After a moment of watching Soren prep his forge to work on the blade, Yvlena decided now would be a good time to follow up on the Orchid tea house Beatrice had told her to visit not too long ago.
"Bloom Haven is pretty big after all but I was so busy with the temple ruins I completely forgot about it," She said making her way out of the Artisan District Smithy. It was easier to make her way out of it now that she knew the path to take.
"I have a feeling the Merchant's quest is going to be a tough one," Yvlena sighed, already wondering about the kinds of bosses she would need to fight.
"I'm two levels higher than when I fought Viseli so I know I can handle it,"
Now that the temple area was clear, the outskirts of Bloom Haven were open to her, but who knew what creatures lurked in the fold of the tall grass? From the flashback, she also knew a cave was nearby.
The same cave Ricardo had exited from.
“If it’s one thing I know about caves it’s that they always have something weird inside. I can only use spells stones and my summons until I get my sword back,” She said.
She exited the entrance of the Artisan district and passed by the market Square as she headed toward the Floral District,
On her way there Yvlena glanced at the merchant caravan, then waved to Ricardo who was attending to a customer, the man saw her and waved back with as much enthusiasm as she had come to expect from him.
“He’s such a friendly guy! Axen would chew him up and spit him out,” Yvlena said as she walked toward the Floral district.
“If I were a Tea Shop where would I be?” she asked as she walked the worn stone floors of the district. Luckily for her, the citizens of the Floral district were becoming less wary ever since the disappearance of the miasma.
“Excuse me sir, do you happen to know where the Orchid Tea House is?” Yvlena asked a passing man. The man scratched his head.
“Oh, that old place? If you keep heading that way you should see the sign.” the man said pointing Yvlena down a narrow winding street in the opposite direction of where she would usually walk to find the manor.
"Okay thank you!" She said.
----------
The Floral District, while not as big as the Artisan one was certainly a lot to walk through, Yvlena walked down a dim street, made better by the sunshine now penetrating the skies.
She shuddered to think how dark this street could have been if she hadn't first dealt with the miasma.
"Looks like I made the right choice after all."
She walked until she stopped In front of the arch of a modest, cylindrical two storey house, constructed entirely out of dark wood.
The arch's sign 'Orchid Tea House' the wind blew lightly causing it to swing back and forth in the gentle breeze.
A red circular roof with brick tiles topped off what was once an elegant Tea house, now much like Beatrice's cottage used to be it was almost completely in shambles.
To Yvlena the orchid tea house had a simple charm about it and she could tell that back in its prime it would have been quite the social hub in Bloom Haven.
She walked under the arch and headed to the front doors which was a worn set of pale blue double doors.
Yvlena walked through, pushing the doors lightly and causing them to squeak loudly, reminding her of the apartment doors back home.
The tea house had two layers all constructed with the same dark wood used on the outside. Straight ahead was a counter where an old woman sat reading.
She had an antique wooden pipe in her hands and blew smoke out in all manner of shapes and sizes. Yvlena caught the faint herbal scent of the smoke, it didn't smell anything like the cigarettes in the city.
Moon Valley must have special tobacco if the scent was anything to go by.
Above was the second layer with a staircase to the left just beside the counter where customers would be able to reach the second floor.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Yvlena approached the old woman.
"Hello, Miss?" Yvlena called softly, the old woman looked up from the thick tome she was reading then jumped back in surprise upon meeting the eyes of the stranger in her home.
"Ack! Who are you?" the woman asked in alarm.
[NAME: Iris
RACE: Human
OCC: Merchant]
"I'm Yvlena, pleased to meet you." the girl said. Iris huffed putting the end of her pipe back into her mouth.
Iris was an old woman with a severe face and deep wrinkles, her hair was put up in a bun pinned by a pair of gold ornamental hairpins, She wore a short floral print robe over a dark undershirt.
