Chapter 6: Roumen Redux
Aisu was busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen, and being awfully noisy about it too, what with clattering pots and pans and utensils and whatnot. I peeked into the room to see a giant column of smoke billowing from the current pot that she stirred the contents of.
Smoke. Not steam.
Slightly concerned by that fact, and by the unearthly scent that came from Aisu's concoction, I retreated from the kitchen and decided to wait for her to finish before attempting to talk to her.
I stepped into the living room and found Zorark already sprawled over one of the couches, suppressing a yawn and glaring at Adel to make the dragon keep its distance. He noticed me enter the room and seemed momentarily distracted, giving Adel the chance to pounce. Zorark let out a brief curse before leaping off the couch and rolling under the table. The dragon poked his head, attempting to follow Zorark but finding out that he was too large to do so. Letting out a whine and snapping his jaws in vain, Adel finally retreated and floated off to Aisu.
Zorark sighed, crawling to his feet and dusting himself off. He eyed me, as if daring me to tease him. I smirked. Only two days, and he knew me so well.
"Tired of brawling with otherworldly creatures?" I asked. Deciding to ignore me, he sat himself back down on the couch. Annoyed, but letting him slide this time, I changed the subject.
"Your master's cooking seems..." I paused, searching for the words. "... fascinating." He raised an eyebrow.
"Master's cooking?" He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it slightly. "And she was accusing me of destroying her property earlier..."
"Yeah, I figured it'd be fucking heavenly and danger-free," I commented, plopping down onto the couch opposite him. "Should I call the police now or after we've died from food-poisoning?"
"I didn't say her food was bad; merely that the process may be fatal for any unfortunate creature that ventures near her," he corrected. Which, at the moment, included Adel. No wonder Zorark seemed pleased.
There was a high pitched squeal, followed by the breaking of plates and the roar of a dragon.
"Alright," I drawled, still slightly concerned about the idea of consuming anything that came from that kitchen. "Actually, that reminds me. Do we get revived if it's not monster-stabbing-us-to-death related?"
"That depends on the situation. Are we talking about you being idiotic and stabbing out your own eye from some reckless, ignorant act?"
"Oh shut up, I'm not that stupid," I growled, rolling my eyes. "I'm impressed, though. I didn't think you capable of a sarcastic remark." He gave me a dry smile; the first one I've ever seen on his face.
"There are many things you don't know about me."
"Ooh, how cryptic and mysterious!" I said in mock awe, waving my hands around in an attempt to be mystical. Or make fun of people trying to be mystical. Zorark snorted and turned away, ending the conversation as if I wasn't worth his time. With a haughty sniff, I turned my head as well, crossing my arms across my chest as I imitated a pouting child.
"Breakfast is served!" Aisu announced cheerily, bringing in trays of food and tea. She set them down on the table as Adel wearily floated in after her. I was quite curious about the state of the kitchen now; the dragon was worn out and injured, which seemed almost impossible, seeing as how even Zorark hadn't even scratched him in their brawls.
I was startled out of my ponderings as Zorark grabbed a bowl and spoon and began to blow at the porridge, remembering why I had wanted to speak with Aisu earlier.
"Oh, um, thanks for the breakfast and all," I said hastily, standing up, "but I was thinking of going back to Roumen now. I was going to tell you earlier, but you seemed... preoccupied..."
"Is that so?" Aisu frowned. "Well, if you have to. You sure you don't want to stay for breakfast?"
I eyed Zorark sipping at his meal. He seemed perfectly fine, but I couldn't forget the smell that had come from the kitchen earlier. I shook my head.
"If not, then you'd best be on your way now," she answered, smiling good-naturedly and seemingly taking no notice of my wariness of her food. "You saw how crowded Elderine can get. It should be relatively empty now, since it's still early, but it'll fill up later."
"Alright. Thanks again for letting me stay the night," I said, with a respectful nod. She shook her head, saying that it was nothing, and led me to the door. Zorark surprised me by following us.
