While Nirra was Returning home via the route Ameria showed them. She met a familiar face when exiting the shopping district.
"Oh, Nirra! Fancy seeing you here!" Eric shouted, waving at her while he did so.
Eric was seated in a chair facing a large round table outside of what seemed to be a cafe of some sort. She walked towards his location and sat down on the chair beside him while she put down the backpack she had behind her.
"I knew I would be encountering you when we traveled here," Nirra said as she looked at the cafe.
The building was made of cobblestone, with much of the support and pillars being primarily wood. The roof was also made out of hard wood, along with the roof over their heads. The store was somewhat busy, with a lot of people inside ordering some drinks, probably coffee or some other type of caffeinated drink.
"So, where's the rest of your party?" Nirra asked, looking back at Eric.
"Ah, well, uhm. They're back at the inn, taking a breather after the quest we did earlier," he explained, trying hard not to look down at Nirra's head.
"I see. What are you doing here then?" She asked as she sat up straight.
"Well, uhm..." He paused as he looked away with a bead of sweat coming down his forehead. "I was... ordering a drink, of course," He answered somewhat condescendingly.
Nirra noticed that he was lying based on his body language and the tone of his voice. So she asked a question that would definitely give her the right answer. "Then why not just drink in the guild? I'm pretty sure adventurers receive a discount when it comes to drinks in the guild."
"That's because, uhh..." He trailed off, trying to think of a reason, but then sighed in defeat as he looked back at Nirra with a nervous expression. "Can you keep a secret?" He said. Nirra nodded, so he continued with his explanation.
"I was asked on a date yesterday by this cute blonde girl. She looked genuine, so I agreed. She said she'd meet me here two hours ago, but she didn't come. I guess she was only dared to by her friends." He hung his head low, trying not to cry in front of Nirra.
Nirra sighed as she leaned in and patted Eric on the shoulder. "I'm sorry she played with your feelings. No one ever said finding the person that would love you back would be easy. I'm sure the right girl is somewhere out there for you. You just have to keep looking."
Eric raised his head as he stared at Nirra, who was comforting him. "Thanks, Nirra; I really needed that," he said. "So how did you travel to Aeris?" he asked as Nirra took her seat back on the chair.
"We used an escort quest to reach Aeris. My sister and a new archer-class adventurer named Amelia came with us and joined our party." She explained while Eric nodded.
"I see, is she cute?" He asked as Nirra blankly stared at him. "Sorry." Eric then blushed as he rubbed the back of his head while smiling.
"Anyway, we encountered a few bandits while traveling, but we managed to take them out with ease," She said.
"You too, huh? Eric said. "We also had a few encounters with bandits while traveling to this city." He continued, and Nirra held her chin in thought.
"I suppose that it makes sense, since Aeris is a trading hub, and many goods go in and out of the city to the different villages and towns inside the kingdom. It would be natural that bandits would be waiting along the routs where they travel the most frequently," she said as Eric nodded.
"Yeah, a lot of other merchants we came across had adventurer escorts. So the problem is probably worse than it actually is," he said as he leaned back on his seat.
"Yeah, let's hope someone can figure out a solution before things go haywire and many towns and cities start falling because they're short of the resources they need," she said, nodding her head while she still held her chin.
"Yeah, and by the way, what's inside that bag you were carrying?" He asked as he pointed a finger at the bag she had on her back earlier.
"Oh, it's just some custom-made tools used for forging my weapons, Nirra explained briefly.
"You forge your own weapons?" He asked in slight surprise.
"Yeah, my dad does general blacksmithing back at Redfield. I learned a thing or two from him while me and Ellie grew up." She explained further.
"Did you use the place where adventurers go and repair and maintain their own weapons and tools?" He asked.
"The Dragon's Breath Forge?" She inquired.
"Yeah, I heard the place has a special VIP room only available to those who are willing to pay more money to rent out a private forging station," He said.
"Yeah, I used their services yesterday and earlier today. I just finished forging my new weapon today," she said as she leaned forward on her chair.
"Can I see what you made?" He asked.
"I don't see why not," Nirra answered as she leaned down and opened her backpack. She pulled out the sawed-off double-barreled shotgun she made and presented it on a table.
"I've never seen a weapon like this before," he said as he gazed at the fine piece of craftsmanship. "How does it work?" He asked.
"It uses a tiny explosion to propel small projectiles forward," she said before turning away for a bit. "Well, that's the basics," she murmured before looking back at Eric.
"I kinda wanna see it in action" He said as he crossed his arms.
"Well, maybe one day," She said as she pulled away the shotgun and placed it back inside the backpack.
"What does it shoot?" He asked as Nirra opened a compartment in her bandolier and pulled out a 12-gauge birdshot shell.
"This is what it shoots," she said as she presented the shell to Eric.
"That does not look like any kind of normal arrow," he said. "Your weapon can change the face of warfare for all we know," He said as Nirra let out a small giggle.
"Hopefully not," she said as she placed the shell back inside the compartment in her bandolier.
The two were busy in their conversation when they saw Ellie running towards their position while waving her arms. Her face was distraught and nervous as she ran.
"Sis!!! We've got a problem!!!" She shouted as she ran. When she reached Nirra and Eric, who were standing up by the time she reached them, Nirra helped Ellie recover from her run.
"Slow breaths; tell me, what happened?" She asked.
"It's Ameria!! She got kidnapped!!" She shouted, which left Nirra and Eric in absolute shock.
