“What took so long? I was thinking about just leaving you here.” Kristina was sitting on a nearby bench outside the hut. Watching as Fierce did her best to stand on her own.
“A job offer that I don’t have the time for. Plus, If I left any earlier, I wouldn’t have gotten this for you,” Darius said while revealing a small roll of paper.
“My recommendation! I forgot!”
“I scratched your back, now I think it’s time for you to scratch mine.”
The way Kristina glowed when she held onto the recommendation put a smile on Darius’s face. Almost gave him the feeling that he really didn’t need a reward for helping someone… almost.
“Absolutely, we can leave tomorrow. I just need to say a few goodbyes, and we can set out on our nymphs tomorrow.”
“Those horse-like creatures? I think it’s obvious that I don’t have one, let alone a normal horse.”
“That’s why we’re going back to the market. Conmin is probably selling some back there.”
“Another friend of yours?” After the uncomfortable meeting with Chief, Darius wasn’t too keen for a repeat of the same situation.
“I wouldn’t say that, but he probably will. Conmin has a certain sense of flair and a lacking sense of boundaries. Come on, I’m paying.”
Darius knew the value of favors, of having someone feel indebted to you. He even made it a point of interest to make others feel that way about himself. Therefore, Kristina’s words wore on him. It didn’t sound like she held any malice, but the words of the best liars rarely did.
“We can postpone for a bit, let me do a few odd “jobs” here and there. I’ll work up the chips myself. Shouldn’t take more than the week.”
Kristina responded by tossing the bag of emerald chips to Darius. “Half of that is yours to spend, you earned it.”
“It was your job and your reward. My reward is your guidance.”
“And I’m leaving for New Dawn tomorrow, so you can either come with me on the nymph that you buy today, or you can stay here for the next ten years until I come back. Clear?”
Darius relented, “Crystal.”
“Perfect, because I think I see some nice-looking nymphs.”
The nymph, from Darius’s understanding, were similar to horses back in Journey. They looked similar, served their purpose as mounts, and were herbivores, yet… “Around here a horse can just be on fire or eat rocks, and that kind of thing is just normal.”
“I’m still wondering why you think it’s so strange. They’re elemental creatures, did you think they’d grow wings?”
“That’s not… whatever. Just tell me which one I should pick.”
In front of Darius and Kristina stood ten nymphs. Three were medium sized that were different shades of black, save for their white facial markings. Their manes produced thick hot flames, different in color. One red, another orange, and one blue; the heat from these flames warped the space around them.
Two were large, one a sea blue and the other a swampy green. They seemed to be completely made of water, so much so that Darius could see through the blue one. He touched it, and its skin bent inward with his hand, leaving an imprint for a short while before returning to its original shape.
Four were extremely large with colors ranging from browns, greens, and greys. They seemed to be covered in a thick, rocky layering, similar to the rocks they were currently gnawing on. Feeling a sense of curiosity, Darius tossed a few copper coins amongst those rocks. When they were eaten, similarly colored spots appeared on their bodies.
Then there was a small one that Darius almost missed. Like the water nymphs, he could see right through it, but that was because it was made up of wind vapors; unnoticeable if not for the whiny sounds it made when Darius got close. Even staring right at it, Darius could barely make out its shape. It was like shards of air loosely brought together and compressed.
In front of each of them was a small wooden sign plastered with a number and the word emeralds. The numbers ranging from 20 to over 40. Prices, easy to assume, only much higher than Darius expected.
“Have you never ridden a nymph before? Don’t answer that. Listen, a nymph picks you just as much as you pick it. We’ll keep looking until the moment hits you.”
“And how will I know that’s going to happen?”
“You don’t, but when you do, you’ll feel… a spark?”
“Can you just tell me which type of nymph is the best?”
Kristina slapped her face in annoyance. “They all have their pro and cons, but they’ll get you where you need to go. A nymph is more than just a purchase, though Conmin will say-”
“Lady Kristina, you’ve come back! With a man, I see. No wonder you never took to my advances. Have you come to buy a nymph? A new saddle maybe? If you were to follow me, I’ve just stocked some-”
A short, stumpy man wearing a comically large hat and very thick moustache approached the two, walking towards them with a long black cane. When he reached the two, he bowed deeply as he greeted the two with the widest and fakest smile the either of them had ever seen. Immediately, Darius had an ill feeling. This was a type he was used too, but not one he liked to deal with.
