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Chapter Twelve
A Day in the Market
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Ella made a curious sound in the back of her throat as she watched Rosalie pack a small satchel and throw it over her shoulder. The tactician turned to the archer, whom blinked curiously, nodding at the satchel.
"I'm heading to the market. Frederick has called off training for the next few days, so I figured it would be a good time to go into the market to see if there's any new books or more powerful tomes."
Rosalie found out that, since there was to be a march soon, Frederick had called off training for the next three days, giving the Shepherds time to themselves before leaving. This gave Rosalie a sense of peace, considering that she barely had time to sleep with all the reading she had been doing on strategy and Regna Ferox's layout and terrain. With the next couple days, she planned on delving into more studying... and maybe if she ever came up for air, she'd sleep.
"A lot of the Shepherds are going into town today." Sumia mused. "Getting weapons forged, saying goodbye to family who lives in the capital, stuff and such like that which always happens before a march." Rosalie smiled sadly, knowing they were simply saying goodbye in case they were killed in battle.
Ella tilted her head to the side, reaching for Sumia's hands and tracing a question.
"Oh, no. My family lives near the border." she smiled slightly at Ella.
"Do you want to come?" she had asked. Ella smiled, nodding happily. Rosalie smiled fondly back, then turned to Sumia, whom was watching the two.
"What about you, Sumia? Want to join us on an all girls outing?" Sumia smiled lightly, but shook her head.
"Not today, unfortunately. I planned on caring for and giving Lovebirds a bath. She would probably appreciate it."
"Suit yourself." Rosalie shrugged. "We'll be back soon." Sumia smiled lightly, waving as the two walked outside. Almost immediately after leaving the grounds, Rosalie was hit with multiple smells and sounds of the marketplace. Quite honestly, she was surprised to find it bustling with people, vendors yelling out products while shoppers haggled about prices, despite the cold chill in the air and the early hours. She took a cautious glance at Ella, who was wide eyed and grinning.
"This must all be new to her," Rosalie thought, recalling her origins in the Farfort and how they arrived here rather late, when the shops had closed and all but a few homeless beggars have gotten inside the warmth of their houses. The girl probably hasn't seen this many people gathered in her life.
"Do you want to go back and get a cloak or something?" she asked, taking notice of the few stares Ella was already receiving. Despite the chilled air, Ella walked around in her newest lavender archers uniform, ordered courtesy of Frederick, symbolizing her entrance to the Shepherds. While wearing that alone caught her attention, the blue hair wasn't helping. Ella turned, cocking her head, then reaching for Rosalie's hand.
"I don't get cold often. Ma says it's 'cause my hearts to warm. But thanks for your concern!" she smiled warmly while Rosalie shook her head.
"No, I meant to cover yourself a bit." she elaborated. "People are already staring." Ella glanced about her, then shrugged, as if askingWhat's a Shepherd to do?. Rosalie looked skeptical. "Are you sure?" Ella smiled, waving her hand dismissively. The tactician sighed. "Okay, then. I need to get a few journals for when I take notes, and then I might stop by the bookstore or a magics shop. Are you interested in anything?"
Ella shrugged, looking about curiously. Rosalie blinked, then shook her head.
"Somehow, you're just going to wander off without me, aren't you?" Ella shook her head in response to that. Rosalie sighed, wishing that the girl could talk. For some reason, whenever she talked around her, she felt rather awkward, like she was gloating or something. "So..." Rosalie said as they walked into the throng of people. "How long have you been in hiding? You, specifically?"
Ella jolted at that, snapping her gaze to her.
"What?" Rosalie asked. "Are you really a refugee?" Ella didn't move for a moment, then nodded. Her brow furrowed, as if she wanted to say something else, but couldn't quite figure out the gestures for it. Rosalie smiled.
"Maybe we should get you a journal, so you can write what you think. I'm assuming you can write, since you trace words with your finger, right?"
Ella's face lit up at this, nodding her head. Rosalie smiled at her and turned for a moment, trying to see if there was anyone who was willing to give them directions of some sort. She felt a pull on her cloak, and looked down, seeing the dirtied face of a child with hair so long, she was having trouble discerning if it was a boy or a girl. The child was wearing rags, not even close to being warm enough for the winter months to come, and had but only socks, one with a hole so his big toe stuck out, on his feet. He looked rather small, maybe around four or five.
