Cynthia was finishing up with her current quest when Penelope came up to her.

“Hey, there, Nellie. What brings you here?” Cynthia inquired as she tied off the herb bunches together in groups of five. Penelope saw this and went to do the same with the leftover herbs.

“Minerva says we’re eating out tonight for dinner,” Penelope responded as she meticulously tied off the herbs into neat bunches.

“Is that right? What a treat! Let’s take all of this to the guild and we can head to the restaurant together!”

Once everything was packed away, Cynthia picked up Penelope and they were off to the Adventurer’s Guild.

The building which housed the guild had four floors and was enough to take up a good corner of a city block. People kept going in and out of the grand main doors, which were carefully labeled for entry and exit uses (words that Penelope committed to memory when she tried to open the exit only door); this assured a constant and proper flow of business. The building was made of solid constriction, with brick and mortar that could withstand the salty sea air. There were stone pillars all around the building, each one with a different regal figure chiseled into them.

Penelope actually had to squint a little because she noticed something peculiar about the statues as she went inside with Cynthia.

“Say, I could be wrong, but…are the statues all the same person?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah. According to the clerks, those statues are modeled after the second king of Birain in various poses.”

“Oh.” Weird style choice, but all right. “I guess he was really important, huh?”

“He was the archetype of the wandering adventurer, so yes, he is.”

In the main room where quests were handed in reminded Penelope of a bank, where people lined up in front of tellers to have their account transactions done. Since Cynthia kept a firm hold of her in her arms (while Penelope held onto the herbs) she had a bit of extra height to look around; someone nearby was arguing over prices, while someone else was at a different counter making a request about a lost item. There were three people in front of Cynthia, updating the clerks on their quest progress, the one currently with a clerk was scribbling away at a form, scratching his head about this part or that.

Oh, yes, quite like a bank, Penelope thought. I do not miss paperwork, but this might be me one day, so I should pay attention.

Back in her life as Kasumi, she had worked for an advertising firm as a general worker. Not assigned to any particular department, but many things were placed on her plate by coworkers and this included paperwork she had no business doing. Out of necessity she had researched policies, terms and a variety of information in order to perform at work. Every time something came up, she would make a quick search on the internet with the hope it would give her advice on what to do so she could clear the next hurdle.

I actually am glad I don’t have the internet anymore. The internet was a scary place.

She did have some good experiences on it, as occasionally, she fought off the lonesomeness with going into chat rooms. Making some connections, no matter how fleeting, eased the daily pain and made her want to keep going. Some chats were more toxic than others, but she did find some solace in strangers who happily talked with her about art or just complained alongside her about lazy coworkers and families who did nothing to help at home. There had been one person whom she met frequently, though, as they often appeared at the same time, in the dead of night, when Kasumi had been on break. Kasumi and that person spoke every other night through chat over the course of ten years, sharing artwork that they liked and encouraging each other. It was a light in a small, uncaring world.

Penelope wondered if they would miss her, or wonder where she went after not answering any chats. She hoped that wherever they were, that they were still going to be happy…

“Next!” called out the desk clerk. It was their turn; Cynthia stepped forward with Penelope readying to hand over the collected herbs. “Name, rank, membership number and job number, please.”

“Cynthia Riverthorn. Rank C. Membership number 8-9-0-2-2-2. I’m here for job number C-6202.”

“Please hold.”

The clerk left the counter to go to the massive wall of books behind her, climbing up a ladder to grab something from one of the higher shelves, before returning with the correct page already open.

“This is a job to gather Chamo herbs. Our requester has agreed to 5 Draks per bundle, with bonuses if we deem the herbs of higher quality.” The clerk gestured to the desk in front of her, which was Penelope’s cue. The girl carefully bent forward and laid out the bundles she and Cynthia had put together. The clerk checked them over with a spell, her eyes glowing a strange red which caught her attention. Was that some kind of appraisal ability?

After a minute the clerk smiled and nodded, dividing piles into the ones that Penelope had bundled and ones that Cynthia had put together.

“Well, as usual you do great work, Cynthia. These herbs are great. But, how come these look a little neater than these ones?” Pointing at Cynthia’s pile. “I know you did these since you didn’t cut the herbs the same length and tied them off quickly. These other ones look much more even.”

“Oh, I had a little helper. This is Penelope. She’s been staying with Minnie and me,” Cynthia explained.

“I see! Well, hello Penelope. Thank you for your hard work,” the clerk said with a smile.

