003

Near a cave at the outskirts of the kingdom stood a young teen of about eighteen years or younger, with a brown sachel slung over his right shoulder, hanging around his waist. He reached for his sachel and pulled out a small black notebook, staring bullets into it's pages.

"This is the location." He voiced out his thoughts, giving the place one hesitant look. "Why does this place seem like where adventurers usually start their quests?" He asked not expecting an answer as he strode into the place, looking to finish his task as swiftly as possible.

Though it was daytime, the inside of the cave was lit by red and green crystal rocks which grew on the walls of the inside. This young boy took out a small shovel like tool from his sachel and proceeded to take a crystal, each of different colour.

"Let's hope I find something good."

He advanced forward into the cave, using the crystals in his hands as a guide to light his path. The farther he went inside, the darker and wider the cave seemed.

Aside the uncalculated sound of his footsteps, he could hear the indistinct sound of groaning and grunting from a close distance. Which propelled him to shove his left hand into his sachel ready to pull out something.

The sound amplified as he reached it's source, the groaning become more defined and he could make out that the sound belonged to an adult male. There were no crystals around this part, only complete darkness enveloped him, tossing countless possibilities into his frantic mind.

"I'll just drop this here and..." He made a motion to bend low, as he backed away slowly.

*Snap*

He stepped on a twig, one that he could have sworn was not there moments ago. The sound caused him to freeze in panic, for he knew all too well what would happen if he made any sudden movements.

A hiss sound followed, confirming all of his doubts as his ears picked up on the sound of approaching steps towards him. He covered his mouth his right palm and raised the left holding the crystals to the air.

Emerald green reptilian eyes met his gaze, staring daggers directly at the intruder. The crystals dropped from his loose grip and rolled to the sand underneath him, resting idly beside a large nest at the end of the cave.

"I'm Qu...Quiver and I've come to deliver your package."

********

Quiver stood beside a tall, well built dark skinned man with broad shoulders that could rival that of beast men from the bear clan.

In his hands, was a small black pouch with an inscription on the front written in an ancient language. He sheepishly handed it over to the dark skinned man, whose glistening green eyes sparkled like the crystals in the cave.

"Is this it?" The taller looking man asked with high expectations, roughly emptying it's content unto his palm. Inside of the pouch, was a small bottle labelled in an even more ancient language.

"Of course Sir, it's been tested and the results are amazing. Your little issue, will be resolved in no time." Quiv leaned in to say, staring directly at his crutch. "It'll stop shredding down there in just a matter of days." The young lad whispered, a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

His customer who didn't find his teasing humourous grabbed him by the head, raising his feet off the floor. Quiv trembled under his touch, but did not dare run away.

Nagas were very relentless when it came to pursuit of their prey and would cunningly swallow you whole, if you were to offend them. But aside that, they were peaceful creatures who lived in caves far from the stir of society.

"How the hell does a delivery boy know so much about my condition?" He tightened the grip on Quiv's head, bringing his face to meet his icy glare.

"You see, am not just a delivery boy, am actually the CEO of the business, it's my company." He answered, "I received your order two days ago and personally came to deliver your package." The grip on his head loosened up, the pissed expression on the Naga slowly contorted into a warm gaze.

"At your age? That's pretty impressive to say the least. You're already running your own delivery service, when I was your age, my greatest achievement was that I had bedded seven women in a stretch." The man's grip continued to loosen, till he was no longer holding Quiv by the head, but had caged his neck with his armpit.

Telling him of some of his great feats and mischievous escapades at the hands of female knights and Pixy women.

Just like the gradual conversion of ice to water, the day had dampened and turned to evening already. The Naga had invited Quiv inside and offered him blue lava scones to eat.

A common snack preyed on by stranded adventurers stuck in caves during a quest. It's value in the market was quite low, despite it being a very difficult thing to lay hands on.

"These things are so delicious to suck on, don't you agree?" The half man half snake asked him in a light hearted tone, offering a blue glowing scone, in the shape of a rock.

"Yes..." Quiv absentmindedly replied him, calculating how long it would take him to deliver the other two packages in his sachel.

'I would have just gotten up and left the moment he invited me inside, but he's right, blue lava scones are tasty. And with all this chatting and listening, I should rack up a mighty tip' he mused to himself, failing to conceal the wide grin that painted his lips.

His companion however caught sight of it and shrugged his broad shoulders in disgust.

'Just what kind of a face is that? What the hell could this kid thinking of while eating something so pure?' his host wondered, staring at the devilish grin on the youngster's face.

"Don't mind me asking this, but are you human?" His host asked, stating the painfully obvious fact.

Quiv who was used to having clients make crude comments on how much weaker he was in comparison to an average human, stood up abruptly from the table. Ready to take his leave, all too aware of where this conversation was headed.

"It's gotten dark outside, I'll have to leave now, thank you for the meal." He told him in a rush, clumsily slinging his sachel over his shoulder.

Without looking back, he took to his heels, pulling out a crystal from his sachel to lead him through the dark cave back outside.

"Wait a sec..." Before the Naga could rise to his feet and run after him, Quivier had ran a great distance and had no intention of stopping.

"You forgot your money." The Naga whispered the last part, balancing the three copper coins he had intentions of paying him between his fingers.