Somewhere Someplace

Abruptly barging into the Guild hall in a hurried stumble was, of course, as if the Goddesses of Fortune and Chance themselves had both conspired to create this moment…that very foreigner about whom they had been so speaking only but a few moments prior. In her arm was a very stuffed large sack…oozing with wet slimy shrub-goop, the strong…putrid sea-smell…rather evident.

Yet, it was not only her; stumbling in an equal barging tumult was another…a man of sorts, seemingly, neither too old nor too young, at edge of his prime, he was carrying…a second large stuffed sack…oozing with sea-goop.

“…oh speak of the Demon-King’s aborted bastard…” the peer mumbled out, the sheer coincidence not at all lost on her.

The receptionist immediately donned an enthusiastic charming smile, calming down from her initial fright; “Oh hello you! Nilia! You are…back already! Wow! …that was…fast” she greeted and remarked.

“I greet you also” so replied the foreigner as she very hastily made way to the main counter, immediately plopping the sack over it…and right next to the receptionist, her peer…immediately moving away from…the…oozing sack of aged…sea shrubs.

The man trailing along, somewhat…very much…more exhausted than her, did the same, lobbing the sack over the counter right next to other before hunching down, sweating, grabbing his knees…catching his breath, panting; “…goodness…you…little menace…you need…to slow down! I’m…not built…for this sort…of stuff…anymore, you know?” so remarked the man with tired breaths.

“It is not me who had stopped the wagon too far away from here” the foreigner replied…rather bluntly, but cordial enough.

“Hey…lady…these parts…aren’t the…safest for a wagon…I’ve gotta…make sure…my cargo…is protected, you know?” he replied, breaths still exhausted.

“Yes, and I could have also done one at a time; it was not necessary for you to come” she replied.

“Yeah…but you’ve been…paying me…half of your reward…regardless of…my actual…rates and participation…so I thought it’s about time…I start…putting in…my work…to earn that…pay” he replied; “…don’t take my…suggestions…as complaints…I ain’t complaining” he added.

Both receptionists stared rather blankly.

This was the first time that the receptionist had seen this man…her mind attempted its best…not to jump to rather…dubious initial presumptions. “…and…so…who might you be, sir?” the receptionist inquired cordially; “you do not seem to be a member of or registered with the Guild” she remarked.

The man straightened his posture; “…huh, oh me? Oh…right…I’m just a wagon-driver who’s been…carrying this…little menace…back and forth…back and forth…as she does this collecting over and over and over again…she’s been paying me half the reward, so…I ain’t complaining…predicable pay is…predicable pay…and I like it that way…” he replied and remarked, breaths still somewhat tired…though he was catching them.

Yet, the receptionist’s peer…stared at this man, her eyes peering and evaluating…hmm…neither weak nor strong…rugged and scarred…clearly a man who has been around many places…experienced and…hmm…indeed, the more she looked, the more she could not help…but fancy him; he marked quite…the many of her own boxes, so to speak.

“Oh I see!” the receptionist began to reply with a charm, “you are that wagoneer…right, Nilia had mentioned you a few times…so you have been who has been helping her…now—” she was saying…but then she suddenly caught…her peer’s certain cold puckering glare in the corner of her eyes.

She paused…before turning to…stare; “…w-what?” she inquired to her peer, who immediately smiled a rather…certain smile.

“Heyyy, soo…see…because of our lovely chatty-chats…nobody has actually gone to the quest department yet to see if any new quests are ready for the board today…so uhm, mind if you did that this time?” thus said and requested her peer.

“…” the receptionist stared blankly; “H-huh? Sure…but I can…do that after…this? We have the time—” she was replying, somewhat confused, but “That was not a request.” her peer interjected, sternly.

“…” the receptionist sighed; “…fine fine, I got it, you can chat away…for once” she replied before she…begrudgingly departed off and away, down and through one of the many doors behind.

The peer ahemed as she took over the receptionist’s role and position, redirecting her focus onto the two others standing before the counter; “Anywayy…sorry about that, sooo…” she began to say, her demeanor changing somewhat to one more…respectable and cordial, “turning in your collection targets, aye? Uhm…these are…yeah…that smell, these the Clamfield sea shrubs, then?” she remarked.

“Yes, and…I would prefer to depart soon” the foreigner replied…cordially but bluntly. Indeed, she seemed rather…less patient than her usual, her legs being slightly more jittery, even if such was hard to notice.

Indeed, such was becoming quite the trend as of late, her mind ever-more fixated and preoccupied with completing her given directives and objectives…faster and faster than before. She wanted to get back to this quest as fast as possible to ensure ‘maximum efficiency’…which was to say…her mind’s own…conception…of this so-called ‘efficiency’.

“Yeah, I bet, but you should know the norm by now” the peer replied, her hands gesturing…demanding…something.

The foreigner…stared…before quickly realizing…oh right, of course—every time.

Quickly, she took off from her back…a carry-bag of sorts. Indeed, now donned on her back was a primitive…but still sturdy and durable…backpack of sorts, made from the thick skin of an unidentified animal species; a backpack that was far more convenient than her prior handheld lady-bag and had a significantly larger carry capacity.

She opened this backpack of hers and retrieved the two…identical quest-sheets, promptly sliding them onto the counter. The peer very swiftly flipped to the third page of each in order to…take a quick look at the foreigner’s recorded tallies and counts.

