Chapter Seventy-One — Friendship is Magical
Chapter Seventy-One — Friendship is Magical “You... agree?” I said.Amaryllis rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately, I do.”I looked around the Exploration Guild’s lobby, just to make sure there wasn’t some sort of prank wizard hiding in one corner, then, with a growing smile, I turned to Awen and grabbed both of her hands. “Amaryllis agrees! We’re going to kidnap you so hard!”“Awa, I, I look forward to it, I think,” Awen said.Amaryllis cleared her throat. “Do you at least want to hear my reasoning?” she wondered aloud.“Sure!” I said. “I know you love talking.”She glared, not that it stopped her from explaining. “Awen deserves better, which is already a decent start. This will ingratiate us with Abraham, her fool of an uncle, and if Awen gains any power in the future she might be indebted to us, and I don’t like the local humans.”“Ah, that last one was a little... speciest,” I said. “But it’s... for a good cause?”“Sure,” Amaryllis agreed. “Did you pick out a mission?”I shook my head. “Not really. I did see one that looked neat, but we got to talking about kidnapping Awen and I got distracted. Sorry?”Amaryllis huffed and moved over to the mission book. “Show me.”The mission that I had found was fairly simple. Travel out of Greenshade heading North and collect samples of any interesting or useful plants along the way, then return the samples, and a map of their locations, back to the Guild who would provide it to a local Alchemist’s group. “I think no one took it yet because it’s kind of boring to most people.”“But you have a Gardening skill that might help you with it. No tight deadline either. We can grab this and use it as an excuse to meander along our route for a ways. If we’re careful we’ll find easy things to fight and gain experience with.”“That sounds wonderful,” I said.“Awa, f-fight?” Awen said.“Don’t worry, Awen, Broccoli will keep you safe,” I said while flashing her a thumbs-up.Amaryllis sighed. “I doubt your ability to keep yourself safe,” she said. “The area around Greenshade and towards the Nesting Kingdom should be relatively safe. We, that is, the harpy clans, make a point of keeping the area around the foothills of the Harpy Mountains clear of the more threatening monsters.”I grinned and nodded along. “Cool! So, we’re taking the mission?”Amaryllis agreed and soon she was back by the counter and registering the two of us for a bit of flower picking. Last time I had tried something like that, I had met Oak, so maybe this time would be just as fun. Though hopefully with fewer tentacle monsters. Awen didn’t seem to have the constitution for dealing with those.When Amaryllis had finished up with all the dull paperwork stuff, we began to head out. The moment I started to reach a hand for Awen she placed hers in mine, though she did it with a bit of a blush.“Miss Bunch?” Awen asked.“You can call me Broccoli,” I said.“I like calling her moron, or idiot,” Amaryllis said with more than a little snark. “It is both amusing and keeps her feet on Dirt.”“Awaaa Br-Broccoli,” Awen stuttured. “Why are you helping me? I appreciate it, really, but I’m just me.”I shook my head. “That’s a silly way of thinking about things. How about you point us towards a place where we can buy some good gear in a hurry and we’ll chat along the way. If you’re going to be an adventure buddy then we should learn more about each other.”“Um, that way,” Awen said. “And what do you mean by silly?”I didn’t want to dismiss her concern out of hand. In fact, it was all rather spur of the moment, even for me. Awen’s story was sad, true, but not disastrous. If I didn’t help her she would live a miserable life, yeah, but that was it. That was enough for me to want to help her. Plus, she seemed nice. A little shy, maybe, but the way her eyes lit up when she talked about her uncle and her tiny kernels of dreams made me want to just squish her cheeks.“How many people live in Greenshade?” I asked.Awen blinked. “Aw-about forty thousand fixed citizens. Twice as many vagrants who come and go?”She didn’t sound entirely sure, but that was okay. “How many need a friend?” I asked. “How many of them are in need of a few more copper, or could use a warm blanket or a place to rest for the night?”“I, I don’t know,” Awen said. She curled in on herself, which was silly. It wasn’t her fault that the world wasn’t always a nice place.