Chapter 474: Never Again


    “Uh…” Derek muttered. “Is all of that going to be okay over there?” He pointed at the broken jars and materials scattered around on the ground.


    “Huh?” Nick turned and looked to where Derek was pointing, then said, “How did all of that get over there?” He stared intently at the mess, then shrugged. “Should be fine.” Finally, he turned back around. “Now, what do the two of you fine customers need?”


    “Well, sir.” nah stepped forward, shed the man a smile, batted her eyshes, and even went as far as flipping her hair. “We were hoping you could help get us some information, and maybe even a map.”


    “Hmm…” The odd elf eyed nah up and down. Then he turned to Derek. “Is your friend okay? She is showing some odd behavior. I may have a few potions in the back to help with those tics.”


    “Oh… she’s fine,” Derek said as he did his utmost to hold himself back fromughing.


    “If you say so.” The man shrugged again, then looked back at the now crimson face of nah. “You need a map and information?”


    “Yes,” the siren said through gritted teeth.


    “Is that all?” the shopkeeper asked.


    “I have some items that you may be interested in buying or trading,” nah said, no longer trying to charm the man.“It looks like your friend was correct,” Nick said to nah. “Whatever was wrong with you seems to have cleared up on its own. Very intriguing.” Finally, he brushed that aside and continued. “I’m sure I can wrangle up a map or two. Would you like one of any specific location? Or will any map do?”


    “Any… map?” Derek muttered.


    “Well… yes.” Nick nodded. “You said you needed a map, but you didn’t specify what kind of map.”


    “We need a map of the kingdom,” nah said.


    “Which kingdom?”


    “Vorandell…” nah muttered,pletely deted. She seemed almost exhausted after the extremely short interaction with Nick.


    “Vorandell? A map of here? Well… why didn’t you say so?” Nick quickly turned, then stumbled on his robe before rushing off through a door. Momentster, he came scurrying back with a long rolled-up map. “Will this work?” he asked as he unrolled the map and held it out in front of nah.


    “Where are we on the map?” she asked.


    “You’re not on the map?” Nick peeked his head around the map to look at nah. He wore a very confused look on his face. “You’re in my shop.”


    “Could you show us where this vige is located? And where the closest cities are in rtion to this vige? Show us by using the map?” Derek asked, trying to exin as best he could to not confuse the elf. He was really starting to wonder if the shopkeeper was okay.


    “Oh! Of course,” Nick said. “Hold this.” He handed the map to nah, then walked around the side until he was standing beside her and looking at the map. “This is the area where our vige is located.” He pointed at a specific location near the edge of the map. “And here is the closest city… and here is the next to the closest. They are around the same distance away from our vige.”


    “Do these two cities have teleporters?” Derek asked.


    “Of course!” Nick said. “I think. I’ve never used one.”


    “Great!” Derek said. “In that case, we’ll take the map.”


    “You can’t do that!” Nick quickly pulled the map out of nah’s hands and backed away from the duo.


    “Why not?” Derek asked.


    “No stealing! You have to buy it,” Nick said.


    “Oh…” Derek muttered. He was beginning to know what nah felt like. “That’s what I meant. We will buy the map, then take it with us.”


    “Oh! Of course!” Nick quickly rolled up the map and handed it to Derek. “Here you go.”


    Derek took the map from the man, then let out a long breath. <em>After all that, and he just… hands the map to me before payment. </em>


    “That will be…” the man began counting on his fingers while muttering to himself. “Add the two… carry the one… no, not that way… four, five, six…” He looked up. “Two gold, 67 silver, and 32 copper. Or the equivalent in trade.”


    “Right…” nah said. “May we move over to your counter? I have some… items that I would like to sell or trade.”


    “Sure!” Nick replied before shuffling over to stand behind his counter.


    nah followed the man. Then, when she arrived at the counter, she flicked her wrist and multiple items appeared between the two of them. Derek saw a couple of high-quality pelts, along with multiple potions of differing colors. He recognized a major mana, healing, and stamina potion.


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    “Oh, wow!” Nick held the pelt up and examined it. “This is very nice. I don’t even know the level of it.”


    “Two fifty,” nah said.


    “Wow… a level two hundred and fifty pelt,” Nick mumbled. “And these potions! Major Potion of Healing… Major Potion of Stamina, Major Potion of Mana… good! Very good!”


    “I’ll give you five gold for the lot of them, and I’ll throw in that map for free!” Nick said.


    “Five… gold?” nah muttered, her brow twitching.


    “That’s all I have on me right now,” Nick exined.


    Derek had no clue how much all the things nah had ced on the counter would have gone for in another ce, but he was absolutely sure that the pelts alone would have gone for more than five gold each.


    “One pelt,” nah said. “For the five gold and the map.” She waved her hand over the items, and all but a single pelt disappeared.


    “Two!” Nick countered.


    <em>‘I’m not haggling…’ </em>Derek heard nah’s voice in his head. It seemed tired—if that was even possible for a voice via telepathy. <em>‘You can if you want to.’ </em>


    <em>‘I’m good,’ </em>Derek replied.


    “Fine.” nah waved her hand over the counter and another pelt appeared.


    “Awesome!” Nick nearly jumped for joy, then he quickly reached into one of his robe pockets and pulled out five gold and a few pieces of lint. After picking the lint out, he put it on the counter. “Here you go!”


    nah quickly snatched the gold up, then turned on her heels and marched toward the exit.


