Note: So, there’s a bounty clerk on Terra Nimbus, a place that nobody in Reveria really knows about other than in legends. How did she end up there?
With Blue Fabric
by EstiRose
Lysie has never known a place other than this one where she lives.
Her great-great-great grandparents came to this place, which she knows some call Terra Nimbus and some call Levitania. She and her cousins and neighbors and siblings have always had a quiet life, farming and trading with the Plushlings that live nearby in a camp.
She also knows that in the place they once came from, Reveria, they had Bounty Clerks. It’s a largely ceremonial role now, because nobody really brings back bounties, but Lysie knows how to make the money appear just in case one should ever come in, and how to find the rewards that come with the crates or bundles. She makes the bundles disappear, makes them go back to where they belong. It’s part of a Bounty Clerk’s duty, after all, to reward skill and heroism.
One day, an adventurer comes along. His name is Larkin. Her family, her village, welcomes him and makes him promise not to tell anyone about them. After all, her ancestors left for a reason, though she isn’t sure anybody remembers what it is. Maybe it’s something she’ll learn when she grows too old to be the Bounty Clerk and becomes an Elder. In any case, he is kind, and becomes a frequent visitor, even if he prefers more exploring than is probably healthy.
After a while, new adventurers come up. A girl named Erion, with her butterfly friend, sometimes with a boy named Robin, sometimes with others. Erion goes out on adventures and comes back with Bounties, which Lysie redeems. Most often, it’s ore, but sometimes Erion brings back logs or even monsters. Lysie bows, accepts them, does what she needs to to get them back to where they need to be.
“Where do you come from?” Erion asks after turning in a tree, and explains that her mother was friends with several Bounty Clerks and had almost become one herself. It’s less a ceremonial role and more a Life for them, it sounds like, so much different than hers.
“Come from? I’ve always been here.” Larkin doesn’t talk about her village, and she won’t either. She trusts the Plushlings to keep quiet.
Erion looks confused. “Oh.”
“So, this is your Life?” the butterfly asks.
Lysie bows. “It’s the only Life I’ve ever known.” It’s not a Life, but the words seem to satisfy them. It’s a point of connection, maybe, of sorts. It makes them understand without giving anything away. Maybe they think she is as magical as they perceive the world to be. It doesn’t really matter.
The two of them go back into the wilds, still talking, and Lysie quietly breathes out in relief.