As we all sat at the tables of the Seared Tusk I found my eyes glancing back to Selene who had silently followed the group as we all made our way to the bar for dinner with plans of going to the library next, she didn't even sit down with us, just sat at the bar and glanced over at me from time to time.
"So, who exactly is that guy?"
Liora asked glancing over at Selene who averted her gaze.
"That guy is a girl named Selene who was trying to seek a remedy for a condition she has, one of the remedies is in the form of energy potions."
I explained as I sipped on the glass of water I had been given. Jax jumped up as he looked to me.
"If we can find the recipe for energy potions, we may be able to fix our problem of fixing the damage I can take."
"Thats what I was thinking, but they didn't have the recipe for energy potions, only for mana, aura, and faith potions that don't have a common element, so making an energy potion would be a shot in the dark. I was planning to talk to them about it until you all charged in like a bunch of bums off the street."
I said gritting my teeth at the last part in annoyance thinking back to how they had practically dragged me to the Seared tusk while I tried to tell them I had customers. Kaelen reddened in the face a bit at this comment, but that may have just been because he was on his third mug of ale already.
"I think I know why you can't hike worth a damn, your body's already withered away due to chronic alcoholism."
Liora said adding a mocking tone to the last part.
"I don't have a problem with alcohol, it's a sport and it's called Liver Crossfit and I am a proficient athlete."
Kaelen said slurring his words slightly. As he said this Jax turned to Selene
"Sorry about interrupting you earlier, your welcome to come over if you want to finish your conversation with Aiden here."
I turned to him with a look as I made a mental note to teach him social cues when I get a chance. After a moment of looking around nervously, Selene walked over to our table and quietly stood until Eustus saw and wordlessly moved a chair under her so she could sit down. She pulled off her hood with her right hand and I could see that with it down she did appear more feminine, but it was 50-50 if you didn't know if she was a guy or girl. Her face was red from embarassment as she stared at the table a bit and was mumbling again.
"Hey, whats your Level?"
Jax asked, his front legs still on the table from where he jumped up earlier.
Kaelen, Liora and I turned to Jax with open mouthed surprise. Asking for someones level was something you only ever asked friends because it could easily get you attacked in the wrong parts of a city.
"I'm A-Almost level 6."
Selene said in a muffled voice, mostly from the scarf still around her neck.
"Does that mean you're an adventurer, if so, were a party looking for two more members, and you and I have a similar goal, you see we need to figure out energy potions as well because normal healing isn't very effective for a pulgist."
Jax said this seemingly without a care or que that he was doing something weird. I turned to Liora silently who nodded, turns out Jax's way of recruitment is running up to you and saying, hi wanna help me go on adventures? I turned to Selene who seemed almost zoned out, probably from a mix of timidity meets excited Jax. I saw Jax was about to continue and I held a hand up before he overwhelmed her any further.
"Their current plan is to travel to the library to look up some information about a monster we may be fighting for our plate quest, how about you and I head to a shop I know that often sell potion recipes, we may be able to find the potion we are looking for or at least a hint towards it. That way you can continue with your plans, and we can both get what we need without dragging you into our mess."
Selene nodded slightly as I heard what seemed to be a growling and gurgling noise. I looked around the table and realized Selene's stomach had growled loudly and her face was beat red, and she was on the edge of tears.
"Order some dinner, my treat. Least I can do after what happened in the shop."
I said to Selene sliding a menu to her. The others looked to be expectantly, and I barked
"You pay for your own meals you freeloaders!"
"We are so not freeloaders"
Kaelen said drooling on the table as I saw he had finished 6 mugs of ale and could barely keep his words from being words and not slurred ramblings.
As we ate Selene ordered 3 meals and ate all 3 in a veracious way that made me think she had been hungry on the caravan ride but too timid to speak up about it. The others ordered and as we payed Jax carried the now unconscious and snoring Kaelen on his back as he and Liora made their way towards the library. As we left and walked down the road, I remembered something and asked Selene,
"Have you ever had a honeydrop? It's a candy specially made in Shortdew and imported by a shop."
