Courier Quest Chapters 42-44

42 - Take As Long As You Like

Trevor had awoken early the next morning. Despite having laid in bed for what felt like hours trying to get to sleep, he was feeling really good. While he wanted nothing more than to reunite with Adabelle, he basked in the glory of watching the sun rise from between two of the mountains as he sipped from his Vigor Bottle.

He wasn’t there long before he heard a door open, and he stood up to see Adabelle emerging from her room. “Good morning,” Trevor said, walking back into the living space to greet her.

Adabelle’s eyes were half closed in her usual morning grogginess. They locked onto him despite this, and a smile graced her lips. “Morn’n,” she replied.

The woman shambled towards him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pushed him onto the couch. Trevor fell, realizing just how much stronger Adabelle was than he, but landed gently on the soft plush sofa. The young man shifted so that he was comfortable, and she clung to him.

“Trevor,” she said, burying her face in his shoulder.

In this state, she was dangerous. Trevor gently pulled away a little bit to prevent her horns from scratching his face, and she hugged his arm tightly. Once he was sure he wasn’t going to get skewered, he smiled down at her.

“You didn’t eat your Wake-Up Fruit this morning, did you?” he chided lightly.

“No,” Adabelle said. “Wanted to see ya.”

Trevor grinned. “Well, I’m glad to see you, too. Are you sure you don’t want to wake up first?”

“No, lemme cuddle,” she asserted.

“Take as long as you like, I guess.”

Snuggling in closer, Adabelle closed her eyes, and Trevor did the same soon after. Extricating his arm, which made her wrap hers around his waist instead, he began to run his fingers through her long, white hair while also scratching her back. The tail, which he was absolutely sure had a mind of its own this early in the day, wrapped around his hand though it didn’t stop him.

As he scratched her back, Trevor replayed the events of the previous night over and over again in his head. It had been as close to perfect as he had hoped, and the date had ended incredibly well. The feeling of her lips lingered on his, and he returned to that memory most of all.

Eventually, Adabelle turned over so that she was on her back and using his leg as a pillow. Her tail had refused to let go of his hand, and it was now trapped between her and the couch as she yawned, stretched, and opened her eyes. As she saw Trevor’s smiling visage, she seemed to freeze.

“I distinctly remember going to my own bed last night,” Adabelle said quietly, eyes wide.

“And you did,” Trevor confirmed. “This morning, you came out of your room, tackled me onto the couch, told me you wanted to see me instead of eat a Wake-Up Fruit, and then promptly fell back asleep.”

“I should have ate the fruit,” she said before hurrying to stand up. “We need to get down to the streets. We’re missing out on a quest.”

“A quest?”

Adabelle nodded as she stared at the tail wrapped around Trevor’s hand. She took it and started manually removing it. “Yes. Do you remember how I said everyone pitches in on the cleanup?”

“I do.”

“The king makes a quest of it as something extra for Summoned,” she explained. “Which may not be as important to you as someone who still only needs a few to level up, but every little bit counts for those of us who have been doing this for a while.”

“You didn’t have to explain it to me, I would be fine with it anyway,” Trevor said as he stood up and removed his backpack from his inventory. “Go get dressed, and let’s do this.”

Adabelle blinked before relaxing. “You’re too good, you know that?”

Trevor shrugged. “Just doing the best I can,” he said.

Taking his hand, Adabelle gave him a gentle kiss before hurrying off back to her room. “Don’t leave without me!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he managed to say before she shut her door, and he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

Trevor radiated happiness, and he continued to do so even when she emerged from her room. Adabelle wore the same white top and long, black skirt she had when she brought him soup, and he remembered the first time he realized his feelings for her.

“You are cute,” he blurted, the words coming out as he thought them.

“Oh, thank you,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Are you ready to go?”

“I sure am, lady,” he said, offering his hand. Smiling, Adabelle took it, and they headed out.

The castle was surprisingly empty as they walked through it, a far cry from the whirlwind of activity that it had been, and they took their time. Quest or no, Adabelle seemed to be moving slower than usual, leaning up against Trevor, and he was happy to take things at a slower pace. It helped that he assumed she hadn’t fully woken up yet.

When they stepped outside, he saw where all of the people were. Having seen large events on Earth, Trevor was surprised to see that things really was as described. There was an entire crowd picking up trash through the park, and he could make out people doing the same across the bridge. From what he could see, it wasn’t even all that bad.

