Trouble at Emberfell town (1/3)

The following day;

Kael and Laura bathed in the soft morning light streaming through the curtains of their inn room, both naked under the sheets. Laura lay draped across Kael's chest. They had just finished an intimate moment, and both were catching their breath.

Laura traced lazy circles on his chest, a playful smirk on her face. "For someone who's still in the underprivileged realm, your stamina is... remarkable," she teased. "Your body is as fit as any warrior's."

Kael flushed a deep red and averted his gaze, struggling for words. "I-I just stay active..."

She giggled softly at his embarrassment, then her tone grew more thoughtful. "You know, Kael, it's been over two months since we got married." Her fingers stilled, and she looked up at him with a mix of mischief and sincerity. "Mother reminded me it's about time we started thinking about a baby as she's worried that people would start questioning."

Kael sighed, gently stroking her hair. "I know, Laura. But right now, I need to focus on my career as a merchant. I just changed the jobs and started a new life. I want to build something stable before we take that step. I don't want to be distracted between various responsibilities. I'm sorry."

Her face fell slightly, but she quickly masked her disappointment with a warm smile. "I understand," she said softly, leaning up to kiss him. "But don't keep me waiting too long, husband."

Kael pulled her close, his heart heavy with the unspoken weight of his ambitions and responsibilities.

After a quick breakfast at the inn, Kael and Laura started strolling hand in hand through the bustling marketplace. The air was filled with the calls of vendors, the scent of fresh produce, and the chatter of townsfolk going about their day.

Kael carried a list of ingredients for the purification potion that Seraphina had provided before leaving for the town's healing center. Wherever she traveled, she didn't forget to go to the healing center and provide free treatment to the poor.

Meanwhile, Kael and Laura handled the procurement of the necessary materials for the potion.

Laura's natural charisma and sharp bargaining skills shone as she haggled with vendors. "Thirty silver coins for these? You must be joking. These herbs barely qualify as premium quality," she said to an older merchant, her tone sharp yet friendly. "I'll give you twenty, and you'll still make a profit."

The merchant sighed in defeat. "Fine, fine, twenty it is. But only because you're a royal consort."

Kael chuckled as Laura turned to him with a triumphant smile. "Despite being a princess, you really are a bargain master." He couldn't stop himself from praising her skills.

"You just need to know how to talk to people and how to beat them psychologically, whether it is bargaining for the items or debating with other scholars. The core principle remains the same," she replied, winking at him.

With the materials purchased, the couple made their way to the alchemy guild's local branch. The potion master, an elderly woman with sharp eyes and nimble hands, inspected the gathered ingredients with a discerning gaze.

"These will do," she said curtly. "The purification potion is delicate work, though. Handling a batch large enough for hundreds of Starlight Blossom flowers will take time. But, I promise to hand it over by the end of the evening."

Kael nodded. "We trust your expertise. Let us know if you need anything else."

The potion master gave a satisfied grunt and gestured for them to leave her workshop. "Come back in a day. It'll be ready."

While Kael's quest is only to procure the Starlight Blossom, he gets 100% bonus credits if he submits the purified ones. As one knows, Starlight Blossoms grow among the look-alike flowers, the Poisonous Blossom flowers. As a result, they usually are contaminated. Despite containing healing properties, unpurified flowers contain traces of poison too.

To solve this, they must be sprayed with a purification potion. This will not only purify them but also increase shelf life from 3 days to 7 days.

The problem occurred when Kael procured almost all the Starlight Blossom flowers available in Blossom Valley earlier. Each purification potion in the market would individually cost over 12 gold coins per vial.

Hence, with Seraphina's help, he bought the ingredients required for the potion in bulk amount and handed it over to the potion master in the town, paying only 100 gold coins as making charges.

The ingredients cost him around 214 gold coins with the help of Laura, which would result in receiving a batch of 100-120 purification potions. Each purification potion could be used to purify about 8-10 Starlight Blossom flowers; there are about 600 flowers he collected, and each purified Starlight blossom would give him 3 gold coins and 20 silver coins. 400 gold coins would be given as a commission for the adventuring team. Even after deducting the food and accommodation charges, he would easily earn more than a thousand gold coins for this job.

With their business at the alchemy guild concluded Kael and Laura found themselves with more than enough time to fool around. They decided to explore the town, wandering through its cobblestone streets and quaint shops.

They stopped by a small bakery, where Kael wanted to buy a box of honey cakes for the other wife. "These are Seraphina's favorite," he said, his eyes twinkling. "She'll never admit it, but I think she has a sweet tooth."

"Yeah, I know she loves sweets." Laura puffed her cheeks, feeling a bit of jealousy. "I, too, worked hard for your quest, you know." She said, looking away.

"Ok. What do you want, my queen?" Kael asked with a chuckle, feeling that sometimes, she appears cute when she is jealous.

Just as Laura was about to respond, screams of people filled the street and earned their attention.

The cobblestone streets of the bustling town market seemed to have been thrown into chaos as a tri-horned-rhino-beast-driven-carriage made its way in the streets at a walking pace, accompanied by a retinue of armed guards and attendants.

As the carriage stopped, someone wearing an attire worthy of a wealthy individual/noble family stepped down.

The lady was tall and striking, with cascading auburn hair and an air of arrogance that matched the fine silk of her dress. Her piercing eyes scanned the stores and then the crowd in the streets until they landed on Kael.

"Well, well," she purred, approaching Kael and Laura instead of going into a clothing store as she planned. "What have we here? Such a fine specimen wandering through my town. I never encountered a flower like you." Her eyes were filled with infatuation as if she had fallen for him at first sight.

Kael frowned, uncomfortable under her gaze, but Laura stepped forward with a firm expression on her face. "This is my husband," she said sharply. "Move along, lady."

The noblewoman's lips curled into a smirk. "Husband? A pity." She looked at Laura with barely concealed disdain. "Do you think a commoner like you could truly hold onto a man like him? You look like a scholar, though. If you are intelligent, you should know that a treasure in the hands of a commoner is a crime."

"You…" Laura's hands clenched into fists, but before she could respond, the noblewoman continued. "You must not know who I am. I am Lady Roselyn Sinclair, daughter of Baroness Fianna Sinclair, the lord of this town. I could kill you here and now, in public, and no one would dare to raise a finger against me. And as for your husband," she added with a venomous grin, "I could take him right now, and you couldn't stop me. So, you can buzz off from here."

Roselyn's words were the final straw. Without hesitation, Laura drew her Tome and launched a blast of energy directly at the noblewoman. The attack crackled with raw magical energy, but one of Roselyn's guards swiftly stepped in, blocking the strike with his shield.

The air grew tense as more guards encircled Kael and Laura. Roselyn laughed, her voice cold and triumphant. "Foolish girl. You should've known your place."

"Kael, stay back!" Laura said fiercely, summoning a sword through the word magic as the guards closed in. The marketplace cleared as civilians fled the brewing conflict.

Despite Laura's valiant efforts, the guards' sheer numbers proved overwhelming. She fought fiercely with a sword in one hand and magic spells in the other hand, crackling with intensity as she held her ground, but even her strength had limits. Kael watched from the sidelines, his heart pounding in worry.

Finally, seeing Laura begin to falter under the relentless assault, Kael made his move. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a small vial with a glowing, scarlet liquid—a rare potion he had saved for emergencies.

"Laura, duck!" he shouted, throwing the potion at the center of the melee.

*Boom*