A Quest for the Stars

"You really want to know everything, Gardens?" Starflower forcefully closed his fist. "She's not the sweet and innocent girl you think she is."

"We shall see about that." With one tap of his staff, Headmaster Gardens conjured a floating candle lit with an amethyst-colored flame. "This candle of truth shall take the truth out of you. If you want to win even a modicum of my trust, you'll submit to its enchantment."

Starflower expected no less from his former colleague. "Very well, I accept. Let's start from the time after I granted Tsukino her interview. I went to visit an old friend of mine, and..."

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5th of Nuhas, 3pm, 1655

Once Lenoria left the Guild after the interview, Starflower took a stroll during his lunch hour. The day was only halfway done for him, and he needed a boost in energy if he was going to make it through the rest of the day. The fresh air outdoors was enough to rejuvenate his spirit, but his body hungered for nourishment.

Luckily, he didn't have to walk for long when he found his next destination. The Dragon's Hoard, a general goods store, which always had a varied selection of hot foods and snacks along with the mundane necessities people needed in their daily lives.

Starflower opened the door which, to his surprise, was pushed by a couple of horsefolk in black suits. One of them bluffed a charge, yelled "Boo!" and smirked when Starflower stood his ground without flinching. The two horse men laughed all the way to the next corner, after which the elf rolled his eyes and went inside the store.

"Olen, you old goat. Where are you?"

"Over here." A disgruntled voice could be heard from behind the counter. A pair of hands slammed a tankard and a bottle on the countertop before Olen himself rose to his feet and poured himself a pint. "Ah, Jean. It's been a while. Have a seat anywhere, lad. I'll get you something."

The two men were youths during their adventuring days, but the difference between dwarven and elven physiology was clear as day. While Starflower appeared like he hadn't aged a day - his silver hair always a vibrant color - Olen's hair had shifted from a colorful brown to a dull gray over the past 35 years. Starflower was at the healthy age of 156 but Olen was past the average dwarf's prime years at the age of 140.

Olen excused himself to look for a second tankard at the back of the store. Meanwhile, Starflower took note of the store's current state. Some of the merchandise had gathered dust, and there was no hot food on the stone oven. He spotted cobwebs on the ceiling corners with no spiders anywhere in sight. Several envelopes had been stacked on a shelf right under the counter, the top one reading "IMPORTANT. MUST READ." in bold red letters.

"I hafta tell ya, Jean, the older you get, the more stuff you forget. It doesn't always take this long to find a simple mug." Olen returned with a wooden tankard and slammed it on the counter. Opening the bottle again, he poured a pint on the new tankard before sliding it over to Starflower. "What brings you here, anyway? Don't they have a cafeteria at that there Guild of yours?"

"I was more in the mood for dwarven cuisine. Besides, today's the 5th."

"It is?" Olen reached for a small booklet on a shelf under his counter. He flipped the pages, and when he finally stopped, he couldn't believe what he saw. "So, it is. And you paid for the venue last time, didn't you? Guess it's my turn."

Starflower stood up and walked over to one of the counters of dried goods. He looked over at the dried fruits and meat before deciding on a jar with dried fish on a stick. He brought it over to Olen before opening it up and grabbed a piece. "I have less than an hour before I have to return to the Guild. Why don't you just cover these, and we call it even?"

"Are you sure? There's a new eatery across the street and I thought it would be nice to try it out."

Starflower, ever the curious sort, glanced over at the glass front door, and through it he saw a new store that had opened up across the street. "Antonio's Trattoria and General Goods," the elf said aloud. The sign listed basic household necessities as well as cuisine he had never heard of before. A line had formed outside with people from all kinds of different backgrounds and creeds, which was overwhelming compared to Olen's desolated store.

That's when Starflower put two and two together. "Those foreigners from the neighboring province are putting you out of business?"

Olen gave his friend a sad smile. "You were always the smart one out of our little duet. Odds are you won't see me again after today."

Starflower snapped the stick in his hand in half with a single motion. "Olen, you are simply in the middle of a rough patch." Starflower was never good with words, but he did his best for Olen's sake. "They may offer more exotic foods, but you hail from the frozen continent of the south pole. You are proof that this economy needs more people like you. Where else will you find dried meats, fruit, and fish with your own personal blend of spices?"