“Hmm…wow, yeah you are…very prudent and diligent with your record tally and count…this was all recorded…exactly how…huh, warmly good” the peer remarked as she snooped; “most Coppers slip up on this” she added.

“I know. Told the same thing I have been, I just…need to return to…the thing…the quest, I meant to say” the foreigner replied…again, rather hastily.

“Hmm?” the peer mumbled out, her peering eyes…suddenly staring down at the foreigner. This peer, being a seasoned main counter receptionist, had quite the analytical eyes, especially when it came to reading people. “You doing alright?” she interrogated.

The foreigner tilted her hand; “Huh? Y-yes, of course, I am fine” she replied…her voice not as…affective as usual, being rather dull and empty, in fact; “…it is necessary to me that I…finish this quest, so…that is the thing strongly in my head” she added…somewhat honestly.

“Hmm…” so mumbled out the peer, her eyes evaluating the foreigner in more ways than not, inferences being made…conclusions being deduced, yet…so much remained enigmatic and obscure…for indeed, the foreigner was rather hard to truly read.

The peer sighed faintly, opting to leave things as thus.

She finally turned her attention and eyes to the wagoneer…still where he last was, waiting and dozing, contemplating whether or not he should simply return to his wagon; “Soo…you, how nice of you to help a little lady adventurer like that; one of those ‘must always earn the fruits of your labor’ types, hmm?” she…inquired as she leaned closer, her voice shifting to one rather cordial…but in a way…that caused the wagoneer to blush.

“Y-yeah, of course, you know…she’s been hiring me…paying half…like I said…so, you know, if we’re going to be…working together, I may as well…help out more…” the wagoneer replied…blushing, looking down and away as he scratched the back of his head.

“Is that why she managed to finish this so fast? Clamfield sea shrubs…especially this much…take quite the time to find, you know?” she inquired and remarked.

“Hmm?” the wagoneer began to reply, “oh no, I only…helped later on…this lady menace was the one who did all the work…she actually—” he was explaining, but “I found that the sea shrubs that…matched the descriptions of these quest papers…many of them, they had been buried underneath the…ehm…word word…‘coast’? No…‘beach’, yes…the beach, buried…deep underneath” the foreigner interjected hastily.

The peer titled her head…“Is that so?” she inquired.

“Yes, a lot of the old ones…I think that some animal or creature has been collecting and burying them or maybe…time buried them…I do not know, but that is why I collected them fastly, so…now I must finish this…so…” the foreigner replied, clearly…eager to get going…not in any mood for prolonged conversating.

The peer…took a quick glance at the sacks of sea shrubs…procedure dictated a thorough weight confirmation calculation or a direct count…but she was not touching…that sack. “…alrightly, fine fine” she began to say, “uhm…since Lav trusts you, I’ll trust you too and just assume your count is correct…and confirm later…so off you go now, you’re free”.

The foreigner hastily bowed graciously; “I take the leave then” she said as she quickly grabbed the quest-sheets and shoved them back into her backpack; putting it back on, she departed away without any delay.

The wagoneer began to follow along, yet “Hey hey, you!” the peer called out to the departing man, who paused and turned…staring; “be sure to keep helping her and…coming back here, for I do fancy a rugged aged man who helps a lady as an equal…and who is also a veteran too, I can tell” she said with a…certain sort of winking charm.

The wagoneer…understanding the signals being given…blushed; “You…sure like flattering a stranger…ahem…I mean…yeah, that’s the plan…ha…ha” he replied…rather flustered in mind, but…receptive in kind. He turned back around as he rubbed his neck, making way once again.

“Oh! Double-wait one more thing” the peer called out once again, the man…halting yet again; “might be a weird question, but…‘Nelia’…that was…her name right? Uhm, ahem, anyway, yeah Nelia…about her real quick, you’ve spent…” she began to inquire, but “Since the start of this month…give or take, so a couple or more weeks” he interjected and answered in advance; “what’s this about?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing…uhm, I was just curious uhm…is she normally…like this? I heard she’s sweet, but…she seemed kind of…edgy; I haven’t actually…spoken to her that much so I don’t really know how she is normally” she inquired and remarked.

The wagoneer took a moment to recall and contemplate. “Hmm…kind of? Sometimes? We haven’t…really talked that much up until recently honestly…or rather she don’t talk that much…but…she’s been nice for the most part…if not a bit stern and commanding, but still a respectable lady, especially for a foreigner…hmm…but sometimes she can also be…as I call her, a little menace…a conniving one at that” he answered and remarked.

“I see…I see…well, goodly noted” the peer cordially replied with a smile; “well…anywayy, sorry for taking your time; that was it…so…hope to see you again sometime soon, handsome man” she said…once again in that winking charm.

The wagoneer blushed yet again, simply nodding “Of course…not any problem… ahem” he replied…flustered, before…finally departing out into the world beyond…attempting to catch up to the foreigner who had…not at all waited for him.

The peer’s donned affect faded as soon as he had left, her mind…cogitating; so many inferences…having been drawn; yet so much remained hard to really see or draw, so much of what she had inferred…could simply be dubious.

“…Why do I get that weird ugly little tingly…feeling sense…that something’s…seriously wrong with that girl? I do not get any good feelings from that one, Gods’ sacred…or maybe…I’m just being…me again…ugh, what do I know…anymore? Not like I’m any better in heart and soul…” thus she remarked to herself in whispering murmur.