Vol.1 Ch.7 - Stringwood

Around me I saw a familiar visage. The calming sound of the nearby birds’song harmonically tuned to the wind that whispered many tales without stopreverberated in my ears. In front of me laid the Handbook of the MasterAdventurer Schnell Douglas, and was opened on the 58th chapter titled“Great Undertaking”. It told of his exploits in the continent of Sulfury, TheWorld’s Terminal Point.In this particular chapter he spoke in a noticeably more calm and melancholicmanner. Indeed, it was in this very chapter where we learn of his unnamedfriend’s passing. This is a friend who had accompanied Schnell across themajority of his journey, but even still Schnell didn’t mention his name evenonce in the entire book so as to protect his privacy. This man was thebackbone of Schnell’s motivation to keep exploring, so with him gone it ishere where Schnell begins to ponder settling down somewhere to live out thedays his friend could not as he quietly reminisced about the good times theyshared.The chapter was emotional, to say the least. So emotional in fact, that I hadnoticed tears falling on the Handbook I was reading. Seeing as Booksweren’t that cheap, I hastily started trying to rub off the tears from the pagesso as to minimize the water damage. Alas, the letters from the Book werescrubbed off along with the tears.I panicked as I started fretting over what my parents will say to having ruinedtheir gift to me, but before long I saw two figures standing in front of me.Mother was weeping heavily, to the point of breaking down at any second,and father gave me a stern look that showed nothing but disappointment in hiseyes. I started feeling a sense of guilt as they kept on shaming me for runningaway and abandoning them, but ultimately remembered why I even did so inthe first place.I want to be proud of myself, and prove to the world that I am somebodyworthy of attaining my goals. Staying in Whitehood isn’t gonna allow meto spread my wings the way I want to, so heading off into the vast world isthe only logical option to get to that point.With such a bold proclamation, I respectfully declined their outstretchedarms and turned my back towards them. I had realized I was dreaming awhile ago, but I didn’t mind. I wanted closure, sure, but more than that Iwanted to see my parents’ faces. I hope that one day I get to see them in reallife once again, and that when that day comes they will have forgiven me…“….ke up….wake up….” A soft voice rang out.In a minute, mom.“… Psst, hey Grim, wake up…!” The voice called out once again.Mnnn… Nope, not in a million years… This bed… is way too comfy…“WAKE THE HELL UP, JACKASS!” The voice dropped the formalities andshook me wide awake.“Argh! Crap! What is it, Ed?! What do you want?!” I answered his calls witha grumpy tone.I can’t believe I actually thought my mother was talking to me, howembarrassing. Lord Prylos, please tell me I didn’t murmur anything weirdin my sleep!“It’s high noon already, Grim, we have to go find some food.” He said as amatter of fact.“Right, I am a bit peckish. How much money do we have?” I asked whilstclenching my rumbling stomach.“Well, the money we got from selling our unneeded tools gave us about 50silver coins and 89 bronze coins.” He calculated our net worth.“That’s…not gonna be enough.” I answered back honestly, ”Let’s check theplaza for any cheap stalls.”As we made our way to the plaza, our stomachs growling with each step, wewe’re appalled to see the prices the stalls had set up.“Forty Silver?!? For just a single platter?!” We stood with our mouths agapeas we looked at the menus the stalls advertised.Now here’s the thing. A hundred bronze coins give you a single silver coin,and a hundred silver coins gives you a gold coin. Essentially, our entiresavings were just over a single meal’s worth. Of course, if you weretravelling solo, no issues would arise from this, but there’s two of us andwe’re both pretty much starving, so sharing is out of the question.“We can’t go on like this! The plaza’s too expensive!” Said Ed, all panicked,”We gotta find some place, and fast! My stomach’s killing me!”“Wait…That’s it!” A flash of inspiration suddenly hit me, ”Think about it:The plaza is the first place tourists visit in a town, right?”“Well yeah, even we visited it first, after all.” Ed confirmed my hypothesis.“Exactly! That’s why the street vendors will make the prices crazy high! It’sto get naïve tourists like us to overpay!”“Ooh, Grim, you’re a genius! Then that means all we have to do is go tosome run down part of town and we’ll be able to eat to our heart’s content!”He started praising me as he figured out the rest of my plan by himself, “Butdo you really think the vendors here would be that devious?”As he posed this question, both of us imagined the face of that devilishtravelling merchant who scammed us out of our golden ticket, the snair, forjust a couple of ordinary rocks. Needless to say, we both spit on the groundas if we were spitting on him, before quietly agreeing that the world ofbartering and merchantry is a cruel one.Even still, it looks like Ed’s finally getting into it now. Back when we werestill in Whitehood, he was always so timid and scared to make the first step,but he feels like an entirely different person now. It’s as if the shackleschaining him to his home village have finally been broken off. What arelief…!We made our way passed the plaza, and headed off to a ton of back alleyswith little to no results, though. I had thought we’d at least find a stall or twowilling to sell us enough food to sustain ourselves, but no matter how far wewent from the city’s plaza, the prices stayed just as expensive as ever. Edwasn’t doing so good, his stomach was making an almost constant noise,indicating he was pretty starved by this point.