[[King’s Quest! Cleanup in aisle city.

It’s that time of year again! The light show is over, the morning after has come, and now the city is trashed.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not really that bad. The people of this world are just different, and nobody wants to destroy their home with garbage. However, it is a festival, so we can expect there to be some cleaning up required, and by golly you’re one of the few people that can see my messages so you’ve been roped into it, too!

Lucky for you, this quest is worth two due to the king’s prerogative. Have fun!]]

“Oh, it’s worth two quests?” Trevor asked, surprised. “That is really good, then.”

“Exactly,” Adabelle responded, about to say more when something caught her eye.

“If it isn’t Lady Adabelle and her messenger boy!” Lailah exclaimed as she approached from the trees. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Lailah,” Trevor replied with a wave.

“Morning.”

“It’s a lovely day outside,” the elf continued.  “The city is alive, and everyone’s working. However, I have to admit, that I’m not fully happy even with the double quest combo. Do you know what I need?”

Trevor looked at Adabelle, who smirked. “Gossip, right?” she asked, sounding like she already knew the answer.

“That is exactly right,” she replied, slipping her arm around Adabelle’s free one. “So I’ll be taking her, and you can pick her up later.”

“No,” Trevor said. “I don’t believe you will.”

“No?” Lailah asked, arching an eyebrow. “Oh. No, is it?”

“It’s a fairly simple word, Lai, I’m sure you know what it means.”

“Wow, Adabelle, you really put some confidence in him, didn’t you?” the elf said, nudging the horned woman with her elbow as she waggled her eyebrows. “That just makes me want to steal her all the more.”

Trevor looked back at Adabelle, and she smiled apologetically at him. “I would like to spend some more time with my sword sister before we leave,” she admitted. “Taking over for Jackson, I’m not sure when I’ll be back again.”

“Then that’s all it takes,” Trevor replied without hesitation. “Though, if I can make a demand? Not of you, but her.”

“Of course you can,” Adabelle said.

“Of course he can’t, you mean,” Lailah scoffed.

Smiling, Trevor turned to face Lailah. “You may take her so long as you ask nicely.”

“Ask nicely?” the elf asked incredulously. “What kind of demand is that?”

“Should be easy then, right?” he asked. “Just ask nicely.”

“Messenger b-“

“Trevor,” he corrected, interrupting her. “You’ve been calling me messenger boy this whole time, I just want to hear you be polite for once.”

Lailah blinked before nudging Adabelle again. “Wow, you really did knock some confidence into him,” she remarked. “I didn’t think you had it in you on the first date, sister.”

Adabelle shook her head, face darkening, as she realized what the elf was talking about. “We-“

Trevor turned Adabelle to look at him and locked eyes. “I’d like it if she only gets to hear if she’s nice about it, please and thank you,” he said, his face burning up much like hers. “I’m trying to be selfish here.”

“If it’s for the sake of being selfish, then that’s fine,” she said with a smirk.

Lailah twitched, her curiosity quickly trying to overcoming her snarky nature. Trevor really didn’t have anything against her, and considered her an ally after she told him what Adabelle’s tastes were. However, he really did like to tease his friends.

The elf, however, wasn’t going to take it lying down.

“Please, Mister Trevor,” Lailah sadly begged, bringing her hands together as though she were praying. She looked up at him with big eyes. “Please let me take my sword sister from your evil clutches. Please, set her free. She’s a young maiden, after all, unless you’ve-”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Trevor laughed. “You made it weird.”

“Doesn’t matter, still counts,” the elf said.

“Doesn’t count, it’s still snarky,” Trevor claimed.

“You want me to stop being snarky? I’m snarky to everyone.”

Trevor shrugged. “Guess you’ll disappoint your sword sister and miss out on how the date went. Too bad,” he said before looking at Adabelle. “Ready to go?”

“It’s a shame, but she’s brought it upon herself,” Adabelle agreed. She turned to Lailah. “I’m afraid we’ll likely never see each other again, as I’m trapped in his evil clutches and I’ll never be set free.”

“You two are mad,” Lailah said before shaking her head. “Fine, fine. Trevor, may I please take Adabelle for gossip, cleanup, and drinks after?”

“Why, yes Lailah. Thank you so much for asking,” Trevor said, stifling a laugh.

