Chapter 3 - Maïkos - Errands and Supplies

The rays of the sun, filtering through the leaves of the trees, warmed Maïkos' black feathers, making their blue hue become more apparent. The warmth of the scenery, and the sweet smell of the forest were slowly taking care of the hangover he woke up with, filling him with a newfound energy, eager of the journey that was about to begin.

"What a crazy thing", he told himself. Going on a quest with two people he just met, and Eilyna, that, sure, he knew for quite some time now, but not really more than a few months.

Looking at the different stands in the market, he noticed something that could be akin to rope. How convenient. The merchant looked at him with a smile that barely hid his stare filled with caution as the Tengu made his way towards him. Rude. Sure, it was not common to see a tengu, and his raven-like appearance often made people weary of him, but really ? Racism ? In the great capital of the Elven realm ? He tried to ignore the merchant's attitude and asked him for thirty or so feet of rope, which should be more than enough for the journey.

Frowning at him, the merchant turned around towards his merchandise "Normal or magical ?".

Maïkos paused for a bit. Magical ? A rope ? What in the hell could a magical rope even be useful for ? To hang yourself without the need of a ceiling or a chair ? "Normal please".

Sensing the hint of amusement on his face, the merchant seemed to get on the defensive, dropping his smile entirely before turning around and silently grabbing a rope, cutting a few feet while mumbling things to himself that Maïkos could not quite decipher. Handing him the rope, he added, "3 gold pieces please."

Maïkos did not know much about ropes to be honest, but even he could understand that this was ridiculous. Three gold pieces could allow someone to live peacefully for a few weeks in a city like this one without problem. This guy was clearly trying to rip him off. Nice. What a way to start the journey.

Remembering the face of the old councilman he met just before, the birdkin looked at the merchant with a sarcastic grin "Sure, I will go inform Kelin Gabalden directly of what he owes you and you will be paid".

Upon hearing this name, the merchant, as if frozen in time, stared at him in silence, a mix of shame and terror painting on his face as he realized that he may just have doomed his career.

He started stuttering some excuse. "I—I'm sorry, I didn't know you were an acquaintance of Kelin. No need to pay then really, you can just have it for free, there."

Engulfed in his newfound power, Maïkos seized the rope from the hands of the merchant, sustaining his grin, and displaying an, oh so fake, pleased expression as he aimed for the jugular.

"Oh, but I cannot. You are too generous. I will make sure you are rewarded to the true extent of your generosity."

The shame on the face of the merchant transformed into fear. He tried to reason with him, offering him other things from his stand. But Maïkos was already gone, savoring his little victory. Not like he would really tell Kelin, but it felt great having the tools to fight against such occurrences once in a while. Damn hypocrisy.

Scanning through the rest of the supplies that were needed for the journey, he inquisitively gazed at the rest of the market. He spotted Eilyna not far from him, salvaging through the different articles of the market, though none of the items that caught her interest her looked of any importance for the mission at hand. Stones, necklaces, bracelets and rings. Materials for spell casting. What weird souls these sorcerers were. Quietly chuckling to himself, he brought his attention back to the task at hand, going back and forth from stand to stand to acquire any of the materials needed.

Lights. Potions. A tent.

It should have tired him to the bone, yet the sheer excitement that emerged from the perspective of spending the next few days on a quest for the hero party lightened his mood, making every task easier than the one before. After gathering every single item from the list he had created, he looked around the market, hoping to spot Eilyna again to tell her that they had to go back to the tavern. He spotted her after a few moments, at the stand of a grumpy old man selling what he guessed were writing supplies. Was Eilyna a writer? Well, it could be possible. He had never seen her write, but he had caught her reading several times before, so it made some sense He approached her from behind, witnessing her walking away from the stand with a stack of paper in her hand that almost prevented him from seeing her face. Stopping in front of him, he heard her voice emerging from behind the stack.

"Could you help me instead of standing around?"

Quickly executing her orders, he grabbed about half of the stack of paper, revealing her delightful expression at what looked to be the best purchase she had made in the last decade.

"Sorry about the space that it will take. I will try to link them in a short time so that it will be easier to transport. In the meantime, thanks for holding onto them."

Maïkos looked at her, his hands filled with paper, a bag full of supplies on his back, wondering how he had gone from being this majestic bird to a mere grocery carrier. But well, it was not that bad to be honest. At least he was doing this of his own accord.