Penelope, feeling shy, just pulled the cloak further around her face. The clerk laughed.

“Aw, she’s shy. Well, it’s not much, but for how neatly they came I’ll add a little extra. We have ten bundles in all, so with your bonus, that’s 51 Draks.”

The money was quickly counted out and handed over – five silver coins, plus one copper. While Cynthia collected the silver coins, she handed the copper one to Penelope who looked at it quizzically.

“What’s this for?” she asked, the coin still just laying there in her palm.

“I got that extra from your neat work, so that one is for you,” Cynthia explained.

“You mean I actually get to keep this?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

Penelope was stunned, but also a bit happy, and not a little teary-eyed. She had worked before, as Kasumi, day and night, and when she got paid, her family always helped themselves to her money, even when she worked hard to save for something. Their hands dipped in with little consideration. This was the first time someone willingly just handed over money to her. Even though the amount was small, she was grateful to have received it.

“Thank you very much!” Penelope chirped. She had to properly express her gratitude.

Even as they walked away from the counter, Penelope couldn’t help admiring the copper coin. Her delight amused Cynthia.

“Now, you can’t officially sign up for the guild until you’re a bit older, so don’t get any ideas, all right, Nellie?”

Penelope blinked at that. “What do you mean?”

“Labour laws in Birain are pretty specific about hiring kids under 13. Not that it doesn’t happen, but most respectable places tend to avoid it, like the guild here. And even when you sign up, they won’t give you anything too difficult or dangerous. Mostly local odd jobs that kids can do.”

“I see…”

As they were making for the queue to exit the building and head off to meet with Minerva and Yule, the pair were stopped by a portly man in a shop apron.

“Excuse me, you two! May I have a word?” the man asked.

“You may,” Cynthia replied, gripping Penelope a little tighter.

The girl looked between her guardian and the man in front of her.

He looked to be middle aged, with a larger frame and belly. His hair had long gone white and was wild and bushy. While appearances could be deceiving, his brown eyes held a kind and tired quality to them. Penelope recognized the dark bags under his eyes – this was a man who barely got enough sleep.

He stuck his hand into his apron pocket and pulled out a familiar book.

Penelope’s eyes widened. “Oh, that’s mine!”

“Yes, I noticed you at my shop window earlier and you dropped it when you ran off. I came to the guild to hand it over to someone here so they could find you and give it back, but it seems that won’t be necessary.” He handed the workbook back to the girl, who safely put it away in her satchel. “By the way, that is a finely illustrated book. Do you happen to know where you purchased it?”

“Oh? Nowhere,” Penelope replied, looking proud. “I drew all the pictures!”

The man was surprised. “R-really? Those amazing pictures?”

Penelope felt like the guy was being a bit too forceful with his praise and laughed nervously. It felt weird being told her doodles were good.

“They’re not that good,” she insisted.

“Oh, but they are. If I may, I’d really like to ask of you a favour…” There was a silent plea in the man’s eyes, something he needed to ask. The look of someone who needed some kind of help…

“Hey!” Someone’s voice cut through the air, disturbing their conversation. There were people trying to move around them or standing near their little group. “Could you move it along? You’re blocking the path.”

The shopkeeper waved for the two of them to follow him.

“Ah, my apologies everyone. Could you two come with me? There is something I’d really like to discuss.”

Cynthia looked to Penelope.

“It’s up to you, kid. You all right with talking to him? I’ll come with you, of course.” There was no way the warrior was letting her charge go anywhere alone.

Penelope, curious as to what the shopkeeper wanted, nodded. “Sure, why not?”

Without much further ado, the three of them left the guild building to go discuss at the stationary shop. As they got out, the sky was beginning to change its hue to something richer and deeper, though night had not yet fallen. A dusky twilight had settled over Ceralde as the business of the streets wound down, with stalls being put away and wares packed up. The shop wasn’t too far from the guild, but it took them a good few minutes to get there, during which time they made introductions.

“My name is Ulfric Gidget. I own the stationary store with my wife, Matilda.”

“My name is Penelope Snowflower,” Penelope returned, followed by Cynthia who also stated her name in suit.

“I’m sorry for taking up your time, but there is something I need help with.”

“I’m sure you do,” Cynthia stated evenly, “But you know you could just make a request with the guild and they could probably do better than a little girl.”

The man fumbled with his shop keys, almost dropping them as he got the front door open to usher them all inside.

“Thing is,” he began, “this was not something they have the power to arrange to fix. And I am quite desperate for anything that can help with my situation.”

