Quest

Chapter 2.1 [Lost Pet]

"So Dream, you mentioned your parents were adventurers, are they both from Articia?" George and Dream walked side by side in the streets, they were heading to the address listed on the quest poster. There they could gather information about the cat they were looking for before they started going place to place searching.

Dream shook his head, "No, my mother is from a port town in Loem, but my dad is from Articia. They told me they met on a joint dungeon subjugation sponsored by both Loem and Articia because the dungeon was right on their borders. It might've been about 30 years ago, I think." It wasn't as early in the morning as it was when George and Dream met so the town streets were beginning to crowd as the day drew closer to noon. George was doing his best to lead the two of them through the town using the map that was printed on the backside of their quest poster. He really hoped they wouldn't have this much trouble finding their cat as he was having to find their home.

George whistled before snapping his head back into Dream's direction, his previous concerns about being lost forgotten, "30 years ago?! You're not talking about the massive dungeon that spawned on the borders of Loem and Articia along the cliffs of the Divide? The one where they sent over 100 Artician Imperial knights and 300 adventurers from both Loem and Articia combined?"

Dream stopped walking and George was trying hard to hold back his shock and excitement. He almost missed important information while trying to look for a house. Dream nodded almost hesitantly, "You know it?"

"Do I know it? Are you crazy!" George was half shouting in the middle of the road as he grabbed Dream's shoulders and started shaking him, "How could I not! That's an unbelievably legendary dungeon subjugation. Probably the most famous in the last century! And your parents were a part of that! Now I'm curious, who were your parents??" George let go of Dream, he glanced around and noticed odd stares thrown his way. He looked back at Dream red in the face "S-sorry, I'm getting out of hand, but this is too amazing, to think I'm talking to the son of two adventurers part of that dungeon subjugation."

"Hey, it's all cool, I didn't even know it was such a big deal. It was just one of the many stories they told me as a kid." They started walking again, "I've always lived in the mountains with just my parents so the only time I interacted with others is when my dad took us down the mountain to a nearby village to trade away some of our game in return for supplies, especially to prepare for the winter."

"I'm from the region that part of the dungeon used to occupy. Everyone knows about it there, and I used to listen to stories from some of the older folk in the town I lived in, they would talk about how the battles raged on for over a week all through the night. I always admired the knights and adventurers who were a part of that battle, if not for them then the monsters could have overrun our region and I wouldn't be here today."

"Is that why you became an adventurer? Because you were inspired by them?" Dream asked. George turned the corner with Dream lagging just slightly behind.

George shook his head, he was much calmer now after the initial shock and excitement. His smile became sadder in response to Dream's question, "No, I became an adventurer for a different reason..."

"Oh..." Dream hesitated, "sorry, is it a touchy subject?"

George glanced over at Dream as he quickened his pace to match George's. He didn't seem like a bad guy, sure he had a peculiar fashion sense and an odd way of doing some things. And maybe he lacked just a tiny bit of common sense, but George has had nothing but positive vibes from Dream. In fact, in his opinion, he would say they hit it off pretty well for two people who only met each other hardly an hour ago.

George felt like he could trust him, "It's not. My family is actually a small household of nobles in Articia, they govern a small town in the northwest region of the empire and are vassals to the Marquess of the region where I'm from. But recently my family's wealth is falling short of the Marquess' taxes and our town is failing to meet certain quotas..."

"So did you become an adventurer for the money? In order to support your town and family?" They walked the streets a little slower now. George was sure they were almost there, they were near the outskirts of the town, but not quite to the walls that bordered the town.

"I'm actually aiming to become a knight, but without an official recommendation or the money to enroll in the academy, I have to make a name for myself elsewhere. Being an adventurer is the only other path that will get me recognized, and if I can become a knight, especially an Imperial Knight, I might be able to buy our land from the Marquess and separate our territory from them."

Dream slowly nodded, "Just one question, why a knight? Aren't there other methods of making large sums of money, couldn't you stay as an adventurer and become a high ranking adventurer?"

"I could...but," George faltered. He had a reason, but it was more personal and he didn't want to share it quite yet. George's heart skipped a beat, "I think we're here!" George pointed to a small little red house. Cute, potted flowers lined the outside, it was rather quaint.

Their conversation was cut short as they walked up to the door. George knocked twice and took a step back.

