“Axel-sama! You are truly the best! To take such pity on me and invite me to a drinking contest, despite knowing how weaker and simply pathetic I am in the face of you! You are truly the best!”

“U-hum! Yup!” I nodded with a forced smile. Knowing well that Ying would not leave me be, should I deny her request to be my companion, I went ahead and invited her into a drinking contest.

The thing is, I am bad around alcohol and get nauseous just by the smell of it. However, as it turns out, the cheap hootch they make out of flowers in Nightwood looks almost the same as regular water. And while our dearest Ying was distracted with praising me, I simply just asked the waitress to fill my mugs with water.

“Teehee! Axel-sama, you look so... funny!”

“Thanks.”

“Like... a clown!”

“Ouch.”

“Like... your face is... twirling and... spinning and... contorting and...”

Finally, the alcohol filling up her bloodstream became too much and she, with the grace of an earthbound whale, flopped onto the ground, then loudly snored. Just like that, she was off to the land of magical, hootch-fueled dreams.

“Poor girl,” I noted with a hint of guilt. Still, it was for the best. Bringing her along would have been too much trouble, given she would probably try to murder any women in my near vicinity.

She seemed like a cute fellow, but still. The last thing I would want is to find the missing girl and have her behead the gal in an instant.

I spent most of my gold getting Ying drunk. Furthermore, feeling guilty over my actions, I asked the barkeep for a room. He gave me a nice discount, but even with that, I lost half of my gold. Only 10 remained.

With a bitter taste in my mouth, I was about to leave the inn, when the barkeep called out to me.

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“Hey, boy!”

I turned around.

“I got a few hints regarding the missing girl,” he said while cleaning, “The butcher said he saw her footprints in the mud while out hunting. ‘Says she must be further down the river. I suppose you could visit the butcher in the eastern part of town and talk to him. Go to the Bellflower Butchery, I will mark it in your Journal.”

Just like that, words appeared floating before me, much like when I accepted my first quest.

[ Mission Updated! ]

[ Check your Journal or Compass. ]

A new point of interest appeared on my Compass.

I nodded and said my thanks to the barkeep before leaving.

After all that hard work, I walked out the door without a companion.

– – –

The Bellflower Butchery was located in a small wooden house below the mountain cliff. It was possibly the ugliest of every building in the village, having cobwebs and weed litter its exterior. There was only a small path between the rubbish, leading to the door that showed people were living there. Or rather, just one.

In Ancient Blades, visiting the butchery is part of the tutorial. I know so much, despite never having done it. Nor this quest, as a matter of fact. My obsession with modding the crap out of the game rendered pretty much all vanilla content something that I looked down upon. Inferior. Not as fun.

I approached the front door and knocked.

There was no answer.

So, I knocked again.

This time, the door opened with a loud creak. Before it could have been open enough to bring any light into the room, the person on the other end stopped and looked out from the dark with ice-blue eyes.

“Yes?” spoke the person on the other side.

“My name is Axel. I’m here regarding the disappearance of a young girl, named Heidl.”

“She is not in here,” said the person and tried to close the door. But before he could have, I stopped him by putting my foot in the door’s way.

“Right, that’s what I was hoping for.”

The person tried closing it again, but my foot was in the way. He sighed, then let go. The door creaked fully open.

Wasting no time, I entered the butchery, only to be met by the stench of rotting meat. Immediately, I covered my nose, but it did not seem to help.

“Here, let me help you,” said the person, then opened the windows. More light got into the room, and I could finally see whom I was dealing with.

In the middle of the dusty, blood-stained room stood a person no taller than me. Not human though, as he was as animal as those whose meat lay on the counter behind him. He was a dog, a huskie, who stood on two legs with the ease of any man. He wore light leather armour, bow and quiver still upon his back.

He looked at me, then spoke human words with his canine mouth.

“I do not take kindly to adventurers. Thus, I will grant you only five minutes of my time. Make it quick!”