Right Amount Of Evil

Instead of going down the road to Mocha's, she decides to take a detour to the other sides of the plaza, noticing two shops next to each other sandwiched amongst a line of buildings. One is an armoury, and another seems to be a weaponry, a blacksmith's area set up with a foldable stall outside it. There's a stone oven and workman's desks. Mizuki looks down at her daggers, frowning in thought as she decides what to purchase.

Instead, she decides to check out the armoury, hoping to buy herself better clothes. Around the shop are several sets of armour of all kinds displayed on metal dummies. Mizuki's eyes follow them as she strolls, greeting the young man who's polishing one of the armour. He introduces himself as George, "Need extra protection?"

He's rather short for an adolescent, freckles decorating his cheeks. He has ginger hair leaning towards the lighter side, ruffled up and messy. They complement the dirty brown of his overalls, shirt stained yellow and reeking of caffeine. "Hi, may I see what you have?" Mizuki checks and he allows her to view their selection.

Her eyes almost pop of their sockets at the prices, a full set of leather armour a whole 25000 gold coins. She gulps, indecisive as to what to choose now. She was initially hoping to get brass or at least iron armour, something that wouldn't get worn down by the weather. Hoping she'll have enough to buy herself a set of clothes, she settles for the set of leather armor.

[-25000 gold coins]

[16750 gold coins left]

"Thanks for the business, lady," he flashes a dorky grin when Mizuki steps away with her things. Heading to a corner, she decides to wear her armour in the shop itself. After all, there is no telling about the unspeakable dangers of the outside. Sitting outside the neighbouring weaponry, Mizuki notices the blacksmith she spotted earlier, a symbol hovering over his head, helping her with the epiphany that he might have a commission for her.

She quickens her pace towards him, greeting him pleasantly.

"Good day, girl," the blacksmith coughs in a hoarse voice. His face is dirtied with ash and charcoal remains, his experienced hand tightened around the handle of a hammer. He looks around his early fifties, hair falling at his shoulders. "Mind heading to the ore deposit at the West of Blueblume forest? I need a couple bits of copper."

[Commission Accepted: Anything for Ol' Harry - Retrieve copper from an ore deposit]

[Miner's Pickaxe received]

As she steps away, she lifts the ends of her dress, deciding she'll look for a tailor later before her new sets of clothes are destroyed. Her new leather boots fit much better on her than the slippers she has been wearing and are much more comfortable.

Just as it is, Mizuki feels much more protected with her new armour on. Her blue wisp arrow is quick to show her the direction to the forest. It's in a different direction from the other one leading to the forest. Mizuki recognises it to be along the road down to Hinata's house.

"He probably didn't even think about me," she admits to herself. 'Lucky I have a leather mask. I'm not ready to see him again.' Even as she says so, her eyes search for Hinata's house and her feet instinctively pause in front of his home. There's no sign of chaos or desperation or 'Where did she go?!', only the same peaceful home, a replica of many others of its kind.

She scoffs at her expectations, forcing herself to continue on her way down the road. And I really expected him to be searching all over for me.

Mizuki doesn't own up to her disappointment. We aren't even friends yet.

'Hmph', Mizuki grunts as she walks, mind always returning to thoughts of Hinata. She keeps these thoughts with the excuse that Hinata's the first person she has known since day one and it's only expected that she's mad at him. Recalling the event of him threatening to hurt her, she grows uncomfortable, a shiver of fear running down her spine. 'I'll never forgive him, even if he begs me on his knees.'

The West Gate is no different from the Northern one she previously exited through, the same stone bridge leading across the river's meander. She crosses, hoping to find an ore deposit as soon as possible so she'll have time left for other things. Today, she also decides she won't get herself into trouble with Boblins or whatever other threat the world holds against her, at least not until her wounds weigh her down a little less.

She walks, and walks and continues doing so until her feet are achy. She has to creep in between the bushes and keep her footsteps hushed to hide from the several Boblins, especially the ones that lie around in pairs or triplets. In some time, Mizuki finds a clearance and a blue-tinted screen.

Curious, she takes a step forward. Truly enough, it's some sort of shield. Across it, there seems to be some form of land, a sign of another settlement.

Mizuki reaches her hand forward, only for the shield to shine and vibrate, knocking her back. It buzzes loudly. Mizuki's eyes widen in realisation, "That's Sigma! Oh, I wonder what it's like," she watches longingly.

"Much better than this place, probably. Far away from..." Mizuki pauses.

Shooting one last look towards the vague silhouette of Sigma, Mizuki turns away, continuing on her search for an ore deposit. Soon, when it hits Mizuki that hours have passed with all effort gone to vain, she starts to pray for a guide or anyone who can lead her the right direction.

Even a clue would do. Just this moment, as she's about to push past the leaves of a Bird's Nest Fern, she finds herself up in the face of a stranger.

"A-Ah!" Mizuki exclaims, startled, going into a defensive stance. The woman in front of her blinks once, and then twice, standing up with her back straight uniformly. She has short black hair no longer than a little past her chin, an adventurer's cap on her head. A purple light flashes over her black eyes. Mizuki furrows her eyebrows, suspicions raised.

"Are you a traveler?" the woman inquires in a monotonous voice. She forces a smile but she looks more sinister than polite. Mizuki swallows, wary of her actions.

[Side Quest Accepted: Never Talk to Strangers - Find the identity of the adventurer]

"Could you follow me somewhere? There's something I can't seem to get myself so I thought it would help if I found someone else," she explains. Something about her request doesn't sit right with Mizuki. She wants to refuse but there's no way she can, especially with the mysterious stranger looking at her all wide-eyed and expectant.

"Oh, if you could, could you lead me to an ore deposit as well?" Mizuki adds politely.

"Of course," the stranger agrees, dragging her sibilance sounds, sounding a bit like a snake. Mizuki attempts to brush off the uneasy feeling in her stomach, that something's clearly not right. 'Maybe that's just how she speaks. I can't judge her.'

As they pass, Mizuki hears rustling among the foliage and then squawking of the birds, flocks flying out from the canopies. She catches squirrels scuttle into the leaves, raising an eyebrow in question. Her heart increases pace in alarm, palms jittery. A short walk forward, when Mizuki catches sight of a massive rock with copper and iron, surprised.

"Huh, I thought copper only grew in caves", Mizuki stops, wiping a bead of cold sweat off her forehead. "Thank you for leading me here."

"No, no, no," the mysterious adventurer corrects. "There's something I'd like to show you."

"See this pink crystal here?" she leads, a Cheshire grin on her lips. She walks with a hop in her step, over-enthusiastic in the context of rocks. Mizuki inches closer, taking a good look at the translucent crystals growing on the tree. "Could you, maybe, retrieve them so I can use their essence for my potion?" the traveler appears behind Mizuki, giggling into her ear.

Mizuki whirls around, stepping back. She trembles, eyes widened in fear. Adrenaline courses through her veins and Mizuki decides that she needs to get out. If I don't do anything, she'll just freeze, right? She's just an NPC.

"Sorry, I have to leave," Mizuki steps back, ready to make a run for it. Sharp nails dig into the flesh of her shoulder, yanking her back. Mizuki's heart falls to her stomach, pupils dilating in fear.

"You wouldn't go against your word, would you?" the unknown menace growls threateningly in her ear. Mizuki is paralysed with fear, feet heavy like stones.