A Big Investment Part-1: A Simple gift

The fiery arc is a captivating sight, dazzling everyone gathered. A meteor crashing in such close vicinity is always a rarity, and neither Mauka nor Alfroth has ever witnessed such a spectacle before. However, it's Alfroth who is particularly struck by the event, as he is eager to study more about different natural phenomena.

As the single meteorite disappears over the hill towards the huge mountain, a silence falls over the onlookers. While Alfroth is amazed by the display, Mauka seems to be waiting for something more. Suddenly, a burst of wind hits the area like a shock wave, and Mauka is convinced that the meteorite has landed safely, rather than burning up.

'It's at the bottom of Garuba's Finger,' she murmurs to herself with a brightened expression, pointing to the huge mountain in front of them.

Finally noticing his sister's hopeful and somewhat greedy, or perhaps passionate, expression, Alfroth looks up to her. 'Sister, did it actually land?' he asks.

'Oh yes, it did land. And do you know what we've landed on?' Mauka replies, looking at her brother.

'What?' Alfroth asks eagerly.

Bringing her lips close to Alfroth's ear, Mauka whispers, 'We just landed on a gold mine.'

'What do you mean, sis?' Alfroth whispers back.

'A meteorite's scale can sell for an enormous price in the Dome of Wagicia,' she continues in a hushed tone.

'How much?' Alfroth presses for details.

'If it's as big as I expect, it could probably earn us around one million bama or maybe even more, and I can send you to that fancy school you want to go to five times over,' Mauka reveals.

Alfroth has dreamed of going to Akademiya, the school of magic, but could never afford it. Now, with this, not only could he go to the school, but he could also buy all the equipment and everything he had ever seen scholars own and study about the wonders of the world not through trashy plays but himself.

While Mauka and Alfroth discuss their plans ahead, everyone else returns to their previous activities. The siblings make their way to a small barn made of old galoon wood, its planks darkening with age, and with a surprisingly evenly distributed hay roof, which they are used to and simply ignore. Inside, they begin discussing their next course of action.

'How far away is it, sis?' Alfroth inquires.

'I don't know exactly, but it may take us more than nine, maybe even fifteen days,' Mauka replies.

'Then we should hurry; if we don't, somebody will definitely snatch it before us,' Alfroth says with a worried expression on his face.

'Hmm, but where do we get a mount? Only then will we be able to reach it quicker,' Mauka ponders aloud.

'Wait, it's not a nine-day walk?' Alfroth asks in surprise.

'Nope, on a mount it takes us nine days, but on foot, it will probably take us around twenty-five days,' Mauka replies, shaking her head.

'But we don't have anything at all. We have no bama, mount, or anything that can get us there. We are doomed.' Alfroth starts panicking as his newborn dreams seem to crumble.

'Yeah, you are right, we do need to get going, but finding a nearby mount that we can take for free is completely impossible,' Mauka looks up, scratching her chin, trying to think of a way. Suddenly, they hear a noise coming from the end of the barn.

'Oh yeah, I forgot this is Carmilla's barn,' Mauka says excitedly.

'But aunty will never let us take any one of them. She has been against it since the last time you took one,' Alfroth says, trying to reason with his sister.

'Who says we're taking one?'

'What do you mean, sis?'

'We're just renting one without her attention.'

'No, I am not going to steal,' Alfroth replies with conviction.

'Come on, little bro, think about all the things you can buy, and you can have everything in the world. You can have power, knowledge, and whatever type of woman you like. You will have all of it with money,' she says as she leans on her brother's shoulder, waving her hands in front of his eyes.

'You sound gross, just like a thief, and why are you doing this in front of my face?' Alfroth replies with disgust while pushing away Mauka's hand.

'Come on, it's just a little investment, and we will pay her ten times the amount one of the molba is worth,' but even after all this, Mauka couldn't convince Alfroth at all. Finally, she stands up and asks Alfroth for his plan.

'You know what, you are right, sister,' Alfroth looks at her with a bright face.

