The interior of the Adventurer's Guild building in the early morning was filled with a large number of people. As soon as one stepped into the spacious hall of the guild building, the most eye-catching thing was the large bulletin board situated in the center of the hall.
The bulletin board was densely covered with request forms of various sizes, and despite the early hour, many groups of adventurers were gathered around, examining the requests.
The request forms on the bulletin board contained a variety of different commissions. There were requests to exterminate goblins that had appeared in a distant village, and others asking for the elimination of a pack of Gnoles that had settled in the forest.
Adventurers gathered in front of the bulletin board, with understaffed parties seeking additional adventurers to join their quests, while others pondered which requests to accept based on their own abilities and experience.
The guild receptionists were moving without a break. They recommended suitable quests to adventurers and busily rushed around to distribute rewards for already completed missions.
In one corner of the guild's interior, there was a stall run by a merchant selling medicines effective for wounds. Though he was a wandering merchant, he sold various herbs and remedies needed by adventurers at affordable prices. Adventurers gathered around the merchant, showing him the wounds they had sustained in previous quests and engaging in conversation.
In another corner of the hall, a merchant selling portable rations was visible. This merchant had prepared light and nutritious food for adventurers embarking on long journeys. He displayed various dried foods and preserved items, recommending suitable rations to visiting adventurers and even adding a handful of dried fruits as a bonus for his customers.
In this way, the spacious hall of the Adventurer's Guild was filled with various voices and people. The voices of adventurers chatting, the calls of merchants, and the hurried footsteps all blended together, creating a lively atmosphere.
And in one side of that bustling hall, Gravel could be seen intently examining a request form on the bulletin board.
"Hmm... 'Seeking adventurers to assist with beast material gathering...' It says. This is a request from a village called Liant, southwest of Ves-Dinas. So, I'd have to go a bit further south from Slerom?"
Gravel checked the small map drawn on the request form and detached it from the bulletin board.
'Collecting webs from Pardosian Spiders... and providing protection from any potential beast threats. Detailed collection methods and schedule to be explained at Malik Workshop in Liant. Hmm... It's in a direction I haven't explored yet, so maybe I should take this quest?'
With the request form in hand, Gravel approached the reception desk and inquired about consulting on the quest with the guild receptionist. Afterward, the two sat facing each other at a table in one corner of the hall.
"A request from Liant village, It's a common one around this time before winter arrives. The map... is on the request form, but the guild can provide a more detailed route. Um... Do you have any companions?"
"Ah, no. My companions are on other quests, so it's just me. Will that be a problem?"
"Oh? No, not at all. It's not about hunting Pardosian Spiders, just collecting their webs. Then, please wait a moment, and I'll bring you a map marked with the path to Liant village."
The receptionist stood up and headed to the back of the reception desk, returning shortly with a small map in hand, just as she had said.
"Then, I wish you a safe return, Gravel."
"Yes. See you next time."
Gravel responded to the receptionist's polite farewell with a smile, stood up from his seat, and walked out of the guild building.
"It's been a while since I've ridden a horse..."
*****
On a quiet road, Gravel was riding a horse with a pattern mixed of black, white, and brown.
The first day after leaving the city of Slerom, southwest of Ves-Dinas. The path heading south wound in curves, and on both sides of the road, fields and hills turned to autumn colors stretched out.
The weather was mild with sunlight shining down, and a cool breeze blew gently. Gravel enjoyed the beautiful surrounding scenery as he slowly urged his horse along the path. A small river flowed beside the road, and irregularly shaped but lined-up trees stood along it. The sound of the wind whispered in his ears, and the chirping of birds perched on the trees could also be heard.
As the sun began to set, Gravel searched for a suitable campsite. He dismounted, surveyed the area, gathered branches and dry grass, and built a small fire a short distance from the road. After lighting the fire, the evening sky turned red like the color of the campfire, and Gravel sat by the warm flames for a while. Then, he stood up, gave water and feed to his horse, and had a simple meal with travel rations purchased from a general store in Slerom. Under a sky glittering with countless stars, he fell asleep.
The next morning. A cold wind blew, and the songs of birds woke Gravel. Rubbing his eyes, he pulled out a small map from his belongings, quickly packed his things, mounted his horse again, and set off on the road.
'I have to cover more distance today...'
While traveling along the road, Gravel encountered a merchant's wagon. The merchant's wagon was loaded with several sacks of axes, large wooden barrels, sacks that seemed to contain grains like beans, and a large black cast-iron pot. Catching up to the wagon's pace, Gravel greeted him, and the wagon's owner returned the greeting with a bright smile.
