Mars stopped another young lady and asked directions to the library. They followed the directions to an old building. The stone walls had started to crumble in places. The upkeep on the building had long been forgotten. It made the building stand out among the surrounding structures due to it’s decrepit state.

Beautiful stained glass windows adorned the side of the structure. Apart from the windows it was a simple design. Kit glanced up at the roof to assess if it had any holes. It would be bad for a library to get water damage. The roof was made from stone with a tiled effect. It was the first building Kit had seen with a more advanced roof, he was glad to see there weren’t obvious holes in the roof.

Kit followed Mars through the front door, he hoped the inside looked better than the outer layer. Inside was like a fire hazard. Bookshelves were tightly packed together. Books were stacked on the floor. Every surface in the library was covered with either books or scrolls. Kit was amazed at how untidy the place was.

A slight musty smell was in the air. Kit assumed the books in here might not be in the best condition. The smell wasn’t a good thing for a library to have. Kit was worried he might get poisoned from mould. ‘Maybe there are a few leaks in the roof. It makes my heart ache seeing a library in this kind of state.’

Among the shelves was an old lady with light purple hair. She was currently muttering to herself. Kit weaved through the stacks of books on the floor and approached the old lady to ask for help. On the journey to Flower Field town, Kit and Mars had decided to only ask about one aspect of the map. This way it would be harder for anyone to figure out what they were looking for.

“Hello.” Kit was ignored. The old lady was still muttering to herself.

“Hello.” Kit spoke a little louder this time.

“Oh, hello dear. This is the library. The adventures guild is three doors down.”

“Ahh, thank you. I was actually after the library though. Are you the librarian?”

“Oh oh, right. Yes, I’m Gladys the librarian. I only get people coming in here when they mistake it for the adventure’s guild. This is exciting. What can I help you with?” Gladys’ eyes were sparking. Kit could tell she was happy to have a customer.

“I was wondering if you had maps of the Fornax continent in here?”

“Oh, yes of course.” The sparkle is Gladys’ eye dimmed. Kit guessed she was hoping for a more exciting request from them.

“This way. The maps are over near the tables.”

Gladys led them over to two large tables covered in scrolls. At the ends of the tables were wooden boxes. Kit assumed that was where all the maps were supposed to be stored instead of being strewn all over the table.

“This is all the maps of Fornax. They range from a large overview of the continent to maps of different towns. Give me one moment and I will clear the table for you.”

Gladys muttered some words under her breath and the scrolls on the table started to roll themselves over to the wooden boxes. They then neatly arranged themselves inside.

Kits eyes shone from the magic. ‘Even libraries are awesome.’

“What sort of maps are you after?”

“Um I’m not really sure Gladys. I’m looking for a large rock formation that looks like a sleeping cat.” Gladys’ eyes started to sparkle once again. Kit thought his request was enough to spike her interest.

“Now that is interesting. Let me see, if I remember correctly there are five rock formations that are formed to look like a sleeping cat.”

Kit felt his excitement begin to rise at Gladys’ words. If there were only five sleeping cat rock formations. He should be able to find the location with the rest of the terrain to help pin down the right map.

Gladys started to pull maps out of the boxes. She spread them out on the table on display for them to see. Kit was hoping she would leave them alone after pulling the maps out. Gladys looked like she was staying for the duration of their stay. Kit figured this would be her only excitement for a while, so he let her remain.

He didn’t have to tell her which map he was after anyway. Kit glanced down at the maps in front of him. Next to him Mars was doing the same. The five maps each had a sleeping cat made from stone. Kit was happy to see two of them were automatically ruled out. They were both close to a sea. Another one was dismissed because there was no large lake on the map.

That left two maps. Unfortunately, they both looked similar. They both had a rock formation of a cat sleeping next to a large lake that bordered a forest. Neither one had a C shaped mountain range. The closest was a half C mountain range. Kits face fell. He had thought they would find what they were looking for.

Gladys noticed his reaction.

“Are they not what you are looking for dear?”

“No two are close but they’re not quite right.” Kit gave a little sigh of disappointment. Gladys came over and stood next to Kit. She glanced down at the maps.

“These are the updated versions of the maps. Do you possibly want to look at the old version? Sometimes things change over time.”

“Yes, please Gladys. That would be great.” Kit didn’t get his hopes up this time. The disappointment was a little rough.

