Lia thought for a moment, her eyes passing between Mr. Tent, who was still eyeing the necklace with a greedy hunger that she often saw on shopkeepers, and Abigail, whose own excitement only seemed to dull Lia's expression.
"Fine. He's quoted me 20 gold, so I will assume this is the value of the item he would have sold it in retail. Give him 20 gold, and then we may speak."
At first, Lia was only doing this to spite the shopkeeper, knowing full well that he was trying to undersell her in order to turn a profit for himself, considering his eyes filled with a hungering greed. However, 20 gold was still no small change for anyone, including a shopkeeper and a fellow Hunter.
If it had not been for Wallace's generous pay in Neverdark, Lia would have been almost sure her party would be down to only a handful of gold in their pockets.
But, despite this, she was shocked to see Abigail place two small stacks of ten gold each on the counter, as well as a small extra five. Something Lia was not expecting in the slightest.
"Now, h-hold on a moment!"
Mr. Tent however, was not happy in the slightest that he was being undersold on his own quoted price, but with one look from Lia, he knew he could say nothing about the matter. If he did, he would be inadvertently admitting that he undersold her, and he clearly did not want to do this in front of Abigail for whatever reason.
"I threw in an extra five gold for the retail price. I think that's fair."
Abigail said as she turned her gaze from Mr. Tent, who was still peering hungrily at the necklace, toward Lia, who looked on with a cold and emotionless gaze. The gaze of a business woman.
"Now, what would be your quote on the price? Mind you, I'm willing to pay hgh for this, but I will not be unreasonable."
Lia nodded, taking a moment to think to herself. The necklace meant nothing to her in any way, but at the same time she didn't wish to undersell something that Cain had given her. However, she didn't need to think long on it, as a voice quelled her worries.
'Just give it to her.'
'Are you sure? I don't want to undersell this since it is an artifact.'
'You have no use for it, and your reasoning is understandable. Plus, it was just a placeholder for one of your goblin kills. It means little to you, so don't concern yourself too much with it.'
'But it's from your personal treasury. I'd feel bad.'
'Your concern is unnecessary. It's just a small piece of wood to me, something small in my pocket. Don't worry about it too much.'
'Alright.'
Clearing her throat, Lia picked up the small necklace, holding it out in front of her towards a confused and questioning Abigail.
"What?"
"Take it."
"Wait, but…what's the price?"
"Nothing. It's useless to me, and though that may sound selfish, I have no need for it. Best for it to go towards someone who can actually use it."
Before Abigail could argue against her, or reach into her side pouch for more coin to shove into Lia's hand due to her goodwill, Lia took to shoving the necklace in her own hand.
"Don't worry about it. Just use it well."
With that, Lia passed Abigail on the side, heading towards the door without a second glance. She could hear Abigail calling after her, but Lia was already down the alley, nearing the street when she finally heard Abigail's voice clear behind her.
"Wait!"
Lia sighed, hoping that the girl wouldn't try to push any money on her, she turned around with a blank faced expression as Abigail caught up to her, breathing heavily.
"I…never got your name."
"Not to be rude or anything, but I don't see much point in telling you my name. I hardly know you."
"Oh, right. Apologies."
Abigail regained herself, wearing an expression that just screamed innocence and kindness, something Lia found somewhat hard to believe. As she was a summoner, Abigail had to have seen more than her fair share of death or gore, unless she was a sheltered child.
"I just think that knowing your name is friendly. Though I don't want to force you into a friendship you feel guarded against, I really just want to thank you for giving this to me."
She held up the necklace, eyeing it not with greed, like Mr. Tent had done it, but with compassion. An emotion Lia found somewhat oddly placed on an item like a necklace.
"Alright then. My name is Lia, I work with the Hunting group known as Endless."
At once, the girls eyes widened, her happy 'go free' expression replaced with an awing shock filled surprise.
"Your part of Endless?!"
Abigail practically yelled in shock, attracting the attention of a few passersby who muttered amongst themselves. Some of the words Lia could tell were about her, as well as Endless, but she was more confused than she was on guard.
"Yes…but it seems you know the name better than I do?"
She asked with caution, torn between many terrible thoughts that haunted her mind.
'Is there some bounty on our heads? Did the Scholar's Chapel get word out this quickly?'
But among those thoughts Lia feared something worse. A creeping feeling that crept up her spine like a centipede.
