We sat down at the bar in the city, it wasn't too full or too empty, it was the perfect place to hear each other without having to yell.
Even if this is different from my original world, the organic matter still rots if it's not stored in a chest, so it's not too much of a surprise that they managed to make something similar to alcohol.
But I already had enough when I first drank the suspicious stew at the Nether tribe party, so I only ordered some apple juice.
Still expensive.
Bobby took a light drink and Froggy ordered the strongest drink that they had.
Once it arrived I thought they gave him swamp water with how green it looked, but it seemed to make its effects after one sip.
"OK, I think I'm starting to calm down a little. Tell me everything that happened when you disappeared."
"Didn't Bobby tell you already?"
"It didn't bring him good memories, so there weren't a lot of details."
Bobby nodded his head to confirm what he said.
I took a sip from my apple juice and told him what happened from my perspective. I didn't start with when I was teleported, I started when the Prince came with the offer to teach me how to Enchant.
When I arrived at the part of the story where I had to take an Oath of secrecy with the ender pearl, Bobby's eyes lit with understanding.
Next was the process of learning how to write the cursed book, I didn't tell them how many I made in the end, but I only hinted that I managed to find a way to exceed the Prince's expectations of grinding on one skill.
When I talked about the process of escaping, Bobby was the one who seemed surprised by all.
"So you're saying that that the walls that surrounded the palace were actually all made with obsidian? That's a lot of obsidian to use."
"They have an obsidian factory under the palace. Remember the people who blew up to get our attention and had diamond pickaxes in their hands? Those were the miners who escaped and wanted to rebel against the Prince. That's what kept them in check from intimidating the Princess party through assassinations."
Both of them nodded in understanding but still looked angry at the thought of what would come next.
The last part was short, I got on a horse, and the Prince used the cursed book to stun the Sultan in place while the armor was getting bound with his soul. While he was stuck he was killed twice even with his Undying Totem.
Everything got pinned on me, but when they didn't manage to find me, I got teleported back.
I tried to win everyone thereby revealing the truth but got killed with a potion instead.
"So you did die in the end! So how are you still here then?"
Froggy was a little tipsy from drinking a few more sips, his white face started to have some pink in it.
"Yes, unfortunately, it's not something that I knew I had, the only thing I know is that I woke up in the middle of the forest a few blocks away from my base."
"So are you immortal now?"
"Nope, and even if I was I never want to experience death again."
We all sat in silence to process the whole discussion, until Froggy spoke once again.
"So what are your plans now?"
"I've seen what the Zombie Lord is capable of doing, but it's not my job to kill him. So I'm going to help Bobby with a plan to trap his army or slow him down for a few more weeks until we can kill him."
"I've heard how bad that monster is, makes me wonder where that stupid hero is when you need one."
Both me and Bobby looked around awkwardly which confused my witch friend.
"Why are you acting so weird? Don't tell me there's no hero in the end!"
"Not exactly, we've actually met the hero already, she's under my care for now but I plan to pass it to the Royal Family to help her grow faster."
"You've met the hero already?! We've been looking for her for months! And why did you take her under your wing? Haven't we suffered enough at the palace for the stupid hero?"
Froggy was quite drunk now, so he was more prone to anger.
"It's not really her fault for what happened. And I'm sure the Royal Family from the Sandstone Kingdom is still in turmoil right now. And wouldn't be kind of poetic after all they've done to prepare for the hero, to lose it to their neighboring Nation?"
He took the last sip of the drink while mumbling something.
"I guess that would be pretty satisfying."
I could only smile at that comment.
"I've talked enough about me already, how have you been instead?"
He put the cup down and sighted, before telling me the short version of what happened.
When I disappeared without a warning he stayed in the same place for three straight days, but after no results, he decided to risk it and get back to the city and ask if something happened at the palace.
He didn't find a lot, so he changed his tactic to searching for Bobby in the Stone Kingdom, but no luck on that side either.
He got really depressed since he was alone and lost on what to do, so went from bar to bar to drown his sorrows away.
That was until Bobby sent a search party for him, this made him panic that they wanted to imprison him once again, so he went invisible for a few days.
With time, he found out what happened, met with Bobby, and decided to bury himself in work to not think about my death anymore.
That was until a few days ago when Bobby came and excitedly invited Froggy to go to the city for something amazing.
It was a sad story, but what took me by surprise was what he told me at the end.
"But since you are alive and well, I'll come with you."
"Wait, what?"
Both me and Bobby said it at the same time.
"I decided to follow you in the end."
"Froggy, I have to be honest, you're safer anywhere else besides me. Most of the time I manage to get myself in some pretty absurd situations, without me even trying."
Froggy laughed at my comment but didn't change his mind.
