Chapter 3: Evergreen
Level Up!
Level Up!
Level Up!
Skills Increased:
Martial Arts: Lvl. 3
Shield Bash: Lvl. 2
Swordsmanship: Lvl. 2
Items Received:
- 1000 Coins
- 1x Health Potion
- 1x Lantern
- 2x Bread
- 2x Dried Meat
Well, not bad for a good night's work..
Kai smiled softly as the results of his night of fighting goblins popped into his head. He had found out from his first encounter that he could indeed deposit the corpses and tools of the goblins into his inventory, in hopes he can sell their remains in town.
Deposit Items
Kai thought as he focused on the remains of the last group of goblins.
With a soft glow, the corpses and tools of the goblins were swallowed up, into Kai's magic backpack, or just his head? Shaking his head in amusement at the thought, before talking to the voice in his head once more.
Open Shop
Purchase 1x Leather Shoes, 1x Leather Greaves and 1x Leather Breastplate.
Items purchased, remaining balance:
50 Coins
"Damn, all that for not even a full set of basic armor.." He shook his head as he inspected the new leather armor strapped to his legs, chest and feet, "At least I finally have a pair of shoes!"
With his new protective gear purchased the young man continued his journey down the dirt road. Looking at his Map, the icon showing his location pressing even closer to the Town named Evergreen.
Should be there in an hour or two by now... There maybe I can get some answers as to what this place is, if I should even ask those kinds of questions..
The young man's brow furrowed as he thought, taking a long, slow swig from the waterskin he acquired, the cool morning breeze refreshing after the long night of fighting.
Crack!
Not again... I just got done killing these things all night!
Kai turned his head at the sound barreling towards him in the brush, the sound larger than that of a goblin's.
What in the-
His train of thought was cut off as a young woman dashed out of the brush, crashing into him.
"Hey! Watch where you are going! I thought you were a Goblin or something!" Kai scolded the young woman as he sat next to her on the ground, his first encounter with something that wasn't a monster in this world.
"S-sorry Mister! I was just on my way home, there is usually never anyone here on the road." The young woman stuttered shyly. She looked to be in her early twenties, a short woman, with long, whispy white hair. Her clothing, a simple sundress and shoes, looked tattered and worn.
"It's fine... just be mindful of who you are charging at." Kai gave a stern look before his gaze softened as he stood up, dusting the dirt off of himself before offering the woman a hand, "My name is Malakai, or just Kai is fine. It's nice to meet you, even if our meeting was rather interesting." He gave a soft smile, his hand outstretched.
"T-thank you... my name is Elise." The young woman murmured shyly as she accepted his hand as he helped her back on her feet.
"What had you running off through the brush like that? Aren't you a little far from town?" Kai asked with a raised eyebrow as he watched the girl fidget nervously.
"Well truthfully... I was looking for food you see, I really don't have anything to my name." The girl offered a weak smile as she replied.
"You came out all this way for food?" The young man asked in quiet disbelief before adding, "Hold on just a second."
Inventory Open
Withdraw 2x Bread, and 2x Dried Meat
Items Withdrawn
"Here, it's not much, but this should at least hold you over." Kai says to the young woman as he hands her a loaf of bread and a piece of dried meat, "If you are thirsty too, I also have water." He added as he shook the waterskin, still plenty full of water.
"Thank you. Thank you so much... There hasn't been any work for a woman like me in town.. and I just can't work at something like a brothel, you know? I can't just sell my body to live..." Elise murmured as she fought back tears, accepting the gift of food with shaky hands.
"What do you mean, a woman like you? Are there not shops you can work at?" Kai asked between bites of his own loaf of bread.
The girl shook her head sadly, "Evergreen is a very small town in terms of business... and the work women are allowed to do, like working at shops, inns, have all been taken up. And I am far from being able to kill monsters and sell them for a living.."
Kill monsters and sell them, huh?... Sounds like I got an answer without even needing to ask...
Kai smiled in his head at being correct before responding, "So if that is the case, then how do you survive?" He asked softly.
