*Hello everyone! This is my first ever fantasy story that I decided to post here on the website, this story is a collaboration like story with someone really close to me, who is both my editor and someone very close to me and that we both hope you enjoy the story. Also this story shall contain all kinds of creatures, races and others. Other than that we hope you enjoy it and we shall see you all in the next chapter.*
Legends tell of many stories, true or false no one ever knew… but one legend has been told nearly from the beginning of time, the legend of a valley and palace bathed in a never ending twilight brought upon by a great power for some have said it was by the gods high above for they were disappointed by the ones that followed them.
However the truth is, no one really knew what had happened to the valley and palace but other have said it was created by the grief of it's prince, who lost the one love of his life. Many tales have derived from the legend as some tried to find the sacred place but came up with nothing, except a tale to spin of their adventures of their travels to the far ends of the planes of the very world they inhabit around the campfire or around a warm cup of mead at the local pub or inn they would be staying at.
However this legend is anything but false, a real place that had many villagers and followers of any religion, however we are getting ahead of ourselves, for that of every legend there is a hero and we shall start our tale there.
Amongst the large lands of oceans and plains was the deep forests, home to the many elves that lived in the lands where their villages thrived for the mighty race of hunters, driven with hospitality but others have said they were bigots and others have said they were self absorbed.
Some that have met the elves of the woods they were greeted with warmth while others with spite, but this is normal amongst the others as conflict joins in many ways however this is not the case, for deep inside one of the massive forests of the north was a small village of elves that were closing up their shops watching the twilight of night slowly spread across the sky with the sun gently setting far in the west.
The elves of the village were walking home, getting dinner started with their families and others were lulled into a gentle slumber except a little elf girl, no older than age of nine with light tannish skin giggling and jumping into her cushy bed, wrapping herself up in the green silk sheets that lied their with her parents walking into her room
"Mommy, Daddy? Can you please tell me a story?" The little one chirped as the two smiled softly, the mother gently sat down upon the foot of the bed "What story would you like to hear young one?" She asked in a gentle tone.
The little elf girl could only smile, holding the sheets of her bed when she spoke "Tell me about the tale of the twilight sanctum again, please?" She asked, giving puppy dog eyes with the mother and father only smiling and stifling a soft laugh
"Alright, sweetie alright we shall tell you that one again." Her father spoke sitting down next to her in a wooden chair, pulling a leather bound book from the small wooden bookshelf opening the book and flipping through the pages, soon clearing his throat
"Legends told of the sacred sanctum of twilight, for it's a mystery to many and a wonder to others. The legend tells of a great mage who challenged the gods to show dominance, to stand up to those who doubted him and wanted revenge to the gods who have forsaken him." Her father began, with the little one snuggling into the blankets feeling her eyelids starting to gently fall, slowly closing around her ocean blue eyes as her father continued the tale
"While others have spoken of a lonely prince, who had found the love of his life falling madly in love with the woman that stolen his heart but had fallen ill to an unknown sickness, trying to bring back his love he spent every resource in his wake to bring her back… but the illness had taken her life, stricken with grief he tried to bring her back but could never bring her back and with his heart filled with grief, fell into a deep depression."
The father read, with their daughter feeling slumber starting to take a hold of her with her father reading the final lines "The prince's condition became worse, with the grief and loneliness starting to take hold again he let his life slowly slip away in his sleep with the petals of a rose softly crushed in his hand, the same rose he gave the love of his life as some said that when his lifeforce ended the twilight started to take a hold of the land, slowly sucking the life away from the land and covering it in a never ending twilight, waiting for the two souls too intertwine again to lift the curse upon them." He read as the little one had soon fallen asleep, as the mother gently smiled caressing her daughter's cheek, gently brushing her silvery hair away and planting a loving kiss upon her forehead
"Good night my little angel, may your dreams be filled with adventure and happiness." She cooed softly to her daughter, hearing a gentle mumble from the slumbering little elf.
"G-Goodnight, Mommy and Daddy…" She softly mumbled, feeling their hearts softly fluttering the two slowly exited the room when the father blew away the flame of the candle out, letting the room get bathed in darkness and closing the door behind them.
The Next Morning (present day, nine years later)…
Time is an interesting concept if you start to rationalize it, bending it to your whim but it would start to slip away from others in nearly a blink of an eye but for the little elf girl, she had grown into a beautiful young lady that had an adventurous spirit slumbering deep inside her soul, both figuratively and literally for she was slumbering in her bed in a deep slumber, till the voice of her mother could be heard calling for her.
"Talia! It's time to wake up sweetie, breakfast is ready and you have a long day ahead of you!" Her mother called out making the young woman, known as Talia to slowly crack her eyes open to reveal the deep blue ocean eyes she always had, the silvery hair grown long, trailing down her back nearly to her waist, sitting up in her bed she began to stretch while stifling a yawn, hearing her mother calling for her again soon calling back in a light, yet tired tone.
"Coming mother, I will be down in a minute." She called back, taking the blankets off her body to reveal her light blue nightgown still somewhat hugging her body, showing off her figure a little to give leanince to her D-cup breasts as she quickly slipped her nightgown off and leaving her body bare, opening the drawers of her dresser she pulled out a pair of cloth panties and slipped them on her toned legs, setting them upon her waist over her hips and walking to her closet and pulling out a long light greyish shirt with a somewhat short brown open legged skirt that would end close to her knees and dark green leggings.
Slipping her clothing on, she pulled out a pair of leather boots and slipped them onto her feet and tied the strings tightly and running out of her bedroom, nearly tripping down the stairs and trying not to fall "I-I'm here mother… sorry for not waking up sooner." She apologized, as her mother gave a gentle giggle.
"It's okay, sweetie. Please sit at the table, breakfast is ready and today is a big day for you, you do know why?" She asked with Talia sitting down at the table, across from her father who was reading a paper from the town square thinking to herself.
"Hmmm… is it… a holiday of our ancestors?" She asked, smiling softly while the mother and father could only try to contain their laughter "No sweetie, it's your birthday today." The father stated, making Talia giggle "Oh right! I must have forgot cause of the whole village festival coming up soon, sorry." She giggled with a gentle blush forming upon her cheeks in embarrassment, her parents gently waving it off.
"It's alright sweetie, now you eat up. You have a very big day ahead of you." Her mother spoke, placing the plate of food in front of her that consisted of some pieces of toast with poached eggs, sauteed mushrooms and a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.
Talia smiled softly and thanked her mother for breakfast, starting to quickly scarf the food before her and downing the juice with a happy smile slowly plastering her face taking her dishes and placing them into the sink she turned to her parents and gave them a quick hug.
"Thank you Mother and Father, I need to get going or Ms. Elren will dock my pay." She admitted, quickly walking out of the kitchen and taking a hold of the coin purse on the nightstand in the hall, strapping it to her side as she walked out the home and into the village.