"Ya look lost, miss." the child said. "Lost and stupid, standing here in the middle of the street."
"I apologize." Rosalie stated, feeling slightly annoyed that the child called her stupid. "Could you give me and my friends directions, then?"
"Information is money, miss." the child said again, backing off a bit. Rosalie followed, pulling Ella along. "You a tourist or somethin'?"
"No, just a bit new." Rosalie responded. "I need directions to a place that might sell journals or something of the sort, then to a bookstore and a magics shop."
"Thirty bronze per a set of directions."
"That's outrageous." Rosalie responded. "Fifteen."
"Thirty." the kid responded. "I don't have all day, miss, and I'm guessing you don't either. You can either wander around lost or give me my money so I can go on my way." As Rosalie stood, flabbergasted that she was haggling over the price of simple directions with a child, Ella tapped Rosalie on the shoulder. Rosalie looked over her shoulder, blinking at her. She held up a two, then formed her fingers into an 'O' shape. Then she pointed to a shop nearby. Rosalie saw the sign, a loaf of bread on it, indicating it was a bakery.
"Twenty," Rosalie shot back. "Per a direction, plus three bread rolls. Deal or no deal?" the kid's eyes snapped up at the prospect of food, and for the first time, Rosalie saw a starving child, the cockiness gone. The child blinked, then nodded.
"Twenty." he, or so she assumed, stated. "And the food." Rosalie pulled out three gold coins from the pouch on her hip, passing them to the kid. He widened his eyes at the currency. "Gold...?!" he whispered, looking up at them. Saying nothing else as he carefully tucked the gold into a ragged pocket, the trio then headed towards the shop, the kid practically bouncing with excitement. Rosalie turned to the two.
"Do you want to go in or should I?" Rosalie asked. Ella shook her head, grabbing Rosalie's hand and writing. "Allergies." Ella nodded. "Okay, then. You two stay out here while I get the bread." the child looked up oddly at her.
"Why?" he asked.
"She's allergic to something inside. It would make Ella really sick." Ella nodded in confirmation. The child blinked at this.
"It sucks you can't eat bread, miss." he said, addressing Ella. "You'd never get to eat sweet rolls... or muffins... or donuts... or cakes..." his eyes glittered at the prospect of all the sweet delicacies while Rosalie smiled.
"Keep each other company, I'll be right back."
By the time Rosalie came back, she spotted Ella, only because of her blue hair and strange attire, with the kid a few stalls down, the child now wearing a rather large and warm-looking sweater. Ella was passing a large cup to him. Rosalie approached them, faintly seeing steam rising out of the cup. He took a sip, eyes lighting up with delight as Ella ruffled his hair with a small smile on her face.
"Hey, you." she said kindly, holding out the bag to him. "Don't be running off without the rest of your payment." He grinned widely, reaching out and taking the bag, then plopping down on the curb with the cup in hand.
"Thank you kindly, miss!" he said. Setting down the bag, he pointed down the street. "Continue down that street, then turn on your first right. There should be an artists shop on that street, where they sell journals and ink and paint and such like that. A little farther down the street should be about three bookstores, all focussing on different subjects: One on fiction, one on history and english, and the third on arithmetic and science. If you take the second road on the left, you'll find antique shops, and they might have old scrolls or somethin' of the sort, if you're interested. As for the magics shop," he pointed behind them. "Go that way, fifth street on your left, close to the fish vendor. That street is where the blacksmith and magics shop is, as well as vendors selling more foreign weapons from Plegia and Valm." he took a sip of his drink, which Rosalie assumed was hot chocolate. "Good enough?"
"Plenty." Rosalie nodded. "Thank you." He nodded, then grinned, pulling out one of the large bread rolls.
"Come back to me if ya need any more directions!" he said with a mouth full of bread. Rosalie nodded, walking away with Ella on her tail. Following his directions and about to turn, she stopped.
"I forgot to ask his name!" she exclaimed. Ella smiled lightly, the grabbed her hand, turning it upward.
"Her name," she wrote out. "Is Lydia."
o.0.o.0.o
Rosalie shifted uncomfortably as people continued to stare at them, or more specifically, Ella.
