"Astrape, is it just me, or does Father seem to be in pain?" Anemone said with a hint of worry in her soft voice.
Astrape put on a smile. "I haven't noticed anything, but if he is hurting, I am sure that he will come to us. I trust him."
"I am just worried about him. I trust him, but I feel as though he is hiding something. I want to be able to help him."
"You're so sweet, Anemone. He will come to you when he is ready."
"I think you're right, but I still want to help him. I want to ask him what's wrong, and find out how I can help."
Astrape nodded, her voice going soft. "Then ask him. I'll be here if you need me."
***
Father reached his hand out, grasping the metal knocker, which was shaped like an owl, and using it on the closed door. The apothecary had a sign on the front, reading "We are closed until after the festival." Father said beforehand that he would return to the apothecary upon finishing the quest. So, he hoped the pharmacist would not be angry. A loud bang was heard inside the building, then a low groan of pain. After a few moments, in which Father was worried the man wouldn't open the door, the door opened. The pharmacist's face was red, and he was groaning in pain.
"What is it?" He said, rubbing his eyes that were closed from drowsiness.
Father looked at the man. "I'm here to turn in the herbs, and if you are injured, I can help."
"No, I am fine," the pharmacist said, his face visibly becoming increasingly beet red. "I just fell on my face while getting out of bed. Now, the herbs."
The pharmacist then opened the door, revealing himself to be wearing a robe with only his feet and head visible. He then motioned to the counter where he serves customers.
"Just set them there. I need to go back to sleep."
Father walked in, setting one jar of the two herbs on the counter, but not before seeing a piece of wood broken on the floor to the left end of the counter.
'I think he needs help.'
"Are you sure you are okay?" Father said, then turned around, seeing the pharmacist's face already back to being completely fine, it was as clean as when they first met, his hair was even cleaner, like he had just taken a shower.
"No, I am fine. Now get out, I am tired."
"H-how?" Father said to himself aloud, before actually responding. "Okay."
'No one just heals that fast, unless they are some excellent swordsman who has complete control over their body, or a life magic user.'
Father hurriedly stepped towards the door, exiting the building, as he didn't want to anger the pharmacist who was so generous as to help him.
'I hate to do this, but…'
"…can you teach me how to use these herbs?"
"No, get someone else to do it. Do you see the time? It is midnight."
Father shifted his gaze upward, realizing for the first time that it had grown incredibly late; the cohort of Anemone, Father, and Astrape had been working since the sun set, and time seemed to fly by within the blink of an eye. Then Father turned back to the pharmacist.
"Well, thank you for the herbs. Have a great night."
"Uh huh." The groggy pharmacist then closed the door in Father's face before returning to his room.
Father's short grey hair slightly flew in the gust of wind, then he turned around and walked back towards the tavern in which everyone was staying.
'Astrape seemed to like herbs and medicines; maybe I could talk to her.'
***
Anemone was drowsy; her eyelids felt heavy as she exited the building and into the street. Father was behind her, and he was already awake. The streets were littered with confetti, and paper lanterns of all sorts of colors were hanging from the streets that were hung between buildings and roads. Stalls seemed to be set up everywhere. The smell of decadent meats, the soft, sweet smell of chocolates, all wafted through the air, making Anemone feel ravenous.
Astrape soon awoke and joined Anemone. Father, though he liked being careful with money, decided to splurge today.
'When was the last time I enjoyed a festival? It was before Anemone's mother passed away.'
Father wanted to enjoy it; it had been many years since he last enjoyed a festival. He had no idea what would happen today, but he would enjoy it, even if it was a different experience from what he was used to.
"Anemone, let's split up today and meet back here in 12 hours once it is night."
Anemone, who was still star-struck from the beauty surrounding them, responded without even thinking.
"Okay, Father."
Anemone just continued looking around, banners hung from buildings, and people were dressed in red robes; there was music bouncing off the walls from all directions, and people were dancing in small groups.
Father pulled Astrape to the side, breathing heavily, while Anemone just continued looking around.
"Do you know how to prepare the herbs to use them?"
"Oh, ummm, yes, Father, I do! For the moss, just use a mortar and pestle, then grind it into a paste. For the umm, the Gravebloom, they should be dried out, ground into a fine powder, then mixed with tree sap, resin, or water. The first two are best as the sap will just stick to you, and the resin will harden around the wound."
The normally soft, gentle, and even nervous Astrape seemed very confident when speaking about herbs. After producing her thoughts, her speech flowed naturally as if she knew a lot about medicines. And the answer she prescribed to Father showed this was the case.
"Thank you, young one." He said in a gentle tone before rushing back inside without Anemone noticing.
Astrape felt at ease with how Father referred to her. Astrape had seen how Father treated Anemone, and since she had no one to treat her similarly, being treated that way made her serene.