Slowly breathing in the air of the village she walked down the stone path, passing by her neighbors while saying hello to them and waving passing by the guards of the town standing in their armor with pride hearing the clinks of their boots as they marched, starting their patrol for the morning like every other day as there was some of the villagers putting decorations up in the town square when Talia soon reached the general store, quickly walking into the store.
"Sorry i'm nearly late Ms. Elren, kind of woke up late this morning." She apologized, as an elderly elf, between the ages of sixty to seventy, smoking from a wooden curved pipe soon softly speaking in a light, yet caring voice.
"It's quite alright Talia, just get your apron on and move the general goods from the back to the front." She asked, with Talia nodding and quickly walking into the back to get the apron on and ready to work, moving items from the back to the front being extra careful with the alchemy ingredients when she gotten a hand written request.
"Let's see… a half dozen sparrow eggs, two sacks of flour… one large sack of sugar, and… three jars of powdered chocolate… Okay, hold on a second mam." She said quickly walking into the back as Ms. Elren turned to the younger woman "So you ready for the big surprise party tonight?" She asked with the other nodding smiling softly.
"Mhmm, i'm just picking up the items my husband needed to bake the cake for the party tonight, I can't wait to see Talia's face tonight." The baker's wife had said, giggling softly while Talia walked over with a small wooden box filled with the items she requested.
"Here you go mam." She spoke, making the young woman smile "Thank you very much Talia, you were a very big help today. How much today Ms. Elren?" She asked while the older woman gently puffed her pipe, letting out a small cloud of smoke "It will be three pieces of silver." She said while the woman nodded, taking out a few silver coins from the pouch on her hip, placing them into the elderly woman's hand "Please, keep it." She said taking the box of items, walking out of the store while Talia walked back into the back Ms. Elren smiling softly to herself and puffing on her wooden pipe.
As time passes by, the sun began to set hours later slowly setting into a beautiful shades of yellows, oranges and reds while Talia untied the apron and placed it upon a small wooden table she always set it upon since she started to work for the general store, starting to walk out of the general store "Goodbye Ms. Elren, I will see you tomorrow." She called out into the store, hoping to hear back from her but was met with only silence when she stopped at the door.
"Ms. Elren? Are you there?" She asked, looking around the store to find it was empty 'Hmmm…. Maybe, she turned in for the night early?' Talia wondered to herself, starting to walk out and hoping that Ms. Elren locks up for the night walking down the stone path of her village until she heard a loud bang, making her jump nearly out of her own skin turning to find that the village was starting fire off fireworks and the lanterns starting to light up by fire, illuminating a large party in the town square "Happy birthday, Talia!" The village cheered and clapping happily for the young woman, soon slowly smiling seeing what was going on.
Walking into the large party there was cheers and music starting to play from the local musicians, gently strumming their lutes and harps, others keeping a beat with the drums and a few softly playing the flutes, Talia giggling when she bumped into her parents "There you are sweetie, you enjoy the surprise?" Her father asked, soon getting pulled into a hug by his daughter hugging him and his wife with the two wrapping their arms around her, holding her in a hug not wanting to let go but soon slowly let go as Talia was smiling softly gently kissing her parents on the cheeks.
"Thank you Mother and Father, i'm really glad you did this." She softly spoke, going towards one of the tables to eat some of the snacks, the mother and father watched their daughter while the mother sniffled softly feeling tears starting to slowly roll down her cheeks while the father held her close, gently wiping the tears away "Shh… shh… it's alright, my sweet… it's alright…" He cooed while his wife gently shook her head "I-It's not that my dear it's… our baby angel is growing up so fast…" She wheezed softly.
Her husband gently took a hold of her hand and cupped the cheek of his beloved wife, planting a loving kiss upon her lips and looking deep into her emerald green eyes "I know my sweet… even I am saddened by this, but we must let her go… it's what she wants and we can't stop her, we must let our little angel go out and explore the lands like she asked us… like we did before we settled down to raise a family, she will make a great adventurer and explorer like us before her." He reassured starting to feel a gentle smile starting to form, making his wife smile a little and wipe her tears away nuzzling into her husband.
"You are right my dear… she wanted to be just like us when she grown up… and now she is… I know i'm going to miss my baby girl… but I have to let her go and explore this mass world, and hopefully she will fulfil her dream, though sadly… I… I don't want to stop being a mother…" She softly spoke, making her husband gently smile "Then why don't we? After our little angel leaves, maybe we can try to give her a little brother or sister." He declared, making his wife's smile grow soon pulling her husband into a loving, passionate kiss.
The party continued without hinge, there was singing and games were played, Talia was happy that everyone was having fun as everyone was eating cake that the local baker made for the whole town when the village elders soon spoken "It is time for the gifts of the young one here." One of the elders spoke, with everyone soon getting their gifts ready some consisted of baked goods, while others were drawings and paintings from the younger elves of the village, bringing a gentle smile to Talia's face and to her parents also, a few other gifts were of money but she gently refused saying.
"I could never take your hard earned coin, it would never feel right." She explained with the smile she had, making the village elders smile a bit as they gifted her their gift of a leather bound journal with a fire red quill and a small well of ink "To take note of your journey, and of the people you meet across the lands." Another elder spoke who handed her the journal as the final gift came from her parents standing before her they smiled, soon taking from behind her father's back was a curved dagger with a carved crystal handle, sheathed in a leather sheath with a golden tree gently sprawling upon it.
"This dagger has been passed down for many generations, to the next and we want you to have it. To keep you safe and to have your family, always close to your heart." He spoke, slowly holding it out towards Talia when she could feel a sting in her eyes, gently sniffling when the tears started to roll down her cheeks soon walking to her parents pulling them in a hug, soon holding her close she started to cry softly into their arms almost not wanting to leave her family but in her heart she knew what she had to do, to follow her dream continuing to softly cry in their arms while they held her close.
The guests watched on only thinking one thing and that could only make them smile a little when Talia soon started to stifle her sniffles, gently wiping her eyes as her mother and father softly cooed to her, helping wipe the tears away.
"It's going to be okay sweetie… this is the next biggest part of your life, that you must do yourself. This is a big change, but you are a strong, though, independent woman that can accomplish anything you put your mind to and we want you to remember that always." Her father cooed, while her mother gently brushed her silvery hair away from her eyes.
"And you will always be welcomed at our door stop, no matter what for you are our daughter and family. We always look after family, and to always look for the good in the badest of moments." Her mother cooed, gaining a soft sniffle from Talia slowly nodding.
"O-Okay…" She gently spoke in a soft, cracking tone as her father placed the dagger in her hands when they slowly broke the hug while Talia wiped her eyes again soon smiling a little as the party began again, slowly dying down in time with Talia eating most of the desserts she was gifted, sharing them with everyone at the party and thanking everyone for the gifts for it was late at night when she laid down upon her bed letting her mind wander for that tomorrow she was leaving her home to explore the lands.