“I’m only the one Bun, I can’t be all of their friends. Some might need it more than you, but I can’t be there for all of them. But that’s no excuse not to be the friend of the person that needs one who is right in front of me. You look like you need a friend, really badly too. Um... do you have other friends?”Awen shook her head. “The maids, some of them. But, most got fired after getting too close.”I pouted, that was just cruel. “Well then, I’ll be your friend. And Amaryllis too.”“Don’t go volunteering my friendship like that,” Amaryllis said.“Hmph, fine, then I’ll be a super good friend to you, and you’ll win over Amaryllis by being really nice to her, and like, preening her feathers or something.”Amaryllis trilled. “As if I’d let your clumsy human fingers touch my plumage.”“Amaryllis is actually very cuddly, but she puts on a prickly exterior because she thinks that it makes her look cool,” I told Awen.The girl nodded seriously while Amaryllis squawked and denied the obvious truth.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.“Anyway, my point is that Broccoli Bunch says yes to friendship, and I guess it was coincidence or fate or whatever that I happened to bump into you while my friendship quota was unfilled.”“You have a quota?” Amaryllis asked.I nodded. “Yes. How many people are there on Dirt?”“Idiot.”“Miss... Broccoli,” Awen said while her hand squeezed mine a little harder and she focused on the path below. “Thank you. I’ll, I’ll try to be the best friend you’ve ever had. I promise!”Holding hands with Awen turned out to be useful. It made it easier to pull her into a big tight hug. I only stopped it when her face had gone so red that I was afraid that she might have been running out of air.We gathered a few looks, but I guess we-or at least Amaryllis and Awen-looked important enough that no one made a fuss. There were a lot more people around, and the area had changed a little, with more homes and quite a few businesses. None that looked as grand as those in Port Royal, and judging by the dismissive look on Amaryllis’ face, she was going to comment on how plebeian they all were, but I saw signs on stores that promised to sell what we needed.The first stop was a general goods store, where I dragged Awen up to the counter and asked the clerk, a younger human boy, if they had any pre-made travelling bags.Then, with Awen hugging her new backpack-one a bit smaller than my own-to her chest, we moved over to a clothing shop across the street.“There are a bunch of things we’ll need, besides the blankets and food and such we got,” I said. “You’ll need a knife, for little things, like cutting food and rope and plants. And you’ll need some sort of weapon too, I guess. I have a spear you could use... I had a spear. Oh, shucks, I forgot my spear!”“You dolt,” Amaryllis said. “I tossed it in my bank, no worries. Now, if you give her your spear, what will you use to defend yourself?”“My shovel and my wits?” I asked.Amaryllis laughed, in her strange, whistle-y way. “Might as well bow down and let yourself die, then.”I harrumphed and pointed off to a shop at one end of the street. There was a large chimney sticking out the back, and the air smelled like charcoal the closer we came to it. “We can buy her something usable there,” I said.“I— will I really need a weapon?” Awen asked.I considered it, but the answer was rather obvious. “You’ll want to try to negotiate your way out of any fight first, but sometimes that just doesn’t work out and you need to fight. It’s not fun, and it’s not pretty, but I guess it is part of the adventure.”“Awa, I see. Uncle Abe’s stories have lots of fights in them,” she said.“I can assure you any battle we enter will be nothing like a fight involving that man,” Amaryllis said.The weapon’s shop was filled with racks and racks of shiny tools of death and destruction. The place smelled like oil and wax and sweat and I loved it instantly. “Ohhh,” I cooed as I skipped down to a rack that held a whole slew of pretty swords.“You have Inspect?” Amaryllis asked.“Insight,” I corrected.She nodded as she looked around. “Then we’ll be using that to find something. Half of these are awful.” She tapped one of the prettier swords with a talon.A cheap steel sword of very common quality.“Aww,” I said.