"Should I go look for some firewood?" Melting Snow asked once he saw Xinya register their party at the firepit. 

Shaking his head, Xinya opened his interface and took some wood out from his inventory. "I got it covered."

Once their campsite was completely set up, the two boys sat on the ground near fire and let themselves relax. While Xinya tended the fire, Melting Snow laid back, with his arms behind his head and looked up at the twinkling stars.

"Do you think we should check on the other two, and see how they are getting along?" questioned Melting Snow after a couple of minutes went by.

After poking a stick into the fire, Xinya answered, "We might as well, in any case, we could see how long it will take them to arrive."

"Well," the boy started, before getting up and walking a couple of steps over to the pond. "I will leave that to you." 

With an amused shake of his head, Xinya turned his gaze away from the boy and opened up his interface. Finding the party tab, he clicked on it and opened the party's voice chat before beginning to speak.

"Hey, Wandering Sound, Roaming Wind, how's it going with your tasks? Melting Snow and I have already finished ours." Xinya said via the party chat.

~

In a room lit only by candlelight, stood Wei working hard at a wooden table that was covered in various tools and materials. Standing by her side and patiently guiding her was an older man with gla.s.ses.

His name was Redbourn, a kind man who had been doing leatherworking since the age of six. Wei had learned this when she was conversing with the man as she was working on one of the tasks he gave her. 

He told her stories about his youth, and how he once came across these monsters whose hides became the finest leather that could ever be seen. As he was telling her the story, a hidden quest was triggered. 

The quest was to find those monsters for Redbourn and collect 5 hides for him. The reward was only 2 gold coins and some experience, but Wei knew if she collects a lot of those leathers for herself, she would have a good way to make some coin.

Once she got the information about the last place the NPC saw the monsters, she made sure to write it in her interface notes, before continuing learning skills from him. She couldn't wait to tell Wandering Sound about the quest, because this could be the first place they go after leaving the party.

While in the midst of tanning a hide Redbourn gave her to practice on, her party chat icon buzzed and Xinya name lit up.

Drifting Cloud: "Hey, Wandering Sound, Roaming Wind, how's it going with your tasks? Melting Snow and I have already finished ours."

Wei looked up from what she was doing in surprise, she couldn't believe that they sold the mirror already. She thought that it would take longer for some reason.

Roaming Wind: "Really?! Already?" 

Melting Snow: "Yes, already, and guess what?  We also made an extra 100 gold coins from the exchange."

~

Inside a small building that was wall to wall covered by books, Wandering Sound sat at a lone table reading. After leaving Wei at the leatherworking shop, he made his way quickly to the Algorithm Library.

His plan was to just browse through the books until he found what he was searching for, but luckily he had sense enough to ask the librarian for help. If he hadn't he would have been searching through all of the library's books, without being able to find anything.

The reason for that was that most of the books on fairies had been destroyed a long time ago. After talking to the librarian NPC he learned that anything real that pertained to fairies had disappeared from the world of Haven one day over 400 years ago.

When he heard that, Wandering Sound thought that he might not be able to find the information they needed, and Drifting cloud might need to go back and asked the Mayor who gave it to him about it. Just as he was about to message the party, the old librarian told him something wonderful.

She told him, that even though most things had disappeared the stories about them didn't. The NPC told him about how one of her ancestors wrote a novel about fairies and how it was said to be based on true events.

After some pleading and a lot of convincing, the NPC allowed Wandering Sound to borrow it, as long as he doesn't leave the library. Giving his thanks, he took the book from the old woman and started to read.

It was after 30 minutes of reading and constant note-taking when his party chat icon buzzed and Xinya name lit up. 

Drifting Cloud: "Hey, Wandering Sound, Roaming Wind, how's it going with your tasks? Melting Snow and I have already finished ours."

Roaming Wind: "Really?! Already?" 

Melting Snow: "Yes, already, and guess what?  We also made an extra 100 gold coins from the exchange."

Wandering Sound: "Wow, good job you two." 

Wandering Sound had to put down his book in shock when he heard that the two of them got an extra 100 gold coins. Wei, on the other hand, was ecstatic and couldn't help but wonder how he did it. 

Roaming Wind: "That is awesome, how did you do it Drifting Cloud?"

Melting Snow: "It was because we sold it to a gla.s.s artisan. I think we got more because we sold it to the correct person." 

Melting Snow knew that Drifting Cloud would have told them honestly about how he got the extra coins. However, he didn't want the man to be scolded by them so he just told them a little white lie. 

Xinya looked over to Melting Snow when he told them that lie, but seeing the praise me eyes the boy was giving him, Xinya just shrugged, not saying anything.

Roaming Wind: "Oh, that makes sense. Well, for me I need to learn one more skill, so it will be about another hour before I can join you two."

Wandering Sound: "Same with me, I think I found the answer, but I want to double-check it and make sure it's correct."

Drifting Cloud: "Alright, you two take your time. Melting Snow and I will be by the player campground that's by the gate as we wait for you to get done."

After saying their goodbyes, Xinya closed the party voice chat and turned to look at Melting Snow and said, "So why didn't you want me to tell them the truth?"

"I already scolded you, once was enough." The boy straightforwardly said.  

'What a protective little sprout I picked up,' Xinya thought in amus.e.m.e.nt before saying, "I guess you're right."

[Read Author Note]