The blue knight stood above the red knight menacingly. Astrape could feel the power emanating from the knight; it was exhilarating, but calming. There was no bloodlust, no malice; it was just pure power. Then it seemed to be sucked out of the air, the blue knight sheathed their sword and stuck out their hand.
"Stand up, this duel is over. You did well, but you need more experience. Stop trying to do the same thing over and over again. It becomes easy to read."
The red knight seemed to scoff, but the man took the blue knight's hand and stood up.
"Whatever, thank you."
The red knight looked away as the announcer stepped back up, stepping on the box to be above the crowd.
"Congratulations!" He said loudly, then bent down to question the blue knight. "What's your name again?"
The blue knight responded quietly. Astrape was unable to hear despite her demihuman senses. Then the announcer grasped the knight's hand, raising it into the air.
"Iris has won the competition!"
The crowd erupted in a round of applause as the announcer flipped one gold coin into the air towards the knight known as Iris.
Iris caught it, shoving it into their pocket. Then they reached up and slowly took off their helmet. Beautiful blue hair spilled from her helmet, falling onto her shoulders like a waterfall made of liquid sapphire. The woman also had deep blue eyes and pale, white skin. She held her helmet in her arms, scanning the crowd with her mesmerizing eyes. Her eyes met with Astrape, and she gave a gentle smile before completely looking around the crowd. Astrape felt her heart flutter from the beautiful, powerful, and dazzling woman.
Astrape did want to stay, but she also had stuff to do; she wanted to explore before meeting back with Anemone.
'Oh wait, where is Anemone?… oh yeah, she said she would be off doing stuff and to meet back later. I couldn't even reject it, I wanted to stay with her.'
Astrape changed her direction and exited the crowd, accidentally bumping into some people on the way out, nice and rude.
"Sorry, excuse me. Sorry, excuse me. Sorry." She said to each person.
Astrape eventually made it out of the crowd and back into the street as she wandered the streets, seeking quiet, desolate places. As she walked down a road with a handful of people, she heard wailing from someone with a high-pitched voice. Eventually, finding a small, lonely, little kid whose eyes were red from rubbing them.
"What is it? Are you lost?" She said, offering a smile.
"I-I lost my balloon… I-it's red.. with a smile on i-it. -ts supposed to help mommy find me…" He said, slowly calming down towards the end of his sentence.
"Well, follow me, I will go get you a new one." She squatted down, offering her hand while looking the young kid in the eyes.
"Th-thank you…" He said, sniffling as he took her hand.
Astrape stood back up, leading him out of the quiet alleyway that he was in. A few minutes passed, and she found a stall that sold balloons. She paid a few copper for one, then held it as she squatted again.
"Hold out your arm."
The young kid eventually complied, now just sniffling and no longer crying.
"It's gonna be okay. Don't cry."
Astrape tied the balloon in a loose knot around the kid's wrist and offered another smile.
"Follow me. Let's go get ice cream and wait for your mom." She said, a wave of nostalgia and sadness washing over her as she thought of her parents who were away, and her brother, though she didn't let it show.
"O-okay.."
Astrape eventually led the kid to a small but busy stall with a bunch of kids; it was a stall that sold freshly made ice cream. The ice cream was served on small cones that were made by warming a thin batter, then rolling it around a thin, cone-shaped mold while it was still warm and pliable. The cones were not served warm for obvious reasons. Then a small, metal ladle was used to put two scoops of ice cream into each cone.
The ice cream was made through a mixture of snow or by breaking ice, and then it was combined with milk. Astrape ordered one of the original flavors, which was the most basic ice cream, mixed with nuts and sliced strawberries to give it flavor. Whereas the young kid that she was looking after ordered a new vanilla cone. The vanilla ice cream, which was inside the cone, had an orange tint as it was mixed with a concoction of honey and ground-up vanilla pods, causing the ice cream to look like amber dust.
The young kid smiled brightly as he received it, his sniffling, tears, and red eyes completely gone. This sight caused Astrape's heart to become joyful.
'I want to make more people smile like that.'
"Let's go sit and enjoy this; your mom should be looking for you."
"Okay!" The kid said excitedly while licking the ice cream and holding the balloon tightly.
Astrape soon led the kid to a small bench in an open and busy area. Astrape enjoyed the ice cream very much; it tasted like heaven, and the kid must have felt the same way, as his face was painted with bliss.
Astrape didn't like crowds much, though today forced her to make an exception. She was forced to be around them, to watch the show earlier, to take care of this kid, and later, when around Anemone and Father, to enjoy the festival. Crowds were loud and often dangerous; you don't have any idea who may be lurking in the shadows, who may be stalking or looking to take advantage of you, just like what happened in her past.
The kid then leaned onto Astrape's side, his mouth covered with the ice cream, causing Astrape to giggle slightly.