“Awa,” Awen said. “I don’t know what to use.”I looked over to Amaryllis, who was my expert at all things non-friendship related. The harpy sighed and shook her head. “You’re a human, which means you have pretty little hands and decent arm strength. I’m assuming you don’t have any offensive magics? Of course not. Maybe... a warhammer? Broccoli is a surprisingly nimble fighter, and I’m better at range. We could use someone to act as... bait.”“Bait,” Awen repeated faintly.I gave her a side hug. “We can get you a big hammer to scare the monsters away with. And hammers can be used as tools, right? Do you think there are any mechanical weapons here?”“None that I would trust,” Amaryllis said.“I, I think a hammer would be okay,” Awen said. “My uncle had one for some time. It was a good weapon, he said.”“Brilliant!” I said. A few of the other customers glanced my way, but they went back to minding their own business soon enough. I drug Awen over to a wall rack that had a bunch of hammers on display. Plenty of them were all black with spikes and heads made to look like wolves or dragons and such, most of those were of rather poor quality. One caught my eye because it was shorter and really simple. Just a steel head, a few metal bits holding that in place, and a nice shaft made of some dark wood.“Insight,” I said while pushing some mana into the skill.A simple warhammer of Uncommon Quality. Recently modified after the hilt was damaged.“This one is nice,” I said as I handed the hammer to Awen. She weighed it in both hands, gave me an uncertain look, then swung the hammer around a few times while I backed out of kneecapping range.“Awa, I, I think I like it,” she said.“Neat!” I said before dragging Awen to the counter where a young woman in an apron was waiting. “I’ll pay for this one.”“Th-thank you, Miss Bunch,” Awen said.“Wait, why didn’t I get thanked for buying that backpack of yours?” Amaryllis asked. “Am I just a canary to you two?”“You’re the prettiest canary,” I said.It was a little hard to pay for the hammer while Amaryllis bonked my head, but I managed.
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Chapter Seventy-Two — The Adventurer Look
Chapter Seventy-Two — The Adventurer Look “Hmm,” I said.“Hrm,” Amaryllis agreed.Awen balled her fists in the material of her skirt. “Awa, is something wrong?”I nodded, but instead of answering her, I looked around the shop we had found our way over to. It was filled with clothes of all sorts, most of it on mannequins, but a lot of it hooked onto wooden walls with slats to keep the clothes in place.This wasn’t a shop like the one Amaryllis had brought me to. It felt a little cheaper, and while some of the clothes on display were nice, some lacked... refinement? I couldn’t quite pin why, but it was obvious that the quality here was just a pinch lower than what was available in Port Royal. And this was supposed to be the best shop for delving and exploration clothes.“I’m not sure,” I said.“Frankly, nor am I,” Amaryllis agreed.Awen, who was still wearing the same pretty dress she had come in with, shifted nervously from foot to foot. “Sure about what?”“How to make you look like a proper adventurer,” I said. “See, looking good while out on an adventure is really important.”“It is?” Awen asked.I nodded. “Does your uncle spend a lot of time taking care of his magnificent mustache?”“Awa, I guess he does?”“Well there you have it,” I said. “So, we need to make you look awesome.”“I, I don’t know if I can do that,” Awen said.I snorted. “‘Course you can! Amaryllis and I will fix you right up! First, we need to figure out what sort of outfit we’re aiming for, though. You’re a mechanic right? We could lean into that. Go for something with lots of pockets.”“I like that idea,” Amaryllis said. “Some pants. They have decent ones around here somewhere.”“Pants?” Awen said. “I’ve never worn pants before.”“Really?” I asked. “I like skirts better myself, but even I’m wearing shorts underneath. See?” I grabbed the hem of my skirts, which were fairly thick on account of the padding, and lifted them to reveal the shorts beneath.“Awaaaaa,” was all Awen said. She stared for a long few seconds before her face went very red and she slapped both hands over her eyes. “I’ll wear the pants,” she squeaked.I dropped my skirts and looked at Amaryllis, but she was just shaking her head.