He silently signed toward the tavern, prompting her to follow him and get back with the others before they started waiting too long. As they approached the tavern, he sighted the gnome and the catfolk, Biwidwi and Kluegus if he recalled properly, who seemed to be discussing an important matter. Well, discussing was an exaggeration. It looked more like Biwidwi was monologuing while the catfolk pondered the different informations that were given to him. Their presence stopped the gnome in his tracks while he looked at the humongous stack of paper Eilyna was carrying before starting to monologue again.

"I was telling Kluegus about the informations I gathered about Annoc and the artifacts at the temple of Em'rel. The artifacts seem to be powerful and they could very well tip the balance in the war against the Dark Elves themselves."

He continued, his excitement barely contained.

"We are heroes, sort of. Well, maybe not, but we are part of the equation. That's cool. I can't wait to tell this to my family, they so won't believe me."

Maïkos laughed softly at his enthusiasm. But deep down inside he could not argue that he felt the same. Well, he did not have a family to tell it to. But who knew. Maybe his children one day? He could tell them the story of how he helped save the world and end the war. Snapping out of his dreams, he looked at the three people surrounding him before opening his beak.

"You are right. This is important, and that's why I think we should depart as soon as we can, if all of you are ready of course."

Not hearing a single complaint, they hastily made their way toward the council, ready to tell Kelin that the hour of departure had arrived. Stepping into the Council's headquarters, they were quickly met with the old councilman.

He was speaking with a tall elven woman standing besides one of the windows. The light filtering through the glass framing her silouhette. Several attendants moved through the room yet none dared interrupt the conversation. Even their footsteps seemed lighter near her. The woman stood perfectly still, her hands calmly floded behind her back, her posture straight in a way that could only be forged by habit. The silver ornaments of her robes traced subtle patterns in the dark fabric, catching the light whenever she moved. An impressive aura of confidence emanated from her, one of power and authority.

Kelin turned his eyes towards the group, maintaining their gazes for a few seconds before claiming, "Ah, there you are. Did you finish your preparations?" He waved at the woman next to him. "This is Elwyn Quesedil, the head of the council. She insisted on seeing you before you depart."

Maïkos gulped a bit. It wasn't necessary. Really. Kelin resumed.

"For the horses and rations, I already talked to the head of the guard. Everything is waiting for you at the bottom of the city. The journey to the Blue Lake will take around two days, after which I invite you to hastily make your way back here in order to relay the prophecy to us. We will try to alert the hero party as soon as we can after this, but don't worry about this, it's not really something for you to handle."

The woman next to him shifted her cold gaze toward the group, sizing them up with her mere eyes. Maïkos could not read her expression, yet he could not help but feel unworthy of the task at hand. Hell, he felt unworthy to breathe the same air as her for all it mattered. After a short silence that felt like an eternity, she finally spoke.

"In the name of the council, I wish all of you a safe journey to the Lake. Thank you for your cooperation in this mission"

Turning her head back towards Kelin, the woman nodded before excusing herself, peeking a final glance at the group as if to paint their faces in her mind before walking away. While he was not sure of it, Maïkos swore he could have seen a tiny, pleased smile just before she turned away. But it might just have been his imagination toying with him.

In silence, they followed Kelin down the stairs going down the trunks that held the city up, arriving on the solid ground after a few solid minutes of walking. Here, in front of them, were two horses, already set up with bags that seemed to contain enough food to sustain four people for a week. Exactly what they were waiting for. Kelin, next to them, nodded, appearing rather content that everything was going smoothly according to plan. He helped them load their different supplies on the horses before waving them goodbye, adding a few encouragements that were more than welcomed considering the pressure Elwyn had made them feel just earlier.

A few minutes after departing the town, the reality caught up to them. Maïkos glanced at the group. All seemed as stunned as he was by the fact that this was happening to them. That this was real. That they truly were going on a quest given to them by the council of the capital of the whole realm. Eilyna, next to him, walked hesitantly, almost as if she was waiting to wake up from a dream. Without success. He turned his head toward her and managed to say a few words.

"Are you okay?"

She stared at him, hesitant. "Yeah. It's just... weird to be here you know. It wasn't really what I was waiting for when I left my home." She pondered for a bit. "But it's not that bad to be honest. I quite enjoy it even. I hope all will go well."

Maïkos looked at her for a small time before smiling, "I'm sure all will be okay. The mission won't be long anyway."

But he too was worrying, deep down. Worries that the overwhelming silence surrounding him and his companions did not calm at all.