1.7: Stringwood

“….ke up….wake up….”

In a minute, mom.

“WAKE THE HELL UP!”

“AAAAGH! SHIT! WHAT IS IT, ED?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”

I can’t believe I actually thought my mother was talking to me, how embarrassing.

“It’s high noon already, we have to go find some food.”

“Right, I am a bit peckish. How much money do we have?”

“Well, the money we got from selling our unneeded tools gave us about 1 silver coin and 30 bronze coins.”

“That’s…not gonna be enough. Let’s check the plaza for any cheap stalls.”

As we made our way to the plaza, our stomachs growling with each step, we we’re appalled to see the prices the stalls had set up.

“HALF A GOLD COIN?!? FOR A SINGLE MEAL?!”

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 entire savings were just over a fiftieth of a meal.

“We can’t go on like this! The plaza’s too expensive! We gotta find some place, and fast! My stomach’s killing me!” said Ed all panicked.

“Wait…That’s it! Think about it: The plaza is the first place tourists visit in a town, right?”

“Well yeah, even we visited it first, after all.”

“Exactly! That’s why the street vendors will make the prices crazy high!”

“Oh, OOOOOOH! Grim, you’re a genius! Then that means all we have to do is go to some run down part of town and we’ll be able to eat to our heart’s content!”

Looks like he’s finally getting into it now.

We made our way past the plaza, and headed off to a ton of back alleys with little to no results. Ed wasn’t doing so good, he was pretty starved by this point.

“Grim…wait up…-”

“Ed?”

I heard a thunk, so I went to turn around. Ed collapsed on the floor from starvation.

***

“ED! WAKE UP, MAN! SOMEONE HELP, QUICK!”

After a few more attempts at screaming out for help, I was getting restless. I went to pick Ed up, and intended to carry him out to a viewpoint above the main street. That way someone could hopefully help over there.

As I was picking him up, I caught a glimpse of a few men standing near the alley we were in. They just looked on as the situation unfurled. I was so angry at their lack of action that I had actually considered spitting on them, but thought they might be dangerous, so I walked past them.

“Just… a little… more!”

With the last of my strength, I brought Ed out to the viewpoint, which was basically a second floor walkway on which the tourists would usually take their dates, but there was a large crowd and a ton of traffic underneath. No one would even hear me if I yelled for help.

As I pondered what to do, Ed opened his eyes a bit.

“Ugh…Grim? What’s happening?”

“Ed! Oh thank Prylos, you’re awake! Listen, you collapsed from starvation, man.”

“Oh… Makes sense why I can’t really move my body…”

W-what?

“I’m weak, Grim, I can’t move.”

Nonononononono, you can’t give up. Fight! Come on, I gotta think of a way to draw these people’s attention to you!

Just then, an idea flicked in my head.

“Ed, this is gonna hurt a bit, but…”

“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, but the scene, as well as his genuine scream of fear allowed for the people to look his way and tend to him.

He was immediately took care of, as for me though…

“That kid above us! He pushed this kid off! I saw it with my own eyes!”

I didn’t account for this scenario.

***

Hello there, this is your friendly felon Lune speaking, and I’m currently in an interrogation room waiting for Ed to come pick me up.

Hmm? You accidentally skipped a few chapters? No, no, you’re on the right page, I assure you.

But to completely prove my point, I’m gonna have to explain what happened after pushing Ed.

As people went to call the local doctor and tend to Ed’s wounds, some heroic vigilantes took it upon themselves to try and enact justice.

“I can explain!! It was all part of my plan!”

“All part of your plan? So you DID do it on purpose!”

For fuck’s sake, can you really be this dumb?

“I’ll hand you off to the authorities…” the dumbass exclaimed smugly.

“Do it! At least they’ll listen to m-”

“…but not after I beat the shit out of you.”

...oh, it appears my days are already numbered.

I gotta think of a way out of this predicament.

“Hey look! A mother snair and her children!”

“…you really think I’m that du-UNGH!”

The bluff was a success! He was too preoccupied to notice my fist going straight to his crotch.

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 main plaza yet again. I was quickly running out of stamina, and my hunger was really wearing me down. I had no other choice but to lay low in a nearby establishment.

I didn’t really think too much about where to go, I just found the nearest restaurant and walked in.

“Excuse me, sir.” I greeted the waiter in an overly-polite manner, “It is with great 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 he saw my courteous side he’d have mercy and give me some grub.

“Hmm? What did you say, child? You hunger?” said the waiter with a gentle, yet worried tone.

He was quite old. Older than my father, but not by much. You could see some gray hairs on him, but otherwise he was quite the dapper individual.

Donning a black, butler like uniform, he truly lived up to the image of a high-class gentleman that I had first ever heard of from Schnell’s handbook. With short but well-kempt hair that contrasted his fair skin, he was definitely an etalon of elegance.

Even with all this, he seemed like a very kind soul. He reminds me of my grandfather who passed away when I was 6, so there’s also a nostalgic feeling to him.

“Come now, boy. Let’s get you fed.”

Immediately after seeing me in my current state, worn down with stomach growling, he gave me a plate of mushroom stew.

“Kid’s these days are all picky eaters, so I hope you can handle-”

“Thanks for the food!”

In a matter of seconds, I had already finished my plate.

“Thank you so much, gran-err, sir” I almost said something embarrassing again, “I don’t have any money on me, but I’ll make sure to pay you back in ful-”

“Pfft! Hahahahahaha!”

…He started laughing at me, did he perhaps hear me call him grandpa?

“Oh Heavens! I’ve never seen a boy eat so fast! 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.

After composing himself, he did an audible “ahem” and pondered:

“But why are you in such a hurry, boy? There’s plenty of food to eat, or…is it because this old man is making you uncomfortable…”

“NOT AT ALL! In fact, sir, I quite enjoy your presence, and if I had the time, I’d eat your entire pantry!”

He chuckled at that one.

“Oh! How splendid, you truly are a gluttonous child. Tell me, boy, what is your 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.”

“My name is Lune Grimheart, and I have to go meet up with a friend I got separated from.”

“I see. Well then, Lune, I am Arthur.”

Nice to meetcha’, Arthur.

***

“In any case, if you’re looking for your friend in this vast city, going out starving won’t give you much time.” he protested, “So why don’t you stay a bit before you go?”

His points made sense, so I obliged and stayed. Sorry Ed, I’ll treat you to some food when I get the funds for it.

Arthur told me all about his restaurant. Apparently, it used to be quite popular amongst the residents of town, but in recent years he barely gets even a couple a day.

“It is probably due to me not adapting to the new generation,” he said, “people love to visit new places when they open up, and old ones like mine simply get forgotten over time.”

The story he mentioned was very saddening, to slowly get forgotten to time would be like a nightmare to me, so having it happen to such a nice old man is unforgivable. I would like to help him in some way if I can, but first I need to go find Ed.

After finishing both my plate and my chat, I bid farewell to Arthur and headed out.

As I made my way to the viewpoint where I pushed Ed off, I had payed close attention to other establishments nearby which customers always seemed to flock to and noticed an important detail. Most of the more successful businesses were painted in a vivid color. This made them stand out and diverted people’s attention to them. Think of it this way: your eyes are more inclined to look at a shining red flower than a dull white or gray one. I should definitely tell this to gramps when I find Ed.