Yvlena stepped out of the library with a smile on her face and thoughts of the Bloom Festival. She wondered what she could do to help, feeling that it was her duty as the Harvest Guardian to chip in for the sake of the town.

  Had Rael done this before her? And Lilian before him?

  Bloom Haven seemed to have such a rich history and Yvlena could spend all her time discovering it. Right now she needed to focus her attention on following up with her favorite NPCs.

  She looked up to the sky, now a shining clear blue that marked the middle of the day. It was always sunny here, but something seemed different about the game now, it was more lifelike. The colours were more vivid and everywhere she looked Yvlena felt like Bloom Haven was coming alive.

  Was this the power of her new headgear? She couldn’t say. Yvlena had only played so little with the Zephyr and she could not compare it to the Revista Mark-i.

  “Just imagine what a gaming pod would feel like.” she said as she walked, but quickly shook those thoughts loose from her mind. A gaming pod would cost a fortune, and right now it just wasn’t something she was interested in, so soon after the lovely gift from Renard and Nisha.

  The only people that could afford something like that would be Mars or Atlas. For now she would only stick to head gear and after all she wasn’t playing competitively like Mars. Yvlena was just a girl trying to discover the secrets her mother left for her within the game.

  ‘It’s honestly more stress than it’s worth.’ She thought.

  Yvlena walked through the Artisan District admiring the scenes, even the already thriving district was looking marginally better than it had been previously. There were more NPCs walking the streets, which made it a little harder for her to move casually through the town as she was used to doing.

  She passed Madame Pratt’s shop and realized she had not yet woven any more linen to fix the curtains in the Rose Manor training hall but there was something more important at hand. She would need to clear out the Verdant Lake, then talk to Risel so their escort mission could begin.

  Now that she was done with Dylan’s quest, she knew what to expect when guarding NPCs, she could only hope the elf would be a lot more mature and helpful than Dylan was.

  Yvlena stopped at the apothecary doors, pushing it open to greet the elf and stock up on more bottles and jars for the task of clearing out the Verdant Woods.

  What she saw was the blonde elf running around attending to a horde of customers at her counter. Yvlena blinked in surprise.

  Since when was the apothecary this busy?

  Yvlena stepped inside, battling her way to the front of the counter where she caught a glimpse of Risel running to and fro taking orders.

  “Risel, what's going on?” Yvlena called over the demanding voices, was this even a good time to speak to the elf? Maybe she should visit later?

  “Oh business has been picking up a lot lately and I’m completely swamped with work now but don't worry about it.” Risel seemed annoyed at Yvlena, prompting the girl to squint in confusion and wonder what she did wrong.

  She wanted to ask but it might only make the other elf even more annoyed.

  [Your actions of forgetting to update Risel have lowered your affinity with her

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  -10 affinity with Risel]

  “Damn it!” Yvlena cursed under her breath, she knew the quests weren’t timed but she still had her relationships with her friends to consider. She wondered if Beatrice would be just as upset she hadn’t visited in a while.

  Even Laurent had been surprised by how long it had taken her to deliver his pork.

  ‘Ah well it wasn’t just Dylan, there was a lot of real life stuff to attend to but there’s no way I can explain that to a bunch of NPCs!’ Yvlena thought.

  Determined to make it up to her elven friend, Yvlena waited patiently for the amount of customers at the counter to decrease so she could talk to her Risel.

  Once the last one had gone, Risel leaned over the counter, taking a breath, Yvlena could see the blonde elf was exhausted. With her skin taking on a pale hue, the beginnings of dark circles were forming under her eyes.

  A twinge of guilt stabbed Yvlena’s heart, it had been a while since she checked up on her friend.

  “Oh, you actually waited.” Risel said in surprise. Her pointed ear, twitched in fondness for Yvlena.

  [Affinity with Risel increased +1]

  “Risel I'm so sorry, I had an escort mission to take a boy to see his father's grave. It took longer than expected, that’s why I haven’t been around and been so busy.” Yvlena blurted out before the next sentence could leave Risel’s mouth.

  The elf said nothing yet, only taking in Yvlena’s sincere explanation.

  “Is there any way I could make it up to you? I'm really so sorry.” Yvlena said reaching across the table and grabbing Risel’s hands.

  “Well I suppose I can’t really hog you to myself, you’re the Harvest Guardian after all.” Risel said with a sigh. “But you’re also my friend and I worry about you Yvlena.”

  [Risel considers your words, you have tugged on her heart strings with your explanation and passion, Affinity with Risel Increased +5]

  "Well that makes sense.” Risel said "You really do like helping people, don't you Yvlena?" A fond smile crosses the elf’s lips as she says that. She let go of Yvlena’s hands and crossed her arms across her chest, pouting.

  "Fine, I guess you could make it up to me but I'm not going to go easy on you Yvlena!" Risel said pouting.

  "I completely understand Risel, I've just been so busy and I need to prepare to take you to the Verdant Woods so I had to practice with someone else." Yvlena said. She rubbed her head and shot Risel a big grin, causing the blonde elf to blush.

  [Risel is touched by your words

  Affinity with Risel Increased +1]

  The two elves smiled at each other all the while, a fresh batch of customers stormed into the apothecary, waiting for Risel to attend to them.

  "I'm running out of herbs from the Avaresh Swamp so I need you to get me a couple." Risel said.

  “No problem, how many do you need?” Yvlena asked.

  “Just a couple.”

  [Quest: An Alchemist In Need

  Risel is busy at the apothecary and cannot maneuver the dangerous Swamp herself to get the herbs she needs.

  The Avaresh Swamp, although accessible, is teeming with dangerous monsters and creatures that would put anyone in a tight spot!

  Help Risel get the herbs she needs for her potions.

  Swamp Belle x5

  Swamp Jelly x5

  Avaresh Lotus x2

  ***

  Rewards

  ???

  ***

  Moon Points x3000

  EXP x800]

  [Do you accept?]

  [Yes/No]

  Yvlena clicked the ‘yes’ button without hesitation and nodded as she looked into Risel’s green eyes.

  "Don't worry, Risel, you can count on me." The elf nodded and went back to attending to her customers.