Civilisation at last!

The night quickly passed uneventfully. After waking up the next day, Thufrat noticed that it was almost noon already, he had no idea why he had slept for so long, but he felt really good. Sleep had always been something blissful, but sometimes when you slept, it felt extra good, which was one of the best feelings possible in the world, at least according to Thufrat.

He walked around the mansion a little and happened upon Alenia's room. The door was ajar, and the room was empty, it didn't surprise Thufrat though, he had slept for way too long after all. When he walked through the slightly rotten doorframe to the mansion, Thufrat's eyes were attracted to the balcony facing the large garden. On top of the railing to the balcony, Alenia was sitting quietly by herself. Her beautiful white hair couldn't help but flutter in the wind, mesmerizing Thufrat as he watched.

After she spotted him walking through the garden, Alenia dropped down from the balcony. Her movements seemed graceful and practiced, and Thufrat couldn't help but get a little stunned. He had been a little tired the earlier day, and he didn't take notice of her until yesterday evening.

Alenia was currently facing Thufrat, as she looked at him, she couldn't help but ponder. This small dwarf in front of her had saved her life. He was very kind, compassionate, and strong. She held some admiration for him, and when she thought about it, an unnoticeable blush couldn't help but creep across her face. She quickly stopped thinking about it though, as they decided to head out.

Walking down the desolate road at a brisk speed, they tried to desperately hold some small talk. Even though the small talk was fairly awkward, it was far better compared to complete silence. After half an hour of getting to know each other a little better, the atmosphere had gotten a lot brighter. Their discussion had lightened up and it was all flowing naturally. They talked for more than 2 hours before they could finally spot another city. Even though their conversation had been pleasant, there was nothing to look at as they walked from Gosburough.

The only things that surrounded the road were plains and crops as far as the eye could see, but now that they had finally come to a city, they could get a change of pace and horses. That was only if Alenia wanted to keep traveling with him though, if not, Thufrat would just have to travel by himself again. Now that they had found a city, they could get a light magician to heal Alenia, if there were any in this city.

Alenia had always been living with her mom and the dark-elves and had never entered a human city before. Because of this, they had to get her some identification papers if they wanted to get into the city. Thufrat was already used to the procedure, and it all worked out without a hitch.

Walking down the packed streets of the city, Alenia kept turning her head around to look at all the new sights. With Thufrat's help and guidance, she soon learned about all the major parts of the city, and which places she should avoid in the future. Whilst chatting and walking, Thufrat spotted a public bathhouse just down the street. Since they were a man and a woman, neither of them had gotten the chance to clean themselves since yesterday, and now was a perfect opportunity, since bathhouses were divided after gender.

Half an hour later, they were both standing fresh on the street again. Thufrat had noticed a fairly shocking revelation when he was in the bathhouse. Since there were mirrors propped up here and there, he managed to see a large tattoo that covered the majority of his back. The tattoo resembled that of a fierce and majestic dragon. Since he knew that it was just because of his bloodline, Thufrat didn't really care about it too much though, it looked pretty cool anyway.

Since speaking publicly would attract attention and possibly problems, Thufrat decided to sit inside of a small cafe close to the city square. Choosing a table for two in a remote corner of the small establishment, they ordered a cup of coffee each. Neither of them had ever drunk coffee before, it was a fairly new invention in this world, but they put that in the back of their heads for now.

Thufrat looked at Alenia solemnly. "So, have you decided what you're going to do yet?" He couldn't help but have some anticipation deep in the back of his mind.

Alenia's mind's gears started quickly turning, what did she want to do now? Did she want to try and settle down in some city somewhere? Probably not. Did she want to return to her home? Not really, there was nothing left for her to return to anyway. Did she want to follow Thufrat? When this thought appeared, she couldn't help but hesitate. Thfufrat seemed like an upright and nice person, and she quite enjoyed his company, it was very refreshing. His outlook on life differed from hers, and they had a lot of fun conversations this morning.

If she didn't go with him, she had no idea what to do. After thinking about it a little more, she decided to bite the bullet. The awkward silence that ensued after Thufrat's question was killing him slowly. It was pretty apparent that she probably didn't want to come with him at this point. But just before he was going to say something, Alenia broke the silence.

"I have to be honest, I would like to come with you, but before I make a decision, I want to know what your goal is."

Thufrat didn't anticipate an answer like this, but some excitement could be seen on his face, even though he tried to hide it. As he thought about why he was on this journey, his expression turned a little more solemn. "To be completely honest, my entire journey is just an attempt to save a dear friend of mine. I'm heading to Geotopia to try and get the help of The Heavenly Beast Master, but to be completely honest, I don't even know if I could manage to get an audience with her." Thufrat's expression turned slightly sour. As he progressed in his journey, his expectations were getting lower and lower.

Alenia's gaze turned gentle, before she suddenly realized something. "Did you just say The Heavenly Beast Master? If that's the case then I can help you!" Jumping up from her seat, she took Thufrat's hands from across the table and smiled. This was her opportunity to pay Thufrat back for saving her life!

Thufrat was bewildered by her sudden enthusiasm, his heart started to beat a little faster as he stared into her eyes, but he quickly came to. Could she really help him? Thufrat started to get his hopes up, he would do anything to save Ark. But before he got too excited, he needed to know just how Alenia would be able to help him.

"Look, it's not like I don't trust you, but how are you supposed to help me exactly?"

Alenia kept smiling, but some sorrow was starting to resurface in her eyes. "My mom used to be good friends with The Heavenly Beast Master, and I've met her a couple of times. I should be able to get you a meeting with her!" As she mentioned her mom, her eyes were getting a little watery, and her nose was itching a little.

Thufrat knew exactly why she was sad, and he wasn't really sure what he should do in a situation like this. A weak "Thank you" was all he could muster, before he became quiet again. There they stood, in a corner of the cafe for a couple of minutes, before Alenia managed to calm down again. As she looked up at Thufrat again, she was about to ask why he was still standing with her. Before she could say anything though, she noticed that she was still holding onto his hands, with sweat permeating her palms.

An intense blush instantly appeared on her face, before she quickly let go of his hands. "I'm so sorry" was all she could muster before she turned her head away with a jerk.

Thufrat could only laugh, he was pretty embarrassed himself after all. "No worries." And so, they both sat down again, silently and awkwardly enjoying their coffee, before leaving the cafe.