{-Llewel-}
If nothing else, he was confident in one thing: he really, really didn’t like wherever this was going. And he also knew that he wasn’t the only one—Tinath tried to get some information out of Casrane, too, on their walk to Ucadra’s shop. Suffice to say, Tinath was just as successful, if not slightly less, than Llewel would’ve been if he’d tried.
Which, honestly, didn’t ease his concerns at all.
Casrane only gave a glance back at all of them and offered a nervous smile before pushing open the door to the shop. “Good morning, Ucadra!”
First was the scripted response, “Welcome to the Eslasera City Shop! Feel free to look around—let me know if anything catches your fancy!” Much more natural, she added, “I was wondering when you’d stop by. I’ve been waiting for you, you know—almost thought you weren’t going to show up for a moment there.”
“There were, ah… a few more things that needed to be handled first,” Casrane replied. She may have considered the gesture she gave to the other five subtle, but Llewel thought otherwise.
Still, it made Ucadra pick up on something else. “Are you all here for something specific? I have everything adventurers like you will need out there—all at affordable prices! Or perhaps you’re here for one of the several quests I have to offer?”
“We’re here for the quest that takes us around Masylm,” Zetai explained. “The one that mentioned talking to all the other shopkeepers so far?”
Ucadra seemed surprised, at first, before nodding. She gestured them a bit closer so the quest menu could appear. “These deliveries aren’t going to make themselves, so would you like to lend a hand?”
[Quest: Special Delivery
Ucadra just received a collection of fine items and she’s gotten requests for them from other shopkeepers around Masylm. She can’t leave the shop, though, so she’s looking for a handful of adventurers willing to take care of it for her.
Rewards: Rewards: 1000 EXP, 1300 coins]
They all nodded as their sign of acceptance. Ucadra’s smile grew. “Great! Let me just get it from the back.”
“I’ll help,” Casrane offered. Before anyone could question it, she darted behind the counter to where Ucadra had gone.
“I know I never knew her before this, but… this is weird, isn’t it?” Reynneak asked cautiously after a moment.
“She’s hiding something,” Tinath mumbled. “She’s right there but it still feels like we’re on opposite sides of the world.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Llewel shrugged. “Well, if you think she might’ve told us something, then you’re going to be disappointed. I know we’re not going to be told anything, either…”
“I want to trust that she knows what she’s doing,” Myr said in a near-whisper. “So, hopefully, she’ll be a little more open…”
Any further conversation was interrupted by another visitor. “Good morning, Ucadra! I… hope you don’t mind that I’m a little late, I had a few things to—”
Bezyu stopped, though, when she realized who else was there. Then she made it all the more obvious, by pretending like she didn’t care. “Is, ah… Ucadra not here right now?”
“She’s getting something for us,” Myr explained. It was much more cheerful than a moment before. Perhaps she also wanted to call this some far-fetched coincidence. “I don’t think it’ll take her very long to get back.”
Bezyu seemed to take so much more away from that than any of them did. She slowly nodded. “Have you… heard from Casrane yet?”
“She’s joined us,” Llewel answered. “She’s with Ucadra. There’s a quest she wanted us to do here, but I’m pretty sure we all know there’s something else to it. And… you know what that something is, don’t you?”
“I… can’t say that I don’t,” she replied cautiously. “But I don’t think it’s something she’d appreciate me sharing. It’s nothing… too serious. Let me ask this—are you ready for the journey?”
“I’m pretty sure we’re as ready as we’re going to be. We’ll probably check to make sure we have everything before then, though—buy what we need before we leave.”
“You’re going to be traveling to a lot of places, some of which you know are less hospitable than others. Are you sure you’re going to stay safe?”
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about us. We’ve got the players with us, plus I’m sure that, in one way or another, Casrane’s assured it.” Or, at least, that’s what he assumed.
“A… part of me was hoping we’d be able to have a little more time together. Do you plan on coming back? If I recall correctly, the quest doesn’t require you to return to Ucadra once it’s finished…”
He shrugged. “I guess that’s up to Casrane.”
Myr glanced back over to where Ucadra and Casrane had disappeared to and remarked, “I think they’re almost done, you can probably ask her yourself.”
In a moment, they both appeared, each holding a box; Ucadra’s was bigger, and she walked over to hand it to Zetai, while Casrane’s was smaller and, with it, she stood a few steps away from the rest of them.
Bezyu, after a moment’s consideration, went to Casrane and started what sounded a bit like a harshed argument—one that neither of them were sure of. But the rest of them weren’t able to gather too much from them because, intentionally or not, Ucadra distracted them.
“All you need to do is pass this box along to them,” she explained. “They’ll get what they need and give the rest back to you. Once you’ve talked with everyone, the box will disappear and you’ll get your rewards—you don’t need to come back for the quest to be completed. I’d say remember fast travel exists for players but, well, you’ll have the twins and Casrane with you and NPCs have to do it the old fashioned way. So, instead, take the scenic routes this time. You might find something you’ve never noticed before.”
“We’ll keep that in mind,” Zetai said. She put the box in her Inventory then casually looked at Casrane to ask, “Are you two almost finished? I’d like to get going soon, if that’s okay. There’s a lot of ground we need to cover.”
Bezyu looked ready to say no, but Casrane spoke first. “Yes. Let’s see how much we can get done before the three of you have to leave again.”