The Dark Days - El Lost

Chapter 7: Fishing for Information

Chapter 7: Fishing for Information

Light poured into the room from its single window, falling over Rena's closed eyelids. She opened her eyes, realizing it was morning. Pushing herself up from bed, Rena looked around the room with wide-eyed alarm. Aisha and Elsword were nowhere to be seen. Where had they gone? From the corner of her eye, Rena glimpsed a sheet of paper on the room's side table. Snatching it up, she skimmed a note that had been scrawled hastily on it in script:

"Eating breakfast. Come to the village square."

Rena sighed in relief. Dressing in her usual jade attire, she picked up her pack and slung her bow over her shoulder, just in case. She slipped out of the room and passed the drowsy innkeeper. He didn't seem to notice her leave.

This time, when Rena passed the accessory shop, she noticed a young woman with honey colored hair that was restrained under a dark, patched bandana. The woman stared at her from inside the shop. She gave Rena a kind wink, her coffee-brown eyes sparkling with mischief. Rena smiled, waved back politely and continued walking towards the square.

When she arrived, she spotted Aisha and Elsword seated on a bench, near them was a merchant selling food. Her companions sat on opposite ends of the bench, ravenously devouring raspberry pastries that they had probably bought from the merchant. They looked up when Rena approached.

"Hwi Raynwa," Elsword greeted her, his mouth filled with pastry. He swallowed. "Do you want some?" he asked, pointing at his breakfast then at the merchant. Rena giggled, shaking her head.

"I'll get something later. Right now, shouldn't we be planning what to do?"

"Actually, I was thinking of collecting information," Aisha piped up. "If Ruben's El passed this village, wouldn't any of the shop keepers here have noticed? It's huge; they couldn't have missed it."

"Of course," Rena realized. "So if any of the shop keepers did see the thieves, we could track them down and get the El back!"

''Wait,'' Elsword licked his fingers full of sticky raspberry jam. "Here's my question: How will we bring the El back to Ruben? It's enormous. In fact, I don't even know how the bandits carried it off."

"We can figure that out later," Rena assured him. "Right now, we should be more worried about getting it back. Anyway, I think we should split up and ask different shop keepers in Elder about the El. How about we meet here around noon?"

"Sounds good," Aisha agreed. Elsword nodded.

"Alright, then. See you guys later~" Rena called over her shoulder. She hurried back in the direction she had come in.

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At the accessory shop, the young woman was still there, this time inspecting a shining, ruby bracelet. She held glass lens over it, squinting through the glass with one eye. She didn't look up when Rena entered the shop so the elf stood a few feet behind the shop keeper's counter, waiting patiently. At last, the woman sighed.

"No good. Its aura is fading..." She looked up. ''You're that person that passed my shop an hour ago, correct?''

"Yeah, that's me~" Rena responded cheerfully. The shop keeper grinned, her eyes showing the same mischievous look from before.

"Well, is there anything you need?" she asked.

"Sort of," Rena replied. "I'm looking for information regarding a certain group of thieves. I think their leader's name was Banthus. Would you happen to have any information about them?" The woman regarded her closely, then motioned her to the back room of the shop.