The village was far busier than Lizzy was expecting. Not only that but animals and humans worked side by side and moved through the common areas with ease. Most of the animals seemed to be wolves and they came in every color imaginable. There were the smaller red wolves of the southeast, the giant gray wolves of the north, the white wolves of the arctic, and even the black wolves she always associated with the mountains.
There were a handful of other females and several males that appeared human at first glance, but she quickly noticed had tails and fluffy ears in colors matching some of the wolf fur she could see. "Oh. BeastClan. Now it all makes sense." Her eyes shifted until she peered at the wolf that had been her companion during their travels.
The wolf appeared to hop forward, shifting until a man stood before her. Gray wolf ears sat on his head, his chest was bare, a loin cloth wrapped around his waist, and a gray wolf tail peeked out from under the leather. "My name is Phantom and this is RedOak Village. You can trade here and stay should you need it. In fact, if you follow me, I will introduce you to the village matriarch. She will make sure that you are accommodated well."
Lizzy paused. A matriarchal society seemed like a positive one for her to stay in. She remembered that the System had mentioned setting up a base camp if she chose. As she followed Phantom towards the matriarch, she heard the telltale noise of the system completing a quest.
{Ding}
{Quest Complete: Follow the Big Bad Wolf}
{Rewards sent to inventory space.}
{Error: Inventory Space Capacity Exceeded! Physical rewards will be held until space is made.}
Lizzy dismissed the screen with a mental thought before she refocused just in time to see that Phantom had led her to a small cabin. "Please, enter first." Phantom gestured for her to go first and she slowly opened the door.
The small cabin was delightful. There were several candles on the table in the middle of the room, furs lined the floor to keep it soft, curtains were lifted away from a square opening in the wall to the right, and a bed lay against the far wall. This felt like less of a cabin to Lizzy and more like a hut, but the outside walls were made of neatly arranged logs.
Phantom entered close behind her, head bowed in respect. "Mother Asena, I have brought a female here to speak with you."
A shape in the corner shifted, rising to reveal an older woman with gray hair and wrinkled skin. "A female? Do you claim this female?"
"No, Mother. I merely escorted her here. I would not claim her without her permission." Phantom's ears pressed against his skull and he took a step behind Lizzy.
"This female has a name." Lizzy scoffed. Her eyes narrowed at both Phantom and Asena with scorn. The pair were speaking about her as if she weren't actually there and that was becoming a quick way to rouse her anger. "My name is Lizzy and I can most certainly speak for myself."
A thought passed through her mind that she should maybe be more cautious when scolding a man that could literally turn into a wolf and an older woman that clearly had the respect of this entire village. The name 'Mother Asena' brought to mind the class that had been bestowed on her when she first met the system and she wondered if the two were somehow connected. Could her class be as simple as becoming a matriarch in a village like this? This one currently had one, so she would probably need to make a base somewhere else. Her mind drifted back to the cave she had stayed in last night and she thought about how pleasant it would be to create a safe haven there.
"Of course, child. My apologies." Mother Asena approached, her face lighting up with a smile. "I was merely making sure that Phantom treated you well on the way here. While we are not savages, there are still some males in our world that cannot control themselves."
"Oh." Lizzy's brow furrowed and she glanced at Phantom with a slight turn of her head. It was merely the matriarch's way of making sure she hadn't encountered any trouble. The thought made her both nauseous and grateful in the same breath. "I came here to hopefully trade some goods with you for local currency or maybe some decent shoes." Lizzy's voice fell off at the end as she wiggled her toes against some of the bare earth at her feet. She wanted to feel the fur rug between her toes instead, but feared that the soles of her feet were far too dirty.
The older woman seemed to take several minutes to examine Lizzy before she turned to Phantom. "Wait outside, dear. I think I need to spend some time with our guest." She watched with a piercing gaze while the wolf man exited her home before she gestured towards the table. "Come, child. Have a seat. I wish to hear your story and see what items you have to trade. Although, I don't see much on your person that I would take from you."
Biscuits and Gravy, Lizzy thought with an internal wince. She had not considered the fact that the locals probably didn't have an inventory system. Was there even magic on this planet? Would she be stoned as a witch? "About that..." Lizzy carefully made her way towards the chair that Asena pointed to once she realized the old woman would not sit without her.
"Ach, child. No need to fear. Show me what you have. I promise that I won't judge." The older woman sat with a groan, leaning heavily across the table and gesturing towards Lizzy.
Lizzy shrugged, pulling up her inventory with a thought. Mentally highlighting the box with the [Fairy Berry] listed, she 'pulled' them out of her inventory until there was a pile of them spread on the table. "I have a few other items as well, but I'm worried you won't have space to see them..."
Asena leaned forward, picking up a berry and examining it thoughtfully. "If you will tell me the items you have, I can tell you how valuable they are. [Fairy Berries] are something easily found in the forest around our village, but a local favorite. You could probably trade this for some small pieces of meat."
Disappointment tugged at Lizzy's gut but she had to acknowledge that she knew a few of the items would be worth next to nothing in this system. There wasn't a way to check the quality or rarity of the items, after all. "I also have some [Geodes], [Healing Moss], [Sticky Sap], [Amber Leaves], and [Nutritious Roots]. I found some other odds and ends as well like sticks and something called [Beast Shards]."
"[Beast Shards] and [Healing Moss]? Asena exclaimed, straightening. "My child, you could easily trade those for anything you might need in the village. In fact, if you have some quality [Beast Shards] I would gladly trade you some shoes for them! These are usually given out to the warriors and those with latent magical talent to increase their gifts." She tapped the table, indicating her wish to see them. "The rest you can sell in the village for small amounts of needed items and with my blessing. Are you planning to stay with us?"
Lizzy paused. The information that she had been given was wonderful, but the question had her pause. There would be plenty of men here to choose from for her class quest. Not only that, but she was pretty sure she could take her time to gather what she needed before heading back to that cave system. It was her second day here and she already had lucked out by finding a village.