"Where are you going, Midas...?" I said we needed to go straight forward...!"
Ignoring Javelin's words, Midas turned to the left side of the broader road they followed, a strip of exposed wood with the width of roughly two carriages that expanded out from the center of the city through a more grown-over part of the tree trunk the high-rising wooden buildings were built on top of. Surrounded by moss that mirrored the thickness of what he saw when he descended into the center of the city—enough trees sprouting from it to form a shallow forest—the youth turned to a large hole cut right into the wood, the stair-like slopes of the elongated hole making it seem like a stone quarry, with the exception that blocks of wood were retrieved from it.
Between cranes that extended from these holes, rails made of crudely smithed metal slithered through the site—the spare amount of wagons on them holding the same green crystals the youth carried in his pocket, all of them being fed into a larger building that sat isolated on the long street—long, blue cloth was hung over the broad leaves that formed its rounded roof. Dilating further from the path Javelin had told him to follow to get to their destination, Midas stepped onto a slim walkway that led towards the building—the amount of rides and giant bugs parked right in front of it, suggesting it was open to the public, perhaps a workshop of some sorts.
"We already spent too much time getting out of bed because of Uteli... come on, it's just a bit further—the more time we spend messing around, the more guards might wait for us...!"
"Relax, Javelin..." I might be able to get my own plant stone here—with that, I can finally bend inside the city, since the sun shard needs actual rock for me to use it. I might be able to sharpen wood or something similar to that... Any additional defense we might have in case these guards spot us will help."
Simply swallowing his curses at the youth, Javelin followed with a sunken head, which quickly rose up again as he felt Uteli softly elbowing him, the heavy head of the axe dragging behind her as she walked forward to catch up with Midas, who carefully peeked through the window of the building, eventually checking again if one of the rails really did end up at the side of the same structure they stood in front of, after which he eventually opened the door to go inside.
Once Midas entered, his eyes widened at the dimly lit inside of the barn-like building—lanterns hung from the ceiling, their metal frames being clung onto by thick vines that spread along the walls, spreading above their heads. Two railways fed into and out of the structure, seemingly being unloaded at the back of the building, as filled-up carts entered and empty ones left through the wider frame on the wall of the room.
Right beside the two rails stood someone clothed in wooden protectors made of bark—his long hair bound together by orange string while the thick leather gloves he wore on him clearly originated from the water kingdom—somewhat looking out of place compared to the light green yarn that covered his body. Not paying attention to his customers for a while, the shopkeeper sat in front of a thick stone wheel—one that began to spin once he pressed his foot on a wooden pedal underneath his desk.
Quietly observing him work a crude piece of crystal into the same shape the Midas sun shard had, the shopkeeper eventually noticed their presence, taking off his wooden mask and the green cloth underneath it to approach them with a dimly confused expression, as if they didn't belong here.
"Desert volk...? What are kids like you doing in a place like this?"
"I was wondering if you give out plant stones—you seem to grind them into shape with your tool... so I came here to ask if your services are able to be bought to take care of other pieces of crystals that don't originate from this mine."
White dust was spread over the wooden tables that surrounded the roughly textured stone wheel the shopkeeper steered—dimly glistening in the light the lanterns over their heads provided. Javelin felt unwell being in the middle of the room, noticing the glances from some of the water kingdom knights and resting plant kingdom guards that sat in the distance of the room.
"I guess... I could do so for a tiny extra fee—even though the typical person that comes here simply asks for an already sharpened stone instead of bringing me their own shard from who knows where... even though it does interest me where you got it from and why, out of all places, you decided to come to the north of the city."
"I've got five copper coins for you if you're willing to polish it..."
"Sure, hand it over..." I don't really have that many new customers to begin with."
Midas watched intently as he handed the crystal over to the dimly intrigued shopkeeper, finding his distrust in his group to be a potential problem, especially if there are knights and guards already watching them. Keeping his thoughts at the back of his head for now, the youth eventually realized something: crystals like these were something he had never seen before; neither during the time he spent in the northern desert nor in the water kingdom had he seen crystals that grew out from the ground.
The mass of crude crystal that was transported through the facility could easily provide a whole squadron with their own plant crystal each—the fact water kingdom guards were waiting there made clear that this kingdom really was a puppet of another, greater kingdom—their usage of these stones seemingly watched over by the knighthood that sat around the same building as the youth. Following the steps of the shopkeeper, Midas saw him look through a round glass—a larger lens with a wooden frame aimed at the piece of crystal right in front of him—the sight of it making the shopkeeper awe dimly.
