D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad-Chapter 1882 Ok, A Little Longer
Chapter 1882: Chapter 1882 Ok, A Little Longer
--- Kat ---
Time was up. Kat stood from her chair and made her way over to the other two. Char was hanging back at the moment, pretending to be aloof as if she wasn’t fussing over Elly even more than Merric was. The old man had moved a seat over to be right next to the kids and was watching over them as best he could. Still on edge though. For Kat, it signalled that she wasn’t really doing anything so it was time to move on.
One question first though. "So... I’m about to head off. I don’t think you really need me anymore... but who is the boy? I was expecting to be told to run off to inform his parents at some point or for you two to show a bit more concern for him."
Char shrugged. "Not pack,"
Merric, had a much more interesting answer. "I have no idea who he is,"
"What?" asked Kat as her head whipped around to face the old man fully.
"Exactly what I said. I have no idea who this kid is. I’ve never met him in my entire life... and I know just about everyone in this town. Certainly, if someone had recently had a child I might have missed there name and there are a few people that wander in from time to time that I’m not so familiar with... but a kid? A kid at least a decade old? I really should know him... and yet I don’t.
"I’d think that he was someone like Char, a wild child trying to seduce my delicate little flower," Char snorted but Merric just ignored it. "Alas... he has high quality clothes and Elly seems to know him. So he has to have been around for at least a week... I’d expect anyway." Merric ran a hand through his hair, carefully avoiding his ears. "So if you’re wondering why I don’t go let his family know he’s safe and sound? It’s because I have NO idea who is family IS."
*Alright that’s really not the answer that I was expecting.* "Is there a reason you didn’t mention it earlier?" asked Kat. "Seems like something noteworthy."
"I wasn’t exactly in the best frame of mind when you brought Elly in all covered in wounds. I only really took note of him once Char took over from me and I thought he was one of Del’s kids for a bit there. It was only when things calmed down even more that I realised I was wrong in that assumption. I mean... he still looks a bit like one of Del’s, so perhaps they’re related or she has a few more scattered bastards around the island... but I certainly wouldn’t want to be the one to ask her and I’m not even keen enough to convince you to ask on my behalf," explained Merric.
"I could still do it," Kat suggested.
"And you’d be a fool to do so. Getting mixed up with Del is a surefire way to have her tie you into knots. There are plenty of things I would like to say about her and STILL won’t because she seems to have ears anywhere. If you need something done and the mayor can’t help? You go to Del. The only issue is that it’s always going to cost you a lot more than it should but never quite so much that you’re unwilling to pay. She’s a... no best not, add that."
"Hmmm..." mumbled Kat. *What do you think Lily? Should we get involved with her?*
[Probably not? It seems like she’s ’designed’ to either waste your time for sup-optimal but perhaps consistent gains or act as a target for the more... morally flexible contestants to rob her blind. It’ll be a challenge to succeed but also might not piss off the rest of the town or the other towns.]
*Well, not risk no reward.*
[Right but this seems more like a challenge for the politically savvy. It’s for the ’charisma build’ players. For people with negotiating skills. Maybe spies like Nixilei but even then perhaps not. I’m saying this is a challenge that we’re not really equipped to deal with. Not just you, but me as well. Heck, it’s not really Hedera’s wheelhouse either. Frankly our whole team is bad with it. Better just to ignore her.]
*Fine. I won’t get involved with her, especially not directly... but should we do anything about the boy? I really wasn’t expecting him to not be known. Merric clearly wasn’t either and Char... well she probably doesn’t know that many people so it’s not unusual but it’s still a bit of a problem. Elly is the only one who might know.*
[Wait. If Elly DOES know his name then why didn’t she tell Char?]
*Actually that’s a good point.* "Hey Char, do you know the boy’s name? Elly surely mentioned it to you at some point right?" asked Kat.
Char shrugged. "Yes but Char bad with names and he not really important. Perhaps if Elly get serious Char learn his name. Might have started with a B?"
"Ah... that’s... well alright then," sighed Kat. *Another dead end I guess. Is this another way of trying to convince us to leave town and come back later? Or like... keep us stuck in town doing stuff?*
[Maybe? I’ve got no idea how much thought went into each aspect of everything. Thyme might’ve spent centuries in a bubble of stopped time to plan out each and every step with exact detail after agonising over those miniscule details for weeks at a time... or it could but the work of a handful of trusted designers with Thyme giving a bit of oversight to keep it all working as a cohesive hole.
[I mean, without having seen the other biomes it’s hard to make a guess at something like that. Though Weaver’s quest does imply that Thyme has at least thought about the bigger picture even if they didn’t look into absolutely everything.]
Kat shook her head. "It seems like there’s nothing else to do so I’ll head off. For real this time," said Kat.
"You could stay the night you know," offered Merric.
"I don’t actually need much sleep. Only a bit every few days. I plan to stay up all night. I had intended to explore more before I found the town. Now I’m not sure," explained Kat.
"I’d suggest exploring," admitted Merric with a shrug. "Go a good distance from town and just look around. Just about everyone with jobs for you to do will have already turned in for the night. Sure there might be a few up, but you’d have to go searching for them. I’ve got nothing for you off the top of my head. Though... I know the baker is always looking for a certain kind of mushroom. It’s what gets turned into bread. If you can find some you’re sure to get some money for it... though frankly I could never tell them all apart so I can’t really help,"
"Char knows. Char not want to leave, but if you return with mushrooms Char can demonstrate," stated Char.
"Oh? I guess I can do that. Might not be any time soon though," admitted Kat.
"Char light sleeper. Also, mushroom not always tiny. Mushroom here not all same type of mushroom. Some just randomly be big. You want big bread mushroom instead of little bread mushroom. Then you take branch or two and be set for weeks," explained Char.
Kat nodded. "Is there a reason not to grab the whole ’tree’ so to speak?"
"Stupid idea. Want more bread mushroom? Need bread mushroom. Want more big bread mushroom? Need big bread mushroom to stay alive. You pull up mushroom it dead now yes? Unless you real good with mushroom anyway..." explained Char.
"She’s not wrong," agreed Merric. "You can get the spores out and grow fresh mushrooms that way but it’s a bit of a process and you don’t normally get the big ones out of it. The few ’bread mushroom’ trees closest to town are all marked and protected quite fiercely."
Kat frowned. "Wait... why not just go look at one of those then? I don’t need to harvest them, just look them over for reference,"
"They no smell right," stated Char. "They no look right either,"
"Ah... they’ve been messed with for some reason?" queried Kat. Merric shrugged as Char nodded. "I guess I’ll just head straight out then. Is it even worth picking the mushrooms though?"
"Some not-bread mushrooms quite valuable. If you find enough different ones you sure to get something good," stated Char.
Merric shrugged. "Not a bad idea I suppose. Not sure how easy it’ll be to make sure you always have something different but you can try,"
"Sure, I might as well," agreed Kat as she started to head for the door. "See you all later, I’ll check back in the morning!"
*Even if the mushrooms are duds, I can at least use them as an excuse to talk to the baker. Perhaps start to look into what might be going on with them.*
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