Elise looked down at the ground shyly before murmuring, "By finding what I can... wether it be berries, maybe getting lucky and catching a fish.. sometimes I try to steal from Goblins when they are sleeping..."
Elise's eyes widened slightly at her admission before his replying in a soft voice, "That isn't a way to live. If you wish, I am very new to this land, and would love a guide. If you were even able to help me out just a little bit, you could travel with me, and I would make sure you are fed, and have more than just that battered dress and shoes. Even if you can't offer anything, I wouldn't mind the company."
What am I doing right now?
Kai thought to himself before he looked at Elise, who had lost the battle of holding back her tears.
"Thank you... thank you so much." She murmured between sobs, "I may not be able to offer much but I will do anything, I would even carry your bags, drag dead goblins, anything to not be a burden. Thank you so much."
"There's no need for you to worry about dragging any dead goblins, I can handle that." Kai chuckled softly as he playfully ruffled her hair, "Now let's get into town, I have some dead goblins to sell."
"Wait, what goblins?" She asked, her head tilted slightly in confusion.
Oh right... I guess my abilities aren't even normal for here.
"One more thing before you travel with me," Kai says as he clears his throat, his tone taking a more serious tone, "You cannot tell another soul what you see me do, especially the things only I can do, understood?"
"Y-yes of course." Elise still clearly in shock nodded her head profusely in agreement, still overwhelmed with the opportunity to not have to scavenge to survive.
"I will show you what I mean when we get closer to town, but for now, let's get going." Kai replies, gazing at her for a brief moment before beginning to walk down the dirt road, "You better keep up! And make sure to finish your food!" He calls back to her playfully.
"Hold on! I'm coming!" Elise squeaked as she hurried to catch up, finally snapping back to reality, "I just want to thank you again, seriously.." She murmured softly, gazing at him as they walked, taking small, appreciative bites of her bread."
"Don't mention it." Kai replied as they walked in a steady pace beside each other.
Seriously, what in the world am I doing?!?
Kai's mind was a battlefield of thoughts as the pair continued to walk down the road, questioning his acceptance of a stranger and offering to help her when he needs help himself.
It's just something about her, it's oddly calming, and far better than just being alone in this weird world.
He smiled softly as he reassured his conscience, his gaze drifting over to Elise, now silently munching on her bread contently.
"Enjoying your new role as bread-eater?" He asked with a playful smile.
"H-hey! I will be more than just a girl taking your food!" A faint blush touched her cheeks as she stammered, still eating her bread but with more mindfulness.
"I was just kidding, enjoy your meal." He replied with a playful smile, "So tell me Elise, what is this town like, Evergreen? Aside from it being small, and there being a lack of jobs."
"Well... it is over-all a very pleasant town.. Everyone there is friendly for the most part, the town is almost completely surrounded by trees aside from the entrance, hence the name Evergreen," Elise explained quietly, a finger resting on her chin as she thought, "Most work there aside from your standard shops is people selling dead monster bodies and their belongings to then my sent off and processed into armor, tools."
Kai nodded as he listened, taking in everything Elise could provide.
"The town is about halfway to the capital so can get pretty busy with people going through it... It is about a month's journey on foot to it from here, but maybe about a week by carriage?" She continued, deep in thought, "In terms of security there is a local guard there, but they can have a difficult time, the amount of traveling merchants passing through and stopping at the inns means a lot of easy targets for monsters like goblins or bandits."
"If it is so popular, then why is this road we are on as you said hardly used?" Kai asked with a raised eyebrow.
"This road isn't the main road, and going in the other direction, there are only a few small villages out that way, on the very outskirts of the kingdom. Those villages tend to just trade amongst themselves, maybe only coming to town once or twice a month for items they don't produce." Elise responded softly.
I see, so that makes sense why I hadn't seen a single soul either...
Kai thought quietly to himself as the pair continued to walk. After a short while, a small, stone wall could be seen in the distance, most of it encircled by a thick forest. The walls looked to be approximately 10 feet in height, with a wooden gate at the front. The town rested right along another road going horizontally from their path, the road they were on forming a perfect 'T'. The amount of cart, carriages and people walking past or towards the gate was rather impressive, even from a distance.