"It's not just that, Jean." Olen sighed. "I didn't tell you this, but six months ago, I caught my wife cheating with the milkman. She convinced me to give her another chance, only to turn around and file for divorce behind my back. She's...she's taking half of my earnings, so now I don't have enough money to pay the vendors and barely had enough to pay this month's rent for the house and business."

"Didn't I warn you it was a bad idea to marry that woman? She worked at a brothel before you came along!"

Olen slammed his fist furiously on the counter. "And this is why I didn't tell you until now. Don't you think I know that? I'm going to lose everything, including my kids, and all you can say is 'I told you so'?"

The words of anger were enough to push Starflower back a little. The elf gritted his teeth, but he lacked a retort. "You're right. I'm...sorry, Olen. I truly wish I could help."

Olen's fury quickly subsided and he, too, expressed guilt over the words he spoke at the height of his emotions. "No, part of it is my fault. Things were always tougher for us whenever I deviated from your plans. I should have listened to you."

"Love makes you stupid," the elf said bluntly. "But that just means you're the one who cared in this relationship. If you don't mind me doing so, I'll pay that judge of yours a visit tomorrow and ask for leniency."

"You'd do that?" Olen gave Starflower a hopeful stare. "Please don't say that if you don't mean it."

"Don't worry about it. You saved my hide more times than I can count. There's no telling if this will work, but even at the worst-case scenario, I can offer you a job at the Guild. Even a custodian's pay is decent when you work there."

"Well," the dwarf said after a pause, "okay. I'll trust your judgment, Jean. I would prefer if you can save my business if you can help it. I'm not exactly keen on cleaning up piss and vomit every day."

Starflower laughed at that, causing Olen to do the same. No matter what monsters they faced, things always turned out for the best as long as they kept on smiling.

They talked and snacked for a little longer until Starflower had to return to the Guild. He left a gold coin behind on the counter and made his way out.

"Uh, Jean-"

"Keep it. I know that jar of fish isn't worth that much, but I'll be paying for our food until you get back on your feet."

"Jean, I can't accept this!"

"Then pay me back once business is booming again."

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"Let me get this straight," Headmaster Gardens said, "you're angry at Lenoria because...immigrants took your friend's job?"

"Don't undermine Olen's situation," Starflower warned. "It gets worse."

----------

At first, things got better because Olen and I fought the system. Olen's wife smeared his name and dragged it through the mud so that the crowds would be on her side. Thankfully, her "evidence" was full of holes, and not only was Olen granted full custody of his kids, but he was allowed to keep his profits. In no small part with the evidence I brought forth. One night, he decided to throw a party both for his victory and in my honor. he invited as many people as he could.

Little did I know that would be the night where everything changed.

12th of Argenti (the sixth month), 9pm, 1655

After a long day at the Guild, Starflower used one of the Guild's bathrooms to wash himself and get ready for the party he was invited to. Olen was determined to thank his friend for everything, and he wasn't taking no for an answer. The Guild's semester had officially begun earlier that week, and after the day he had - which included consoling Lenoria after she had been sprayed by skunk musk courtesy of Anne Steiner - he made sure to clean himself as thoroughly as possible as to not bring a foul stench to his own party.

What greeted him at Olen's shop, however, was not loud music and festivities; rather, it was the police in the middle of a crime scene. Two officers - a little green man with pointy ears and a small scaly creature, both dressed in blue - stood at the entrance as if to block the way in. Crowds had gathered outside the shop, wondering what was going on. More officers stood on the road, blocking the way for vehicles to get through and one unlucky driver had to turn around and make a detour to reach his destination.

The scene extended to Antonio's Trattoria, where the sidewalk and the glass door had been stained with blood, and even more officers stood at the scene where they questioned the civilians inside and out.

"Olen!" Starflower dashed for the entrance of the Dragon's Hoard, prompting the officers to meet him halfway to stop him. "Let me through!"

"Sir, this is a crime scene," one of the officers said, the green one dressed in blue - a goblin.

"My friend owns this store! An old dwarf! Tell me what happened!"