“Grim…wait up…-” He said quietly, as if devoid of all strength.“Ed?” I turned to ask if he’s doing alright.I heard a thunk, so I went to check up on him. What I didn’t expect was thatEd had collapsed on the floor from starvation.“Ed! Wake up, man! Someone help, quick!” I started lightly slapping hischeeks as I shouted out for aid.After a few more attempts at screaming out for help, though, I was gettingrestless. No one was showing up, so I had to take matters into my own hands.I went to pick Ed up and intended to carry him out to a viewpoint above themain street. That way someone could hopefully see us and offer their helpsomehow.As I was picking him up, I caught a glimpse of a few men standing near thealley we were in, chuckling at our pathetic state as they mocked and jeered atus from the sidelines. They just looked on as the situation unfurled, unfazedfrom how dire it truly was. I was so angry at their lack of action that I hadactually considered spitting on them right then and there, but thought theymight be dangerous so I ultimately walked past them. Getting into troublewould only make things more dif icult...“Just… a little… more!” I said as I looked in front of me to see the rays ofsunlight peeking out from between the surrounding buildings.With the last of my strength I had successfully brought Ed out to theviewpoint, but there was a large crowd and a ton of traffic. No one wouldeven hear me if I yelled for help, I needed to garner some attention and fast.As I pondered what to do, Ed opened his eyes a bit. A huge wave of reliefmade my legs wobble, as I myself was running on fumes as well.“Ugh…Grim?” He slowly opened his eyes, ”What’s happening?”“Ed! Oh thank Prylos, you’re awake!” I clasped my hands together in aprayer motion before explaining the situation to him, ”Listen, you collapsedfrom starvation, man.”“Oh… Makes sense why my stomach hurts so much now… Can’t move amuscle…”What now? Come on, I get you’re hungry, but try to at least stand up on yourown. Heck, I’ll even help you, just try not to collapse again. Certainly Edmust be exaggerating, r-right?“I’m weak, Grim, I genuinely feel too sluggish to even stand up. I’d kill forsome food, though…”No no no! You can’t give up, fight! Don’t let hunger best you this early on! Ahcome on, I gotta think of a way to draw these people’s attention before Edreally does succumb! This is actually kind of getting scary!Just then, an idea flicked in my head.“Ed, this is gonna hurt a bit, but…” I said as I hoisted him up on the railing.“W-what are you doing? NO WAIT STO-”I threw Ed over the fence onto the street below us.Don’t worry, there were trash bags underneath, I justified my actions in myhead. But still the scene, as well as his genuine scream of fear, allowed forthe people on the street to look his way and tend to him. Nice going, Lune!Gold star play right there!Thus, he was immediately taken care of, but as for me though…“That kid above us! He pushed this kid off! I saw it with my own eyes!” Acivilian pointed up to me as everyone else followed his finger’s direction.I uhh… I didn’t account for this scenario.***Hello there, this is your friendly felon Lune speaking, and I’m currently in aninterrogation room waiting for Ed to come pick me up. Hmm? Youaccidentally skipped a few chapters? No, no, you’re on the right page, Iassure you. But to completely prove my point, I’m gonna have to explainwhat happened after I pushed Ed off the platform.As people went to call the local doctor and tend to Ed’s wounds, someheroic vigilantes took it upon themselves to try and enact justice.“I can explain!! It was all part of my plan!” I yelled back at them as I hastilyran through the city’s alleyways once more.“All part of your plan? So you did do it on purpose!” The bulky men startedcatching up to me after I made the misunderstanding even worse.For Gods’ sake, can you really be this dumb? Muscleheads these days haveno time to listen to you at all, I swear…“I’ll hand you off to the authorities…” The dumbass exclaimed smugly.Wouldn’t that be good, though?, I thought as I quickly shot back, “Do it! Atleast they’ll listen to m-”“…but not after I beat the shit out of you first.” He finished the previoussentence....oh, it appears my days are already numbered. I quickly ran into a dead endand got cornered with no way of escape. Oh come on, there has to be a wayto get out of this predicament somehow… Wait, that’s it!“Hey look! A mother snair and her children!” I stopped to point to the side.“…Phah! Idiot, snairs are indigenous to the western side of Secundis onlUNGH!” He suddenly yelped in pain.The bluff was a success! He was too preoccupied to notice my fist goingstraight to his crotch. As a man myself, I would know that there’s really norecovering from that, at least for a good long while.As he laid there in pain, another onlooker stepped in, but he had a fatal flaw.He too, had a crotch within punching distance.After I managed to escape the scene, I had finally made it out to the mainplaza yet again. I was quickly running out of stamina, and my hunger wasreally wearing me down. I had no other choice but to lay low in a nearbyestablishment.I didn’t really think too much about where to go, I just found the nearestrestaurant and walked in. Even still, I tried to make sure the place was asempty as possible, since that way I would have a lesser chance of gettingfound. The place I had entered was this somewhat old timey restaurant thatlooked very ethnic in style. Since no one was there in terms of customers, itwas a no-brainer to hide there.