It weighed heavily on her mind, but she somehow slowly lulled herself to sleep with her parents walking into find she fell asleep, when they untied her boots and slipped them off her feet and set them beside her bed, gently draping the blankets over her sleeping form, watching her snuggle into the blankets smiling softly they plated a loving kiss on her forehead and walking out from her room.
The Next Morning…
Starting a journey or an adventure to some is a hard task to do so, if they have never been on one though to be extra careful sometimes for you would never know who you would meet on such a journey of the land you would explore, but that of yourself included for it would shape you of who you are and what you shall be when the journey is over.
Such as today when the sun started to peak over the mountains casting its gaze over all of the land, Talia slumbering in her bed with a small strand of drool running down from her lips and upon the pillow she laid her head on when the door to her room creaked open, to reveal her parents smiling towards their sleeping daughter walking inside the room, her mother gently sitting down upon the foot of her bed and placing her hand upon Talia's side.
"Sweetie… sweetie it's time to wake up…" She softly cooed, nudging her daughter lightly gaining a soft groan from her feeling her eyes softly fluttering open "H-Huh…?" She gently mumbled slowly shifting herself a little in her bed, facing her two parents smiling towards her "Good morning, sweetie." Her mother gently cooed, wiping the saliva from the side of her mouth with a blush of embarrassment forming upon her cheeks, making the two laugh a little but the father sat down next to her.
"Alright sweetie, now what did daddy say about boyfriends?" He asked as Talia huffed with annoyance, crossing her arms "If I want a boyfriend I will get one if I want to." She huffed, while her father smirked "Than daddy will break his legs." He voiced, keeping his smirk while his wife gently rolled her eyes "Just please be careful, sweetie. We don't want anything bad to happen to you out there in the great big world, that's all we ask." She asked, Talia nodding in understanding towards her mother.
"I know mother… and I will." Talia had said. Smiling softly the two gotten up, soon walking towards the bedroom door the father leaving a bag for her "Anyway sweetie, breakfast is ready. Make sure to pack only the essentials, and make sure to take your coin purse with you and the journal the elders gave you, remember what the adventures always say." She asked with Talia taking the blankets off of her, planting her feet on the ground and lifting herself from her bed.
"To document all kinds of adventures and tales to spin around the fire!" She declared with fire in her heart, making the parents smile only having one thing coming to their mind 'That's our little angel…' They thought, closing the door behind them leaving Talia to pack her things in the bag her family left for her.
Talia packed the cloth bag, placing her new journal with quill and ink well inside, and packing some extra clothing into it so that the inkwell couldn't be broke stuffing also her toothbrush inside, pulling the strings tightly closing it up and digging in her closet to find a bedroll with a blanket she wrapped it up and placed it on top, pulling the flap over and buckling it up she then slipped her boots on and tying them up tightly and getting up from the floor, quickly taking a hold of one of the straps she walked out of her room before soon walking back in for her coin purse and strapped it to her side.
Walking down the stairs she felt her nerves getting the best of her, trying to keep herself calm she sat down at the table with her parents seeing the breakfast before her she started to reluctantly eat the food set before her, both the mother and father could see her nerves getting her smiling softly the father spoke.
"It's going to be alright, sweetie… we were in your shoes at your age, too nervous to leave home to follow our dreams. But whence we left our home finally, leaving the outskirts of the village the weight started to slowly slip from our shoulders… the chains were shattered and we could move freely, and the same will happen with you sweetie…" Her father spoke, trying to cheer her up to try and help settle her nerves she had, slowly nodding and continuing to eat.
Talia slowly stood up from the table with the dishes in hand "Thank you for the breakfast, mother and father… And… I… I will miss you both…" She spoke in a soft, slightly cracking tone for she was trying not to cry when her mother gently took the glass and plate from her, setting them into the sink the two pulled their daughter into a final hug, nearly almost not wanting to even let her go but sadly in their minds they knew that had to, wiping the tears from her eyes they both planted a loving kiss upon her forehead.
"It's going to be alright sweetie… you are going to do greatly in this world, we just know it and that we want you to follow your dreams." Her father cooed to her, giving her a gentle smile to ease her woes sniffling softly Talia slowly nodded as he soon spoke up "And you will be the next best adventurer in this world, letting them know your name and being able to shout it to the heavens from the rooftops." He spoke, making his daughter giggle a little starting to smile a little.
'That's my little adventurer…' He smiled to himself when the two slowly let go of their daughter who soon slipped her bag on, gently breathing in and out trying to still the nerves she somewhat still had "Well… here I go…" Talia softly voiced, before her parents soon stopped her and handed her in hand the dagger they gifted her, looped on a leather belt to also have her coin purse on also.
"Not without this young lady." Her mother said, giggling a little as Talia thankfully took the belt and dagger, wrapping it around her waist and buckling it also looping her coin purse into the belt while her father was stuffing something into her bag "This is just some provisions to hold you over till you reach your first village." He spoke while the mother placed a compass into her hand and a map of the area "And a map to help you on your way, oh and we best pack some medicine as well with bandages, if you get hurt sweetie." She had said, while Talia softly groaned "Mother… Father…" She groaned, with the two smiling.
"Sorry sweetie, we won't keep you much longer." The mother said, with the father packing the medicine and bandages in a small satchel in her bag, starting to walk out of her home she opened the front door and started to walk towards the village's entrance while her parents called towards her from the home "Be safe on your travels! And watch out for strangers! Also make sure to write us every night!" They called, smiling towards their little girl all grown up bringing gentle tears to their eyes, watching her walk from the village.
Talia continued to walk, stepping through the deep woods nearly tripping over the large roots in her path, turning up some stones of the path but that didn't deter her when she slowly came to a stop before the edge of the forest, looking on towards the dirt path amongst some desolate stone walls slowly breathing in and out, taking a hold of the straps of the bag on her back and walking down the path feeling a large amount of weight falling from her shoulders with a gentle sigh escaping her lips, slowly forming into a small smile.
Journey's start and some come to close for others, coming to ends for a tale to spin for those who were willing to listen, to get a nice kick out of something fantastical but of others as a warning that could make your heart feel heavy, worrying for those who were affected but everything has a start to it for we follow Talia on the beginning of hers. She was walking down the dirt paths, gently humming to herself with a small spring in her step trying to determine where she was going, taking the map from her pocket she looked it over.
"Hmm… now, where to go…" She thought outloud, trying to determine where to head first when she heard the soft gallops of a horse, turning she saw a carriage coming down the path with an elderly looking man controlling the reins "Whoa there… excuse me young lady?" He asked, slowly bringing his carriage to a halt when Talia looked towards him "Yes um… sir? How may I be of assistance?" She asked in a kind tone, with the elderly human man speaking.