"One moment!" George heard noises from inside, loud thuds, and maybe something glass-like shattering. The door swung open suddenly and George nearly jumped in surprise, he glanced over at Dream who seemed unphased, "Yes?" An older woman greeted them, large round spectacles stuck barely at the tip of her nose, begging to fall. She pushed them up and dusted her pants off before standing up tall.

"We're here about your lost cat poster you had in the Adventurer's guild," Dream took the lead. For a moment, she looked dazed before recognition shot through her eyes, "OH!" both George and Dream flinched at her sudden outburst, "Yes, sorry. I've been in a tizzy trying to clean up around here, my cat got loose while I was doing laundry yesterday afternoon and I desperately need help looking for her." George took a peek and noticed the complete disarray of the inside, a stark contrast to the quaint outside appearance.

"That's what we're here for ma'am, we just want to know if your cat tends to wander any places in particular or any mannerism that may help us in our search."

"Hmmm, perhaps the market just west of here, there's a bakery in that area. Normally I take my cat with me and we stop by to buy some sweets. She's always a fan of their peach danishes. And sometimes when I let her out in the afternoon she comes back with wet and muddy paws...but I can never figure where from since the weather is always nice," the woman furrowed her brows in thought.

"Do you let her out often?" Dream asked.

"Oh sure, she's been an adventurous little feline since she was a kit, but she always comes back. When she didn't come back last night I grew worried and submitted a quest to the guild--I'm so glad you two are here. You look like a reliable young lad and lass."

"L-lass?!" George sputtered.

The woman pushed up her spectacles again and squinted her eyes in George's direction, "Oh dear, sorry, my prescription is a tad outdated. I meant two young lads such as yourself. I feel relieved knowing that my cat is in good hands."

George heard the faintest chuckle beside him, but he wouldn't comment on that now. He smiled politely and thanked the woman for her time. They assured her that they would bring her cat back safe and sound.

The woman waved them off as they headed back into town.

"So our first stop is the market west of here right? And then the bakery?" Dream asked.

"I didn't forget the chuckling I heard coming from your direction, but yes, we should probably go to the market first."

"Lead the way," Dream motioned his arm forward as if to mirror his words.

George took the lead. The Adventurer's guild was located north of where they were, and the market they were heading to was in the west. With it being midday now, the market was sure to be bustling with merchants, vendors, and travellers.

As they cut through an alley, the noises of the market came flooding in.

"Alright, let's try to cover more ground. I'll check in with any bakeries around here if you want to ask any stall clerks or passing people," George turned to Dream who seemed almost stunned by the market.

"H-huh, oh sure. I'll just be..um, over there?" Dream pointed unsurely to the left. George watched Dream awkwardly walk into the market; he kept stopping periodically to avoid the crowds. George was a little bit concerned, but he was sure Dream could handle himself.

~~~~~

"Thank you for your time," George left the 3rd bakery. He wasn't having any luck with his questioning and hoped by now maybe Dream managed to scrounge up some information. He was going to quickly meet up with Dream who should be asking around the stalls about the cat, "Hey Dream--" George paused.

As he exited the bakery and called out to Dream, he spotted him munching on some food at a stall. But what made him pause was the clear agitation on the stall clerk's face.

"Uh Dream?"

"Hmm?" He stopped munching and turned to face George as he walked to Dream.

"Did you pay for that?"

Dream paused. Due to the mask, George wasn't sure what kind of expression he had on him but after a moment he answered, "Was I supposed to?" genuine confusion could be heard in his voice.

George almost yelled out in surprise, but he held it in.

~~~~~

"Sorry," Dream mumbled through the food in his mouth. They sat, away from the crowds, along the side of the road just outside the rim of the marketplace, "I didn't know I wouldn't be able to trade my rabbit pelts for the food."

George waved him off, "Don't worry about it, if you were hungry you should have said so."

"Still, that was the last of your money, right? Sorry to make you waste it on me...I guess I get what the reward system for quests is for now," George chuckled at Dream's words. He wondered how Dream managed to make it all the way to Articia from the Forked-Tongue Mountains.

They sat in silence as Dream continued eating. George leaned back on his arms and looked up to the clear, blue skies. He squinted at the glaring sun before closing his eyes and sighing, "It's past noon now and we've had no luck. We've asked the shopkeepers, and the bakers at the bakery the client visits and then some, even passing travellers to see if they've seen the cat.

