Anemone departed the Adventurers' Guild, making her way to where she thought Father would be located. It was the time of day when Father normally becomes hungry, so she went to nearby inns, taverns, and other places, all in search of him. Anemone spent a lot of time searching for him to no avail; he was nowhere to be found. As Anemone turned around, Astrape was standing there, frightening her and causing her heart to skip a beat.
"Hi Anemone!" Astrape said while smiling and giggling due to the scare.
"H-hello. What are you doing here?"
Astrape's eyes suddenly faded from happiness to a sense of mourning.
"Since my brother… I want to join you on your journey…"
Anemone could sense feelings begin to cascade inside Astrape, so she decided to quicken the conversation.
"I would love it if you joined us!"
The sadness disappeared, replaced by the happiness that was there from the beginning.
"Thank you!" Astrape smiled and stepped beside Anemone. "So where to?"
"I'm trying to find my friend Fa- Calder. We need to discuss our plans. We are on a quest to find a seed from a tree called the Thirasil, for the elves, and something else."
"What's the something else?" Astrape walked out with Anemone as they began to just walk around, looking for Father.
"Recently, Calder and I found this bug; it's a centipede-looking creature, the body is blood red and has markings across the back, with two large mandibles."
"Oh, I overheared men talking about a creature similar! It was called the Nosib.. no, Yosith? No, the Nossith! Yea! The Nossith. They said it can infect creatures and make their blood blue. I've never seen blue blood, so that would be pretty cool."
"W-what? No-Nossith?" Anemone gripped Astrape's shoulders, locking eyes. "Are you sure? Are you sure?"
"Yes, why?" Astrape was becoming worried.
"Calder and I need to find information on it as soon as possible. It's a disgusting parasite that takes over bodies, enraging them and causing them to go insane, attacking everything on sight. That's what happened to your broth- I'm sorry…"
Astrape put on a fake smile, hiding the sadness caused by the mention of her brother. "Thank you for telling me. I would have wanted to know eventually what happened. So thank you."
Anemone focused on walking as she passed by another inn, this one was much smaller, a shabby-looking one on the outside. Anemone clenched the iron handle, pulling the door open, and an overwhelming scent of luxury food flooded her. It smelled amazing, and Anemone was drawn like a moth to a flame. The inside was well taken care of; there were many chandeliers and hanging pots with vines hanging from them, causing it to become very scenic. Swords were hung on the wall, and many paintings were hung. The most beautiful was a painting of a starry city with a bright moon, a city in the background, and a broken tree in the foreground.
Anemone continued looking around, and Father just so happened to be there. Father was sitting alone with a notebook to his right, writing and eating at the same time. Anemone walked up to him, and Father became frightened for some reason, closing the notebook and hiding it away.
"Oh, hey, young one. Where'd you come from?"
Anemone became suspicious of what Father may be doing, but forced those thoughts away.
"I have been looking for you to discuss our next course of action towards our mission. Also, this is Astrape, the girl we saved. She is coming along with us."
Father squeezed his eyes shut, hiding the stabbing sensation in his leg, trying not to make any gestures to indicate the feeling.
"Well, first, here is the payment for the quest." Father slid six gold coins across the table, and Anemone pocketed them. "And I think we should work on your mana pool and known spells. Before that, though, would you like to go to the festival that happens two days from now?"
"I would love to. I mean, I need a break after all."
"Okay, young one. Well, would you want to make plans together or meet back up in two days?"
"Let's meet back up." Anemone rushed her reply and then ran out the door with Astrape.
"Oh, to be energetic again."
Astrape followed Anemone and spoke up.
"What do you plan to do for these two days?"
"I need to use these tusks I got from a quest to make more equipment. Now that I look at you. You have nothing. Are you a magician? A swordswoman? Maybe an archer?"
"I use a bow and shortsword. I can use lightning magic, but barely."
"Well, let's get you some gear then!"
Astrape felt bad about using Anemone's money and resources, but she told herself she would make it up to her in the future by being there, even in the worst situations.
"Thank you."
"No need. Do you know of any good shops around here?"
"There is a bowyer's shop just down the street, called Gallands Bows. Dumb name, but they sell quality works."
"Well, lead the way."
Astrape took charge for the first time, making her way to the shop. The streets were littered with people hanging signs, decorations, lamps, and all sorts of stuff. The clotheslines hanging between houses were used to hang banners, pots, and anything that was appealing.
Anemone stopped by a stranger to ask what it was all for.
"It's for the festival, miss."
"Ohhh yeaaa. Sorry for wasting your time."
Anemone realized she had just asked the most obvious question ever. Even Father Hatheway knew about the festival, which is why he mentioned it earlier. Anemone kept following Astrape until they found themselves in front of a building. There was a sign in front of the door with Galland's Bows on it, along with a bow and arrow that were beautifully done.