"Trader, you are my only friend that I trust. Sure Bobby is a friend as well who helped me through these tough times, but I don't think I can go back to isolation after finally making some friends. So I'm coming with you, with danger or not."
I looked uncomfortable with this situation.
On one side I was happy that he trusted me so much, even after all he's been through, but on the other end, I truly believe I'll get in another stupid situation where we will both be in danger once again.
In the end, I could only sigh at his decision.
His mind is already set, so there's no point trying to change it.
I looked at Bobby who seemed to be in the middle of a tough decision as well, but in the end, only gave a sigh.
"Froggy, I know you've helped us a lot for the past few weeks with your potions and I can't force you to stay and make some more. But this nation will greatly appreciate if you made a few more before you're going to leave."
Froggy was indeed a valuable asset in these trying times, but they couldn't force him to do anything, much less force him to stay in the castle after what he's been through.
"I can help you with that, as long as Trader won't leave while I work."
All the attention was back on me.
I wasn't opposed to this deal, but in no way shape, or form I'll be staying at the castle, I can wait for Froggy here in the town.
"That's enough for me. Then Bobby let's go back and start making some potions, the sooner we start the better it is."
"Wait, wait, wait! Don't leave yet, I still need you to do something for me."
"Sure, what can I help with?"
I told him about the plan of him 'recognizing' the hero and then taking her to the castle to get some training.
With that, she'll soon have an active role against the Zombie Lord hopefully.
Fortunately Froggy accepted this request from me without any question.
Next, I told Bobby about my plan to stop the zombie army from advancing.
It wasn't really that complicated, but not easy either, what's the most important thing is the timing of when everything would be pulled together.
By the end, Bobby was amazed by the plan and couldn't wait to share it with the Princess.
"Well let's drink to our reunion. To a better tomorrow!"
""To a better tomorrow!""
With that done I got back to the inn to pick Merry up for her true role as a hero.
Fortunately for me, she was already there. The shopping was done so early because she had run out of emeralds already.
I could only smile at the new predicament.
"Well I have good news, you'll meet the Princess of this country soon, so be prepared."
"Already?! I thought I had to prove my strength or something like that."
"Don't worry, I have some connections that would help you with this. And remember, if they ask you who taught you all of this, tell them it was your teacher in the forest who doesn't want to deal with people."
"Sure thing."
She suddenly smiled like she understood something hidden in what I said, but as long as my name is not mentioned, I don't care what she'll do.
My job is finally done, and I hope I don't have the curse of dying teacher now.
Only time will tell.
We both went downstairs where Froggy seemed to be confused when he saw Merry.
He looked very intently at her face, more exactly at the place where her nose should've been.
"Trader is the hero related to you somehow because you two have the same distinctive features."
"We came from the same place, it's a long story that we'll talk about once you're done with the potions."
While suspicious, Froggy didn't ask any more questions, instead, he introduced himself to Merry and went on to explain the plan in detail.
With a final bye, I left back to my room, while the sun was still up.
The reunion with my two friends was awesome but still tiring.
Froggy was still a mess from my 'death', and Bobby has more responsibilities on his shoulders than he ever thought he'd have. And while I've been feeling a lot better in the past two months, I still have some wounds that need more time to heal.
So with everything done for today, I decided to take a nap to recuperate my strength.
------
Once I woke up the sun was already down, and the moon was high in the sky.
"Oh no, I think I overslept. Now I can't sleep for the rest of the night."
With a sigh, I looked out the window to see how much time until morning came, but to my surprise, I saw the city was still full of life.
Light was all over the streets, people walked along laughing and having fun.
At night, a different city was borned.
"Maybe it's not such a bad thing that I overslept."
With that, I went downstairs and then onto the streets.
Some shops were open since morning, while others you can only see them at night.
I walked around to feel the city at night, while eating from time to time, trying not to use all the emeralds that I had in one go.
As I was walking along the busy streets I suddenly froze.
At one of the food stalls was a woman with pale skin, black hair, and a pimple on her nose.
That was one hundred percent a witch, but what was she doing In the middle of the city?
I thought they weren't welcome, could she be connected with the pillagers that killed me in the desert?
Soon she got her food and left, and I had to make a decision.
Ignore or follow her in hopes of finding some answers.
In the end, my rage won, I wanted to have some revenge against the people who killed me, so I followed her from a distance, never getting too close, but also never losing sight of her.
She went to get some other foods and some clothes as well.
After a few hours of this, she finally decided to end it for the day and leave.
The streets got less populated the more we walked, so I decided to be further away from her, just in case she would accidentally see me.
In the end, she arrived at a dead end and stopped.
I was after the corner, waiting for her next action.
She turned around with something in her hand and looked at me.
"Who are you, and why do you keep following me?"
Why do I always get busted!?