"Is that it?" Kai asked, his gaze shifting to Elise as they continued.
"It is!" She exclaimed softly, "But it looks even busier than usual today... hopefully we can get inside before dark." She sighed, pouting slightly.
"Well if we can't, I'll just barter with the goblins to take you and let me relax for the night." Kai said teasingly.
"H-hey! That will absolutely not happen! We will get inside before dark I promise!" Elise squeaked nervously at the playful threat, clearly flustered.
Why does she look so cute when she gets so flustered like that?
Kai thought with a soft smile, dismissing the thought from his head as they pressed ever closer. The sound of travelers conversing with one another, hooves and wheels working the dirt road, filled the air as they approached the main gate. From here Kai could make out a small guard checkpoint right by the gate, watching travelers go by on the road or through their gate, occassionally stopping suspicious looking carts or people. The sun was starting to lean more to the West now as the day was drawing to a close.
For a small town, this place sure is busy.. I don't know if I want to experience the Capital if it is much worse...
Kai's brow furrowed in thought before he was interrupted by a gentle tug on his sleeve.
"H-hey, Malakai, come on! We are almost there!" Elise urged him on quietly, continuing to pull on his sleeve as they walked at a slow crawl through the checkpoint.
"Right, sorry... got lost in my head." Kai chuckled softly with a shy smile, his free hand rubbing the back of his head.
The pair continued, sure and steady, they moved forward through the mass of people. Kai listened intently as he surveyed the crowd around them, folk from all walks of life. Peasants, warriors, potential low-born nobles.
"I sure hope these cabbages can fetch a good price this year Margot, let's pray for one last good harvest..." An old man could be heard speaking to his wife as he pulled a cart full of rather appetizing looking cabbages.
"These damn nobles better not raise the taxes again, me and my family can't survive another increase!" A disgruntled man spoke worriedly with his companions.
"Alright, move along." Several guards could be heard just up ahead as they ushered people in, only stopping people occassionally.
"Sir, you are going to have to park your carriage on the other side of town, the stable here is at capacity." A young guard explained you a young man wearing an expensive looking outfit.
"You, what did you just say to me?" The young man's face twisted in anger before letting out and exasperated huff after noticing the sea of people watching is brief outburst, "Fine, I will park my carriage on the other end of town."
"Geez, I thought that privileged brat was about tk drop dead for a second with how red his face got..." Kai whispered to Elise, who responded with a quiet giggle.
"Alright, move along now, and sir make sure to keep an eye on your slave girl." A guard said to the pair and urged them furtner.
Slave?.....
Kai glanced at Elise, her expression downcast, the self-consciousness of her own battered clothing even more aparent, her hair dirty, mangled and disheveled, and her limbs stained slightly by dirt.
We need to take care of that, she can't keep looking like that, I don't want her to be looked at as my property, at all.
"Elise, I need you to show me where I can sell these goblins and their weapons." Kai continues to look at Elise as he speaks quietly.
"O-oh yes of course, follow me!" She stammers as she comes back to, flashing a small smile, a feeble attempt at hiding her pain as she lead the pair down bustling cobblestone roads.
The streets were lined with taverns, inns and permanent shops, as well as small market stalls selling homemade food, clothing and accessories. The crowd around them bustled quietly, creating a busy yet warm atmosphere. Further into the town rows of quiet houses could be seen, as well as what looked like an odd church or two. The amount of actual residents of the town almost seemed dwarfed by the amount of people passing through, just judging off the amount of houses.
Kai continued to follow Elise's lead quietly, as they entered a more quiet portion of the town, though it was still busy. The amount of shops decreased significantly and was replaced by a couple blacksmith shops, a leatherworker, a shop specializing in wooden bows, arrows as well as wooden shirlds, and what looked to be a place to buy magic related equipment, as well as an apothecary.
So this is where the majority of the stuff needed for protection purposes is located...
