Natasha the Halve

After finishing the toy business and signing a non-replication contract with the establishment, we said our farewells and left the store.

Next, we went to the library near our place. There, I searched for a booklet about Corvitex and bought it.

Following that, we went to the main market to have a look. It was deep into the city: around the center of it and right next to the main Church.

An uncountable number of people walked around the many stalls and stores. Blacksmiths, glassmakers, enchanters, and more had a shop to sell either services or products.

The white gray-ish stone that made the city's buildings was a pretty sight under the summer suns.

Much to my surprise, there was no tent-like temporary shop laid out. Every vendor occupied a small store at the front of the buildings facing the market plaza.

I noticed a pattern after riding Sonya for a while around the place.

Clothes were sold at the south stores, foodstuffs at the east, tools at the north, and miscellaneous items at the west.

I was chilling on top of Sonya while waiting for Lapia and Alyssa who had gone to buy fruit.

Yolin, who was next to me on top of Pochi, tapped my shoulder.

I turned to her and tilted my head. “Yes?”

“Be discreet,” she began in a serious tone. “Do you see the Goliath selling maps behind me?”

I glanced behind her and, just as she said, there was a massive person some thirty meters behind her.

The man looked like a Spartan from that movie about the Persian invasion. He was sitting on a chair and looking down at a Dwarf who was talking to him.

I returned my eyes to Yolin and nodded.

“Four stalls to the right, there's a Dryad,” the Oni informed me. “Have you seen one before?”

My eyes widened and I turned to look, but my girlfriend leaned towards me, grabbed my face, and blocked my view with her body.

“I said be discreet!” she hissed in a quiet voice.

“Alright,” I muttered and licked her palm.

She released me and wiped her hand on her shorts. “That's gross,” she giggled.

I scoffed, choosing not to mention my tongue had been all over her body already and glanced back at the Goliath, then moved my eyes to the right.

There, a plant person was sitting behind a counter in a roofless stall and basking in the light. The Dryad's body was covered in green and red vines, or perhaps the vines were the body. They didn't wear clothes or accessories of any kind. The head was vaguely shaped like a person's and had a big dahlia-shaped flower with red, purple-tipped petals on top of it. The eyes were white and had a soft glow to them with no pupils.

My eyes widened and I appraised the individual.

[Corestine Dryad, Lvl 198 Ambusher]

“Wow,” I breathed out in amazement.

“Yep,” Yolin agreed with a chuckle. “Did Lapia tell you about them?”

I nodded. “They don't have sexes if I recall correctly, don't usually go into cities, and are one of the short species... but that's all I know.”

“That's right,” the Oni nodded. “They're a fun bunch.”

“How so?” I inquired with interest.

“Nothing in particular, the ones I've met before have been fun people,” she explained with a carefree shrug. “They heavily incline towards Scout classes as you can guess with their natural camouflage. I have never met nor seen a Dryad Warrior,” she added.

A cheeky smile formed on my face, “How about Pyromancers?”

Yolin gave me a 'really, bitch?' face and stayed silent.

“Yeah, yeah...” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I'll have a look at what the Dryad is selling,” I added and dismounted Sonya.

She nodded and gave me a wink.

I smiled and walked towards the stalls.

A Tigea approached me and gestured towards the stall he was occupying. “Your Excellency, may I interest you in traveling tools?”

“No, thank you,” I replied and kept walking.

A Dwarf approached while rubbing her hands as a Merchant would. “Ah, Your Excellency! Came to buy some saddles?”

“Nope.” I shook my head and walked away.

I passed the Goliath's store and glanced at him.

He raised an eyebrow and nodded towards the maps.

I shook my head.

He nodded and looked away.

More vendors approached me while I walked and I denied their invitations.

They nodded and walked away.

I stopped in front of the Dryad and looked at the wares.

The counter in front of the Dryad was covered in small leather boxes stacked on top of each other.

“Interested?” The Dryad probed in an ephemeral voice that had an echo to it. The lips didn't move and the face had no major changes in expression other than a blink or two.

“Sure,” I replied, ignoring the origin of the voice.

“Have you heard of Galeian Armory, Your Excellency?” the plant person asked next.

I nodded. “I have. Actually played it last week for the first time.”

“Are you interested in purchasing a deck?” the pitch was made.

“How much?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Ten gold coins,” was the reply. “A ten card pack is fifty silver, a box of twenty packs is eight gold coins. The deck comes with a rule book and a card encyclopedia. The standard contents are as follow: seven cards are units, two are gold, and one is a spell. The cards are randomized with a 0.01% chance of a unit being a Halve, 1% chance of a spell being of the third tier, and 5% chance of any card to be a wildcard. ”

That's mad expensive! I considered Vival and Lapia's words about the price of the cards. I am weak to gacha, however. “I'll buy three different decks and enough packs to get a guaranteed Halve.”

The Dryad stared at me for a second, then made a coughing noise without any visible action to accompany it. “There is no guarantee, Your Excellency.”

“Then I will come back and buy more,” I replied with a shrug.

“Very well,” the Dryad nodded and the flower on top bounced a little, then produced a big leather box and put five leather boxes from the counter inside. “The total would be fifty gold coins.”

I retrieved a linen pouch and put the gold inside, then handed it over.

Once the transaction was made, the Dryad gave me a receipt and a big nod. “Thank you for your patronage, Your Excellency.”

I stored my newly acquired products and offered a smile. “Have a nice day.”

“Before you leave,” the Dryad produced a sheet of paper and offered it to me. “Would you like to become a card?”

