Chapter 42: The Fairy Village [I]
--Chapter 42--
Title>> The Fairy Village [I]
Xavier gave the garden one last glance before quietly following after the well prepared escorts.
The more familiar fairies like the pregnant fairy and the pink eyed fairy walked closer to the front.
While the male fairies walked alongside him while a few others hovered with bows behind him.
The procession didn’t travel for further than a minute before they arrived at a more populated area of the village.
Xavier being who he was, noticed the change in the atmosphere almost as quickly as he did most other things.
It was like they strolled from someone’s backyard and straight into the silent chaos of the settlement.
He saw little fairy children chased flying insects between woven footpaths without caring that an outsider had arrived.
Two elderly fairies argued loudly beside a flower bed, each insisting the other’s herbs had crossed into their garden first.
Neither seemed willing to surrender the debate. And yet they nearly raised anything other than their voices.
Further ahead, several hunters returned carrying insects nearly as large as wolves, their laughter echoing between the towering trees.
It wasn’t exactly what Xavier had imagined arriving at the village would feel like.
Surprisingly, nobody rushed over to see Xavier. They didn’t gather around him like he was the next best thing since sliced bread.
Instead, some villagers turned and looked openly without readable reactions. Others pretended not to see him at all.
’Wait...are they cloaking me?’ Xavier looked around his body for the signs of an invisibility skill or something.
He was fairly certain there was something shrouding him until a few children stopped and pointed before their parents quietly lowered their tiny hands.
And in that moment, the spark of understanding swelled in Xavier’s mind.
The village watched him.But they never stopped living their lives because he was here.
This further opened Xavier’s eyes to a certain misconception he might have had about this fairies.
They weren’t warriors pretending to be villagers. Or a community.
They were villagers...
Who knew exactly when to be warriors.
***
As the procession moved deeper into the settlement, Xavier’s gaze drifted from one garden to another.
His Alchemy skill was still quietly identifying ingredients around him but he barely paid attention to the individual names anymore.
They were too much to keep up with and truthfully, the names wasn’t what mattered.
Or better still, his mind had already raced several steps ahead of just names.
He was now focused on possibilities and the opportunities this offered.
Because right now, he could fairly say that this wasn’t simply a place that grew medicinal and important herbs anymore.
It was practically the birthplace of alchemy itself..
What this gardens and the fairy village offered went from healing potions to mana restoratives for travelers and normal adventurers.
To maybe even poisons and the antidotes for assassins and rogues.
And from a certain plant he just saw, even the bathhouses would pay a fortune for performance enhancers and stamina tonics that could be used.
For better Happy Endings.
Xavier was almost sure, if you looked hard enough, you could even get specialized mixtures designed for particular monsters.
Truth be told, with enough knowledge, almost every branch of alchemy suddenly felt possible here.
Xavier almost laughed to himself. Who would’ve thought...?
His choice.back at Stockholm would be rewarded like this..
Who would have thought, the profession players constantly complained about because of its outrageous costs might eventually become his greatest source of income.
His fingers instinctively brushed against empty air as he could feel the weight of his future purse.
He could almost hear the satisfying clink of Gold and Silver coins multiplying inside his inventory.
"No more getting robbed in broad daylight by that bald-headed haggler Felice."
The thought alone felt strangely satisfying.
If he played his cards correctly, the days of counting every copper coin before making a purchase might finally come to an end.
But when it all boiled down to it, all this was for the same destination.
Grace...!
Because money, no matter the world, meant freedom. And freedom meant mobility and influence.
Mobility meant he could search for her without constantly worrying about what every choice or skill would cost.
All Xavier could hope for, was that this fairies weren’t planning to eat him or something. Because right now, the future wasn’t looking all that grim.
Even while Xavier thought on how to take advantage of his dilemma.
The rest of the procession continued through the village in uneasy silence.
Though as expected, that silence didn’t last any longer. Xavier had noticed the pregnant fairy squeezing her hands into fists every now and then.
"Fiona," She finally grew a pair and spoke up. "You said the wound had healed."
Xavier didn’t fully understand what they were talking about.
But Fiona’s silence made him deduce she didn’t want to talk about it.
Instead of the awkward silence to continue, Another fairy spoke up instead.
"The grove nearly killed you once chief. It can wait."
"It has already waited this long," Fiona finally answered without looking back.
"I can handle it now," she concluded.
The discussion should have ended there. But as expected, the fairies couldn’t help themselves.
A younger male guard lowered his voice. ’But your wings still haven’t recovered chief."
Xavier’s eyes instinctively drifted upward the moment he heard that. It was only now that he notice them properly.
Fiona’s translucent wings remained neatly folded behind her back.
And they looked breathtaking, shimmering in such a way that it seemed like they didn’t even need light to shine.
Yet several thin fractures spread through them like cracks across fine glass. At the base, were some faint streaks of black that begun creeping through the delicate veins.
They weren’t large. But Xavier was fairly certain they didn’t belong there either.
"The corruption is spreading," another fairy whispered.
"We have to get her to Miss Skylar."
"No," Fiona’s answer came immediately leaving no room for negotiation. "I’m fine."
The conversation died as quickly as it had begun after just a few words from her.
But Xavier noticed, it was simply because none of them wanted to argue further.
They didn’t even looked disappointed by her, but worry twisted their expressions in a manner they couldn’t even hide.
Xavier made sure to pay attention to everything. After all, hidden villages like this came with hidden quests.
And those came with incredible rewards. Anyways he had a few things to leverage with.
Something was happening at a grove that had caused Fiona’s Injury.
Thee was also the corruption that was eating away at her wings and making her injuries probably more severe.
There was also somebody called Skylar and from what he could determine from Fiona’s tough persona and immediate answer.
Skylar was probably a herbalist or something.in that direction, and Fiona was acting like she didn’t need the help.
Or better still, she would rather not openly show weakness.
All of this were just deductions from his experiences with life and the characters in Arillion that he knew better than anyone.
Either way, there was a pattern. And it definitely led back to whatever Fiona had encountered.
It hadn’t simply wounded her but left her with something that festered.
Xavier remained quiet, If they wanted him to know...and probably trigger a quest.
They would tell him.
If not...
He’d simply find out himself.
--End of Chapter--
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