Healing Dungeon

"Luuuu-riiiii-aaaa!" Avan called to their host, with his hands forming a funnel in front of his mouth.

Luria, the alchemist in which backroom Yue and Avan had just finished drinking some tea, was bent over her just successfully completed potion which she had made from the herb leaves Avan had brought. Then, with a broad grin that adorned her entire face, Luria turned to the two of them and gleefully showed them the concoction she was clutching with both hands. Her supposedly old age was not noticeable now, as if this experiment had given her back some of her youth.

"It´s as if she just made a portion of vigour. Ah-haha-ha!" Yue leaned over to him briefly and conspiratorially whispered to him with a grin and glittering eyes. Avan grinned back and nodded at her in agreement.

Luria almost stumbled as she very carefully walked out of the room back towards the two. Now Yue and Avan could also see the vial properly. The healing potion shimmered ethereally and had a dark red, almost blood like color. "Look at this potion!" She exclaimed delightedly as she gently placed the potion on the table. Then, with a sudden jolt, she looked directly at Avan. "I want more of this! Did you gather any more herbs? Or can you bring me some more? This... Potion! I've never been able to make a high-grade potion so easily and simply! If only I had more of it, I could certainly create an even stronger version after some time!" With a pleading look and a hopeful sparkle in her eyes, she took a step towards him and grabbed his shoulders with both hands and surprisingly strong grips.

Avan, totally overwhelmed by the situation, looked at her with confusion on his face; and then grinned as it dawned on him. "Hey, sure! I've got more with me, and I'm sure there's plenty more where I got them." He guaranteed her. "But... only on one condition!"

The elderly lady and herb lover nodded immediately and used her left hand to give him an impatient hand signal to continue.

"I want you to give me a share of the proceeds of the sale.... and I want to learn herbology and alchemy from you! I tried so many things in the dungeon to learn new skills, but it never worked out! Can it be that some things can only be taught by a master of his craft?" He told her and took her waving hand between his hands.

Somewhat surprised, the herbalist looked him in the eyes and searched there for something specific. Avan felt a small shiver run down his spine and noticed out of the corner of his eye how Yue watched the exchange with interest and held back a giggle. She had clenched her right hand into a fist and was supporting her tilted head on the table with her arm and fist on her right jaw.

Seemingly satisfied with what she saw before her, Luria explained to him without further ado what professions and the corresponding skills were all about. Anyone could learn anything if the person concerned only in-depth and profoundly enough with the subject that interested him. With enough time and knowledge, so many acquired their professions and skills without being taught. For example, completely new skills were created that had never existed before. In order to learn herbalism and alchemy, as is now being asked here, the person in question would have to spend a very long time studying the individual ingredients and their potential properties. Months or even years would normally be needed to learn herbology and alchemy, respectively.

Even Yue's eyes shone with interest, and both looked at the old lady with high regard. "And someone with your knowledge, Luria, will surely have spent her whole life acquiring it. Remarkable..." Avan told her as it slowly dawned on him why he hadn't gotten a skill for all the deactivated and reactivated traps in the dungeon. He simply lacked a deeper understanding of the traps and their mechanisms! With a relieved sigh and another question answered, which he had been asking himself for some time now, he looked at Yue and then back at Luria.

"Deal, Luria! Please enlighten me, teacher." He told her with a serious expression on his face as he stood up and bowed to her down to his waist.

When he had straightened up again, he considered for a brief moment. Something not quite tangible told him that he could trust Luria. He had always been good at sizing up other people, and his gut instinct told him here that she could be trusted.

He apologized briefly to Luria. "I need to talk to Yue for a minute if that would be all right? I need her opinion on a subject for a moment..." He said to her, turning to the fox girl questioningly. He nodded his head sideways to the door leading into the salesroom.

Yue nodded back and stood up. As she walked past the alchemist, she gave her a quick nod of apology and followed Avan out of the room.

Near the door, they both stopped, and she looked at him with a tilted head and a curious look. "What is it, Avan?" She asked him in her clear, melodious voice.