"Hello. Where are you headed?" the merchant asked.
"I'm on my way to Liant village for a quest from the Adventurer's Guild. I heard it's a place with many weaving workshops." Gravel replied.
"Ah! Liant. It's a fine place. They always produce high-quality fabrics. I often go there to buy cloth myself. I hope the goods on my wagon sell well so I can head to Liant and buy some good-quality fabric. Safe travels to you!"
After the short conversation, the merchant waved goodbye and pulled ahead of Gravel.
Around afternoon, Gravel met an old man carrying firewood on his back in preparation for winter.
Gravel stopped his horse briefly, dismounted, and helped carry the load to the old man's house.
The old man said, "I'm just a poor farmer, so all I can offer in return are these crops." and handed over a few potatoes and carrots as thanks. Gravel then continued riding until late at night.
On the morning of the third day, Gravel set off again. The effort of traveling under the moonlight until late last night seemed worthwhile. He figured he could arrive in Liant village by afternoon at the latest.
As time passed, the road leading to the village narrowed, and the surrounding landscape changed to small forests and streams.
By afternoon, as Gravel had predicted, the sight of Liant village unfolded before his eyes.
'Are those large vats for dyeing?'
From the village entrance, large vats for dyeing fabrics were visible everywhere, along with people hanging dyed cloths to dry.
Fabrics of various colors fluttered in the wind, and as he approached the central square, the creaking sounds of spinning wheels and the clattering of wooden looms filled the village.
The villagers moved busily, and Gravel slowly observed the passing people and the village's appearance.
Here and there, village women were busily weaving fabrics with deft hand movements. Gravel watched their work with interest as he walked along.
'I need to find Malik Workshop...'
After wandering around the village for a while, turning his head this way and that, Gravel asked a passing villager for directions to Malik Workshop and headed toward the village outskirts.
"That building over there is Malik Workshop."
The villager pointed to a building surrounded by several large trees. After receiving Gravel's thanks, the villager turned back the way he came. His clothes were stained with dyes of various colors, indicating he worked in one of the village's workshops dyeing fabrics.
The distant Malik Workshop was enveloped by several lush trees standing as if to protect it. Gravel walked along the narrow path leading to the workshop, listening to the crunch of fallen leaves under his feet. As he drew closer to the workshop, he could smell the dusty scent warmed by sunlight and a strong aroma he thought must be from natural dyes.
Upon arriving at the workshop, Gravel faced a large wooden door. The door was adorned with intricate patterns, engraved with what seemed to be the workshop's symbol—a golden spool of thread. As he stood there for a moment, gazing at the patterns on the door, an unfamiliar old man's voice reached him.
"That's the emblem of Viella, She Who Walks Before the Wind—guider of lost paths and Seer of the Shifting Sands."
"Ah... I see. It was unfamiliar since it's my first time seeing it... I was just looking."
Gravel said, turning to look at the old man who had approached unnoticed and was now standing beside him, gazing at the emblem of the goddess Viella on the workshop door.
The old man who had spoken to Gravel had a distinctive appearance. His skin was a dark brown like the bark of a deep forest tree, his hair a faint orange mixed with unkempt gray strands, a bushy beard, and deep wrinkles on his forehead. His half-closed eyes met Gravel's.
"Hmhmhm, you're not from around here either, like me. Come for the request? I heard my granddaughter put in a quest at the Adventurer's Guild."
"I'm Gravel. As you said, I'm from the far eastern Huld Kingdom. And yes, I came after accepting the quest from the Adventurer's Guild."
"Hmhmhm, can't leave a guest standing at the door, so come on in first. I'm Hamid, the owner of this workshop."
With a creak, the door opened, and Hamid invited Gravel to walk inside the workshop.
Crossing the old wooden threshold behind Hamid, Gravel examined the interior of the workshop as the aged hinges creaked again.
He saw looms weaving by crossing warp and weft threads, and spinning wheels twisting fibers into yarn also caught his eye.
"Come on in. Your name was... what again?"
"It's Gravel."
"Ah, right, Gravel. Care for a cup of tea? Even if you say no, I'll brew it anyway."
"I enjoy tea regularly. If you're offering, I'll gladly accept."
Gravel politely answered the question and approached the small table where Hamid had gestured. Hamid picked up a large brass kettle nearby and went to the brazier to start boiling water.