Crystal Magic Adventure: A Tale of Discovery

Chapter 8: Family Ties Part I.

It's been two days since the pale girl rented a room at the Red Mug Tavern yet she was a total mystery to the barkeep and the townsfolk alike. Her presence alone was enough to pique the interest of the people of Rath since they didn't get that many visitors, save for the occasional traveling merchants, trying their luck at trade thinking that this town could be an untapped gold mine.

Whenever she went outside to the marketplace or just for a stroll, children or housewives looking for potential gossiping material always tailed her.

This immense curiosity of the denizens of Rath had an unexpected benefit. The tavern's barkeep was more than happy to serve people their refreshments as they came to the tavern to gossip. Whereas Gerda, the wife of the fruit vendor Erthur, also had a surge in popularity amongst the other housewives since the pale girl made sure to visit their stall each time she visited the marketplace.

However, Lila was oblivious to the fact that she became the town's celebrity. To her, she was simply doing groceries at the market or she was just stretching her legs after a good night's sleep, though she did begin to notice people listening in to her conversations from time to time.

On top of that, the money she "appropriated" from her previous encounters and the charity she received from Aranth were running dangerously low. Last time she checked, she had less than 30 copper coins left in total.

Her concerns for her finances were not the only thing going on in her mind while she sat on her bed as the morning sun lit her pale face. On the contrary, it was the least of her problems at that moment...

After a deep sigh, she reached for her bag and opened its flap, taking Crystal out.

"Come on... You have to help me out, Crystal. I know you're angry but you know this was the only choice we had."

Crystal was uncharacteristically unresponsive since it was placed in the bag like a trinket. Since then, it refused to answer or even acknowledge Lila, kind of paralleling what she did before.

Today wasn't any different either, still no response from Crystal no matter how much Lila pleaded.

Lila, on the other hand, got desperate, She was all alone in this world without Crystal. Her voice shaky and her eyes teary, she kept begging over and over again, which were answered with silence.

Suddenly, out of anger and frustration, she threw Crystal across the room, followed by the sound of Crystal hitting the wall and dropping to the ground.

Now with tears in her eyes, Lila shouted in anger, "FINE, LEAVE ME LIKE EVERYONE DID. YOU WERE THE ONLY THING I HAD LEFT AND NOW YOU'RE GONE TOO."

As she shouted at the crystal, she began to cry uncontrollably. Her voice could barely be heard through her hiccups, "I don't have a home. I don't have a family. I don't have friends. I don't have anywhere to go. Not anymore. Now even you..."

Her legs gave way and she soon found herself on her knees, her hands covering her face with her agony-filled wails seeping through the crevices of her fingers.

Whilst Lila lost herself to despair, a loud banging was heard. At first, Lila didn't realize where it came from but it was enough to snap her out of it.

Then, another banging, even louder this time. Turning her attention to the door, she could hear a man shouting.

Mardro the Barkeep was calling out to Lila with his booming voice as his broad hands banged on the door,

"Lila! Are you in there? What's wrong?! OPEN UP!"

Wiping her tears away, Lila managed to get up on her feet. She slowly walked over to the door and unlocked it. Now that she faced the barkeep, she could see the concern he had on his face.