章節 3: Velia Town
As we left the forest and approached the town, the tense atmosphere began to dissipate. Anne placed her bow on her back and let out a small breath of relief.
"This is the town of Velia. You can find all the basic necessities here like lodging, smithy, and stores. There's also a guild hall in the town where you can do quests. I'm on a quest to collect herbs for the local doctor which is why I was in the forest. Also…thank you. I guess I really underestimated you huh?"
"There's no need to thank me, you lead me out of the forest after all. There was no way in hell I would've survived if I met those three goblins by myself."
"I suppose… I'll still repay you in the future. By the way, how did you know there was a goblin behind us? And how did you manage to snatch the arrow out of the air?"
'Ah… there it is. I had a feeling she was going to bring it up. I don't think it's a great idea to tell her about the watch… it's probably better to stay on the down low until I figure out more about the treasure and this world.' I put my hands behind my back and tried to keep the watch out of view. "I've always had a good ear, I heard some rustling in the trees behind me and I saw the arrowhead glimmering among the leaves. As for how I caught the arrow… as much as I'd like to say I have some special ability… it was just dumb luck. Honestly, I'm surprised my hand didn't get impaled…"
Anne did not look convinced. 'Seems like that wasn't the answer she was looking for.' She was about to grill me for more answers, but our conversation came to a stop as we approached a guard.
"You went to gather herbs, but you returned with a boyfriend? If you're that desperate, I'm still here ya know? Also, don't you already have enough mouths to feed at home?"
"Shut it, idiot. Even if I found feces in the wild it'd still be a better partner than you, Danian."
"Bwahaha, well said! Well, if you ever find a cute girl in the woods, let me know." He turned towards me and sized me up. "Danian's the name, what's yours?"
"Arden, Arden Speake," I replied.
"Arden Speake… nice to meet ya. I have a feeling this won't be the last time we see each other."
Although he was quite intimidating with his stature and longsword hanging by his side, he seemed like a reliable person. His last comment did stick out to me. 'I wonder what he meant by that.'
I felt a tug on my sleeve. "Come on, let's get going," Anne said with a smirk. "The doctor's pretty close." She brushed past Danian as if he wasn't there. I began to follow her and after some steps, I glanced back at Danian. Our eyes met, but his expression was completely serious. 'I need to find a treasure that lets me read people's minds… I can't tell what anyone's thinking around here…'
"That was pretty harsh… you two know each other?" I didn't actually care, but the silence was a bit suffocating…
"Oh Danian? We've known each other for a long time, don't worry, it's not the first time I've shot him down."
"Why's that? He seems like a pretty decent guy."
"We've known each other for a day and you're already trying to match me up? I only see him as a friend, plus…" she slowed down and placed a hand on her pouch. "romance is not something I can afford right now."
'Another one in the friend zone huh… my condolences Danian.'
…
We approached a small wooden house. It seemed very cozy and welcoming with an open sign on the front door. I followed Anne through the door and the inside was just about big as I'd expected. The main room has shelves lined across the walls with various vials, materials, and books. At the end were a counter and a scholarly looking man.
"Welcome back Anne, must you always wait until the last second to finish up your tasks? You know I'm going to close shop soon."
"Alright, that may be the case for basically every other time, but this time we were attacked by goblins on the way back. Before that, my friend here is hurt from the fight. Can You treat him?"
"Well, that is my job after all. Follow me." he gestured as he entered the back room behind the counter.
I moved aside the curtain on the entrance to enter another small room, he gestured for me to sit on a makeshift bed and I complied.
"I'm Jerrad, the local doctor. I assume your hand is what you want to be treated, let me take a look."
I held out my hand and he carefully unwound my bandages to reveal a gash across my right hand. He took out a clean cloth, dipped it into the water, and began to wipe away the debris and blood to better examine my wound. "Although it's quite large in area, only the surface of your hand seems to be damaged. I can heal you up with a fairly basic spell and no further treatment should be needed."
He held out one hand and muttered: "heal." A dim light appeared from the palm of his hand and as it shined onto mine, I felt the wound on my hand slowly close. "I'm not that skilled in light magic, but if you receive any minor injuries in the future, you can come see me anytime. This first time will be free of charge but, next time you'll have to pay… uh…"
"Arden. I'm not from around this area but I think I'll be staying here for a bit. Thank you for your kindness."
"Look at his manners, you could learn from this, Anne."
Anne was poking her head through the curtains to see what was happening. "Yeah yeah. By the way, I left the herbs on your front desk and took out the 80 bronze coins from your money box."
Jerrad frowned and sighed, "You sure are impatient... well, I'm going to close shop soon so it's fine this time. It was nice meeting you Arden, as much as I'd love to see you in the future, you should try to keep yourself safe. This small town doesn't have the same protection as a larger city after all."
"Got it, thank you for the advice." I got up and began to walk out of the building. I examined my hand and all that was left of the gash was a small scar, but the injury was all healed up in a matter of seconds. 'There really is all sorts of magic huh…'
As we exited the building, Anne held out some coins to me. "Take it, 20 bronze. You helped out with the quest as well so it's only fair. Go grab something to eat, your stomach has been growling for some time now..."
Maybe I should've at least tried to refuse the money but she wasn't wrong, I felt like I could eat an entire cow right now.
"Remember the farm near the entrance of the town? We saw it after walking past the guards. It's cheap so give it a knock and ask for a room. Find any restaurant near the edge of town and you can probably find some food for under 20 coins. I really need to head back now, catch you later!"
"Ah okay, thanks for the…. coins." but she was already too far. 'Whatever, my first priority right now is food, food food food.'
I backtracked where we came from and found a pretty lively restaurant. The smell instantly drew me in. I got some cutlets and bread for 15 coins and I devoured it instantly. As I was getting ready to seek out the farm, a particular conversation caught my ears.
"You're still not givin' up on your dream of becoming a swordsman? Give it up I say, you've already been denied the training three times. You're already 20, why don't you just work at your father's smithy?"
"I want more out of my life than just bangin' weapons all day and night. Plus, tomorrow's the last chance for this batch. My father has given me an ultimatum and if I don't find any work by 21, I'll HAVE to work in the smithy. It's my last chance."
'Sword training, that's right. If it's a world determined by strength, I definitely need a weapon of some sort… Anne uses a bow and Danian uses a sword. I can look for her tomorrow and ask her about it.' I walked out of the restaurant and made my ways to the farm. I looked for Danian but it seemed like a different guard this time, this one had two axes at his side but sported the same armor.
I made my way to the front of the farm and knocked twice. I waited a few seconds before hearing some rumbling on the other side. The door swung open aggressively and almost hit me in the process. A large older lady stood at the door in what seemed like her dressing gown, "room?"
"Yes, I'm friends with Anne and I was wondering if-"
"5 bronze."
'Is everybody in this town so straightforward? There goes all 20 bronze coins down the drain… but I don't really have any other options.' I gave her the remaining 5 coins and she examined each underneath the light before grumbling, "Follow me."
A small dusty room underneath the staircase with only a bed. What am I, Harry Potter? I dusted what I could off the bedsheets and laid down on the cold wooden bed. This day has just been one event after another… and I finally had some time to gather my thoughts. It seemed like I could will time to slow down for everything except myself to some degree. Oddly enough, I didn't feel as tired and collapse instantly like the time before, 'am I just getting the hang of it? Also… what was the holograph-like arrow that I saw impaling Anne's back?' Countless thoughts were running through my head but soon, the weariness overtook me and I began to sleep.
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