Book One – Chapter Four – Part Three – Trouble And Confusion

It took almost an hour of walking, but fields of fruits and vegetables and pens of cows and chicken came into view. Dogs and cats prowled around nearby as if protecting their turf from any would-be invaders of the pest variety.

Luqa was a farming village of around 120 people, mainly growing corn and peas, but they grew animals on the side. The adult women and children tended to the fields and livestock as the adult men hunted in the forest that sat behind the village. Life here was calm and serene, though if a bit boring. Most of the residents didn’t mind that uneventful kind of life.  From an outside perspective, Luqa Village didn't look all that different from the other hundreds of villages inhabiting Lando. A small river ran nearby, providing clean water, and Servi saw a few deer bending down for a drink.

“It was so peaceful,” wrote an author as he stopped for a night. Though he refused to name the village out of respect for privacy, he had Luqa Village on his mind.

The smell of manure slowly mixed with the fresh air as the workers glanced over and saw two young women chatting happily. One had ears, much like those of a cat, and the other had black hair. Seeing how it was one of their race, a few Singi farmers hollered out and waved, prompting Momo to wave.  Servi joined in, even though she was Human, but the farmers didn't seem to mind.

They resumed their chat.

“I found out that there is a store near the Warden building that we can sell monster parts at. That could be a decent way of making some money. We could go into the sewers and kill a few monsters. We wouldn’t get Potential, but having money is always useful.”

“That’s a good idea. We’re gonna have to do that if we wanna get you a shield," Momo replied.

The two talked until they reached the end of the road that led into the village proper. A large red barn stood off to the side, and the pair saw a worker scrubbing and washing a cow. His long and pointy dark ears proved he was an Earth Elf.

“Oh! Cows are so cute!” Momo said.  Her tail displayed her true feelings by wagging fast back and forth.

The white and black beast happily mooed as the girls approached.

“Ya like cows, missy?” asked the Earth Elf. He turned around to greet them. His hands gripped a wet cloth, and a brown straw hat sat atop his head. The scent of soap ticked Momo’s noise as her mind raced through time to look back on fond memories.

“I do. My grandpa used to have some. Can I pet her?”

“Sure you can. I just got done scrubbing ole Messy here. She still might be a bit wet, though.”

“Messy?” Servi asked.

“When she was a wee thing, she used to get into damn near everything. The feed, the chicken coop, the horse stables, and even my bed one time, though I don’t know that happened. One day, my son called her Messy. Then I called her Messy.  Before I knew it, the whole darn village called her Messy.  She’s a right ole friendly gal, if not a bit messy," the Elf laughed at his own joke.

Servi and the man chatted a bit as Momo rubbed her hand across the cow's face. She shook in response, splashing water everywhere, and Momo used her other hand. Running them both up and down, she giggled quietly.

“What brings you two here?” He asked, bending down to pick up his bucket of brown water that sat nearby.

“We’re members of Warden, and we accepted a quest.”

“My son put in a quest not too long ago. You girls here for that?” the man walked over a bit and dumped the bucket.

“That depends. Is your son looking to collect shiroblooms?”

“That's him alright. He’s over there in the horse barn. I’d take you myself, but I gotta get Messy back in and wash the other cows. I’m awful sorry.”

“Please, don’t worry about it. Momo?”

“Hehe! You're so cute, aren't you?... Geh?!” Momo, lost in her little world, snapped back to reality when she heard Servi’s voice.

With face redder than Servi’s eyes, she meekly apologized. “I’m sorry, sir. It’s just been a while since I’ve been around a cow.”

“Haha. Don’t worry about it, girlie. I’m sure Messy liked the rubdown you gave her. Hey, I’ll tell you what. After you help my son, come back to me, and I’ll give you a bottle or two of Messy’s milk. It’s freshly squeezed.”

Messy mooed as if she agreed with him.

“Thank you. That’s very kind,” Servi said.

With a wave and a ‘see ya later,’ the girls walked over to the barn to search for their client.

“He was nice, wasn’t he?” Momo asked.  She turned around and waved once more at Messy.

“He was. Far nicer than that jackass, Nimea.”

“Yeah... I know I joined to be stronger, but meeting nice people is fun too,” Momo said. Though she acted like her life dream was to join Warden, and it was, for the most part, it didn’t mean that she was doubt-free.  When combined, the events of the previous day and Nimea created a dark shadow over her resolve. Still, Momo knew she had to stick with it. Whenever something awful happened, she knew that something good would happen because Grandpa had told her that.

