OOC: That was some Latin. It reflects his upbringing
and Dr Redwood's scholarship.
Florence stepped off the dirt path that surrounded the small town of Brightvale.
We're making good time, hopefully. Florence glanced back at Rockball, smiling, to find that its mobilization was… limited to a propulsion process which probably wasn't very efficient. "Ah, well." He spoke aloud, both to himself and to his Rockball.
"Come up here, Rockball." He lifted Rockball up to pack level.
"I can't keep you lagging behind there, now, can I? Remember to grab onto my quiver if necessary. You can sit on top of my pack." After depositing Rockball on to the top of his pack, he resumed walking at a brisk pace.
The atmosphere was quiet among the medium-height grass. The only sounds to be heard were the sounds of Dustbeak chirps in the high trees and the rustling of the tall grass where Florence carefully tread, bow and arrow in hand and ready for a situation. Suddenly, the sounds of human activity could be heard.
"Homines alii audio." Florence muttered.
"I do hear other people." And looking ahead, instead of staring only at the ground and scanning for sticks and stones that he might trip over, he saw the bustling activity of stalls, selling all manners of things. Aristocrats and common people alike were among the stalls, the merchants plying them with food and ale while accepting payments of coin in the other hand. Florence took in a deep breath, taking in the smell of delicious food.
"Nunc est edendum." Time to eat, I guess. Looking back to Rockball, he walked to the next stand and picked up chunks of bread, along with a goblet of meat sauce. As he slowly savored the basil and the oregano in the sauce, he fed some to Rockball – not that Rockball needed feeding, per se; it could eat well enough on its own, tearing into the food with ferocity. Musing to himself, lined up at a pie stand for some dessert, Florence waxed his bow string.
Just as he was handed over the steaming, fresh rhubarb pie and paid for it with two or three gold coins, another person stepped out of the crowd.
"Is that a Creaturr you've got tharr?" The person spoke with a slur, as if he was drunk. In his right hand was a clay jug, sloshing back and forth with some amber-coloured liquid.
He probably is drunk, thought Florence.
"Oh? And what have you got to do with him?" The man wasn't much taller than Florence, only two or three inches. His breath smelled of a foul stench, as well as the smell of alcohol. The man pulled out a squirming Vileweed out of his satchel.
"Now, lookee here, yon' man. Creaturrs are a threat to the society, and I'm not gonna let ye go off with one. Hand it over." The man swung his jug threateningly.
"No." Florence pulled out his ebony bow out of his quiver, along with the arrow he just placed there. He nocked his bow, arrow at the ready.
"Hey, no violence's necesseeray, eh? We'll solve this fair n' square. Tell you what, if my friend Vileweed beats yer Creaturr here, I get to keep 'im. "
vs.
Grumbling, Florence acceded the point. The man had a saber at his side, and he probably wasn't alone. Better not to start an armed conflict, and not rush at your potential enemy just because the blood's gone to your head.
"Very well. If I win?"
"Oh, ye won't be doin' that soon, yon' man! But if you do win," at this the man made a mock grimace,
"then you get to go free. Good?"
"Excellent." Florence nodded, suddenly more alert. Pulling Rockball off to the side, he whispered secretly to his Creature.
"Now, listen. To win against that overgrown piece of grass, you have to strike quickly and decisively. I don't have much time, so do your best to listen and remember."
"Geo! Geodude!" The Rockball said. It was unclear to Florence whether he had understood or not Florence's commands. Without any further thoughts, Florence backed away from Rockball, placing it inside the circle of spectators that had quickly sprung up, it seems from a previous performance. Rockball seemed now to be somehow smoother to Florence, although he wasn't sure if this was the case.
"Strike, Rockball!" Florence commanded. Rockball launched itself at its opponent, a Vileweed, scoring a direct hit. Vileweed staggered back, momentarily stunned.
"Nicely done." Florence approved. But immediately, the drunkard shouted in defiance –
"Ha! Absorb his energy, Vileweed!" Immediately, Vileweed was noticeably strengthened while Rockball was weakened. Florence grimaced.
"Tackle Vileweed again! This time, keep up a steady pace of pummeling!" Rockball propelled himself forward again, arcing through the air to directly land on top of Vileweed. From there, it kept a steady wave of fist attacks, accelerated to a lightning-fast speed, using its fists of stone to maximum deadly effect. After about half a minute or so, Vileweed fainted, unable to fight anymore.
"Arrg! Kid, ger- outta here!" The drunkard looked frustrated. Picking up his Vileweed, he took a fresh swig from his jug. With a look of disdain aimed at the drunkard, Florence began to walk to the next town, looking for some healing plants as described in the notebook along the way. A few minutes later, he found a bush.
"Hmm… So, these are Oranir Berries." Florence picked one of the blue berries off the bush and popped it into his mouth. The berry's peel was hard, but it exploded and blossomed into all five of the flavors – it was partially spicy, mostly sweet mixed with sour, a bit dry, and slightly bitter all at the same time. He decided to pick enough to fill his pouch, and left the rest for other travelers and passers-by. "The Oranir Berry is said to produce some powers of healing. So, take one, Rockball. Go on, don't be shy." Rockball happily consumed the berry.
Only a few more minutes were necessary for them to have the next town just on the horizon. With all its activity, Florence could just make out some faint sounds of a dizzyingly different nature than Brightvale.
A bigger town.