Rosalie knew that most people stared at her for her own strange looks and the reputation she had unwittingly built upon becoming the tactician of the Shepherds, as well as getting a few sneers from people who doubted her abilities, but this was almost nothing compared to what Ella got. Not only did people stare at her simply because of her odd hair and eye color, but also because of her strange dress and chipper personality.
On top of that, Rosalie found that this girl was undoubtedly beautiful, approachable, and near exotic. Rosalie swore to Naga that if one more man approaches them simply to talk to Ella, she would personally fry them with her thunder tome. How Ella simply managed to just shake her head and smile, she'll never know.
"Doesn't it bother you?" Rosalie asked as another man walked away, rejected. "You've got men twice, even three times your age are approaching you like it's completely normal. Aren't you angry about it?" Ella simply smiled, reaching for the journal and pencil that she had boughten at their stop a the art store, writing out her response.
"I know I'm safe." her shoulders shook as silent giggles came up. She glanced over her shoulder, Rosalie following her gaze. She saw a head of purple hair and cat ears sticking out of the same head, making the person easily distinguishable in the crowd.
"Demyan is following us?" Ella shrugged, smiling.
"Perhaps, perhaps not. He may or may not. He's probably just goofing off. Plus, he's sweeter than you think." she glanced back at him. "He's just looking out for me." she wrote out. She smiled at Rosalie, snapping her journal shut, then walked into a nearby shop. Rosalie blinked, unsure what she was planning, when she came back out with something hidden in her hand.
She then pointed to her eyes. Rosalie blinked, then shifted the weight on her feet.
"You want me to watch?" Ella smiled mischievously. Rosalie smirked. "Okay."
o.0.o.0.o
"Fiiiiiiiiiish~." Demyan hummed under his breath, his tail flicking back and forth happily under the black cloak he was wearing to keep warm as he studied the merchandise. The merchant seemed weirded out slightly by his ears and tail, though said nothing as he tried to pawn the food to him.
"Sir," the merchant said, growing tired of Demyan's gawking and fruitless attempts to sell his products. "Are you going to buy anything or are you going to continue to gawk at my merchandise?"
"Hmmm~. I don't think I can purchase anything~. I'll have to wait until they serve use fish in the garrison~." Demyan sung under his breath, then looked up. "So, hey, do Shepherds get a special discount?"
"Do you expect me to believe you're a Shepherd?" the merchant asked skeptically.
"You don't believe me? Meeeeean."
"Buy something or leave."
"But-"
"Buy something or leave. You're driving my other customers away." Demyan frowned, his ears flattening against his head in depression.
"Fiiiiine." he said. sulking away, pouting slightly that the salary that he's earned thus far blocked him from buying that huuuuuuuuge salmon that the vendor had. Oh, he would've enjoyed that... but fish was so out of season that it was sold at high prices and he didn't want to waste his money when he could've gotten it for free for dinner.
His gaze was cast down to the ground as he felt something skitter across his foot, and he frowned when he saw a mouse run to his right. A mouse. Ran across his foot. He hated mice.
He pounced after it, frowning when he lifted his hands and saw it missing. Had it gotten away? Not on his life! No foolish mouse escapes the great Demyan!
He chased the annoying creature around a corner, intent on getting it. So intent, that he did not notice the mouse had run into an allyway and into the palm of another person. As he pounced and missed, he bumped into said person, decided to pat the top of his head, like he was a... a common house cat or something. That annoyed him even more than mice, for he was a mighty cougar of the Laguz Beast tribe!
"Stop it!" he said, smacking the hand away. "I am a cougar of-" he was cut off as an open journal was shoved in his face. He blinked, reading the words on it.
"Laguz Beast tribe. We know, Demyan." he blinked, his eyes traveling up to the face of Ella, who grinned at him. The mouse was on the palm of her hand, and Demyan saw a long string attached to it. A toy. He pouted slightly as Rosalie stepped up behind her.
"Are you shopping as well?" she asked.
"Was." Demyan said as they walked out of the ally way, trying to find a place to sit and rest. Eventually, they found a small pub to stop for a drink. "I kinda browsing about, you know? Got no immediate family in this country and no reason to forge any weapons since I have, you know, claws. Figured I'd learn my way around town, but got sidetracked by the delicious fish..." he frowned at this. "I want fish."
"And you say you're not a cat." Rosalie teased after they placed their drink orders. Demyan's nostrils flared at this.
