Yvlena met the woman's surprised eyes with an expression of sadness. She nodded.
"Yes, it's a note from Commander Addison," the elven girl said. Iris let her hand fall to her side in acceptance of the news. The old woman shook her head, reading the note again and tearing up.
All this time, she thought she'd never hear from him again, but to find that he had been thinking of her even in his final moments...
"How did you even get this?" She sniffled, Iris looked up from re-reading the note with a curious expression. "He never came back after the Outpost closed down,"
"I met him, unfortunately, it was too late," Yvlena said, she debated telling Iris that her loved one had transformed into a monster but no one would want to hear that.
"Thank you for bringing this to me," Iris said, Yvlena heard the woman's sorrow filled voice tinged with relief, at least she had something of Commander Addison's to remember him by.
[Affinity with Iris Increased +5]
"W-Who was he to you?" Yvlena stuttered as she asked. Iris gave a fond smile.
"My brother," Iris said softly. "Have a seat, I'll whip you up some Bloom Spice Tea,"
Yvlena took a seat, once again thankful the game had no stamina bar, no doubt she would be dragging herself across the floor from exhaustion if that were the case.
"I told him not to join the Town Guard you know, but he was always a stubborn piece of work," Iris said as she crushed the leaves in her tea grinder. "He insisted, kept insisting and then I just let it go. Even now, I can't believe he's gone,"
"He'll always be with you," Yvlena said, repeating the words her grandmother told her after her mother had passed. "As long as you remember him,"
[Affinity with Iris Increased +3]
"You've lost someone too, I gather? You're awfully mature for a young girl or maybe you aren't. One can never tell with elves," Iris said, Yvlena nodded.
"Both my parents," she said sadly. Iris gasped softly, she faced the girl who by now was sitting at the counter, with both her elbows on the surface. Yvlena had a contemplative expression on her face.
"That's awful, Yvlena. I'm so sorry,"
"It was a long time ago, I've mostly grown up without them. Things really hit once I lost my grandmother,"
"So much loss for such a lifetime," Iris said, sliding the cup over. Yvlena smiled.
"Thank you, Iris,"
[The tea soothes your soul, and reminds you of a warm home]
[+Temporary HP Boost
+Temporary Increased resistance to Fire]
[Affinity with Iris Increased +1]
"I would like to give you this, to show my gratitude,"
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Tea Making Set x1
Bloom Spice Tea Recipe (Uncommon)
Sweet Bloom Tea Recipe (Rare)
Spice Bread Recipe (Uncommon)]
Yvlena gasped, looking up at Iris with gratitude. She laughed, delighted at the gift Iris had presented her with. Now she could make her own tea and experiment with creating her own recipes.
"Thank you for bringing this to me," Iris said, she went back to making tea for the customers. Jonathan Addison's quest within a quest had come to an end.
[Jonathan Addison's Spirit is at ease, a balance is restored]
[Subclass: Leveled Up
Herbalist(Harvest Guardian) 7/10]
Yvlena read the notifications with a smile, soon she would level up her Harvest Guardian Class as well.
"I guess I haven't really been focused on that, too busy with fighting and quests," Yvlena mumbles.
"Iris, do you know where I can find Olivia?"
"Which Olivia?"
"Olivia Brackett?" Yvlena replied in an unsure tone, all she had to go off was a letter, for all she knew, the woman could have left the town by now or married someone else.
Iris made a thoughtful face, she nodded.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"The house with an apple tree beside it," Iris said. "All you need to do is go outside and take you left until you see a huge tree, it's lost all its leaves now but it's still an apple tree," the woman said.
"Thank you, Iris,"
----------
Yvlena walked down the cobblestone path, following Iris' instructions until she came to an old house beside a large tree. It looked to be a family sized bungalow constructed out of wood, with wide circular windows and a cute curving roof.
The building was a soft brown, a soothing color for a home, and right beside it stood a leafless apple tree. Yvlena noticed the tree after a moment, the large apple tree was enormous, easily dwarfing the home.
As Iris said, the tree had lost every single leaf, its naked branches swayed slightly in the afternoon breeze with nary a fruit to be seen.
"That was easier than I thought," Yvlena said. She came up to the small milk-white fence surrounding the property, not unlike the other houses she had passed and pushed open the gate to the short fence. She didn't get far before a young man came through the door asking questions.
"Who are you?" he asked in a cautious tone, Yvlena put her hands up in a non threatening manner, signaling she didn't mean any trouble.