Kristina, on the other hand, “Conmin! You slimy cheat. If I hear a single word about something other than a nymph and a saddle, I’m shoving your head into that pile of dung.”
Felt the same exact way.
“Right, you know me Kristina, a salesman at heart, but before that I’m a servant. Here to help you make the best purchase possible. Have any caught your interest? Where did your man go?”
“He was just… Darius?!”
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Was already long gone, slipping away when Conmin’s focus was squarely on Kristina. He chose to survey the grounds as he sensed that the businessman didn’t put all his goods out front. None of the nymphs there spoke to him, like Kristina said, luckily, after passing through a gate, Darius found that he was right.
Many more nymphs littered a grass field behind the gate, grazing at the grass and socializing. Near them were more stables, each holding a similar numbered sign along with another word, possibly a name. Only these prices ranged from a more reasonable 10-20 emeralds.
“Only putting the top shelf items out front, then keeping the ones with more sensible prices hidden in the back. I wonder how much banter it would have taken until he brought us back here.”
With a greater selection to choose from, Darius started to look for the spark. “Easy there, fire pony, please don’t burn me. Ah! Piece of- Water! Water! Ah!”
A kick to the chest from a water nymph sent Darius tumbling to the floor, after failing to pet the back of a flame nymph before being burned. Luckily, it only felt like he was being hit by a water hose… shooting a ton of water… again, directly into his chest. He was only half sure that nothing was broken.
“That did not go well, but hey, 18th times the charm. Gotta find that spark, right?!”
Darius checked nymph after nymph, trying to see if he could feel that spark Kristina mentioned. Yet somehow nothing was clicking, that is, except for bones in his body that he really hoped weren’t fractured. By his count there was less than five nymphs left, but by first look none gave him that spark he was looking for. He still thought it couldn’t hurt to try.
“I like that flame nymph's aggression. Since there’s only one of you left, let’s see-”
A loud crashing sound exploded from one of the far-off stables. This one was separated from the others, so Darius hadn’t noticed it until now. The stable it was in was a bit more worn down than the others, but not due to wear and tear. This stable had been broken down several times before, probably by whatever just broke out moments ago. Darius knew it was in his best interest not to go see what had caused the noise, but he couldn’t remember the last time he did something that was in his best interest.
“Well let’s take a look at… you.”
A feeling, a strong urge, no, tingle. A sensation. Darius wasn’t really sure how to explain it. H just knew he felt something when he saw the nymph.
He looked like a fire nymph, his black skin resembling that of a starless night, accentuated by the star face marking it carried. His mane long and purple, like it had never been cut since the day it was born, but that was just it. That’s where the resemblance ended. It was much larger, closer to the size of a water nymph if not bigger. Its mane shagged down and was not lit ablaze.
On the broken shack, two halves of a sign laid amongst the rubble. 50 30 20 10 5 2. Each higher number crossed off until reaching the lowest of 2, beside it read a word. He couldn’t read it, but for some reason, he knew exactly what it said.
“Nightshade? Fitting.”
Possibly from hearing its name, Nightshade turned to meet Darius eye to eye. Darius was still, not 100 percent sure of what to do here. On one hand, Darius was sure he felt something when he saw Nightshade, maybe that spark Kristina was talking about, but the shattered barn spoke for itself.
As Darius stood there, Nightshade grew bored of his presence, instead taking to the field near one of the herds. As if he was diseased, all the other nymphs immediately fled. Strangely, Nightshade seemed to not care, grazing where they once stood. Regardless, Darius slowly approached Nightshade; he understood the risk, he understood that this was a bad idea, but he was currently on a role of bad ideas, and there was no chance he was going to stop now.
“Wait!” yelled Conmin. Unless somebody yelled at him. “Don’t go near that one, please! If you do, I’m not responsible for any injuries.”
With a mad burst of speed, Conmin rushed over and jumped at Darius, tackling him had Darius not nimbly shifted out of the way. “This nymph, Nightshade, what can you tell me about him?”
“You could read its name?” Kristina started, until realization forced a smile on her lips. “A spark! You felt it didn’t you?”