"Well, time to die repeatedly until I complete my quest!" I announced with a bit more cheer than I felt. Really, those fucking Mushrooms were going to be asses to kill. And it would take way too long. But I didn't want to bother Zorark and Aisu any more and fall into even more debt, as much fun it was to tease Zorark.
"You never did mention why you needed my help," Zorark commented.
"For me to know, and you to find out on a need-to-know basis," I retorted. "A~nd, I'm off!"
"I'm sure we'll meet again," Aisu said, with a small smile. I nodded, said a few more quick goodbyes, then marched off for the Roumen portal.
Once the girl was out of sight, my master turned to face me with a grin frighteningly reminiscent of the Cheshire cat's. I knew what that look meant.
"Alright then, little Zorark," she began, voice deceptively sweet. "I've brought you up to be such a gentleman. You aren't going to let a poor, defenceless little girl like that run off on her own, are you?"
"She is hardly a 'defenceless little girl'," I grumbled in response, defiantly crossing my arms over my chest. "I'm not going after her."
"Zorark..." she warned.
"No."
"I know why you came back to Elderine to find me," she stated nonchalantly, placing a hand on her hip. She raised an eyebrow. "Go find her. I'm not helping you otherwise."
"What is the meaning behind your irrational attachment to that girl?" I growled, not liking the way she was practically threatening me to go help Silva. "If it were anyone, you'd hardly care."
"All in due time, impatient one," she said softly, smiling. Her sad, almost bitter response surprised me, and she caught me off guard by forcefully, and literally, kicking me out onto the street, where I was nearly trampled by a rush of people.
"If you try to come back, I will let Adel maim you!" I heard her yell over the chaos. I groaned, climbing to my feet and rubbing my sore side.
"Bitch," I muttered under my breath. With reluctance, I started towards the Roumen portal to find my stalker.
"Mushroom, fucking Mushroom," I whispered. Like before, I was high up in a tree, hidden safely in its foliage. My prey was down below, where it was safely unable to kill me.
"Why couldn't I have been an Archer?" I mumbled to myself, slowly sliding down to the floor. I really did not want to die from a god damned Mushroom.
Stupid. Fucking. Allergies.
Berating myself for my stupid fear of not-dying, I prepared myself to attack. Before I even began to move, though, the gruesome beast turned to face me.
"God dammit!" I shrieked, instinctively backing up to the tree as it began to hop towards me. Reminding myself that I couldn't really die, I forced back my terror and waited as it approached. Once it was within range, I darted in and swiped at it, activating Claw Swipe. The Mushroom hissed and made a noise that made my soul shrivel a little bit, and I used the opening to get in another good slash at it.
"Oh shit, oh shit," I yelped, diving to the side as it roared, swinging a fist (? honestly, I can't care to study the anatomy of these unnatural creations) at me. I rolled to my feet, claws at the ready, glancing quickly at my target stone to make sure that no other monsters would randomly attack me.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" My voice cracked embarrassingly as I swore up a storm, dodging and flailing every which way in an all-out attempt to avoid being touched by the Mushroom. I managed to scratch it a few times by batting its arms away with my struggling.
"This must be the saddest fight I have ever seen in my entire life."
With a final wimpy swat at the creature, I leaped back a good four feet and slid to a halt. I glanced up at Zorark, who stood beside me with his arms folded and face wearing a smug expression. I stuck my tongue out at him and backed off, standing safely behind him, feeling weary and grateful as he took up a battle ready stance.
It was over with a single slash and piteous wail.
"So," I started, skipping towards him with an impish grin. "You came for me."
"Aisu is quite adamant about me being a gentleman towards you," he answered, flicking a greying piece of Mushroom off his claw. I jumped a little, inching away from the dissolving flesh. he raised an eyebrow.
"And you?" He gestured towards the rapidly decaying corpse of the slain beast. "What was that fight? I'm aware that you're much better than that."
