Edenta

Chapter 3: Our first quest

               After a while of walking we eventually reached some sort of dirt road leading into the village. As we follow the path we take in our surroundings. It's very beautiful, a nice quiet dirt road in a small forest with the sun coming through the trees. It's really nice here, wherever 'here' is.

               Suddenly, our lovely moment was interrupted by what sounds like a small child, cursing? Who in their right mind, lets their child curse? We walk a bit quicker to where the yelling is coming from. As we get closer we enter a small clearing along the path that is home to a large gate with 3 arguing figures in front of it.

               "What do you mean I'm too young to enter?! I'm probably older than both of you fuckers!" The feminine childlike voice belongs to the small woman in front of the guards who seems to be trying to enter the town. Judging by her appearance, her clothing that's all shades of brown, her small red pointy hat, and her large brown backpack that's about 5x the size of her small body, I'd guess she's here to trade and/or sell stuff.

               "Kid please calm down. Just tell us where your parents are and we'll bring you back to them, ok?" One of the other voices, who turns out to be one of 2 guards, says to the small woman who insists that she isn't a child.

               "Ya know, maybe we should just let her pass." The more timid guard says, just wanting to stop the argument.

               Before things could escalate, Manny stepped in.

               "Is everything ok here?" Manny questioned, getting their attention. Also, damn! I just noticed that their voice is a lot deeper and smoother than before which is, honestly, kinda fitting for the new them.

               The small woman whipped around to face us and yelled,

               "NO! These jackasses won't let me into the town because apparently I'm a child! I'm fucking 78! Can you people believe how rude they are!?" The small lady then turned and glared at the guard who won't let her through.

               "I'm sorry kid but we can't let you through without your parents or guardians here with-"

               "We're her guardians." Alia says, cutting the guy off before he could finish.

               "Huh? What do you mean you're her guardians?" The guard asks, confused.

               "She means exactly that." Manny joined in, hoping the guards would buy the lie.

               "We're a group of mercenaries and traders and we've taken custody of her while we're on this trip." I add onto the lie.

               "Unfortunately, we had gotten separated the other day. But it looks like she made it here all by herself." Alia says looking over to the small lady, hoping that she'd catch on.

               "Yeah! I had come here thinking that they got here before me but I guess I beat them. They're real slowpokes." The lady said, understanding what's happening.

               "Well then, I guess if you're her guardians, then you're allowed into the town. We apologize for the misunderstanding and hope that you enjoy your stay here in Malian." The shy guard said as he and the other guard bowed their heads and opened the gates for the group to pass through.

               "Thank you, but please make sure it never happens again." Manny said as we walked through, the doors closing behind us.

               "Thanks for helping me through, those guys were really giving me a hard time." The lady said as she turned to face us with a small smile.

               "Don't mention it!" I replied to her with a slightly larger smile.

               "I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Gracie Olsen and I am the famous wandering gnome! I travel far and wide to trade and sell stuff from all over Edenta!" The woman, Gracie, said as she struck a pose.

               From what I can gather from that very over-the-top introduction we're in Edenta. So the place is a book? Or is the book a place? I don't know and I'm not gonna question it, all I know is that we're in the part of it that's called 'Malian'.

               "So, who are you guys?" Gracie asked, pulling me from my thoughts while she leaned on her bag that's now on the side of the building we moved towards so as to not block the busy road.

               "Well, my name is Emanuel Palmer but you can call me Manny. I'm a demon of sorts." Manny started, which is good because I didn't want to go first.

               "I'm Oliver Jackson and I am a human pyromancer." I say, kind of uncertain about the last part. I feel human and I'm guessing I'm a magic wielder based on my cloak.

               "Alia Ramos, woodland elf." Ah typical Alia, short, sweet, and straight to the point.

               "Well it's very nice to meet you all. I just have one question, are you guys actually mercenaries? Because I need help with something." Gracie said, suddenly very serious.

               "Well what do you need help with?" Manny asked, curious as to what the gnome would need help with.

                "I need help getting an item back. It's a very valuable family heirloom that has been passed on for generations. It was stolen by the local murder, they steal anything shiny and, unfortunately, this was very shiny." Gracie pulls a drawing out of her bag of some kind of bright blue crystal with string going through it so it can be worn as a necklace.

               "I would go myself but I can't take on a murder by myself. So can you get it for me? If you get it I'll pay you 50 silver each." Gracie said, looking at us with hope in her eyes.

               I don't know what drove me to do it. Maybe it was the promise of a reward or the promise of an adventure. I didn't even give the others a chance to ask more questions about what we're dealing with. But without thinking or discussing it I answered.

               "We'll do it."