A tanned young man stood before her, he had chestnut hair cut to his shoulders in a way that framed his face roughly. Green eyes watched her, checking if she intended to cause him any problems with a serious expression to match.
Yvlena realized he drew a striking resemblance to the ghost of William Brackett.
"I'm looking for Olivia, Olivia Brackett," Yvlena said quickly. "I have a letter for her,"
The man frowned, his lips twisted in suspicion and skepticism. He looked Yvlena up and down before nodding and accepting the explanation for now.
"I'm Dylan Brackett, her son, I'll take you to her but the moment I catch wind of trouble, you're out you hear me?" he said sternly. Yvlena nodded, smiling.
"I understand, I just came from the tea house, Iris led you to me," Dylan's eyes widened in surprise.
"Well I'll be, the old tea house is running again, Aunty Iris didn't know if she was going to close down or not but I'm glad she didn't," Dylan said.
Yvlena didn't know the NPCs had relationships with each other as well aside from stories.
'This game is so realistic,' she thought.
"Yes it would have been a shame to close it down, it's such a treasure to the Floral District," Yvlena said as she followed him to the door of the family home.
Dylan perked up.
"I wanted to go into the forest to help her gather the herbs, but mom said it was too dangerous, only adventurers could," he seemed to pout. Yvlena giggled.
"I have to agree with your mother, Bloom Forest is pretty dangerous, there are some seriously hostile creatures in there,"
Dylan scoffed.
"There's no way you've been to Bloom Forest, not with all that's going on? It's too dangerous for a small girl like you,"
Yvlena huffed, putting her hands on her waist.
Dylan led her to the kitchen where a woman just about Iris' age was making lunch, the woman wore a green dress with a white apron over it.
She turned around, greeting her guest with a smile. Yvlena saw a beautiful woman with reddish brown hair and the same piercing green eyes she saw in Dylan.
Even in her old age, Olivia was still a beauty.
"And who might we have here?" She asked. Yvlena stepped forward introducing herself. She reached into her inventory and retrieved William's memento.
"I have this letter for you," she said, passing the paper into Olivia's hands.
The woman said nothing, glancing over the paper. She began reading and soon tears filled her eyes, much like Iris.
"Where did you get this?" Olivia asked.
"The Outpost, I went there on a task and met William, he wanted me to give this to you," Yvlena said, leaving out the miasmic corruption. The elven girl pointedly ignored the gaping stare Dylan was giving her.
Served him right for not believing her.
"I-I-" Olivia stammered, she held onto a chair trying to regain her balance from the shocking news. "You met William? How?"
"I met his ghost, he called for you. He thought I was you at first, after all that time his spirit longed for you, you were loved Olivia," Yvlena said with a smile.
Fresh tears rolled down Olivia's cheeks as she listened to Yvlena speak.
"Thank you for bringing this to me, I never thought I'd hear from him again," Olivia said. Yvlena nodded.
"Take these as a symbol of my gratitude,"
[Yvlena Acquired
***
Eggs x5
Flour x5
Sugar x5
Jar (Small) x5
Bottle (Small) x5]
"Don't hesitate to stop by again, Yvlena," Olivia said with a smile.
[You have become a friend of the family]
[William A. Brackett's Spirit is at ease, a balance is restored]
"Thank you too, Olivia," Yvlena said.
----------
Dylan walked her out the door keeping silent the whole time he led her back to the porch. Yvlena was about to make her way to the fence when he spoke again.
"I'm sorry I underestimated you," he said. Yvlena nodded.
"All is forgiven. Be careful how you talk to people, it may not seem like it but different exteriors hide deep secrets," Yvlena advised.
Dylan rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. He couldn't meet her gaze and Yvlena decided he was sufficiently embarrassed.
"You should help out Iris at the Tea House, she'll soon have more guests than she can handle in her old age," Yvlena said with a laugh.
"Will you take me adventuring with you sometime?" Dylan asked nervously.
Yvlena made a show of thinking about it. She swayed her head from side to side, humming as she thought.
"Maybe, but you have to help Iris from now on."
"I promise!" Dylan said, his eyes burned with excitement. He punched the air in joy, cheering at the opportunity he had been given.
An idea occurred to Yvlena, she took the starter sword out of her inventory and gifted it to him.
"You can practice with this," she said.
Dylan accepted with wide eyes and a stunned expression. He stuttered out his thanks and accepted the sword from her grasp. She hoped he could grow strong enough to help his mother and Iris as well.
"I won't let you down elf girl, I mean...Yvlena,"
"I'm counting on it, you better make me proud,"