"I. Am. A. Cougar." he responded. Ella shook her head, silent giggles shaking her shoulders. "So what're you out and about for?"
"No immediate family for either of us, or at least as far as I know of." Rosalie said. "I came out to purchase some things before the march. Frederick has been weighing us down with so much training lately that I've been killing myself trying to research Ferox. I plan on staying up late tonight and then holing myself in the library for research purposes." Demyan stared flatly at her.
"Research purposes? Jeez." he leaned back in his chair. "Tis the life of a tactician, I suppose. Don't you get tired of reading all those books?"
"Of course not!" Rosalie responded passionately. "You can learn so much from books, and I need to learn as much as possible! We're going into new territory, and have no idea what to expect. I need to at least be able to have an advantage of a map or something of the sort in case there is a battle!"
"I don't know why everyone is so worried." Ella wrote. "We're asking them for an alliance. How do we pose a threat?"
"Well, it is Regna Ferox." Demyan responded. "I hear rumors they're more of an 'act first, speak later' kind of country."
"Meaning they'll probably, no,will try to kill us before we even get a chance to speak." Rosalie said. She ran her fingers through her hair, letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Excuse me," the trio looked up, seeing a man dressed lavishly, not enough to show he was a noble or someone of important status, but enough to show that he had money. "I am the manager and owner of this restaurant. May I inquire on how you are enjoying your stay?"
"Oh, it's nice, thank you." Rosalie said.
"Though are drinks are taking a bit long." Demyan said jokingly. "Might want to fix that." the man laughed.
"Of course, of course." he clapped Ella and Rosalie both on the shoulder at the same time, causing the two women to blink curiously as Demyan narrowed his eyes. "Please, continue to enjoy your stay. Your waitress will be with your drinks shortly." he turned to walk away, then Demyan abruptly yelped.
"What in Naga's name...?!" he turned.
"Sorry, mister." Ella smiled at Lydia, who was still wearing her oversized sweater. "I had to see if it was real."
"Of course it's real!" Demyan snapped, gripping his tail protectively in his hand. "Don't touch it." Lydia blinked, then pointed on his head.
"Those real too, mister?"
"Yes!" he blinked as he watched the child scramble onto the chair next to him. "Oh gods, don't pull them too."
"I don't wanna. I want to tell you a secret." Lydia said, leaning towards him and cupping her hands around her mouth. Demyan blinked in surprise as the child leaned back, grinning.
"I'm sorry, we'll be canceling our order." he shouted back to the bartender, grabbing Ella's wrist and pulling her up. Rosalie widened her eyes in surprise. Lydia just looked smug. "Come on, Rosalie. I just realized I'd promise to visit some friends somewhere else."
"Okay." Rosalie said, gathering her purchased items. "I apologize." she said to the manager, whom had turned to address him. "He tends to be forgetful." she, in turn, grabbed Lydia's hand and followed the two out, Demyan still gripping Ella's wrist. Once outside and a bit of a distance away from the establishment, Rosalie turned to him.
"What was that about?" she asked as Demyan. The Laguz said nothing for a moment. Lydia pulled on his cloak.
"Give that to her." she pointed to Ella. Lydia then turned to Rosalie. "You pull your hood up. I dunno if they're following us or not." Demyan blinked at this, unhooking his cloak and draping it over Ella's shoulders, then pulling the hood over her head.
"You're stupid to be walking around like this. Capital of Ylisse or no, there are bad people everywhere." Lydia said as Ella blinked curiously, pushing the hood out of her eyes.
"You haven't answered the question yet." Rosalie said. Demyan turned to her.
"Ask sprout over there." he said, pointing to Lydia, who had her arms crossed smugly in front of her.
"It's Lydia, Kitty-Cat." Lydia responded. Demyan narrowed his eyes.
"My name is Demyan, and I'm a cougar." Demyan responded. Lydia ignored him.
"It's an old trick, I've seen it done before." Lydia responded. "Sometimes, pubs and inns will run a blackmarket slave business. The trick goes like this: The waitress will approach the table and take an order, like usual. If the manager or owner, who usually runs the shady side of the business, takes interest in the people at the table, he'll approach them, talk to them, then have some sort of code to show they're interested in a person or people at the table. The waitress pays attention to the signal, then drugs the drink of said person and waits for it to take effect."
She turned to Ella.
