The Town of Windhaven

          Stepping out into the light of the morning, I stretch vigorously, trying to dispel brain-fog from lack of rest. With a groan, I begin to trudge after Alyx, who was patiently waiting a few steps ahead. When I caught up, she fell into step at my side, just barely behind me. "You realize I have no clue where to go right? Why are you following me?" She blushed and stepped in front of me while muttering something about respect and such. I could only roll my eyes at this and follow the bookish woman.

Just beside and barely behind her, I could finally see the town we were going to. Alyx lived on a hill relatively far away, maybe a little more than half a kilometer from the towns edge. While not the tallest point of the valley, the hill was tall enough to give her a commanding view of the valley Windhaven was settled in. Looking back, her house wasn't that large, but quite tall - though I don't remember seeing any stairs or ladders going up. It looked like a watchtower with a square shack built into the side, and a large gemstone sat on top.

Turning my eyes back to the town we were headed to, it really wasn't very large. Probably no more than 200 buildings, perhaps 75% of them being homes. There were some fields spread here and there, but from what I could see most houses had some form of hanging or roof garden - an attempt to maximize space, I'm sure. With the fresh nature look that nearly every building shared, the town looked quite at home nestled in a valley in the middle of the forest. If I don't see any elves here, I'll be very disappointed honestly.

There was only one road that went through the village, a town in name only now that I was seeing it for myself. The road went straight through Windhaven, disappearing into the woods on either side. The side of the road leading further towards the mountain peaks turned into more of a trail about a kilometer from the forest's edge, and split into multiple paths into the ruffage. Thankfully, the town itself was more maintained. With the many streets set up in a grid pattern that all led back to the central path, Windhaven seemed quite clean and organized at a glance.

Alyx led me as discreetly as she could through the town, straight down the main thoroughfare and to the large building in the center I had assumed to be the mayor's home. She approached the doors and opened them slowly, as if afraid she'll get caught. I raised my brow at this but didn't interrupt. Her eyes were closed and she was muttering something as she inched the door open, so it was probably a ritual of some sort. When she finished, she let go of the doors and stepped further inside, gesturing for me to follow.

The interior of the large stone building was actually all one room. It was completely unfurnished, with an alcove at the center of the wall on the far side. Within the recess was a small statue that I instantly recognized and walked over to. I realized as I walked that the Church was completely empty, yet the candles covering the walls and floor and hanging from the ceiling were lit, without a speck of wax dripping anywhere.

Filing away my observations to maybe ask later, I arrived in front of the statue and clasped my hands together in what I thought looked like prayer. I focused on the statuette and sent Noelle all the words of gratitude I knew before turning around to see Alyx prostrating herself in the center of the room.

We were alone in the Church but the large double doors were open, allowing anyone walking past to look in and see Alyx practically lying on the ground on her elbows with her palms pressed together in front of her. I decided to step off to the side, leaving the view of any curious passerby, and waited for her to finish her prayers.

After about 10 minutes of Alyx practically planking with how deep her prostration was, she finally stood up - slightly shaking from exhaustion. She was covered in sweat and surrounded herself with a cool breeze I could feel across the room, then gave one last small bow towards the alcove. She turned her tired face to me and gestured that we should leave. As we stepped out, she told me to leave the doors open for others to come throughout the day, and that they would close on their own later on.

I was curious about everything with the Church and her early onset calisthenics syndrome, but ultimately decided that local religious practices didn't really matter and continued to follow Alyx through the town to our next stop: The Guild! When we arrived I was slightly confused. It was one of the few buildings without any sort of vegetation on it and had a hanging sign that read 'The Impervious Braggart'. 

"This is totally a tavern right? Maybe an inn? Definitely not the gathering place of intrepid wayfarers questing for fame and fortune, right? Alyx, why won't you look at me?" She had looked shifty as we approached, likely realizing I'd be nonplussed about the location of 'The Guild' that I'd been so excited to see. That shiftiness turned sour as she turned to me to explain. 

"Well, you see... this town is much too small to have a proper branch of any guild, much less the Adventurer's Guild. Despite the abundance of beasts and natural resources in the surrounding forests, it's quite difficult to get here and too dangerous to climb to get anything that's worth the trip. So, the most they have is a representative that can communicate with a nearby branch."

Ah, well... That does make some sense, and it also means that I'll be spending even less time here than I initially thought. I was aiming for a month at first, but lets shorten that to maybe a week or two. Just enough to grow a bit and get some levels under my belt before setting off to the nearest town that lives up to the name. Maybe I'll come back here later, when I have less of a need for infrastructure? Sounds like a plan and I doubt Alyx would have too much of a problem with me getting out of her hair. "Will I even be able to register here?"

"Uhm, you could, if you really wanted to, but it'd be best to do so in a place that's a little more... populated." Yeah, thought so. A week it is. Shame I'll have to leave behind such a goldmine of untapped materials, but I'll be back to really exploit this place when I'm stronger. "... Right let's just hope they'll buy the beast I have." Saying so, I opened the door and stepped inside. 

Surprisingly enough, the place was empty and I was saved from the trope of everyone staring at the new girl's entrance. Well it was early morning so maybe not that surprising. I walked over to the counter, Alyx trailing behind me, and the clerk fixed me with a curious look. "I'm here to talk to the Guild Representative, to sell a beast I encountered on my way here." Eye's full of disbelief, she looked at Alyx who was standing behind me who nodded her head quickly. With a shrug, the portly woman walked through a door behind her and I could hear shouting coming through it.