The two officers exchanged glances awkwardly and remained quiet. The longer they remained silent, the more anxious Starflower grew. His glare with shrunken irises eventually forced a confession out of the scaly officer, who had gotten uncomfortable from getting stared at. "He was a bystander in the middle of a gang war, sir. A drug deal gone wrong at the Trattoria was unfortunately dragged out to the streets and into the shop across from it. The owner of this store was brave enough to protect his customers, but one of the gangsters - the biggest of the lot - struck him with a palm to the chest area. When the dwarf keeled over from that one strike, that's when the gangsters decided to bail."

Starflower's tensed from this revelation. "Keeled over...?" He shook his head in denial. "No, you lie! Olen is a proud warrior! It would take more than a single strike to defeat him, let alone kill him! He must still be alive! Is he alive, kobold?"

The scaled creature - the kobold - yipped and sank his head as Starflower angrily pulled him closer. "S-sir, please let go-"

"Answer me, damn you!" An electric shock flowed through Starflower's body, stunning him for a moment. This allowed the kobold officer to back away while the goblin, with a surprisingly high jump, used his baton to bonk Starflower on the back of the head, bringing him to his knees. "Gah!"

"Calm down, or I'll toss you in the jail for assaulting an officer! Hey, Leota!" The little goblin called over a burly man with a balding head, gray skin, and black tattoo sleeves marked on the visible areas of his arms. The officer walked over to his goblin subordinate while holding a notebook. "You still got the sketch of the perp?"

"Right 'ere, boss." The bigger man flipped open the notebook and gave it to the goblin officer, who in turn handed it over to Starflower. According to eyewitness accounts sketched on the notebook, the man who had struck Olen with a single palm strike was a tall individual with a muscular build dressed completely in black, including a black beanie cap and ski mask to conceal his identity. However, a sharp eye had noticed green skin on the eyelids as well as a chiseled jaw. But the one distinguishing feature that set him apart from any orc was that he had two right hands; the left hand had its thumb on the left side, not the right.

"We will bring him to justice," said the goblin officer, "and we will avenge your friend. If you have any leads, your cooperation is appreciated."

"Avenge?" Starflower feared asking the next question, as he suspected he already knew the answer. "Is Olen...gone?"

This time, the two small officers took one step to the side, allowing Starflower to peer into the store through the glass door. Two other officers stood by as a team of medical workers examined the limp body of the dwarf. When they quietly determined nothing could be done, one of them closed Olen's eyelids while another veiled him with a pure white blanket.

"Boss, I think you might want to hear this!" One of the officers called over the goblin officer, but at this point the commotion was fading out for Starflower. The voices around him muffled out, as he could only focus on the scene in front of him.

This had to be a nightmare. Olen couldn't be gone. Not like this. If Starflower closed his eyes, he would wake up back at the Guild, having dozed off. He would then rush to the Dragon's Hoard immediately and prove this was all a sick dream. Once he recounted the story to Olen, his friend would call him a pansy for being so emotional and have a laugh about it before starting with the festivities. He closed his eyes and reopened them.

Nothing.

He closed them and opened them again.

Nothing.

He did it one more time.

Still nothing.

He pinched himself to see if he was dreaming, and it stung him. Starflower punched himself in the arm which bruised easily. All the pain did was make cracks at the floodgates which would soon be released. Starflower held the urge to scream and instead quietly sobbed in front of the Dragon's Hoard. The man had just won his freedom, his business, and his children back. Why did this happen?

"You damn fool! You said you would pay me back! Why did you have to die?! What will I say to your kindred? What will I say to your children? Wake up and tell me, you old bastard!" Starflower slammed his fist on the stone sidewalk. "No, this isn't about the payment. The Guild." He pounded the sidewalk again. "My status!" And again. "None of that matters! I just...I just lost my best friend..."

"Sir, do you have a minute?" The returning goblin officer tapped Starflower on the shoulder. "You should hear this, too."

"Please, leave me to mourn," Starflower said weakly.

"Excuse me, signore." What called out to Starflower was not the gruff voices of the police, but the sweet and angelic voice of a girl. The elf looked at the newcomer; she was a small humanoid with hands like a human but the hooves, hair coat, head, and mane like a horse. The coat of hair on her body was completely brown while her wavy mane was a bright auburn color. She had an azure blanket wrapped around her, but Starflower could see a red long skirt and a white uniform blouse with the symbol of a dove on the right side underneath the blanket. Just from these details alone, he discerned she was from a religious school.