"Is everything okay?"
The kid didn't have a chance to reply as he shot up, bolting forward with incredible speed. Astrape's eyes lagged behind for a moment, then she saw that the kid was being embraced by a woman, a healthy-looking woman with round glasses, and a scar on her forehead, on her rose-colored cheeks. She was wearing a tight, purple dress that went down to the ground, almost covering her black heels that clacked every time she stepped.
"I have been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been, darling?" The mother said to the son.
Astrape was in the back, just smiling as she watched. She was happy that she could help them reunite.
"My balloon popped, and I got lost in the crowd. I'm sorry, Mama." He said, his voice growing quiet towards the end of his sentence, before suddenly becoming excited again. "But Mama, this nice lady helped me!"
"Oh my, well, I am just glad you are alright, darling." She said softly.
The mother then stepped towards Astrape, her heels clicking against the stone.
"Thank you, miss. Thank you so much for returning my son to me. You have no idea how thankful I am."
"It's alright, ma'am. I am just glad I could help." Astrape said with a soft smile.
The woman then pulled Astrape into a bear hug, which was very strange and awkward for Astrape, though she didn't fight it.
"If you ever need a place to stay, my name is Hope. Just ask around for me, I am a librarian, people will recognize my name."
"Thank you, ma'am. Will do."
The woman then hugged Astrape again before walking off with her son, holding his hand tightly as he held the balloon.
***
Anemone ran towards Tasim, who was walking away. He still had spiky, dark black hair and circular glasses, causing his eyes to become large, similar to a puppy's. He was now wearing a black coat with six buttons down the middle, which made it look similar to a suit. Underneath was a plain, white shirt. As Anemone caught up with him, she noticed that even on this coat, there was the Rod of Asclepius, or at least the beginning of one. It didn't contain the second serpent, nor the wings that normally would adorn the top of the staff.
"Tasim, is that you?"
Tasim was startled for a moment as he turned to face Anemone.
"Who are y- oh. Hello ma'am. You were a fellow applicant during the test for future adventurers. Sorry, I am bad with names. Would you mind telling me yours?"
"I am, Anemone. It's nice to meet you. I wanted to ask what you were doing here in Havefard."
"I am here to find a party to go into a dungeon with me. I have been here for a week and have yet to find anyone."
"Well, you are in luck. I have a party, and I think most of us would love to go to a dungeon. Or at least I would. I have never been in one." Anemone said in a fast pace and with a smile.
"It will be dangerous as it is unexplored. Many dungeons have been found recently, and no one has ever explored them. Plus, we would need to learn to communicate, have everyone say their strengths and weaknesses."
"That shouldn't be too difficult. I use wind magic, and one of my group members uses life and water magic; the other is an archer. May I ask why you would like to go into the dungeon?"
"It is personal and another reason. The other reason is that I heard rumors about these dungeons having treasures that help you develop new abilities. Simple ones, such as being able to see farther, to one such as being able to pause the movement of objects in a certain area."
"Have you scoped out the dungeon at all?"
"I only descended the stairs connected to the entrance. There, I saw three tablets with writing on each. I didn't get time to read them, though, as goblins appeared." Tasim said with a slight shudder as he thought back to the experience of a horde of goblins chasing him out of the dungeon. "Why do you want to go, Anemone?"
"To experience the unknown, to grow, to learn, and to be the first to something." She said happily at the thought of discovering new treasures.
"You said your party consists of one wind mage, one healer, and one archer. We will have no frontlight." He said with worry.
"We will manage. We just have to be careful. What is that symbol on your coat?" Anemone said with curiosity.
"It is the Rod of Asclepius. Though it is unfinished, as I must meet certain conditions to engrave the rest of the symbol."
"What conditions?"
"You sure do ask a lot of questions. And those conditions are something I will not say."
"Well, where would you like to meet and when?"
"Noon, tomorrow, right here." He said, excited for the conversation to finally be over.
"Alright, goodbye then!" Anemone said and then ran off.
Tasim sighed with relief as he watched Anemone part from him.
'Finally, a moment alone, I want to wind down."
As Anemone left, she found herself drawn to a lonely but delightful-looking stall. In front of the stall were pieces of art. The piece of art that caught her attention was one of a pope sitting with a royal blue blanket on his lap. Across from him was a ginger lady with a baby holding a cross located on her lap. Behind the woman was an angel lowering a crown upon the lady. The individuals were located inside a decadent marble building overlooking a river.
As Anemone admired the photo, a woman wearing a tan dress adorned with a purple silk jacket came to the front of the stall. She had a gentle smile and dark black hair, in her left hand was a pallete, in the other was a brush covered in orange paint. The woman, not noticing Anemone, stroked the paint onto a canvas, which showed a lavish landscape. The part of the canvas that the woman was filling slowly came to be a light orange sunset far off in the distance.