"Oi! You there! Could you help us out, cully?"
Lucian pulled on Torrent's reins and slowed his pace. Looking around and seeing no one in sight, he figured he had arrived.
"You, yeah, you there! Stop pretending you can't see me"
Lucian looked in the direction of the voice. The speaker was growing anxious.
"Why won't anyone look me in the eye?
I'm not that ugly…"
As the voice trailed off, Lucian spotted a withered little sapling camouflaged among the green bushes.
Smack!
Lucian dismounted and smacked the little tree with his palm.
"Ow! What'd you go and do that for! That's so mean!"
A puff of gray mist rose, and a small figure appeared where the tree had been, clutching its face and curled on the ground.
He wore a small leather cap decorated with sparse feathers, and a tiny coat draped over his furry body. His nails were long and sharp, and he looked a bit like an upright rat.
"Was it you calling for help? You were a talking tree a second ago—now you're… alive?"
"Hm? Oh, yes, I remember. Some clod turned me into a tree." Boc finally realized.
"You were just breaking the spell, weren't you."
"Thank you. The name's Boc. You really helped me a lot."
"I was pushed out of the cave. Told not to come back, not ever.
Then I ended up as a tree."
"Lucky you came along, really.
Boc the seamster, at your service, Master".
Boc fumbled around and eventually pulled out ten mushrooms, offering them to Lucian with both hands. "Oh, what a shame. When they threw me out of the cave, they took everything I owned, and so this is all I have to express my thanks. I hope you can forgive me"
"It's alright. I didn't help you expecting a reward." Lucian waved his hand and refused the mushrooms.
"Oh, please, I insist you take them. If not, I won't feel at ease. My mother always told me to properly thank those who help me." Boc pleaded.
Unable to refuse, Lucian accepted them. Seeing this, Boc visibly lit up with joy.
"This hardly repays your life-saving kindness. If not for you, I might've stayed stuck here forever.Please — if you can afford to wait for a while, I could sneak back into the cave, and bring back something of actual value.
Then I'd be of some real use to you, I reckon"
"But didn't you just say you were driven out? Wouldn't going back be dangerous?" Boc shuddered as he recalled his bullying.
"Well… yes, I-I'm frightened of them... So I have to gather myself. My knees start knockin'... just thinking bout that god-awful cave on the shore, but something important to me is in there—I have to get it back."
Lucian knew it was his mother's keepsake. Too bad he had other business to attend to, or he wouldn't have minded going with Boc—it would save the little guy from another beating.
After some thought, Lucian decided to come back for Boc later and help him reclaim the keepsake.
"How about this—you wait here. I've got something to do now, but I'll come back and go with you."
"No, no, that's too much trouble for you!"
"Don't worry, it's settled. Next time we meet, we'll head out."
Before Boc could argue, Lucian hopped back on Torrent and continued down the road.
After he left, Boc looked at his receding figure with gratitude and muttered to himself like a vow: "Oh, you're such a kind person. But I can't accept more of your kindness."
"I'll definitely retrieve my mother's keepsake myself. And when I do, I'll follow you and become your personal tailor—to repay your kindness."
Having made up his mind, Boc headed in the direction of his cave.
'That should be enough' Lucian thought. 'I always liked Boc in the game. If I can help him avoid a beating, that's a win.'
Suddenly, something by the roadside caught Lucian's attention.
It was a small device that looked like a telescope, just sitting in the grass beside the road. He quickly pulled Torrent to a stop.
"Is this…"It looked a lot like the bird's-eye scope from the game, but he wasn't sure. He took a closer look.
"That is a Birdseye Telescope. It's enchanted with magic—it allows you to view your surroundings from the sky, like a bird." Melina's voice spoke in his ear, though she didn't appear.
Lucian nodded. So it really was what he thought. He dismounted and approached the telescope, placing his eye on the viewing end.
Suddenly, his vision shifted to a top-down aerial view.
"So this is how wide the view is from above, huh…" Everything ahead of him was clearly visible—near a distant bridge, a few scattered soldiers were stationed.
Lucian moved the lens to scan other areas. Behind him, the lone StormveilCastle perched on the cliff. To the left, the massive Erdtree and layered hills. To the right, a vast lake.
Lucian knew—there was a fire-breathing dragon lurking near that lake.
Just as he was having fun, something unexpected appeared in the distance. Beyond the bridge ahead, a massive convoy entered his field of vision.
"Now that's going to be a problem…"