Chapter 2
At the same time, a carriage drawn by two old horses was returning to the outskirts of the village of Taunelr. The car in question had a most ordinary appearance for the Elysian bourgeoisie. The coach who drove it was an old man worn out by work and the jolts of his car had deeply damaged his body. Yet the interior of the carriage was anything but ordinary. First, the purple-red interior was adorned with various gilding, each more sophisticated and luxurious than the last. But the most memorable decoration remains the armory sculpted on the ceiling and invisible from the outside.
One of the most beautiful women in Elysieum was sitting in this car. She seemed to be in her thirties, maybe younger and was dressed in a red dress, her left hand resting on the pommel of a curved sword, while her right hand held a glass filled with wine. A detail-paying viewer would have noticed that no waves were present on the surface of the wine despite the vibrations emitted by the car. As she looked out the window at the rustic peasants' dwellings, one could read on those blue eyes an undeniable form of superiority.
She turned her head slowly and looked at one after the other at the two men dressed like beggars sitting in fact of her.
"I hope you are aware that we have can't make any mistakes, . . . it's especially true for the two of you" she added. She took a small sip of wine and continued. "This moment is the best time to act, my divination is infallible, if there is the slightest problem, you will be the only ones responsible." She looked at the horizon in the distance and resumed. "The maggot must have come out of its apple, a very short time ago, and you have mmh .... I would say 4 hours before he returns."
"Don't worry, young mistress, we will do our best to preserve the painting as well as possible," he said while looking at the painting covered with a cloth he was holding in his hands.
Only a few moments after pronouncing these words, the coachman warned them that they had arrived safely in front of Forsance's house. The two men got out of the car, one of whom was carrying the picture on his back. And they both went back to Forsance's house, as if nothing had happened.
At that time, Forsance was still on his way to the herbalist's hut. A multitude of thoughts jostled in his mind. "Why do people hate me?" "I hate this world!" "What's the point of getting out of bed, and doing the same things every day without any difference?" "I hate people." "How do they manage to have so much confidence in themselves?" "Maybe I could go back home, just to check that there is no thief."
Forsance stopped short. "Why did I just think that?" A shiver ran through her body. The more he thought about it, the more his bad feeling increased. What to do, should he continue his journey or go back home to make sure everything was fine. Indecision.... Although this reason told him to continue, his intuition told him otherwise.
In the end, he chooses to continue on his way, towards the old Quartin hut. His reason was simple, even if the worst of circumstances happened, what could he do about it. It was simply wiser to be away from problems.
Forsance hurried a little, and once he reached the herbalist's hut, he opened the door and saw that Mister Quartin had prepared to undertake a long journey. This disturbed Forsance somewhat because it was not at this time that the herbalist was accustomed to collect plants for these remedies. So he asked him:
"Mr. Quartin, could it be that you have heard that young Margot is in danger and that now you are preparing to help her?"
"But what are you talking to me about there, youngster, do you think that at my age you can just go on an adventure like this and save a young lady in distress and without repercussions. Alas, I'm way too old for all this nonsense. No, in fact, I just have an important meeting, that's why I have to leave the village." He explained.
"What do you mean, you're leaving?" reacts Forsance.
"Come on, come on, don't make that face, it's only a review, I'll be back soon." Monsieur Quartin promised.
"But where are you going?" Forsance actively asked.
"Uh... In a kind of meeting for herbalists. In the south of Elysium. It's quite far from here, on foot I'll take several weeks, at least." The master herbalist replied.
"Ha! It must be one of those meetings of the Confederation of Herbalists that you have already told me about?"
"Yes, yes, that's it!" The herbalist hastened to answer.
"But in that case, why hurry to pack your bags, at this point. You could leave tomorrow or the day after. Recruiters will surely need you and you will certainly have a lot of clients by staying here for two more days." There was a hint of suspicion in Forsance's eyes.
"Ha, Ha, Ha, okay, okay, actually Forsance, I'm already really in a hurry. If I decided to stay until today, it was to make sure that you were able to provide for yourself. That's why I showed you my recipes and my concoction method last week. But now I don't have time to stay and I have to pack up."
"Come, come in, before I leave, I want to offer you something." He continued. When he returned, Forsance discovered that the cabin seemed emptier than usual and the old man's suitcase was already ready. Maybe he had waited for it before leaving.
Monsieur Quartin went to his library and took out an old manuscript. On the front cover, it simply read "The Harmonious Recipe". "I give it to you," said Quartin. "You will find useful information there. And here, take my big basket, and my tools, anyway I don't have enough room to take them with me."
Forsance said nothing, for him it was not really gifts but rather a way for him to continue his work in his absence.
"When I'm gone, you won't have to worry about the state of my cabin. Sometimes you have to let go of the old things that clutter you up to be able to welcome the new ones.
"Does that mean you'll never be back here?" asked Forsance aloud.
"Yes, after this meeting, I would not go back to this village." replied the herbalist. "But I'm sure that one day we'll see each other again. In the meantime, I know you'll do your best to survive." He continued, staring at the old book that Forsance was holding in his hands.
"That being said, it's so much for me to leave."
Forsance and Quartin went out and the herbalist locked the door and took the road leading to the centre of the village, from there he would surely take the road leading south.
Forsance stood there for a few moments, then put the book in his new basket which he carried on his back. He then left for the eastern forest. Even without his work, he found it difficult to see how to spend his time other than in the middle of nature and tried to come stronger.
As he walked, Forsance thought back to the old man's words, "leave behind the old to welcome the new" and he wondered how true those words were.
At the same moment, Lautrant found himself clad in his armor and armed to the teeth, on the outskirts of the western wood. He was accompanied by one of these friends, Gentin, the son of one of the hunters of the village. Gentin was a little chubby here and there, one of the favorites of tomorrow's tournament for all the villagers, because he was one of the most vigorous young men in the area.
"It's very strange." Gentin was alarmed. "From here we should have heard the barking of wolves and yet. "
Gentin was an experienced hunter himself, and this remark only increased Lautrant's nervousness. All kinds of probabilities are jostling in his mind. When suddenly the noise of someone breaking a branche by stepping on it in the distance.
"Gentin! There at 10 o'clock, There's something ready for your bow!" whispered Lautrant as he faced.