"Do you know where you're going? If not I know of a little village not far from here, about a couple miles east from here, I can take you there." He offered as Talia gently gasped and smiled happily "Really? Thank you very much mister!" She said happily, cheerfully climbing aboard next to the man who then whipped the reins, making the horses softly gallop off down the path.
Talia was softly humming to herself, watching the grassy fields softly blow to a gentle harmony of birds chirping in the early hours of the morn when the elderly man turned towards her "So what are you doing all the way out here young lady? Mighty different to see an elf all the way out here from the Blackroot forest, not many come from there except for trade." He spoke, striking up a small conversation with Talia who turned towards the man with a soft smile.
"Well, i'm going on an adventure, I wanted to be just like my mother and father when they were my age and explore the lands." She admitted, bringing a soft smile to aged man's face "Ahhh, so you are an exploring youngen? I used to be like you when I was your age, many ages ago… exploring these lands to find my place in this world, meeting many wonderful people and beautiful cities." He explained, with a nostalgic smile forming upon the aged face of his catching the attention of Talia.
"What was it like back then?" She asked eager to know more from the elder man "It was fairly different back then, the cities of now were much smaller and there was youngins trying to make a name for themselves… except that really haven't changed now did it?" He asked with a slight chuckle, following a small cough showing of his age as this brought some concern from Talia but he reassured her he was alright.
"Yup… been exploring for many years… seen most of the world except a few places, but that never dampened my spirit… brought this old girl with me, started my family in this and have them with me always… even in spirit…" He softly spoke, as Talia could feel her heart starting to become heavy from this, till the elderly man was smacked upside the head by someone from inside, speaking in a light feminine elderly tone "I'm not dead yet you old bucket of horse pucky…" The voice said, finding it to be the elderly man's wife when he spoke back.
"Damn it Octy! I told you about hitting me when i'm controlling the carriage." He shot back, turning back to Talia "I'm really sorry for that youngin." He spoke, with her waving it off with a slight giggle "It's alright, I still think it's really sweet though of you two exploring together… it reminds me very much of my mother and father." She had said, when the carriage was slowly reaching the village "Well, here we are youngin… maybe we will cross paths again." He said, smiling a little with Talia nodding "I hope so… how much do I owe you sir?" She asked with the man, slowly waving his hand away from it with a smile upon his lips.
"You don't need to little lady-" He said till she spoke up "But I insist, it's only fair." She said, reaching into her coin pouch and taking a few coins out, placing them into the elderly man's hand and climbing down "Thank you again sir!" She called, walking towards the village as he slowly looked into his hand to find two gold coins and six silver pieces bringing a soft smile to his aged face "At least there is still respect out there, and kindness of others…" He gently spoke placing the coins into his pocket and riding off again into the village.
The village itself was a quaint little one, that could house around possibly five hundred with a stable nearby with carriages staying towards the side of the village, and others inside Talia walking past the sign and looking towards it reading it in her mind 'Goldenleaf… interesting name for a village.' She thought to herself, walking along the paths hearing the sounds of the villagers chatting with one another, animals scampering past by with the laughter of children chasing after their beloved pets, but also the faint sounds of metal being struck by a nearby blacksmith.
Seeing the town she was amused by the village, giggling softly to herself while she looked around at the town square of the large market hearing people calling out about their wares from their stands, trying to gather travelers and others to come check their wares and to buy supplies that some would need while for others to buy jewelry and many others, Talia walked over to look over the many pieces of jewelry and gasps softly.
"These are beautiful…" She had said with a soft tone gently taking a hold of a silver necklace with a cut emerald set into it, she slowly let go of the necklace and walking away from the booth, however unknown to her someone was watching, monitoring her movements thinking to themselves 'Must be a tourist or something… easy picking…' The person thought, quickly moving from the alley and towards Talia.
Talia on the other hand was walking around the market, looking for a place to sit down for a small rest that was until someone bumped into her hard, making her fall flat on her butt with a soft groan "Ow…" She softly spoke quickly getting up and dusting herself off, but quickly found something was missing patting her side multiple times to find her coin pouch missing "M-My coin purse! It's gone!" She quietly screamed, looking around the area to find whoever stolen her money was now long gone feeling a depressed sigh escape her lips getting ready to sit back down on the ground, till something caught her eye as it was tracks from someone that was barefoot and following them.
It lead all the way up to where she was, starting to follow the footprints she weaved in and out of between alleys and around buildings till she found herself in a slightly darkened alleyway, hearing the faint sounds of dripping coming from the gutters high above feeling a chill rolling down her spine she walked deeper into the alley, gripping the handle of her dagger, getting ready to pull it from the sheath.
'This is what my parents always warned me about… J-Just need to really, really careful…' Talia thought to herself, slowly walking looking around to find it somewhat trashed seeing scattered papers and boxes, some broken barrels with shattered bottles treading carefully through the area till she slowly turned to find someone huddled into the corner of the alley, it looked to be a little boy no more than nine to ten years old.
He had medium long blonde hair that was very unkempt and little dirty, he had very light tannish skin, almost as if he was working in a field for so long in his life he was wearing what seem to be ash grey pants with a scarlet red jacket, the color fading slightly like it was nearly new but have been worn many times with a few patches upon it, including the elbows and was wearing an ascot, with a dark shade of blue that was frail as upon his head was a beaten up and dirty, fading black top hat but something had caught her eye the most, was he wasn't wearing any shoes for Talia had found her thief.
She slowly let go of the handle of her dagger, feeling her heart becoming heavy she reached out towards the boy "E-Excuse me? L-Little one? Where is your mommy and daddy?" She asked in a calm, caring tone when the little boy turned around, revealing to have light blue eyes, nearly as clear as the sky above them when he spoke with his eyes filled with different kinds of emotions, sadness, fear and what could be said was anger when he spoke to have a voice that surprised her.
"What did you just call me?" He asked in a deeper tone than she expected, getting up to his feet trying to keep his distance from Talia while she was trying to wrap her mind around what was going on and what just happened "W-What…?" Talia could only ask staring at the person before her, he looked to be very young but sounded like a teenager between the age of sixteen to eighteen.
The man looked at Talia with a questioning look, slowly walking around her and examining her while she was still shell shocked from what happened when the man soon spoke up looking her dead in the eye "You don't look very familiar, I'm guessing you're new in town? What brings you to this part of the village?" He asked as he circled her one more time before crouching back in his corner, lighting a small pile of twigs and leaves in a bowl to create a smoldering heat fire. Talia slowly shook her head, getting the words back into her voice when she softly spoke.
"Y-Yes… I-I'm new here… and the reason I am here is that my coin pouch was stolen, I was tracking the person and I believe they came this way." She said, gaining the attention of the man "I must find this person who stole it, that was everything I had that I earned and when I do I shall make them pay for stealing it." She declared, as the man gently nodded stoking the fire a little "Yeah, that's uh...quite the um situation you got yourself in…" He said as he felt and heard his stomach growl rather loudly as if he hadn't eaten in days. The man grabbed his stomach and hunched over a bit, causing a small pouch to fall out of his sleeve, much to the shock of Talia.