I glowered, still unwilling to bend my pride enough to tell him about my condition. He shrugged.
"Very well. Then I'm sure you can handle the next one on your own."
The only justifiable reason I could give for the next very, very stupid decision that I made in spite of my usually impeccable intelligence and judgement would be this: Mushrooms.
That is all.
I charged.
Well. This was even more pitiful than I had originally anticipated.
With a snarl under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, "I hate you, asshole," she rushed forward without even raising her claws in defense or preparation to strike. The Mushroom immediately pushed her back, making large, predictable swings at her with its arms. In whatever craze or panic she was in, she stumbled and scrambled to avoid the monster. I was tempted to let her perish at the hands of the creature, but the orders from my master were still fresh in my mind.
I gave her another two minutes at attempting to defeat the Mushroom before I couldn't take it anymore and intervened.
A quick leap and a single slash at the beast, and it was over. The girl, sprawled on the ground, had a sufficiently bewildered and grateful look on her face before it returned to her usual sardonic smirk.
"How kind of you," she said lightly as I extended an arm to pull her up. She leapt to her feet with more grace than you would expect from someone so deathly afraid from Mushrooms for an unknown reason.
"This is the moment when you explain to me the reason for your incompetence," I stated bluntly. She glared at me for a brief moment.
"I..." She almost continued her statement before shaking her head stubbornly. "Just make a party with me and kill the Mushrooms. I'll stop bothering you afterwards. I promise."
I cocked an eyebrow. Ordinarily, such an offer would have tempted me, especially seeing how much trouble the girl had brought me. But now my curiosity had been piqued.
"Tell me," I demanded, ignoring her flinch as a Mushroom rose from the earth. She shook her head decisively once more.
"Tell me," I growled, taking a step towards her and raising my claws, "or I refuse to help you." A vague feeling of fear began to show in her, eyes darting from side to side as if searching for inspiration as to how to escape from me. Seeing none, she let out a huge sigh, letting her arms fall to her side in a gesture of helplessness.
"Fine," she relented through gritted teeth. "I'm... it's just..."
"Yes?" I prompted impatiently.
"... imallergictomushrooms."
"What was that?"
"I'm. Allergic. To. Mushrooms."
The incredulity I felt from hearing that one statement must have been clearly evident on my face.
"It's not my fault, I was just born with this... this... condition," she hissed defensively, obviously taking my disbelief to her offense. "And before you ask why an allergy would make me so scared of a Mushroom, it's an extremely severe allergy."
"... Will you die?" I questioned, wanting clarification.
A mumbled "yes" came from under her breath.
"This... this is..." I struggled for words to convey exactly how befuddling this piece of information was. "This is pathetic to the point of... I don't even understand."
"Yeah, thanks," she muttered.
"... I suppose such a pitiful person does require my assistance," I relented, raising a claw. "I agree to form a party with you."
"And please keep the fun-making of to a minimum," she added hopefully. I raised an eyebrow at her, half-smirking.
After all the trouble she's caused me?
"No promises," I answered before slaughtering the nearest Mushroom.
"Prick," I muttered. And then I kicked back and watched my trusty partner kick ass.
I gave a parting nod to Merchant Zach as the girl came away with her rewards of experience (which granted her a new level as well), fame, a few coppers, a Roumen Return Scroll, and a pair of Reo Boots. Finding a corner where the flood of people wasn't as strong, she bent down to pull on her new boots as I waited impatiently for her.
"I've helped you complete your mission," I said tersely when she stood up again. "Am I free to leave?"
"Uh, yeah," she replied, appearing distracted. "Unless Aisu specified how long you had to stick around or something."
"Very well. In that case, I suppose that this is where we must part-"
"Hey, rookie!" We whirled around in unison to find a stranger waving us over. Exchanging confused glances, the two of us made our way through the crowd.