Penelop, distracted by everything within the store once they entered, turned her attention back to Ulfric. “And that is?”

“Truth be told, my wife is very sick and I am at my wit’s end about it.”

“Tell us more about it.”

Penelope and Cynthia were taken to one of the backrooms, a small kitchen with a table with just enough room for two. A third chair was pulled from somewhere and dusted off, so Penelope could have a seat as well. They were served tea and after Cynthia gave it a sniff and a thumbs up to Penelope, they enjoyed their warm drinks as Ulfric explained himself.

“My wife and I came from across the sea, from the country of Narhand,” Ulfric explained. “Me, her and our daughter.”

“That’s a long way to come from,” Cynthia stated, sounding surprised.

Penelope looked up at her guardian at that. “Is it really that far away?”

“Yeah, Narhand is across the ocean. It takes months to cross it to get to Birain.”

“It did. My family barely had enough to survive on while on that ship, and barely enough to get ourselves a home when he landed in Ceralde. But we got by and eventually opened our store.”

“But why not open the store back in your home country, Mr Ulfric?” Penelope asked.

Ulfric smiled sadly. “My home country of Narhand has gone through many bad things,” he explained simply. “War, famine, diseases…it was all I could do, in order to give my family a better life and there is no better place than Birain.”

“Is that so?” 

How awful. Seemed like even this new world was not exempt from the same terrible things that plagued her former world. Though Kasumi rarely exposed herself to international news (or even local news), due to not wanting to cause herself depression over the state of the world, even she was not ignorant to the concepts. Probably because her own father had kept yelling about how the new generation was ruining the world, complaining about how the world was going to Hell in a hand basket and how some people deserved what they got. Kasumi used to argue with him, when she was younger and had the energy for it, but those topics just became taboo to discuss with the man, whether he supplied the information himself or not. Kasumi had bene privileged enough to have to never know what war was (though it did feel as if a famine had passed through at times, since she barely got enough to eat).

“So, you said that your wife is sick? What does that have to do with Penelope’s workbook?” Cynthia asked.

Ulfric sighed. “This illness…it plays with my wife’s mind. Most times she is peaceful, but there are times when she is more fiery than a vengeful spirit, shouting and screaming. If I don’t watch her closely then she would hurt herself. This all began when we lost our daughter a few months ago.”

The story was quite sad. Ulfric’s wife, Matilda, had been outside shopping with their daughter, Velma, who was around the same age as Penelope. It was a normal trip to the market, where Matilda bought items for their dinner that night, while Velma helped by carrying a basket with some of their groceries. Matilda had only turned away for a second when her daughter was snatched up. The woman gave chase until she stumbled and fell, losing sight of her daughter and her kidnapper. Both of them did everything they could to try and find her, including making a request at the Adventurer's Guild.

“Oh, I remember seeing that notice a few months ago. So it was for your daughter,” Cynthia whispered solemnly. “I never even applied, because it seemed out of my scope of abilities. It was the beginning of the rainy season, so my tracking skills would have been useless. And I know most others would not have tried, either…missing persons are some of the most time consuming requests, especially if there is a chance a child was taken far away to be sold off.”

Considering the time that passed, it would only get more and more difficult, too. According to Cynthia, people who worked at the guild did work that assured them money and or were fast to complete. Missing persons required money and time in order to track that person down, and even if someone did have the money to start off with, finding someone was not guaranteed, thus turning the quest into a money pit. The local guardsmen did do their part as well, but if the person wound up outside the town, then there was truly nothing they could do.

“Yes, that wound up being the case. Since we are still new in town, we did not have enough money to care for my wife and pay any expenses incurred for the request. I do not stop hoping to see my sweet Velma, but I know I had to make a choice…I do not wish to lose my wife as well.”

Penelope felt so bad. That truly was a terrible choice to make. Either he put forth everything they had to try and locate their child, and possibly lose his wife by the time she is located, or look after his wife’s health so she may live, but have the very real chance he would never see his child again. No one could easily make such a difficult choice, he must have thought a long time about it. Probably even placated his wife by even putting up the search request in the first place.

Cynthia, though, had her own opinions.

The Cyno female slammed a fist on the table.

“That’s terrible! What about your daughter?! I’m sure she’s also going through a lot!” Cynthia shouted, clearly impassioned by the situation. While she was not kid crazy as Minerva, it was clear she also cared about children. “If it were me, even if I was penniless, I would have made it work! A child is a sacred gift! She must miss you, she could be hurt, or scared, or –”

“Hey, Cynthia…I’m sure it wasn’t that simple,” Penelope said, trying to calm Cynthia, who was angrily baring her teeth. “Mr Ulfric probably really thought long and hard about it.”