Gladys removed two scrolls from the box. She then placed a scroll each above the already laid out maps. Kits heart gave a little stutter when he looked at one of the maps. It was exactly what was on his treasure map.

“Gladys, do you know what happened in this area to make it different from the new map.” Kit pointed to the half C shaped mountain range. The map above still had the full C cluster of mountains.

“Hmm, I think that was a fight between a silly group of adventurers and a mythic beast. I mean who would try to hurt one of those beautiful creatures. Lucky, they have amazing fighting prowess. The fight caused the destruction of half the mountain range.”

As Gladys was talking Snowball started to wake. Kit could feel him moving around in the sling. He didn’t think the librarian would be happy about having a dog in the building. Kit was too slow to stop the little fluff ball poking his head out. Then as if to make sure he was noticed he let out a happy yip. Kit groaned internally. He had just found what he was after.

“Oh my gosh. Is that a dog?”

“Look at his adorable little face. Can I hold him please?” Kit blinked a couple of times before he finally processed what Gladys said. Kit grinned thinking it looks like he had found another animal lover.

“Of course, Snowball loves cuddles.” Kit pulled Snowball out of the sling and passed him over to Gladys. He watched Snowball for his reaction, in case he was uncomfortable with being held by a stranger. He remembered his reaction to Kai.

Snowball happily sat in Gladys arms receiving pats from the old lady.

“You are such a darling. Do you want some treats? I have some food out back.”

Without asking Gladys headed off with Snowball towards the back of the shop. Kit wasn’t worried about her putting Snowball outside Gladys looked smitten with the little fluff ball. While he had been interacting with Gladys, Mars had been studying the maps.

“Kit, this is definitely where we need to go. Everything matches up with the treasure map. There is no information on this map where the location is though. We are going to need to ask the old lady for more information about the maps.”

Kit was already a little uncomfortable with Gladys noticing which maps he had an interest in. He really didn’t want to confirm where they were heading. Kit looked over both the maps in case Mars had missed something. Once he finished searching the front and back of the maps. He came to the same conclusion as Mars.

Kit sighed it couldn’t be helped. They needed to know what area this map was showing. Gladys was heading back over to them with a very satisfied Snowball.

“Gladys, I can’t see what area this map is from. Could you tell us please?”

“Mmm let me see. This map is part of the Forsaken state. Oh, you don’t want to go there. It is too dangerous. It’s filled with mighty monsters. The state hasn’t developed much so there are only two major cities in the state. All the towns are quite small as well. There isn’t much to see there, it’s much better in our Rosacea state.”

“Why do you want to go to this place anyway. There is nothing there?”

This was why Kit didn’t want to ask Gladys for too much help. He was worried she would ask questions like this. Kit could feel himself start to panic. Snowball started to squirm and yip in Gladys arms.

“What’s wrong Snowball. Oh, is it for you little one? I bet you are taking this cute little one to find his family. Tell you what, I’ll make a copy of the maps for you. Just don’t tell anyone. We are not supposed to do that. But his little one needs to find his home.” Gladys cooed at Snowball. She then took the maps out the back where she had taken Snowball earlier.

Kit wasn’t sure how she concluded that they were on an expedition to take Snowball to his family. But if this got him copies of the maps he wasn’t going to say otherwise.

“Kit, Snowball is amazing. His cuteness turns everyone to mush. We should just bring him out all the time when we want things.”

“He is difficult to ignore isn’t he? He always makes me smile. Maybe you’re right, he might have the same effect on other people. Maybe that is a skill of his.”

“If it is we should develop it. When you finally make a bond with him you should check his stats.”

Kit stopped their conversation because Gladys was returning with their maps.

“Here you go boys. I’ve made a copy of the Forsaken state as well. That should make it easier for you two to take this little guy home.” Gladys handed Kit three maps. A huge grin split across Kit face. He could almost feel the treasure in his hands. He put the three maps in his pouch and took Snowball back from Gladys.

“Thank you very much Gladys. You’ve helped us a great deal.” Kit was very thankful for the old lady’s help.

“You’re welcome dear. If you ever need information on anything else, you come to old Gladys, and I will help you.” Gladys gave them a warm smile.

“Thanks. We need to go now Gladys. It was nice meeting you.”

“Bye boys. Bye Snowball.”