Lailah stuck her tongue out at the young man before turning to Adabelle. “Come on. Ditch your boyfriend and let’s get going.”

“I’m going to work my way towards Klar’s to see if he has anything for me on the way back to Tosa,” Trevor said as he hugged Adabelle. He started grinning when Lailah labeled him boyfriend, and couldn’t stop. “I’ll probably be out and about for most of the day.”

“That’s fine, Trevor,” Adabelle replied. “But don’t stay out too late, we have an early day tomorrow if we want to make it back to the Halffle Inn before dark.”

“Of course,” he agreed, kissing her on her forehead. “I’ll see you later.”

“Be safe,” Adabelle said as she let him go.

“I will,” he answered before turning to Lailah. He offered his hand. “And if I don’t see you, thank you for everything.”

The elf huffed, but grinned and took it. “You, too. Be safe when you’re out there making deliveries; don’t want my sword sister getting sad because you tripped and fell or something.”

“I’ll be careful,” Trevor said with a laugh.

As soon as he started walking away, not even out of earshot yet, Lailah started making demands. “Okay, you need to spill everything. I need every little-“

Trevor chuckled as he got out of earshot and started walking across the bridge. Every chance he got, he picked trash into his inventory, incredibly glad that he could separate the junk from the food still sitting in the section with the slowed down time stream.

It was fairly simple work that consisted of a lot of bending over to touch objects on the ground, and he lost himself in the task as his mind wandered. Every so often he would drop his trash off in designated areas, removing everything unimportant from his inventory, before getting back to the mindless work of picking up garbage. It was an easy, anxiety-free job, which was absolutely perfect.

[[King’s quest complete!

Wow, your inventory is really full of garbage! It’s a good thing that you don’t have to clean that thing out manually, otherwise it would be a several day affair including several gallons of soap and a river’s worth of water. Pretty gross, but handled it like a champ.

In fact, in just the few hours you’ve been working, you’re one of the biggest overachievers of the group! You must really love trash, or you’re just hate it when things aren’t clean. Either way, you’ve been a big help to the king and the citizens of Eskretet. They’re lucky to have you.

Enjoy your two milestones towards leveling up!]]

Pulled out of autopilot, Trevor blinked and looked around. He recognized that he was nowhere near Klar’s Magical Emporium, and shook his head. “Well, at least the quest is done,” he chuckled to himself before turning around to wander the streets until he found his destination, picking up any errant trash that was left in his path.

43 - I Don’t Plan On Hiding It

Despite Adabelle’s warning of an early morning, she was the one who came back late after saying goodbye to everyone she needed to. Trevor didn’t mind because he knew that it was important to her, and they still had a bit of time together before the end of the night. She explained how the stable hands were going to bring their wracors and wagon to Klarkartar’s Magical Emporium so they could easily leave after picking up his quest.

The next morning, Adabelle woke him up after having apparently received another Full Night’s Rest. She was surprisingly chipper and ready to return home. They ate, relishing the leftover foods from Matteo's, before heading to Klar’s. Their wagon was already waiting for them when they arrived.

Even though it was early enough that only a few people were out and about in the city, the minotaur was quick to let them into his empty store. There were a few employees preparing for the day, many of whom provided polite bows, and continued on their way.

“I am very happy to hear that you two enjoyed Matteo’s,” Klar said loudly as they were led to the back room.  “And Trevor was positively floored by your surprise, Lady Adabelle. I couldn’t have asked for a better tale when he came back to see me.”

“It was fantastic for both of us,” Adabelle said. “And Matteo’s is always delicious.”

“Thank you again for that, Klar,” Trevor added.

The minotaur waved his hand. “For my close friend, it is the least I can do,” he said. “Whenever you want to come back to Eskretet, come and see me. Anything I can do for you, then I will be happy to do so. That goes for you as well, Lady Adabelle, though I understand that could make you seem like you're taking favors.”

“I’m glad you understand, Klarkartar,” Adabelle said with a nod. “That said, I do believe a quest to escort Trevor back home would not be seen as any type of favoritism, especially as we did the same on the way here.”

“Oh, yeah!” Trevor exclaimed, suddenly remembering something he was going to ask about. “How will quests work when you’re the mayor? I doubt you’ll have a lot of time to go out and adventure.”