"My coin pouch!" She shouted, for the man tried to scramble and pick it up but his stomach had gotten the best of him as she picked it up with a look of anger painted upon her face "So your that thief who stole from me earlier!" She screamed starting to chew the man out.
"You think since I am new in this town it gives you the right and the goal to steal from those who work for their earnings! That is just despicable, I can not even see how someone like yourself could do so and another thing-" She yelled, but quickly stopped herself when she saw him curling up in the corner shaking in fear when she blew up on him, waiting for whatever to happen when a hard sigh escaped her lips.
"Either way… thank you for returning it." She thanked him, making his ears perk up a little going to speak but his stomach continued to growl loudly, making him groan a little in pain. Talia saw this, even though she was upset at the man before her she couldn't help but feel her heart feel like a knife going through it, reaching into her bag she slowly unwrapped the provisions she was given and took a small loaf of bread from it, handing it to the hungry man "Here…" She gently spoke.
The man slowly turned towards Talia, holding the bread before him as if it was a trick reluctantly taking the loaf of bread and continuing to hide his face in the corner, thinking to himself 'So this how I end up...just like mama and papa; starving, on the floor, begging for mercy….why is she being so nice…' As he looked at the bread in his hands, feeling the radiant warmth coming off it signaling that it was wrapped up right after it came out of the oven.
"Y-You know….you have a sick sense of humor, feeding me bread before killing me, knowing no one will miss me or bother to look…" the man said, unknowingly trailing off a bit as he tried to wipe away some tears without Talia noticing "K-Kill you…? W-Why would I do that? I just wanted my coin pouch back… the worse I would have done was maybe kick you in the family jewels if you tried something…" Talia admitted, with the man not saying a word when he took a soft, yet reluctant bite from the small loaf before scarfing down the whole thing and giving his mouth a soft wipe.
Sitting down in his spot he kept his gaze aimed towards the ground from her "Y-Yeah...W-Well…, in my experiences, no cares about you if you're lowly street urchin, the only thing people give you are dirty looks and comments...never once has anyone given me food…" He admitted, wrapping his arms around his legs as the fire slowly died out.
Bathing in the silence, Talia didn't know what to even say slowly squeaking out a small sentence "I…. I'm sorry that has happened to you…" She squeaked, feeling sorry for the man while he remained silent also slowly bringing his knees a little closer to his chest when he finally spoke again.
"Oh it's not all bad, I have all the amenities of a fancy home like you probably have, a warm fireplace, a bed, and hell, even my pet monkey, Jack." He said pointing to bowl in front of him and a small brown monkey sleeping on what appeared to be a pile of wet, molding hay with a leather sheet over the top and a small canvas sack cut down the seam to make a blanket.
Talia felt her heart sink deep into her chest, nearly into the bottom of her stomach while feeling her heart strings nearly getting ripped out of her chest when she wrapped her arms around the man, pulling him into a caring hug as the man really didn't know how to react soon feeling a soft heat appear before his cheeks as his head was between her cleavage, when she had soon let him go and took him by his hand when the little monkey had awoken and quickly climbed up his arm and sat down upon his shoulder.
"H-Hey! W-What are you doing!? L-Let go of me!" He tried to protest, his face still very warm and filled with a flurry of new emotions as Talia continued dragging him out of the alley "I'm not going to let you go, you're coming with me to an inn and nothing you can say will stop me. I can't let you keep sleeping in the alleys like this and panhandling people, just please… listen to me and let me do this, alright?" She asked, the man with still burning cheeks sighed in defeat and slowly nodded starting to follow her and trying to keep pace as they walked through the village and towards the large inn.
Smiling softly to herself Talia helped the young man towards the inn, finding it was a decently large place, the sign gently squeaking high above carved with a talon of an bird like creature but it's talons looked to be made of gold 'The golden talon inn… this village has some very interesting names.' Talia thought to herself walking towards the large wooden door, opening it with the sounds of music being played and faint cheers, the clinking of tankers being heard as Talia and the young man walking in when a woman with large cleavage walked past dressed in a moss green petticoat with a tight fitting white undershirt and caramel brown shorts with matching boots, walking past with a few tankards of what could be said was mead, Talia didn't really feel comfortable in this place as the young man next to her was blushing brighter than a tomato when a woman in a brown and white dress waved them over from behind the bar like area.
The two quickly scooted over as the woman gently leaned against the bar "Not from around here, are you?" She asked with Talia gently shaking her head while the man kept his gaze away from the woman, trying not to look at her large assets with his gaze at the bar counter while the woman smiled softly "It's alright, what can I do for you two?" She asked when the young man's stomach growled a little loudly, emanating he was still hungry with the bar maiden smiling "I'll get you two a menu then." She said walking off as the two sat down at the bar tavern counter, keeping their gazes from each other until the young man spoke up.
"H-Hey, I uh, never got your name...mines Fritz, Fritz Von Heifenberg, but uh, you can just call me Fritz…" The man, now known as Fritz, said smiling a bit while Talia gentle smiled turning towards Fritz "It's really nice to meet you Fritz… even after all the circumstances that have happened, my name is Talia, Talia Lyndis but you can call me Talia." She said, smiling softly while the maiden came back with two menus and placed the before them "Here you two are, will you two be having any drinks?" She asked with the two looking over the menus Talia softly spoke "I would like a glass of Blood rose wine, please." She had said with Fritz soon speaking up "I'll have a pint of mead." He spoke with the bar maiden writing down the drinks, walking off towards the cellar for the wine "So… what are you going to get?" Talia asked, with Fritz looking the menu over trying not to be greedy for too much food, he just shook his head not really sure what to order.
"Not sure… don't want to be too greedy on this." He admitted, with Talia rolling her eyes "And stealing my coin purse wasn't greedy enough?" She asked while Fritz felt a sigh escape his lips, wanting to get past that when the woman had came back "Alright, a glass of blood rose wine, with bottle and a child's mead for the lad." She spoke, setting the drinks down the bottle near Talia and the tankered in front of Fritz, who muttered softly under his breath "Damn youthful looks… more a curse than a blessing…" Fritz said taking sip of his drink.
Talia gently thanked the maiden, taking a sip of her drink as the maiden nodded walking towards the kitchen to see how everything was going with the two soon seeing the dishes they wanted when they called to her through the window "E-Excuse me? Miss?" Talia asked with the maiden quickly moving back out of the kitchen "Finally decided on what you wanted to eat, you two?" She asked, the two nodding "I will have the pan-fried angel fish." Talia spoke and Fritz speaking next "The basted nightmare lamb… please." Fritz softly spoken, trying to keep his embarrassment to a minimum with bar maiden giggling softly "Are you sure lad? That's a pretty big meal." She spoke, smiling softly when Fritz looked her right in the eye "I may look young, but i'm sixteen miss…" He stressed, trying not to blush for this surprised her and Talia, but the bar maiden couldn't help but smile.
