Chapter 17: Druhwood, the Town of Woodcraft (4)

The innkeeper of the Mirth Oak Inn and Chief of Druhwood, Torrel. The man before me had effectively been in charge of having to deal with and be cautious of a handful of threats that encircled his town. The mountain split that connected the Outer and Central Regions, the Higrant Giant encampment that resided beyond the Enheim Forest and near the Ganhurs Mountains to the west, and the dwellers of the Enheim Forest itself. Apparently, he had already dealt with all three in a single civilized manner at that, in a way that was out of the norm.
To have the treant’s protection meant that, not only do you make an ally of the threat that is at your front door, but you also end up dealing with many other hostilities as well. It would be my educated guess on that being what successfully has kept most enemies at bay.

Seems like I shouldn’t underestimate the man named Torrel...

Treants may be weak, but their spores are highly effect on most—if not all—living creatures. If that had been Torrel’s doing, then his ability to properly protect his town in an atypical way was quite impressive. He’d have single-handedly done something that hadn’t been done yet in the lore of MO.

“I didn’t think I’d casually meet Druhwood’s Chief by simply heading to the nearby inn. Like Eru stated earlier, I’m a simple traveler by the name of Albel. I’ll be staying here for the next week or so, if you don’t mind, Chief Torrel?”

I had stood up from my seat at the counter as Torrel made his way over to Eru and I.

“Heh. No need to be all formal with me, lad. Just Torrel will make do. And ain’t no reason for me to turn down a paying customer either. But you’re from the Outer Region, aren’t ya? That’s a dangerous place to be coming from. Even the treants have been avoiding the area around the pass as of recently.”

Oh, so they were avoiding that area? That answers the question on why that large group was migrating toward the mountain split then. Makes sense, since it was swarming in Undead. Their spores would have been ineffective against them. But...I wonder how the treants found out about the Undead being defeated so quickly?

I couldn’t recall seeing any treants around the Central side of the mountain split when I finally entered. It wasn’t as if they were hard to miss either. They were literal walking trees of varying sizes.

“Well, it was probably due to the few Undead wandering around that area then. There weren’t many of them, so I defeated the small lot when I came through. The treants have already started heading back in that direction too.”

As he sat down in a seat near me, I returned back to my own. Eru remained quiet on the other side while she listened and poured us both a cup. Torrel took a rather unexpected and deep swig as he then spoke up once more.

“Oh? That’s reassuring to hear then. But casually boasting about killing some Undead like they’re mere rabid fawns—you must be pretty strong yourself, huh? You an Adventurer or something?”
“No at all, but they weren’t as strong as you might be imagining. I just happened to be lucky, while being able to take advantage of their weaknesses. I’m a Level 32 Conjurer. A simple summoning with the Holy attribute was more than enough to clear them out, thankfully.”
“Hm. A Conjurer, eh? Don’t sell yourself short, lad. I don’t know how knowledgeable you are about the world beyond these mountains—but Level 32 isn’t by any means low in the Central Region. You could make a decent living as an Adventurer at that Level, as I did when I was a youngin’.”

So, I was right. He wasn’t just a simple innkeeper or lumberman, huh?

Glancing toward Torrel who was taking another swig of his coffee, and on his second cup already, I decided to get a glimpse at who the apparently retired Adventurer really was.

Name: [Torrel]
Rank: [Human]
Level: [50]
Class: [Warrior]
Alignment: [Lawful Good]
INFO:
Titles - [Adventurer, Tier A],
[Chief of Druhwood]

There’s a tier in the title? Is that the separation that Palvo was referring to? So, this is what qualifies a person for an A-tier Adventurer. Geez. Now I’m really curious about what’s above that.

Finishing his second cup of coffee, he slammed the hallow mug upon the counter as he then looked toward me again. His eyes, and air around him, were a bit more serious now.

“So, lad, did you originally live in the Outer Region or just returning from a trip? On this side of the mountains, it’s practically inherited knowledge at birth by this point. That humans don’t really come out from—or go to—the other side, you see.”

It felt as if he were now attempting to gauge my entirety with those few sentences. To help further whatever initial idea he had of me from earlier on. It was the meticulous and subtle work of a veteran Adventurer at play. It was risky, but I still decided to tell him my truth anyways. The same spiel I had given to Palvo about having no family and decided to travel instead.

“Hmm...”

Torrel once again began stroking his beard as he was pulled into deep thought with shut eyes. All the while, his facial expression still gave off a sense of solemness.

“...Well, can’t say that’s a bad idea. Seeing the world and all. This youngin’ here could learn a thing or two from you. Rather than just indulging herself in rocks all day—every day.”
“H-huh?! Why bring me into—”
“I shouldn’t hold you up any longer though. I’m sure the trip must have been rough on you, lad. Eru, show him to his room.”

Standing up from his seat, a sulking Eru was staring him down from over the counter as she audibly expressed her sudden vexation at Torrel’s side comment. Despite all of this, the tone of his voice still held that sliver of seriousness. It had reminded me of how someone responded when they didn’t hear what they were expecting to hear. And walking off, he entered a door behind the counter and disappeared. Eru’s eyes followed him as she murmured something to herself.

