"Come to think of it, what's your name miss?"
Drago suddenly asked.
"Oh, I'm Sadako Gravestone. Nice to meet you sir."
"Gravestone? Like king Gravestone?"
"Yes well,…he is my father actually but I've been exiled for my human traits."
It's a bit hard to explain actually, the subject makes a hole form in my chest.
Drago's eyes widened as soon as he heard it though.
"What!? Talk about harsh."
You think?
Wait hold up, we're getting off subject now.
"By the way, Mr. Drago, is it okay if I ask about your friend who's hurt?"
"Oh yeah, well her name is Saremel Moth. She's the daughter of Pharmel Moth, owner of the Moth Head."
"What? And why can't she pay for her injury that family should be filthy rich right?"
"Yeah, until that bastard Minc and crew showed up in town and started taking over! 90% of Moth Head's proceeds are being handed to Minc every night. At this rate the business is going down, hell, I'm the last employee left that isn't in the Moth family themselves…"
I nodded him a 'mhm mhm' as he continued.
"So anyways, Pharmel started getting sick of handing his business over to a petty crime boss every night."
"So he led a revolt and was killed and your friend barely escaped with her injuries?"
"Huh? No. Saremel was hurt simply just as a message to warn Pharmel not to try anything."
Oh dang, I was off the mark. I'm a little embarrassed.
"So then the real problem hasn't really been solved at all then?"
"No, the real problem right now is treating Saremel's burns. I won't let her suffer just because of those bastards!"
So basically, Drago's in love with Saremel and she was a victim of this crime boss. Her family is probably living in poverty at the moment despite owning a successful tavern that is packed full of people and even has live music.
"Why hasn't the owner of the Moth Head contacted the royal guards with this matter? It is their duty to stop disputes and crimes in the city after all."
"Minc has a hostage, he abducted the younger daughter of Pharmel. Minc has threatened that he'll kill her if Pharmel doesn't pay or contacts the guards."
A tight situation huh? I bet this Minc character is pretty full of himself right now, with the amount of money he's stealing is a crime in itself but to threaten a hostage is even worse.
Who knows how many other hostages he has on top of that, who's to say the Moth Head isn't the only business under his reign. I can't just pretend I haven't heard any of this now, I've decided to try and help where I can with this matter.
"Okay, I've decided. I will help your friend."
I tried to sound extra badass-like. Only except my voice is way to high and girlish so it came out in a weird voice. I'm so awkward, my confidence is totally shot.
But just as I was escaping into to darkness of my soul I was suddenly embraced tightly. What? What happened? What's going on?
"Thankyou, I've been so desperate to find some way to fix this. It's too much…one wrong move and someone can be hurt or killed because of those damn low lives!"
My eyes widened, whoa, okay buddy. This is my first hug so be gentle. Even Poe is worked up making a 'raaaa~' noise.
Actually, since I'm only 9 years old it's unusual to have earned this amount of trust already. Most people look at me like I'm sort of helpless human child, it's actually pretty infuriating. But that's another story. Maybe it's because I got him out of trouble a minute ago, either that or it's because I'm the daughter of the king. Exiled daughter that is.
Once we arrive at a building that looked like it would collapse at any moment. It was old wood that has clearly not been taken care of, does someone really live here?
I met Saremel Moth and determined the situation with her wounds. Severely burned, they must have doused her legs with gasoline and set her on fire. It's hard to look at to be honest, I can't imagine the trauma.
Her eyes are sad, but there is also a clear light there. Once I mentioned that I knew how to make the ointment in which Drago was trying to steal, they both held a shimmer of hope. Probably not a good idea to mention that I've never actually made it before, I just know the recipe really. Eh, well. That's all just details anyways.
Actually, right now the real hiccup is the Flaria. Where am I supposed to come by one of those? Even if we went searching like madmen through the wasteland, chances are we'd never find one. Supposedly, Flarias are one of the rarest flowers on the planet after all.
The quickest and easiest way actually would be to buy the healing ointment instead of searching for all the raw ingredients and then mix the Flaria in for complete effect.
Hmmmm. This is a bit of a problem isn't it?
Just like that, as if fate commanded it I saw a sign across the street. It was a listing of prices for various items, they were trying to promote the their low prices I guess? I don't really know, I just happened to look that way and read the sign.
Water flask...3 copper
Ivory....1 Bronze
Healing ointment…5 gold
Magic canister…..10 gold
Flaria bud....11 gold
Hemlock...12 gold
My eyes widened at the words Flaria bud, for 11 gold. That is a whole freaking lot of money, like more than most people make in an entire month with full time jobs.
"Obviously, the only thing in this situation we can do is try to figure out how to make 16 gold pieces."
"16 GOLD PIECES!? ARE YOU NUTS!?"
"Its out of the question, huh? Well then, don't worry I'll figure something out."
To be honest, I have no idea how I could scrape up that kind of money. Well, I did think of a 'get rich quick' idea involving using free herbs and ingredients around the city to make some medicine that would fetch a decent price. I knew of just such a recipe, man am I glad I chose to read about all these kinds of things while I was in such a convenient place as the royal castle's private library.
The real problem is that would take a considerable amount of time, 'quick' isn't the same as instantaneous. Unfortunately, I read somewhere that Flaria ointment can only heal burns perfect while they're fresh before the wound has begun to naturally start healing. Apparently, waiting too long to apply the ointment will result in much more scar tissue where as immediate application usually results in a perfect recovery with minimal to no scarring.
Just Amazing.
On top of that, the amount of time to make 16 gold would take is a problem in of itself.
"No, I think I know how we can get our hands on that kind of cash…though, it's risky."
Drago looked worried, what the heck kind of way is he thinking of getting the money?
"Wait…give me some time to think before you do anything stupid."
"Stupid!?...eh, well- yeah, okay."
As I thought, you were thinking something stupid weren't you! Scandalous I say! After I just saved you from a life of crime too! Are you even an adult good sir?
Anyways, I had sat down next to Saremel and found out the nitty gritty details that I needed. So the way I see it there are several problems at hand.
The money needed to buy the Flaria bud and healing ointment, I'm sure Saremel's dad would buy it if it wasn't for this Minc character and his gang stealing all of Moth Head's income. Unfortunately, there's no room to budge there due to the younger daughter being held as leverage over the owner and those involved with the Moth Head.
Pharmel could get gutsy and call the royal guards to where Minc has his base of operations set up. But, with his daughters life at stake he's playing the safe route for now while he's trying to decide what to do.
All the while, Minc is just raking in more and more money from the Moth Head every night. I bet that tavern make a whole hell of a lot of money every night too.
Pharmel could easily come up with 16 gold coins in one night as long as Minc isn't involved which means that for Saremel's sake someone has to do something about Minc right now.
Hmm.
"Where is Minc keeping your younger sister, do you know?"
Saremel is shaking her head no, I'm sure she's in all different kinds of pain right now. No matter what, I'll tie this up quickly. If there's someone I should call for help right now it should probably be him…