Adabelle smiled. “That is true, but for those of us who are designated Summoners, such as Jackson, the king, and soon myself, we follow our own rules,” she explained. “We get quests directly from the Quest Master in regards to our governance. If we want to take part in adventures then there’s nothing stopping us, but work usually keeps us busy unless there’s an emergency.”

“Dang, and here I was thinking I could eventually catch up to you,” Trevor chuckled. “Well, it doesn’t really matter. I don’t feel the need to compete with you, so long as I can be with you.” Reaching his hand out, Adabelle took it, and they smiled at each other.

“Not a hopeless romantic, he tells me,” Klar laughed. He slapped Trevor on the back, causing the young man to stumble slightly, before stopping in front of a series of bays. As he gestured towards them, he continued. “Here’s the goods that I have. There’s goods and materials for Thimbleden, Dorry, Grunder, and Corrin in there, but the Quest Master is being a pain and telling me that it can only be counted as one.”

Trevor put his hands on his hips and looked up. “Quest Master, how come this doesn’t count as several?” he asked. “Thimbleden and Dory came with two quests that involved a delivery to the same person.”

[[Because Klar is one person, and Thimbleden and Dory are two people who used their Quest Giver status to help you, young man.]]

“Well, it’s right about that,” Trevor admitted. “You are only one man, Klar.”

“Alas, it is true,” Klar sighed. “If only I could be in more places at once. I could get so much done.”

“It’s a shame, for sure,” the young man said as he looked over everything marked for transport. “I think I might need to keep my backpack on for this one, depending on how similar everything is.”

“Your backpack increases your Capacity, right?” Adabelle asked.

“Yeah, it’s the original Anderson Bag,” Trevor said, his face turning red from embarrassment as he said it out loud. “Specifically attuned to me and my inventory space by Melvirn. Alright, ready for the quest.”

[[New Quest! Return to Tosa!

So, you’ve seen the big city and want to go back to the place where everything is comfortable and warm and your girlfriend’s soon to be the one in charge. Hey, I understand it. No judgment here. Lucky for you, you seem to make friends everywhere you go, and Klar is no different.

These boxes contain the merchant princes’ orders for Tosa. He could have sent them out two days ago, but knew that you were returning and held off on it. All you have to do is deliver these boxes to the proper spots to get credit. That’s: Thimbleden’s Sundries, Dory’s Potions & Alchemical Supplies, Corrin’s Couture, and Grunder’s Superb Protection.

Reward: a few coins, but only because Klar insisted.]]

As he started taking boxes into his inventory, Klar stroked his chin. “I’m assuming your Capacity is instrumental in how much you can store with your Power?”

“That’s right.”

“What happens if you store too much and take it off?” he asked curiously.

“That’s a really good question,” Adabelle agreed.

“I’m not sure,” Trevor admitted, shrugging before continuing to work. “The Quest Master said I didn’t want to know, but it’s a good question. Any insight?”

[[You have the right to know, I suppose, though it would have been a lot funnier to learn the hard way…

If your inventory is overfilled when you remove the backpack and your Capacity can’t handle it, then everything is ejected from inside the dimensional pocket.

And I’m not talking gently, either. Everything will shoot out away from you, using the surface of your skin as its starting point. It would slice up your clothes, Trinkets, etcetera while doing the same to everything in a 20 foot radius. You would be fine, but everything in your immediate vicinity would get hit by a lot of shrapnel.

Yes, you could easily weaponize this, but I don’t think that’s a danger from somebody like you.]]

Trevor chuckled nervously as he read the message. “I would, uh,” he stuttered. “I guess I would become an inventory grenade if I did. There would be few survivors, including my clothes and my dignity.”

“That sounds terrifying,” Klar remarked.

“That sounds awesome,” Adabelle said before looking at the two men staring at her. “What? I’m still an adventurer for at least a little longer, this kind of ability is relevant to my interests. Besides, all Trevor has to do is be careful when he takes off the backpack and there’s zero risk involved.”

“Well, that’s true at least,” Trevor chuckled, taking Adabelle’s hand as he finished retrieving everything else with his other. Some of the boxes were Stackable, but not as many as there were in Thimbleden and Dory’s delivery. “I was thinking that I’d have trouble sleeping with the backpack on, but I’m sure Reed and Beth will have someplace for me to store the excess so I can be comfortable.”

