Chapter 142: Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Two: News Travels

We reached the door to Liz’s shop. She fumbled around for a moment finding her keys before she opened the door.

She held it ajar and waved. “Come on in.”

The three of us stepped inside and Liz closed the door behind us.

I noticed she left the closed sign up and made her way behind the counter. “You aren’t opening up?” I asked.

She shrugged. “No. I’ll serve my regulars if they come to the door but being a half elf, my business has been dead since news from the capital got out.”

“That’s tough.”

“I’ll get by, and things will go back to normal after a while.”

“You haven’t had any trouble, have you?”

She laughed. “No, no things haven’t come to that yet. People just don’t know what to think at the moment and they’re staying away. If things descend into war, then things might be different. You don’t need to worry about me, I can look out for myself, but I do appreciate the thought.”

“I hope your shop will be safe while we’re away.”

“It should be. I’ll ask the guild to keep an eye on it for me.”

“They will, I’m sure.”

“Well, what do you need?”

I glanced inside my pouch. I was running low on all potions. We hadn’t stocked up for the trip to the capital and we had been in a few un-planned battles since then.

“Well, I’m running low on everything. Mana, health and stamina potions.”

“I’ve plenty in stock. How many do you need?”

“At least five of each, I guess. Although, I’m not sure how long the quest will last or how much combat we’re likely to face.”

“Hmm, well it will take us a week at least on foot to reach the shrine.” Liz turned to Serin. “I assume you will want to travel by foot?”

Serin nodded. “We will.”

“We’re going to walk that far?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s our safest bet. There’s no telling who is going to be looking for us. We’ll cut across country and stay off the roads as much as possible. When we reach the territory under the demon lord’s control, we’ll need to be even more careful. I would take as many potions as you can carry.” Serin suggested.

“Right… In that case, can I have ten of each?”

“Of course.” Liz answered before ducking down behind her counter.

She reappeared a few moments later and placed three baskets down on the side. “Please help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

I filled my potion pouch up and placed the rest of the potions in the top of my rucksack. “How much do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it for now. We’ll sort something out went we collect the reward for the quest.”

“Okay.”

“The same goes for you two. Please stock up.”

“Thanks.” Answered Serin.

“Oh, I’m afraid I don’t have any of your custom potions Altria. I’ve struggled to find some of the ingredients lately.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t be needing it anyway.” Answered Altria.

I think I could guess what the other potion she was talking about. Serin and Altria both refilled their own potion pouches and placed plenty of extras in their carry bags.

“Was there anything else you needed?” Liz asked once they were finished.

“I think that’s it.” Answered Serin.

“Then if you don’t mind, I’ll need to prepare for tomorrow.”

“Not at all, we should gather the rest of our supplies while the shops are still open. We’ll see you at the guild tomorrow.”

“You will.”

After thanking Liz for her help, the three of us left the shop. Our next job was to gather the rest of the supplies and food we need for the upcoming journey. We walked the still eerily quiet streets as we collected everything we needed. The shopkeepers seemed nervy, but were glad of the customers. The upside was that with the city this quiet we were soon finished and, on our way back to the guild. We decided we would eat there together before heading our separate ways for the night.

It was just as quiet as earlier. With most of the beastkin and elf contingent having left the city or at least were remaining out of sight. It left only groups that consisted of catkin, wolfkin and humans. There were still the usual sounds of people talking and laughing as they ate and drank, but it was noticeably muted compared to what it had been before we had left for the capital.

We took one of the empty seats at the edge of the hall and waited to be served. The group of adventurers that I had noticed earlier were still here. Just like earlier they were glancing over at our party.

Altria was quick to notice the attention. “Is it just me, or do they keep glancing over at us?”

“I think they do. I’ve noticed a couple of times now.” I replied.

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“Do you know them? Have you perhaps spent some time with them and not kept in touch?” She asked with a smirk.

“No, I’ve no idea who they are. I don’t even remember seeing them in here before.”

“Oh.”

“I wonder why they are paying us attention then?” Asked Serin.

She didn’t have to wait long to receive an answer as two from the group got up from their seats and approached our table. Their group consisted of two wolfkin, a catkin and a human. It was the human and catkin that had decided to approach us.

As they reached our table Serin looked up and smiled. “Can we help you?” She asked politely.

“Not much, I just wanted to know if that man with you is Theo?” Replied the human woman.

The smile on Serin’s face vanished. “Why do you want to know?”

“Well obviously we all know you and Altria here. You’re basically famous in this town, and everyone has been talking about the summoned hero that defeated the demon in Lintz. I just wondered if he was the one that everyone has been talking about? We’d heard he was in your party.”

“Sounds like you already have a good idea who he is.” Altria said joining in the conversation.

“I just wanted to make sure.”

“Well now you know.”

“Yes… Oh and just so you know. The guild has a price on his head. There’s a bounty to capture all three of you, but no one here is going to be stupid enough to make a move after you, are they princess? Or lady Staphenidie…”

“We guessed as much, but what are you getting at? You know our guild hasn’t sided with the alliance, right?”

Altria’s left hand had slipped to her side and was hanging next to her dagger, I could see she was on edge. I glanced at Serin, and her hands were under the table too. The mood had grown tense. Both seemed as if they were ready to act, but I wasn’t sure if this woman was being intentionally threatening. The catkin that had approached with her was clearly unnerved by the way things were going, the concern was written on her face and her hand was nervously twitching over her sword’s hilt.

“Hahaha.” The human woman blurted out. “There’s no need for that. I was only passing on the news. Please rest assured we wouldn’t try to take you in. We’re still loyal to our guild.”

“It’s okay you two, let’s just relax and eat our dinner… Thanks for the warning.” I said trying to calm the situation.

“Oh, think nothing of it, Theo. We wouldn’t want something happening to our hero now, would we?” She said before turning and walking back to her table. “I hope we meet again.” She said waiving as she went.

The catkin girl quickly followed behind her.

“What was that all about?” I asked.  

“I think she was testing us.” Replied Serin.

“Testing?”

“Yes, I think she wanted to see how we would react if we thought you were being threatened… Well, it looked as if she didn’t want to start anything at least not with us here. You should watch out for them.”

“I will.”

“We should mention something to Lisa before we go.” Suggested Altria.

“Good idea, I doubt that she will try anything in the guild, but it’s probably best if she is aware.” Replied Serin.

Their party left the guild hall while we were eating our meal. Despite this we still went to inform Lisa of the conversation before Serin and Altria left for the night.

Jules was in the process of cleaning away as her shift finished when we arrived at the desk.

“Is Lisa still here?” Asked Serin.

“I think so, do you want me check?”

“Yes, please do.”

Jules dropped what she was doing and headed into the back room to check on Lisa. A minute or two later she reappeared with Lisa in tow.

“Jules tells me that you wanted to speak with me?” Lisa said as she stepped up to the desk.

“We did, but we would have come up to your office. You didn’t need to come down here.” Replied Serin.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I was finishing up for the day anyway. What did you want to talk to me about?”

Serin recounted the encounter from earlier to Lisa.

“They said that?” Lisa said before glancing at Jules.

“Yes… I’m not sure if it was a veiled threat or not.”

“They’ve been taking on quests for the last couple of months. I’m not sure where they were from before, but we’ve not had any trouble from them since they’ve been here.” Explained Jules.

“Well, I’ll explain that to the night guard. If it were a threat, I very much doubt they would go after Theo here. I wouldn’t worry.”

“That was what we thought, but I feel happier knowing you’re on the lookout too.”

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