Kai thought quietly to himself as they continued, just a short distance past the shops stood a large, warehouse looking building with large doors and what looked to be a clear drop-off station just in front of it judging by the blood stained on the slightly raised wooden platform. A smaller, side addition attached with a formal entrance looked to be where people went in to inform about dropping off their hauls for payment.
"Hey Elise, would you be able to go inside and inform the people we are here to sell some goblins as well as their tools?" Kai asked the girl, who nodded quickly, a soft, determined expression on her face.
Okay, while she handles that... Inventory Open
The familiar voice could be heard in the young man's head as he withdrew the goblins and their weapons, laying them on the platform. In total, 18 goblin corpses lay there, with about 6 stone tools that didn't look completely useless. A short time after Kai finished his gaze shifted as the large doors to the warehouse swung open, there stood Elise, as well as several burly men.
"Oh wow, not bad at all kid! How did you manage to get all of these buggers over here with just you and the girl?" One of the men asked, his eyes searching for the trace of a cart before shrugging, "You brats didn't spend all day dragging them here, did you?"
"No sir, in fact we just got here." Kai chuckled softly.
"Just got here, huh?" The man raised his eyebrows before letting out a loud bellowing laugh, "Well young man I guess it's a good thing I get paid to count monster corpses and move them and not ask questions!"
The man's brow furrowed as he counted the goblin corpses and looked over the tools.
"Alright kids, for these 8 here, I'll offer you 4 silver coins a piece, their hides are pretty good still." The man said as he continued to inspect the bodies, "For these two here, I'll give you 10 a piece, these are almost perfect condition. The other 8 I'll give you 1 silver a piece, you are lucky to even call these goblins in their state." The man chuckled darkly to himself.
"For the weapons, I'll give you about 5 copper coins a piece, there isn't much you can do with these crappy stone tools but some average folk would buy them cheap for tools or a souvenir." The man said as he looked up at the pair with a determined gaze.
"How about for this one, instead of 10, you give me 15 silver coins?" Kai asked the man as he lifted a near pristine goblin's corpse, "Aside from the bruising around it's throat if this thing's chest moved it would still be alive."
"Ahh, a barterer I see." The man narrowed his eyes at the young man before letting out another bellowing laugh, "I like you kid! And I can't argue with that, you really can't get more perfect unless you poisoned the critter, I'll give you 15 silver coins for that, deal?" The man stuck a large hand that looked more like a paw with an excited smile.
"Alright, deal." Kai smiled back as he accepted the man's handshake, matching his firm grip.
"Not bad at all! I'm shocked you can match my grip with how small you are! The name is Rufus kid, and these other big dummies work for me, now just wait here a moment with me as we get you paid." The man's smile broadened as he motioned at the other two burly men behind him as they began to haul the goblins inside,"Beatrice! I need 65 Silvers and 30 Coppers for these kids out here! They brought a nice haul!" Rufus yelled out into the big open warehouse, his voice booming off the walls.
"Is that a lot of money?" Kai whispered in Elise's ear, who had been silently watching the exhange with quiet amusement.
"Yeah, it's definitely a lot! Not enough to get you a countryside estate of course but could definitely get you board in an inn for a couple months with several hot meals a day." She whispered back with a soft smile.
That really isn't bad at all..
Kai smiled to himself as the pair waited patiently. A short, motherly-looking woman came out of the attached building in a hurry, carrying a fairly hefty looking pouch of coins.
"Next time, you come inside and tell me before scaring me half to death again! You know how loud your yapper gets bouncing off of those warehouse walls!" Beatrice glared at Rufus as she scolded him, who shrugged his shoulders with a sheepish grin, "Don't mind this bumbling mound of meat who only knows how to yell and drag around monster remains." Beatrice said playfully as she turned to face Kai and Elise, handing the pouch of coin to the young man, "Thank you for your business, my husband and I sure wish for you to come back with more product!"
"Of course ma'am we will be back before long! Thank you again!" Kai bowed politely at Rufus and Beatrice before turning to face Elise, "You ready to do some shopping then find an inn for the night?" He asked her with a soft smile.
"Y-yes, of course!" Elise replied in quiet excitement as the pair waved at the older couple, before turning around and heading back toward the open-market area of town.