After sitting for quite some time, Saber took a moment to himself and relaxed, letting out a quiet sigh of relief as he took his break for the day. It has been quite an eventful time since he had begun his time in Elder Tale, and actually getting to sit down at a table and listen to other people run on about seemingly unimportant things put his mind at ease. It reminded him that the world he was now stuck in wasn’t all about meaningless killing, honing his combat skills, and running around like some odd errand boy. No, he was actually living in this world. He wasn’t some killing machine, and neither was anyone else that had found themselves trapped. Sure, everyone had their own way of coping but that was what it really was. Everyone was coping, some more so than others.
And these fellows seemed to fit quite comfortably into the world, almost as though they were unaffected by it at all. Saber had felt the same, to an extent, but he wasn’t living. He was surviving. That was the difference between himself and the others. It didn’t sound too bad, but it didn’t sound great either. For Saber, it made him feel out of place. Maybe, just maybe, his hiding as a Person of the Land was something he should have stuck to. He was an Adventurer but when he sat with other Adventurers, it was just so… unsettling. He eventually sighed and excused himself, stating that he had remembered he had another matter to take care of. Then, he rose from the table and crossed the room into the adjacent area. Barus followed after him.
“They’re different, aren’t they?” The old man piped up, a smile on his face as he lowered his voice. Saber adjusted his scabbard so it took up less of a profile and turned sideways, glancing into the other room. He grimaced.
“Just a bit, but not so much that I would call them enemies or anything of that sort.” Being an Adventurer, Saber considered them more rivals. They were fitting in with the world and bore the name of “Adventurer” with pride, taking on its negatives along with its positives. It almost made Saber feel like he was escaping something.
“Do not worry, young man, I did not think anything along those lines. I simply meant the fact that they are Adventurers.” Barus smile turned up a bit, almost twitching with a sharpness. Saber felt his throat tighten.
“Y-yes, that is true.” Attempting to ignore the subtle jab, Saber reminded himself of his persona, and also the fact that he had evaded one of the other adventurers asking for his name. It was a safe thing to do, but it was only as foolproof as Saber’s own social skills. He had messed up once with two women, now he just had to keep everything else underwraps.
“Come on, bud…” Saber walked over to the playing children and gave his salamander a soft bump on the backside. The creature turned its head away from the little girl and huffed, while she began to pout.
“But we were just getting to the fun part…” Sara muttered. Saber wiggled his nose at the sad face Sara made, a bit upset with his decision making, but his guilt trip only lasted as long as it took for him to come up with a thought. He turned to Barus.
“Barus, those gentlemen were talking about the quest for your materials, correct?” “Ah, yes. I have been running low and I needed to restock, so I was going to have them go out and get me some. I intended to reward you quite well, too, if you had gone with them.” Saber nodded at the words.
“They will be a while, as they will probably get comfortable with one another before forming a party and then finally going out. I expect another twenty to thirty minutes. I’ll go ahead of them. I’m quite a skilled hunter in the forests around Londinium and I’ve spent a good amount of time out there so I know some of the—“ “Yes, she can go. I trust you, Hunter.” Barus began to play with his beard as Sara popped up. She beamed with joy and latched onto the salamander, cheering with joy as she clambered on top of it. Proudly, she mounted the armored lizard and huffed at Saber.
“We should go get ice cream, too!” And then she pouted. Saber shook his head. Saber wasn’t fond of children too much, but he didn’t hate them. It was more like he didn’t know how to deal with them properly. Unlucky for him, his salamander was quite the child so at least he had some practice.
“Maybe on the way back, but let’s do the work first.” “Yes, sir!” Sara puffed out her chest and then saluted. His salamander mimicked her, huffing and raising an armored leg awkwardly to salute Saber. The Summoner sighed and waved them on ahead of him. Seeing such, the salamander slipped out of the front of the building, huffing passed the other adventurers still at the table and promptly out the front door, with Sara’s assistance. Saber took a moment to get the details, again, from Barus before chasing after them. He bowed his head as he passed by the other players but he didn’t open his mouth. He went right out the door and whistled loudly towards his summon, the summon who was listening to Sara and heading for the ice cream shop.
Busted, the lizard lowered its head and its tail as it turned around and trudged back. Saber didn’t wait and let the salamander catch up to him. The three made a beeline for the fields, passing by the guards and waving to Frank who was on duty for the day. Frank’s partner was inside the small shack, escaping from the world by taking a brief nap. The sight was baffling. Frank, the Lander Guard who was always getting into trouble was actually doing work while his designated keeper, Darus, was sleeping. It was interesting to see.
“Have a good trip, Darius, and stay safe Lady Sara!” Frank said as the small group passed by. Sara smiled and waved excitedly. Frank smiled and returned the gesture, but only briefly as his partner snorted awake.
“Have a nice nap, eh?” And so, their comedy routine began. On the other hand; Saber’s work had begun.