And right now, that something good was Servi, though she wouldn’t admit it. Not out of pride or something else, but because she didn’t know it. She didn’t understand. Momo was the type of girl who would put her emotions last, and therefore she was emotionally undeveloped. But, in a deep corner of her heart, she was unconsciously thinking about her light, Servi.

The deep corner thought over how the only reason she, Momo, was in this spot was because of Servi. ‘If I didn’t meet her, would I have died?’ ‘If I had arrived a day early or late, would I be with Nimea?.’ ‘How much would my life have changed?’

Soon; not now, not tomorrow and not the next week, and maybe not even the next month or two, but soon, the weak embers of love and affection would illuminate each corner of her heart. At first, the light would be dim, small, and puny that it wouldn't even be noticeable. But like the famous saying went, ‘Keyya wasn’t built in a day.’

“Let’s try not to talk about him anymore, okay? Let’s wash him from our minds,” Servi said, trying to encourage her.

“You’re right. I need to focus.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Momo smiled as she stared at the horse barn.

“You know, when I was little, my grandpa had a few horses around the farm. We didn’t have them for long, but I remember they liked to be brushed out,” she recollected.

“Have you ever rode one?”

“No. The horses we had belonged to my grandpa’s friend. Grandpa said we couldn’t because they weren't ours. But I still imagined myself riding one as I brushed them.”

With Servi knowing yet another piece of her friend’s childhood, the two reached the barn and discovered it was open.

“Hello?” Servi said as she knocked on the door and entered. Momo followed behind. The ground was dirty, as to be expected of a barn, and they saw four horses. Two were brown, and two were black. On the opposite side of the barn, they saw a young boy examining a foal as it neighed in annoyance and struggled to break loose.

Servi spoke again, this time a little bit louder. “We’re here for your quest you put in at Warden. About the shiroblooms?”

“Ah, yes. Hello there.” The boy turned around. Like his dad, he was an Earth Elf, but his voice a bit higher than what Servi thought it would be. He had on blue overalls and thick, black waterproof boots. “Sorry, but I was just finishing up here. Would you mind waiting about five or so minutes? If you’d like, you’re welcome to pet the horses.”

“Not at all. Take your time. Come on, Momo.”

The boy picked up the struggling foal and walked over to the other end of the barn. Meanwhile, Servi walked over to the horse closest to her and put out her hand. The horse sniffed the unfamiliar hand before neighing.

“When a horse does that, it means he’s happy. Rub your hand down like this.”

Servi copied Momo’s motion, and soon, she found herself smiling. The horse was warm. The horse was alive. The horse was also the third living thing she met this morning that she didn’t want to kill.

A minute or so later, Momo skipped over to the two brown horses and petted them too.

“I’m sorry, horsy, I didn’t mean to make you wait,” she said in a carefree voice. Using both hands, she meticulously rubbed and scratched them, and they made sure she knew they were happy.

“I’m terribly sorry about the wait. I hope you two didn’t mind.” the boy came back and was in the process of taking off his gloves.

“Not at all. And Momo over there is happy she got to pet a horse.”

“Geh!” Once again, Servi’s voice brought Momo back to reality as she walked over, embarrassed for the second time.

“I’m sorry about that. It’s just I haven’t seen a horse in a long time.”

“Please, don’t worry about it. I’m sure they enjoyed the attention. So you’re my escorts? My name is Tarch. Nice to meet ya,” he held out his hand, and Servi shook it, followed by Momo.

“My name is Servi. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Momo. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Servi, Momo, It's nice to meet you.  Did you have a chance to read over the quest?”

“Yep. You wanted to collect shiroblooms, right?”

“That’s right. There’s a nice little spot over in the woods behind us where they bloom, and there’s a trail we can follow.”

“If there's a trail, then why ask Warden?” Servi asked.

“There’s been rumors of a large rat or something nearby. I'm not blessed. Neither is my father. If something did attack, we couldn't protect ourselves. Oh, there's one more thing.  I’m a bit ashamed to say this, but I’m terrible with a bow.”

Servi didn’t understand, but Momo later explained that being good with a bow was like breathing to an Elf. It just came naturally to them. Any Elf who lacked that skill was looked down upon by the other members of their race.

