Chapter 474: Never Again

“Uh…” Derek muttered. “Is all of that going to be okay over there?” He pointed at the broken jars and materials scattered around on the ground.

“Huh?” Nick turned and looked to where Derek was pointing, then said, “How did all of that get over there?” He stared intently at the mess, then shrugged. “Should be fine.” Finally, he turned back around. “Now, what do the two of you fine customers need?”

“Well, sir.” Alanah stepped forward, flashed the man a smile, batted her eyelashes, and even went as far as flipping her hair. “We were hoping you could help get us some information, and maybe even a map.”

“Hmm…” The odd elf eyed Alanah up and down. Then he turned to Derek. “Is your friend okay? She is showing some odd behavior. I may have a few potions in the back to help with those tics.”

“Oh… she’s fine,” Derek said as he did his utmost to hold himself back from laughing.

“If you say so.” The man shrugged again, then looked back at the now crimson face of Alanah. “You need a map and information?”

“Yes,” the siren said through gritted teeth.

“Is that all?” the shopkeeper asked.

“I have some items that you may be interested in buying or trading,” Alanah said, no longer trying to charm the man.

“It looks like your friend was correct,” Nick said to Alanah. “Whatever was wrong with you seems to have cleared up on its own. Very intriguing.” Finally, he brushed that aside and continued. “I’m sure I can wrangle up a map or two. Would you like one of any specific location? Or will any map do?”

“Any… map?” Derek muttered.

“Well… yes.” Nick nodded. “You said you needed a map, but you didn’t specify what kind of map.”

“We need a map of the kingdom,” Alanah said.

“Which kingdom?”

“Vorandell…” Alanah muttered, completely deflated. She seemed almost exhausted after the extremely short interaction with Nick.

“Vorandell? A map of here? Well… why didn’t you say so?” Nick quickly turned, then stumbled on his robe before rushing off through a door. Moments later, he came scurrying back with a long rolled-up map. “Will this work?” he asked as he unrolled the map and held it out in front of Alanah.

“Where are we on the map?” she asked.

“You’re not on the map?” Nick peeked his head around the map to look at Alanah. He wore a very confused look on his face. “You’re in my shop.”

“Could you show us where this village is located? And where the closest cities are in relation to this village? Show us by using the map?” Derek asked, trying to explain as best he could to not confuse the elf. He was really starting to wonder if the shopkeeper was okay.

“Oh! Of course,” Nick said. “Hold this.” He handed the map to Alanah, then walked around the side until he was standing beside her and looking at the map. “This is the area where our village is located.” He pointed at a specific location near the edge of the map. “And here is the closest city… and here is the next to the closest. They are around the same distance away from our village.”

“Do these two cities have teleporters?” Derek asked.

“Of course!” Nick said. “I think. I’ve never used one.”

“Great!” Derek said. “In that case, we’ll take the map.”

“You can’t do that!” Nick quickly pulled the map out of Alanah’s hands and backed away from the duo.

“Why not?” Derek asked.

“No stealing! You have to buy it,” Nick said.

“Oh…” Derek muttered. He was beginning to know what Alanah felt like. “That’s what I meant. We will buy the map, then take it with us.”

“Oh! Of course!” Nick quickly rolled up the map and handed it to Derek. “Here you go.”

Derek took the map from the man, then let out a long breath. After all that, and he just… hands the map to me before payment.

“That will be…” the man began counting on his fingers while muttering to himself. “Add the two… carry the one… no, not that way… four, five, six…” He looked up. “Two gold, 67 silver, and 32 copper. Or the equivalent in trade.”

“Right…” Alanah said. “May we move over to your counter? I have some… items that I would like to sell or trade.”

“Sure!” Nick replied before shuffling over to stand behind his counter.

Alanah followed the man. Then, when she arrived at the counter, she flicked her wrist and multiple items appeared between the two of them. Derek saw a couple of high-quality pelts, along with multiple potions of differing colors. He recognized a major mana, healing, and stamina potion.

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“Oh, wow!” Nick held the pelt up and examined it. “This is very nice. I don’t even know the level of it.”

“Two fifty,” Alanah said.

“Wow… a level two hundred and fifty pelt,” Nick mumbled. “And these potions! Major Potion of Healing… Major Potion of Stamina, Major Potion of Mana… good! Very good!”

“I’ll give you five gold for the lot of them, and I’ll throw in that map for free!” Nick said.

“Five… gold?” Alanah muttered, her brow twitching.

“That’s all I have on me right now,” Nick explained.

Derek had no clue how much all the things Alanah had placed on the counter would have gone for in another place, but he was absolutely sure that the pelts alone would have gone for more than five gold each.

“One pelt,” Alanah said. “For the five gold and the map.” She waved her hand over the items, and all but a single pelt disappeared.

“Two!” Nick countered.

‘I’m not haggling…’ Derek heard Alanah’s voice in his head. It seemed tired—if that was even possible for a voice via telepathy. ‘You can if you want to.’

‘I’m good,’ Derek replied.

“Fine.” Alanah waved her hand over the counter and another pelt appeared.

“Awesome!” Nick nearly jumped for joy, then he quickly reached into one of his robe pockets and pulled out five gold and a few pieces of lint. After picking the lint out, he put it on the counter. “Here you go!”

Alanah quickly snatched the gold up, then turned on her heels and marched toward the exit.

“Thanks.” Derek said to the overjoyed shopkeeper, then followed his companion.