Her thin lips were dabbed with a touch of purple Yvlena could see over the smoke blowing from her lips
"Well, Yvlena what do you want? What are you doing here?" Iris asked. Yvlena paused for a bit unsure of how to answer the question. What was she doing at the tea house?
"I came to find out what happened to the Floral District?" Yvlena said but it came out less impressive than she had imagined, speaking to the residents of Bloom Haven was just like meddling in the affairs of real life people.
She always had to remember not to pry too much. She recalled from her first interaction with Risel that it rarely went well.
"Trade stopped, money stopped, tea house closed down," Iris said going back to her book. "I couldn't pay anyone to gather herbs for me since the forest became so dangerous, even the most basic of Bloom Haven teas couldn't be sold anymore."
"So I ask again, why are you here?" the woman glared harshly, looking Yvlena up and down then scoffing. The girl flinched wondering why the NPC was so mean.
She understood that she had lost everything but there was no reason to actively be so hostile.
[Iris is hostile]
Yvlena went through a few answers in her mind before she came up with one that she thought was reasonable.
"I came to help with the herbs," The elven girl said. "I've collected a lot of them from going into the forest both Bloom Forest and some parts of the Verdant Woods,"
At her words, Iris' eyes bulged with surprise that someone had ventured into the Bloom Forest with how hostile it was.
"How?"
"You leave that up to me, but you can't be rude when you're asking someone for help that's not fair to them,"
"I didn't ask for your help," Iris scoffed going back to her book. Yvlena couldn't help but think of Viviana in this scenario. She hated people with useless pride.
"Have it your way, I only came here because Beatrice asked me to," Yvlena said turning around and heading straight for the exit. She was almost at the door when the woman called to her.
"Wait! Alright kid you've got guts," she said reluctantly.
[Affinity with Iris Increased +1]
"Sell me what herbs you have currently, let's see if we can get this old place running again, though I can't pay you much I can teach you how to make some special tea depending on the herbs you bring me," Iris said.
Yvlena breathed a sigh of relief, she wondered if she would have had to forfeit the Tea House because she didn't want to deal with any rude NPCs. She could see the grudging respect Iris had in her eyes as she came back to the counter.
[Buy/Sell]
Yvlena clicked Buy first, curious to see if the woman had anything to sell her but alas, the offerings were as empty as the Tea House's coffers.
Next, she clicked Sell and her own menu came up filled with inventory stock available to sell to the old woman, who stared at her with a deep frown.
Yvlena was only able to sell five Fox Tail Herbs and Five Common Spice Herbs before the menu closed by force.
[Yvlena Acquire
***
Moon Points x300]
"That's all I need for now," Iris said. She went to an old stove that clearly hadn't been used in ages with all the rust and chips covering the stove's edge.
Yvlena watched as she lit it, the flames rose to heat a kettle full of water scooped from a barrel of fresh water with a ladle.
Iris, with expert hands, dried the herbs, pressing them first and then grinding them down into bits until they were fine and powdery then tucking the powder into little tea bags.
She took an old mug from the rack, Yvlena could tell it was recently used from how clean it was. The old woman took a fancy porcelain kettle and stuffed a sealed tea bag into it before filling it with hot water.
The fragrance of tea filled the air, pushing away the scent of stagnancy within the main room of the Tea House.
"You have to let the spice tea steep for a while, when it's this fresh the flavor comes out better," Iris said, from the patient tone her voice had taken, the elven girl could tell the woman missed making tea for someone.
The Tea House was large but without any frequent visitors, it must have gotten lonely after visitors stopped coming. Did Iris ever leave? Was she even able to?
The woman slid the cup in front of her with a smirk.
"Bloom Spice Tea," Iris said leaning back and folding her arms. Iris seemed pleased with herself and for that reason, Yvlena was happy to try the tea served to her.
It would have to beat Beatrice's though. And the old woman had a special place in Aya’s heart.
She picked up the elegant clamshell tea cup and put the liquid to her lips for a sip.
"Well?" Iris asked impatiently.
"It's..."