Lore/Story Spirit Seekers - Eila: Chapter 1, Part 2

Continued from the first part of my story: https://forums.wynncraft.com/threads/spirit-seekers-eila-chapter-1-part-1.205086/

Detlas wasn't the largest city, nor the fanciest, but it was the most crowded and most popular, according to rumors. Many a traveling merchant coming from Detlas had stopped by Eila's wheat stand and told her tales of Detlas. One, named Kilo, she'd even befriended for the short time he'd been in Elkurn.

"I've been around the Province a few times, been to all sorts of cities and villages. Everyone I've met in the small towns, or at least most of the people I've met, has something I call the Big Dream," Kilo would explain. "See, Detlas is the trading town, and I'd say it houses, oh, somewhere around a third of the entire population of Wynn. Everyone has this dream to move there and begin life anew, using nothing but their own hands to sculpt a place for themselves in the city, and eventually become rich."

"Of course, many of these people don't succeed, and stay low-class for the rest of their lives, but it's a nice thought. I prefer traveling around like this, it's better. You tend to stay down-to-earth if you have to stay with nomads every eight days and fight off monsters about every two," Kilo would say.

"There's other towns?" Eila would ask.

"'Course. How do you think trade happens? And there's towns across the ocean, too, in the Province of Gavel, but I've never been there, not once. Mind, you could ask one of the first-generation Villager immigrants, they probably remember Gavel," Kilo would advise her.

That was how Eila had gotten her head stuck in the clouds, and how she was now pursuing a dream many had chased before and failed to achieve. Still, Eila reasoned, what else is there?

Eila was currently packing everything she owned into crates. Clothes, check. Food, check. Drinks? I suppose I'll have to buy some water from a traveling merchant. Emeralds? Barely any left, just three blocks. In some places, that's hardly enough to buy a teleportation scroll.

"Well, well, well, it's Eila, the cousin of that Scam Merchant. How's your taxes coming along? Hope you're not having trouble going over your tax form, though I'm sure there isn't much on it, with you being poor and all," a familiar voice snarked from outside Eila's window.

"Please leave," Eila tried to calmly tell Jaidey, a younger, competing wheat merchant who frequently encouraged rumors about her in the village. He was quite a nasty person, always insulting those around him with bad roasts about their family. The only people he spared were his customers, his source of revenue.

"I don't think so. Hey, guys! Looks like Eila's finally moving, thank Salted! Don't bother buying her house, though, it's only a scam," Jaidey hollered, trying to attract attention.

Eila gritted her teeth. She could either close the window, like she usually did, or yell insults back at Jaidey. She was tempted to choose the latter... It's not even a good taunt, though. Why bother responding to him? He'll only fire back at you.

Eila chose the latter.

"YOU'RE A BULLYYYYYYYY!" Eila yelled. Nice, Eila, you couldn't even manage one decent comeback. That was a downright obvious fact you just yelled. There was a second of silence, then Jaidey retaliated.

"Looks like Tax Day made someone cranky. Did your scamming cousin stop sending you money?" Jaidey shot back. Eila heard someone shouting at Jaidey in the distance, something about a trampled flower.

Eila mentally cursed herself. What had she been thinking? It wasn't as if his insults were very hurtful by now, anyway; just another flat, unoriginal taunt from Jaicey, the guy with the creativity of a turd.

* * *​

Eila stood at the exit from Elkurn, where the bridge was. Elkurn was surrounded by rivers and waterfalls, and bridges were required to connect the Detlas Suburbs to Elkurn. Everything she owned was packed into a single crate, and her only friend, Misty the mule, stood next to her, carrying said crate. A jeering mass of people stood behind her, with Jaidey's insults being by far the loudest.

"We won't miss you! We don't want any criminal accomplices here!"

Eila was debating whether or not to try and roast her neighbors one last time. Don't do it. You know how bad you are at that. Just leave already, this place is toxic.

Eila, unsatisfied but unsure how to come up with any decent kind of insult on the spot, turned around, climbed up onto Misty, and crossed the bridge leading out of Elkurn.

Eila wasn't sure what to expect on her journey from Elkurn to Detlas. She, like everyone else, had been told the tale of the corruption that ravaged the land. Her father and mother, who were both first-generation Wynn citizens, had come from Fruma, and had served in the war, fighting and killing countless undead to protect Elkurn, which was the closest settlement to the Roots of Corruption.

Eila hadn't realized how close until now, though, and not but 40 meters ahead she could see a swath of blood-red stone and nasty, pure black spikes sticking up from the ground, corruption indeed. It was a wonder, in Eila's opinion, that Elkurn was still here today. Why, if it had been built just across the river, it would've been swallowed up by the Roots of Corruption.

Eila nervously circled around it, giving it as wide a berth as possible, as she could see fiery monsters just inside the boundaries of the Roots of Corruption. They eerily stared off into the distance, and Eila shivered with fright. Her parents hadn't told her much about the outside world.

It was a clear and cloudless day, and the noon-day sun beat down hard on Eila as she traveled the well-worn, dusty "Corrupted Road," as a signpost she'd passed had proclaimed. Maybe this isn't such a good idea, Eila thought. She was considering turning back as she passed a ruined watchtower, but then she spotted Detlas in the distance, and stopped.

High, imposing stone walls circled the city, and she could see houses in the distance. The Detlas Suburbs, she thought. She was nearly there. If she continued just a little farther, she would reach Detlas, and have a chance to start her life over again. Then, she heard the sound of horse hooves traveling down the road, and concentrated, trying to see where they were coming from. It sounded like they were coming from just ahead...

A familiar, seedy-looking face peeked around the corner on horseback, then halted when he saw her.

"Eila? What are you doing so far from Elkurn?" the notorious Scam Merchant, her cousin Perdix, asked.

The second part of the first chapter of my story.

 

Good story so far, but try to stray from modern slang such as "roasts" or "guys"

 

Agreed honestly, but Honeycomb's the one in control here. And to you Honeycomb, great so far! If you want to get serious about your story, try setting a schedule for yourself, like set a day or two to write and then have the next day be an upload day like I do. Example: I write a chapter of my story every Tuesday and Saturday (if I get the time to) and make revisions and upload every Wednesday and Sunday. Oh and also, saying "guys" isn't a bad thing, just try to stay away from slang like "roast".