Aveyond: Rhen's Quest

Chapter 10: Beyond The Mist

The adventurers decided to spend the night in a tavern in the town. The smell of lavender mixed with lily attacked  their nasal cavity as they stepped in the Teacup Tavern. A sense of relaxation overwhelmed them. After checked in and put their belongings into their room, they headed out to enjoy the night scenery of the bini town.

There's a flea market being held in the town center. They strolled while took a look at some of the items being sold there like spices, potions, spells, junks and food.

"Allo travelers! Wanna have a look at my finest?" called out one of the merchants to the trio, who had been window-shopping for a while.

The adventurers noticed a black, tiny bomb. The merchant noticed their piqued interest on the bomb and quickly took it out to show it to them before they had second thoughts.

"This is a special-made smokebomb. It can be used to get rid some typical bees live in Aveyond."

"Why do you have such a peculiar item in stock?" inquired Lars.

"There's a rumour about beeswax in Aveyond can prevent the user from hearing the music of the hind. But the problem is it can't be obtained easily. If you even try to do anything to their beehive, they'll stung you to death for sure," explained the merchant.

"You're not from the Northern Isle, are you? I presumed that from the voice of yours," asked Talia.

"Can you tell us more about the hind?" added Rhen.

"I'm from the Eastern Empire. I've heard about a rumour regarding the cursed hind in Eastern Isle. It plays a special harp that charms people around her. After the prey falls for her, she'll use a stone curse to turn them into statue," lectured the merchant, who lowered his voice into a whisper. "In order to defeat this cursed hind, you need two ingredients: a hand mirror and a lump of beeswax.

"From what I've heard, you can get the mirror at the junk shop in Veldarah, while the beeswax can be collected in Aveyond."

Rhen grinned as she knew certainly that one of the ingredients was in her backpack. She had bought it when she was a slave, along with the priestess ring.

"From the the look of your attires, I guess you're adventurers. Well here's a little gift from me. You can have this smokebomb for free," said the trader while handling the smokebomb to Rhen. "Use it wisely and good luck in your journey."

After they bid farewell, they headed back to the tavern. Within a few seconds they fell into deep sleep after a long and tiring journey.

~~~

The next morning, they started their journey once again to find the beeswax needed to help them in their troubles ahead. After travelling for a while in The Mist, they came across a cavern. They headed into the Memory Cavern and carried on their expedition. That was when an interesting event happened.

"Grrrgl!"

"What was that?" asked Rhen.

"Who knows? Maybe it's the sound of the creatures inside this cave," suggested Lars. The only sound apparently heard in that cave were the sounds of water droplets, their footsteps on the sandy ground and their voices. They have yet to come across anything else that would mean them harm until a weird sound that echoed throughout their surroundings alarmed them.

"Grrrgl! Grrrgl!"

"Are you sure about that? I think it's from your tummy," spoke Talia.

"Okay, fine! I'm hungry, happy now?" said Lars while waving his hands in the air. "We've been venturing for a while without eating anything! Don't you guys feel hungry at all?"