Hymn of Elys

Chapter Thirteen

Julia's eyes were wide as she accepted the crystal from Alice. It shone brightly between the fingers of her tightly enclosed hands. The luminous jewel even highlighted the hazel flecks in her eyes. Alice was almost taken aback at the amount of worship filling the NPC's face. Was the goddess' light that important to the few that coveted it?

Within a second Julia's expression cleared, and Alice thought she had almost imagined it. A bright smile greeted Alice, and Julia dropped the crystal shard into her bag.

Alice didn't miss how quickly she adjusted the satchel so that no more light shone through.

"Thank you, kind adventurer! I knew you wouldn't let me down." She winked, sarcasm thick in her voice. Alice felt her lip twitching with a hidden smile as she wondered how many adventurers' had abandoned her quests without a word. Probably, too many to count.

Alice waved a hand, showing nonchalance, "Don't worry about it. Besides, it was worth it for the reward?" Even though she said that, she truly had no idea what the reward even was. Before they had started the quest, it had been recommended by Lys and Max. What would she get for clearing out a dangerous mission?

Well, dangerous to her. In reality, it was only a mere beginners' journey. Alice had yet to realize what the world of Elys had in store for her.

Julia grinned widely, like a cat that had caught the canary. "Ah! Yes, the reward. Let me see what I have here..." The taller woman whistled as she started to rustle through her knapsack once more. "Hm, leather? No. A bracelet?" Julia seemed to scoff at her own suggestion.

The blonde watched Julia, the whole time her brows knitted with confusion. Did she really not plan any of this out? 'What if she received a crystal, and didn't have anything on her?'

This game only seemed to give her more questions as she played.

Eathan and Manuel stood back, watching the exchange with mischievous gazes. It seemed as if Alice wasn't the first one she had done this to. Was this a common occurrence? Julia's long brown hair fell over her shoulders as she continued to dig into her bag. At this point, her whole right arm was inside of it. How was that even possible?!

Julia's eyes lit up with inspiration, her answer finally reaching her. "I've got it!" Without any warning, she tossed a small bundle at Alice. The blonde could barely catch the small package as it hit her square in the chest. Alice grabbed it, her eyes wide with accusation as she glared at the older woman.

The parcel was hardly larger than her palm, and was covered in grimy fabric. She crinkled her nose as she felt the dirt with her fingers. "There's your reward. No need to thank me!"

Alice was always told by her foster father not to judge a book by its cover. Bearing that in mind, she started to unravel the fabric from the item. What could be inside? In a usual game, it would be some legendary item, right? Such as a new weapon, or perhaps something expensive she could sell for gold?

Inside the dirty bundle was a pair glass earrings, one of the two broken beyond repair; however it was not alone. A crinkled note was underneath some of the sparkling glass. The earrings were disappointing, but would the note hold something of more value?

Careful not to slice her fingers, she wrangled the paper from underneath the broken accessory with her hand, while holding the disgusting parcel in the palm of her other. The note was so old that she could barely make out the script flowing across the crinkled page.