"Astrape, let's go explore. I have never been to a festival. So let's go!"
Once Father left, Anemone finally took the lead.
"Really? We have them here all the time."
"Do you know anything about this festival?" Anemone turned toward her.
"Not a lot, I never attended it during the day; my brother always led the way. It's known as the Fire Festival. My brother loved the festival, and for that reason, I love it too."
"That's a cool name! Now let's go!"
Anemone grasped Astrape's soft hand and began to run with a bright smile on her face. Anemone's hair blew in the wind. Astrape felt happy seeing Anemone so excited; she wanted to make Anemone happy after all for saving her. She had to repay the debt in some way, even if Anemone had already forgotten about it.
Anemone landed her eyes on a small stage-like arena where two knights were readying to duel, one was clad in silver armor with a red shield, the other with a blue shield. Anemone slowed her pace, entering the crowd and watching them ready.
Anemone enjoyed spectating, but she was more into magic, so she decided to leave, whereas Astrape's eyes shone like stars as she watched, enthralled with the two giants in front of her. Anemone saw this and decided not to interject so that they could do other things; maybe today was a day for everyone to go their separate ways and relax.
"Astrape, let's meet back in a few hours and eat together."
"Okay!"
Astrape responded excitedly as she continued watching them, then they began the duel. The man with the blue shield was forced on the defensive, barely receiving time to think about how to turn the tide. This interested Astrape, even if she was an archer; learning to fight with a sword was extremely important. It was the most versatile weapon imaginable.
Anemone stepped away, walking off into the distance towards another large crowd. The crowd was set inside a large open area with flowers filling the empty space. Astrape made her way through the crowd and found inside were two mages, not dueling in the common sense, but in a strange way. Anemone made it just in time; the two mages were given seeds that had just been oiled.
'Boiled seeds can't grow.'
Anemone thought this, but these were life magic users; the battle that was about to happen was based on this face.
"The two individuals before you are both skilled mages possessing an affinity for life magic. The first one to grow their seed and sprout fully developed fruit will be the winner. Each seed is that of a strawberry; each has been immersed in boiling water at the same time and withdrawn in unison. The competition will begin shortly, so please, find a spot to spectate from, and enjoy the show."
Anemone was ecstatic about the competition, two mages dueling with a singular end goal of just growing a seed. It was rare to see non-battle mages dueling, let alone individuals who can use life magic.
A few moments later, the speaker came back, standing upon a large box to look over the crowd.
"Is everyone ready?"
The crowd erupted in cheers, deafening Anemone.
"Three. Two. One."
Everyone gazed at the two individuals. Anemone felt displeased with the results before her. It was absolutely nothing. There was nothing to be found. Both contenders had their hands circled around the pots in which the seeds were positioned, and they were both concentrating, but nothing was happening. After a few moments, the seed that was placed on top began to darken as the soil became lighter; the seed was beginning to germinate. Eventually, the outside of the seed on one contestant's seed broke open, sprouting a small, frail stem. A few moments later, the other contestants did the same.
After the seed began to germinate and open up, a small sprout appeared with two small leaves near the soil. As the stem grew, more small leaves sprouted. The stem became hairy, and as the plant reached a few inches tall, leaves with small spikes on the end appeared. Moments later, the man on the left had a long, standalone stem branch out and began to sprout, looking similar to a white cherry blossom with a green bulb in the center. As the bulb began to rapidly develop, the leaves surrounding it began to wilt and decay, forming a white strawberry.
"The man on the left is in the lead!"
It was the beginning of a strawberry, but the competition called for a fully developed, ripe strawberry. The mage on the right quickly caught up, the action happening much faster, and as the mage caught up, shades of red began to form before the man on the left.
"The mage on the right has taken the lead. The competition is fierce."
The strawberry quickly developed, eventually falling due to weight, crashing and splattering on the ground before the man on the left's strawberries even turned red.
"And we have a winner!"
The announcer stepped down from the box, taking the mage's hand, and the cloak on the mage dropped down, revealing the face, then the announcer raised the mage's hand in the air.
'What is Tasim doing here in Havefard?'
Anenome was very surprised to see Tasim, the C-Rank mage from Vun, whom she met during the application. This man was very well-versed in magic and seemed to be much stronger than Anemone.
"Congratulations, son. Here is your reward."
The announcer then flicked one gold coin in the air over to Tasim. One gold was a lot, which Anemone had forgotten, due to how expensive everything was in this location.
"Thank you."
Tasim then took a deep bow towards the announcer and the other competitor.
"And thank you, sir, for the competition."
The other competitor showed a deep frown, feeling scornful towards Tasim before turning around in a pouty way.
'Is that man a kid?'
The competitor then stormed off, leaving Tasim and the announcer alone, and after a few moments, Tasim left as well.