A Quest to Find Maiara

Chapter Three

No content warnings! :)

The path to Yudai's cabin was rough and lengthy. By the time they reached the quaint, little house, the sun had fully risen and the back of Tirion's ankles hurt terribly. Aldrich was always walking the long distances between villages, so he was clearly used to it. Conifer didn't seem to be in pain, but he walked just about as much as Tirion did.

Yudai's house was a small wooden cabin on a small hill, with fields that reached far in every direction, before stopping at an uneven line of forest. The cabin had a large fenced-in area, where two horses grazed in the long grass that wavered in the breeze.

"Whoa, look at that!" Tirion cheered, "We're here!"

Knowing the walk was over, Tirion seemed to become more energetic than she'd been for the whole walk, and she ran the rest of the way to the cabin. When Aldrich and Conifer caught up, the three huddled into a circle to speak quietly to each other. "This is really important, so I need you both to be on your very best behavior," Aldrich told the children, "If he asks any questions, let me answer them. Unless they're directed towards you, of course. Alright?"

"Alright," Tirion and Conifer both said.

They got behind Aldrich as he knocked on the cabin's wooden front door. The few seconds before it opened were long and stressful. Without a doubt, the man who opened it was Yudai. He looked exactly like he had in the books that told legends of him, in the stories that were passed down from parent to child. He was old, and he had a scraggly beard that was the same white color as his hair; Even his amber eyes and pointed ears, telltale signs of a warlock. Yudai had a kind smile as he looked at the group in front of him. "Why, hello, are you three here for a quest?" he asked.

All of them bowed their heads respectively before Aldrich answered, "Yes, sir."

Yudai nodded and led the three of them inside, to a room with nothing in it but a tea table and four cushions on the floor, "Take a seat wherever you'd like," he told them, before going off to a different room for a moment. When he returned, everyone was already seated.

Being a very old man, Yudai let out a long sigh as he lowered himself onto his cushion, "Alright, you three, what are your names?"

"I'm Aldrich, and this is Conifer and Tirion, sir."

"Lovely," he said, "Can the two of them speak for themselves? I do know multiple languages, if They'd like to introduce themselves in a different one."

"Oh, no, sir," Aldrich said, "I was just keeping them quiet so they didn't say anything rude. My bad, I apologize."

"No worries, my dear Aldrich, I understand." His attention quickly shifted to Conifer and Tirion, "You two are very young, I see. You think you can keep up with a quest of mine? I won't give you something easy just because you're kids, you know." Yudai chuckled softly.

"We know, sir," Tirion assured him.

"We're not looking for something easy," Conifer added.

"That's good, but I'll have to see what quest I can give you." Yudai looked at them thoughtfully for a moment, before another man entered the room, holding a tray of tea, sugar, milk, and honey. "Oh Armel, dear, thank you," Yudai said as he placed the tray gently on the table.

"Of course," Armel replied, "So, who do we have here?" he asked, looking at the people across the table.

"A promising team, that much is certain," Yudai answered, "They are Aldrich, Conifer, and Tirion."

Armel chuckled, "Good to meet you, I hope you find your quest satisfactory when it's given to you." He then stood up and left the room.

Yudai picked up one of the teacups on the tray, and everyone else followed suit. They added however much honey, sugar, and milk they wanted, before everything was settled and Yudai began talking again, "I think a test to prove your mental ability above all else might be best for you three. Considering you two, we may want to have a physical test, as well. I want to determine your strengths and weaknesses." He was silent for a moment, pondering as he slowly sipped his tea.