* * *
“This is boring…” Sara puffed and whined as she plucked another root out of the forest floor. The salamander popped out from around the tree, a mouthful of green. Saber stared at the fellow, who had been looking at him for confirmation.
“Where did you even…? Never mind.” The plants and bugs in the mess were different than what was in the area, so Saber honestly wondered where the lizard had retrieved them from. This salamander was a truly magical beast, that was for sure.
But, among the mess that was the salamander’s mouth, Saber spotted two of the Madder Root’s he needed, which made three total. He plucked them out of the mess and then tucked them into the designated pouch on his hip. After that, the salamander spit the remaining green into space before trotting away. Sara hummed as she picked at the Weld Leaves, removing them from the little bushes they were stuck on.
Saber followed the two’s lead and began to pick up Dyer’s Woad. With Sara looking for the Leaves and his salamander digging up roots, Saber didn’t want to be the lazy guard that just stood around twiddling his thumbs. The downside? It took forever. Save found three Dyers Woad rather quickly and was able to identify them without issue, but as he started to count higher, the world turned against him. He hit nine when he realized someone, or something, seemed to be inhaling the stuff. Any other time and the item would have been anywhere. Now that he needed it? Nowhere. Not a single damn piece of the Dyers Woad was in sight.
Sara perked up and ran over to where Saber was, giggling and smiling with joy as she presented him with eight Weld Leaves. His Salamander returned as well, popping out from around another tree and prancing over with four more Madder Roots in its mouth. Saber rumbled and collected the items with a soft thanks. Then, Sara clambered onto the lizard’s back and they set off to another small area nearby. Saber chuckled at the cute sight, taking a moment to stare as his salamander nimbly carried the young girl before he followed them.
As they played, Saber continued to gather his Dyers Woad. The new space they found was littered with the materials. The two children turned it into a race and began to gather up as much material as they could. They zipped around the little forest area, grabbed handfuls (or mouthfuls, in terms of the salamander), and then rushed back to Saber to dump things off and race back. Saber had given them the fifteen number limit, but it was clear that his number was ignored. As Saber reached fifteen Dryer Woad things, Sara was at twenty Weld Leaves and his Salamander had hit eighteen Madder Roots. Saber wiggled his nose and checked his pouches, staring at the piles, and then he looked up to the children as they began to dash back to him.
“Well… At least Barus gave me some headway.” He muttered, watching his Salamander return with five more roots, and Sara with only three leaves. She pouted at the sight and stuck her tongue out at the salamander before running off again. The salamander hissed loudly, smoke pouring from its nostrils tauntingly before it dashed off. Saber shook his head, gathered the dropped off items, and continued with his Dyers Woad.
He went from fifteen to twenty-five rather quickly, but it was the other two who were quick. Fifteen to twenty-three and then up to twenty-eight was the pace of Sara, while his salamander went from three to eight to eleven, up to eighteen, and now he was only at a meager twenty-six. Two short of Sara, but he was pounding the ground with his clawed hands. They seemed excited, and Saber was a bit afraid for his life.
Sara finished first, Saber finished second, and the salamander came trotting back with the last of the needed Roots stuffed full in his mouth. Saber had called out, telling them their counts and warning them not to go over thirty-five as it would be too much. When he saw his salamander, he feared that the thing had not heard him, or that it didn’t care. But he was given a surprise when he counted thirty-five Madder Roots.
“Safe…” He sighed, gathering up the materials into their three respective pouches. Sara cheered and the salamander whipped its tail back and forth in joy. Saber nodded and gave them both light pats on the head, thanking them and rewarding them for their hard work. But, he also reminded Sara of the promise he had made to her. In exchange for coming with him, Saber would get her ice cream.
“So, how about we get some ice cream before returning to your grandpa’s shop?” “Yay!” With that cheer, Saber’s salamander picked up the little girl onto its back and the group set off, returning to London for their afternoon treat. Saber ensured the pouches were concealed in his pants and kept their straps tight. He would pass them over to Barus once he was able to tire out the little girl. It seemed like she was already starting to cover up her fatigue, too. Saber was no parent, but he could see her little eyes blinking a bit quicker and her jaw locking up as she strained to keep in her yawns. He smirked and gently pat her on the head.
“Afterwards, we’ll take a break.” Following Sara’s directions, Saber and his salamander found a small café that had several women waiting on the tables there. It was a bit more colorful inside than Saber would have liked but he didn’t complain. He sat down, got the girl and his familiar their treats and ordered himself a cup of tea. They ate, Sara fell asleep, and Saber carried the sleeping princess back to her castle, leaving her on Barus’s couch that was in his study. He passed the materials, earned his reward, and was on his way before the evening. And by that time, he was tired himself.
“Time for dinner, don’t you think buddy?” Saber thought out loud, glancing down to his fire lizard partner. The lizard huffed and nodded. Yes, food sounded quite nice right about now.
Tags: [Abandoned turned Solo]