Selene shook her head as I tapped my pendant to wake up Misty who came out burbling as she spun around as if looking for dangers before turning back to me with a confused warble.
"Sorry misty, we ended up avoiding a fight today, but I brought you to your favorite shop."
Misty whipped around, practically diving at the window as she chirped and bubbled, spinning around me and pulling at my hand towards the door as I chuckled. Selene looked on at Misty fascinatedly as we walked over to the Sweet Dream.
Stepping inside I found Xenovia behind the counter reading her book. Xenovia was a heavier set woman with curly brown hair down to her mid back who for a long time had a pipe, but stopped because her voice got really bad and she had to get treatments. Even now her voice sounds like she smoked a pipe, but at least it wasn't as bad as before. As the door jingled she closed her book and saw Misty and she called out
"Dewdrop, it's been too long."
Misty dove over the counter and hugged Xenovia's cheek and nuzzled for a moment. Xenovia turned to me with a polite smile.
"Aiden, good to see you, but you should come more often, and who is this?"
"This is Selene, she just got here from the caravan, and I wanted to show her the best candy shop in Hopestone."
I said with a smile walking over to the honeyed candy's section as Misty flew around examining her choices.
"I know damn well you're trying to butter me up with that compliment, but damn it if it's not effective, welcome to the sweet dream Selene, what can I get for ya?"
Xenovia asked, Selene, leaning on the counter on her elbow as she made a sweeping gesture with her arm. Selene stood for a moment glancing around, clearly embarrassed as I pointed at the Honeydrops that Misty was flying around and pointing at.
"I was bragging about the honey drops on the way over, so let's start with those."
I said holding up 3 fingers. Xenovia nodded and walked over, grabbing 3 of the small honey drops by their sticks and handing them over. I pulled out a gold to pay for 2 since Xenovia always said Misty got one free and we left the shop. Misty practically dove at my hand and grabbed hers, swirling around it as her water body started to turn golden colored from the honey. I handed Selene hers and I saw her unsure of how to eat it until I stuck mine in my mouth with the stick hanging out. We made our way down the road as Selene turned to me and asked in a still quiet voice.
"Are you really in an adventuring party with those guys?"
I felt the internal battle in my mind of saying yes or no before I answered.
"It's still up in the air at the moment, I had the dream when I was little as many kids do but I kind of accepted that I was just gonna be the town alchemist after a few years, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying adventuring and the quest I'm on with Jax and the others."
Selene nodded and after a moment said.
"I don't think I would be a good adventurer, people usually avoid me when they see my arm and my condition. Plus, I'm very shy and have trouble talking with people so I'm not sure if adventuring is right for me, but I still want to try."
I turned to look at Selene as we walked.
"If you don't mind me asking, what's your reason for wanting to become an adventurer?"
Selene stopped walking for a moment before saying with the loudest volume yet, but only at the level of a conversation.
"I want to grow strong so I can help my dad fight the monsters and protect our town."
I stopped for a moment too as I kept my face neutral my first though was what kind of kids fantasy reason is that!? Selene looked to me, like she had just spoken the greatest truth in the universe and pointed at me.
"Your turn Aiden, whats your reason?"
I glanced at her finger and thought I'm gonna feel bad when my reason is so much more profound, but after a moment of thinking I realized it wasn't if anything it was much more childish.
"I, I want to be an adventurer because adventurers make a lot of money and I always thought it sounded cool."
We stared at each other awkwardly for a moment. I saw Selene stifle a laugh as I turned my face beat red and continued at a speedwalk toward Kinwals Knowledge emporium. As we approached the door, I opened it to see Kinwal hanging from the ceiling and facing away from the door. Kinwal was wearing a fancy looking suit that allowed his wings to poke trough. We grew up together as friends, but he never grew out of his edgy phase, and even now he practically lives on drama. Combined with his half blood bat nature, he looked like a bat that was given a humanoid shape and allowed him to pull off the vampire act well.
