After a moment, Yvlena recalled she was in the Floral District when she was forcefully logged out of the game. She sighed in relief, finding herself exactly where she intended to be when the alarm in the real world went off.
"Now what was I doing?" she asked, quickly running through a list of things she was doing before the abrupt halt. She slammed her fist into her palm upon remembering her objective.
"That's right! I was on my way to ask Beatrice about the ruins in the forest." she said, the girl took off, eager to find the elderly woman she had come to love. She arrived at the woman's house to find a surprising amount of little changes sprinkled throughout.
The cottage was less dilapidated.
Some of the old wood had been replaced with new planks, the bricks shined with polish, unlike the crumbling structure she'd seen.
"Wow, things are looking up for everyone I suppose." she said, walking up to the door. Yvlena knocked hard on the wood, waiting for the old woman.
Beatrice opened the door with the same kindly expression she always greeted Yvlena with, the girl admitted it had been a while since she had seen her and hoped Beatrice would not be too upset.
"Yvlena, it's been a while. I hope you didn't forget about old Beatrice." The old woman said, stepping aside to let the elven girl in.
"Of course not." Yvlena replied, taking her time she gazed around the cottage finding it different than the last time she had been there.
The chairs were filled with more stuffing now, a gentle fire burned within the new brick hearth keeping the place nice and warm. Yvlena felt a cozy warmth as she moved toward the old woman who already seated herself.
"The cottage got some upgrades." Yvlena smiled.
"Oh yes. Someone's been spending a hefty amount at Tom's shop recently." the old woman said. Yvlena blushed, wondering if she had been the one to jumpstart some things within the town.
"I wonder who that could be." the girl said with a shrug.
"Now I know you came here to ask me something, but would you stay for tea, my dear?"
"I will, thank you as always Beatrice." Yvlena said sitting down on the stuffed armchair, she leaned back sighing into the comfort of the big brown seat.
If only there was something like that in her apartment but anything other than simple plastic chairs were far too expensive for her to even consider purchasing.
"My, you look quite comfortable." Beatrice said pouring a cup of piping tea into a mug for Yvlena.
"I haven't felt the comforts of home in a long time." Yvlena replied honestly. The old woman nodded, handing Yvlena a warm green cup of steaming tea.
Yvlena accepted it, breathing in the warm, spicy scent that flowed into her nose. She raised the cup to her lips and took a small sip of the liquid. A burst of flavor spread over her tongue.
It was heavenly.
"This is amazing." Yvlena sighed in bliss.
"I'm glad you like my spice herb tea. I could give you the recipe if you like?" Beatrice said.
"I would love that!"
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Spice Herb Tea Recipe (Uncommon)]
The information flashed across her eyes in an instant and then appeared within her inventory.
"Now what did you want to know of?"
"There's a temple deep within Bloom Forest, it seemed to be in ruins. Do you know anything about it?" Yvlena asked. She continued to nurse the cup of tea slowly, savoring every taste she took.
Beatrice put a hand to her chin and fell deep into thought at the sound of Yvlena's words.
"There used to be the traveler's temple deep within the forest when the Rael the Harvest guardian was still around." Beatrice said.
Yvlena noticed she said his name now, she doesn't recall ever hearing Beatrice speak the name of the previous Harvest guardian.
"Did he build it?"
Beatrice shook her head in a negative. Yvlena couldn't help but notice how life-like her movements were.
The old woman felt like someone she would know in real life, like Mrs. Lutz or even her own grandmother, the resemblance was uncanny, but showed her how much love was put into the game she had also come to love.
Yvlena leaned in to listen, as Beatrice prepared to tell her some more about the ruins.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
"The temple is as old as Bloom Haven itself, it was looked after by the titan, Viseli."
"Titan?" Yvlena said, she recalled the words of the book from the library, the titans were the loyal servants of the gods of Moon Valley, but it didn't say much about what they did.
"What did Viseli do?" Yvlena asked. Beatrice brought a cup to her lip, her eyes saddened by the question.
"She and Rael protected the town but after the war of the gods Viseli became someone else entirely and soon well...the titan of Bloom Haven was no more."
[War of the Gods 2% completion]
'So Viseli had something to do with the war of the gods.' Yvlena thought, 'I wonder what, could I find something about them in the library?'
"The temple fell into disrepair soon after and eventually faded from memory, after all, if you could not leave the town, why bother praying for safety on your journey." Beatrice's voice was bitter as she spoke.
Yvlena realizes the old temple was something she probably grew up with, to know now of its ruin must have hurt.
"Was there another Titan, maybe one at the path of the Verdant Woods?" Yvlena asked. Beatrice nodded.
"There was, a young man." The old woman tried to remember but unfortunately, the memory escaped her. "I knew him when I was younger but I never left the town much to see him often."
'So the Titans protected the paths in and out of the towns? What an interesting occupation.' Yvlens thought.
"Thank you for helping as always Beatrice. I'd honestly be lost without you." Yvlena said sheepishly. The old woman smiled at her and waved a hand dismissively.
"Ever since my Twyla went missing I haven't had anyone to talk to. I should be thanking you for keeping me company." she winked.
[Affinity with Beatrice Increased +3]
"Where do you think Twyla went?" Yvlena asked hesitantly. Beatrice heaved a tired sigh, her frailed shoulder sagged at the memory of her missing daughter. The old woman threw her hands up in defeat.