While Nirra was Returning home via the route Ameria showed them. She met a familiar face when exiting the shopping district.
"Oh, Nirra! Fancy seeing you here!" Eric shouted, waving at her while he did so.
Eric was seated in a chair facing a large round table outside of what seemed to be a cafe of some sort. She walked towards his location and sat down on the chair beside him while she put down the backpack she had behind her.
"I knew I would be encountering you when we traveled here," Nirra said as she looked at the cafe.
The building was made of cobblestone, with much of the support and pillars being primarily wood. The roof was also made out of hard wood, along with the roof over their heads. The store was somewhat busy, with a lot of people inside ordering some drinks, probably coffee or some other type of caffeinated drink.
"So, where's the rest of your party?" Nirra asked, looking back at Eric.
"Ah, well, uhm. They're back at the inn, taking a breather after the quest we did earlier," he explained, trying hard not to look down at Nirra's head.
"I see. What are you doing here then?" She asked as she sat up straight.
"Well, uhm..." He paused as he looked away with a bead of sweat coming down his forehead. "I was... ordering a drink, of course," He answered somewhat condescendingly.
Nirra noticed that he was lying based on his body language and the tone of his voice. So she asked a question that would definitely give her the right answer. "Then why not just drink in the guild? I'm pretty sure adventurers receive a discount when it comes to drinks in the guild."
"That's because, uhh..." He trailed off, trying to think of a reason, but then sighed in defeat as he looked back at Nirra with a nervous expression. "Can you keep a secret?" He said. Nirra nodded, so he continued with his explanation.
"I was asked on a date yesterday by this cute blonde girl. She looked genuine, so I agreed. She said she'd meet me here two hours ago, but she didn't come. I guess she was only dared to by her friends." He hung his head low, trying not to cry in front of Nirra.
Nirra sighed as she leaned in and patted Eric on the shoulder. "I'm sorry she played with your feelings. No one ever said finding the person that would love you back would be easy. I'm sure the right girl is somewhere out there for you. You just have to keep looking."
Eric raised his head as he stared at Nirra, who was comforting him. "Thanks, Nirra; I really needed that," he said. "So how did you travel to Aeris?" he asked as Nirra took her seat back on the chair.
"We used an escort quest to reach Aeris. My sister and a new archer-class adventurer named Amelia came with us and joined our party." She explained while Eric nodded.
"I see, is she cute?" He asked as Nirra blankly stared at him. "Sorry." Eric then blushed as he rubbed the back of his head while smiling.
"Anyway, we encountered a few bandits while traveling, but we managed to take them out with ease," She said.
"You too, huh? Eric said. "We also had a few encounters with bandits while traveling to this city." He continued, and Nirra held her chin in thought.
"I suppose that it makes sense, since Aeris is a trading hub, and many goods go in and out of the city to the different villages and towns inside the kingdom. It would be natural that bandits would be waiting along the routs where they travel the most frequently," she said as Eric nodded.
"Yeah, a lot of other merchants we came across had adventurer escorts. So the problem is probably worse than it actually is," he said as he leaned back on his seat.
"Yeah, let's hope someone can figure out a solution before things go haywire and many towns and cities start falling because they're short of the resources they need," she said, nodding her head while she still held her chin.
"Yeah, and by the way, what's inside that bag you were carrying?" He asked as he pointed a finger at the bag she had on her back earlier.
"Oh, it's just some custom-made tools used for forging my weapons, Nirra explained briefly.
"You forge your own weapons?" He asked in slight surprise.
"Yeah, my dad does general blacksmithing back at Redfield. I learned a thing or two from him while me and Ellie grew up." She explained further.
"Did you use the place where adventurers go and repair and maintain their own weapons and tools?" He asked.
"The Dragon's Breath Forge?" She inquired.
"Yeah, I heard the place has a special VIP room only available to those who are willing to pay more money to rent out a private forging station," He said.
"Yeah, I used their services yesterday and earlier today. I just finished forging my new weapon today," she said as she leaned forward on her chair.
"Can I see what you made?" He asked.
"I don't see why not," Nirra answered as she leaned down and opened her backpack. She pulled out the sawed-off double-barreled shotgun she made and presented it on a table.
"I've never seen a weapon like this before," he said as he gazed at the fine piece of craftsmanship. "How does it work?" He asked.
"It uses a tiny explosion to propel small projectiles forward," she said before turning away for a bit. "Well, that's the basics," she murmured before looking back at Eric.
"I kinda wanna see it in action" He said as he crossed his arms.
"Well, maybe one day," She said as she pulled away the shotgun and placed it back inside the backpack.
"What does it shoot?" He asked as Nirra opened a compartment in her bandolier and pulled out a 12-gauge birdshot shell.
"This is what it shoots," she said as she presented the shell to Eric.
"That does not look like any kind of normal arrow," he said. "Your weapon can change the face of warfare for all we know," He said as Nirra let out a small giggle.
"Hopefully not," she said as she placed the shell back inside the compartment in her bandolier.
The two were busy in their conversation when they saw Ellie running towards their position while waving her arms. Her face was distraught and nervous as she ran.
"Sis!!! We've got a problem!!!" She shouted as she ran. When she reached Nirra and Eric, who were standing up by the time she reached them, Nirra helped Ellie recover from her run.
"Slow breaths; tell me, what happened?" She asked.
"It's Ameria!! She got kidnapped!!" She shouted, which left Nirra and Eric in absolute shock.
