The Long Dirt Road

John and Lani are still walking down the dirt path when in the distance, the town of Reduna'z Gaze almost pops into existence, "That's Reduna'z Gaze?" John asks.

"Yep! It's a pretty lively town, folk coming and going almost every day, so there's a bunch of stores for you to get some clothes" Lani comments.

John then looks down at his shirtless body, he may not be a body builder but stacking shelves for 8 hours a day has given him some decent definition. However, he's also quite dirty which, rolling around in the dirt will do that to you.

He then also looks at his dirty pyjamas which doesn't bother him as much as his bare feet, almost completely coated in the dirt due to the walking.

John then looks back up before asking, "Hey Lani, is there a place in town I can clean up?".

"Oh yes, there's a few places, uhh the Trekking Deity, Ka'nla's Palace and what was the other called? Oh yeah, the Mudboil. You can get rooms, baths and a... night companion, from what I hear anyway" Lani also explains.

John notices Lani's voice got a little quieter at that last part but doesn't bother dwelling on it as another pressing matter shoots into his mind, "Uhh Lani, how the hell am I gonna pay for all this? I didn't exactly get the starting kit here".

"Oh, that's not a problem!" Lani responds.

Just then Lani stops and motions with her hand but then seemingly out of nowhere, a bag appears in her hands, "Ta-da!".

John is impressed, "Wow, how'd you do that?".

Lani responds with, "Oh well, after people figured out that guides have money for their companions, they started robbing us. Of course, we were easy pickings, if we were grabbed, that was it. Our choices were to either give up the money or get squashed. Eventually, we had enough, so twelve hundred years ago, the High Council decided to break the sacred vow and made the vanishing spell, now, we're left alone to do our duty".

"Wow" Is all that John can muster after hearing that but being the ever curious one, so as they continue to walk, he asks, "So, what's this scared vow exactly?".

Lani grumbles, undecided if she should tell him or not, but after a few seconds of deliberation she explains, "Well, us fairies, we're a peaceful race, not a violent bone in our body. So we made a vow to never hurt anything or anyone, made sense since we could avoid any altercation with pretty much anything. However due to, I guess you could call it, fairy crime, the High Council decided to break it. See, magic requires a sacrifice, some only require minor sacrifices like crushing herbs or picking a flower, but to completely create a spell requires something different... a blood sacrifice. So, they found a manai and... well... i'm sure you can guess what happened next".

"Yeah, I think so" John replies as Lani sighs, seemingly upset at the story which John notices, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried".

Lani's expression changes slightly, becoming more relaxed again, "It's okay, you don't have to apologise. You're curious about this new world and heck.. it is my job to teach you everything after all".

Lani stops, taking a moment to recompose herself before quickly perking back up and saying, "Alright! Let's get to town and get you freshened up!".

"Sounds like a plan" John says before the duo continue down the dirt road, now just mere minutes way from their destination.