Ulfric, looking deflated after being shouted at, bowed his head. “I know it is selfish, but what would you do if you were in danger of losing anything? I have no other choice.”

Cynthia looked ready to bite his head off, but Penelope put a hand on her companion’s shoulder, shaking her head. The Cyno female stopped, but her face was taut. Clearly, this whole thing bothered her.

“So…what kind of help did you need from me?” the little girl asked quietly, getting back to the reason he requested them to talk.

Ulfric nodded. “My wife…her mind has deteriorated since we lost our girl. I have had doctors take a look at her, but they could not find anything wrong with her. I…I just think she has a broken heart and spirit, from the shock of the loss. When I saw the details of your drawings, I thought maybe I could help her heal a little…”

“How so?” Penelope coaxed.

“I would like for you to draw a picture of my daughter,” Ulfric said, “artists are far and few in Ceralde. Most you find here are passing warriors, travellers and folk who had never picked up a pencil in their lives. The only ones who may have the capability are the upper class who could afford art lessons and supplies for their children. Please Miss Penelope, grant me this request. If my wife could see my daughter’s face again, there might be a chance of granting her some peace…”

Ulfric fell into tears, clearly stressed about the whole affair. He had a store to run, a sick wife to look after and a missing daughter to worry about – it all weighed down on him. She could see the signs of a man who spent sleepless nights searching, days working and carrying on lest something else broke. However, the pace he was going, he would break down and be of even less help to his wife. When was the last time he even had a chance to talk to someone, to let out all of his sadness? He had reached out for help, but no one was looking his way and he was in an impossible situation.

Penelope remembered days like that as Kasumi. Needing to balance everything so everyone around her could be happy, so she could live some semblance of normalcy at home. As long as she kept going, everything would be all right, she had told herself, until it really wasn’t. Penelope did not want someone becoming so hopeless that they crashed and burned.

Knowing all this, she knew what to do.

She went over to Ulfric and reached up to pat the older man’s cheek.

“There, there,” she said. “I understand. It must have been very hard for you.”

The older man looked at her, shocked at her kind words. The tears still flowed, but he managed to push through a smile and nodding. His hand placed itself atop hers, closing his eyes to squeeze the tears out once more before letting out a shaky laugh.

“It must be something, to see an old man cry.”

“Not at all,” Penelope said. “Everyone cries. Everyone is sad. It’s normal.”

Ulfric chuckled at her words. “Yes, everyone does.” Taking a breath, he moved away from Penelope.

“I may not have much, but I will do my best to repay you,” he told her. Penelope waved it off politely.

“Well, let’s talk about payment later? You won’t know if my work will be worth much in the end,” she stated. Ulfric shook her head.

“I may not look it, but I am a proud businessman. Remember this Miss Penelope: always make sure you clearly state a price before offering services or people may take advantage of you.”

“He’s right,” Cynthia interjected. “We can probably talk more about this tomorrow. As one of her guardians, I need to speak with her other guardian. Shall we make arrangements to meet again later?”

“Oh, yes, of course!”

Cynthia and Ulfric arranged a time during the next day to meet again, hurrying along when they heard Penelope’s stomach rumble. Good timing for it; Penelope was hungry and the others would probably be worrying about where they went. By the time they stepped out, darkness had settled in. To save time, the Cyno female picked up Penelope and dashed for the restaurant at breakneck speed. The girl yelped at the first lurch, but soon got used to the windy speeds.

“You sure about this Nellie? You didn’t have to help.”

“I know, but…it seemed really sad. If I can help his wife feel a bit better, why shouldn’t I?”

“I still think it’s wrong for a man to abandon his child like that.”

“I don’t think so…I don’t think he abandoned her. He hasn’t given up. Being given up on by a father…I know what that’s like. He wouldn’t be still trying, if he has really given up on his daughter.”

“I suppose. The request is still available at the guild…I’ll apologize for snapping later. Thanks for stopping me, Nellie.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Penelope was curious as to why Cynthia was so bothered by Ulfric’s actions, but felt like now was not the time to be asking about something that may be too sensitive. Now that she thought about it, the Cyno female also got upset whenever the subject of Minerva’s father was brought up, too. There must be quite the story there.

Hanging onto Cynthia, they eventually arrived at the restaurant to meet with Minerva and Yule.