21 I Hate Outsiders (2/2)
The bard sighed. ”Farewell then. Good luck with your tree.” They left the elf behind. ”Now what Ken?” He asked.
The hunter hung his head. ”We could try their market place.”
They wandered to the center of town where stalls made from strangely grown trees lined the street.
Jericho, Princess, and Ken explored the bazaar and asked the shopkeepers if they had any quests the three of them could help with.
While some of the answers varied, they mostly received the reply: ”If you aren't here to buy something, leave. I hate outsiders; they try to waste our time with such useless things.”
Jericho spotted a long hole littered wooden pole with leather and carvings tied to it. He stopped. ”How much for the flute?” He asked the stall owner.
”Oh? You know what this is? For you, the asking price is 5 gold.” The elf smiled.
The bard frowned since he was only carrying two gold on him. He had given the extra gold they had earned to Princess a while back. ”I understand.” The man turned and started to leave. He didn't want to 'waste the shopkeeper's time' by haggling.
The shop owner was speechless. ”Young human,” He called out. ”Why are you leaving?”
Jericho continued to walk away, following their silent traditions.
”4 gold!” The elf shouted to try and bring him back.
Jericho continued to walk away.
”2 gold!”
The bard hesitated before leaving.
The elf started to sweat, the human was fast. ”1 Gold.” He hollered.
Jericho let out a smile. ”So that is how you deal with them.” He turned around and pulled out a gold coin.
The elf sighed in relief as they exchanged the item for the money.
The bard was curious. ”Why did you lower the price?”
”I see you are not a believer in the Goddess Harian otherwise you would have known.” The elf replied smugly. ”Feel free to visit my stall again.” The elf waved Jericho off.
The bard left. ”Goddess Harian?”
{Ah yes, mortals tend to believe in beings more powerful then themselves. This Goddess Harian is one of them. I never cared much for mortal beliefs but I have been slain a few times because mortals claimed their higher beings demanded it.} Glaw replied. {I am sure the mortals have records somewhere if you are interested.}
{I see, thanks Glaw. I guess I don't know too much about these powerful beings either.}
{It's okay, you're an elemental. It is only natural for you to fill disconnected from these entities mortals call gods and goddesses.}
The trio sat down at the fountain. Other than Jericho, who obtained a new instrument, the group was feeling dejected from all the rejection.
Seeing their sad faces, Jericho started to play a calming simple melody with his new wooden flute.
The two pre-teens voiced their feelings. ”This is so frustrating! Why isn't anyone willing to give us a quest?” Ken let out an exasperated breath.
”This is boring, can we go someplace else?” Princess added her complaints.
”Ah, such a pretty melody!” A young girl's voice cried out before getting even more exited. ”What a beautiful creature!”
The three looked up to see a young elf carrying a small basket. ”Hi Lillith!” Princess called out.
”It's the nice people who helped me out with my flowers! What are you doing in town? Where did you befriend a lynx?” Lillith approached.
Jericho finished a small piece of the composition and put down his flute. ”We came to drop off something to Cirith and were looking for a new adventure to have. Nobody seems to have one for us though. The lynx's name is Lux.”
Lillith frowned as she studied the cat. ”He has been cursed.”
Kenneth nodded. ”Yeah; he was cursed before we became friends.”
”Since grandpa send you to bring something for my mom, let me take you to my aunt's place. She and her apprentice Purai know how to get rid of curses. Follow me!”
Ken smiled. ”A way to break his curses? A potential quest? I'm in.”
The three people and cat followed the young elf to an area tucked away from sight. The smell of herbs assaulted their noses.
Shouting could be heard from the nearby tree-building.
The door swung open and a teenage girl ran out in tears.
”Oh yes, run away again you useless apprentice!” The woman in the building shouted and continued to rant.
Lillith turned to her friends. ”Umm, it looks like now is a bad time, my aunt Trina seems to be angry. I'm sorry. When my aunt is angry she doesn't see customers. She says it is hard to heal others when you are angry.” She fidgeted.
Jericho crouched down to be eye level with the young elf. ”It is okay, I understand. Emotions are very powerful and affect the things around us.”
Lillith started to tear up. ”I'm sorry I really wanted to help your cat.”
”We can come back another time.” Jericho comforted. ”We can heal the lynx of his curses later.”
Lillith paused. ”Um…” She sniffed. ”Do you think you could go find and help Purai? I want her to know that I hope she is okay. She's that nice apprentice that just ran off. If you can help her, she will likely help you too. She also knows how to use my aunts healing techniques to break curses and is very kind. If she can't then you can come back and my aunt can help.”
[Lillith has asked you to go find and help the young apothecary apprentice Purai. She is likely on her way out of the village. Reward: Unknown. Note: Purai may be able to help removed curses from Lux.]
Jericho nodded. ”We will find her.”
Kenneth started thinking about how to track the woman that had run off. (Lux I need your help to track her down.)
(Okay!) The beast replied happily.
The boy regretted asking as his nose twitched.
[Resonance obtained…]