solis | svt au

3

Vernon entered the apothecary a few hours later in the late afternoon, a spring in his step. By then, Chan was more calmed down and helping Seokmin tie herbs into bunches. Vernon looked from Chan to Seokmin, evidently confused, before bluntly asking Seokmin in his usual manner, "Who's this?"

Seokmin glanced at Chan before replying, "Jeonghan brought him over, saying he was my new apprentice," He shrugged. "I promised him we would help him get home. He says he's from Niteo,"

Vernon shook his head, "I'm afraid we can't do that at the moment," It was Seokmin's turn to be confused, "Huh? Why not?"

Vernon grinned with barely contained excitement, "The king's offering an enormous reward for a legendary spear, and I think I know where it is!"

"Oh."

Vernon pouted. "Is that all you have to say?"

"Well..." Seokmin looked skeptical, "This seems pretty reckless-"

"But that's what makes it fun! Living recklessly is what give life spice~"

"Still, how could you know where-"

"Come on, Seokmin! Please?" Vernon gave puppy eyes. They almost never worked, but it was worth a shot.

"What about Chan? We can't exactly leave him behind."

Chan spoke up, "I can come with you guys,"

The two looked at him with surprise. "Are you sure?" Seokmin asked, "What about going home?"

"That can wait." There was an excited sparkle in Chan's eyes, "I want to see the world!"

Vernon laughed before saying to Seokmin, "There! That solves all our problems. We're leaving tomorrow since we need a headstart."

Seokmin opened his mouth to protest, wanting to say that a literal child's decision probably wasn't the wisest one, but Vernon was already going up the stairs to the second floor, humming to himself.

Seokmin sighed for the umpteenth time that day, resigned to his fate, before asking Chan to help him pack supplies.

-

Seungcheol and Seungkwan wandered the streets of Astrum, more used to the smell at that point. Neither of them had traveled away from Niteo before, and if they hadn't been frantically asking around with a description of Chan, they might have enjoyed it.

One of the last places they stopped at was a tavern. It was cleaner than most they had encountered, the smell of spilled beer and unwashed men less strong. There weren't many customers as most of them were at sea. As the two of them entered, they were greeted by a man with a soft smile and several piercings on both ears. "Hello sirs, I'm Joshua. Can I help you?"

Though he was smiling, there was something sinister about him that Seungcheol couldn't quite place. He ignored it, intent on finding his friend. "Yes, we are looking for a boy named Chan. He has dark brown hair and eyes, average height, rather young looking. Have you seen him anywhere?"

The tavern owner thought for a moment. "No, I'm afraid there's too many people matching that description. Do you know if he was with anyone?"

"Well," Seungcheol took a moment to catch his breath - he had been running around all day, after all, "We know he was taken by Jeonghan, the Fallen Angel."

At those words, the pleasant tavern owner's smile dropped. His expression became carefully blank as he seemed to struggle to think of what to say. Smiling once again, though looking like it took an effort, he said, "Why don't you come over to my tavern later? I might be of some help. In the meantime, I recommend going to Lee's Apothecary - Seokmin knows just about everyone and everything."