[Old version Archive] A Lost Lily Among Wrong Flowers

~ “You ready to get going?” ~

I was in the midst of a foggy winter night, snowflakes got as large as the tip of my finger. Walking on a brick paved street illuminated by tree sized lanterns, just barely brighter than what the moonlight had provided. It all felt like a memory, but neither that voice nor this land felt familiar.

She pulled me forth, her brown hair dancing in the mild wind, dragging me through to the end of the street cut off by a black gravel road. Crossing it, a horn shrieked and a blinding light raced ever closer.

Shocked awake, I sat myself up, threw the sheets off to one side and gasped for air. This again… Wiping the cold sweat beading on my forehead, my eyes drawn to the hand that girl pulled on in my dream. For reasons I couldn’t tell, there was a longing for it to be held.

Those memories faded by the time I walked up to my door, pushing it open, and a gust of hot, humid wind crashed into my face. Spring was ending and summer started to creep in. Wind blown in from the Clairvoyant Sea to the east humidified the Meralic Bay. Rain clouds brewed near the coast, casting down rain every few days, and dew clung onto leaves every dawn. Winter crops were ripe for harvest, and rice planted in the floodplains started to flower, busing the entire bay with merchant ships.

I stood beside the listing board outside the adventurer's guild in Malitic, a small town by the banks of the east-most river in the Detlas delta, on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Detlas. Brushing aside escort quests, a job to explore the Greater Forest of Wynnstag stood out among the rest.

The forest sat between the Great Land of Hearthstone and the watchful hills above the capital. Stretching from the west hills over to the east coast, then wrapping around the rivers down to the southern shores, roofed over with tree branches and their leaves, ponds dotted all over, and creeks carving the ground as they pleased before drying out, giving way for more to spring up.

I grabbed hold of the listing, a single pull away from tearing it off the board, a palm hand slammed down, preventing me from doing so. Following the arm up, it belonged to a merling girl, just a head shorter than me. Silver hair flowed over her fin ears and lake blue eyes then down her robe, shining white with a slight hint of blue. A twisting ashen staff in her hand, crowned with a crystal the size of my fist, eight rings hinging off on its side, with the other end capped with gold.

“Shouldn’t you pick a different quest? You don’t have someone to travel with, right? Exploring a forest alone like that is too reckless!”

She stared at me with stern eyes, unwilling to move until I gave her a satisfactory answer. She was right that I didn’t have a companion, but she was also saying a lot for someone who didn’t even have a dagger on her side.

“I’ve been into the more tame part of it before and came out alright. I’ll be fine on my own.”

I gave the listing a tug, and her grip on it tightened, her stern look turned into a frown. Shaking her head and saying that was not a good enough reason with her face alone.

“Well, what do you suggest then?”

I said that, not knowing how else to respond. But that made her hand loosen, and her expression dropped. Her eyes darted back to the listing board, giving the quest we were both holding onto a more detailed look.

“We could take the quest together.”

“I’d rather not.”

Her face pouted, and her frown returned, this time more disappointed than displeased. Her head slowly turned to the board, with her eyes still on me, before snapping back to search through the other quests.

“You’ll be going on the same path as these people, right? They are in the small town a bit north, waiting to be guided to the city under the hills near the source of the river.”

She said pointing at one of the escort quests.

“Why not at least take this quest together?”

A long minute passed and I ended up agreeing on it. After we registered our quests, she insisted on following me as I gathered up some coins and prepared myself, to observe, as she put it. With her behind me, it was hard not to notice this weird warmth radiating from her, it was calming, and oddly familiar, yet I couldn’t place my finger on it. It probably influenced my decision as well.

We passed by the docks, and a stable sat nearby. Workers were hauling grains and fruits off the backs of caravans, packing them into crates, and moving them onto ships. Most were heading for the capital, some all the way over to Fladmon and even Blossomfall, but those that reached that far were likely to just be resold to Hearthstone on their airships, since their soil can hardly grow any crops year round.

Something caught the merling’s attention, and she went off while I was taking in the view. Slow and faint gallops walked up behind me. I turned to look, only to find her returning with a horse in hand.

“We can travel faster and more comfortably with one. And it will be great company! Another soul to be with.”

The horse kept its eyes on me, letting out a soft neigh as if it was greeting me while she gave it a couple strokes on its side.

“What should we name him?”

“Don’t give it a name, griffins are hunting more often this time of the year. It will just make it more difficult to part with eventually.”

“Don’t be so pessimistic… Caramel’s a good name isn’t it? It fits his chestnut color!”

###

Sitting in an inn and waiting for my meal to be delivered, I looked out the window. Night was approaching, and the Divine Pillar rose with its ten Guardian Stars, painting the sky purple. Harpies flew back to their masters with seed bags tied to their legs, some with letters in their becks.

“Say, what’s that big scratch on your shoulder armor?”

I gave it a scrub, feeling its dents.

“It was from a leshy a year or two ago, in the Lesser Forest of Wynnstag. Maybe I should have this repaired before we set off.”

I took off that shoulder plate, it lifted the sleeve up, revealing three lines of scars. Placing it aside and making a mental note to remind myself to bring it to the blacksmith before it got too late.

“And those scars? They are from the same encounter, right?”

Giving the armor another look, I nodded yes.

“It cut through the armor into my arm. The armor was later mended by a mage, but I guess the magic wasn’t great enough so it left that mark.”

“The lesser forest is the area south of the forest that quest is taking you to right? You went into a tamer part and still got this injured and you still want to explore on your own…”

She said with a worried look, trying to hold back an obvious smug like she had just won a week long debate, before picking up her staff, its rings chimed as it got lifted.

“Sit back, a bit of magic can heal those for you.”

“No thank you. I have been offered once, barely a difference was made, no need to bother you.”

I stuck out my arm, trying to keep our distance. The joyful face that I had started to associate with her had turned sour, then back into a pout.

“Did it hurt last time they were healed? I promise it won’t this time, and it’ll be quick!”

Her words were soft but still packed with authority, it became hard to refuse, and I let her proceed. The pain that I was expecting never came. Instead, the magic felt a bit warm, or cold, refreshing might be a more correct way of describing it. The last mage tore my skin and rehealed it in an attempt to mend my scars. She healed them directly, no blood or pain. The scars faded from one end to the other, it was even quite satisfying to watch.

The way she waved her staff around, her gestures of magic were pretty. Even if I knew close to nothing about magic, I could tell she must excel at it. I should have noticed that from the beginning by how expensive her staff and robe looked.

“See, didn’t hurt, didn’t it?”

The way she convinced me, it felt familiar. Who was it again?