(Hi readers. If your following Jeff the novice Knight then you should know that I wrote the past chapters as well. The reason I'm giving this A/N is because I didn't have an account earlier when I did it so they aren't under my name. Just wanted to let you all know and I hope you all add your own branching chapters as well.)
Walking towards the unknown guarded city, you noticed that the 2 unknown guards seemed to be gesturing in your general direction.
‘Probably wondering who I am.’
Then, for very obvious reasons, the horseback guard started to head towards you at high speeds. Not one to let your guard down so easily against unknown individuals, you readied your shield in the off chance that the guard was coming to attack you.
Soon the guard started to gain much more defining features. The most obvious feature though was that instead riding a horse, the guards lower body was the horse. Finally the misshapen guard reached you with a bow and arrow drawn.
“I am Edryn of the Tel’Adre guard; State your business warrior or become food for the sandworms of the desert.”
Not wanting to become someone or something’s food, I complied with the guards demands.
“My name is Jeff, a knight to my royal Lord and I am on a mission to rid my homeland of the vile and corrupted nature of this world.”
That did the trick as Edryn lowered her weapon.
“Follow me then so me and my cohorts can decide if you are allowed to enter Tel’Adre.”
Following after her, you reached the gate not long after. Edryn’s cohort was even more surprising than Edryn herself as she was some form of cat-morph with feline limbs and facial features and even a tail that was wrapped around her leg.
“Urta, grab the Purity Stone so we may test how corrupted he is.”
Urta did as she was told but not before leaving with a sigh. It took close to 5 minutes before she finally came back with a medium sized blue stone. Edryn took the stone from Urta before placing on your chest. As soon as the polished surface touched your breast plate, the stone turned milky white in color like that of a pearl.
This surprised the 2 guards as they both gasped loudly.
“Amazing, I’ve never seen the stone turn so white. It’s almost like he has no corruption in him at all.”
The first to gather their senses was Urta and she nudged her fellow partner out of her stupor.
“What? Oh yes of course. Since you are so pure, you may enter and leave Tel’Adre whenever you wish so long as you stay pure enough. Urta can show you around before coming back to work. Isn’t that right Urta?”
Urta became defensive in her response.
“I get it Edryn, no more slacking off at the pub until after work.”
Now done with their little test of you, Edryn went back to her post as Urta beckoned you to follow her.
The city of Tel’Adre was massive. Every building in sight was between 2 and 5 stories tall with elaborate signs and names to give you an idea of what they sold. When the tour was finally finished, both Urta and you were standing in the middle of town.
“I'll be seeing you then. Edryn said I couldn't slack at the bar but she didn't say anything about buying a bottle for work.”
And, like that, she was gone in the crowds. Knowing that you had only had a few days worth of water left in your pack, you decided to fill it in the nearby fountain. Once done, you saw that many of the denizens of the city were staring at you before realizing you were looking and quickly walking off.
‘If I didn't know the difference of a demon and a monster then I would have confronted them before killing them.’
Putting the murderous thoughts aside, you went to the nearest shop in hope of buying food and supplies. Inside, it was a madhouse of misplaced items and objects but the old shop clerk didn't seem to mind in one bit.
“Hello, I'm wondering if you had any supplies I could buy whilst I travel across the land.”
“What you see is what I’ve got Nothing more, nothing less. If have something you want to sell than talk to me again.”
It was short and to the point. Not wanting to waste any time, you browse through the assorted items and gathered what you needed. Once everything had been collected, you carried it back to the counter.
“let's see now; One large tent, a small pouch, 10 yards of rope, and finally a bow with 20 iron head arrows. The total will be 80 gems.”
Unsure about the amount of gems you had, you counted them off and realized you were massively short on the needed amount. Remembering what the shopkeeper said earlier, you pushed your soon to be bought purchases to the side and emptied your bag on the shopkeeper's counter.
“I’ll be Selling some of these to lower the price.”
Taking your answer in stride the shopkeeper started to list the unknown items off.
“2 bottles of Labova, 1 bottle of equinium, 3 bottles of bimbo liqueur, 5 packs of imp food, 10 Kanga and Whisker fruit, 4 vials of minotaur blood, a tub of Hummus and Reducto, and finally a single pint of Goblin Ale. If you give me the ale, fruits and packs of imp food then you can buy your stuff and get 20 additional gems.”
“I only need to buy these items and the food is supposed to feed me on my trip.”
The shopkeeper shook his head.
“Trust me when I say not to keep those items because they will bite you in the ass later.”
Seeing the intensity of the shopkeeper’s stare, you couldn't help but give in.
“Fine but can you tell me where the nearest cheap food store is?”
“If food is really so important to you than I can give you enough for 10 days for the leftover gems.”
“Didn't you say “what you see is what you get” because I don’t see food anywhere.”
“Food and items are completely different from each other so how about it, do we have a deal?”
Shaking his hand, you soon left with all your supplies tucked away in your satchel and headed to the nearby park to relax a while. While you were there, you couldn't help but think about the warning from the shopkeeper.
‘Why was all that food and a little bit of drink so bad; does that mean the other stuff isn’t as bad?’
Curious, you emptied your bag of all It’s vials and bottles as well as the 2 tubs.
“Which one do I use first?”