"Awww! You look so young! It's so adorable!" She squealed, making him blush extremely deeply, darker shades than his skin could allow him when he slammed his head on the bar counter in embarrassment gaining a gentle giggle from Talia, the maiden soon walking off to get their meals while Talia gently poured more of the crimson wine into her glass and sipping the wine, feeling a faint blush starting form with some of her temperature gently starting to fan herself, tasting the faint hint of cinnamon.
Time passed for the two, eating their meal and sharing a few laughs as Talia continued to drink her wine much to the dismay of Fritz but tried to help her around when she needed it when one of the maidens showed them to their room "And here is your room, payment will be due when you leave and please do not make a mess of the bed or washing closet." The maiden explained, with the two nodding and walking into the room Talia setting her bag down by the door as Fritz was looking around the room to find the chandler high above them, with a couple candles that were light one upon a table with two chairs in the middle of the room as Fritz was placing a few logs in a fireplace across the room, but something caught Talia's eye was there was only one bed by the wall "This… could be a problem." Talia had said, placing the bottle of wine down on the table with glass sitting down.
Fritz looked towards the bed, but shrugged trying to light the fireplace "It's fine, I'll just sleep in the wash basin, I'm short, I'll fit." Fritz said calmly as he pulled out a couple of rocks from his pocket and struck them together to try and spark the firewood.
Talia looked towards the young man, trying to light the fireplace "A-Are you sure? I mean, I can sleep on the rug… you look like you haven't slept in a bed in ages." Talia said to the young man, with worry painted upon face Fritz waving it off soon getting the fire to spark, softly blowing upon it, the embers starting to set ablaze engulfing the firewood sitting near it.
He gently poked it to move the wood evenly, shaking his head sitting near the fireplace, watching the embers and flames gently dance slowly getting lost in his thoughts 'I can't remember the last time I even slept inside an actual house...let alone my own bed...plus, mama always said that you should give up your seat for a lady, why should this be any different…' Fritz thought to himself as he pulled out a small gold heart shaped locket and gold chain. The locket had intricate floral engravings on it, roses and vines intertwining. Fritz looked at it for a few seconds, sniffling softly as he quickly tucked it back into his shirt.
While this happened, Talia continued to watch over Fritz, not even sure how to talk to him but felt a gentle sigh escape her lips slowly picking herself up from the table and towards her bag, opening it up to take her quill and inkwell out with the journal that was under it, wrapped up in cloth.
Walking back to the table she placed the items down upon it, taking a seat down she unwrapped the journal and uncorking the inkwell opening the journal to the first page, dipping the quill in the ink she began to write down her thoughts '19th of may, year of 612… it's been a bit of a journey so far as I met some very nice people… and not so nice ones… but that didn't dampen the spirit of this adventure, being on my own is an interesting experience that my parents are not here but I will try not to think too much of it. The village of Goldenleaf is an interesting village, even getting pickpocketed but I have recovered my coin pouch and met an interesting young man by the name of Fritz, he's a little rough around the edges… but I can tell he has a warm and golden heart.' Talia wrote, gently blowing for the ink to dry and closing it, taking also a parchment from it and began to write a letter to her parents.
Fritz slowly looking towards Talia, watching her write raising an eyebrow towards this when he spoke trying not to scare her "Hey Talia, what'cha writing? If you don't mind me asking that is..." Fritz asked as he yawned softly, Talia gently smiling hearing Fritz talking when she turned towards him "Just writing a letter to my parents… telling them how my first day went." She said, letting it dry and corking the inkwell and taking a sip of her wine when Fritz noticed the bottle was starting to become halfway empty gaining some alarm from this, but kept quiet for now sitting down across from Talia, spotting a soft blush starting form upon her cheeks when she set the glass down and looked be burning up "Wooo… it's warm in here…" She had said, taking her coat off while Fritz started to blush, seeing that her clothing was starting to cling to her body trying to keep lewd thoughts out of his mind trying to speak up.
"T-Talia? A-Are you feeling okay? You're acting kind of strange…" Fritz said as he tried to avert his gaze just as before at dinner. Talia could only smile, sipping more and more wine gently burping with a soft giggle "I-I'm fine Frizz… D-Don't worry…" Talia admitted, softly slurring her words kicking off her boots towards her bed and slipping her skirt off with the belt that held her dagger and coin pouch, leaving them on the floor and sitting in her leggings and shirt, while Fritz on the other hand felt his eyes rolling in the back of his head, falling backwards in his seat and upon the ground feeling his mind starting to shatter as he was trying not to pass out.
The Next Morning…
Friends and partners are a aquired few in adventures and journeys, someone you can talk to and someone that would be there for when times have gotten rough but it all just boils down to is them splitting from each other in the end, as others will remain by your side for eternity to comfort and guide you on the path that they and yourself follow.
Inside the village it was the usual hustle and bustle that work needed to be done, the guards patrolling the town looking for criminals, vendors trying to sell their wares on travelers and the fellow residents they have come to call friends and family, while others stayed in for a while longer to gain much more needed rest from the heartache of the world before them as Fritz was no exception, sleeping in the inn with Talia feeling the memories of yesterday starting to flow back to him, making him slowly crack his eyes open to hazily look around the room to find that his pet monkey Jack was sleeping on a small cushion near the fireplace, but what confused Fritz the most was he was laying in the bed.
'That's weird...I could have sworn I fell asleep in the wash basin...how did I end up in….the….oh no…' Fritz thought to himself as he gently moved his head around to find that Talia was sleeping in the bed with him, but was still half naked and had her arms wrapped tightly around Fritz, pressing her D-cup breasts into his back. Fritz felt the familiar warmth forming upon his face, blushing redder than a tomato nearly close to a blood orchid, trying the best not to freak out while Talia was gently nuzzling into him, snoring very softly into his neck holding onto him, nearly for what felt like dear life itself softly mumbling "Mmmm… please dont go little bear…" She cooed in her sleep, while Fritz trying to figure out what to do, praying to the gods high above to let him live for another day while leveling his options of what to do.
'Okay, okay, let's see, I can stay here until she wakes up...but I don't see that ending well...I could try and wake her up...no, that's probably worse than the first idea...well I can try and wiggle out of her grasp, but she's got too tight a grip….welp, I'm screwed…' Fritz said in his head as he couldn't decide on what to do. While this mental argument was going on Talia was nuzzling into his neck with a gentle smile slowly forming "Mmmm… juniper berries…" She softly mumbled, with Fritz's blush not doing any better soon mentally freaking out and trying to wiggle out of her grip, acting like a worm or snake trying to squeeze through a glass tube when his head was soon pulled in deeper, nearly resting between her cleavage while Fritz cursed the gods for he was torn to what to do but slowly slipped his arms from under her arms, thanking everything above he slowly and carefully lifted Talia's arms off of him, but had reached a little too far when he was getting out of her grip, squeezing something very soft.
