I tossed the elf at the bed and watched the healer tend to the player. A mere lesser potion could only heal based on the potion's strength. Although I could've used an expensive potion, I was cheap. At worst, he wouldn't pay me back and those potions were expensive. A healer would take the money from the person they healed. And if they refused, the healer could make their situation turn worse with a simple skill. Their gracious service could turn into a malfunction of the heart due to an increased heartbeat or cripple them without their immediate knowledge, causing a timely death in battle. And mostly, this death would leave enough money to cover the treatment or would at least let them have a good sleep if they avenged themselves sneakily. Sometimes they even asked for the fee midways so they didn't even need to fight. But most of the players learned their lesson and paid for the service of healers like any well-behaved citizen. Players who could escape a healer's payment or even kill their healer would have a hard time finding a healer ever again and if they found one, they would be overcharged on any further occasion.
And while NPC-killings were still happening, only lunatics messed with healers.
While the brat was tended to and his spine was slowly mended, I went through my inventory and opened the chest inside. It gave me a middle sized mana potion, some decent boots I instantly swapped with mine. They improved my evading speed and lessened the reduction of stamina after I walked 1000 steps after I sat or slept. At least they were better than the rugged shoes I got as a drop from a rabbit. Only to show how crappy they were: They were mismatched and named "Woodcutters and hunter's shoe pair". As in, this is all that remained from either of them. The last item in this chest was a rare item, but this was as far as my luck brought me. It was a brush. A friggin brush to untangle hair.
My new demonic look also granted me luscious hair, but this shouldn't imply that I actually wanted to spend time to tend to the mentioned hair. The brush gifted me with a temporarily glossy hair buff and mind-blowing wind effect whenever I met someone. I resisted the urge to try to brush my eyebrows and let the stuff remain in my inventory to be sold after I settled my business with the other player. After also using up my new attribute points to raise my endurance by all five points, I felt more fleshier. Like any mage who cared about their HP too much.
The healer's service was fast although he only employed weaker healing skills. If you didn't pay enough as an advance payment, the healer would use the weaker skills to do the job. Even if it needed more time, they mostly didn't consume as much mana as faster skills. And as healers wanted to make business they couldn't drain themselves or spend all their mana or mana potions to replenish their reserves just for one customer. Only if one paid for a fast healing or funded the mana potions needed in money or resources, the service would differ.
After ten minutes of healing, the elven boy looked brand-new. Only his hair crown was crooked and his outfit looked a bit roughed up.
I walked towards him and watched as he paid the healer three silver. This spine was expensive.
"Would dying have cost you less?" I asked, as the healer left with a broad grin.
"Probably the same amount, a bit more I guess."
"Good," I said, closing in on the bed of the inn he laid in. "remember this favor I granted you after you almost caused my death."
"Wha-"
"Shush, boy, let me continue my tirade." were my words, as the poisoned dagger aimed at his throat. He looked up at me, looking all small and meek. Almost innocent.
If I didn't know that he dug through my remains just days ago and almost caused my death today, I might have swallowed his act. Or at least avoided a sermon like that.
But I was a tiny bit upset and it felt refreshing to be the one talking about morals after I used him as bait.
"I know, that you paid a lot of money for your sparkly stuff," I remarked, while tapping the flat side of the dagger's blade against his armor.
"But all of this shit" tap, "won't make you fast enough to fight against monsters above your league" another tap.
"The vast strangler isn't the strongest monster one can encounter in the salamander's territory." tap, "And if you don't learn to be quiet and careful out there, this game will teach you this in a gentle approach by a few hunting accidents." I halted, fleshing out a broad grin with all of my fangs exposed.
"So either, you follow my instructions regarding the hunting or I will refrain from saving you even if I ever see you in the distance again. I have no interest in dying and sacrificing myself to a fool's whims or geniuse's boredom. Pick which term you prefer, but I want a teammate I can rely on. Be one or leave me alone. Now it's your turn." I put the dagger back in my inventory and sat myself on the bed's other end.
Firion took two seconds and then cleared his throat. "I have barely any experience, especially working in a team of two. If you would teach me, it would help me a lot." A slight blush crept on his cheeks. If it was caused by the usage of the emotion-shortcuts on his keyboard or his true feelings didn't matter to me.
His willingness to improve and wanting to learn more of Falan was all I needed to know.
"Good. Then let's continue for today. Which level are you?"
"I'm at level 3, with 230 XP." he answered.
"Then I will choose two quests and you can decide if you want to take one of them with me. On the way towards it and on our way back we can enter a party and I help you reach level 4 if not level 5. I need a companion who can carry his weight." With those words, I stood up and left. Like an abandoned puppy, he followed me.
Five minutes later I had decided on my first two quests:
[Quest: Kill rampant salamander population
Description: Kill 10 salamanders in the salamander territory. Can be finished in a party. One party kill counts as one dead salamander.
Reward: 10 silver
+ 100 ~ 200 XP
Deadline: 5 days
Remark: A meager amount of silver for an honorable deed of being a cheap laborer for the town of Bronning.]
[Quest: Rabbit fur cloak
Description: Collect a minimum of 20 rabbit corpses for a rich woman in the village. She needs an elegant new cloak for the autumn season.
Reward: 2 silver - 50 silver [based on the quality of the materials]
+ 20 ~ 500 XP
Deadline: 1 week
Remark: A small hint, don't leave holes in their pelt. The more holes a pelt has, the less the price they're worth.]
Firion would accompany me to hunt for the salamander quest as I wanted to grind for the rabbit fur cloak alone. Or at least kill the rabbits myself to make sure the pelt would be in a good condition. Thinking how I could ensure this most efficiently, I bought some equipment for rabbit traps and a bow and a quiver of arrows and a small hunting knife for under one silver coin. Nothing fancy but enough to kill rabbits or catch them.
Since my aim was the XP while the coins would be a nice bonus, I just wanted to prepare enough to breeze through both of the quests. I was halfway there. Not long, and I would be back to Daystreak.