Once Star and I get off the train, I see the sleep-talking man from the train looking at us. Once I shift my gaze toward the man, he looks away and starts walking off. This town is called Salzico. Salzico is the most western town in the Terre Kingdom, known for its rustic, yet colorful architecture. The town has the number one most dangerous beast in the world; however, that is near a ravine that's only close enough to Salzico to be considered a Salzican Beast. I've read that Salzico has this tradition of honoring the dead via a large stone tablet that recounts all of a family's fallen loved ones.
"I wonder what that was about." I say to myself. Once I put my gaze toward where Star was, she already began strolling off toward food vendors. Which is another big part about the town.
I haven't been able to tell her about our route yet, so I should get to that.
"Lady Star, wait!" I say to her.
"Huh? Oh, right, you." She spoke.
I don't get why SHE IS this way, and i'm a bit afraid to ask.
"What do you want?" Star continued.
"I need you to listen to me for a while, I can't protect you if you're going somewhere i'm not." I speak.
"Fine, where are we going?"
"We're traveling by the borders, so we don't encounter monsters."
"No, that won't do." She speaks confidently. "If you seriously think that your little wallet will be enough for the trip, you're in way over your head."
She was right because my wallet should only be enough for one person alone. I should have really thought this over a bit more.
"You're right, let's start a quest." I spoke.
A quest is like a favor you do someone that will in-turn pay you. Most quests are rescue of a pet, infestation control, or defeating a large monster. Quests are exceedingly popular in the Terre Kingdom, and the Dragon Kingdom, because they are the easiest to find harm in.
"I mean, I guess you could do that." She said.
Yeah, this girl really doesn't like me huh.
"You need me to rent you a hotel room while i'm gone?"
"Yes."
Wow, not even a thank you.
"No that's it, you're coming with me." I tell her.
"Well, i'm not helping… unless you NEED me to, like I said." She speaks.
She is actually the weirdest person i've ever met.
Once we reach the quest bulletin board, (usually in the middle of every small town or city) I see a quest for the average beginner-intermediate party.
"Well, giant camel milkin- "
"No." She interrupts. "i'll pick it out myself." She adds.
Some time later, she comes back with a quest, and we head out where she takes me. Honestly, I was starting to like town: the atmosphere was olden, but it was a beautiful town filled with festival decorations. It reminds me of a fiction book I read called "Mexico."
We head toward some sandy hills, and she says… "Found you."
She lifts her arm and lowers her wrist as her hand begins to glow. The glow turns into a light ray and hits the sand.
Suddenly, the sky turns dark, no, there is a force-field that makes it seem that way.
"Barrier magic?" I ask.
"Yes, we have a visitor with us." She speaks.
"A visitor?" I look behind me, there is a figure with a sword about to swipe through my neck.
I lean back as far as I can with my back to evade the slice.
I take a few quick steps back. It's the sleep-talker from the train!
Think! Think! Think! Our arena is just desolate land; there isn't much to take advantage of… Unless…
I conjure rocks under us to launch at him with my staff.
He moves from side to side avoiding the rocks, slowly closing the distance between us once again.
This time, I go toward him as he begins the slash motion.
The hilt on his blade hits my neck, but that's when I conjure up a stone pillar underneath him to hit his blade and force him to let go of it.
He tries to hit me with his fist, but as he loads his arm for the strike, I hit him with my staffs' peak hitting his chin.
Then, I finish him off with a batting strike across his face.
Why was he so slow? If he was a melee fighter, he should be much faster than that. There is no way I would be able to dodge a professional melee fighter's attack. I step closer and I smell the reek of beer.
"Of course he was drunk." I say to myself.
"Are you done?" Star says.
"Yes madam." I reply.
You know, despite the way she says things, I do think she just has faith in me; so, despite that it feels great.
"Because i'm stuck in the quicksand."
Never-mind.
