Shopping!

Snow and Candress were thankfully unmolested on the way towards the town, other than the one muddy savage. A remarkably large moth briefly floated by, but Snow was able to ask it politely to leave. Candress supposed that the girl had some utility, even before her tears were made into healing potions.

The elf was still unsteady about her place in the world; obviously she was here to act on Master Gil’s behalf, but she did not know where she lay in the pecking order. Snow was hardly a domineering sort, but she moved and spoke with perfect confidence at all times and did have a few weeks worth of seniority in the master’s service. That wasn’t even factoring in that martial juggernaut Candress had seen on her home world, or this “Rose” woman who was apparently trusted to operate in a poorly understood world entirely alone.

The town was sparsely guarded for a place that had only recently been attacked. If Gil was to be believed, it had only been a few days from their point of view. One man acted as a lookout, and the simplistic barricade they had erected would likely turn into a bonfire with a single spell. It was appalling, though she supposed they might simply be lacking in manpower. Perhaps they were undermanned because they had deployed a strike **** against the goblin-like creatures that lived in the hills.

The women were allowed in without incident, only a perfunctory meeting with a town elder. The guards, both human, looked at Candress with a great deal of curiosity. If Master Gil was to be believed, they may never have seen an elf in their lives. Somehow she wasn’t surprised that humans could be found in the overwhelming majority of worlds. They were like cockroaches; if you saw one they’d have an entire community built within a few years.

“Oh yes, Master Gilbert is quite alright.” Snow assured the decrepit human, "He might be coming along later, in fact. He just thought we could come here and do a bit of shopping.”

“He’s scouting a different path through the mists.” Candress stepped in, remembering better than Snow what the official line was. “He believes there may be many places like your home, tucked away safely, but we are in need of supplies. Food and medicine, predominantly.”

“We have some stores, but we are only scraping by.” The elder said, nervous. “The shop is where our excess goes, but I worry what will happen if you purchase too much too quickly.”

That put something of a damper on Candress’s first mission, so she allowed Snow to handle the shopkeep while she looked around town for any other opportunities. She needed to preserve her magic for emergencies, so hunting was out.

She thought she might be able to find someone willing to sell their soul. To that end, she asked about people of note. A few hunters came up when she asked, but they didn’t seem particularly exceptional. The only people of substantial value she could find were a holy man named Tetsu that seemed unlikely to make any foolish pacts, a boy named Ixus who had miraculously returned from the dead, and rumors of a young man named Vahn. All people Gil had told her of, and all worth pursuing.

Vahn had, apparently, been chosen by the gods or some such nonsense. Gil had referred to the entity as a sapient magical symbiote, and whatever its nature it granted the blue haired man the ability to walk in the mists with relative impunity. He’d been taking daily strolls beyond the town’s borders, ostensibly to clear out the aggressive beasts in the area. There was supposedly a castle only a few hours walk into the mists, and he’d expressed interest in exploring it for reasons unknown. Perhaps simply because it was present.

Candress offered him assistance on his quest in return for his soul; Gil seemed unlikely to object to someone the entire town held in such high esteem, and assistance was a very vague promise.

Alas, Vahn shook his head in the negative, never saying a word. His armband pulsed with red light, radiating both warmth and a mouthwatering aura of magic. That was the symbiote, supposedly, and they seemed to communicate without words.

Of course, Gil had explained enough of capture to give Candress a path forward. She looked at the people close to Vahn instead. He had a slightly younger sister and a friend with green hair named Mei. Given the small population of the town, it was likely either Vahn or the hunter Ixis would end up marrying her. Given the presence of the sister as a mate for Ixis, any reasonable distribution would put Vahn with Mei.

She checked in with Snow, who was happily chattering away with the young shopkeep, loading up a large backpack with enough pickled food and magical tea leaves to please the Master. She seemed to be doing perfectly fine without oversight or assistance, so Candress made her way to Mei’s home. The girl allowed her in without question, even offering a cup of absolutely horrid tea.

“I think we may be able to assist him, perhaps even allow you to do so.” Candress explained, her voice clipped. “He’s stubborn, however. He turned down our initial offer quickly.”

“I’m very worried about him, of course, but how could I assist him?” Mei asked, gently curious. “I only really know how to sew.”

The girl was much like Snow in demeanor; soft and seemingly innocent. Candress could tell at a glance that she didn’t get much exercise, though she did seem to have a full tailoring business running out of her cottage. She was dreadfully thin for a human, but she clearly took good care of her long, bright green hair.

“Well to start with, we could provide him with far better armor and armaments than are available in this town.” Candress explained, pulling out her elven short sword. “I’m sure you do your best, but I haven’t smelled a tannery in this town. Perhaps you’re using more traditional methods, but if not I imagine your people have only cleaned hides and whatever you can weave. This contains metal mesh and plates to protect from blades and claws.”

Candress knocked upon her chest, showing her armor’s toughness.

“That would be wonderful!” Mei agreed. “Is there anything I could do in return?”

“Only one thing.” Candress said, leaning forward, “I need you to sell us your soul, and in return perhaps we can even arrange to allow you to help him yourself.”

Mei, a rather sweet and innocent girl, had never considered what she would do for those she loved. Obviously she would cook, clean, make and mend clothes. Those were the place of a woman in the culture that raised her, simple facts of life rather than any kind of imposition. Would she, on the other hand, put her life on the line? The question was easy to answer; what value did her life have if Vahn died?

This was not merely a romantic notion from a girl pining after her friend; there was a very pragmatic undercurrent as well. Her community was dwindling, losing a few people every year. Even setting aside Mei’s own feelings, the world needed Vahn to win. If he could do for the rest of Drake Kingdom what he had done for Rim Elm, they had a chance. The opportunity to meet strangers, and trade with them the way the elders said they used to.

If she could help by letting Gil have the ability to kill her with a thought… well, anything less would be selfish. He seemed like a good enough sort, and what good would it do him to hurt her?

••••••••••

Gil will get to see an old friend with a new face. Readers of Erich’s story will certainly recognize her. She’s willing to be generous, but there are limits on exchange.

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