“...Grandpa seemed... Anyways. I’ll show you to your room now, Albel. If that’s all right with you?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. That’s fine by me. He was pretty spot on after all. I am a bit exhausted.”

Even with a few cups of coffee, it seemed my body was still bent on being tired after all. Regardless, I still hadn’t replenished my Divination uses in full either. Following Eru upstairs, we walked by several doors as she led me to the end of the hallway. We then entered an open room.

Hmm. The rooms don’t look half-bad. Actually, I definitely prefer this more than what I had before. The room that Marna provided wasn’t exactly BAD, but it felt too high class for me... I’m not really used to that sort of style after all.

Scanning the room, it was rather rustic and not too large. I had never been one to litter my surroundings with a ton of things to begin with back in my old world. As long as I had a bed and my computer back then, I could make a home out of almost anywhere. This room in the Mirth Oak Inn simply had a standard bed for one, a six-drawer dresser directly across from the front of the bed, and a single, square desk and chair to the right of that. A magic lantern hung from the wall near the doorway, seemingly removable and abled to be placed anywhere for convenience's sake. Despite it not being overly furnished, the skilled workmanship of said furnishings had been quite evident though.

You don’t notice it on first glance, but every single piece has beautifully done and detailed designs throughout the wood. Guess that should be expected of a place like Druhwood.

“...It’s not much, but we really don’t have much else to offer.”
“That’s quite the modesty there, Eru. It’s simple, yes, but it’s more than enough. Thank you for showing me the way.”
“Eh? Yes, right. You’re very welcome... Also, meal times vary. In the morning and afternoon, you’re allowed to dine at any time you want to—starting from 6AM. Whereas, dinner begins at 6PM. Please don’t be any later than 8PM though. In regards to the bathhouse, our inn has a private one for your use that’s behind the building. It’s an open-air hot spring—”
“Hot springs?!”
“Huh?!”

It was futile to even attempt containing my excitement the moment those two words left her mouth. An open-air hot spring. First coffee, and then now this? Dormou had been a lovely place, one in which I could call home now—but—it lacked both of these things.

I should bring Marna here one day, maybe—just maybe—she'll be open-minded about taking some ideas from Druhwood. A cultural exchange! All right, that’s how I’ll sell it to her. One that will better my—no, her people’s well-being.

“...Albel?”
“Ah, sorry. Please continue.”
“O-okay... As I was saying, we have an open-air hot spring that is available from 6AM to 10PM. If you have any intention on using it, please do so in between those hours.”
“May I use it more than once?!”
“Y-yes?! You can... You may use it as many times as you’d like.”

I could already feel it now. My week in Druhwood would be a calm and relaxing getaway. A vacation, one could say. The fruits of my labor from all that traveling had truly ripened and presented themselves before me in perfect form.

“I understand. Thank you for informing me. Is that everything?”
“You’re welcome... And yes, it is...”

After explaining the few ins-and-outs of the inn, she remained standing there looking toward the floor boards. As I glanced at her face, she was biting the bottom of her lip slightly, with a look of frustration for some reason.

Hm? Does she have something else she wants to tell me?

“Eru, are you sure that was everything?”
“Huh...?”
“Well, you look as if you’d like to say something else. I’m all ears, so ease your worries and speak your mind if you’d like. I won’t force you or anything though. If I’m wrong, don’t be afraid to let me know that as well.”
“...”

Still without a reply, in quiet thought. She then finally reached my eyes with her own for what felt like the first time today. It seemed like a rather rare moment. I couldn’t recall her looking directly into my eyes for longer than a second—if at all. She held that strong gaze, suddenly pushing out a series of relentless questioning as her expression began to intensify.

“...Earlier, when you said you were a Level 32 Conjurer, that was a lie, right...? Are you sure you’re just a simple traveler? With no objectives in mind? Is that really the truth?”
“...And why would you think—”
“Yesterday...!”

Her hands were now pressed against her chest, her body slightly shivering as she continued.

“I was on the mountains gathering materials. I decided to climb higher than usual since Grandpa told me about the situation with the treants and the mountain pass. So, I wanted to check it out for myself...”

Yesterday? Wait, so does that mean—

“I witnessed you fighting an army of Undead and some other...creature with red, terrifying eyes... There’s no way that someone that’s only Level 32 would be able to fight the way you did, right?!”

Her voice inflated, higher and higher, as she earnestly strove to obtain whatever answer she was direly searching for. Before I could even respond, she continued on as her adrenaline was seemingly impelling her further.

“...You asked me to believe in you, to not be fearful of you earlier, right? If you understand my caution, then shouldn’t you be more forthcoming from the beginning?! And yet, here you are, lying and hiding your true self! Feigning a mask of a normal human like everyone around you is nothing more than sightless fools, is that it?! But to what end? I had hoped you’d speak truthfully as time went on, but... Tell me... “Albel” from the Outer Region. Why—what exactly are you here for?!”

It was an unforeseen outburst, one in which I had no answer to besides the all-inclusive truth.