Chapter 2 ~ Underneath a Crimson Moon

The faint sounds of chatter echoed throughout my ears. I could tell Lily was busy helping a customer with finding a particular elixir while a few others were busy chatting amongst themselves. Getting out of my coffin and taking a moment to stretch, I checked over the black book to see how things were looking so far. Looking over the sells and inventory of the whole month, it appeared as if some of the adventurers in Nullus were buying up more potions than usual.

Closing up the book, I threw on my clothes and headed up the stairs. Lily was busy taking care of a customer. I noticed a young woman sitting in one of the chairs by the chessboard. She was dressed in a red corset and matching skirt. Around her neck was a black cloak, her hood drawn up so that no one could see her face. For someone who was trying to be incognito it was a sad sight. I tapped Lily on the shoulder and whispered into her ear after she was finished with her customer.

“I take it that is customer that wanted the Moonvale.”

“Yeah, I told her to wait until you came out. She’s been sitting there with her hood drawn up like so kind of assassin. It’s almost too cute,” Lily giggled.

“I’ll have a talk with her. Let’s see how this goes.”

I made my way over to the woman and sat down in the chair across from her. Even with her hood, I was able to recognise that she was the wife of Duke Hilbert. Running through all the knowledge on the duke, I pieced together what Lady Hilbert planned to do with the Moonvale.

“You are a long way from home, Lady Hilbert.”

She seemed surprised that I knew it was her and removed her hood.

“H-How did you know it was me? I was in disguise.”

“You’re not fooling anyone with that I’m sad to say. So, what brings you here?”

I watched as Lady Hilbert removed a single gold coin from her pouch and placed it on the table.

“I am hoping to buy a rare plant that I believe you could sell to me.”

“Moonvale, correct?”

Moonvale was a rare herb that only grew in the moonlight and was hard to find due to the soil that it grew in. I knew of all the places that it could grow and managed to cultivate some of the herbs before coming to Nullus. Sadly, it was in short supply as it did not grow anywhere around here. There were two primary uses that Moonvale had. One of the more well known uses was for stopping blindness. While the herb could not treat permanent blindness it worked to stop it from becoming permanent due to a disease or illness.

The other use was of a more darker nature. Moonvale was, in its natural state, a poison that could easily be ingested and hard to trace in the body. It could be crushed and served into various types of foods or drinks. In short, this woman was hoping to kill someone. If I had to guess, she was looking to kill her husband, the duke. As to why was anyone’s guess.

“Are you aware about the uses of Moonvale?”

“I am.”

“I’m assuming you plan to use it for its more darker uses.”

“What? No, a maid of ours contracted a disease and—”

“You could at least do a better job of trying to lie to someone skilled in plants and alchemy. There is no way you would come all the way out here just to buy a rare herb for a maid when you have various doctors in the capital. So, why don’t you just come out and tell me the truth so we can get down to business.”

The woman sighed and removed another coin from her pouch. I could not help but laugh that she believed two gold coins would amount to what she was asking me to do.

“I need the herb because I want to kill my husband. He is always so violent to me and our children.”

I continued to listen to the woman’s lies and pretended to understand. The duke was far from the man she had described. It was clear that she wished to kill him and take half the fortune that she would get upon his death.

“Are you aware of a guild known as the Shadow Roses?”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

“They can ‘have a chat’ with your husband, if you like. In fact, two-hundred gold coins will ensure he ‘goes on a vacation’ quietly, of course.”

I watched as Lady Hilbert’s leg started to bounce up and down. It was clear that she was nervous about the conversation was going.

“How can you guarantee that what you say will happen?”

“I have some connections that could help. All you need is the gold. After all, a life is worth quite a lot.”

She placed the pouch of coins onto the table. Opening it up, I quickly counted all the coins to ensure there was two-hundred of them.

“Rest assured that I will see your request is met,” I said with a gentle smile.

“You better. If it’s not, I will see you beheaded.”

I could not help chuckle at the comment.

“You can certainly try.”

Lady Hilbert did not speak another word as I watched her leave the shop. She was clearly new to how life in the shadows operated. Standing to my feet I made my way over to the counter and handed Lily the bag of coins.

“This is… a lot of coin for Moonvale.”

“I’ll being having a chat with my sister soon.”

Lily did not show any emotion at the statement. I knew she did not wish to recall the past.

“Anyway, I think we should have soup tonight.”

“Soup would be good. I can add some mushrooms and salt to it.”

I smiled and watched Lily head up the stairs to the kitchen. After placing the bag of coins in my room, I closed up the shop for the night and made my way up to the kitchen. The soup had a pleasant aroma to it that made me wish I could taste human food. Taking a seat at the table, the smell of basil graced began to fill my nostrils. Lily was a fantastic cook and enjoyed it. Still, there was a part of me that always felt bad for not being able to enjoy her cooking. Every meal she prepared was always for her, while I would only have a sip or two of red wine.

She never complained about cooking various meals for herself, although I was positive that deep down, she wished I could join her. I took a few sips of the wine and thought about what the two of us could do on our day off tomorrow. While the capital had plenty of things to do from the arena to festivals, there was little to do in Nullus. It was truly a quiet place to live that served little in the way of entertainment. Even still, it was a nice place to live and enjoy the surroundings of the world. This was something the elves did from my interactions with a small group. They were keenly aware of the grass, trees, plants and animals that surrounded the forest which would be considered their home. Estella was one elf I grew a close bond with over our time together in the woods. She exposed a lot of her secrets to me about how elves lived and even the training. From an early age, elves were taught how to sense the feeling in the trees. Many elves would get in touch with their surroundings by exploring the woods, using their hands to feel the tree, their bare feet to feel the dirt around them. This allowed them to be aware and alert on higher level than many skilled adventurers. During my time with her I also learned about how sensitive elves feet were. Magic was apart of the world and in everything from rocks to trees, water to air. There was nothing that did not have magic, save for humans which held none. Various races drew upon magic from different parts of their body, that is to say, it felt stronger in some areas than others.

For us vampires, the magic was stronger near the neck. The elves had a strong affinity near their feet which explained how they were able to become scouts. Estella, in some ways, reminded me of Lily. They were both fairly carefree, cheerful and enjoyed the outdoors. Both of them were extremely ticklish too which my sister often took advantage of to get them to do favours for her. Still, I enjoyed Estella’s company and wished I could have seen her one last time before I departed.

“So, Nyizel, what should we do tomorrow since we have a day off?” Lily asked as she finished the last of her soup.

“How do you feel about a picnic in the moonlight?”