'How does she know who we are?'
Abigail, seeing Lia's sudden surprise and confusion, quickly regained herself, careful to keep her voice down low as many were now eyeing them as they passed by.
"Sorry. You probably aren't aware of it yet."
"Aware of what?"
Now the feeling was growing, her heart was beginning to pound against her ribs, feelings of fear slowly creeping in as Lia began to think the worst of Abigail's next words.
"Your name is quite famous. Already word is traveling the roads and through wanderers, people who have seen the things you've done."
"Wait, but…how?"
Abigail could see that Lia was still confused and in her attempt to quell Lia's obvious growing fears, she carefully took her hand in her own.
"Word traveled far from the great city Neverdark about your discovery of a Concor ruin has been spread by scholars, miners, and traders in silver and gold. Your feats with the Outpost, taking on a stampede of nasty monsters on your own, "Endless at it's finest" as the people who witnessed it have claimed. Your name is spreading, how could you have not known?"
In her eyes, Lia could see that Abigail was telling the truth, a truth that even as she heard it, Lia felt it pass right over her head. It was far too unlikely for something like this to happen without someone interfering in the rumors.
Suddenly, Lia knew exactly what had happened, her mind flashing back to Wallace and Randolph, two people who she knew held respect for her. It would have been effortless for them to spread rumors of her party's feats, possibly over exaggerating how greatly she pulled these off.
"Well, uh…"
Lia searched her mind for a valid excuse, an excuse that would put Abigail's glimmering eyes shining with awe and curiosity down.
"...I was busy with a Hunt and -"
"Another one?!"
Lia flinched, immediately regretting her decision and her choice of words as it did little to quell Abigail's growing excitement. She looked more like a child bouncing with excitement than she did a grown woman.
"Tell me all about it, please!"
"Um…"
Lia turned her eyes around the street, searching for a way she could make an escape and recollect her thoughts. It was then that her eyes passed over the hanging wooden sign, the lettering painted in a blue and gold highlight. "Dawn's Inn and Goods."
She had her excuse, and thus her escape.
"I'm sorry. As much as I would like to know more about these rumors traveling around, I have to rejoin my friends at the inn."
A sudden realization seemed to come over Abigail as she dropped Lia's hand, calming herself down from her jolting excitement.
"I see. I too must find my own party and friends. They seemed deeply distressed this morning, but - anyways, I do hope we see one another again Lia of Endless. Perhaps our paths will cross again."
Without a second word between them, they gave a silent wave to one another as Abigail rushed off down the street, opposite of Lia's destination. She was happy to have a second of fresh air, away from all the thoughts and information drumming against her mind.
Calmly making her way towards the Inn, Lia made sure to keep an eye out for those who had overheard Abigail's little announcement. It would prove more trouble for her if these rumors ended up being true, and these eavesdroppers went around telling everyone where she and her friends were staying.
It was something she desperately wanted to avoid, so she kept her guard up, but it proved to be needless. The moment she entered the Inn, she was left with a blank faced, wide eyed surprise as the sounds of cheers and loud talk blasted against her ears.
Too many people were talking at once around her, too many sounds of clinking glasses and fists against tables filled her ears, all at the same time. A large crowd of people surrounded one another in a collective group, chatting amongst themselves, ignoring her presence as she had just entered the room.
"Lia!"
Lukali pushed through the crowd, the men and women surrounding him far too drunk and densely packed against other people to move much out of the way for him. The occasional man raised a drink in Lukali's direction shouting praise towards him.
"Hail the hero of Neverdark!"
"To the Knights of Randolph!"
"Hail!"
Once Lukali got through the densely packed crowd, he leaned over, his hands on his knees as he spoke to the still shocked and speechless Lia.
"Lia…we…have a problem."
"What the hell happened here?"
"Some rumors seemed to have spread around the area, making their way back here."
"Oh no…"
Seeing the face Lia was making, Lukali frowned, confused.
"Wait, did you already know?"
"I may have had a run in with a few outside. Wallace and Randolph must be behind this."
"Rian thought so too, but he's…well…"
Lukali peered over his shoulder, over the heads and backs of several men and women still shouting praise, as his eyes landed on a buff figure in the middle of the crowd, his hands full of drinks, even more still being shoved into his hands.
"...he's a bit busy."