“We can wear whatever, really,” I said. “This is for you, so you should pick out things that you like. We’re just here to, uh, mentor you along. We’re your Obi Wan. But... without the... that was a bad example.”“You’re being stupid again. More so than usual,” Amaryllis said.I stuck my tongue out at her and walked over to Awen to help her out.What followed was a flurry of activity as Awen hesitated over every option Amaryllis and I pointed out, and only set aside a few things for her to try on. Fortunately, the shopkeeper didn’t seem to mind our ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over their stuff.“That,” Awen said.I paused while looking at a little rack covered in belts and, after following her gaze, found that Awen was staring at a long coat on a hanger way off in the back of the room. It reminded me of a trench coat, with a few buckles around the waist and a flaring bottom. It was done in what looked like a fairly breathe-y material that was almost exactly the same blue as my own outfit.“You like it?” I asked.“Awa, I mean... yes?” she said. “If it’s not too much?”“Of course it isn’t, not if you like it!”Awen’s new outfit, which she ended up changing into in a little booth to one side, was quite plain and somewhat unassuming. Long pants of a dark brown material, a blouse made of a thick cotton and my new boots that I never really got around to wearing.She had a bandolier over that, and a pair of belts, one to hold up her pants, the other with a loop for her hammer.And, of course, the entire thing was covered by her long coat, buckled at the front in a way that almost made it look like a dress. It tied the outfit together quite nicely.“I like it,” I said with a thumbs up.“Th-thank you,” Awen said. She shifted on the spot a little, her knees rubbing together in a way that her skirts would have hidden. Poor thing, she was so nervous! So I glomped her for good measure.“Now you’re ready for adventure!” I said.The shopkeeper coughed.“Just as soon as we pay!”
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“Are you comfortable?” I asked.Awen shifted a little, blonde hair falling down the nape of her neck and into her new coat. We were going to need to get her a nice hat to finish the ensemble, and maybe something a bit more armoured for underneath, but she did look great.“I’m comfortable, yes,” she said. “Um, the pants pull at my thighs, but I think that’s normal?”“I can check you out later, for chafing or the like, if you want.”“Awa! N-no! No, I’m okay,” Awen said.I shrugged and looked up to the gates ahead of us. We all came to a slow stop before them and kind of just, stared. The gates weren’t anything special, just a large building set into a stone wall with a bus-sized portcullis and a few guards standing by. The city continued on the other side of the gate, with smaller homes and tents and the like.Leaving, at least for me, was just the first step on another adventure. But for Awen...The girl’s legs were trembling, her eyes were wide, and I was afraid that she might start hyperventilating at any moment.“Are you sure?” I asked her. “You could always stay?”Awen looked back over her shoulder, deeper into the city, then back to the gate and the wide world beyond. She tried to speak, but no words came out.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Then, with a face set with growing determination and a fire that sparked in her eyes, she stomped forwards and out of the city.“She’s pretty brave, I’ll give her that much,” Amaryllis said as she watched our new friend go.“What do you think of her?” I asked.“She’s inexperienced, naive, gullible and likely to get herself into trouble at the first opportunity,” Amaryllis said. “But she also seems well-educated and smart, which is more than I can say about my other friend.”“You called me your friend!”“Idiot,” Amaryllis said as she started after Awen.Not to be outdone, I ran after the pair of them and glomped Awen from behind. “Well done,” I whispered into her ear. “I’m really proud of you.”“Awa! Th-thanks!”I gave her a last squeeze, then grabbed her hand and started running ahead. “C’mon, it’s past midday! If we want to find a neat place to camp we ought to get going!”