*Ding* A doorbell rang as I entered the tailor store

“Hello?”

“One minute!” a voice came from the storage room located behind the counter.

I look around an empty tailor store, few empty boxes are scattered around while pieces of different clothing are hanging around the store's walls. As expected, fancier and more colourful clothes are worth gold while basic and simple clothes cost no more than a few silver coins.

“Hello sir, how may I help you?” A small man came out of the storage room. He has short black hair and brown eyes; his hands are holding onto the counter while his body is leaning forward.

“Hello, I would like to sell used clothes.”

“Of course, are the clothes with you?”

“Yeah I am wearing them right now” I lift up the upper part of my shirt.

The man stopped leaning and pointed his finger at my clothes “Can I?” indicating that he wants to check the material.

“Yeah of course”

He left the counter and walked up to me, he bent his body forward and rubbed his fingers through the material. His eyes lit up in admiration as he realized the quality and the craftsmanship of the clothes.

“The material on this...Amazing” He said, still focused on the piece of clothing

“How much is this worth?” I asked

The man stood up straight. “Because it is used, I will give you one gold piece and twenty silver”

(Judging by the other pieces of clothing in this shop, this is a reasonable price.)

“Deal” I said without thinking too much

The shop keeper walked back to the counter

“I would also like to buy a piece of clothing, deduct its price from this sale”

“Of course, what clothes would you want to buy?”

I walk and look around the shop once again. (Hmm this one might be good) My eyes focused at a modest piece of clothing, it does not look fancy nor does it look cheap. A perfect blend of a middle-class citizen. (Imma go with this one, it looks like it can fit me and the price is not too bad either, only sixteen silver)

“I like this one chief”

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

“Perfect choice sir, the changing cabin is right there” He said as his hand pointed to the back of the shop, where 3 small cabins are located.

I grabbed the piece of clothing from the hanger and proceeded to change. Surprisingly the clothes fit me very well, not baggy and not tight. A perfect match. (Nice) I thought as I took my old clothes and brought them to the shopkeeper.

“Yeah I will take these, perfect fit”

“Would you like new shoes as well?”

“Umm” I looked down at my shoes. “No, these will do”

“All right, one gold and four silver. ” The shopkeeper placed the heavy coins in my hand.

“Actually, before I go. Do you have a pouch that I can buy?”

“Yes, I have pouches ranging from five, ten and fifteen silver, which one would you like?”

“Can I have two pouches that are ten silver each?”

“Sure” He reached under the counter and pulled out two pouches. I gave him the gold coin and put the rest of the change in the newly acquired pouch.

“That'll be all. Thank you”

“Of course, come again” The shopkeeper said with a smile and a wave

A busy and loud street once again, this time however I am right in the centre of the town. A town square to be exact. In the middle a statue of a man is present, its body made out of bright stone with patches of gold around the shoulder area, highlighting the statue and making it more visually pleasing.

(Odd) I think as I focus my attention on the statue's face

(Why does it look so familiar? I've seen this face before, but where?)

“Marcus?”

I turn to my left and see Erina and Ayla, the two female elves I met at the town’s gate.

“Oh hey guys, what are you doing here?”

“Just hanging out” Alya replied

“We almost didn’t recognize you, fortunately Erina has a sharp eye” Ayla added, making Erina look away in embarrassment.

“What happened to your clothes by the way? Change of style?”

“Yeah, the ones I was wearing weren’t too comfortable so I decided to sell them” I said as I looked down at my new pair of simple clothes.

“Say, why don’t we go to a tavern? Me and Erina can check out some new quests and you can find out more about the town, the tavern owner really likes traveller and often tells tales and stories.” Ayla said with a smile

“Yeah sure, I don’t mind”

“You all right with that Erina?” Ayla looked at Erina, ensuring that she was happy with the situation.

Not saying a word Erina replied with a simple nod.

“Let's go then!” The group took off to the tavern.

While the streets are noisy, they were still able to have conversations, of course Ayla and Marcus were the only ones speaking. Erina as always quiet and shy with new people around.

“So, how long you’ve known each other?” Marcus asked as the group walked through the busy street.

“Pretty much our whole lives, we are sisters after all”

(Of course, what a stupid question Marcus. They look so alike.)

“What about you Marcus? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

(Now how the hell am I supposed to answer that?)

“Umm, no not really. I was born as the only child”

“Where were you born?” Erina asked. Her voice quiet and shy, making it even harder to hear in the bustling street

“I was born at a small village, far away from here”

“I could never see myself living in a small village” Ayla said

“You would never know unless you try” Erina added

“I know, trust me”

Throughout their short walk Marcus learned a lot about the sisters, they are quest hunters, a certain type of adventurers that travel the land and search for the quests best suited for their skills. Though they travel through the land, they have decided to stop at this town for a small break and to repair their equipment.

