"What an unusually beautiful skin!," the boy proclaimed.
"Especially since it came from a giant toad of all things," the girl observed. "It was also nice of her to give us these pretty crystals. I never seen ones that shine with the colors of the sunset before!"
The boy and girl had managed to help the toad get out of her skin by making use of the mangrove roots and pulling really, really hard.
The two of them managed to completely remove the toad's skin in one clean motion, enabling her to transform into a beautiful princess.
"Ooh. That's better. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a prince who's butt I need to kick."
As sign of thanks, she gave the two her old toad skin and two pieces of amber that shined with an iridescent light. Once she had finished giving gifts, she leaped off into the sunset.
The two friends were about to make their way into the village when the girl suddenly stopped, a realization dawning on her.
"Uh oh."
"What?"
"I just realized something. By the time we get back to the village, all of the shops will be closed,including the butcher and tanner!," the girl exclaimed.
"We won't able to get the animal guts in time!"
"There's still a little daylight left, if we move fast and take a shortcut through the woods, we can get there before it's too late. Let's go!"
The boy and girl ran as fast as they could through the woods too get back to the village in time, however this was a mistake of hindsight mixed with youthful impatience.
The old hermit didn't say they had to gather all of the materials in a single day. The two of them could have easily and leisurely returned home and wait until the next day to get the last few items they needed. But alas, youth have the tendency to leap before they look.
"Hey! Wait-wah!"
";3@+-_;n! Wah!"
And down the hill the two rolled, tripping over the roots of an old and gnarly tree.
"Oof!" "Ah!"
The two landed in a heap at the foot of the hill, dazed and mildly confused. As the two shook the stunned stars from their heads, their eyes went wide at an unusual sight.
"Is that..."
"A wagon?"
_________________________________________________
"So...I can pick any bottle of wine from here?"
"That's what the master said..."
"Excellent."
After the Marquis had the determined Draigo's compensation, the Marquis's manservant had escorted Draigo into the manor's treasury and cellar.
The trip to the treasury was a rather brief affair, for the Marquis, surprisingly, had several bags of gold prepared for such occasions. Draigo had also noted that the bags were of three different sizes and labeled with, "I", "II", or "III".The manservant had grabbed a bag that was about large sized and labeled with a "III".
'Damn! The Marquis doesn't skimp on repayment at all!,' Draigo thought as he struggled to carry the bag. He knew the Marquis was generous, he just didn't expect it to be by this much.
As for the cellar, Draigo was taking his sweet, sweet time.
'So many options to bury my memories in...,' he mused as he looked over the cellar. Draigo wanted not necessarily the most expensive looking of the bunch, just something he knew would taste fine...or something he could sell if things went south. "The Marquis sure has a lot of instruments in here though."
Interspersed between the racks of alcohol, or hanging above them on a wall, were several musical instruments of various makes and builds. There were stringed ones, horns, percussions, even ones that looked really weird involving cranks and buttons. Draigo could guess why the Marquis kept these instruments, but the manservant decided to tell him the reason anyways.
"The Marquis believes that the flavor of alcohol improves when the right music is played to accompany it. Bars and taverns have bards to facilitate such feelings, so my master decided to take it upon himself to find the perfect instruments for each type of liquor."
"Makes sense...wait, instrument? Not style?"
"My master can learn any style, he just needs the right tools."
"Huh...okay then," Draigo commented as he passed over some bottles of wine in flower shaped bottles, "Sounds like he's more of a packrat than an art...hold on..."
Draigo was about to make a light joke at the Marquis, knowing full well the manservant wouldn't really react, when something in the cellar captivated his attention, moreso than any bottle of booze.
'It can't be...why is it here?'
The thing that has captured Draigo's attention was a three stringed instrument composed of some rather unusual materials.
It had a roundish body, like a crab shell, that seemed to sparkle like a ruby. Stretched over it was a strange piece of leather that was mottled brown and mildly bumpy like a toad. At the very of the instrument's neck were three pitch black picks that controlled the tautness of the strings. If one were to look at the picks in the right light, they would be able to see the carvings of a bear, a fox and a tiger.
The sight of the stringed instrument caused Draigo's heart and hand to tighten, as he readjusted the strap on his back. He was about to ignore it's existence, but felt compelled to ask.
"Hey...this instrument looks...quite interesting. Do you know where the Marquis acquired it?"
"Hmmm? Which one?"
"That one," Draigo said while pointing at the crab shell stringed instrument.
The manservant squinted for a moment while staring at the instrument, until he finally recalled the answer.
"Ah yes," the servant said with a nod, "I believe that is called a...shamisan? My master acquired this fine instrument some years ago from an artisan at a coastal town. The artisan had said that it was part of a set of two, but that the other has been sold prior to my master's acquisition. He's still looking for the companion piece to this day."
"Is he now?," Draigo asked in a forced tone. "Well...I hope he finds that companion instrument soon."
"As do I. Have you made your choice yet?"
"Huh? Oh right, oh...this one," Draigo answered while grabbing a random bottle.
"Oh? An odd choice, but so be it. I'll lead you out now."
"Of course..."
As the two of them left the cellar, Draigo turned his head back to take one last look at the shamisan.
'No doubt about it. That's her shamisan alright...but what is it doing here? Unless...'