“I’d be hesitant to leave it in the wagon just because there’s going to be more traffic on the way back, but we’ll figure something out,” she agreed. Once he pulled in the last box, Adabelle squeezed his hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Nearly full, but doing alright,” he said. Turning to Klar, he let go of her hand and put his together palm to palm over his head before bowing deeply to the minotaur. “Thank you, Klar.”

He couldn’t see, but he heard the minotaur huff happily and the coins on his horns clink together as he returned the cultural bow. “No, thank you, Trevor. I look forward to seeing you again when you next come across my doorstep. And you…” Klar turned to Adabelle as he stood, placing one hand on her shoulder and one hand on Trevor’s. “He’s a lot more sensitive than he lets on, so you take care of him.”

Amused, Adabelle reached up and patted the back of the minotaur’s massive hand. “I know, Klarkartar, I’ll take care of him.”

“I’m serious,” he continued. “When he first came to this world, I literally knocked him down. He was so nervous, and I was the first person he met aside from Jackson. I could tell that he would be great in his own way even before I knew what his Power was. Thank you for taking care of my friend, and you must take care of yourself as well. Take care of him for your sake, take care of yourself for his.”

“For my sake?” she asked, eyes widening in confusion.

Klar laughed and released them both. “You forget, knowing people is my whole job! I have eyes, I can see, and I can see that you two will be great. Tosa is in good hands with you there, and you two are good for each other.”

“Yeah, we are,” Adabelle agreed as she smiled at Trevor.

With a round of goodbyes that lasted longer than they thought necessary but were in no hurry to finish, Adabelle and Klar bowed at each other in the traditional Lucent greeting before the two Summoned left for the journey home.

——

The traffic was, thankfully, still slow as they made their way out of Eskretet. The roads weren’t empty, but it reminded Trevor of a small time town in the morning back on Earth. The farther they got from the city, the more calm things got, the monotony only broken up by the various villages and towns they passed through.

Even though they were heading home, the mood between the two was at an all time high. Trevor and Adabelle chatted about life in this world, the people they had met, and the adventures she had gone on. There was no shortage of things they wanted to share with each other.

Conversation eventually lulled, and they rode in companionable silence, never feeling truly alone. When Adabelle drove, Trevor sat right behind her as he read through a book he had picked up about the kings of Eskretet. Her tail was wrapped around him as best it could as she focused on the road, and gently tapped his chest with lazy, cat-like flicks. He was happy.

Whenever Trevor was the one leading the way, he sat with Adabelle on the driver’s bench so that she could inspect his tattooed arm. She was constantly tracing the markings and recreating it on a sketchpad she had brought, and the young man was soothed by her touch. Every so often she would excitedly mumble to herself, though she admitted she had a long way to go.

As dusk started creeping up on them, they finally made it to the Halffle Inn. Just as Adabelle had warned, it was busier than it had been the last time they came through, though there was enough room to return their wracors and park the wagon. Dill took care of all that as the two went inside.

They were greeted by the sights of a full room. It wasn’t very large to begin with, but now it was packed full of people drinking, eating, playing cards, and overall having a good time. Reed was quick to slip around from the bar to approach them in greeting.

As they explained their situation, it turned out that there wasn’t much room at all. Thanks to everyone heading home from the Festival of Golden Lights, Reed and Beth’s kids, Dill, Rupert, and Jewel were all giving up their rooms for paying customers. A few were even sleeping in the stables.

Even though there was a ton of business and the Halffle Inn was a very popular spot, Reed had made sure to keep Adabelle’s reservation as she had warned them when they were going to be passing through again. She and Trevor got their separate rooms, though they were mostly full of boxes so that the young man didn’t have to sleep with a heavy backpack on. It was a relief to take it off, and he wasn’t looking forward to wearing it again.

Still, they slept well, and were back on the road the next morning, though not without a knowing wink and smile from Beth when she saw a tired Adabelle snuggling up to Trevor for breakfast. He had grinned back, and nothing needed to be said on the matter.

The journey was just as pleasant as it was before as the villages and hamlets started to stretch out and were replaced with forests, lakes, and mountains. Even though it was a relatively short journey, only two days, they were both tired from being confined in a wagon for so long.

When they entered the home stretch and Trevor started realizing that they were getting back into known territory, he tried to hand the reins to Adabelle, who was sitting next to him.