"I wanted to ask you what you thought of her. A few things have happened to me so far, and I have a good feeling about her. I wanted to tell her more, including my storage. Likewise... I trust you, Yue..." He whispered to her while playing around with his hands a bit nervously. "There are things I need to trust someone with, Yue... And I think I know you. Can I trust you fully?"

She looked him in the eyes and smiled at him, understanding and a little sad. "I know what it's like to be betrayed, Avan... I learned many years ago that we are the biggest monsters here in the cities and villages. And... Avan. I am grateful for everything you have done for me. You freed me and helped me with my revenge. We wiped out those goblins together, so hopefully no one else will have to suffer the same... And now you help me again... I trust you. I don't know why, but... You're just not an evil person." She told him with a sad look. Her right hand went down to her waist, where the belt and one of her daggers was, and pulled it out. Then, she looked up at him with one last look and suddenly slashed her left wrist.

Avan, startled, was about to stop her when Yue quickly took a step backward. "I hereby swear that I will keep Avan's secrets for the rest of my life and not tell anyone without his consent!" Stunned and still frightened, Avan suddenly felt a tug on his spirit. Something had connected to his soul core, starting from Yue's wound. He felt a connection, but it only went in one direction; from her to him.

He stared at her in disbelief and watched wide-eyed as her wound closed again, leaving only a shimmering blue scar.

"W-what? What was that?! Yue. I can... Feel a connection between us! What did you do? And you can't just inflict a wound on yourself!" He stuttered a bit and looked at her, puzzled.

Yue stowed her dagger away again and gently stroked the glowing blue scar.

Almost tenderly, but with a serious expression, she looked up at him. "I've said it several times, Avan... I owe you my life. And without your intervention, I would have died like this... as it... my friends had met..." She murmured in a sad whisper to him. "I have heard it several times but never seen it myself. In crucial contract negotiations or promises, as well as in court, you can take a blood oath, and the world is your witness. If you violate this sacred oath, a part of your soul and being is torn out of you, and depending on the severity of the oath.... sometimes only shells remain..." She explains to him with an increasingly severe look. "I want you to be able to trust me! And if it's the only thing I can do for you, Avan! I want you to know that you can count on me! And no matter what, I will try to help you. Please understand, even though we have known each other for such a short time, you are... my only... friend... Everyone else... is dead... Even my friends' parents were never close to me..." She continues to tell him while Avan just stood there and ran his two hands over his hair.

Fuuuuck... He gulped. This is some serious shit I need to digest.

"Yue... Thank you. Even though I would have wanted you to please ask me before making such a difficult decision, I am grateful to you. It means a lot to me, and I will do my best not to let you down." He whispered to her.

With a strange and erratic movement, he scratched his head with his left hand, somewhat ashamed. "As you know, I come from very far away... And you also know that I'm little strange and stranger things happen to me. That's why I wanted to ask you if you think that we can trust Luria when it comes to knowledge like my storage. What do you think?" He asked her.

Meanwhile, the fox girl had been playing with her fiery orange hair, slightly embarrassed, and wrapped individual strands around her fingers. She thought about it for a moment and looked up at the ceiling of the store. Yue's fox ears fidgeted slightly back and forth as she swung her tail from side to side as it was every now and then visible from the front.

With a deep sigh, she looked back at him. "Yes. I heard of her. Some gossip from other adventurers. But everyone said the same; Luria Squidchaser, the herbalist and alchemist, is competent and a good person. So I think, yes, in my opinion, we can trust her."

Avan slowly nodded at her answer. "Hm... okay. Sounds good. Thank you. Now... and especially because you had to stake a part of your soul for this stupid blood oath, you deserve to know who and what I am. Yue." He stared into her eyes and had a seriousness and determination shown on his face. "I already have two classes, Yue." He swallowed audibly.

"My second class is the Healer of Akkalon I gained from a secret room inside the dungeon." He locked eyes with her. "And my primary class... Is called Healing Dungeonheart [Human]. And I am not from this world."