"I know that the particular signal in that one is clapping the guest on the shoulder. I don't know if he was targeting just you, Miss Ella, or all of yous, but I figured," she opened one eye lazily. "I owed ya a favor for this sweater, Miss Ella." Ella smiled lightly, scribbling something in her journal.
"How very heroic of you." she smiled lightly as she showed her the words, ruffling her hair. Lydia smacked her hands away, though there was a small smile on her face.
"Why haven't you ever told anyone?" Rosalie asked. Lydia looked at her.
"Who am I supposed to tell? Do you honestly think if I approached a soldier or an officer, like this," she waved over her appearance. "And said there's a blackmarket going on, they'd believe me?" she shook her head. "I can tell based off of the money you all gave me that you're either fancy nobles or you work for fancy nobles. Do you think your fancy nobles would believe me?"
"Perhaps not you," Demyan said. "But maybe us? What if we received information from you and reported it back to Lady Emmeryn?"
"Information isn't free!" Lydia snapped. "If you expect kids like me to go and give you everything we know about the backholes of this city for free, then you can sho-"
"There's more of you?" Rosalie asked, cutting her off. Lydia glared.
"The last war left a bunch of us orphans." she muttered. "Most of us just holed up in a house. It's like a guild..." she trailed off. "I heard once that there was a great kid who used to lead the gang, back when it was small. With him it grew... but then he up and left us to join the army."
"So you're completely unsupervised?" Ella wrote, showing it to her. Lydia scoffed.
"Of course." she smirked. "How do you think I know so much? If I had a stupid adult breathing down my neck, do you think I'd know what a 'blackmarket slave business' is at age thirteen?"
"You're thirteen?" Rosalie asked, blinking in surprise. She looked no older than eight! Lydia narrowed her eyes.
"'Course I'm thirteen! Just 'cause I'm small doesn't mean I'm six!" she exclaimed defensively. Rosalie held her hands up in surrender.
"Down, Fighto." she said with a smile. Lydia crossed her arms and huffed.
"You say your information isn't free," Demyan mused, changing the topic back to what they were originally talking about. "Tell me, what could you tell us?" Lydia smirked.
"Enough to make it worth your money, depending on who you talk to and what you want to know."
"So say," Rosalie said. "We pay you in food, clothes... stuff of the sort..." Lydia's lips turned up into a grin so mischievous it was hard to believe she was a ten-year-old girl.
"Now you're speaking my language." she turned. "If we're going to make a deal, though, you should talk to our current leader. He's pretty sly, that one, but he sometimes leaves for long periods of time. Says his parents went missing in the last war, and he's trying to find them." she turned, leading them through the streets. "Not that it matters wether or not he agrees with you. Us kids'll do anything for something to keep us going along."
o.0.o.0.o
"Yo, Anthony!" Lydia yelled as she and the three adults ducked under a low doorway, leading into a building that seemed abandoned, what with boards over broken windows and a crumbling building.
But on the inside was what surprised the trio. Inside, makeshift beds scattered across the floor, made mostly of scraps of blankets, old clothes, and old pillows. Four younger girls around ten or eleven were hanging wet clothes near a fireplace while two kids, a boy and a girl, around five or six ran more loads to them. Three other kids, two girls and a boy, sat around, not really doing anything.
"Is this everyone?" Demyan asked. Lydia shot a glare.
"Nope. We've got about ten other housers here. They're out in the street, tryin' to gather money or food or something."
"Lydia!" one of the older girls exclaimed.
"Hey. Is Anthony in, Eleanor?"
"Yeah. He's with Madeline." Eleanor turned to look at Lydia. "She's gotten worse, I think."
A heavy pause.
"What's wrong with her?" Demyan asked.
"She got really sick." Lydia answered as the other kids returned to what they were doing. "There's something wrong with the water down over here, and we're waiting for the snow to come so we can melt it down and have fresh water." she paused. "We all got some nasty bug, but we managed to heal with the vulneraries. But Maddie's so small that it wasn't enough. She just kept getting worse." she rubbed under her nose with her sleeve.
"Lydia?" the girl looked up, smiling slightly as a young man around eighteen came down a rickety set of stairs.