“I see. Well, it just so happens that Momo and I have experience fighting large rats,” Servi said, and Momo puffed out their chests.

“That’s right!” she added.

Tarch clapped his hands together. “That’s wonderful news! One more thing, I didn’t expect an answer to my quest right away. if you two are ready, shall we get going?”

“Sure,” Servi said. Tarch walked out of the barn, and Servi and Momo followed him. Before they went to the forest, they stopped by Tarch’s modest house. It had two bedrooms and a kitchen, nothing else. There was, however, an outhouse located nearby. It didn't take Servi long to do the math on that one.

Tarch ran in real quick and came out holding a brown wicker basket.

“Sorry, but I needed my gathering basket.”

“It’s no trouble. Are you ready?” Momo asked.  Tarch promptly nodded.

About twenty minutes later, the three were deep within the forest. The trail they were followed was made by Tarch's father.  After years of traveling to and from, the mantle passed to Tarch. This forest was like the back of his hand. He knew every nook and cranny, and the chances of him getting lost were less than slim.

“Hmm, I’d say we have about twenty-five minutes left before we get there. If you two don’t mind, I have a question I'd like to ask.,” said Tarch. He was in the middle, with Servi in front and Momo in the back. They both agreed that this would be the safest formation. Before they left, Servi used a single stack of Protection on the three of them. Tarch’s eyes went wide with amazement. He told the two that not once had anyone ever used a skill on him. Like Momo, he said that the light produced by Protection was warm.

“Go for it,” Servi said.

“If it isn’t too much trouble, could I trouble you two to tell me about your travels or quests? I don’t get the chance to leave the village that often, and I have even fewer chances to talk to adventurers.”

“We don’t mind, right?” Momo said.

“Not at all, but we only have the one adventure.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, not quite understanding.

“Yesterday was the first day we met.”

“Yep. Today is our second day adventuring together.”

“Hahahahah!” Tarch laughed a bit.

“Is everything ok?” Momo asked.

“I’m sorry. Forgive me for laughing.  From the way you two talk, I thought you’ve been friends for years. You act so close after knowing each other a single day.”

“Do we?” Momo asked. She was glad she was at the back. No one saw her blushing and smiling.

“Yes, you do. Don’t take my laughing the wrong way. I didn’t mean it like that. If I’ve offended you two in some way, I’m sorry.”

Grandpa, I don’t want to be too hasty in saying this, but I might’ve found someone to watch my back.

“Nah, you don’t have to be sorry. It’s all good,” Servi replied.

And so, Servi and Momo took turns describing their not-so-epic first adventurer. Though they didn’t agree upon it beforehand, they left out the more unsavory parts. All that was left was a somewhat fairytale-esque story, but Tarch didn’t care. His entire life consisted of the farm and animals. When he had a chance to hear stories, he didn’t take them for granted.

“Wow! You really dodged all those attacks? Incredible!”

Servi blushed. “It wasn’t all that incredible. I still got hit in the end.”

“But reading the muscle movement in the rat’s leg and predicting the tail swipe is impressive, not to mention that you out even called out and warned Momo. I’m not even sure our village hunters could do that.”

“Oh, well, thank you!” she said, blushing a bit. Servi wasn’t used to be praised. She might have never been commended like that or thanked before. It was a longshot, but the possibility wasn't zero, especially considering her lack of memories.

As they continued to walk on the trail, Tarch explained a few of the flowers and herbs  growing nearby.  As he did, small birds chirped and sang all around.  Momo couldn't do much more than smile at the beautiful scene unfolding before her.  It was like something from her picture books that her grandpa had read to her.

“That red flower there is an akabloom. You see the black stripes going down? Well, they start out white, then they turn yellow as the flower ages. When it’s black, it means it’s ripe and ready for picking.”

“What is it used for?” Momo asked.  She hopped over a small wooden branch in her path.

“It’s mainly used for reducing fevers. By grinding their petals with the petals of a shirobloom, it's possible to create  medicine. It’s very bitter and doesn’t taste good, but it’s very effective. Oh! That right there is a spudier. The little brown spikes that stick off of the stem are poisonous, so watch out. It won’t kill, but you’ll get a terrible bellyache.”

“Can that be used for medicine?” This time, it was Servi who asked.

“It can. If I extract the poison and drip it on a wound, it’ll numb it. But I don’t recommend it. The difference between numbing and being sick is a minuscule amount.”