She looked at him questioningly. “We’re almost there,” she said, holding onto his tattooed arm. “Do you want to sit in the back?”

“Not really,” he admitted. “I’m just not sure if you want people seeing us, well, all cozy like this.”

Adabelle arched an eyebrow as her tail, which was already against his back, began to swish up and down. “Is there a reason why we shouldn’t?”

“No, no,” he said quickly. “I just… I wasn’t sure if you wanted people in town to know, is all. Plus, we haven’t put a label on it, and you’re about to become mayor, and-“

He was silenced by a finger on his lips as she smiled. “You’re getting nervous for no reason again, Son of Ander.”

Trevor chuckled, but shrugged. “Maybe not for no reason.”

“No reason,” she repeated firmly. “I am looking forward to showing my boyfriend off, if I can call you that.”

“Yes,” he said, not hesitating for even a second. “Yes, you can call me that.”

“Good. I don’t plan on hiding it from anyone, and I hope you wouldn’t do that, either.”

As they smiled at each other, he leaned in to kiss her. The wracors knew the way, so he wasn’t worried about that. Instead, something else caught his eye that worried him, and he stopped short.

“Is something wrong?” Adabelle asked hesitantly.

Trevor was looking forward, and pointed to the sky. “Is it…” The young man tilted his head in confusion as he squinted. “Is it raining fish?”

44 - Trying To Steal Addymanatine

Adabelle, initially frustrated by Trevor pulling away before he could kiss her, blinked and turned to see what he was pointing at.

Just like he said, fish were falling from the sky.

Not only that, but spikes exploded from them as they hit the ground.

Before she could answer, the sound of frightened baying reached them. Trevor stopped the wracors, and the well trained animals stayed put after that. Adabelle smirked and wrapped her arm around her boyfriend’s shoulder. “You may enjoy this.”

“Enjoy wha-“

Trevor was cut off as mangy, brown dog-like creatures fled from the trees where the exploding fish were raining. They were as large as shopping carts, with huge claws that tore up the ground beneath them and spines along their backs. Their eyes were glowing red, and the young man realized he was looking at monsters for the first time. He froze up, his hand clutching onto Adabelle’s leg, though he was comforted by the fact that she was with him.

One of the beasts was hit directly in the face with an exploding fish. It fell to the ground, bloodless, before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Its brethren were quick to follow, unable to dodge the hailstorm of unusual rain.

From the forest emerged another figure, one that Trevor immediately recognized.

Rashie, clad in her armor, ran after the pack as she screamed out a battle cry. “Summon bigger fish!” she yelled, and the exploding fish stopped appearing. All the ones that were flopping on the ground, their spikes expended, disappeared

A large shadow appeared over the lead monster as a truly gigantic whale of a fish appeared in a flash of light. It fell, crashing onto the fastest beast, and some smoke soon escaped from underneath it. As it flopped, the fish was able to clear at least ten or fifteen feet with every motion, catching one more and causing the others to pause.

This fish disappeared as Rashie summoned another that looked exactly like a tuna except that it was roughly twice her size. Her grip on its tail was ironclad, and the moment it realized it was in danger the entire creature froze as it turned into a pillar of ice.

“Frozen Tuna,” Adabelle explained as she pushed Trevor’s fallen jaw upwards. “That’s her favorite summon. Its defense mechanism causes it to freeze its body with nearly indestructible ice, which she then uses like so.”

Rashie jumped into the air and clubbed the nearest monster directly on its head. The beast turned into smoke before it had a chance to realize something was happening, and the shark girl was immediately on the one next in line.

She was fast, brutal, and effective even as she laughed with malicious glee. If Trevor hadn’t known Rashie to begin with, he might have been confused on which of the combatants were the monsters. Even seeing this, he couldn’t find himself to be scared of the shark girl.

The last of the monsters were dispatched in short order, and Rashie raised her frozen tuna in the air as she bellowed out a victory cry.

Adabelle took the reins and set the wracors back in motion. “Shark!” she called.

Rashie’s head whipped to see who was calling her, and her face lit up with unbridled happiness. “Addymanatine!” she yelled. “And Trevor I guess!”

“And Trevor, I guess,” he chuckled. “Hello, Rashie.”

