Vol 1 Chapter 2.3 (1/2)

Chapter 3

As afternoon turned into evening, the noise of the taverns reached its peak. The festivities of the day were drawing to a close, but those who still felt the need to celebrate opened the doors of taverns, seeking alcohol. Separated from Eto, Parn joined them in seeking a free table throughout Alan. Finally, he arrived at a small tavern.

Parn couldn’t shake the thought that something strange had happened to him. When he’d left the inn, the ‘Crystal Forest,’ Eto and Ghim ought to have been with him. But instead, it was the elf girl sitting across from him and filling his gla.s.s. Well, ‘young’ is relative when speaking of elves, and he had no idea of her exact age, but Parn had decided upon meeting her to think of her as the young elf.

Sipping the ale Deedlit had recommended, his cup filled to the rim, Parn was telling Deedlit about himself.

“Yes, we’re on a journey.”

Deedlit gave an exaggerated reaction, as though that was a very difficult thing to do. Opening her eyes very wide, she nodded a few times. Parn was so drunk that he had no idea her reactions were an act.

“And your companions are just that priest of Phalis and the dwarf who were with you this afternoon?”

“No, there’s also a mage. He’s an odd one, but he’s powerful. I hate to say it, but his magic is much stronger than my sword.”

“Slayn, that’s the mage, right?” Deedlit nodded, not forgetting to add, “I don’t think you give yourself enough credit.”

That wasn’t just an empty compliment - Deedlit really meant it. Parn had easily read her movements earlier that day, after all.

Watching Parn scratch his head in embarra.s.sment at her compliment, Deedlit laughed a little deep in her throat. The tips of her ears lowered and her eyes narrowed.

Bored of her tedious life in the forest, Deedlit had recently left her village in the elven woods. Everything in the human world was new to her. Of course, humans seemed foolish and uncivilized to her. But she knew that it was useless to expect humans to have the same culture and beliefs as elves did.

Once she had come to that realization, she didn’t mind living among humans so much. From time to time she encountered unpleasant people like the men from that afternoon, but as long as she kept her wits together, she was sure of getting herself out of such situations.

Even if this youngster hadn’t barged in, Deedlit would not have made out poorly against the four men earlier that day. In fact, it was only because of him that any of the men had hit her at all. But the youngster had easily controlled her movements. The fact that he had shown her up left a painful wound in her pride as a skilled fighter. That reaction was the real reason Deedlit was manipulating Parn, though she had yet to realize it. But Parn was so unused to talking to women that his amusing reactions lead Deedlit to forgive his actions earlier in the day.

Parn had gone on talking so long that he had come to his own reasons for traveling — the fight with the goblins. Really getting into his subject, he slurred his words and stood up in his chair.

“Just then, I thought no one would save me. But I was wrong. My old man said that too, you know? What’d he say? I already forgot. Oh yeah, that’s why I’m here. What I saw, that’s what my dad saw, I thought. Tha- that’s why I’m going to Valis, to check on that. The hero, King Fahn, is there. Him and his hundreds of holy knights, yeah. My old man, he was one of them, once. That’s why I became a warrior. I’m still just an ordinary mercenary though. But you know, even Kashue, the king of Flaim where I fought before, he started out as a wandering mercenary too. That, that’s why. I’m gonna be a king… no, there’s no way. But I want to do something worthy of a hero or a great man at least.”

Deedlit had listened to Parn’s latest speech with an expression of disbelief.

“What do you hope to find in Valis?” asked Deedlit in a quiet voice.

“What? I wonder what. Something I can’t find yet, I guess.” Parn let out a dry laugh.

“That’s a riddle. You could be a great master of riddles.”

“The one who should be solving riddles is Slayn. Seems he’s searching for his own star. He even went as far as calling himself a weird name like ‘Sta.r.s.eeker’. The name my parents gave me is enough. It’s Parn. Any other name is something other people give me.”