'Ah, finally, you understand that stealing just to return it ten times is completely fine?'

'No, no, we are not going to steal anything, but you are right about one thing: investment.'

'Investment?' Mauka asks, tilting her head, looking puzzled like a five-year-old.

'Yes, an investment, and for it, we need an investor that takes care of all of our needs, then it's going to be completely worth it, and it's going to be a win-win deal for both of us,' he says while clenching both of his fists like another five-year-old.

'So, how do we get this investment going?' she moves closer to her brother to hear his grand plan.

'Our investment is already waiting for us.'

Alfroth simply points his index finger up, Mauka's eyes follow his fingers with anticipation. Alfroth begins to turn his finger from up to left. Mauka looks where Alfroth is pointing but suddenly feels an unexpected revulsion from the direction he pointed.

Alfroth points at the side of Carmilla's inn.

'No, no, no, no, no, we're not going in there and asking her for anything, and we already in debt to her,' Mauka speaks exaggeratedly to her brother.

'Well, we don't really have any other choice that does not involve stealing,' Alfroth replies.

'But we can't just walk in there and expect her to give us everything. She already dislikes me enough, and I don't want her to hate you too,' Mauka said with pleading eyes.

'You're worried that you'll lose the right to sleep in the barn if she ends up hating me too. But sister, this is our last chance. If we take it, we can sleep in a proper house with a bed, not on haystacks,' Alfroth reasoned.

Mauka hesitated, glancing at the inn owned by Carmilla, before turning to her brother's earnest face, filled with honesty, courage, and every good value in the world

At the end she couldn't resist and agreed to the death plan that was alfroth's perfect plan. 

They advanced toward the inn, preparing themselves for the impending negotiation. Mauka reached for the doors, ready to push them open, when Alfroth says, "Let's get her a gift first. It might lighten her mood."

"Okay, let's do that," Mauka agreed without hesitation.

As they left to purchase a gift for Carmilla, it became apparent that they were still a bit scared of facing her, so they hastily made their way to the nearby bazaar instead.

'Well what gift do we buy her?' mauka asked

'I don't know' alfroth replies gloomily

'is there something she wants or needs' mauka says to herself thinking

'She wants or needs, want or need' alfroth kept repeating

'Oh yeah, she needs some grol juice' alfroth exclaimed

'Why?' mauka asks

'for her chickens in the coop'

'Ok we can do that but a bucket of grol will cost us around 13 bama and where do we get that much bama' mauka ponders aloud

'How about a wild one'

'leave that idea, they are hard to catch and i am not an insect hunter'

Alfroth stops her sister and points at the crowd forming in a corner of the street.

'What's that about sis' 

'probably some type of gambling or sport' mauka says with not a single bit of interest

'Wait, we can get a whole lot of bama from there if we try really hard,' Alfroth said, looking to his sister with amusement

Mauka, even though not interested, decided to at least check the crowd out of curiosity. When they both arrived, only Mauka could see that the game is of hand wrestling

Two men sat on wooden stumps, their hands poised on a bench in front of them, ready for the match to begin. Both appeared strong and muscular, but as the game began, it became clear that the man on the left was dominating. The other man held on for a good minute before releasing his hand, and at that moment, the man with a mustache slammed both hands on the bench, declaring himself the winner. The spectators who had bet on him erupted in celebration, while some looked disappointed.

Meanwhile, Alfroth tried to catch glimpses of the match by jumping up and down, but he could only see bits and pieces. Then he heard the game maker's voice: 'Is anybody willing to challenge this absolute unit of a man, anybody?' No one in the crowd raised their hand. The victorious man began flexing, intimidating any remaining audience members who might have considered challenging him.

However, a hand was raised, and it belonged to none other than Mauka. Alfroth's face filled with confusion and panic as he realized his own sister had just challenged the man. He tried to persuade her to back out, but she simply bent down and whispered in his ear, 'Go and bet on me as much as you can'