DAKU
The news about the rescue of the abducted children spread like wildfire throughout the entire city and nearby towns. Missing children were a common occurrence in this massive kingdom, and the victim's family would usually accept this horrifying fate as if it were destined to happen.
This action was influenced by a few factors: first, the justice system of this kingdom is twisted despite being hailed as the Great City of Nodum. Investigations would often result in failure because they involved the black market. No one would dare, especially the guards, to go into that place.
Second, aside from the fact that the investigation team was incompetent, the mental state of the victim's family was already down, and they mostly lost their motivation to push the investigation.
Third, instead of seeking help directly from skilled adventurers, the victim's family would register the incident as a quest. This could attract adventurers or not at all. If they were lucky and if the rewards were generous, a party would gladly take the quest. But if the latter, the quest would just rot on the bulletin board, ignored and forgotten.
That was why Kenshi and I decided to look for Kana ourselves because we knew that we would never see Kana ever again if we relied too much on the guards.
Speaking of quests, Kenshi told me to meet him at the adventurer's guild to submit our completion report of our previous quest. We needed the money to pay Oanya back. His aid really helped us. He deserved all the money we have.
It'd been a while since I last stepped foot in this building. If I remember correctly, the last time I was here was during my registration. Thinking about it also made me recall the humiliation I received after Keiro mentioned my class as a healer. I was actually a bit hesitant to come here, but Kenshi also needed me to sign some documents.
And speaking of the man, I saw him patiently and intimidatingly leaning beside the guild's door. His furrowed brows and tensed complexion made everyone who passed by him feel scared and avoidant.
I decided to sneak past him and go ahead of him, but my hope turned upside down when he opened both of my eyes when I was already at his side.
"Trying to leave me behind?" he asked.
"No," I lied. "I just don't want to disturb you."
Kenshi said no more and went in first. I trailed behind him like a timid younger brother.
The guild didn't change. The structure, the interior, and the ambiance were the same as the day I first stepped in here. And just like those times, watchful eyes were glaring at me as if I had done something wrong.
"Look who's back here again!" a voice ricocheted to the walls of the room, gaining everyone's attention. I recognized that voice even with my eyes closed. "The Healer and the Cursed."
Keiro made himself known by standing up while wearing a smug look on his face.
"You still dare to come back here after what happened last time? Looks like you are enjoying your life as a healer." Those remarks triggered Kenshi, but I stopped him. "That's right. Tame your cursed friend, healer, before something bad happens to him. It'll be your loss to lose someone who could only protect a pathetic and weak healer like you."
"Keiro—"
"You know, Keiro, I've been meaning to ask you a favor. As a weak healer, I could learn a lot from a strong adventurer like you. If you are generous enough, shower me with your knowledge in combat," I blabbered, and I could see a hint of irritation in his eyes. The subtle creasing of his forehead entailed his growing annoyance. "Let's spar."
Hearing those last two words from my mouth painted a shocked and scared expression on his facial features. If I was right, he probably remembered what he witnessed in the underground arena back then.
Keiro took a step back before changing his expression from being terrified to ashamed.
"Wh-What a j-joke!" he stuttered. "Wh-Why would I f-fight a w-weakling like y-you! I'm a s-swordsman with pr-pride! F-fighting you isn't worth i-it!"
He was definitely lying and got scared of me.
I sighed.
"That's a shame. I was really looking forward to it. Well then, I'll catch up with you soon!" My lips stretched both ways and gave him a death stare. "Better run faster."
Kenshi and I proceeded with our original plan and approached Delilah. She was pretty happy to see me and was sort of excited about hearing about how my first quest turned out. I saved most of the details from her, and she didn't even suspect a thing about what I just did. I kind of lied a little bit to patch the stories together.
After signing a few papers and validating our identities, Delilah gave us our rewards. But before we said our goodbyes, Delilah told us about the newly discovered and unconquered dungeon in the Tragifa Valley. It was Keiro's party that took on the quest first.
"Here's the catch," Delilah said before leaning toward us to whisper something. "After the dungeon appeared, the residents in the village near it suddenly felt very sick. According to the scouts, a purple miasma is covering the entire village and is suspected to be the cause of the illness."
"Could it be that the miasma comes from the dungeon?" I speculated.
"It could be. Some dungeons can have a huge effect on the environment close to them. The cause could be from the inside leaking its power out of the dungeon, or the dungeon resonates with what's inside it, that it adapts to it and becomes one with whatever was residing inside it," Kenshi lectured.
"Well, I hope they conquered it fast so that the residents could live back to their normal lives."
"I hope so, too."
"Anyway, thank you, Delilah, for the assistance and for this. I'll see you again soon!"
