14 – The Cow

  The peasant woman caught up with them, adjusting the edges of her dress.

  “Will you help me?” she repeated her request, her timid glance jumping from one group member to another.

  “When did your cow run away?” Elanil asked.

  “Today.”

  “Are you serious?” Gaspard exclaimed. “Less than a day—for such short time, even people aren’t considered missing! There’s really something wrong with you if you’re panicking over some cow missing for less than a day.”

  “Bertha is not some cow,” the peasant woman countered. “She’s smart and would never upset me over trifles.”

  “An intelligent cow, indeed,” Nura snorted.

  “What makes you think she might have fled to the Sylvan Reserve in fear?” Elanil continued her interrogation. “What scared her? Wolves?”

  “No, not wolves, there were no wolves,” the peasant woman shook her head decisively. “It happened out of the blue. Nothing suggested she’d do it. She was grazing peacefully, and then… you know, it was as if winter had arrived for a moment in the middle of the summer.”

  Elanil shuddered hearing that.

  “There wasn’t a cloud in the sky to block the sun,” the woman continued. “But it was as if a tide of snow had blown from somewhere—I even shivered. But Bertha was so frightened she took off at a gallop, like a seasoned racehorse. I’d never seen her run so fast. I kept shouting after her and calling her name, but she ignored me completely. Please help me, I have no one but Bertha. When I think that something could happened to her…” she couldn’t finish from the emotion, almost bursting into tears.

  Gaspard gave her the most sympathetic and compassionate expression imaginable but turning to Elanil and Nura with a completely different expression, he nodded for them to step aside.

  “I think she just needs to find someone to warm her bed with—not fuss over cows,” he whispered. “To hell with her and her cow! What does it matter to us if this stupid bovine went berserk and ran off into the dark forest—for wolves’ joy? As if we don’t have other things to worry about.”

  “I don’t know,” Elanil said hesitantly. “Maybe we should help her.” She felt sorry for the farmer stricken with worry for her beloved horned friend. Elanil was also concerned about the suspicious circumstances under which Bertha had suddenly run amok.

  “I don’t care,” Nura shrugged. “But I’ll do what Elanil decides, not you.”

  “Let’s try to help her,” Elanil said quietly but firmly.

  “Fine,” Gaspard rolled his eyes and exhaled, the very length of this exhalation revealing how much he disliked the idea. “If you really want to spend a week wandering around the Reserve, looking for her under every stump—”

  “We can handle the matter much faster,” Nura chuckled, then spoke louder to the woman. “Hey, human woman, or whatever your name is…”

  “Amanda,” she said, her voice trembling.

  “Uh-huh, Amanda, show me where the stall of that Bertha of yours is,” Nura commanded. Amanda perked up, motioned for them to follow her, and hurried into the barnyard. Turning to her party, Nura winked cheerfully. “Let’s go see if there are any leads and what this Bertha smells like.”

  Quest: A cow in trouble

  Status: Acquired

  Objective: As the result of a mysterious incident, Bertha, Amanda's only cow and the joy of her life, got frightened and ran away. Find the cow and bring her to the inconsolable owner.

  Additional Information: Amanda believes you should look in the Sylvan Reserve. Nura needs additional details and clues to find Bertha’s trail.

  Reward:

  – XP

  – Money

  – Gift (conditional)

  – The Valley of Ringing Springs reputation

  In the stall, Nura inspected every detail carefully, turning around several times. She peered into the manger; took a deep breath of the scents left behind by Berta’s overnight stay; bent over a cake of dried manure left for Amanda as a fond memento by the escaped animal; and spotted Bertha’s hoofprint in the mud nearby.

  “That’s enough for me,” she finally declared, straightening up. Turning to Amanda, she patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Granny, we’ll find your cow.”

  “Thank you so much! Heavens bless you!” Amanda said with profound gratitude in her voice.

  “Thank me later,” Nura waved her hand dismissively.

  “But I’m not a grandma,” Amanda remarked timidly. “I don’t have any grandchildren, not even children—”

  “Then go ahead and get some,” Nura boomed cheerfully. “Easy-peasy!”

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  They said goodbye to Amanda and left the yard, after asking her where exactly Bertha had gotten scared and run toward the Sylvan Reserve. It was near the bridge over the stream that flowed at the village’s southern edge.

  “You’re like a professional detective of missing livestock,” Elanil commented on Nura’s professionalism the latter showed as she carefully examined every detail in the stall.

  “Told ya, I’m from the clan of pathfinders. So, it’s almost the same as looking for sheep in the Steppe,” she explained. “I suppose it would be easier with a cow—they’re much larger.”

  “Maybe so, but this is a forest, not a steppe,” Gaspard remarked. “Where would one even get lost when there’s nothing but grass for thousands of miles?”

  “That’s just your idea of the Steppe and it’s a wrong one,” Nura smirked at his naivety. “There are a thousand and one ways to hide in the Steppe.”

  “Oh, steppe’s stealth! Let’s elaborate on that part,” Gaspard immediately flared with professional interest, but they got interrupted again. This time by another peasant woman.

  “May I ask the pathfinders a question?” she began. “You were just with Amanda, weren’t you?”

  “And why are you asking?” Nura snorted. There was neither hostility nor irritation in her voice. But Elanil made a mental note to have a little chat with Nura later about basic etiquette when dealing with strangers. Otherwise, with her straightforwardness, coupled with the common stereotypes about orcs, people might get a much worse impression of her than she actually was.

