We arrive back in town and head to the Adventurer's Guild. There is a small crowd forming outside the door. We walk up to a swarm of people, and I tap someone on the shoulder.
"What's going on?"
"The door is locked; they won't let anyone in," the young man answers.
"Why not?"
"We don't know! It just says 'investigation in progress.'"
"What are they investigating?"
"I Don't Know!" he yells. I feel my stomach drop. Ashley's face flashes through my mind.
[I'm sure she's fine. Let's just believe in her.]
I turn back to the kids.
"Now what?" They both shrug their shoulders. We have a lot of ingredients but they won't stay fresh for very long.
"I guess I'll hold onto everything and try to sell it tomorrow morning. Do you two have any better ideas?"
"Nope!"
"Are we still going out to the forest tomorrow?" Josh asks.
"I'm not sure yet. We'll meet at the palisade and see how we feel. We're all going to be very sore tomorrow, so we may have to take a day off lifting."
"We'll be that sore?" Josh asks, suddenly concerned.
"Probably. The first day is always the worst. Things will get better from there, but tomorrow will likely hurt quite a bit."
"See you tomorrow, Nick!" Sakura grabs one of Josh's arms and runs off. I can hear her explaining how she can give him a massage to help his muscles heal.
After the kids have left, I start walking home slowly with my arms full. Before I leave the market square, I feel a hand on my shoulder. Looking behind me, I see a devilish-looking woman with seductive eyes and a knowing smile. Her long blond hair is tied in a ponytail behind her head. She has a light leather bodice around her abdomen connected to a pale green robe cut off at the knees. Based on her attire, I assume she's an adventurer.
"Hey, kid."
"Hello, can I help you?"
"Well, actually, I'd like to help you." I narrow my eyes at her response. "I can buy those ingredients off you for a decent price."
She waves her hands in front of herself to show that she doesn't mean me any harm. I relax my guard and consider her proposal.
[Something about her seems so familiar I just can't put my finger on it.]
"How much?"
"Well, I can't give you the same price as the guild because I have to resell it to someone, but it's better than nothing. It might spoil if you just hold on to it, and we don't know if the guild will even open tomorrow." Something about how she's speaking sparks my memory.
"I remember now; I saw you in jail."
"Oh yeah, you were one of the two kids in jail that night?"
"Yeah, there was a family dispute that I got involved in."
"You're a bad boy, aren't you?"
"Don't call me that." I firmly swat down her assessment.
"Huhuhuhu! You're funny kid. Let me give you a deal. I'll give you four Denarii for each Musculus orb and eight for each Suffigo corpse."
[That's actually better than I thought it'd be]
"Show me the money." Without giving any further room for conversation, I press forward with the negotiation.
"Slow down there; I need to see the goods before buying anything. I don't even know how many you have." I carefully place them at my feet. The suspicious woman reaches toward one of the Suffigo I have on the ground.
"No touching. If you want to see a different side of it, I'll turn it over for you."
"Touchy, aren't we?"
"Yes, you are. That's the problem."
"Huhu, very well. Can you turn over each one so I can check their condition?" I bend over and slowly turn over each Suffigo as well as the orbs that are laid out. "Everything checks out. That's five Suffigo and six Musculus orbs; that'll come to sixty-four Denarii."
Noticing my suspicion, she pulls out the money and shows it to me before reaching for the fungus. I take the money and step away.
"By the way, would you be willing to purchase an Equuinoid corpse as well?"
"Oh, did the bad boy kill himself a monster?"
"Please, stop."
"Huhuhu, Let's see the goods." I tiredly remove the Equuinoid corpse from my bag and place it on the ground.
"I don't know what it's worth, so don't rip me off too much." I clearly state my disadvantage, hoping to swing the negotiation back in my favor.
"Hmmm… I see it still has its mana stone. How about fifty Denarii?"
"Deal. What is the corpse used for, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Well, the shell is known for being very hard, and the meat is actually pretty good. It'll have anything edible removed, and the shell will be used for armor or magic tools."
"I thought armor was always made of metal?"
"It can be, but monster materials tend to be more flexible at the cost of a little strength. They get used to protect joints and connect any pieces that move a lot."
"Interesting. Thanks for the help." I grab the one hundred and fourteen Denarii and take my leave.
"Let's do this again sometime, bad boy." She smiles at me cheekily.
"I think I'd rather die." I roll my eyes and walk quickly back to my house. I can hear her laughter fade into the distance once the guild building is out of sight.
'Phew.'
I sigh from the exhaustion I built up dealing with that woman.
[Damn, I was so frustrated I forgot to ask for her name. I'm an idiot.]
I make it home and drop nineteen Denarii on the dinner table. Carroll quickly scoops them up with a smile, and Vincent asks me about my day.
"It was fine," I respond. "The guild building was closed."
"Oh, I heard about that. I was talking to the girls at the cafe' this morning and they said one of the guild staff members has gone missing." My heart drops like a rock at Carroll's story.
"Did you get their name?"
"No, they didn't say what his name was."
[His?]
"So, it was a guy?"
"I heard it was a woman," Vincent adds.
"I think it was a man; that's what the girls seemed to think."
[Maybe Ashley's okay. Maybe I'll go to the guild tomorrow and see her smiling at me. Maybe everything will be fine.]
I try to convince myself that Carroll's friends are well informed and that this incident is about someone else entirely, but I can't shake the sense of dread welling up in my stomach. The bountiful dinner works as a nice substitute to fill the abyss widening inside me.
"Honey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I say bluntly as I fill up my fifth plate.
"That missing person isn't someone you know, is it?" She hits the nail on the head, and I try to hold back my tears but I can feel the dam cracking.
"No, I'm going to bed." I leave my plate half-finished and run to my room.
[It can't be her. It just can't be. She had so much going for her. She had so many people behind her, backing her up, willing to help. She had so much support.]
I dive face down into the bed. The cool pillow and blanket envelop me, guiding my ragged consciousness into a food coma.