The frozen tuna disappeared from her hand as she ran towards the wagon. She leapt into the air over the wracors, who were slightly startled but appeared to be used to it, and headed right for Adabelle. The demonkin grabbed the giggling shark girl out of the air and plopped her down. Since the bench was full from just the two of them, Rashie was set down on both of their legs while her tail squished between them.

“I’m so glad you’re back!” she yelled, unable to stop giggling.

“We were only gone for a few days,” Adabelle said, though she was happy as well.

“How are things going?” Trevor asked.

“Things are so fun right now,” she replied. “There were two dungeon surges, just like Jackson said, and I was put over here on this one. Wayne’s on the other side of town, but mine is scarier so it’s more fun. That was the last of them, so I’m really glad that you’re here because otherwise I would have to wait until tomorrow to fight more monsters.”

“All that stuff with the fish was pretty exciting.”

“Yeah, it’s- wait!” Rashie stopped, turning to look up at Trevor. “You’re not supposed to know about my Power! I was supposed to use it to prank you!”

“Rashie,” Adabelle chided. “You’re not supposed to use your Power to prank people. Not after the last time.”

“I only summoned a fish in someone’s mouth three times,” she claimed. “And they deserved it.”

“Rashie…”

“Fine, I won’t use my Power to play pranks on Trevor or anyone else,” she relented.

“So your Power is, what? Summon Fish?” Trevor asked, bemused.

But that had to be right because the shark girl started nodding. “Yeah! I call the explody spike ones porcupikes, and the ice one I call a frozen tuna, and the big one I call Logan.”

“Logan?”

“Yeah, Jackson came up with that name for me because it’s the same fish every time,” Rashie explained. “It’s big and burly and can jump so high that it seems to defy gravity sometimes! He’s a real beast of a bigger fish. Still smaller than I was though. For now, I’m putting points into it so he can be even bi-“

The shark girl paused, and Trevor was about to say something when Adabelle tapped him on the back with her tail. He looked over at her, and saw her shake her head and mouth the words, one moment.

Rashie took in a deep breath, and then sniffed Adabelle and Trevor separately. She stood up, jumping onto one of the wracor’s back, causing it to list to the side before getting its bearings again. The shark girl turned and pointed at Trevor. “You are trying to steal Addymanatine!” she accused.

Adabelle’s tail hit Trevor on the back again before rubbing up and down. “Yes,” he answered, thinking that’s what she wanted him to say.

The shark girl gasped before jumping to the other wracor in front of Adabelle. “Addy, if you are being held against your will, tell me and I’ll help, okay?”

The demonkin swallowed down a laugh. “I’m afraid it’s too late, Rashie,” she said dramatically. “I appreciate your concern, but there’s nothing you can do anymore. You’re too late.”

“I’m too late?” Rashie asked, jumping back onto Adabelle’s lap. She hugged the demonkin tightly, looking up at her. “Then I’ll just have to defeat him so that he can’t take you away.”

“Hold on a second now,” Trevor quickly said.

“No, Rashie, you can’t,” Adabelle said, taking Trevor’s hand and bringing it up to her cheek. “You see, I’ve taken a liking to him.”

“A- a liking?” Rashie stuttered. “No! That’s Stock House Synondrome!”

“Stockholm’s Syndrome,” Trevor corrected, figuring she heard that name from Wayne.

“Don’t say anything, I know what I’m talking about,” Rashie said, turning her nose up at him.

“You know I’m not actually stealing Adabelle, right?” Trevor asked. “I asked her out on a date, she agreed, and now we’re dating. She’s still going to live at the H- Wherever the mayor lives?” He looked at her questioningly.

“The Hero House until l officially become mayor,” Adabelle informed him. “But after that, I’ll be living in that building that blocks my office window. That’s where Jackson lives now, and I’ll be there after.”

“So I’m not stealing her,” Trevor continued. “We’re just very happy together.”

Rashie sniffed them both again before grunting. “Well, you both do smell very happy,” she admitted with a lot of hesitation.

“You can smell that?”

“Of course I can!” she exclaimed, nodding vigorously. “Everyone smells different when they feel different things. Happy, sad, afraid, terrified. I know this smell, and it’s very happy.”

“Well, I’m happy,” Trevor said. “Adabelle?”

“I’m quite happy, too,” she replied.