"I can see that. Maybe we should look for another Inn?"
He shook his head, pointing towards a man behind the counter in the corner, his spectacles and proper looking clothes singled him out as the owner of the place, who clearly was not happy with the crowd of people.
"The owner has already promised us a room for the week, free of charge. He says his brother was at the Outpost, and would have died had we not done something. Besides, I doubt it will change much if we go somewhere else."
"Has word already spread that quickly?"
Suddenly, a pounding knock came from the door, too drowned out by the sounds of cheers and chanting to be heard by the masses, but loud enough that it was heard by Lia and Lukali. Slowly, Lia placed her ear on the wooden door, already guessing what it could have been.
And she was right.
On the other side of the door, sounds of more cheers, men and women as one chanting out the name of Endless. From the sound of it, there appeared to be nearly a dozen more outside, if not a dozen more beginning to arrive.
"Never mind…"
Lia brushed her hand over her head, her mind already pounding with the headache this entire situation was causing her. Of course she meant no ill will towards Randolph and Wallace, but nonetheless, she secretly cursed them for bringing this upon her and her friends.
"What should we do?"
Lukali asked, calling above the sounds of cheers, cries of glee and joy echoing off the walls.
Singing deeply, Lia eyed to the nearest exit, winding if all three of them could make it out without anyone noticing.
"Leave through the backdoor. It will probably lead to an alleyway, but it's better than being in the middle of a crowded street."
"What about Rian?"
Lia glanced at Rian's figure, who was now being patted on the back left and right, as a mountain of tankards and wooden cups were being piled even higher than his head.
"I'll get him. Just make sure you get to the door as fast as you can."
Lukali nodded and immediately set off towards the nearest door, across the wide floor covered in people, packed so close together that he had to push and shove his way past the drunken masses, almost nearly being recognized several times.
'How do you expect to get him out of this mess?'
Cain's voice asked from within Lia's head, his own amazement and sounds of annoyance at the large number of people clear in the tone of his voice.
'Do you think if I use [Drifting Winds] I can slow down their speed enough to make it out?'
'You'd need to wait for the right moment. Push anyone aside and they'd go flying the moment the skill was out of use.'
'Great…'
But despite this warning, Lia took in a deep breath quickly activating [Drifting Winds] as she bobbed and weaved past the large and towering people around her. Occasionally she would have to change the speed of [Drifting Winds] to a much slower speed in order to have people move partially, allowing her to pass by.
It was very, very taxing on Lia's mana pool, as well as her energy, but she prolonged her exhausting collapse just long enough to reach Rian. Grabbing him by the shoulders, Lia moved him along with her, dodging past the different densely packed bodies until finally, at last she made it to the door.
To the people around them, it had appeared as though Rian had just disappeared in a gust of wind, shocking them to the bone as they began searching around themselves in amazement for the vanishing man.
But their efforts would be in vain as Lia was already outside with Lukali and Rian, breathing heavily as sweat rolled down the side of her face.
"Please…let's not…ever…do that…again!"
The two friends nodded their heads in agreement, before they burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs as if they would burst from their joy.
"What's so funny?!"
Lia was not happy whatsoever. In fact, she was more angry at the fact that they were laughing at this issue, rather than being concerned about it.
"Its…its nothing Lia…"
Rian said through his laughter, but seeing Lia's serious expression, he spoke quickly through his gathering tears.
"You…You're so mad that you haven't yet realized it, have you?"
"Realized what?"
"Lia…we're famous 'heroes.'"
It was then that it finally dawned on Lia's face, the thing she was the most annoyed with at this moment was in fact the very thing they had been searching for since they became Hunters.
Then, as if overcome by a spell, the three of them continued laughing, tears streaming down their face in happiness, as they finally realized the weight of what they had achieved.
But, sadly, as all things in their world, it was short lived.
"Lia of Endless, Rian of Endless, and Lukali of Endless?"
A voice interrupted their laughing thoughts of joy and glee, as the three of them slowly looked up to face a man dressed in a wealthy and proper attire.
"Yes…?"
Lia asked warily, hoping that this wasn't another one of the 'fans' that they seemed to have. Crowds of people who wanted to congratulate them on their achievements was the last thing Lia wanted right now.
But, once again, her concerns were needless.
"My name is Sir Bellous. The Town's Master wishes to speak with you."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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