Chapter 32: Slice of life (1/2)

‘This girl is legit creeping me out...’ Ilea thought as she stared into the little girl’s eyes.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked Roland who was finishing up his breakfast next to the three empty plates of Ilea.

He swallowed the last bit of bread and nodded while George came to collect the dishes.

“Glad you’re only staying today. You eat more than five children combined...” the self proclaimed warrior cook mentioned to her in passing.

‘Still not sure if he’s actually a warrior cook...’ her eyes narrowed as they bored into his large back.

Roland got her back on track as he wiped his mouth with a piece of cloth “Lily enjoys being quiet. Like you do...usually. And she knows the city quite well.”

‘And I’ll be babysitting one of your annoying children...’ was what she wanted to say but considering the hospitality they’d shown her there was no reason for her to decline. She nodded to the kid. To her surprise, Lily simply nodded back in a way too mature way.

“It’s not raining either today so you’ll be able to enjoy the city a bit more. Still planning to visit Dawntree? You know it’s nearly two weeks with a caravan.” Roland said as he got up from his chair.

“I do yes, although I won’t be joining a caravan this time around.” Ilea turned to the kid that was still looking at her “I’m Ilea and I heard you’ll be my guide to the city today. Are you ready to go?”

Lily nodded and started to walk towards the door. “It was really a pleasure to meet you Ilea. And thanks for saving all those people. Some of them I’ve known for quite some time you know. Your name will be quite well known as soon as word gets out.” Roland said as he put away the dishes.

“Oh I hope not. Just the way everyone glared at me inside the guild in Riverwatch was a bit much already.” she said as she shouldered her backpack that surprisingly was still in a rather good state.

“Oh you’ll be fine. If it’s too much just punch your way out. And now follow Lily before she gets impatient with you.” Roland said

Ilea went for a light hug and kissed him goodbye. “It was very nice to meet you Roland. And your family. They’re lovely...just...a bit much for me.”

“Why didn’t I meet you before all of the others...” he whispered at which George threw a towel his way.

“I heard that. You want to sleep in the guest room tonight?” George joked with a grin

“Goodbye Ilea. Do visit whenever you’re in Salia. Even if I might not be here.” Roland released their hug and bent down to grab the towel George had thrown his way.

“Goodbye Roland and George. Do greet the others for me.” she curtsied and turned around to find an empty hallway.

“She did it again...” Roland said but Ilea only smiled.

‘The hunt is on...’ she thought and extended her sphere of perception. Before Blinking away, Ilea placed five silver coins on the table. She did feel a little bit guilty about the amount of food she had eaten.

The girl was leaning on the side of the house and was certainly not prepared for Ilea to suddenly appear right behind her.

“Ready?” Ilea asked, surprised that the girl hadn’t even flinched. Her reddish eyes did widen a little though. Lily shrugged and walked away, Ilea following close behind.

“I need a smithy first to have my gear repaired.” she said to which Lily stopped in her tracks and started walking into a different direction.

There was no rain falling on the city of Salia but the weather was certainly nothing to be excited about. It reminded Ilea of Great Britain a lot. ‘I wonder how their one day of summer went...’ she thought.

From a side street a couple adventurers ran past them, talking excitedly about the newly discovered dungeon not far from here. Bread and food was being sold in the streets quite similarly to Riverwatch. Ilea could resist everything of course, except temptation.

Lily didn’t say anything to Ilea’s questioning gestures but nonetheless took the food given to her. The two girls walked the streets quietly, enjoying the busy life around them. Ilea observed that Salia was a bit more cramped than Riverwatch.

She thought it might be an issue with city planning and the necessity for high walls. ‘Can’t blame them with monsters out there...I wonder how that tree farmer does it...Greg was the name?’

Lily tugged on Ilea’s arm, causing the woman to stop walking and focus around herself. “Oh a smithy. Thanks Lily.” Ilea patted the girl on her head to which she recoiled with a disgruntled face.

“Alright alright.” Ilea gestured placidly and then extended her hand. Lily shook it and seemed happy with the arrangement. ‘Do I have to pay her as well?’

“You wanna come inside too? I might even buy you something if it’s not too unreasonable.” Ilea said. She had grown to like the girl in the last half hour maybe because she hadn’t spoken a single word so far. Ilea was quite sure that Lily’s lips curled in a smile at her question but didn’t bother trying to pry any.

The smithy looked like a smithy, but to Ilea it was a lot less charming than Earl’s shop in Riverwatch. The architecture was of course rather nice like most buildings she’d seen in Salia so far but there were several attendants inside and everything was a bit too shiny for her taste.

One of them soon joined her and inquired about her wishes. “I’d like to have my armor repaired if that’s even possible at this point.” she gestured at herself and the several holes and cuts upon her otherwise still new gear.

The attendant nodded and gestured her to follow. “I’ll have one of the smiths evaluate it for you. That would be a fee of twenty silver. The cost and duration of the repair itself will be evaluated by him.” the man said as he rang a small bell on the wall.

“You can look around you know.” Ilea told Lily but found her doing just that already.

“Yes, how may I help you?” a bearded man with a level of forty in smithing stepped out from what Ilea assumed was the workshop. The attendant quickly filled him in while sometimes doing some weird gestures with his hands that Ilea couldn’t make sense of. The smith nodded and took a look at her armor.

“It’s very well made. We do have some Drake materials around somewhere.” he talked while walking around Ilea. “Gonna be around half a day’s work.” he stopped in front of her. “Three gold coins for the repair. You can come get it in three days.” he finished.

“Let’s make that one gold coin, I’m not as clueless as I look.” she said. The smith looked at the attendant and slapped the back of his head.

“Two. The damage IS rather extensive. And the materials are a bit harder to come by in these parts.” the smith said.

Ilea was sure the man was asking for too much but she did have plenty of money at the moment and food was laughably cheap in her opinion. “I really don’t feel like walking into another five smithies today. Get it done by this evening and we have a deal.” she said with finality in her tone.

The smith immediately nodded, partially confirming to her that the price was still too high. “You can come get it in the evening then. Around five hours I estimate. Payment now though.”

Ilea handed the attendant one gold coin and ten silvers. “Half now, half in the evening and maybe even a tip if you actually care about the work.” she said as she expertly undid her armor and placed the pieces on the smith’s outstretched arms.

“That’s alright with me. It’s just business young healer but the work is fine, you can trust me on that.” he said before walking back to the workshop.

Ilea certainly did not trust the man but fixing an already made piece of armor didn’t seem very hard to do. Especially considering the man had the smith class and likely a bunch of related skills. ‘I hope it’s not the apprentices working on my stuff...’ she thought.

Looking for Lily, she found the girl playing with a dagger made of black steel. “You like daggers?” she asked but didn’t get a reply. Ilea smiled as she perceived the smith starting to work on her armor himself in the workshop that was still in range of her sphere.