We make it back to town a few hours later and find a hotel. All I had to do on the quest was use my earth magic to get rid of the properties of the quicksand. Currently i'd rank my elemental magic like this: earth at tier 4, fire, and water at tier 5, then air at tier 6. The subcategories like, barrier, light, dark, and lightning are at tier 6 as well. My healing is at tier 5 though.
"Hey Lady Star- "
"Don't call me lady anymore. It sounds like i'm royalty and people shouldn't be hearing that especially with my name." She speaks.
Oh finallyyyyyyyy.
"Star, i'm heading out to the market to find a magic book or whatever. Will you stay here please?" I ask.
"Yeah, do whatever you want."
I head out to the market and mingle with a few townsfolk on the news. Apparently, a drunken man is connected to the Suoniv.
Suoniv? That's Anan's last name.
I try to ask for more details, but I get nothing clear, or concise. Anan must've been here recently. Or maybe he's still here! He didn't go on train, so it must have taken longer to arrive here. Well, if we see each other, we'll have a great time.
I couldn't find any magic spells book. Just bad luck today, maybe tomorrow when the shops refresh with new deals.
I head to the tavern to have a few drinks, i've been meaning to try out the Camelramel Milk blend. What's that? it's sweetened camel milk from the caramel dung sweet camel produce. It's not very healthy but i'd say it's my favorite drink.
According to Star, our next destination should be the Fels District. it's the second most powerful district in the Terre Kingdom, but it's a delightful place if you're rich. Based on the information i've received, Fels district is the more political big district in the Terre Kingdom, as well as the most segregation causing district. The low-income citizens really have it rough, and I wish I could help them. That will have to wait however because we must make a bit more funds before setting out on a journey across the desert.
One day, looking at the bulletin with Star I see a mission my mother once told me about.
"The Dragon of the North, defeat it, and I will pay 1,000 emeralds", it says.
"Are you crazy?" Star replies.
Yeah, that was a given. The mission is one my mother came into with a party of six yet only got out with two of her comrades.
"I didn't mean we'd do it." I say.
"Do it???" She quickly replies astonished by my words. She regains her composure quickly, thinking I said we would fight the dragon I believe.
We picked out a quest, dealing with an infestation of scorbats at a nearby cave. Star did seem a bit off if I can even say that. Maybe she felt embarrassed about earlier, messing up her words and such.
By the end of our first week at Salzico I decided to pick up a quest to deal with a dungeon monster. This monster was said to live in a nearby cave just south of Salzico.
"Woah, this cave is dark." I say to myself.
At that moment a few bats fly past me, and I begin to hear a gurgling noise beyond the walls of the cave.
I decide to make an incision through the walls, and to my surprise I find a secret room with no entrances or exits. The room is one big mural which shows an artwork of six dragons. Five of the dragons have a dragon's heart depicted in the middle of each dragon's body. One of them, and the smallest one, has human a heart.
"Where have I seen this before? Oh!" I remembered.
Back in Kamino, when I would study about the world with Anan in the library, I read a story of the founding gods of the Serpent Continent. The book included not only the creators, but the disciples of the gods, which were the five dragons who ruled each Kingdom.
"This room depicts six, and one with a human heart? This doesn't make any sense."
I may just not be able to remember because that was a few years ago though.
I cover the hole I made earlier and return to my mission of defeating the monster that lurks in the cave.
I see a staircase, head below and find myself in a dimly lit room, with a huge Chinchibat (Chinchilla/Bat.) laying restlessly in the middle.
"Is this the creature they wanted exterminated?"
"Sir… Please… Wa… ter…" I hear in my head.
"Does the creature have some sort of telepathic power?" I ask myself.
I assumed that if it was asking for water politely, there was no harm in doing it the favor.
I use my staff to lightly pour some water in an earth cup I made just prior and give it to the creature.
"Thank you, sir." I hear in my head once more.
It seems like the creature does use telepathy.
"If you don't mind me asking, why did you need water? A cave like this should have some kind of irrigation." I ask.
