A week had gone by, and William hadn't seen any sign of Lucy. At first, he would go to the bar out of curiosity, but then he went continuously every day just to know if she was in good health.
"Hello again, Mister Blacksmith!"
He would always be greeted by the waitress with bunny ears. She seemed to be covering Lucy's shifts for the past few days. William was always hopeful that Marla would show her a different face than the one she was showing. It was clear to him what she was going to say next.
"She's still not here, isn't she?"
The waitress shook her head, "Her situation has taken longer than she expected, but don't worry. My Lucy will come back... eventually."
The blacksmith wryly smiled, "It sounds like even you don't know if she'll come back."
The waitress wryly smiled, "I know she will come back. I'm just not sure when exactly. Honestly, wait till she gets back. She will receive my wrath! Leaving me out like that is not like her..."
The blacksmith noticed that the situation was taking a toll on Marla. He could tell she was forcing her usual perky self while her mind was thinking about something else.
"She'll come back in good health." He assured her.
"Yes, of course..." She shook her head to concentrate, "Shall I give you the usual? The special of the day, wasn't it?"
The blacksmith nodded, "Yes, please."
He sat by the bar and had a few drinks for about an hour before going home. The man began to worry not only about Lucy's well-being, but about his own as well. It was his fifth consecutive day of drinking. He was terrified that the amount of alcohol he's been consuming had done absolutely nothing to him.
***
"Eventually, huh? It's already been a week. I wonder if she will actually come back."
The blacksmith had stepped outside and was on his way home.
He thought about the face Lucy had when he last saw her. It increased the blacksmith's anxiousness. He had already seen that face when she was younger and he, of all people, knew it didn't lead to anything good.
"—Mongrels, you should leave, or you will be violating the guild law."
"Hm?"
The man was seeing the merchant for the fifth consecutive time this week as well. Never before had he seen him as much as he had this week, but it could be due to his stand being in the busiest part of the town.
He was at his usual place, not moving an inch from it. This time, he was having a discussion with a trio of men. William recognized their faces. They were part of the merchant's guild. The blacksmith leaned closer without being seen to overhear their conversation.
"The only one violating the guild law is none other than you, Paul."
"Yeah! Who do you think you are? You're leaving every merchant on this street without business."
"Hmph, Hmph!"
The merchant scoffed, "The guild rule states that when managing business for the guild I have the privilege of having an area of my choosing for myself to conduct such business. Until that work is done, no one can come and interfere in my area. You can understand that much, right Richy?"
One of the men growled, "Don't act high and mighty, of course I do, but you have taken advantage of the rule to make profit for your shady business!"
The merchant's nostrils flared up, "Hey! My business isn't shady."
"Your work has been long done, Paul. You were supposed to pack your things and return to your shop the moment your shift was done."
"That's the thing Dicky, my shift isn't done. I haven't closed the stand for a second. Hell, I haven't moved from this position at all! Besides, I haven't finished my task with the guild."
"Hmph, Hmph."
"That's right Chatty! Paul, you need to return home at some point. It's already been a week! Who's going to run your shop while you're here?"
"My wife is currently running the shop." The merchant nodded with a smile on his face, "She's doing a better job than I would."
"This is absurd! You can't keep doing this forever."
"Oh, please Richy. You're just bitter that I'm making huge stacks of money out of this loophole. Now off you go and leave me be. You're interfering in my guild duties."
One of the men clicked his tongue and walked away. The others followed behind him, but two of them stopped to say a few words to the merchant, "Just you wait, Paul. You won't be off the hook this easily. We'll find a way."
"Hmph!"
The merchant smirked, "I would like to see you try."
After the discussion was over, Paul resumed with his business.
Meanwhile, the blacksmith was in a corner at a loss for words. He knew that the merchant's actions were out of line, but he didn't expect it to be this serious between his colleagues. He decided not to approach Paul. He thought that after that heated argument, he wouldn't want to have a conversation with anybody, let alone with the blacksmith. Instead, he decided to let things be for the time being.
***
William walked to a familiar oak tree. The path towards it was covered with overgrown vegetation, but he was able to make a path for himself. Once he reached the tree, he said the words, "Anoixe sousami." and a door revealed itself to him. A dim light emitted from the door frame before it opened to a flight of stairs.
The stairs led to what appeared to be a private study with a desk and a chair right in the middle of the room. The blacksmith was nostalgic. It felt like the first time his grandfather had introduced the place to him.
"The room is just how I left it years ago." He said as he caressed the desk.
