Heroes of Veritas: Crafting Bonus (Book 1)

Chapter Five: The Hushed Hart

Elise woke early the next morning, before the sun had even fully broken the horizon line. Backpack slung over one shoulder, and Lucky’s antlers under one arm, she was soon crossing the city in the direction of the Training Grounds.  She wasn’t sure if the trainers would be in their usual stations this early in the morning; in her previous life, NPCs like the class trainers rarely moved, regardless of what time it was.

When she arrived at the training grounds she was relieved to see the class trainers gathered around a low fire, a pot of porridge simmering on a tripod above it. Some were sitting, others standing – many with flagons. She wasn’t sure if she should interrupt, but one of them noticed her stopped midway across the sand of the sparring ring and waved her over.

She approached, and saw that it was Rob who had beckoned her over. He had a flagon in hand, which Elise eyed a tad warily. Wasn’t it a bit early for ale? Maybe she was a bit too modern in her view, but it seemed odd, even now, to drink first thing in the morning.

“Ah, adventurer Elise. How did your jackalope hunt go?” He said, leaning in close so she could hear his low, quiet voice over the din of the chattering group. He smelled faintly of bitter ale.

“It went well. I did run into Lucky, though,” she said, holding up the large set of faintly glowing antlers, “And nearly got bowled over by three swarms of jackalopes.”

“Well,” Rob said, scratching his stubbled chin with an appraising expression, “That is rather…Lucky then. I think you deserve an extra reward, but I’m afraid I can’t give you more coin than we’d agreed on previously... and I’m all out of jerky now.”

He paused, as if considering doing something he might not do if he hadn’t already had a few, “I do have some credit at a rather nice place in the Regency Ward…if you wouldn’t mind joining me for a drink and some casual noble watching.”

Elise blushed at this.

“Sure. That sounds great,” she said, trying not to sound as excited as she felt.

The two rangers made their way out of the training grounds and back onto the cobbled streets of Veritasia City’s low district, quietly at first, while around them birds twittered and shutters were thrown open to let in the morning light. Elise looked away as a bleary eyed, low-bodiced woman slumped tiredly past them, probably on her way home from her night’s work. While the Pleasure Ward held most of the better brothels in the city, there area around the training grounds - and the barracks where the city’s soldiers lived - also had its own selection of less expensive options for a person in search of an evening’s company.

Elise struggled to pull up a reasonable topic of conversation, but after opening and closing her mouth a few times in hesitation she finally said, “How was your day yesterday? I hope you didn’t have to spend all of it watching newbies like me fail at hitting targets.”

Rob chuckled, then responded earnestly, “That is part of being the ranger trainer. To be honest, I enjoy the work. It probably sounds boring to a young adventurer like yourself, but I derive great satisfaction from helping others to improve themselves.”

“No, I get it,” Elise replied. “Your purpose is helping other people achieve their purpose. I used to think I wanted to concentrate on crafting for the same reason…to help other people…it made me feel good.”

“It doesn’t feel good anymore?” Rob asked, turning to look at her, brown eyes peering down at her from long, thick lashes. Elise couldn’t help but wonder if he could make her feel good; her gaze drifted down to his hands with their long, strong fingers, imagining how they would feel against the smooth skin on the small of her back. She caught herself before she could follow that line of thought any further into the gutter, and looked away.

“Ah, sometimes it does.” Elise said, working to keep her voice even as they wound their way up an incline into the upper district. “I want to finish more of my ranger training, give myself time to think about it. I’m just afraid people will take advantage of me if I’m too nice.”

The upper district of Veritasia City was markedly different from the lower district. The streets were smooth, with brick pavers set in intricate designs; Elise could tell what ward of the upper district she was in just from looking at them. 

Presently, they were in the High Market Ward. It was into the morning now, having taken nearly forty-five minutes to cross the city, and the market was already bustling. Many well appointed nobles, plus their trailing servants, could be seen strolling the wide tree lined walks. From time to time they would pause to observe what wares the vendors had on offer. While an evening’s entertainment was easy to find in the lower district’s Pleasure Ward, the upper ward had it’s daytime delights.

Rob smiled as he saw Elise’s eyes light up, and followed quietly as she skipped over to a vendor whose wares sparkled brightly in the sun. The vendor’s cart was piled high with mounds of shimmering white flowers, some arranged into baskets or vases, some in bundles wrapped with paper or tied with ribbon, and a few even made into small corsages or boutonnieres. Elise bent down to smell one bundle that had been tied with a delicate silk ribbon. They smelled just as she had imagined. 

“Jasmine,” Elise exhaled breathily. 

The vendor nodded eagerly - but not too eagerly. His clientele dictated that he maintain a dignified sense of decorum, after all. “Yes, that’s right Miss – this is moonlight jasmine. It’s rare here in Veritas, being native to the highest mountain peaks in Gargantua, but our magi-horitcultural specialists have perfected a thermodynamic frost-crystal fueled system that allows us to grow them here. Completely organic, and pesticide-free.”

Elise wasn’t impressed by the mumbo-jumbo filled speech the vendor was giving, but she was impressed with the quality of the flowers. She knew high quality crafting materials when she saw them, and wasn’t surprised by the lack of visible price tags. The upper district had many shops where if you had to ask for a price, you probably couldn’t afford it.