They entered the building, and a potent earthy smell wafted through the air. The smell of wood shavings, adhesives, and other materials. It was enjoyable for the two of them. Anemone entered behind Astrape, and there was a young man working on the string of a bow; he was using a simple contraption to spin multiple fibers together into a sturdy string. He didn't bother looking up at the customers walking in, probably due to how tedious the work is. Once the string was together, he kept it locked in the contraption and then spread a wax that smelled like honey all over the string. Both Anemone and Astrape could guess that this was for protection and to make it stay together. The man raised his head. He was a young man with a well-defined body, short brown hair, and leather gloves on his hands. He also had a small cat on his shoulder with a jet black body and a white stomach, resembling a penguin.
The man locked eyes with Anemone, and he gave off a presence that Anemone had never felt before. It wasn't intimidation, but more like he had a strong heart and an unwavering mentality. He then stuck out his hand and grasped Anemone's, beginning to shake it; the callus on his hands was some of the roughest Anemone had ever felt.
"Hello, my name is Lord. Though I am not actually a lord." The man began to act nervously, contrary to how he seemed earlier, so nervous in fact that he reached up, scratching behind his ear and turning away from Anemone. "Are you both here to shop or custom order?"
Anemone pushed forward, Astrape to answer, as she was the reason they were there; she was making Astrape say what she wanted.
"W-we are here for a bow," She stuttered due to the handsome man in front of her. "I would like to custom-order a bow, please."
The man pulled out a blank piece of paper and a strange object. It was a piece of something silver and brittle at the top, wrapped with a small string onto a tiny wooden piece, about the size of a quill.
"What's this?" Astrape said while analyzing the wooden object.
"It's known as a pencil. It was just manufactured recently; the silver stuff is actually just a mixture of graphite and clay. Then the rope is used to hold it onto the wooden piece. It's really cool! Watch this!" The man began to blabber on, showing the pencil race across the paper, leaving a shiny silver trail. "Think of a quill, but you don't have to pay for ink or have to dip your pencil in anything."
"Oh, cool."
Astrape didn't seem very interested, though she was still impressed, but in the back, Anemone was showing her interest in it. She may not have shown it recently, but she has always liked being creative, cooking, doing art, and creating new ideas.
"Well, go ahead and draw out your design, please."
Anemone stepped forward to Astrape's side.
"If you describe your desired bow, I will draw it for him."
"Oh, thank you! Cause I suck at drawing or anything creative."
Anemone bent over the table with the pencil in hand and the paper in front of her.
"Go on."
"I would like a long bow with a small wooden handle with a circumference of eleven centimeters (~4.5 inches). With each side making an 's' shape, and the ends hooked forward like talons. I want the wood to be silver-looking, please."
Anemone drew everything as she described, bringing the bow to life. It was well designed and looked very beautiful. The man thought the same. He looked at the drawing and became giddy with excitement. He was ready to work on the bow.
"Just leave it to me. Come back in two days, please."
Anemone and Astrape knew it was best to leave quickly so the man could focus on the work, and maybe produce results better than expected.
"What else will you need?" Anemone asked Astrape as they stepped out, breathing in the natural air.
"A short sword, please."
"Okay, well, let's go. I know of a smithy nearby."
Anemone and Astrape walked for a while, admiring the views that were beginning to appear in advance of the festival. In the distance was a sound of consistent hammering; it was very uniform, almost musical. Anemone watched the smoke rising from where they were and continued walking towards it.
It was an outside smithy. There were two men, one younger, similar looking to the bowyer, the other was an elder man with a long, thick, white beard and blonde hair, and he had a large stomach. The younger man was sitting on a bench, grinding a sword, which produced a screeching sound. There is a bucket above the grindstone, dripping water slowly directly onto the spinning stone. The young man was also using his foot to propel the grindstone to continue moving at a steady pace. The elder man continued hammering a sword on an anvil while standing near a blazing hot forge. It was so hot, in fact, that even Anemone and Astrape were beginning to sweat, even though they were far away.
This continued for a few moments until the older man stopped hammering, sweat was pouring off his face in small droplets, splashing onto the ground. The same was for the water from the grinding stone, causing the ground to be drenched, but before long, it dried due to the heat. The man took off his gloves, wiping his hands on his apron, then approached Anemone.
"Hello, miss. What can I do for you?"
"My friend is looking for a short sword." She said to the man, then turned to Astrape. "Custom order or would you like to shop?"
"Shop, please. I want to be able to defend myself immediately, plus it will help, as one of my hobbies is foraging and making medicines. I don't have a knife, so I would use my short sword."
The man listened to them and cut in.
"We sell knives and a small belt to go around your waist to carry them."
"Oh, then I guess I will be getting three things here."
"I will meet you both inside."