This used to be his place of solitude, where no one could interfere. No sound could leave that place, yet he could hear everything from the outside.
"Even so, it doesn't feel the same without you grandpa."
The blacksmith recalled the moment he arrived at the house. It looked like it was fusing with the forest with the low maintenance it was being given. He slowly took the steps up to the front porch. He was scared at the moment. He had never met his grandfather up to that point. He could only reference the type of person he could be by looking at his own family and that was not a good sign for him. Once he reached the porch, he looked to his left and there was his grandfather rocking his chair back and forth. It took him a while to notice his presence. William used to be a very quiet child. As soon as he did, he was greeted with a big smile, "Welcome to your home, kid."
The blacksmith smiled as he recalled that moment, "You were a great man, grandpa. I wish everyone could've seen that."
He sat on his grandfather's chair. The study room seemed bigger when he was younger. Now it feels cramped with all the books scattered around the place.
"Grandpa Noel seemed in a hurry to find something within these books. I wonder what it was…"
The blacksmith looked over the documents and books that were on the desk. He noticed a particular red book with the title, "The tears of the three princesses…"
"—This is really bad Hassun! Ezhno went out last night and never came back."
"Calm down Kele. You're assuming things way too quickly."
"!?"
Two voices, identified as Hassun and Kele, could be heard from outside the oak tree. It is uncommon for people like William to be inside the forest. It was clear to him these two individuals were from the Drakon tribe, the only people besides William that resided in the Lost Forest.
"You think I don't know my brother, my own flesh and blood, better than anyone?! He's never late. I've gone to the elders and they brushed me aside."
"What was he sent out to do?"
"He was sent out to patrol with a group in an undisclosed area in the forest, but I knew better. They must have sent him to check that place."
The tribe man gasped, "The serpent's path… is that the path that opened through the mountain, on the border? This is bad. Too many people have gone missing for it to be an act of nature. We should tell the elders..."
"Are you deaf? I already did! They… didn't seem shocked. My brother had been working with them for a very long time and they acted as if a pet rabbit had died. It was them, wasn't it? I can only think it was them. They sent my brother to die!"
"Calm down! Don't spout such things where anyone can hear us. It could get us killed!"
"Who cares? My brother is dead!"
"We… we still don't know for sure."
There was a moment of silence between the two as they digested their possible reality. William could hear the brother's voice cracking as he was on the verge of tears.
The blacksmith was taken back by this information. The Drakon tribe like to keep it to themselves. He has yet to step in or even see the tribe. They don't welcome people that are from the outside.
The blacksmith scratched his head as he realized this was the second time he accidentally eavesdropped on a private conversation. It felt wrong for him to know this confidential information.
"I don't understand. We have an expedition team. Why would the elders send the patrol team instead?"
"I don't know and I don't care. I will get to the bottom of this."
"Don't act irrationally. Right now, all eyes must be on you. Especially since you went directly to them. They know you're looking for answers. Dammit, I'm most likely being watched as well."
"There must be something… what if we talk to her? No one hates the elders more than she does."
"It is a possibility. She would definitely help us, but right now let's focus on not getting attention towards ourselves. Then we'll think of a plan."
"Right… Hey, what's that smell?"
The blacksmith twitched.
"Ugh, it's the cursed one."
"It's getting strong."
"He must be nearby, but I don't see him anywhere."
Even though they wouldn't be able to see the blacksmith, he couldn't help but hide under the desk.
"Let's get out of here. I don't want to see that horrendous freak of nature. I'm already dealing with enough as it is."
"Right, let's finish our rounds and head back to the tribe."
William heard the footsteps fading away and sighed with relief. He got out from under the desk and laughed at how pathetic he felt. He didn't have time to think before his body had a fight or flight reaction. He hadn't had pleasant encounters with the tribal men, so he expected as much.
""Horrendous freak of nature"…"
The blacksmith sat on the chair again and proceeded to continue his time reading the documents his grandfather left behind.
***
The blacksmith was on his way back to the house. He had read some of the important documents, mostly relating to his place, and decided to call it a day once he had most of the documents sorted out. He was relieved he hadn't seen any of the Drakon tribe men on his way back. He felt too tired to be dealing with them.
"There you are!"
What he didn't expect was that he had to deal with a familiar golden blonde-haired young man, waiting at his front porch. He ran down the front steps towards the blacksmith and stopped in front of him.
"So, it's you. You're the one I've been looking for all this time... You're the one who's going to make me a hero!"