"The quality of this crystal is much clearer than anything we were getting from the mine... Where did you get this from...?"
The aweing expression of the shopkeeper eventually turned almost distrustful as he leaned onto his table, looking down onto Midas with sharpened brows, his tone much more dimly spoken, the both of them knowing who currently watched their exchange from afar. Hearing him, the youth placed his left hand onto the table—only dimly raising his head to eye the man in front of him sharply.
"Please, just bring it into the right shape—I'm not trying to gain any attention here."
Without a word, the man carefully grasped the rough crystal—slowly taking a step away from the counter the youth remained leaning against to reluctantly turn towards the stone wheel—quietly seating himself on his stool as the dim shrills of the polishing process sounded through the eerily quiet room. Every time the man stopped to inspect the crystal between his fingertips, slightly turning it to hold another side of it against the rough surface of the spinning wheel, Midas felt the dread inside of him build up every time the room turned completely quiet.
The short moment felt like a never-ending process of short breaks, inspections, and grinding. Uteli was the only one of them that was able to move through the room freely, seemingly completely oblivious to the thick atmosphere the distant stares of the guards to their side created. Twitching slightly with every subtle movement the men seated at the tables made, be it only changing their stance slightly, Javelin blindly focused on the back of the shopkeeper's head.
"Try and see if it fits you..."
"I'm sure it will..." Thank you. Here is your pay. Thank you for your time."
Already clenching onto the perfectly stacked-up five copper coins in his palm, Midas wasted no time exchanging his earned money for the polished plant stone—wasting no time to head out of the store, his pace increasing the closer he came to the door. Panicking dimly at the sight of the youth heading straight for the door, Uteli quickly left as well, making Javelin flee through it with clenched teeth as well.
"What was that—"
Having left the tiny space in which the carriages were parked outside the store, Javelin was dragged between nearby trees that sprouted around the isolated building. Not replying to the puzzled boy that mustered him in frustrated confusion, Midas intently stared out at the dim path that led towards the shop. The same three water kingdom knights from before now slowly trickled out of the building, trying to find the direction their group might have headed into.
"Why are they searching for us...?"
"Either this shopkeeper told them about the plant stone, or they knew right ahead that people like us don't just come around on an occasional basis."
"This is why I told you we shouldn't have taken this path... You promised me to stop doing stuff like this back at the orphanage, Midas...!"
Hearing the mumbled words beginning to increase in volume, Uteli quickly placed her palm onto Javelin's lips—her widened eyes set closely on one of the guards that turned their head towards their hiding spot. Simply waiting just a while longer, Midas bit his lip—his fingers slipping through his bandage to slip out his sun shard, squeezing the plant stone into the slot that sat in the center of the rune—just in case they would be found. Holding his breath without knowing, the youth watched as the knights dragged themselves into the building again, catching his breath.
"That could've gone incredibly wrong... damn you..."
Flashing his teeth at Midas, Javelin clutched onto the collar of his stained blue travelling robe, facing him closely once Uteli lifted her hand from his face again. The youth only watched the sour expression of Javelin, knowing himself that he made a promise not to do anything irrelevant to their actual task of getting the powder after heading out to save Uteli. It was his fault that the rest of the group had to fear being pursued by another set of knights—an outcome Midas didn't expect in the moment he headed towards the shop.
Javelin eventually let go of Midas fabric, immediately getting up onto his feet again. As Uteli watched him head off towards their actual path they planned to take, she glanced back at the dim expression of the youth again, who lay beside her. The eventful morning made the youth yawn, giving Javelin his space to cool off—as he had no real excuse he could present to him other than the fact that being able to bend during an emergency will most likely be worth the risk they took.
"He's just concerned, you know... His sister means a lot to him."
"Don't worry, Uteli, I'm used to his temper already." But we should get going already... perhaps he will enter the storage by his own in the fit of his rage."
The youth calmly joked at Utelis' careful words, watching her get up from the moss after him without much of a reaction, before eventually stepping out from between the trees as well to catch up to Javelin in front of them. The youth had to keep calm at all costs; the actual task for the day was to sneak into a storage facility—what they just experienced would most likely be a warm-up to what would await them once they arrived there.