“They’re beautiful,” she said, smiling through the disappointed look the vendor gave her. “Thank you for letting me look.”

As she walked away, Rob came up alongside her. “Not going to buy any?”

She shook her head, “Too rich for my blood. I wouldn’t be able to use them yet, anyway.”

They spent a few more minutes browsing market stalls; Elise sold her sets of regular jackalope horns to a vendor for a pittance and Rob stopped to pick up some enchanted curing salt from one of the rather flamboyantly dressed alchemists. 

After they rounded a corner from the High Market Ward to the Regency Ward, Rob paused. Elise turned, and raised an eyebrow at him inquiringly.

“Sorry, I just…I can’t help myself. Do me a favor - turn around and close your eyes.” Rob said, motioning to her.

“Allllll right…” Elise said, letting the tone of skepticism drip from her words. She turned, and closed her eyes; at least with her eyes closed she wouldn’t have to notice the strange looks the neatly dressed nobles were giving them as they skirted around the two obviously low born rangers.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to take advantage of you.” He said, suddenly much closer to her than he had been. Elise suppressed a shiver as Rob put his hands lightly on her shoulders. “I just wanted you to feel something. Walk with me. Eyes closed.”

Elise bit her tongue to keep from saying something particularly crude, and let him guide her in an expanding circle, the low heels of her boots scraping over the raised sections of brick pavers as she moved.

“Feel that?” Rob said, his low voice almost a whisper in Elise’s ear. She wasn’t quite sure what she was supposed to be feeling, unless it was turned on.

“Er…the bricks?” Elise hazarded a guess, and was surprised when it turned out to be a good one.

“Correct,” Rob said, patting her shoulder. “You can open your eyes now.”

Elise opened her eyes, blinking as they adjusted. “Ok…but what about the bricks, exactly, was I feeling.”

“Their pattern,” Rob said. “The way the ground feels can tell you a lot about a place. In Veritasia City, you can even tell what ward, or down to what street or alleyway, you are on from the pattern and style of the pavers under your feet. If you work at it, you can apply that skill to any place you might find yourself.”

“That is…really neat,” Elise nodded slowly, several applications for this skill already floating up in the back of her mind. But, on the forefront of her mind was what she said next, “You really are a teacher at heart, aren’t you?”

“Ah, here we are,” Rob said, striding confidently to a doorway covered by a lacey curtain. He pushed the curtain back, and motioned for Elise to go in ahead of him. “Welcome to The Hushed Hart.”

What she saw when she stepped past him was not what she had been expecting when he’d asked her to go for a drink. The room beyond was filled with an array of small tables covered in lacey tablecloths and tiered trays of puffy pastries. Around the tables were a wide array of mismatched, but comfortable looking, chairs – some featuring cross stitched frolicking animals, others upholstered with plush velvet. On the far wall, behind a long pastry case, a mural of an adorably doe-eyed peachy pink female deer was painted, its rump in the shape of a white heart. 

A sweet, round faced woman close to Elise’s own age approached, pulling a notebook from the pocket of her frilly gingham apron.“Ah, Robin – good to see you.”

“It’s been too long.” Rob replied, as Elise tilted her head and mouthed ‘Robin?’ to herself.

The waitress looked to Rob, then Elise, with a slightly sad, knowing smile. “Just you and the young lady tonight? Almost like old times.”

Rob stiffened at this, but nodded, and the waitress led them to one of the smaller nearby tables.

After they sat for a moment in awkward silence, Rob cleared his throat and said, “Sorry about that…I used to bring my daughter here.”

Elise blinked at the ranger across from her, taking in the lines of his face, which seemed to deepen the longer she looked. Just how old was Rob…? She didn’t think he was that much older than her. But, she wasn’t in her mid thirties anymore; she was nearly a decade younger - in her early twenties, like her character had been at the start of the game.

“She died in the desolation.” He said, voice resigned. “I know you’re not her. I just thought you might be fonder of sweets than smoked jerky.”

Although Elise’s heart felt a little sore at the realization that Rob wasn’t actually into her, she reached out to take his rough hand in her own. 

“I do. I love pastries,” she said earnestly. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

Rob and Elise spent the rest of the morning speaking quietly of little things; the different varieties of tea on offer. Favorite pastries. The finer points of fletching. The awkwardness between them eased, and by the end of the morning Elise was laughing at one of Rob’s terrible Dad jokes; he was nearly as bad at humor as she was.

“Very punny, Rob. Very punny.” Elise said, snorting into her tea cup.

Rob chortled, pulling away the daintily embroidered cloth napkin that he’d tucked into his collar when the server brought their tiered pastry tray, “I think that’s it for me, greenwood. I can take no more of your terrible puns.”

“But I had so many more lined up!” Elise said with an exaggerated pout. She pushed her overstuffed armchair back and got to her feet, looking around as she stretched.

Elise froze mid-stretch when she spotted two familiar figures in the back corner of the tea house.  Partially obscured by a curtain of gauzy ivory organza, and seated in chairs that were definitely not built to hold fully armored men, sat Moltar and Astredian.