"And it probably would have been a good idea to have gotten the name of the cat when we were talking with the lady earlier this morning."

"And you're sure it's not written on the quest poster?" Dream licked his fingertips and wiped the crumbs from off his clothes.

George sighed, and pulled out the crumpled sheet from his pocket, "I've checked, the name isn't here. I don't know where we can look now. And scouring the entire town seems counter productive."

George looked over at Dream. He looked to be staring off into the open space before them through his mask, not sure at what though.

"Let's try reviewing what we know," Dream said, "From what we were told, our client goes to the market in the mornings with her cat, and they go to the nearby bakery to buy bread and sweets. The cat likes peach danishes, but that probably won't help unless we want to coax the cat out from somewhere. We would need to know where she is first."

"Don't forget the wet paws," George added, "We were told her cat would come home some days with wet and muddy paws."

"Yeah, but from where? Does it rain here often?" Dream sniffed the air, "It's hardly rained since I crossed the borders into Articia, and the air in Fulton seems pretty dry."

George shook his head, "This town is just barely outside of the desert down south, there isn't much rain in this area as far as I know. But I've only been here for a mon--the river!"

George stood up, "Come on Dream! We need to get outside of town, if we head out the west gates, we'll be at the river. That must be where she goes!"

George started to swiftly walk before lapsing into a quick jog. Dream hurriedly gathered his things and stumbled behind him.

"G-George, hold up--Sorry," he said a quick apology as he bumped into a stranger, "Slow down!"

"We gotta hurry! The gates are closed at sundown, so we need to find that cat before then!" George was running now. How did he not realize it? The cat probably went out to fish by the river. No wonder her paws were wet and muddy, in this dry of an area it was the only explanation.

~~~~~

Dream slowed down to a halt, he was by no means an out of shape person, but he was breathing just a bit hard this time. Trying to follow after George was harder than it seems. Mainly for one big reason, but still.

"We made it, come on, let's hurry to the riverbank," George heaved, "God, I never want to run that much again."

"You're telling me," Dream stood up straight, no more doubling over wheezing. He did a little stretch for his muscles and felt satisfied that he was ready to go.

George began walking, and Dream followed behind the quiet tread of his feet. Dream could already hear the sound of rushing water up ahead.

"Alright, let's start looking around, I'll head up the riverbank and you go down."

"Sure," Dream waited until George's footsteps began retreating away from him before he started heading the opposite way.

Looking for a cat was easier said than done for him. If only he had something this cat owned or touched, maybe he'd have better luck.

Dream felt bad about keeping secrets from George, but they did only meet earlier today. And given all his prior experiences in life, revealing too much information about himself never ended good.

"Here kitty, kitty. Are you out here?" Dream kept his ears peeled for any noises, though the rushing water drowned out quite a bit. If not for his other senses he would have trouble navigating the area. His hand reached out for a tree just in front of him, the steady pulse of life from the tree made its own presence known to him. He wouldn't quite call this area a forest, it didn't smell nearly dense or large enough to be one, but it was certainly a slightly wooded area. There were enough trees that he needed to traverse the unfamiliar area carefully--Dream stumbled over a hard object.

"Oh shi--" he fell forward and scraped his palms along the grass, "Ow," he turned back around and felt along the grass until he came across a hard, cold object. The gritty texture made it clear that he tripped over a rock.

There was a rustling sound in front of him, "Is that you cat?" The breeze shifted and a pungent, rotting smell made its way to Dream's nose, he froze. That's not a cat--

Dream moved faster than his brain could process, on pure instinct alone. He rolled left just as something came swinging down to the spot he was just at. The feeling of the air rushing past him sent a chill down his spine. Dream leapt to his feet, "George!" he yelled. If not for the smell and the imminent feeling of danger he would never have known there was something in front of him. Something dangerous

He knew this smell, in an unpopulated area like the mountains he grew up in monsters like this found their way into the darkest areas of the forest.

"George, get over here, we've got a zombie!" Dream hoped that George was still near enough to hear him. Dream grabbed the axe at his hip and readied himself.

~~~~~

Words: 2835

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Tomorrow you will get chapter 2.2 and then Quest will be updated on a weekly-biweekly schedule.

~CATtheDrawer