  “I’m her sister, Clarissa. And I’d like to ask you a favor.”

  “Let me guess,” Gaspard smirked. “Your cat’s gone off somewhere and hasn’t been here for ten minutes.”

  “My cat’s fine, thank you.” Clarissa either didn’t understand Gaspard’s mockery or chose to ignore it. “Could you please not save Bertha?”

  “What?” Nura and Elanil asked in unison.

  “I’ll pay you if you prove the wolves really did eat that beast,” Clarissa hastened to inform, then added, hesitating slightly. “Or if you yourself...”

  “What need have you in slaughtering the cow, woman? Why torture an animal needlessly?” Nura asked menacingly.

  “You see, this Bertha... Amanda seems to have completely lost it because of her. After poor Will died, her husband, I mean, she’s completely beside herself. But when she got that damn cow... Where did she even get it from? I’ve tried so hard to get Amanda out of this mess, tried to introduce her to suitors, she’s not an old woman yet. Get married again, live happily! But no. Bertha and I, she says, don’t need anyone. You know, there are old cat ladies. Well, with her, it’s even worse. An old cow lady. Oh, mark my words, there’s something wrong with that cow. Something wicked. I can feel it in my gut.”

  “So, it was you who scared the animal so she’d run off into the forest!” Gaspard exclaimed. “You old schemer!” he concluded in an almost respectful, even praising, tone.

  “No, no, no,” Clarissa protested. “It wasn’t me. That damned Bertha ran amok herself. I told you, it’s a very strange animal. I was almost glad for this smile of fate. Well, Amanda will grieve, of course. But it’s not like losing a husband, it’s just a cow. Right? But then Amanda started pestering you about her Bertha…”

  Elanil didn’t know what to say. Initially, it looked like an ordinary quest to find and escort home a runaway animal. Now they found themselves embroiled in some kind of family drama. However, the very idea of ??finding Bertha in the forest only to kill her seemed outrageous for Elanil. She snapped out of her reverie and shuddered: Gaspard and Nura were staring at her expectantly.

  “So, will you help me rid Amanda of this obsession?” Clarissa asked.

  “I’m not sure that—” Elanil began, but Gaspard cut her off.

  “A word.” Taking her elbow, he stepped back a good distance from Clarissa and began whispering conspiratorially again. “Listen, since we’ve already embarked on this stupid animal escort quest, let’s listen to this witch. What if this Bertha was eaten by wolves long ago, or roasted by some bombardier beetle? And in the end, we’ll just wander off into the forest and bring this old cow lady nothing but a bell from her beloved cattle. Let’s at least leave it as an option. That way, no matter what happens, we’ll complete the quest and receive a reward. Whether from Clarissa or Amanda—doesn’t matter.”

  “It does matter,” Elanil wanted to say. But be that as it may, there was logic in his words, and so she agreed with his reasoning, sighing. Gaspard turned back to Clarissa, smiling broadly.

  “I’ll repay you even more than Amanda, if need be,” she added.

  “We’ll think about your offer,” he said. “On the way to the forest.”

  “As you say,” she nodded understandingly. “But if you decide not to rescue Bertha, then bring me her horn as proof that she’s finished.” She hastened to add, “I mean, I don’t give a damn about its horn. You can throw it away later. I need it just to be sure.”

  “Of course, of course,” Gaspard assured her, waving goodbye.

  Quest: A cow in trouble

  Status: Updated

  Objective: It’s up to you to decide whether to save Bertha, or to leave her to wild animals to be torn apart, or to slaughter her yourself.

  Additional Information:

  Clarissa believes that everyone will be better off without this cow. Bring her Bertha’s horn to prove she’s right.

  Reward:

  – XP

  – Money

  – Gift (conditional)

  – The Valley of Ringing Springs reputation

  When they’d walked far enough away from both Clarissa’s and Amanda’s houses, they stopped to share impressions and discuss their course of action.

  “Wow. What a mess!” Nura voiced Elanil’s thoughts.

  “True,” Elanil nodded. “I didn’t expect things to turn out this way.”

  “It’s a shame no one ever told you earlier do not take this stupid quest, right?” Gaspard said sarcastically in a singsong voice. “By the way, it’s never too late to just abandon it and go about our business. Somebody planned to earn some money to join some guild, right? I can find you better quests for it. How about this suggestion, huh?”

  “No, we’ll finish this one first!” Elanil’s inner completionist burst out in righteous anger.

  “As you wish,” the bard shrugged. “I hope you don’t regret this decision later. So, which scenario do we choose? Delve into the forest—save the cow, kill the wolves?”

  “Is there any way to avoid the unnecessary slaughter of the wolves?” Elanil asked.

  “Of course. We’ll just watch from the sidelines while they tear the cow to pieces.”

  “I mean, not killing anyone. Saving the cow and leaving the wolves alone,” Elanil clarified.

  “Are you living in a fairy tale where everyone poops rainbows?” Gaspard laughed.

  “I’m all for saving the cow,” Nura remarked. Elanil sighed gratefully—she was already coming to the realization that Gaspard would obviously be a devil on her left shoulder, constantly throwing out all sorts of dubious moral ideas. Nura, on the other hand, could be the voice of conscience and compassion. But then that same voice continued. “Cows are useful, they give milk. As for wolves, we can kill and skin them all. Then we’ll sell their pelts.”

  Elanil’s joy didn’t last long—apparently, she was destined to be the angel on someone else’s right shoulder.