The Unlikely Hero

Chapter 11. Johny Trouble

I woke up in the morning after a dreamless night and yawned as I scrambled out of the bed. My body was still sore for some reason and I felt like I just had run a 20-kilometer marathon. I wondered if it was my crazy cloud dream at fault for this. I mean, if I had to suddenly turn into a small ball of fluffy material, it would hurt like hell, wouldn't it?..

Ah, but whatever. A dream is a dream. It was Saturday now and I had some work to do. I smiled to myself as I hummed some melody and wandered around the room, grabbing various things to pack. Then, I took out a set of clothes and headed towards the bathroom to wash up.

I was ready to head out in fifteen minutes and I did so without any further ado. Oheli was already up as well and he was having breakfast at the small table in the kitchen. I walked in and smiled at him cheerfully.

"Good morning, sir Oheli!"

"Morning, Aleta," the man smiled at me in the kind old-man way. "How are you feeling now? Are you sure it's a good idea to be up and running around?"

"Oh, I'm all good. Don't you worry!" I giggled and grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table. The weird dream of being a cloud and Dreamwalking together with a huge black dragon seemed way too unrealistic to be true now.

"Ah, good then, good then," Oheli nodded his head and I smiled at his habit of repeating things. "Sit down and have some breakfast with me, then."

"Nah, sorry, don't have the time," I shook my head. "The old Johnny has some troubles in the cemetery he is watching over and I promised to help out."

"Oh?" the magician raised his brows in slight surprise.

"Yeah, probably some rats," I replied as I took a bite of an apple. It was sweet. Too sweet.

"Yes, probably," Oheli nodded. "But take some extra health potions just in case. You never know and a good magician is always prepared for the worst."

"Will do," I bopped my head up and down and waved my hand. "I'm off, then!"

"Yes, off you go, Aleta, off you go," the old man smiled warmly as he watched me leave. Really, the man wasn't so bad when he wasn't surprise attacking me.

I smiled as I skipped down the stairs and headed towards the market. The streets were bustling even if it was Saturday morning and the sun was already up. It was only around ten in the morning or so, but it was already warm and I smiled gleefully. For a moment I considered slowing down and enjoying the warm and sunny day, but then I remembered I had a job to do. No time to waste!

I grinned and jogged to the marketplace. The magician was right. You never know what you will come across in your journey. So, I should be well prepared. I made a few rounds around the market and then stopped by one stall that had quite a variety of potions to sell at a reasonable price.

"Hello, young miss," the seller was a man in his mid-thirties and smiled at me warmly as he motioned to rows of potions. "Would you like to purchase something?"

"Hello," I nodded my head and smiled cheerfully. "I'd like to take 5 health potions and 10 mana potions. All medium sized."

"Coming right up," the man smiled as he reached for the bottles. "Oh, and I'm Sam, by the way."

"Aleta," I smiled at him, introducing myself and the man suddenly turned to me surprised.

"Aleta? Hey, you wouldn't be the one who helped Sally with her goat trouble?"

"Uhhh, yeah, I did?" I glanced at him confused, wondering what that had anything to do with it.

"Then it is you! And you helped out Tom the miller too!" Sam noted gleefully and I nodded my head, smiling politely. Seriously, is this entire town made up of friends and relatives? How come all of the people seem to know each other here? And me, too?