"What do you need, child?"

"The police said the dwarf inside is your friend. He," the girl awkwardly said, "h-he saved my life. That big orc tried to kidnap me, but when I broke free, he tried to punch me. That's when your friend pushed me and took the hit instead of me." She tightened her grip on the blanket. "H-he pushed me into a shelf of beverages, which is why I'm wet like this. When I woke up...the police were already here."

Starflower wiped his tears. He could not cry in front of the girl, and hearing her side of the story gave him some closure. Not a lot, but it was a start. "He was a hero to the last..."

"I'm sorry..." The girl sobbed, too. "Papà told me I was supposed to be grounded, but I snuck out to meet up with my friends. If I hadn't come here..."

The elven headmaster had little experience with children. Lenoria was the closest thing to a child he ever interacted with due to her enrolling at the age of 16, younger than any other student he ever had. The little lady in his presence carried herself well enough, but he knew he had to be careful with his verbiage.

"Don't blame yourself, child. Olen was a hero when he was younger. He would even go out of his way to protect farms from monster attacks even though they could only pay him with vegetables and water. He would be sad if you blamed yourself for what happened tonight."

The girl nodded awkwardly. "O-okay..."

Before excusing himself, Starflower handed a card to the goblin officer. "Thank you. Please contact me at this address once a date for the funeral has been set."

The goblin looked at him, puzzled. "What? Don't you want to see if we can at least bring him back?"

Starflower turned around. "Don't bother. He was a warrior first, and died just like any brave warrior from the south pole would. For one such as him, only Valhalla awaits."

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Back at the present day, the light of dawn had enveloped both the current headmaster and the former. Once Starflower finished recounting his story from the past, Headmaster Gardens had a guilt-ridden expression. He was still cautious about the cunning elf, but now he felt pity for him as well.

As for the person who murdered Olen...

"You believe Lenoria was involved?"

"No one in Helix possesses two right hands." Starflower closed his fist angrily. "Her caretaker is the culprit!"

"That...makes an uncomfortable amount of sense," the current headmaster said softly. "I have met the man. No one else matches the police's description. But if you knew, why didn't you turn him in?"

"Believe me, I tried. But he's a slippery one. He and Tsukino lived in separate homes, so I could never find him. I only saw him once, which just so happened to be on a day he dropped her off at the Guild after I had arrived. Since I had no proof and no way to track him, I settled for the next best thing."

"By making Lenoria miserable." A shadow cast over the eyes of Headmaster Gardens. "Does she know why you did this to her?"

"She'd be an ignorant woman if she didn't know. I'd wager she knew everything and even now is in cahoots with the murder. Join me, Gardens! Join me in exposing the monster she truly is!"

"Enough! I won't allow you to badmouth her anymore!" The current headmaster tapped his staff on the ground once. "I asked you if she knew. The only way she would know for sure is if you spoke with her about it."

"Why? So she would lie to me?"

"You haven't." Headmaster Gardens pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're an idiot, Starflower. The answer to the death of your friend has always been in front of you. You cannot blame Lenoria for what happened to him!"

Electricity crackled at the elf's fingertips. "How dare you. After sharing my grief with you, my darkest moment, you continue to side with her!"

"Because she's innocent!"

"Lies!"

"She would never have dared to hurt you because she looked up to you!" Headmaster Gardens's revelation put a stop to Starflower's outburst. "Lenoria has always been a sweet and caring woman! She's even come to me crying on separate occasions, asking me why you always hated her! Even on the days her temper was at its worst, she always maintained a level of respect for you I wouldn't expect for most people!" He angrily stomped his way to Starflower. "Had you simply taken your head out of your ass, sat down, and explained everything to her, she not only would have forgiven you, but she would have even helped you bring Master Sage to justice!"

Starflower's hands shook, now unable to keep his electrified hands with a steady aim. "How...how do you know this?"

"Because your rant allowed me to put the pieces together. Lenoria and Master Sage parted ways years ago over a major disagreement, and it involves the murder of your friend."