'Is that… her arm? It feels kind of odd for an arm… she's not even wearing a shirt right now…' He thought, giving it a few more gentle squeezes, hearing a faint moan coming from Talia when he slowly looked up to see where his hand was, finding that it was cupping her left breast when his mind registered everything soon jumping out of the bed, falling on his back and nearly his head "Holy sweet mother of the gods!" He screamed, waking Talia up "W-What's going on?! Have we been mugged?!" She screamed, looking around to find that everything was alright, getting up from the bed she looked over her items in the bag, letting a gentle sigh escape her lips "Everything's still here, what's wrong Fritz?" She asked, turning towards him to find Fritz… well on the fritz with a massive blush plastering his face speaking incoherently, with Talia gently shaking her head to then find the bottle of wine on the table was turned over and empty.
'Guess I drank a bit too much last night… I wonder what's wrong with Fritz… he seems, I don't know shell shocked I guess…' Talia thought to herself, gently placing her hands on her hips to soon find that she was in only her undergarments as it began to all finally click in her mind, soon feeling a massive blush forming upon her face as she nearly screamed her lungs out and covering herself with the blanket from the bed "Y-You little perv!" She screamed at Fritz, finally getting his mind on straight holding his hands up defensively "W-What?! I-I didn't do anything! I-I swear!" Fritz protested, not looking up at Talia as he was unaware she had covered up.
Talia still blushing, she huffed and took her bag walking into the washing closet, nearly slamming the door with Fritz breathing softly with a sigh while Jack gently sat down in his lap, making him smile a little and petted the little monkey's head "At least there's you little buddy, you've always been there for me, always by my side even if I can be a child sometimes…" Fritz said as Jack chirped and screeched in reply. Fritz chuckled softly and continued to play with Jack "Yeah, yeah, well I need to get an actual job besides shoveling horse shit or cleaning chimneys before I can think about getting one of those, not that I would know the first thing about doing that…" He said looking down a bit, when the door to the washing closet opened to reveal Talia wearing a light grey shirt with brick red leggings with her boots, soon setting her bag down on the table and picking up the clothing she had on yesterday she turned towards Fritz and gave a sigh.
"For the circumstances of what happened… I forgive you, for now… And I am sorry that I freaked out like that." Talia apologized with Fritz, slowly nodding in understanding but Talia shot back "However, you do that again I will not let you off so lightly." She spoke in a strict voice, as Fritz could only smile a little, softly speaking as he cradled little Jack "Thank you, Talia...and I'm sorry too, for purse snatching, the whole seeing- er, nevermind, point is I'm sorry." Fritz said as Jack chirped again causing Fritz to blush a bit and flick Jack's head gently "Shut it you, I'm already deep enough in this rabbit hole, I don't need you making it worse…" Fritz said gaining a soft giggle from Talia "Well either way… let's get something to eat, you two must be hungry." Talia invited the two as Fritz was going to protest, she interrupted him and started to drag him out with Jack chirping and screaching a little, keeping a hold of Fritz when he shot a glare at him.
The two walked down the stairs of the inn, seeing that it was semi-quiet down stairs as bar maiden walked over to them "You two looking for something to eat?" She asked, the two nodding as she brought them to a table with menus "Anything to drink first?" She asked, the two soon speaking up "Blood Orange juice, please." The two spoke at the same time, looking towards each other while the maiden giggled a little walking off.
The two remained in silence for a few minutes, waiting for their drinks until Talia slowly spoke up "So… what are you going to do after breakfast?" She asked, with Fritz looking towards his possibly only friend he had in a hundred mile radius he slowly let his gaze fall towards a window, looking out towards the meadows on the outskirts of the village "Honestly, I don't know, probably see what's left for me here and then move on to the next town, set up a spot like I had and lather, rinse, repeat." Fritz said in a slightly depressed tone, Talia looking towards him with worry "T-That's it? Y-You drift from town to town? Living all by yourself, and having no one with you?" She asked, Fritz nodding and turning towards her trying not to show emotion but Talia could tell that he was depressed by it.
"Yeah, pretty much. I don't have any family or friends to lend me resources or shelter, just the clothes on my back and whatever I can find or gather along the way." Fritz said as he felt a sting in his eye as he rubbed it gently, not wanting to be seen shedding any kind of tears. Talia could feel her heart strings getting ripped one by one, when she slammed her hands down on the table, shocking and nearly making Fritz fall back soon speaking.
"But you do Fritz! Y-You have… Well… You have me…" Talia softly spoke towards the end, trying to hopefully cheer Fritz up as he was still slightly shocked at this when he slowly spoke up to her "W-What? I thought you were just being nice to me out of pity, but you actually want to be friends?" He asked with a hint of hope trailing in his voice as Talia gently smiled, soon nodding "I do actually Fritz, you're a very kind guy and yes we may have gotten on the wrong foot about a lot of things… but you're very sweet and I can't see you living out on these streets anymore, it makes me really worried for you." She admitted, as Fritz couldn't believe what he was hearing but was hoping for the best, feeling a little well, safer near her as her smile brought him a little more comfort when he spoke.
"T-Thank you… you're the only friend I've had since I started living on the streets… you have no idea how much this means to me." Fritz softly spoke with Talia smiling "You're welcome, now let's get some breakfast." Talia declared, Fritz nodding as the two ordered their food and happily eating together.
The two were back in their room, belly's full of food with Fritz watching Talia pack her things with a bit of a question on his mind "So Talia, now that I'm joining you, where are we headed next? Any ideas?" Fritz asked as went to the bathroom to wash his face with Talia gently laying the map down on the table "Well let's see… Were here in Goldenleaf, and the next village is about… probably ten to fifeteen miles from here, there is two villages one called Gryphon Falls the other is called Blackpool, not really sure for why that village is called that." Talia admitted, with Fritz wiping his face off "Alright, works for me, I'm all set to leave whenever you are." Fritz said going off the fact that he had nothing to take with him regardless.
Talia soon rolled up the map before shaking her head "Not like that you ain't." She had said, with Fritz looking at her a little oddly when she continued "We're going to the market and getting you some new clothing, you look like you haven't had any new clothing in ages." Talia had said slinging her bag onto her back, until Fritz softly spoke "Well… I have been on the streets since I was nine so…" He softly spoke, not really wanting to speak further as Talia could see the pain in his words not wanting to bring it up further she started to move towards the door "O-Okay… just follow me please, we're burning daylight." She declared, walking out the door waiting for Fritz to follow for which he did and walking down the stairs of the inn watching her pay for the room she had rented and walking off into the market, quickly following pace with Jack sleeping on his head, underneath his hat with his head poking out the front.