“Here we are” Ayla said as the group stopped in front a large tavern

From the outside the tavern looks delightful, warm and clean. Clay and hardwooden tree trunks make up most of the building's outer structure. Though the windows are made out of stained glass, sounds of people's laughter and uplifting melodies within could be heard when approaching the tavern.

As we enter through the thick, wooden door, we are welcomed by a strong smell of alcohol mixed with a pleasant aroma of freshly cooked meat. The tavern is charming inside as it is on the outside. Wooden beams support the upper floor while the walls are packed with all sorts of weapons and armor sets, most likely collected by the owner over the years. The uplifting melodies of harp and flute greatly accompany peoples chatter and laughter, boosting the tavern’s pleasant atmosphere to the fullest.

While the bartender is extremely busy, he still manages to welcome us with a friendly nod.

A group of adventurers can be seen standing by a quest board, choosing their next quests with care and precision. I could tell by their equipment that nearly all of the adventurers are warriors and archers. Warriors wear heavy armor plates and are equipped with swords and maces, while archers wear thin leather and carry bows with quivers full of arrows. The rest are most likely sorcerers as their equipment is nothing more than a simple pair of clothes and a book of spells hanging from their belt.

Marcus looked around the packed tavern in search of free seats. Several long tables are occupied while smaller tables are also taken by groups of people and demi-humans. Nearly all the stools at the counter are in use while the bartender is trying his best to serve the people in time.

The waitresses with immense beauty walk around, serving drinks and making sure everyone is happy with the drinks

(Now I see why the tavern is popular. Wait where are Erina and Ayla?)

I look around before finding them standing by the quest board, looking for any interesting jobs they might take. A few moments later I manage to find a seat on one of the stools behind the counter and prepare for what will undoubtedly be a great evening.

“Evening chap” The bartender, still behind the counter, said to me. A very friendly and calm voice said, accompanied by a large smile.

“Wha chu like to order?”

“Umm, something light and sweet”

“Starting off easy eh? One Tongue Twister coming up” The bartender said loudly as he quickly worked his magic over the counter. He grabbed a couple of bottles from the shelve behind him and poured it all into one big cup before shaking it violently, after a quick and strong shake he added a blue apple that melted inside the drink, turning the light green texture into a blue sparkling liquid.

As he placed the drink in front of me, although it is sparkling, I could see a clear blue reflection of my face and the ceiling above.

“How much is it?” I asked and reached to one of my pouches with coins

“For first customers it's on the house chap”

“How do you know I haven’t been here before?”

“I am very good at remembering people” he said with a chuckle

“All right, much thanks”

I grabbed the handle of a wooden cup and began drinking the Tongue Twister. As the name suggests my tongue began twisting as I could only taste bitterness and sourness. But to my surprise, the drink suddenly became sweet and very addicting to drink. I could faintly feel the presence of alcohol that is just overshadowed by different flavours, ranging from sweet apple to bitter orange to sour lemons. All mixed in one, twisting yet pleasuring my tongue at the same time.

At the same time Ayla and Erina were looking at new quests to take

“What about this one?” Erina asked

“Goblins? Isn’t Orcbolg in town? He will surely take this quest and I doubt he would want to team up with anyone

“Hmm, what about this one?” Erina pointed at a bounty

Dead or Alive

Name – Beast of the South

Abilities - Unkown

Visual Appearance –

* A Large creature resembling a hamster

* Long snail tail

* Silver fur

Bounty – 3 Gold, 25 silver

“This one could do. 3 gold...that’s a lot, the creature is probably strong. Let’s consider this one” Ayla said and began looking at other quests.

“Ayla, I wanted to ask you”

“What up?”

“Doesn’t...Doesn't Marcus look familiar to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean like, doesn’t he look like someone we know? Or seen?”

“No, not really” Ayla looked at Marcus talking enjoying his drink and talking to the bartender,

“But now that you mentioned it, he does look kind of familiar.”

The taverns door opened once again and the sound of heavy boots hitting the wooden floor could be heard. The bartender looked at the door to welcome the guests, but stood still, not moving an inch of his body. In fact, a few moments later the whole place died down, the chattering stopped and the players silenced their instruments. Marcus looked at the door and saw three knights standing still, their armor is made out of shiny silver while their heads are missing helmets.

“Ayla” Erina whispered

“Look at their armor”

Ayla focused her eyes on the knight's armor, trying to identify the symbols crafted on the breastplate. The knight in the middle has different symbols and pattern, making him stand out.

“Holy shit. They are the holy knights of Ferlon!”

"The guy in the middle, look at his sword” A warrior adventurer standing nearby said.

“There is only one person who has a sword like that. No doubt...He is one of the guardians of human kind, the one who helped the hero of Ferlon in battle against the demon lord.”

“...What the hell are they doing here?” Ayla asked, still keeping her voice to a bare minimum

The knight in the middle looked around until his eyes locked onto me. His face lit up and a wide

smile came to his now less serious face.

“Finally found you Marcus!”

(Huh?)