The Adrift Oath

Chapter XXXIII: Journey To Verdure

And so the group went back to their resting place as they introduced themselves including Yuna as to not cause him a heart attack if she appeared suddenly, and told their names to Theodore who was very happy to be in the middle of the group, after they seated themselves back where they were, they explained their need to get into the elven country, and how desperate Fae was to just obtain an audience with the Dryad, he was surprised at first but then expressed how fruitless of an endeavor it was

"Please child, the Dryad hasn't interacted with her people in what feels like millions of years, what makes you think she would allow a human into her dimension?" Theodore explained, Fae sighed as she looked down

"It doesn't matter, expectations for the future don't matter, I need to try, I don't have a choice" She then lifted her eyes to gaze upon the elder "I want to try, I need to"

Theodore sighed, he then looked aside

"I'm not even sure they would allow more than me in, but" He then looked back at Fae "You people saved me so the least I can do is try" A small smile formed on his face as he said that

"Thanks, that's all what I'm asking for" She replied, one reply that he could only respond with a slow smiling nod to

He looked at Avalynn struggling to bite on her piece of bread and chuckled "I've also been noticing that you youngsters have been having a bit of a difficulty with your food"

Avalynn grunted with her eyes narrowed as she looked at the bread in her hand with much anger "Tell me about it"

"Then allow me to prepare something for your stomachs" he said as he put his backpack on the ground "As an extra thank you to all of you" bringing out a pot that was much bigger than the own backpack it was in

"Oh, an enchanted backpack, what a novelty" Yulia seemed like the only one not impressed by his feat

"Haha, Yes it was a gift from an old friend, it is quite convenient dare I say" He then placed it and then looked at the group and before he could speak Thaddeus got up

"I'll set up a fire don't worry" He said, and he did just as he said while Theodore went on to gather some herbs and other things accompanied by Fae while Yulia and Sierra stood guard and patrolled around, leaving Avalynn to lazy around, much to her joy

Fae was quite fascinated with the amount of botanical knowledge Theodore possessed as the amount of names he uttered as he showed her the plants around was so much that it just made Fae remember not a single one, but at least they collected what they needed

Everybody was entranced by the manner at which Theodore cut the vegetables with his knife that he brought both from his special backpack, with not only speed but also precision as each cut was seemingly the same size and shape as the previous, it was quite obvious that he was used to living alone and in the wilderness, the smell that emanated from the pot as he was almost done felt like heaven compared to what they were eating previously, and it was quite proven by Yulia slapping Avalynn's hand as she tried to dip a piece of bread into the pot

The collect of herbs around seemed to have been very fruitful as he used them to add more taste to the final meal, and after a bit more, he finally was pleased enough with what he made to serve their parts in metal bowls that he kept in his backpack, Fae wanted to peek inside his backpack but she was too afraid to fall into yet another world by how many things he brought out of it

"I hope you enjoy it everyone" He said with a smile as he handed the last bowl to Fae, the last getting jealous looks from Thaddeus and surprisingly Yuna as well

"What?" She told the two that seemed to have banded against something seeing on how close they sat together

Yuna spoke first "It is truly a shame that I can feel the smell yet not have even the slightest of tastes"