The shark girl released Adabelle to cross her arms, thinking. They could see the gears turning in her head as she processed this new information. She looked at Trevor’s head for a moment before looking up at the demonkin’s. “I wonder if your babies are going to have horns,” she thought aloud.

“Okay, hold up a minute there,” Trevor said, laughing nervously.

“That’s not even something we’re considering at this time, Rashie, and won’t be for a long, long time,” Adabelle told her. “Right now we’re just getting to know each other. We’ve only had one date so far.”

This caused Rashie to continue thinking before she suddenly gasped and stood up on Adabelle’s lap. She turned, smacking Trevor in the chest with her tail and knocking the wind out of him before jumping back onto the wracor.

“Are you okay?” Adabelle asked, placing a hand on his chest.

“Yeah,” he wheezed. “Got me good, but I’m alright.”

“Rashie, what are you doing?” Adabelle asked angrily.

“I gotta go tell Wayne!” she yelled before jumping off and running away at speeds he would have never thought possible for such short legs.

“Okay, I’m going to nip that in the bud right now before he tells her all sorts of terrible things.”

“Think he’ll do that?” Trevor asked.

“If he thinks it’s funny? Absolutely,” Adabelle said. “I’ll admit that sometimes I enjoy his antics, but not when I’m on the receiving end of them. Perhaps if it were only you, I’d be fine with it.”

“Gee, thanks,” Trevor chuckled.

“Are you going to be okay taking the wagon to Thimbleden’s?” she asked, glancing at his chest.

“I’ll be fine, really,” he said. “Go on and make sure Wayne doesn’t get to pull one over on us.”

“Thanks, Trevor,” she replied before pulling him in for a kiss. They lingered for a moment, perhaps unwilling to part as much as they thought, before Adabelle released him and jumped off of the wagon. “I’ll see you back at the Hero House!” She began running at much the same speed as Rashie, and the young man snorted out a quick laugh.

“Speed is broken,” Trevor commented to himself as he watched her go.

To Trevor’s pleasure, the rest of the ride was completely uneventful. He bowed to those he passed on the road and the guards leading into town, and soon he was in front of Thimbleden’s Sundries.

Dismounting from the wagon once the wracors had fully stopped, he walked around to pet them on their snouts. The creatures really were remarkably like horses despite being reptilian in nature, and he had come to really like the big creatures. They snorted and nuzzled him, with one attempting to eat his shirt before he pulled away and walked inside.

“Trevor!” the bespectacled gnome yelled from behind the counter as soon as he entered.

“Hello, Mr. Thimbleden,” he greeted. “I’ve got the wagon parked out front. Not sure where you want it.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Billan, the human employed at the Sundries, said. He clapped his hand on Trevor’s shoulder before walking out.

“Thanks, Billan,” Trevor called after him. “I’ve got a delivery from Klar for you and some of the other merchants.”

“Just returned and you’re already working?” Thimbleden asked, finishing up with the last customer in his line. He walked around the counter and motioned for Trevor to follow him.

“It’s been a hectic few days, but I’d like to get this done so I can thoroughly relax,” Trevor chuckled.

“From the smile on your face, it looks like you had a really good time,” the shopkeeper remarked.

“It was fantastic, for sure.”

True to his word, Trevor wasted no time pulling everything for Thimbleden out of his inventory and putting it where it needed to be. He was just as quick to leave as he was to arrive, wanting to get done with everything as quickly as possible.

He visited Dory last, as her shop was the farthest away from the square, when he finally completed his quest.

[[Quest complete! Welcome home!

You have been sent back to Tosa after a triumphant stint in Eskretet with one mission, not counting your personal mission of wooing a fellow Summoned, and that was to make some deliveries. And you succeeded! Thimbleden, Grunder, Corrin, and Dory have all received the shipments they were expecting from the merchant prince Klarkartar and are very grateful for your prowess as a delivery man.

Now you can sit back, relax, and take a few days vacation from your vacation. We all know how stressful the dating life can be, so enjoy your time however you want to now that you’ve decided to be selfish. Go ahead, we’ll wait. But also…

Three gold pieces have been added to your inventory!

Level Up! You have gained one (1) stat point. It has been added to your bank, which has one (1) stat point left.]]

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Trevor admitted after saying goodbye to Dory and Greer and stepping outside of the shop. Looking forward to meeting Adabelle at the Hero House, he started heading that way. “I am going to go and relax, Quest Master. Thanks.”