Walking amongst the large market square Fritz was looking at some boots that were on display in the booth, looking over the craftsmanship slowly picking up a pair of leather boots with a strap across the front to tighten them turning towards Talia who was looking over a large variety of jackets in another booth "Hey Talia, what'cha think of these boots?" Fritz asked holding the boots for her to see. She turned to see the boots with a smile starting to form "Those are perfect for you, it would be better than having nothing on, your feet could get them really cut up or something, you know?" She had said, looking over the jackets and picking one out with Fritz nodding, seeing the jacket closely similar to the one he was wearing but a lot more newer he spoke up with his opinion.
"Oooh, now that's a nice jacket and it looks a lot better than the one I have now, you find anything else by any chance?" Fritz asked smiling a bit while Talia gently shook her head "Sorry, I really didn't except the jacket, I wanted you to chose it for yourself cause I didn't really know what you like." Talia admitted, Fritz just gently shrugged keeping the boots on hand he slipped them on his feet and tightened the buckles, smiling a little to himself he walked around a bit "Much better…" He sighed softly, not really wanting to take the boots off with the relief he was feeling not walking on dirt and rocks barefoot anymore while Talia turned to see that they were knee high like boots making her giggle softly "You seem really happy not walking around barefoot anymore." Talia pointed out, while Fritz chuckled "True, but if you went walking around barefoot as much as I have, you would understand." He admitted.
Talia could only smile and roll her eyes, looking for a bag for Fritz when he looked around a little more, till he found something that caught his eye that was displayed on a manikin, it was a pair of light tannish pants with white undershirt and black ascot with over it a black coachman's jacket with silver buttons. Fritz was looking over it, when Talia spoke up "Interesting clothing, never thought you would like something like that." Talia admitted, with Fritz looking towards her "Well I may be poor, but I would like to look nice." He told her with Talia bending down a little with her hands on her knees "You just want to look fancy and cute." She giggled making Fritz face scrunch up, as Talia could only giggle madly seeing how adorable it was soon standing up.
"I'm kidding, i'm kidding… jeez, learn to take a joke silly." She said walking to another booth and paying for Fritz's boots while he gave a sigh, thinking to himself in deep thought 'I wish she didn't have to waste all her money on me, I gotta figure out a way to pay her back eventually…' He said in his head, feeling a bit guilty. Talia on the other hand was trying to figure out where to go next, setting the coins down for the clothing Fritz had his eye on she felt a gentle sigh escape her lips 'This journey isn't starting off like how I wanted it to be…' She simply thought, slowly turning towards Fritz with a gentle smile starting to form 'But at least I have a friend with me along the way…' She thought with genuine happiness, walking off and finding a simple bag and a bedroll for Fritz, talking to the merchant and paying for it and taking the outfit also and handing everything to Fritz who looked at it oddly till she spoke up "Go get changed in the Inn, i'm gonna get us some extra provisions, alright?" She asked, Fritz was going to speak but instead nodded and headed to the inn with something still snagging his mind like a snare trap.
'Why is she being so nice to me? I mean, yeah we're friends but this seems a bit excessive… something about it just doesn't add up…' Fritz thought to himself as he walked through the market and back into the inn. Over with Talia, she was heckling with the baker over food prices but sighing handing the man some coins for a few loafs of bread, storming out of the building "That was high robbery! Twelve copper for a loaf of darkmoon bread, I could have just bought the stuff and made my own!" She argued with herself, walking past a vegetable and fruit stand slowly stopping to see different kinds of fruits and vegetables "Whoa… they all look so fresh." She admitted with the farmer giggling to herself "You can say that, to let you in on a little secret the trick is to keep them cooler and fresher, I use ground up teeth of an ice razor, nasty little beasts." She spoke with Talia looked at her with awe.
"An ice razor? What are they?" She asked with the farmer smiling a little "They are serpent like creatures of the snowy mountains towards the north, legends say of spirits living there that freeze weary wanderer's, turning them into ice razors, you can hear them because of the small sound they make of rushing snow and water, but also float in the air for that the ice they contain makes them lighter than normal snow, but have a strange kind of venom like a snake but instead of killing you it makes your whole body and blood freeze up." The woman explained with Talia nodding and starting to write all this down in her journal, something to hold onto for later while the woman spoke.
"Anyway, these fruits and vegetables are like normal ones you eat, though some help with small quirks and help keeping the little ones healthy, like skin care, eye development and even height and bone development." She said as Talia giggled and spoke "I already know someone who could use that." She admitted when right on que Fritz had walked over, wearing his new clothing when he spoke up "Who could use what?" Fritz asked curiously looking up at Talia, who giggled softly and shook her head "Nothing, just getting the last of the supplies we need before we head off to the next village." She admitted, lying a little grabbing a few vegetables and fruit, hearing the price total and nodding handing the coins to the lady, wrapping them up in cloth and taking the food and placing them into her bag, slinging it onto her bag while Fritz did the same and the two hitting the road down the way of the other side of the village.
The two walking down the road with Fritz catching up quickly to Talia "So… where are we going?" He asked with Talia smiling softly towards her friend "Were heading to Gryphon Falls, it's a little closer and it's straight across from Blackpool, it still sounds really creepy but i'm sure it will be interesting. But I want to see what this Gryphon Falls is about, maybe we'll see a gryphon!" Talia said happily, making Fritz chuckle softly walking with his friend "I'm glad to see you're excited, I've always wanted to travel for pleasure rather than for survival….speaking of which, I still feel bad you spent so much money on me, past events aside." Fritz said walking with his hands in his pockets and genuine remorse in his voice, Talia gently smiling and patting his head "Hey it's alright, I only did what I thought was right. I may have spent like nearly almost all of my coins, but it's alright i'm just glad to have a friend with me to travel together, now come on, no traveling stone gathers moss!" She cheered happily, walking down the path only bringing a small smile to Fritz's face, "It's a rolling stone gathers no moss." He said, correcting Talia but making her giggle while he was thinking to himself.
'It's been so long since I had a friend besides Jack, I almost forgot what it felt like...I think I'm going to enjoy this journey." Fritz thought to himself as he smiled warmly, trying his best to keep up with Talia. Every journey has a beginning and every journey has an ending, but in between the two of a tale is that of danger and fear, for the primal instincts of what we contain far deep in our souls, secrets, fear, loathing, mourning and even betrayal, but that is getting way ahead of ourselves young ones. For that all of us have personal goals and gains for us all, and we try to strive to them through a journey of self reflection and adventure to find what we truly want in the end.
*Hello all, just a small heads up the story may seem like a monster of the week kind of like story, where the characters go to town to town each week, but it's not really. This story is an ever expanding exploration type of story of each of the creatures, lands and everything about the world and the mystics that surround them, for it will have themes of family, drama, healing and many other including love. Now that's out of the way, we hope you enjoyed the chapter and we shall see you all in the next one.*