“You’re the one that made us stop at nearly every shop,” Amaryllis said.I stuck out my tongue at her before a delighted giggled tore its way out of my throat. Maybe it was having a new friend, maybe it was walking off into another adventure, or maybe it was just the sun shining above and the happy sounds of a bustling city. Either way, I felt like every step I took could launch me into the sky.Greenshade’s outer regions, basically everything past the walls, were a mix of much smaller homes and large tents, dotted with the occasional warehouse and store. The people here weren’t dressed as prettily as those in Port Royal. Drab clothes with stains so old that removing them would probably ruin the cloth and I saw plenty of men who were just not wearing shirts or shoes.We had to pause at one intersection to let a flock of sheep pass by, led by a bored shepherd who seemed practiced at ignoring the jabs and insults of the other people blocked on the road.There was even a stench to the air, one that had Awen pressing the sleeve of her new coat over her mouth and nose.“This place is filthy,” Amaryllis said.“The people here must get very sick,” I added as I watched a group of human kids run after a wooden loop. They were all barefoot and covered in mud from head to toe.Awen nodded. “We have lots of problems with illnesses. We hire a lot of healers, but the moment one sickness is put down another rises up, and the greater part of the population is made up of caravaneers and vagrants. They bring new ones all the time.”I shivered and let loose a small burst of cleaning magic around myself. I hoped it worked on bacteria and the like.The number of houses thinned out as we reached the northern outskirts and were replaced by lots with tents and wagons and carriages parked by pens that held big horses.The roads turned from cobbles to packed dirt, and then back to cobbles again as we reached the very end of the city.Greenshades didn’t have an outer wall. Instead, the city just... ended. It was a little jarring to go from a stinky road where you needed to avoid droppings on every other step to a wide open countryside with... a bit less poop on the roads.“I’m... out?” Awen asked.I grinned. “I guess you are,” I said. “Amaryllis, do you know the region at all?”“Not very well, no,” Amaryllis admitted. “But we’re aiming for Rosenbell, which is to the North West.” She pointed off in that direction, towards a road that moved through a bunch of orchards.“Awa,” Awen said. “Um, if you go straight that way, we’ll need to cross part of the desert.”“So, we should go another way?” I asked.Awen clasped her hands together. “If, if you want, yes? It’s safer to go straight North, then turn west once you’re a bit past the desert, otherwise, um, the sand and the heat can be pretty bad.”“Ah yes, sand, it gets everywhere,” I said, then pouted because no one in this world was going to get my awesome references. “Whelp, off we go!”“J-just like that?” Awen asked.“Yup!” I said as I began walking North. Amaryllis snorted and was by my side a moment later, and I heard Awen’s boots thumping behind me as she ran to keep up.“Oh, okay. Awa, if... if I’m not very good at adventuring, can, can you help me? Again? I know I’m asking for a lot, but I swear, I’ll work hard, and I’ll improve.”“Don’t be silly,” I said. “As long as you try your best and are a good friend, then having you along will just make the adventure ever more fun.”Awen nodded so hard her hair was whipping back and forth behind her. “Yes! I promise, I’ll do my best. I'm going to be just like you, Broccoli.”“I sure hope not,” Amaryllis said. “The world has enough of one Broccoli.”“What’s that supposed to mean?” I said.“It means your eternal optimism and naivety are lowering the world’s average intelligence,” Amaryllis snarked back.“Yeah, but I’m increasing the world’s average friendliness, so I’m making it a better place,” I said. “All you’re doing is making it even snobbier.”Amaryllis squawked. “I’m not snobbish!”“The most snobbiest,” I said.The harpy bumped her shoulder against mine, and trilled happily before she let loose a long string of insults about me, my intelligence, and every choice I had ever made. Awen stared wide-eyed, but I think she clued in on the fact that neither of us were really angry at each other, because she wore a happy little smile as she watched us bicker back and forth.Soon, we’d get her to join in on it too.It was a fun start to what would no doubt be a grand adventure!
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