Chapter 55: Finding the Green Solace
--Chapter 55--
Title>> Finding the Green Solace
"Xavier"
The voice came from somewhere beside the barrier tree that was farther down the path.
Xavier turned toward it and much to his relief and surprise, found Freya standing beside a work table just situated underneath a large canopy.
He hadn’t noticed her there earlier or maybe it was because, he found Rili and the lady he was guessing to have been her grandmother very interesting.
But then again, even with his attention caught on something else, he should have at least be cautious enough to notice her.
He made sure to keep this flaw in mind. Even though the fairies were allowing him to move freely, he was still in their lands and anything could happen.
Caution was never a habit that led anyone astray.
With his eyes moving back to the pregnant fairy Freya. he noticed how obvious her projected belly was now, outside the confines of an armor. And the distraction of Fiona’s condition.
Her stomach was large beneath the loose fabric around her waist, and she moved with a precise care that hadn’t been necessary when he’d first seen her.
Xavier approached her instead of waiting for her to come over to him.
"What?" Xavier asked. Gesturing his hand in a small arc.
Since he was already approaching, Freya instead moved back to the work table and reached underneath.
Stopping in his tracks, Xavier kept his eyes fixed on her.
The fairy in question reached beneath the table and searched for about five seconds before she brought out a piece of fabric, he was all too familiar with.
His Rare level Item. The Dread Cloak.
Instinctively, both his brows lifted in a sharp synchrony. He’d decided he was going to ask Fiona for it if he found her later.
And possibly use that excuse to see her again.
But that plan was already gone for now. Because the Fairy woman who was the reason he wasn’t starving right now, stretched the exact item to him.
Xavier reached out and accepted the cloak. Barely inspecting it, the difference was immediately evident.
All the tears were gone. The damage from the cliff and the abuse it had taken throughout the journey had disappeared.
Even the worn sections along the shoulders looked new.
He ran his fingers across the green fur like fabric.
"Thanks for repairing it."
The blank-faced Freya didn’t give him any response. She simply nodded slightly as if she was a different person to who he met only last night.
"I guess my thanks wasn’t necessary?"
Xavier’s thoughts came out as a question and it seemed to have hit the nail on the head.
"Exactly..." Freya replied with words this time. Her tone was sharp and final. Reminding him of Fiona to an extent.
Xavier almost smiled at the thought then his attention returned to her stomach.
The edges of his curiosity peeking out without apology.
"How far along are you?"
Freya’s right hand paused against the table even as her left hand caressed her protruded belly.
Much to Xavier’s disappointment, she didn’t answer. She didn’t even spare him a glance or even seemed to acknowledge his interest.
Instead, she turned back toward her work and began arranging a piece of metal that was already arranged.
But instead of just taking his disappointment and moving on. Xavier waited..., his calm dark eyes still burning with that professional curiosity.
After a few seconds, Freya’s fingers stopped arranging around.
She glanced down at her stomach before finally reaching for Xavier’s eyes.
There was a brief hesitation, as though she had already decided not to answer and was now reconsidering whether there was any reason not to.
"Ten months," she said softly while caressing her stomach with a softer expression.
Xavier’s brows rose."Ten?"
Freya affirmed with a silent nod.
Xavier looked at her stomach again. It took longer than a human’s but he could tell, she was definitely close at this point. Hence her more careful movements.
"Congratulations in advance," Xavier spoke while slipping the repaired Dread Cloak over his shoulders.
The familiar weight settled against his body, followed almost immediately by the faint sensation of its passive returning to life.
He flexed one shoulder and pulled up the collar of the cloak.
’Perfect.’
"Thanks," he said again.
His expected reply however was a small hammer crunching hard on a few forages.
Freya had simply returned to her work.
***
After a few minutes of careful searching. Xavier determined the east borders of the village had no more chests to offer.
And just as he planned, he decided to search the other cardinals of the village if he could obtain even more rewards.
At a cross-roads, Xavier was stuck between going north, Counter Clock-wise or going south, Clock-wise.
After a short game of Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, Fate made a decision under the guise of a children’s game.
South "it"....is
Xavier made his way south. After a few meters, he noticed how the last of the residential areas thinned behind him.
The last cluster of homes before the village slowly gave way to something quieter. The roots grew wider here, spreading across the ground and beneath the paths.
There were no bridges, or even children playing around, just thickened canopies overhead that filtered the sunlight into a soft green-gold allure.
A large garden opened up ahead causing Xavier to slow down.
The garden was large enough to occupy the space between several enormous roots, with rows of plants growing in carefully maintained clusters.
Some climbed the roots themselves while others spread across the ground in thick carpets. A few gave off faint glows and nose soothing aroma beneath the canopy, each one carrying its own subdued light.
The HUD displayed.
"The Green Solace"
Immediately Xavier entered, his Alchemy skill registered the garden and its occupants silently.
Xavier ignored the projected information. There were too many plants here to start examining them individually, and he didn’t come this far to catalogue vegetation.
Still looking for chests, His ears twitched to pick up a rain of curses, coming from somewhere at the back.
"You cursed root-rat! I will end your entire family’s line! Get away from my plants!"
Xavier followed the voice religiously while making sure to be cautious.
"Stay put, you furry miscreant," the voice continued.
At the end of the growing line of curses, Xavier found a fairy gardener crouched between two rows, stabbing beneath a broad-leafed plant with a gardening knife barely longer than his thumb.
The male with rimmed glasses hanging precariously low on the bridge of his nose. Had a weathered face and the killing intent of someone who’d clearly spent years tending to plants.
More surprisingly, he was dressed in what looked suspiciously like a suit, complete with a neatly buttoned jacket that had somehow survived whatever indignity he was currently putting himself through.
Moving like a blur, something moved beneath the leaves avoiding the garden knife that struck the ground.
"Get back here!"
The creature darted beneath another root.
Sir Buttallo as he cursor on his head indicated , followed on his knees, knife raised and his carefully maintained appearance rapidly losing its battle against the garden floor.
Following the rodent’s pattern effortlessly. Xavier crouched just as the small, round and furry rodent emerged from the other side of the root.
It stopped the moment it noticed the massive inescapable silhouette that casted over its body.
Xavier lowered his hand. And the creature sniffed his fingers. But before it could move again, he closed his hand around it.
Sir Buttallo briefly came around the root with his knife still raised.
He stopped just as he saw Xavier’s Greaves. The gray eyes of the gardner travelled all the way up to meet Xavier’s eyes.
Then to the small creature trapped between his fingers.
"Welcome!" Sir Buttallo sprung up, straightened and adjusted his glasses, restoring whatever remained of his dignity.
"Welcome, welcome! You are the dragon, yes? The one who healed our Chief?"
"Yes."
Sir Buttallo’s face brightened at the answer. Then he pointed at Xavier’s hand.
"You can throw that one as far as possible."
Xavier glanced at the rodent. It stared back with pure white eyes through the gap between his fingers.
He carried it to the edge of the garden and placed it beyond the boundary roots.
The creature sat there for a moment in confusion, then it waddled into the undergrowth.
"Thank you," Sir Buttallo said.
Xavier turned back toward him. His voice firm and expectant.
"What else is wrong?"
Sir Buttallo initially had a blank expression on his face, and almost like he’d just processed Xavier’s words. Gestured for Xavier to follow.
For some reason, that seemed to be exactly the question he had been waiting for.
--End of Chapter--