"Silva Yin, right?" The cleric brushed a loose strand of his long, pale blue hair behind his ear and gave us an easy grin. "Merchant Pey and Blacksmith James have been asking for you. Got some quests, it seems."
"Oh... alright," the girl said, seemingly somewhat creeped out at how a stranger recognized her. "Thanks for the message, I guess."
The boy nodded with a friendly smile and turned to walk away before something clicked in my mind. The hair, tied in a low ponytail, and those black eyes... I only knew one person around like that.
"Sam?" I called out in surprise. He turned and blinked at me a few times before recognition flashed in his eyes.
"Zorark!" he exclaimed pleasantly. "It's been forever! I didn't recognize you at all!"
"It has," I agreed, allowing a small smile onto my face. I clapped a hand on his shoulder. "How have you been?"
"Exploring the land, taking a couple of missions," he laughed. "The usual. Only I got a bit injured from my last one, so I've been resting at Roumen for a bit, running some errands for the shopkeepers instead. It's an interesting experience, at least."
"Injured?" Alarmed, I did a quick scan of my friend. There were no apparent wounds, but I knew best how crippled someone could be without any marks to show for it.
"I'm fine, trust me." He gestured slightly to his left arm. "It's just about healed. I'm planning on getting back to taking quests tomorrow."
"Ah." Relieved, I allowed myself to relax and look around. To my surprise, the girl was nowhere to be seen.
"I saw Silva walk away a little while ago, if that's who you're looking for," Sam supplied helpfully. "I was pretty surprised to see you with her. You usually don't bother with rookies too often."
"And you bother with them too much," I shot back, but I was smiling. Sam was very easy going, and it wasn't hard to maintain a good mood around him.
"Well, you know," he laughed. "Love helping out and all that. Speaking of which, seems like your rookie's come back."
My scowl returned when I turned and saw that, sure enough, the girl was walking towards us with a frown that worried me slightly. Nothing good would ever come out of that expression.
"What is it this time?" I sighed. Best get it over with quickly.
"Went and got my missions," she muttered grudgingly. "Turns out I'll need your help for at least one of these."
The exasperated expression that crossed Zorark's face was priceless, but didn't lessen my annoyance at my predicament any.
"More Mushrooms?" he groaned. I nodded, feeling as irritated as he sounded.
"What's wrong with Mushrooms?" I turned to the speaker, who was the stranger Cleric that had called me over earlier. Apparently he knew Zorark somehow, since I saw them conversing in a friendly manner before I approached them. I didn't even know Zorark could smile.
Before I could shush Zorark, he opened his mouth and declared, "This useless girl is severely allergic to them."
If I had not been in total shock and disbelief, I would have sworn a rainstorm upon Zorark for so carelessly letting my secret out. Thankfully, his friend seemed more confused and concerned than scathingly dismissive, unlike Zorark.
"Is this true?" he asked, studying me.
I nodded curtly, unwilling to say much more on the subject.
"Well, I must admit that the condition is pretty rare," he said musingly. "But neither is it unheard of, although you're the first I've met. I hear they're researching a cure in Fungoild Village, a city on another continent..." Before I could launch into an interrogation about this cure, he gave a start and grinned at me unexpectedly.
"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself!" He laughed, a sound that was rather contagious as I felt a smile spreading over my face. "How rude of me. My name is Sam. I'm an old friend of Zorark's, if you haven't guessed already. We used to take a lot of missions together a while back."
"Nice to meet you, Sam," I said, offering a handshake. "I'm Silva Yin, as you already know. Just a rookie trying to find my way around, so it's nice to meet someone helpful like you."
"I'm sure Zorark has been plenty helpful," Sam chuckled, taking my hand. He grinned teasingly at the extremely unhelpful Thief in question.
Zorark merely grunted. "We should be off for your missions. The sooner I can leave, the better."
A/N: Well that's all that there is left. Kai and I might or might not continue this fanfiction. As of now it is looking as if it is indefinitely discontinued. Thank you fans for reading this piece of fiction! -Scykra