"I have been expecting you, welcome to my knowledge emporium where-."
"Damn it Kinwal get your dramatic ass down here and quit with the deeper voice thing!"
I yelled as Kinwal went from doing a dramatic slow spin to releasing his grip, only catching himself just before he would have fallen on his face on the floor. His deeper and dramatic voice from before replaced by his actual voice that sounded like he was perpetually in puberty, and worse still, he was wearing a fake fancy looking blindfold.
"Dude, you're ruining the vibe with that, what if I had another customer in here and you make me look fake?"
Kinwal asked storming over and ripping off the blindfold. He held up his hand for a fist bump and I returned it and said
"Relax, I brought you some medicine."
I pulled out my 2 drowsiness potions and handed them to Kinwal who held them like they were gold.
"Dude, you're a lifesaver, without a little of these I can't sleep."
Kinwal flew up to his room in the top area away from the front of the shop as I called after him.
"If you slept at night like everyone else you would be fine, you just refuse to sleep till 6 in the morning and don't have blinds."
Kinwal flew back down only just noticing Selene who was standing behind me as he looked over to me.
"Since you brought someone, it means that you need something, I'm assuming a potion of some kind?"
"Yep, looking for a basic energy recovery potion recipe."
I replied pulling out 20 gold coins as was Kinwals normal rate for hard-to-find information.
He swept the coins up with his tail as he started to look through his shelf of books where he kept notes on information, he scried using his abilities as a scryer.
"Oh Aiden, I heard a rumor about you, something about you joining an adventuring party with a full blood wolf named Jax and even getting two new members just a day ago. Does this mean your finally gonna become an adventurer?"
I felt a bit of a pang of annoyance as it seems that recently everyone is asking the same thing.
"It's not decided yet."
I said crossing my arms as Kinwal turned back pulling out a book that he had called Aiden Interest points. He flipped to a page and set the book down, showing a recipe for Energy potion that called for one-part Alleha and one part Borage. I quickly scribbled it down as Kinwal asked.
"I heard you and your team were handling a situation on the mountaintop, and I saw what looked to be a bunch of fire ghost things when I took a look."
"Yep, they are called ash spirits, made from people who died in a fire and carrying out their last strongest desire, but were more worried about the tree."
"What do you mean a tree, from what I saw there is a big, burned spot where the ash spirits are so I don't think there is many trees around them."
"There is one, there is this shrine on the mountain that's the ash spirits won't touch that has this tree that started bleeding and was surrounded by a containment barrier magic circle from what our mage friend said."
I heard a mumble behind me as I turned around looking at Selene as Kinwal heard better with his big ears, cocking his head and asked
"What's a Blood Trent?"
Selene stepped forward and said in a still muffled tone.
"It's an artificial monster that my teacher told me about once, a type of tree that has a root and infects other trees to become stronger and make minions. They were sometimes found in the layers of culists of Que-kai in Tessegog"
I tried to rack my brain for a moment if I had ever heard any storied about something like a Blood Trent as Kinwal and Selene seemed to strike up a conversation about tessegog. It didn't ring a bell, but before I turned to Selene.
"So do they need a living tree to spread or?"
"Selene nodded as a realization dawned on me. The Ash Spirits were not burning the trees for no reason, they were trying to stop the spread of the Blood Trent, but as they burned the circle bigger and bigger it's harder to keep up and that's why they had to stop a tree that was partially infected.
I turned to Selene and said
"We need to find the others right now."
She seemed bewildered but nodded as I turned to Kinwal
"Thanks for the info, I'll bring more drowsiness potions next time!"
Kinwal waved after me as Selene and I ran towards the library, if my hunch was right, we might only have a few days left before this becomes a big problem.