The Achievement Junkie

Chapter 90 Finally Out of Bed

Three more days slowly passed for Jack as his only visitors were Maura for meals, Daliea trying to have their second date, and Bowzer returning each night after spending the day with Slivia. Anxious to finally get out and move around, Jack jumped out of bed the moment his body allowed him.

A tumult of emotions and thoughts fought inside of Jack.

Maura seemed closed off and never bothered to chat with him. The sassy, fun-loving Maura that he had met weeks ago was long gone. In her place was a straight-faced brunette that appeared at each meal like clockwork and forced too much food down his throat to let him speak in her presence. And the few things Jack was able to mention or ask were entirely ignored as if she hadn’t heard him.

Daliea was far more persistent than Jack had imagined. It took over an hour for him to explain that her visiting him in bed wasn’t a date, but he never could change her mind that their first "date" was invalid. She would come each night to see if he could stand and go for a quick walk, always leaving in disappointment.

Jack wasn’t sure how he should handle her situation. She always said it was her duty, but she was far warmer than Maura and genuinely expressed care for him. He wanted to keep stalling and eventually reject her when he had a chance, however, there was a small part of him that felt that he shouldn’t turn her away.

One thing that didn’t help at all was how Slivia never came to visit him since the night he woke up. Jack was completely lost about how she felt for him. Previously he had guessed that she liked him and thought the kiss on the cheek was proof. Now, he hadn’t seen her in days and she never bothered to check in on him, leaving him to combat Daliea’s pursuits and Maura’s strange change in personality.

’Jack better?’ asked Bowzer, who was woken up as he rolled off Jack’s chest.

’Yup, I’m feeling a lot better!’ shouted Jack. He raised his arms in excitement and got a whiff of his pits, causing him to cough and almost gag. ’Wow... I need a bath... Come on Bowzer, let’s go take a bath.’

’Bowzer want sleep, bath with Sliv yesterday.’ The fox curled up under the sheets and vanished without another word.

Jack felt a little jealous of Bowzer, who bragged unintentionally. He then remembered the time he had almost found Slivia bathing in the woods. The picture was etched into his memory. Her loose, slightly damp shirt hugged her, and her wet golden hair hung low to dry naturally. It was a view that he’d love to see again.

Not wanting to dwell in his daydreams for too long, Jack walked towards the bathes inside the association building. It may appear rundown, but the bathes were well-maintained and always in perfect order.

He rinsed himself in no time and sunk himself into the calming hot water. Jack could feel the energy he lacked during his long time in bed seeping back into him with each passing minute.

"Uhhhh..." Jack sighed and let himself drift in the blissful waters.

"Ya finally feeling better?"

"Oh... Yeah..." Jack answered Maynard casually, already aware of his presence. "It’s been too long since I’ve had a nice, relaxing bath."

"I hear ya. It’s one of the best ways to clear your head after an arduous mission." Maynard turned around and shouted, "Brunar, hurry up before I’m boiled over."

"Yes, Master!" replied Brunar, barreling out of the changing room and into the warm pool. "Hey Jack, how are you feeling?"

"I’m feeling great; much better now that I can move again. And there’s no better way to re-energize and clear your head than a hot bath," stated Jack. "What have you been up to lately? Anything exciting?"

"I’ve just been running a few errands for Master and chief Zariff. Now and again someone will stop me in the streets if they recognize me, but I love hearing their thanks and expressing my gratitude for their support. Things won’t get busy till tomorrow."

"Ya ready for your trial with the king?" asked Maynard, paying close attention to Jack’s reply.

"I guess, it’s not like I have any choice. If I had my way, then that king wouldn’t be a king in the first place," berated Jack.

"Aren’t ya exaggerating a little? From what I’ve seen, King Leodoro has been far more successful than his father and deserves some praise," reasoned Maynard.

"Why’s that? Would a great king just summon a stranger, declare him as a hero, and then demand he sign away his life in servitude of a kingdom that the stranger doesn’t know or understand?" said Jack.