"Ah yes, you see some humans come into this cave often to try to hunt our species, I am the last of my kind. They put fumes in my home, and it has been getting hard to breathe, my lungs are so dry." It says.
"That's awful…" I speak.
I have been hearing of ways to use barrier magic to carry someone in your "shadow," but I doubt my abilities are proficient enough to do so.
CRACK! - - BOOM!
"They have come again." It says.
This cave is actually like a big maze, with many holes that lead to corridors, and big empty spaces. There may just be other ways inside.
The Chinchibat flies through a tunnel, but I follow.
I don't know what i'm getting myself into right now, but it looks worse for the creature than us humans. The fumes get worse the more I follow it, and it seems we're getting closer to the people who set it up.
We reach a cliff, atop a large open area of the cave, in the middle are a few thugs using dynamite to blow the area up.
"HEY, STOP THIS RIGHT NOW." I yell without thinking.
The thugs throw a piece of dynamite below my standing area, and I plunge down.
Without good Air magic i'm done for by this fall.
"THINK, THINK, THINK!"
I land on the soft surface of my Chinchibat friend who flies me toward safety.
"I've decided to go with you if that is fine with you sir." It says to me.
"Of course; however, you're not able to step outside in the sun currently, right?" I say, knowing that bat creatures cannot be out in the sun.
"Chinchibat's have a strong affinity for barrier magic, i'm using it right now to speak with you." It says.
"Well, great! But we should take care of those thugs, shouldn't we?"
"It would be my pleasure." It speaks.
We chase off the thugs, protecting my new ally's home.
"May I call you Master from now on sir?" It asks.
"Uhh, sure if you want. But what's your name?" I ask.
"I don't have one Master." It responds.
"Well then shall I give you one?"
"I would be honored Master."
Well, he's kind of cute looking, but also big and strong, with the power of flight, and strong barrier magic…
"How about Iris?" It may sound a bit like a name for girls, but i'm sure it's masculine enough for this fella.
"I love it, Master!" Iris replies.
"Okay you shouldn't have to call me Master every time though, my real name is Everest."
"I'm sorry Master…"
A few days later…
It turns out, news got around of me teaming up with Iris, and people in the town are starting to research monsters more, and how they affect their environment. It's nice to know other monsters like Iris may be able to live peacefully with humans. I saw a newspaper the other day talking about it being banned to grief places of refuge for peaceful monsters, so that's great! Star didn't like the idea of owning basically a large pet just about bigger than me, and her combined, but she liked Iris enough and understood his issue.
Another time I got a quest to save my camelramel milk. Turns out, some thieves stole the supplies, and camels to make the incredible, sweet, nectary delight I craved every day.
At night, I depart from Star and hop on Iris to search for the crooks.
Despite this situation, it is so relaxing flying on Iris. His body is so warm, and soft. And i'm feeling the wind breeze of a desert at night. I'm beginning to really grow fond of Salzico.
"Found them Master." Says Iris.
"Good job, let's get down there." I ask.
Iris flies us low and makes the sand form dust clouds as he lands. This gave me a perfect chance to take down the crooks. Barrier magic allows me to see through the dust clouds, because an infinite barrier only through my perspective is born inside my eyes, and I can see the landscape perfectly.
I take out one, two, four, in succession, but one was ready, and unsheathes a katana to slash at me.
I avoid it, flip back, and take out my staff.
"Oh, that's a woman? Could've never guessed due to her physique." I say to myself.
"I heard that you rat." She says as she begins charging at me.
I use air magic to bounce myself on top of her head, but she uses magic of her own.
She makes water rise up and makes my landing last longer.
I fall on my butt on the floor, my gaze opposite of to where her gaze was. And it was at me.
I try to get back up, but she freezes my right leg.
Iris flies down and tackles her with his body. (I heard a bone snap.)
She's unconscious now…
I use fire magic to melt the ice, stand up, and grab jugs of camelramel milk, and its ingredients back to town.