"I don't know, some say she broke through the miasma somehow and found herself in Rosenheim but I just don't know my dear." Beatrice's mournful voice said. the old woman ran a hand through her long gray hair. Her glassy eyes let Yvlena know she held back her tears.
"I'm sorry Beatrice, if I come across anything about her I will let you know." Yvlena said, now determined to follow this storyline through.
Even though this wasn't real she felt she owed it to Beatrice to reunite her with Twyla once more.
"Thank you Yvlena, that's all a mother could ask for."
[Beatrice's Daughter 2.5% completion]
"The quest." Yvlena whispered.
'But how could she have broken through the miasma?' Yvlena wondered, keeping that to herself for now she stayed to chat with Beatrice a bit about the Floral district.
"You should try to visit the Orchid tea house sometime, you could find some interesting things there." the old woman said.
Yvlena nodded and took note of yet another potential merchant house, maybe she would find somewhere to buy more food recipes, only time would tell for now.
She left the cottage with two objectives, the intention to find the Orchid tea house, and then return to Bloom Forest's depths.
"Gosh, I wish this game had fast travel or something." Yvlena said walking toward the Rose Manor.
"If Rosenheim is the next town over, possibly where Risel's brother is then how did Twyla break through the miasma?" Yvlena said pushing open the gates to the Manor.
"Huh?"
"Welcome back Yvlena." Sprite said with excitement as she flitted past Yvlena with a handful of water.
The system told her of her crop's cries for water which her summons were already taking care of. As her eyes roved over the makeshift garden she noticed some of the herbs were ready to be harvested.
"Alright let's do this." Yvlena said taking out her scythe.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Common Spice (Herb) x5
Fox Tail (Herb) x10]
[Subclass: Leveled Up
Herbalist(Harvest Guardian) 5/10]
She wiped the sweat she felt trickle down her face and lifted the scythe to confirm her suspicions, the scythe was indeed getting sharper the more she used it.
Yvlena stopped her harvesting to inspect the ancient seed she had planted when she returned from the depths of Bloom Forest, the plant cried out for something but Yvlena didn't know what.
[This plant requires special care]
"Well, it doesn't need to be watered." Yvlena said to herself. Sprite flew over to observe. the little being's face twisted into something vaguely resembling awe.
"What's wrong?" Yvlena asked the fairy creature.
"Something's special about that plant." Sprite said before she flitted away to join Rabbit Knight in hacking away at some weeds.
[Sub Class Quest Unlocked]
[Quest: The Plant Requires Special Care
You have acquired an ancient seed, a plant from the bygone era of the previous Harvest Guardian. Feed it the Shadow Essence acquired from the miasma beings and see what happens.
***
Rewards
????
????
***
Moon Points x500
Moon Gems x50
EXP x200]
"The Shadow essence? Could that be what Sprite was sensing?" Yvlena leaned down to inspect the plant. It was a simple yellow flower, with five petals folded over each other to give the appearance of a small cup.
"It's cute." Yvlena said already digging through her inventory to retrieve the swirling orb of shadow. She held it out to the flower, placing the marble-sized orb of darkness within the petals. In a second it was absorbed.
"Eh?!"
The flower's roots deepened within the Manor's soil becoming visible veins beneath the ground, the cupped petal opened slightly as if waiting to receive more of the Shadow essence.
[Quest: Complete
The Plant Requires Special Care
You have acquired an ancient seed, a plant from the bygone era of the previous Harvest Guardian. Feed it the Shadow Essence acquired from the miasma beings and see what happens.
***
Rewards
Ancient Ever Bloom
Ancient Ever Bloom seeds x5
***
Moon Points x500
Moon Gems x50
EXP x200]
[Yvlena is now level 8]
[Yvlena Acquired
EXP: 89/810
***
Ancient Ever Bloom
Ancient Ever Bloom seeds x5
***
Moon Points: x500
Moon Gems x100]
"It's the Ever Bloom! The plant I need to stop the Miasma from spreading." Yvlena gasped. She observed the flower again, noticing its petals had darkened a shade or two from its previous bright yellow, the stem was thicker too almost as though it was too mature for the small garden.
"I need to transplant it, maybe it'll suck up the miasma in the forgotten depths before it spreads."
[Quest: Siphon The Miasma
You have acquired the Ever Bloom, a plant from the bygone era of the previous Harvest Guardian. Feed it the Shadow Essence acquired from the miasma beings and see what happens.
***
Rewards
????
***
Moon Points x500
Moon Gems x50
EXP x200]
"I was right." Yvlena said, "But where am I going to put it? I'd need a vase or something right?"
"Over here!" Sprite called from the shed, Yvlena raced over staring at the new discovery. Within the old Rose Manor shed, was a collection of old and broken plant pots withered away from years of disuse.
"It's not much but there should be something." The fairy said.
The elfin girl scratched her head hesitantly, she stepped in, moving aside some of the broken pots until she got to something manageable.
"This should do."
With the use of the hoe, Yvlena carefully dug out the small plant, she potted it easily with the help of Sprite and it swiftly disappeared into her inventory.
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Ancient Ever Bloom (Potted)]
"Let's go!" She said ecstatically.