"True, that logic seems a bit forced. However, should a stranger ask for total trust, support, and wealth from a king before proving himself? I think there are issues on both sides of the argument," sighed Maynard, closing his eyes and returning to concentration to meditating.

Jack rolled his eyes, unsure of how he should answer such a statement.

"Why did you join the association instead of the Royal Court anyway?" asked Brunar. "I’ve heard too many rumors to guess what’s true and what’s not."

"Rumors?"

"Yeah, every marketplace is busy talking about you and why you’re against the king."

"But I never announced that I was against the king. How can that be?" Jack felt a little uneasy, especially after Maynard’s verbal jab.

"That doesn’t matter because you’re wanted by the Royal Court, enough so for them to pursue you legally and publicly. Just that is enough to paint you as enemies. Not everyone thinks you’re a bad guy since you’re a confirmed hero, but most people are unsure what to label you." Brunar shrugged and dropped the conversation to fully sink into the relaxing pool.

Unable to satisfy his desire to know more about the rumors, Jack decided to step out early and get changed. Before Brunar and Maynard were out of the bath, Jack was already rushing to the central plaza to learn more firsthand.

The sun had recently entered the sky, so most people had yet to leave their homes. In the meantime, Jack found himself walking towards Zarris’ booth.

Outside his tent and in the little booth of his wares, stood Zarris, eyeing Jack since he came into view. "Long time no see, Jack."

"Same goes for you, Zarris. Thanks for getting that cleansing powder for us."

"It’s the least I could do for a long-time patron like Zariff, or a summoned hero like yourself." Zarris waved his hands as if the favor was easy for him. "As for the other ingredients, I haven’t found out anything about Death Rattler parts anywhere."

"Zariff didn’t tell you? We got lucky and found someone with some extra Death Rattler blood and poison, so don’t worry yourself over that stuff," stated Jack.

"Seriously?" Zarris wasn’t shocked, instead, he seemed a little hurt that Zariff hadn’t mentioned this the day before or brought any Death Rattler part to trade.

"Either way, the only other main ingredient we’re missing is the Life Tree dew. I know you’re going to tell me that you no clue where to find any, but I need to ask again. Do you know where we can find some Life Tree dew, or a life tree to extract the dew?" asked Jack.

Zarris laughed, enjoying Jack’s blunt statement. "Again, I haven’t a clue where to even look for something like that. The only place I could think of would be a massive auction, the ones big enough to attract the leaders of neighboring countries."

"Oh?" Jack’s interest was piqued, and he leaned over the booth to better listen to Zarris. "Where and when can I find one of these auctions?"

"Hold your horses, Jack. First off, you have no funds to try and hop in on an auction of that scale. Second, the Reinolt Kingdom doesn’t attract enough attention to warrant any major auction companies to create a branch here. The closest one would be inside the Zuran Empire, but the second isn’t much farther and is probably your best bet."

"Let me guess, the Polt Federation?"

"Yup, you guessed it, as usual," laughed Zarris. "Like I said though, to enter there’s always a high-end buy-in, not to mention the final price of something like Life Tree dew. You’d have to plea with your forgotten gods to pull something off so crazy."

A smile immediately flashed across Jack’s face. "Not bad idea Zarris, I’ll have to try that sometime."

"Really!? You know how to do that!?"

"Yes and no... but probably not. It’s worth a shot," chuckled Jack. "Here, I need to trade these in. Mind taking them off my hands?"

Three black, leathery carcasses appeared on the tiny counter space Zarris had for his small booth. "Not bad, Light-tailed Lizards, right? Considering the condition and the size, I can offer five gold for each if I’m being generous, but I’ll only be generous is you remember me after you finally get ahold of your ancient gods. Understood?"

"Of course, that’s very generous of a friend like you."

They quickly made the exchange and Jack rushed off towards the market’s center, which was growing louder with passersby with passing minute. He wore a smile on his face and held onto the idea Zarris had jokingly given him.