A Journey through Kingdoms

CHAPTER 3- ALCHEMIST ACQUIRED

Derrick walks the path through the emerald forest like Tetsuga did earlier, before his arrival. But as Derrick got a certain distance from the city entrance and into the paved path that led through the forest, he made a sharp turn to the right and started walking again. But was this not peculiar? For a man to be wandering the forest like this, one would assume that they were up to something. No, good or otherwise. But luckily, it wasn't all that nefarious, as his destination would be revealed in due time.

Meanwhile, we see the group of individuals from the tavern earlier now walking the streets as they look around. Seemingly aiming to do something. "So what? Are we just going to look for this guy like this?" One of them asks. Not wanting to just roam around the town in search of a guy that they somehow let by under their noses. "In a second, I know we can't search like this since it's too inefficient of our time," the other explains. He was a lot more calculating with his words compared to the former.

"But can we move it along with you guys? My legs are killing me." And then there was Craig. He is complaining about his weak legs, as they have been walking for a fair bit of time after exiting the tavern. "Quit your complaining, Craig. You're not the only one," the more laid-back member tells him as he has his arms over to the back of his head as they walk. "It's a valid complaint! And don't act like I do it all the time! I know for a fact you're the one who complains a lot!" Craig argues back at the laid-back member, who now had a bit back as their laid-back nature was now replaced with irritation. "You wanna say that to my face, punk!?".

But while the two were bickering amongst themselves, the more intellectual member of the group walked up to a person and decided to ask them a question. "Excuse me, sir. Do you perhaps know the whereabouts of this man in this picture?" They then show the random citizen a picture of Derrick as they immediately recognize him in a flash. "Oh yeah, I've heard of him. But I don't know where he is, unfortunately," they say, leaving the one questioning a little disappointed.

"But I do know where he goes whenever he's done with this town," they reveal. Piquing their interest. "In fact, everyone in this part of town knows about him. He's quite the infamous weirdo," they say. This was intriguing. So, they decide to press further for their whereabouts. "So, could you tell us where he goes?" they ask, which the good Samaritan-with a bit of harsh language thrown at Derrick's expense-answered without hesitance.

"Yeah, yeah. The guy always goes out of the city after he's done with whatever he does in here. I don't know where, but it's somewhere in the forest." It wasn't as much of a pinpoint location as it is a general area, but it seemed to be good enough for them as they decided to take it without any further questions. "I see. Thanks for the info." They say before they leave to go back to his little group as he arrives to see the two still bickering with one another, which he stops right away before they start to take a toll on his mental.

"Alright, you two. Settle down," he says as he breaks them up. "I know where he is. Well, where he's going to at least," they inform. Gaining the attention of the other two as Craig decides to question how. "Wait, that easy? How'd you find that out?" He asks, to which the intellectual among them answers. "I asked," they say bluntly, making both of the others pause for a second to think it over before nodding their heads in understanding. "Ah, right, right. Makes sense."

"So where is he? You did get like a general direction of it, right?" The laid-back one asks, which was answered quickly by them. "Well, the locals say that he frequently exits the city into the forest whenever he's finished with his business in the town," they explain as he starts to walk away with the other two in tow. "So he's in the forest right now?" They ask for confirmation, to which he receives an affirmative nod. "Yeah. If we're lucky, we'll find him deep in the forest without anyone to intervene," they say.