“I’m so awesome!” Derek heard the shopkeeper say to himself as they walked away. “I can’t wait to show mom.”

Derek turned, only to see the man rubbing the pelts on his face.

“So… soft…”

Derek quickened his pace until he was walking alongside Alanah, then walked through the door with her. Once they were outside, he and Alanah both released a long sigh.

“Never again!” Alanah said. She took the map, then highlighted the area where they were with red. After that, she wrote ‘danger area’ on it before putting it away.

“Why are most of the merchants and shopkeepers I meet so… weird?” Derek asked himself, not expecting an answer.

Alanah turned to him, then, with a deadpan face, said, “Aren’t you a shopkeeper, too?”

“I…” Derek started, but realized he couldn’t argue. Hell, he was probably just as weird as the elven shopkeeper was—if not because of his personality, then because of the people he kept around him. “Yes…” The two stared at each other for a few moments, then Derek finally cracked and began laughing. Alanah didn’t last much longer.

“What do you say we get out of here before we realize we forgot something and have to go back to Nick’s Knick-Knacks?” Alanah asked.

“Yes, please,” Derek replied.

The duo then ventured back to the front of the village, where they met the guard, Lance, once again. The man was already head over heels for Alanah, so leaving was pretty straightforward. Lance took it upon himself to escort the two out of the village. Once they were quite far away, Alanah stopped and spoke to the man.

“I must thank you once again, Lance,” Alanah said.

“It has been my pleasure,” the guard said—his eyes fixated on the siren. The man showed absolutely no interest in Derek, and it even seemed like he didn’t know Derek was there.

“This is more than far enough,” Alanah said. “I’d hate to take you away from your duties for too long. My companion and I can take it from here.”

“Oh, it’s no bother at all. In fact, I could escort you all the way to Kyllar City if you wish,” he replied. “It won’t be any trouble.”

“Thank you for the offer,” Alanah replied. “But we will be able to get there just fine from here.”

“Oh…” The man slightly deflated. “If that’s what you wish. But don’t hesitate to stop by again.”

“If I’m ever in the area, I’ll make sure to stop in to say hello,” Alanah smiled and nodded to the man.

“Very well,” Lance replied. “Travel safe.” He then looked over at Derek and narrowed his eyes. He stepped close to him, then, in a whisper, said, “You better not let anything happen to her.”

Derek’s eyelid twitched as the man backed away. Derek only looked at the guard and shook his head before turning to Alanah. “Are we finished? We could have been to the city by now,” he said, causing a look of confusion to pass over the guard’s face.

“Don’t be rude,” Alanah replied. “But yes, we should get going.”

The next instant, the two of them both shot into the air. Derek looked down to see the guard staring up with his mouth nearly touching the ground. Derek snorted, then kicked off the void—launching himself forward. Alanah looked down and waved to the man one last time, then she disappeared.

Not long after, Derek stopped in the sky once he saw the outline of a massive city in the distance. It took a few moments, but Alanah soon stopped beside him. They had raced a bit in the final stretch, and Derek pushed his Powerstride skill to the limits of his mana—allowing him to beat the non-transformed Alanah by a small margin. “Looks like Kyllar,” he said.

Alanah pulled out the map she had bought from Nick and looked it over. “I think you’re right,” she said. “At least, if that man sold us a real map. If not, then we lucked out and found a city.”

“He was odd, but I don’t think he would try to pull one over on us… well… except for the price of those hides,” Derek said. “I don’t think all that was an act.”

“Maybe.” Alanah shrugged. “But we’ve definitely made it to a city. Let’s go down so we don’t draw too much attention on our way in.”

“Sure,” Derek replied, then slowly jump down the void ripples until his feet touched the ground. Alanah gently landed beside him, then they began walking at a brisk pace.

Half an hour later and the duo found themselves standing in a small line waiting to enter the city. The line moved quickly, and soon it was Alanah and Derek’s turn.

“Names?” The guard asked. “First and last.”

“I’m Lana Brighton and this is Derek Hunt,” Alanah answered for the two of them. To make things quick and easy to remember, Alanah chose to use Stella’s surname as her own.

“Are you residents of Kyllar?” the guard asked.

“No,” Alanah replied. “We are from the capital and are on our way home.”

“I see,” the guard said as he jotted down something on what looked like a clipboard. “Entry for the two of you is ten gold.”

“Ten?” Alanah asked.

“Yes,” the man replied. “Five a piece.”

“I’m afraid I’m running low on gold right now,” Alanah said. “You wouldn’t, by chance, be willing to take a trade?”

“A trade?” The guard looked up, then glanced around. “I cannot trade for you entry fee, but I could be willing to buy something from you for say… five gold… if it catches my eye, of course.”

“Of course,” Alanah said with a smile. It seemed that her charm didn’t work quite as well on city guards who dealt with people all the time.

Nothing like bribing guards, Derek thought.

Alanah then flicked her wrist, and a set of potions appeared. It was the same three potions from before—worth well over five gold a piece… if the rate was the same as back in Cydaria. The man quickly took the potions, produced five gold, and handed it over the Alanah.

She then went through the motion of paying the man the ten gold required for entrance.

“Enjoy your time in Kyllar,” the guard said, then looked past the two. “Next!”

Alanah and Derek then walked through the doors to the city.

“We’re finally back to civilization,” Alanah said.

“Indeed, we are.”