Chapter 463: Quest (1/2)
Dale blinked a few times before he burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Ilea asked.
He shook his head as he calmed down. “It’s just… to attempt fighting a Basilisk, without a plan or preparation, nor a team. For the sheer sake of an achievement for one’s next class evolutions. It sounds ridiculous to me and yet when you said it with a straight face, I just accepted it.”
Dale lifted the bottle again but decided against it, putting it away instead after he glanced at her with a questioning look.
She declined.
“Theoretically, people like you should exist, should be out there. Hunting and fighting, improving so much that they are hardly recognizable as humans anymore. I just never thought I would actually meet someone like that. Now the most dangerous thing I’ve met is not an elf anymore but someone I call a friend,” he said and sat back.
“Life is full of surprises, isn’t it?” Ilea said.
“That it is. As to your question, I haven’t heard of a Basilisk. Not since your caravan encountered it several years ago. I suggest you check the guild to see if they have anything to offer,” he said.
“Is it open at this time?”
“It’s always open,” Dale confirmed. “You’re not the only one who sleeps very little. I for example just don’t exactly have a choice,” he said and got up.
“You’re going too?” she asked and followed the man.
“To Alistair, yes. I will report your success and the potential issue. I know you hate these technicalities,” he said.
“You’re a treasure, Dale. Really,” Ilea said to him took a deep breath of fresh air, only a tiny bit sullied by the smells of the city. Riverwatch luckily did have a sewer. The marvels of magic.
“And you are a monstrous killing machine that I am fortunate to call an ally,” he said and sighed. “When did you say the slaves should arrive?”
“A few days. It’s hard to say exactly how long they need. My flying speed keeps improving,” Ilea said.
“Way to make me envious of your power,” he said and smiled.
“Hey, a few weeks of dungeon training with me by your side and you’ll be the strongest in town. You say the word,” she suggested.
Dale crossed his arms. “Thank you. I mean it. I would rather do it the old fashioned way, lest I turn into a creature of ash too.”
“Are you calling me a monster?” she asked, her limbs fanning out.
The man wasn’t fazed in the least. “Keep your intimidation tactics to people that don’t know you. Good luck on your hunt, and stay safe.”
“I’ll do my best,” she said, tapping his shoulder before she vanished into the night.
The guild hadn’t changed much since she had visited. A few repairs were visible but only thanks to her sphere, otherwise well done. To her surprise, the guild hall was packed. Dozens of people drinking and feasting together, just as many waiting in line to get quests or get rewards.
It felt nostalgic, even though she had barely participated in this type of life. These were the adventurers of Elos, slaying monsters and taking care of the various problems that come with a life near the bottom of the food chain.
“Oy, healer! Ya lookin for a strong team!?” a very loud patron called out to her.
[Warrior – lvl 68]
Adventurers of Elos indeed, she thought and joined one of the lines.
“Didn’t ya hear me?” the man called out again.
“Leave her be, don’t wanna insult the orders, they’re a nasty bunch,” his friend said, a rogue of a similar level.
“Miss, I want to apologize for the behavior of my fellow adventurers. My name is Asher,” someone else walked up to her and introduced himself. He looked straight out of a romance novel, long blond hair and a charming smile.
[Mage – lvl 102]
“Hello Asher, what is it that you want?” Ilea asked as the line moved forward, the man dancing around her to avoid bumping into the others.
“It has come to everyone’s attention that you are a healer. Your kind is rare within these halls. I was wondering if perhaps you were looking to join a team?” he asked, getting straight to the point.
Ilea liked that he didn’t try to manipulate her at first. He simply greeted her and asked. “How surprising, you actually have manners.” she said. “Are you from Riverwatch, Asher?”
The name amused her.
“Not everyone here grows up in a gutter,” he said and winked.
Perhaps it would have had more of an effect on her if she hadn’t met Elves and powerful Shadows, a few of them rivaling the sexiest men on Earth in looks. Or perhaps it was all the blood and guts, all the death she had seen, that let her ignore his attempt at charming.
“I can see that. As much as I’m intrigued, I believe I’m looking for different jobs than you,” she said, arriving at the front of the line.
“Welcome. Your badge please,” the attendant said, a rather petite woman in her twenties.
“What kind of jobs are you looking to do? We can adjust. If we had a healer in our team,” Asher said.
“You’re…,” the attendant said when Ilea handed in her silver badge, identifying her as a level fifty healer. “Would you like an updated version? You are far beyond silver,” she said.
[Mage – lvl 110]
Ilea wondered how high the woman could identify. Does she think I’m one fifty? Two hundred?
“Sure, whatever is the equivalent of this,” she said and summoned her Shadow badge, placing it on the counter.
Asher opened and closed his mouth before taking a step back.
The woman nodded and checked the badge. “This is real. Let me see if we have any emerald badges. Ah… as you are a Shadow, I’m not sure how many jobs you did for the adventurer guild. If you didn’t reach a certain quota, the badge will cost you one gold piece and thirty silver. Is that okay?”
“Why do I need an updated version then?” Ilea asked.
“It may provide entry to certain dungeons, cities, inns and other establishments. Granted, your Shadow badge opens most of those doors but not all of them. Do you wish to have it?” the woman asked.
“Sure, why not,” Ilea said and summoned the money.
More than a few people were looking her way by now, the conversations having died down.
Asher chuckled. “Apologies for wasting your time, Miss Shadow,” he said and bowed.
Ilea smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I appreciate the way you asked, compared to the dolt over there,” she said and nodded towards the man.
“What did ya say!?” he said and stood up.
“Don’t!” his friend called out but it was too late.
“I said that you lack manners,” Ilea said to the low level warrior.
Asher took a few steps back, trying to get out of the way. A wise choice.
“I don’t give a fuck what shit order you’re a part of. Shadow or noh-”
A slap sent the man sprawling on the floor, a few teeth missing and blood dripping from his mouth. He was knocked out cold.
“Apologies,” Ilea said when the attendant returned.
“Oh, no worries. It’s not the first time he has ended up in a similar situation. I will put the cleaning cost on his tab,” she said and handed over the new healer badge.
It looked the same other than the metal it was made of. A dark green that didn’t reflect much light. She paid and made the thing vanish.
“Anything else I can do for you?” the woman asked.
“I’m looking for information on a certain creature,” Ilea said.
Ilea soared through the skies, trying to identify the landscape. Sadly there had been no new information on a Basilisk in the area. The attendant could however pin point the area where Ilea’s caravan had encountered the creature last on a map.
She would have perhaps found it anyway but the process was much faster this way.
A few skeletons showed that she had found the right place. Nazarks, she thought and kicked a skull away. Not decayed, chewed off.
“The ciiiiircle of liiiife,” she sang to herself and strolled towards the cavern entrance.
A few creatures moved by in the nearby forest, doubtlessly aware of her. It seemed they deemed her too dangerous to approach.