Despite still being troubled by the simple reward, Nathalia accepted the third mission when the boy assured her that they would find the flowers that day. Knowing the scent of the Jade Vine, Luke figured it wouldn't be such a problem to find them.
"So, can we go?" Luke said to the girl, with a delighted smile. Taking more straightforward missions at the beginning was an excellent idea, so they would be able to move up in class faster.
The girl nodded, her face flushed with embarrassment. 'I must stop acting like a little girl sometimes.' She thought.
Nathalia charged herself a lot. Due to her age, she thought that starting now meant she was way behind people like Luke and Shiro, who have been fighting since they were little.
While looking for a store to get the Return Stone they needed, the pair walked through the busy city until they spotted a storefront with magical items.
Aspen staffs, Crystal Balls, and even Mana Orbs were in the window, which made the elf also excited about what might be inside the store.
When the girl entered the store, she heard a soft tinkle. Tlim, tlim! It was just the bell under the door. She held the door open for the half-wolf to enter as well.
The entire room was dark, and there were no customers or employees; if it weren't for the 'We're working' sign on the door, the pair would have thought that place was abandoned.
There was a bookcase with various fabrics and old rugs at the right of the entrance and to the left a glass cabinet, which displayed many animal jars in formaldehyde.
Among common snakes and frogs, small monster spoils were noticed, such as Goblin's ears, Prums hands, Aarakocras beaks, and several other pieces of creatures.
The entire store was also lit by only one window high above, and the light that passed through it highlighted the flakes of dust in the air. The half-wolf was holding himself back from sneezing.
As they walked together through the store, looking for an employee and the Return Stone itself, Luke and Nathalia, curious, were fiddling with some things.
This place was so silent that even the noise from the street seemed to have disappeared. The half-wolf felt relieved, but the elf was a little nervous.
"Hello, is anyone here?!" She asked aloud.
"Here in front!" A husky voice yelled from the farthest part of the store.
Nathalia looked at Luke, smiled excitedly, and started walking quickly towards the voice.
The boy wasn't so fast yet, as he was curious about several of the magic items in that place. However, he didn't dare touch anything, because it wasn't hard to remember the blue glow of the tiara he found in that warehouse.
'I still have nightmares from that day...' Thought the half-wolf, as he looked at the staff, the tip of which was a small crystal with a faint blue glow, which looked nothing like the beautiful blue he saw on the robbery day.
"Hey, Luke! Where are you?" The young lady's scream could be heard echoing in the shop.
"I'm here." replied the half-wolf, appearing behind her.
"Ow! Where were you?"
"In the back hallway."
"Anyway, come and meet Madame." The elf took his arm and started to pull him through the store.
When they arrived at the counter, an older woman with a fallen look was waiting for them. She was so short that she had to climb a small ladder to reach the normal height of the counter, and her spine was crooked, which made her even shorter.
"Is this the guy who commented?" she questioned. Her voice was shaky and, to the half-wolf's displeasure, she had foul breath.
"Yes Yes! We want two Return Stones."
"Which types?"
The girl frowned and let go of Luke's arm. "Is there more than one type?"
"Yes..."
"What are they?"
"The broken and the unbroken."
The two young men looked at her in disbelief. Why would anyone choose to buy something broken?
The elf, a little impatient, replied: "We want the unbroken."
"Alright, just a sec." Madame slowly descended the steps and began rummaging through the things on the back of the counter. "Here it is!"
After she returned with the same slowness, in her right hand was a small plastic bag with two small stones, carved in the shape of icosahedrons, and in her left was a deck of cards.
"Two Return Stones and a deck of Kaloru?"
"No ma'am, we just wanted the Return Stones."
The old woman, her mouth open at rest, looked down. "To make up for the change of mind, would you like me to read your future then? It will only be ten silver coins."
"No, but thanks for the offer—" Nathalia kindly refused, but the boy pulled her finger away at once. She looked at Luke, and he was still looking at her seriously, but managed to interpret what he wanted. "Yes, please."
Looking up happily, Madame looked like a child who had just been given a present. Then she placed the Return Stones aside on the counter and began shuffling the cards.
She did a cascade shuffle with great skill, which Luke recognized since Ynosuke always tried to do it but never managed to. Then she divided the deck into four and placed them on the table.
"Whose future will we see first?"
The elf looked at the half-wolf and understood again what he wanted. "I'll go first."
With a serious expression this time, the old woman nodded.
When Nathalia turned over the first card of the first amount, Sparrowhawk's card was revealed. The girl looked at the old woman, anxious to know what that meant; however, she said nothing, and the girl understood that she should continue.
As she turned the second card over, a drawing of a druid appeared.
Druids are not that well known, and many people do not even believe in their existence. Old men with long white beards, whose faces are always blurry, is the description with which the druids are always associated.
Luke didn't believe in these mystical beings either; even so, he felt a deep desire for those who were real. Although he created a block with all that is magical after seeing his friend disappear, he still had this interest that he always tried to block.
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Discord for illustrations of the characters:
https://discord.gg/qz2vDAn7Kb
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