To my dismay I didn't get any penance outside from the quest money. So, I buy myself one bottle on the way back to the hotel.
When I open the door, I was surprised to see Star waiting.
"Soooo why are you here so late, the sun is starting to rise." Asks Star.
"I was saving a business, why? You missed me?" I say with a cheeky smile.
"No… N… no way…" She says while trying not to yawn.
And she falls asleep.
From that day onward she joined me in a few more quests.
Dealing with the quests in the town has led to our duo gaining popularity. Everest and Star are the number one quest takers of the month and so we earn a little extra pay. Though with that it seems like we will have to leave town tomorrow as we've covered all the funds we need for the trip to Fels, and the next district in the Terre Kingdom.
At night, before I head back to the hotel Star and I reside, I take a walk across town. The scenery never gets old for me, and I will always remember this town. I walk by a tavern when I hear someone mention a name I remember.
"Have you heard about that kid in the Raiders squad?" A man speaks to his ameego. (Which means friend in this town.)
"That kid Anan yeah? He must be getting carried on his back to travel to Fels so swiftly." The other man replies.
"Yeah, how do they even get from place to place so fast? I swear the Raiders went to Kamino just a month ago and have arrived at Fels just two weeks ago."
"There's always been some shady shit happening with the Raiders.
"The kid was sleeping the entire time they say."
So, he's at the Fels district huh… That doesn't make any sense because from Kamino on horseback it would take nearly two months to get there. We're at Salzico only because we went on train. And it would take us an added two months to arrive at Fels. It should take him at LEAST two and a half months; yet it's nearly been two. What could this mean? Well, whatever the case, we'll be heading to Fels district so I may get more information there.
Once I arrive, I let the owner of the hotel know i'll be leaving, and to my surprise he says, "Leaving so soon? You can stay at least another few days for free you know."
"Why for free if I may ask?" I… ask.
"Well, you're practically loved here by everyone. You have even found my lost 15 kittens last week don't you remember?"
I never realized how much I did here for the last month. Maybe that's why I feel like this place already feels like home.
"I appreciate it; however, we must get going. We've got to meet a friend across the kingdom." I tell him.
"I see; well, take care of yourself. I'll let you sleep here for free whenever you come by, you're like my walking advertisement hahaha." He laughs.
"My reputation is THAT good?" I think to myself.
I arrive at our room, and see Star is awake.
"Hey." She speaks.
"Hey, can't believe you're still up." I respond.
"What's that supposed to- no never-mind. Can you hear me out for a second?" She asks me.
This is odd, but this seems like a good thing for our relationship, so I reply with… "Of course."
"Once we get to the Mizu Kingdom like you talk about, I don't know what i'll do. My family doesn't even like me, in fact they hate me. So, when I arrive there, i'll be tortured by my brother, ignored by my parents… There's just no room for me there!"
She begins to slowly sob*
I never took all this into account, and I never asked it.
"Why?" I think to myself.
"It's nice you can believe in me to keep this family matter between us. You may have messed up in the past bu- "she cuts me off.
"No, they really do just hate me. Not just as a daughter, but my existence."
Stars eyes widen.
"I get it now." She speaks.
"You get it...?" I say confused.
"Yeah, this never happened though you understand?" She firmly asks, like I have any choice.
"Yes, your secret is safe with me."
"You barely got anything out of it though." She responds.
That is true, aside from her family not liking her; or whatever that was getting towards, she didn't tell me anything about what she has just thought up in her mind.
"It's not like I have a problem if you don't give me one." I say in a way that sounds like I don't care, by trying to match her normal attitude.
"Real funny twerp." She says, as she starts covering herself with the blankets on her bed.
"Yeah, Yeah, but goodnight, Star." I say as I get into my bed.
Omake 3: Star's lip issue
Star can't whistle, when she tries to, it sounds like a kettle boiling over.
Everest states, jokingly. "You're not summoning birds, you know. You're summoning tea."
Star fires back. "How about I summon you shutting the hell up?"