    “Thanks.” Derek said to the overjoyed shopkeeper, then followed hispanion.


    “I’m so awesome!” Derek heard the shopkeeper say to himself as they walked away. “I can’t wait to show mom.”


    Derek turned, only to see the man rubbing the pelts on his face.


    “So… soft…”


    Derek quickened his pace until he was walking alongside nah, then walked through the door with her. Once they were outside, he and nah both released a long sigh.


    “Never again!” nah said. She took the map, then highlighted the area where they were with red. After that, she wrote ‘danger area’ on it before putting it away.


    “Why are most of the merchants and shopkeepers I meet so… weird?” Derek asked himself, not expecting an answer.


    nah turned to him, then, with a deadpan face, said, “Aren’t you a shopkeeper, too?”


    “I…” Derek started, but realized he couldn’t argue. Hell, he was probably just as weird as the elven shopkeeper was—if not because of his personality, then because of the people he kept around him. “Yes…” The two stared at each other for a few moments, then Derek finally cracked and beganughing. nah didn’tst much longer.


    “What do you say we get out of here before we realize we forgot something and have to go back to Nick’s Knick-Knacks?” nah asked.


    “Yes, please,” Derek replied.


    The duo then ventured back to the front of the vige, where they met the guard, Lance, once again. The man was already head over heels for nah, so leaving was pretty straightforward. Lance took it upon himself to escort the two out of the vige. Once they were quite far away, nah stopped and spoke to the man.


    “I must thank you once again, Lance,” nah said.


    “It has been my pleasure,” the guard said—his eyes fixated on the siren. The man showed absolutely no interest in Derek, and it even seemed like he didn’t know Derek was there.


    “This is more than far enough,” nah said. “I’d hate to take you away from your duties for too long. Mypanion and I can take it from here.”


    “Oh, it’s no bother at all. In fact, I could escort you all the way to Kyr City if you wish,” he replied. “It won’t be any trouble.”


    “Thank you for the offer,” nah replied. “But we will be able to get there just fine from here.”


    “Oh…” The man slightly deted. “If that’s what you wish. But don’t hesitate to stop by again.”


    “If I’m ever in the area, I’ll make sure to stop in to say hello,” nah smiled and nodded to the man.


    “Very well,” Lance replied. “Travel safe.” He then looked over at Derek and narrowed his eyes. He stepped close to him, then, in a whisper, said, “You better not let anything happen to her.”


    Derek’s eyelid twitched as the man backed away. Derek only looked at the guard and shook his head before turning to nah. “Are we finished? We could have been to the city by now,” he said, causing a look of confusion to pass over the guard’s face.


    “Don’t be rude,” nah replied. “But yes, we should get going.”


    The next instant, the two of them both shot into the air. Derek looked down to see the guard staring up with his mouth nearly touching the ground. Derek snorted, then kicked off the voidunching himself forward. nah looked down and waved to the man onest time, then she disappeared.


    Not long after, Derek stopped in the sky once he saw the outline of a massive city in the distance. It took a few moments, but nah soon stopped beside him. They had raced a bit in the final stretch, and Derek pushed his Powerstride skill to the limits of his mana—allowing him to beat the non-transformed nah by a small margin. “Looks like Kyr,” he said.


    nah pulled out the map she had bought from Nick and looked it over. “I think you’re right,” she said. “At least, if that man sold us a real map. If not, then we lucked out and found a city.”


    “He was odd, but I don’t think he would try to pull one over on us… well… except for the price of those hides,” Derek said. “I don’t think all that was an act.”


    “Maybe.” nah shrugged. “But we’ve definitely made it to a city. Let’s go down so we don’t draw too much attention on our way in.”


    “Sure,” Derek replied, then slowly jump down the void ripples until his feet touched the ground. nah gentlynded beside him, then they began walking at a brisk pace.


    Half an hourter and the duo found themselves standing in a small line waiting to enter the city. The line moved quickly, and soon it was nah and Derek’s turn.


    “Names?” The guard asked. “First andst.”


    “I’m Lana Brighton and this is Derek Hunt,” nah answered for the two of them. To make things quick and easy to remember, nah chose to use Ste’s surname as her own.


    “Are you residents of Kyr?” the guard asked.


    “No,” nah replied. “We are from the capital and are on our way home.”


    “I see,” the guard said as he jotted down something on what looked like a clipboard. “Entry for the two of you is ten gold.”


    “Ten?” nah asked.


    “Yes,” the man replied. “Five a piece.”


    “I’m afraid I’m running low on gold right now,” nah said. “You wouldn’t, by chance, be willing to take a trade?”


    “A trade?” The guard looked up, then nced around. “I cannot trade for you entry fee, but I could be willing to buy something from you for say… five gold… if it catches my eye, of course.”


    “Of course,” nah said with a smile. It seemed that her charm didn’t work quite as well on city guards who dealt with people all the time.


    <em>Nothing like bribing guards, </em>Derek thought.


    nah then flicked her wrist, and a set of potions appeared. It was the same three potions from before—worth well over five gold a piece… if the rate was the same as back in Cydaria. The man quickly took the potions, produced five gold, and handed it over the nah.


    She then went through the motion of paying the man the ten gold required for entrance.


    “Enjoy your time in Kyr,” the guard said, then looked past the two. “Next!”


    nah and Derek then walked through the doors to the city.


    “We’re finally back to civilization,” nah said.


    “Indeed, we are.”