“How strange. I never knew that,” Servi said.

“if you have the chance, I highly recommend renting or buying a book about plants. I’d imagine that as adventurers, there’ll be times in which knowing what plants and flowers are medicinal would come in handy.”

“He’s right, Servi. It might be something to look into.”

“Maybe we can ask the receptionists at the guild if they know a place,” Servi kicked away a stray branch into the nearby bushes.

A little fawn could be seen along the tree line to the left. Its small and brown body struggled to walk before falling. Not undeterred, it timidly got to its legs and started again. A bit in the distance sat a doe and a stag, who watched on. When the baby deer fell again, the buck stood up and walked over and nudged her slightly.

In a low voice, Tarch explained. “Consider yourselves lucky. The deer around these parts are very timid and rarely show themselves. I don’t know how much you two know about them, but baby deer, also known as a fawn, can walk minutes after they’re born. It's seldom for the father to stick around.”

“She’s so cute!!!” Momo silently squealed.

“I agree, but we better move. The buck is known to have a violent temper.”

Servi agreed with Tarch, and the group backed up.  Momo waved goodbye as they continued down the trail. About fifteen minutes later, Tarch spoke up and said they were close.

“You see the cut on that tree? My dad put that there when he first found this place. It's not really that useful now that we have this trail,” When they passed by it, Tarch put his hand to it and silently said a prayer. While they stopped and waited, Servi asked why, and Momo explained.

“Earth Elves have a bit of a tradition. When they mark a tree, they say a prayer which functions as an apology for damaging the tree.”

“How interesting,” Servi strained her ears, but she couldn't hear anything.

Shouldn’t you know that? It’s pretty common knowledge, is what Momo wanted to say. Considering it was the second day, she didn’t want to do anything to start any drama or hardships. It wasn’t her place to do so.

“I’m sorry about that, but we’re just a few minutes away.”

“It’s no problem, but can I ask something?” Servi said as the three continued walking. The wind was blowing towards them, offering a way to relax and blowing away the sweat accumulated on Tarch and Momo.

“Sure,” he said.

“We also took on a quest that wanted us to bring back five shiroblooms each. Would it be alright if we took ten?”

“It’s no problem at all. Honestly, I'm thankful you asked first.”

“Thank you, Mr. Tarch!” Momo said.  She silently clapped her hands.

“You’re most welcome. And please, you can call me Tarch.”

Another five minutes later, and both Servi and Momo gasped. The clearing where the shiroblooms grew was stunning and jaw-dropping. It was like a mystical location full of wonder. The dark and gloomy brown of the tall trees produced a perfect triangular area of space.  The spread-out leaves allowed tiny rays of sunlight to peek through, almost like there were lights under the ground that shined above through holes. In the middle of each beam of light sat a small white flower. If there was such a thing as a holy place, this would be it.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more beautiful place,” Momo said, and Servi agreed with her.

“It really is, isn’t it? You know, there’s a small legend about this place.  Do you two wish to hear it?” Tarch asked as he picked. He used a small scissor to snip the stem as close to the ground as he could. Then, using a delicate hand, he gripped the bottom of the stem and slowly transported it to the basket.

Momo drew her sword and answered Tarch.  "If you don't mind, I'll be happy to hear it."

“They say that long ago, over 500,000 years ago, this place was where a powerful warrior fell in love. The woman the warrior met became a close friend, and the two went on many adventurers together.  Eventually, they married right in this spot. Well, that’s what my dad and grandpa told me when they first brought me here.”

“That sounds so romantic!” Momo said. She brought a hand up to her eyes and scattered a stubborn tear.

“I’d like to think that it’s true,” Tarch said as he collected the third flower.

“How come the trees make a triangle?” Servi asked. She also had her sword out. Since it had been some time, she reapplied Protection to the three of them.

“That I do not know. It could be the Gods made it this way when they created the world, or it could simply be by chance. A third possibility is that the powerful warrior made this area using their power. Sadly, it’s nothing more than a passing legend.”

“A handsome warrior, marrying a beautiful princess... Isn’t that just romantic?”

Momo really likes this place, doesn't she? Itarr said.

“It is,” replied Servi.  She didn't want to ignore Itarr, but Servi found it hard to talk to her when she was around Momo and other people. "I kinda want to meet them now."

For a moment, it looked like this would be an easy quest, but it was rare for a plan to go off without a hitch.