Darius let loose a sigh but likewise a smile reached his lips. Before he could answer Conmin jumped into the conversation. “You simply mustn’t, that beast is uncontrollable. Especially for someone with you and your partner’s… deficiencies.”
Darius approached Conmin, hands curled into a fist. “Hey!”
Kristina held him back, however, shaking her head. “Darius isn’t like me, the nymph is for him, so we should be fine, right?”
Conmin wasn’t convinced. “Then where’s his staff?”
“Is, well obviously-” Kristina stumbled.
“You’re a salesman, and I’m a customer who wants to buy a product,” Darius interrupt. “Why not sell?”
“No! That beast will kill you both! I can’t have your blood on my grounds, no one will want to shop here!” responded Conmin.
“Listen to me Conmin, you seem like the type to only engage in good, reasonable business, but isn’t Nightshade a total loss? I have my suspicions, but I’d like to confirm, he’s untethered, isn’t he? That’s why the other nymphs avoided him.” Under his breath, Darius whispered, “Guess that’s not only a human thing.”
Conmin twitched, ever so slightly. “He’s still young! Only five. He just hasn’t… Who am I kidding? Why me? He was supposed to be my prized nymph!”
“Suspicions confirmed. I want to make an offer for that nymph then.”
“R-Really, you’ll take him off my hands? Yes, absolutely, just 2 emeralds and you’ll have a nymph. An absolute steal if I do say so myself-”
Darius held up his hand to stop Conmin. “You’ll be giving him to me for free. He’s a liability remember? Honestly, I should have you pay me. You know what, throw in a free saddle and we’re good. One of the good ones.”
“You… what? N-No! I will do no such-” An extremely loud crashing sound. Nightshade had charged through another stable that wasn’t his own, luckily the nymph inside was mostly unharmed. “Just… just take him. Take him away and take your damn saddle!”
Conmin started to roll around on the ground, bawling his eyes out. He was a pathetic mess and Darius was pretty sure he broke him. Luckily, Kristina had seen this kind of thing before.“There’s six people with expensive suits standing right outside.”
Immediately, Conmin jumped to his feet, as of nothing happened. “Well excuse me Kristina, I have some business to attend to. Hey! I don’t see anyone out-”
“Shut up and tell us about that nymph.” She interrupted.
“I see that I can’t change either of your minds. Fine. Nightshade is special, he’s a hybrid of a fire and earth nymph. The first I’ve ever gotten. He took most of his traits from his mother, a fire nymph, but shares a size closer to his father.”
“He’s a hybrid?!” Kristina exclaimed. “That’s so rare, how did you manage that?”
“A little bit of luck, little bit of trial and error, and a whole lot of broken hearts. I was so proud of this one, stronger and faster than his peers, the only problem was his attitude. This is the 26th time he’s broken his stable, this month. If only he wasn’t untethered, I could have sold him for more than 50 emeralds!”
“Alright Darius, this is what we’re going to do. You’re going to approach Nightshade from the back, and I’ll distract from the front. That way we’ll- Where did you go? Darius! Come on, really?”
Darius had already left her side, inching his way towards Nightshade who had all but forgotten their presence, gnawing on some grass from the open plane. “Hey buddy, I’m a friend.” Making himself known, Nightshade immediately turned to face Darius, ready to charge.
“Do you need any help?!” Kristina yelled dryly.
Darius stopped moving a couple of feet away from Nightshade, where they stared into one another. Any small movement would cause Nightshade to charge and trample him, yet when Darius looked into Nightshade’s eyes, he felt nothing but calmness.
“Come here buddy.” Darius said, taking a single step forward. In response, Nightshade charged full force, speeding directly towards Darius.
“Darius move!” Kristina yelled.
He didn’t respond, staying completely still, never taking his eyes of Nightshade. Closer, closer, the nymph charged. Until finally, he cut to Darius’s right, just missing him.
“And here I thought you were actually going to hit me,” Darius breathed. He once again walked towards Nightshade, stopping just short of reaching the nymph. This time, however, Nightshade dipped his head. Finally allowing Darius to touch him. “Told you I was a friend.”
“S-sir Darius, how did you- I don’t care. Just please leave my land with that beast,” a tired Conmin relented.
He moved to leave but was stopped by Kristina. “Excuse me, but I think you owe us a saddle.”