I looked at Alyx with a raised eyebrow but she just shook her head and shrugged. Eventually, a rather tall man walked through the door, probably 190 cm or so. I could see Alyx collect herself and puff out her chest and it was all I could do to hold back a snort. Ignoring the woman behind me, I looked at the man before me; taking in his features and general 'aura' so to speak. While tall, he was rather thin. He was handsome, sure, but nothing compared to the sculpted faces I had become used to that came with designing the body you inhabited. He was wearing what looked like hunting leathers with a few clasps still undone and was rather relaxed, if a little annoyed at being called out so early in the morning. 

I cleared my throat, pulling his attention away from Alyx, whom he was smiling at in a way I assume he thought was charming. "I'm here to sell a beast. Is that a service you can provide?" I was beginning to think that Alyx had led me here under false pretenses, as little sense as that would make, so I slightly doubted the veracity of her claims. "Hmm, I can, but you don't appear to have anything large enough for me to buy on you." His dismissive voice was the cherry on top of the blatant disregard in his body language. "If it's small game you're selling, best go to a butcher for your copper."

Alyx, very alarmed at this point, quickly stepped in before I could set the man straight. "Korrin! She is an Adept, and a friend of mine from Yl'Tarel. Be mindful." Her face was flushed red, I hope from indignation and not from bashfulness, and "Korrin's" face went pale when he heard my 'rank'.

"I... F-Forgive me!" He yelled with a bow, "We don't get many Mages out this way anymore, much less one of your caliber Milady. I beg your forgiveness for my rudeness." I deflated from the righteous anger escaping me, and dismissed the matter with a sigh. "It's fine, I realize my appearance can be disarming. I just didn't realize the world was so full of fools that fall for it." At this, both Alyx and Korrin got a sour look on their face, with the latter faintly colored by confusion, but he quickly recovered with a diplomatic smile. "Would you mind showing me the beast you felled Lady..?"

'Hmm, I suppose I should just drop it. I'm too old to be so petty.' With a shake of my head, I waved my hand and summoned the Dire Wolf I had killed just before my own untimely demise. "Just call me Xerin and I do not know the rank of this beast, so I must request an appraisal as well. If you offer such a service?" As I spoke, the large beast fell to the floor in the middle of the room.

Quickly, before it could bleed, I removed the arrow from the base of it's skull and inserted a flaming finger into the hole at the base of it's skull; drawing out all of the nanites as I did so. "As you can see, the beast hasn't been bled and the damage to it is minimal so I do expect a good price for it ... What?" When I looked up, both were dumbfounded and staring at the 4 meter long wolf on the ground. 

"P-Perhaps we should move this outside, yes?" Hmm Korrin just got a rather greedy look in his eyes... Moving the wolf back into my pocket, I gestured for Korrin to lead the way, and he did so with pep. Alyx was looking at me with a strange, guarded expression that I didn't quite understand but ultimately followed after him briskly. With a shrug, I followed the pair until we were outside, behind the inn/pub (still not sure which one it is... maybe both?). Set outside were all the necessary tools to dismantle large beasts and a few barrels with glowing runes inscribed along their lids. 

Korrin pointed out a low table, which I set the wolf onto and he started to thoroughly inspect it. He poked and prodded at various parts, opened it's eyes, moved it's legs about and a bunch of other stuff that seemed silly to me. But he had a very serious look on his face as he wrote down his observations, I assume, in a little notebook all the while. After about 5 minutes of inspection, he made a small slice where the arrow had been, and drained the blood into a bucket. Disgustingly, he actually licked the blood off of his small knife and nodded his head several times. 

"Right, this is a fresh kill. And a very strong beast at that. Definitely in the Mortal Realms, maybe at the level of an Initial Journeyman or so?" He muttered all of this under his breath, probably assuming I couldn't hear him, but when I saw the look in his eyes earlier I had been wary of being cheated, so all of my focus was on him. As he continued to write in his little book, I approached the smitten onlooker that was Alyx and pulled her off to the side. 

"Hey, Alyx. Quick question, about how much would an Initiate Journeyman beast go for, wholesale?" She looked at me, a bit perplexed, but I could see the dots connecting behind her eyes. She shook her head and answered quietly, "Roughly twenty gold I think, depending on the quality up to 25 probably. You can trust him you know? Korrin's a good man." She said so with a blush. I only rolled my eyes at her in reply. Gold is gold, especially in a small town like this. "Thanks. For your sake, I hope so." I whispered back with a wink, painting her face in a deeper red that clashed with the hint of fear in her eyes.

Korrin, finished with his detailed inspection, tucked away the book and walked towards me with a grin. "Right, a fine specimen, that one. At least at the level of a Journeyman in the early stages, I can offer you twenty-one gold for the entire thing, less the 2 silver for the appraisal service of course." Seeing the slight surprise on my face, he continued. "I'd offer twenty-five but, frankly, it's a type of wolf that I have never seen before and the dismantling will also cost labor, not to mention shipping everything over to Yl'Gafel."

Huh, totally thought the dude would undersell me. Maybe it was a commission thing? Eh whatever, I got myself all worked up over nothing. "*Cough* Uh, right. Sounds good to me. Do we write, like, a contract or something then?" He nods his head, and we go through the whole process quickly. I'm handed my 20 gold, and 98 silvers change, in a small pouch and we bid the honest man goodbye, before stepping out into the street again.

"Huh, my bad I guess. You were totally right." Alyx currently wore the 3rd smuggest grin I'd ever seen, the only contenders were those I'd seen in the mirror. "Reputation's everything in a town this small, Miss Xerin. If it was known that Korrin tried to cheat an Adept, who wouldn't he try to cheat around here?" She has a pretty good point I guess...

"Ugh, whatever. Now, I need supplies, a coat to hang, and a place to hang it for like a week or so. I assume this here gold can go a long way?"