The top half of his face was obscured by a brown cloak, the hood up, though the collar bunched around his neck, obscuring the view of the lower half of his face. He had on a dark yellow vest with dark orange armor over his chest. A thick brown belt wound around his waist, a sword in it's scabbard hanging from the belt, and he had loose, orange pants. Dark orange armor was strapped around his shins, going up over his knees while brown ankle boots were on his feet. Dark orange armor was over his forearms, and over the armor was brown gloves. Brown, unattached sleeves went up to his arms, weaved together with black threads.
Judging from his attire, though drastically changed in color scheme, she assumed he was a thief.
"Anthony, I presume?" Rosalie asked, coming towards him.
"Yeah." he pushed his hood off his head and pulled down the cloth around his neck, having it bunch up under his chin, revealing a head of dark brown hair, an explosion of bangs falling near his left eye while somewhat choppy bangs fell over the rest of his forehead. Chin length hair framed his face, while even longer hair was pulled back tightly into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck. He had a large, triangular, black eyepatch that looked to be hand-weaved over his left eye, covering not only the eye, but a good portion of his cheek as well. The straps winding around his head and an additional strap going down and under his jawline, hooking behind his ear. His other eye was a brownish red color, regarding them curiously, though not hostilely. "Who's asking?"
"Anthony." Lydia smiled as she came up to him, pulling on his cloak. "How is she?" At this, Anthony frowned.
"I'm going to blunt with you, kid. She's not doing well. But," he grinned, ruffling her hair. "I've seen stuff like this a lot where I come from. So I've got a new mission for you, gather up everyone and go search the water canal and the wells near here. Tell me if there's anything in them, okay?" he held his hand up, as if waiting for a handshake.
"Yup!" Lydia grasped his hand, giving it a firm shake, then bolting out the door.
"So," Anthony turned to them. "To whom do I owe the pleasure? He or she who managed to convince Lydia to bring them here must be either A, trustworthy and useful, or B, filthy rich and easily manipulated. Which is it?"
"Well," Demyan stepped forward. "I'm hoping we're A and you're not planning on using your five-year-olds over there to mug us," he shot a narrow glance at one boy who was staring at him. "I think that one's eyeing me up." Anthony chuckled.
"You've got a sly sense of humor, cat. I think you and I'll get along." Anthony responded while Demyan grumbled about himself being a cougar, not a cat. "Well, I'm Anthony, as you know. You still haven't told me your names."
"I'm Rosalie, and this is Ella and Demyan." Rosalie said, pointing to the respective person as she spoke their names. Anthony widened his visible eye, tilting his head to the side.
"Mind my rudeness, but are any of you from this country? You don't look like residents of Ylisse, or even Plegia."
"Are you from Plegia?" Rosalie asked.
"No, I'm Ylissetol born, but my parents were merchants. They passed on in the war, so I took over the merchant caravan. Sadly, I got attacked by Risen one night, and I lost it."
"So you're a traveling merchant?" Demyan asked. Anthony grinned.
"Yup. I travelled from there." he grinned. "I came here to take refuge. I'm trying to find another caravan to join, but when I came across this place, it tore my heart apart to see these kids suffer..." he shook his head. "So I guess that I became the leader and brother to them. Now I'm so attached that I'm not leaving until I get them good homes or I get a cart big enough to fit my goods and all of 'em." he paused. "So I'm rambling. What's your business with us?"
"We hear you have useful information. We'll be willing to trade you food for this information." Rosalie stated.
"Any money?" Anthony responded.
"Not much. We need to make a living too." Demyan said.
"Hm..." Anthony mused. "How about this? These kids go out every day to get money off strangers. I'm assuming this: Lydia conned you, you in return got her that new sweater, then she did something to help you, and you offered this deal. So here's what I know. About a month or so ago, these Risen monsters appeared. Correct or incorrect?"
"Correct." Rosalie stated.
"A few days after the appearances, crops began to rot and people are getting sick. They still are. Of course, there are healers and medicine, so everyone from the middle class have been okay. They get sick, they buy a vulnerary or a concoction, down a couple of those, and all is well. Thing is, all of us in the ghetto, well, we can't afford medicine. All our money we make goes towards food and clothes. We'd ask a healer or someone with healing powers for help, but you've seen it out there. It's impossible to get anyone out here because, despite this being a city of peace, there's only so much that one woman can do to spread the wealth, so to speak." he paused. "We've already lost one... A small kid, fifteen or so. I don't want to loose another kid to this, you know? They're like family."
"Oh, gods." Rosalie muttered. "Ricken."