I took the paper and gave it a look. It was a form of sorts with various boxes to check and fill. “I'll give it a closer look later and consider it,” I replied with a smile.

A bubbly giggle came out of the Dryad. “Have a great day, Your Excellency.”

“Same to you.” I smiled and walked back to Yolin and the mounts.

There, Alyssa and Lapia were on top of their mounts and talking while eating fruit.

“What did you buy?” Alyssa inquired while I mounted Sonya.

“Galeian Armory cards,” I replied with a satisfied smile.

The three shook their heads and sighed.

Lapia tossed a peach in my direction and shrugged. “Well, it's your money,” she added.

I caught the fruit and gave it a bite, then swallowed the juice while nodding. “Damn right it is!”

“How about we go to the Church,” Yolin offered, pointing towards the north. “I want to buy a really good whiskey.”

“Oh?” Alyssa perked up with a smile. “What's the occasion?”

Yolin shrugged. “Tomorror is my 202^nd birthday,” she replied like it was a tiny matter that had no weight.

The three of us whipped our heads in her direction.

“Excuse me?” we blurted out in different degrees of stupefaction, disbelief, and surprise.

“And you had no intention of telling us?” Lapia blurted in shock.

“That's an important event!” Alyssa argued. “Don't treat it like it isn't...”

“What the fuck, Yolin?” I gasped. “Why didn't you tell us before?”

“Wha-what?” She stuttered in confusion, looking at us in surprise. “Birthdays... have no real meaning after the first century for us Oni,” she explained.

I facepalmed and sighed. “What do you want as a gift? You can have anything, I can give you whatever is in my power.”

The red-skinned woman looked around and brought Pochi closer while gesturing at us.

We converged in the middle and leaned into each other.

“How about a four day long tussle under the sheets?” she offered with a deep blush and a shy smile. “That's one of my life's wishes and have yet to complete it.”

We all blushed and covered our faces at the Oni's bold words.

“You got it,” I replied and giggled. “How about we start after we get the toys?”

Lapia hummed and chuckled. “This is going to be so fun!”

We laughed and moved towards the Church.

The building was, in a single word, humongous. Two hundred meters tall, five hundred wide and long, the Gothic architecture stood in unchallenged grandeur.

We went inside and followed after Yolin and Alyssa, who greeted every Cleric they came across in short exchanges of 'Welcome home, sisters' and the like.

After a few minutes and going underground, we reached a large cellar where a pair of Tiny Laples sat on a table blocking access to the many barrels inside.

[Tiny Laple, Lvl 244 Brewer]

[Tiny Laple, Lvl 234 Alchemist]

“Good evening,” one greeted us with a tiny nod. “How may we be of service?”

“I'd like to buy the best whiskey you have,” I spoke before Yolin could. “All of it.”

Alyssa and Lapia nodded in approval.

Yolin sighed and shook her head, but she was smiling.

“We can't sell you all of it, Your Excellency,” the second one argued. “We can sell you lots of it, though,” he added with a smile.

I mirrored the smile and nodded. “Alright.”

“A moment, please,” the first one muttered and walked over the table towards a call bell, then rung it twice.

A door next to the counter opened and a Dwarf walked out. She raised her eyebrows and waited.

“Five Rumblefire barrels, please,” the second Tiny Laple requested.

The Dwarf nodded and walked off into the cellar.

“That would be thirty gold coins,” the first Tiny Laple informed me.

I nodded and placed the gold coins on the table next to them.

They counted them and then turned to me. “If we may, Your Excellency?”

I looked them in the eye. “Yes?”

The two miniature people shared a worried look and then turned to me. “We have a friend whose wife works in the Royal Palace, you see?”

“And she hasn't returned home in months,” the second one added.

“We went with our friend to the Watchers and reported her as missing, but nothing has come out of it,” the first lamented, looking at her feet.

“Watchers usually find them within the day, you see,” the second one supplied.

“They never take this long, which can only mean one thing,” the first one muttered in sadness. “And we're afraid at looking at reality, however childish it may seem.”

“Our friend... he's devastated,” the second one muttered. “They met eighty years ago near the Crystallized Forest of Alakh'Avar.”

Lapia sighed and scratched her forehead. “That's a very romantic place to meet,” she commented.

“Yes!” both Tiny Laples exclaimed in agreement.

“They told such beautiful tales. How the trees refract and reflect light, breathing and moving. The spectacle must be quite the sight,” the first one retold with a complicated smile.

“Have you gone there, Lady Wizard?” the second one probed in hope.

“I have,” Lapia confirmed with a nod. “It's more than words can describe.”

The two vendors sighed in wonder. “The outside of the Cradle of Life is too dangerous for us so we've never dared venture. Their words were the few windows through which we could glance at the world... yet now... our friend's despair is too heavy a burden.”

Well this conversation went there pretty quick, I thought, glancing at Alyssa.

“Who is this friend you speak of?” the Luzo inquired.

“He's a Shishi Tigea by the name of Bernard Roy, he lives a few blocks away from here and used to work with us before he took a lave of rest,” the first one replied.

“Please, do look into it,” the second one pleaded.

The Dwarf returned carrying the barrels and placed them on the floor behind the counter, then looked at the two standing on the table.

They nodded and wrote up a receipt, then handed it to me.

The Dwarf picked the barrels like they were made of air and handed them to us.

Me and Yolin received them and stored them.

I turned to the two small individuals and sighed. “I'll see what I can do, but I don't promise anything. It's not my area of expertise,” I pointed out.

Both nodded and cheered. “Thank you, Your Excellency!”

After that, we left the Church towards our place.