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Nourtuck, Town Central, Time: 12:21 PM
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In the fabled town of Nourtuck, proudly presented before our heroes' eyes, the town is bathed in a captivating blue light that illuminates its surroundings.
The goblin inhabitants go about their daily lives, chatting amiably, walking their worm pets, and generously exchanging gifts with one another.
The center of the town buzzes with numerous markets, ranging from general convenience stores to weapon blacksmiths. However, the most enchanting aspect of the entire town is the towering giant tree house located right at its heart.
James and Mianne's eyes shine like stars, brimming with excitement that seems ready to burst at any moment.
"I understand that the town is fascinating and all, but let's not forget we have a tour to go through," Maxwell remarks, sweat dropping as he observes their eagerness.
"Alright then, shall we head to the bakery?" Maxwell suggested, seeing them eager too much.
This caused the duo to yell out in unison, "YES!" Maxwell covered his ears at the absolute volume of their voices.
"How do you people deal with them?" Maxwell asked Ace and Ezra, to which they shrugged, causing him to sigh as he led everyone into the bakery.
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Nourtuck, Town Central: Chateau Dough, Time: 12:30 PM
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The bakery was filled with sweet scents and a comfortable feeling; the bread felt hot and fresh as our heroes walked into the store.
"Even though I am the tour guide, I can't wait for you guys to eat some of our delicacies," Maxwell challenged them, causing them to look at each other.
"You wanna try some, Mianne?" James asked as she nodded, "Alright then!" James happily walked toward the counter as the orcs, wearing pink aprons, greeted them.
"Oh hello there! It has been a while since we got a human visitor! What do you need?" The orcs asked, and James started looking around the glass.
"I wonder what would be nice for us?" He was looking around the glass; some of the food was very weird. One of them was just a cupcake with an eye bat on top of it, and one of them was just a donut with yellow liquid filling.
He was about to change his mind about eating anything before coming across a pie with pink filling.
"What is this?" James asked as he pointed at the mysterious pie.
"Oh, that's a baked crystal pie! They were made by melting Crystal golem and using them as a jelly," the orc proudly announced, which interested James even more.
"I would like to take two then!" James said as he pulled out his purse and paid for it.
"I will deliver it to your table; please wait for a bit!" The orc stated as James decided to sit on a chair with Mianne.
"So what did you order, Jamie?" She asked, curious at what meal they were eating at their dat- She meant friendly gathering.
"Some kind of crystal pie; it looks just like you, so I decided to grab it!" James said bluntly, which caused Mianne to have a small blush.
"Does it look pretty then?" She asked while holding her cheek in embarrassment.
James tilted his head in confusion at the question. "I guess so." Mianne could only giggle more as the orc served the pie.
"Well, time to dig in!" James grabbed a fork and started to eat the pie, which left a cheese glitter string on the pie.
James ate the slice, and he started to savor the flavor in his mouth. "It's so fluffy and good!" James started to eat even more, which left Mianne bewildered.
"Guess it must taste good huh?" Mianne muttered before taking a bite as well.
"Mmmmm~ That's so good!" Mianne decided to eat even more as well.
Maxwell, Ace, and Ezra watched them ravage the pie; it was a massacre as they watched the pie slowly disintegrate into crumbs, with James and Mianne rubbing their stomachs.
"It was so good..." James muttered as he paid for the pie.
"Mhm..." Mianne muttered as well. Toothpicking the sticky pink filling out of her teeth.
Maxwell decided that this was the time to move. "Well, we should go visit the tree house of knowledge then," Maxwell suggested as James and Mianne couldn't move, causing Ace and Ezra to roll them out of the store.
"Please come back soon!"
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Nourtuck, Town Central: Treehouse of Knowledge, Time: 12:45 PM
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After a lengthy climb up the stairs, they finally reached the top, surrounded by tree branches and leaves, with walls adorned with starry night lights. The interior was like a haven of knowledge, filled with bookcases and shelves lining the floor.
The giant tree house served as a magnificent library, and there, two figures engaged in conversation.
One was a goblin girl with comically large glasses, her hair in a bun, dressed as a librarian.
The other was an elderly goblin with a cane resting on the table, a long white beard flowing, and dressed in a grand sage outfit. Upon spotting the heroes and Maxwell, the goblin girl waved to them, rising from her seat and walking over to greet them.
"Hey, Maxwell! Are you here for a tea party today? And who do you bring with you?" said the goblin girl as she looked at our heroes.
"No, I didn't come here for tea, Delia, and also these guys are the new adventurers. Also, I'm showing these guys around town," Maxwell answered back to Delia as he pointed at our heroes.
"Well, It's very kind of you to show newcomers around, Maxwell, my boy. Wish more goblins were more like you," the old man said, very delighted that his youngling showed kindness to people of different races.
"Yeah, yeah. I know," Maxwell said as he rubbed the back of his head for the praise from the grand sage.
"I presume you're the grand sage of this town, correct?" Ace said as he crossed his arms, as usual. The grand sage could only sadly laugh at what he just assumed.
"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I am nothing more than just a citizen of this town now. I was once the sage of this town, though," the old man answered Ace's question, raising an eyebrow, remembering the last time Ace used to visit.
"What happened? I thought the people respected you," Ezra asked, also confused about how he got dethroned from his title. He hadn't heard of this before.
Delia could only close her eyes in anticipation, knowing what she was going to hear, "Maxwell, do they..." Maxwell shook his head, "Damn it..."
"Well, young man, a lot of things can change in a day. To answer your question, I was forced to give up my rank by The Gray Phoenix Tribe, and one of their high-ranking officers became the new ruler," the grand sage answered, his face filled with worry as he had to recall the events.
"WHAT?!"
both Ace and Ezra exclaimed, while Mianne and James were left confused. Ace was clenching his fist, damning the world, while Ezra could only hold a poker face so he wouldn't show emotion to his friend but only a sweat drop from his brow.
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