"Found it." I said aloud. Zale, who took on the persona of a small woodland critter as she nibbled on a cookie, was surprised by my sudden outburst.
"Where is it?" She asked, with a steel gaze, unaware that she had crumbles clinging to the side of her mouth.
"It's in a hidden cave in a forest between here and a settlement. However, if elves have been kidnapped, it's safe to say that its somewhere in the east." Zale listened to me carefully. However, she knew as well as I did that outside of the plains that Novrad sat in, was surrounded by dense forests.
"It's almost morning, so I'll head out and see if I can gather information about a settlement in the east. That way, we can narrow things down a little." I scratched my chin, as I looked outside the window, and saw that the sky had started to become lighter.
"…You're coming as well?" Zale asked, clearly surprised.
"Of course. By the sounds of it, there could be humans who have been kidnapped as well." I lied, I couldn't tell her that I wanted to loot, especially that tablet. I had an inkling about its origins that I wanted to confirm.
It was obvious that Zale hadn't thought of the idea that humans could be victims in this as well. Her whole demeaner seemed to change, I wouldn't say it went as far as being ashamed. It was more like she realised that she couldn't think that all humans were the same. An improvement to say the least.
"Then, I'll have to request your assistance in this." She spoke with stiff words, but I didn't mind it.
[Quest Received]
The Knight Zale has requested your assistance in rescuing her kidnapped brethren. Find them and assist her in returning them home.
[Reward: ???
Failure: Zale will lose faith in you and might turn hostile towards you.]
"Sure. I have a spare room, so get some rest. Once the market is open, I'll go gather some information as well as some supplies for the road." I said my plan out loud as I got up from the table and headed out of the kitchen, with Zale in tow. I decided to disregard the vaguely hostile quest window that appeared in front of me.
I directed her upstairs to one of my spare rooms and opened the door for her and told her to make herself at home.
"Thank you. I know that I'll be a liability in gathering supplies and information in a human city. But I can at least pay my own way." She responded as she produced a pouch that clinked with a metallic tone.
As she opened the pouch, I nearly choked on my saliva as my eyes was filled with the hue of gold. The pouch was filled to the brim with gold coins and the look on Zales face was so nonchalant.
"Ah, that is far too much. Even a single coin would be enough to make the colour drain in a person's face." I spoke with a dry smile. It wasn't worth lying and ruining a relationship with an elf, just for a pouch of gold. Even if I could buy a house in the capital with this amount of gold.
"…Oh," she replied. She seemed perturbed by my answer. I could only imagine how many people became rich from this woman.
"Still, I have no need for this money as human currency is of no use to us elves." If I remember correctly, elves use the barter system instead of money. So, I can understand why money had little to no value to Zale.
With a sigh, I took the pouch of gold. "Then, as part of tradition. I pledge to Zale, first guardian of house Mauilin, that I Cain, will assist you in recovering and returning all kidnapped elves back to their home. And to assist in the elimination of the group responsible." Elves take pledges very seriously, no matter who speaks it. It was evident, by how she puffed her chest out as I started to speak.
"I, Zale, first guardian of house Mauilin, accept the pledge made by Cain and shall see that the pledge is upheld." She replied with a serious look on her face.
I didn't make the pledge just for the pouch of gold, or for the loot hidden in the cave. I made it so that I can enter the home of the elves, as normal entry was forbidden. But now, part of the pledge was to ensure that the elves reached their home, which meant I had to escort them all the way home.
"I'm not sure how you knew of the pledges of our people. But I hope you know the responsibility that comes with them?" she added, as I was scheming.
"Of course. My life is forfeit as well as the honour of my family." I replied and she nodded.
The elves followed something similar to the warriors' code, which at times made them inflexible, but also made them a very trustworthy friend to have, if you were lucky enough to befriend them.
"Then, I won't belittle you by speaking any more on it." She said as she walked into the room, seemingly a little more comfortable than she did a few moments later.
I informed her about Ula and Oswin, to avoid and misunderstandings. Then, I took my leave and retired to my room, to try and sleep for a few hours, as I wanted to avoid the exhaustion debuff as much as possible.
Also, I checked the pouch of gold and found seventy-five gold coins, or seven hundred and fifty silver coins, if you were to convert them.
It was an outrageous amount to have this early on in the game. But it would mean that I didn't have to worry about money for a long time.
That being said, it was an outrageous amount to have no matter what period of game you're in. The only group of people who would have more than fifty gold coins would be the guilds as the cost of running a guild was an expensive one. When real money was introduced into the game, some even spent a large amount of real money to invest into a guild, only for them to disband, leaving people out of pocket.
Luckily for me, I never lost any money during my involvement with guilds. Though, I did lose a large amount of my time being their slave. It was the main reason why I refuse to work with others, unless I have to. Even then, I do what I want and couldn't care less what others think about it.
But for now, working with Zale was the adventure that I had been craving, and I was pretty eager for the morning to come.