“Excuse me, sir.” I greeted the waiter in an overly-polite manner, “It is withgreat displeasure that I inform you of my aching stomach.”The place didn’t seem too expensive for me to eat there, so I thought if hesaw my courteous side he’d have mercy and give me some grub.“Hmm? What did you say, child? You’re hungry?” Said the waiter with agentle, yet worried tone.He was quite old. Older than my father, but not by much. You could see somegray hairs on him, but otherwise he was quite the dapper individual. Donninga black, butler like uniform, he truly lived up to the image of a high-classgentleman that I had first ever heard of from Schnell’s Handbook. With shortbut well-kempt hair that contrasted his fair skin, he was definitely an etalonof elegance.Even with all this, he seemed like a very kind soul. He reminds me of mygrandfather who passed away when I was 6, so there’s also a nostalgicfeeling to him.“Come now, boy. Let’s get you fed.” He suggested what I most wanted tohear.Immediately after seeing me in my current state, worn down with stomachgrowling, he gave me a plate of mushroom stew. The delicious scent quicklyfilled the room as I wasted no time digging in.“Kids these days are all picky eaters, so I hope you can handle-” He saidwithout even noticing me speedily eating away.“Thanks for the food!” I said as I put my spoon down.In a matter of seconds, I had already finished my plate. It was stew that youcould eat just about anywhere, nothing more to it than that. But seeing as Iwas starving and in dire need of something hearty, it was like finding anoasis in the middle of Abyssus Solis!“Thank you so much, grandp-err, sir” I almost said something embarrassingagain, “I don’t have any money on me, but I’ll make sure to pay you back inful-”“Pfft! Hahahahahaha!” He burst out laughing, immediately breaking theillusion of a dapper man in favor of showing his honest side.…He started laughing at me, did he perhaps hear me call him grandpa? Ifretted over my slip of the tongue.“Oh Heavens! I’ve never seen a boy eat so fast!” He commended my agilitywith the spoon, ”Your stomach isn’t gonna accept that much food that quick,you know! Hahahahahaha!”Thank all Five God’s it wasn’t because of the grandpa thing! Aftercomposing himself, he made an audible “ahem” and pondered:“But why are you in such a hurry, boy? There’s plenty of food to eat, or…is itbecause this old man is making you uncomfortable…” He timidly backedaway.“Not at all! In fact sir, I quite enjoy your presence, and if I had the time, I’deat your entire pantry!” I proudly professed.He chuckled at that one once again. He’s an honest and cheerful fellow, isn’the?“Oh! How splendid, you truly are a gluttonous child. Tell me, boy, what isyour name, and by the Gods what is it that’s keeping you from eating here?Being picky is bad, but being too apprehensive is even worse in myopinion.”“My name is Lune Grimheart, and I have to go meet up with a friend I gotseparated from.” I tried to explain without going into too much detail.“I see. Well then, Lune, I am Arthur.” He introduced himself.Nice to meetcha’, Arthur.“In any case, if you’re looking for your friend in this vast city, going outstarving won’t give you much time.” He protested, “So why don’t you stay abit before you go?”His points made sense, so I obliged and stayed. Sorry Ed, I’ll treat you tosome food when I get the funds for it.Arthur told me all about his restaurant. Apparently, it used to be quitepopular amongst the residents of Stringwood, but in recent years he barelygets even a couple of them come in a day.“It is probably due to me not adapting to the new generation,” He sighed,“People love to visit new places when they open up, and old ones like minesimply get forgotten over time.”The story he mentioned was very saddening, to slowly get forgotten to timewould be like a nightmare to me, so having it happen to such a nice old manis unforgivable. Although, it reminds me of that dream I had this morning.That friend of Schnell’s, he too was forgotten to time simply because hedidn’t want to try hard enough to be remembered. I would like to help Arthurin some way to avoid that fate, but first I need to go find Ed.After finishing both my plate and my chat, I bid farewell to Arthur andheaded out. May we meet again soon, Grandpa Arthur!As I made my way to the viewpoint where I pushed Ed off, I had paid closeattention to other establishments nearby which customers always seemed toflock to and noticed an important detail. Most of the more successfulbusinesses were painted in a vivid color, whereas Arthur’s establishment isa lot more village-themed. This made them stand out and diverted people’sattention to them way more than his did. Think of it this way: your eyes aremore inclined to look at a shining red flower than a dull green or brown one,because the latter just blends in with the surroundings. I should definitely tellthis to gramps when I find Ed, I’m sure he’ll be overjoyed!