"Ricken?" Anthony asked.
"Young kid, fourteen." Demyan said. "Got sick recently, but we didn't really know till he just collapsed a day or two ago in training. We've got Maribelle and Lissa working around the clock on healing him."
"It was like he was on the brink of death... but as of recently, he's been making a comeback. He's still a bit weak, but he should be fine." Rosalie said.
"Lissa? As in, Princess Lissa? Are you Shepherds?" Anthony asked.
"Yes. All three of us." Rosalie answered. Anthony smirked.
"I can see why you would want this information. Relay it to Her Grace, Emmeryn, I presume?"
"Yes. She tries her hardest, but I think that if we can lighten the load on her worries by getting sufficient information to put a stop to the crime here." Rosalie said, eyes narrowed in determination.
"Good luck with that. Crime is rampant, what with lack of food. Money is worth nothing, you know, when you have no food to buy with it. Why do you think I carry around a sword?" he shook his head. "Anyways, you guys are Shepherds, right? I need an Elixir for Madeline. In return, I'll tell you what the sickness is and maybe even the cause of it. Fair trade?"
"Deal." Demyan said, pulling a vial from his his pocket and holding it up to Anthony. "This is an elixir made by myself and Stahl. He was trained and taught in the area of apothecary, he knows what he's doing. Now before I give this to you," he closed his fist around it, looking at him. "Tell me what's going on."
"You certainly drive a hard bargain, kitty-cat." Anthony smirked, before turning. "Come on, I'll show you Madeline." Slowly, they eased up the stairs, making sure to be careful of broken steps. Finally, they got to the top, going into a room with a ragged sheet hanging in front of it. Anthony pushed it aside, beckoning them inside.
The room was bare, some light filtering through a window boarded up tight to keep out the cold. Blankets were piled in the corner, a small lump under them. Anthony made his way to the pile of blankets, pulling some of them aside to reveal a girl with a huge mane of frizzy brown hair and a flushed face from her fever. She breathed with quick pants, as if she couldn't get enough oxygen in her lungs. Despite her fever, she was wracked with chills.
"Hey there, Madeline." Anthony shook her shoulder slightly, voice taking on a gentler tone. "Wake up, sleepy. I've got something for you."
Her eyes cracked open, revealing light brown eyes. She whined slightly, trying to sit up.
"Don't push yourself." Anthony said, beckoning Demyan over. The cat-man kneeled next to Anthony, passing the Elixir to him. Madeline narrowed her eyes in confusion.
"H-He has k-kitty ears." she said, pointing to Demyan as Anthony sat her up.
"Yup." her responded, popping the cork off the bottle. Madeline studied Demyan more, as if trying to discern, in her mind, if he was real or a feverish illusion. She barely paid mind to the fact she was drinking down the medicine, just simply stared. "Alright." Anthony said, setting the vial down then laying the girl back down. "That was good medicine, some real high-quality stuff. It should make you better, okay?"
"Mmm..." the girl hummed, falling back asleep. Once she was soundly asleep again, Anthony turned to speak to them.
"It's poisoning." he said, standing. "Something or someone's poisoning our water supply."
"How do you know it's the water?" Rosalie asked.
"If it were bad food, it would be affecting maybe a small amount of people who bought said food that day. This is widespread. It's not only affecting those who live in the ghetto, but those who live in the nobility, like Ricken, who's a Shepherd, right?"
"Correct." Demyan nodded as they walked back down the stairs.
"So I assume it's the water, since everyone drinks it. Once the kids come back with the reports of what's in the wells or canals, we can take action. I suggest telling Her Grace to send medicine to the people immediately, specifically Elixirs, and to tell them to boil their water before consuming it. That should eliminate whatever's causing the poisoning."
"So we're partners now, I suppose?" Rosalie asked. Anthony thought over this for a moment.
"Lets see how Madeline turns out." he stated. "If you're Elixir works, I suppose we're in business."
o.0.o.0.o
So, wow. This was NOT where I thought about this chapter going. Meh. I'm kinda withholding on writing about the march to Ferox. Don't ask me why, I just am. -.-
Anyways, I just made Olivia a badass. Lethality+Pass+Galeforce on a Dancer is really quite useful. SHE KILLS EVERYTHING. Way to overpowered. XD
Amy47101 signing off! ^.^