Kit left the library with his spirits high. He could tell Mars was feeling the same. They now had a destination - the Forsaken state. He couldn’t wait to start their journey.

“Should we get Pint and head off now?”

“Not yet. I want to head to the culinary guild to accept my chef profession. I need to get started on leveling up my sub class as soon as possible. I also would like to head to a realtor to see how much I will need to open a restaurant.”

“Ok. I saw a real estate office on our way to the library. It’s just a street over. Want to head there first?”

“Yes, lead the way.”

Kit followed Mars to a small shop front. In the window was advertisements of plots of land for sale. Kit felt a little nervous about entering. His dream was starting to feel more real the closer he was getting to being able to open a restaurant.

Kit took a breath and pushed open the door. A middle aged lady greeted them with a warm smile. She was wearing a bright red shirt with a collar of feathers. Kit stood still, shocked. He didn’t think he would find someone with the same taste in clothing as Mars.

When her eyes landed on Mars they lit up.

“Look at you young Man. It has been a while since I’ve seen such a young man with a fine taste in clothes.”

“I like your clothes too. Very smart. It makes you look very dignified.”

The middle aged woman blushed. Kit didn’t know what was happening right now. Maybe he really had no fashion sense. At this moment he was very happy at this fact. He decided he needed to break the two chickens apart or he would be the one to suffer.

“Hello, I’m Kit.”

“Ah yes, sorry young man I was too caught up in your friend’s outfit. I’m Norris, what can I help you with.”

“I wanted to know how much it would cost to open a restaurant in town?”

“Come take a seat and I can go over the options with you.” Norris sat behind a desk and motioned to Kit to take a seat opposite her.

Norris took out a tablet and started tapping on the screen.

“What size of land are you looking for?”

“I want the largest size possible please.”

“Do you want the land in the centre of the shopping district or one on the outskirts of town?

“Can I see both options please.”

“Ok, I have two plots of land meeting your criteria in the shopping district. This one is in the middle of the shopping district. It is a large plot of land. It’s in prime location next to a potion shop and a tea house. It costs 50 gold crowns.”

Kits eyes widened when he heard the price. He didn’t think it would be so expensive to buy a plot of land in a small town like Flower Field. If this was the price here, how much would it cost to buy something in a large city. Kit was very thankful he had a treasure map, or his dream wouldn’t be achievable before his subscription to CAL was finished.

Kit looked at the bare plot of land Norris was showing him on the tablet. It was twice the size of the shops next door. Even with being twice the size of the other plots Kit didn’t think it was overly large. If he built his restaurant here it wouldn’t have much room to grow. He doubted he would be able to have an outside area.

“The restaurant building is a set price. So whichever plot you choose the price won’t change. It costs 50 silver crowns. Renovations to your building can happen after you have reached the requirements to level the building up.”

“Do you want me to show you the others?”

Kit wanted to see the price difference for the other plots. If for some reason they couldn’t reach the treasure he wanted to be well informed about how much he would need to save to open a restaurant.

“Yes, please Norris. The next plot is still in the shopping district. But it is on the outer ring. The good news is this one is an extra large plot. It costs 60 gold crowns.” Norris changed the display picture on the tablet.

This plot was three times the size of an average plot. Kit would prefer something like this one. It was large enough for him to be able to build a little outdoor area. Kit was daydreaming about all the possible options that would be available to him if he opened on an extra large plot.

Norris swiped the tablet, and another plot entered the screen.

‘This one is on the outskirts of town near the stables. It’s also an extra large plot. It costs 50 gold crowns. The next one is only a large plot. I wouldn’t recommend this one though it’s in the textile area. There wouldn’t be much foot traffic for your restaurant.”

Kit was a little surprised when she was honest with him. He did feel a little bad that he wasn’t actually going to purchase a plot of land from her though.

“Thank you so much Norris. You have been very helpful. We will think about our options.” Mars arose from his seat saying to Norris “Yes, thank you Norris.” Kit could tell he was impatient to be heading off to the Forsaken state.

“You are welcome. Come visit me anytime when you have made a decision.” Norris gave them a knowing smile as if she knew they wouldn’t return.

Kit followed Mars out of the shop. He was still a little rattled from the price of land. He was starting to get anxious himself about heading off to find the treasure. He still had one more stop before he would let Mars hustle him out of town.