Delilah beamed a smile. "See you too, Daku! You two, Kenshi!"
***
Standing in front of Jihar's shop felt like dejà vu, but also different. We first came here with a firm determination to find Kana, but now, we were here extending our gratitude to them.
It was Kenshi who entered the shop first, ringing the bell hanging by the door. I followed suit until I got to see the interior of the shop once again. Nothing was changed. It had this familiar scent of ancestry and history.
A customer was occupying Jihar's attention, so Kenshi and I decided to wait by browsing through the items being displayed here. Their conversation took almost ten minutes when the two of them reached a conclusion.
The customer made his way toward the exit while Kenshi and I went in the opposite.
"Oh! You're here already!" Jihar greeted when he saw us approaching. "What can Jihar do to serve you two...again?"
"What we came here is quite the opposite, Jihar. We're here to pay Oanya for his service in the extended-extended tour commission," I jested, making Jihar chuckle a little.
"An extended-extended tour commission?" he repeated, followed by a laugh. "He did tell me that you asked for an extension of his service, but he never told me that I should collect payment from you."
My forehead creased. "What do you mean?"
"Oanya did all of that free of charge. Your top-notch dedication to rescuing your friend reminded him of the time when I rescued him. He was so touched that he even rented a carriage to get you," Jihar narrated.
That was kind of him. I never thought he'd think like that about us.
"Then a payment must be given. Our conscience will not let us sleep if we don't pay him back after all the help he gave us," I convinced him, but Jihar just shook his head.
"Oanya won't let you."
"Then, be his proxy. Take this with you instead."
Jihar's hands went up as if he were surrendering. "A merchant's pride is when he closed a deal only by himself. Taking the profit of the hard work of others is a mortal sin to us merchants unless one falls to greediness."
"So, you're saying that you're not going to accept our payments?" Kenshi clarified.
"Yes, but I know where you can use that right now," Jihar hinted and by the look he was showing, I was pretty sure he knew that it would interest us. "Have you heard of the rumor that the Dark Order is trying to revive the God of Darkness?"
How in Nodum did this man know about it?
"How did you know?" Kenshi asked with furrowed brows.
"A merchant knows what is must to know."
"What about the Dark Order?" I inquired. Jihar told us about the cult's mission to gather these artifacts believed to be the key in reviving Dolum. The exact same thing Thelah told us.
"I've heard that one of the artifacts is believed to be inside the dungeon that was recently discovered in Tragifa Valley."
Kenshi and I shared a look after hearing the location of the said dungeon. Is Jihar referring to the dungeon Delilah told us earlier?
"What are you telling us this?" Kenshi asked. "It just feels out of place that you suddenly shared this kind of information like we are involved with it."
Now that Kenshi mentioned it, it was quite random for Jihar to share such information with us. It was indeed true that we were searching for any leads that could tell us about the locations of the artifacts but we never mentioned this goal of ours to Jihar before.
"I like how quick you are, Kenshi," Jihar complimented. "You told me that you got to fight one of the Dark Orb wielders back then so basically you are already involved with them. And I bet they told you about their goal and as adventurers your first take about it was to stop them.
"And isn't it your original plan to go to the black market to ask about these artifacts? Only a few people know about the gate pass so I assumed one of you had been asking people on how to get one to enter the black market. But your friend got abducted along the way and changed your goal from gathering intel to rescuing your friend. You did enter the black market but for a different reason."
Jihar was right about a few things but got wrong a few ones as well. He was wrong about the enemy telling us their goal because it was Thelah who told us about it.
"Also, the customer that came before you was actually looking for you two."
"So, they already knew that we killed one of their kind," I assumed.
"The Dark Order are people of pure evil. They won't hesitate to kill someone that would stand in their way. I hope you two are prepared for the future because I can feel that it won't be smooth. They'll hunt you down no matter where you are," Jihar warned and this gave me goosebumps.
Kenshi and I decided to give half of the quest reward to Jihar as payment for the information he shared. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't know that the Dark Order was already looking for us. It would just be a matter of time before they find us.
"So, what is our plan?" I asked Kenshi the moment we stepped out of the shop.
"We have no choice but to be vigilant at all times. Hunting them before they hunt us seem impossible as well. It's like catching a spy in a room full of people," Kenshi suggested and I could never agree more.
"How about the artifacts? We have to get it before they do."
"I know but that's just not our only problem," Kenshi said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Keiro's party is going to conquer that dungeon and I'm pretty sure the Dark Order would send someone there too to retrieve the artifact. I'm certain as well that a Dark Orb wielder would be deployed there. If the two groups meet, Keiro's party is at a disadvantage."
"So we're going?"
"I'll see you at the guild tomorrow."