“Say…Thoma…Did you know that a tail is just an extension of your spine?”

  “Nope, I didn’t! That sounds interesting though!”

  “Yeah…People without tails can actually imagine a bit how it feels like. I’d need to touch your spine though, is that okay with you?”

  “Like…Directly?”

  “Yeah, is that a problem?”

  “Uhm…I just don’t like it when that area is touched.”

  “Oh, why is that?”

  “It just…Feels wrong.”

  “That’s okay, you don’t have to go further into detail.”

  “But I guess since it’s you…I’ll trust you.”

  “Perhaps you shouldn’t.”

  “Hmm? Why not?”

  “Well, to tell you the truth we just had this conversation. I touched your back without asking first and you got really mad at me, afterwards I asked some questions that triggered your curse and you forgot about it. So, I already acted in a way that broke your trust. I’m sorry about that.”

  “Is that so…Then that means that you just confirmed my trust in you.”

  “Huh? Why?”

  “Well, you could have easily said nothing about it since I don’t remember but you instead told me that I shouldn’t trust you and told me a mistake you made that I already forgot about. That means you’re trustworthy.”

  I then take off my shirt and position my back towards her.

  “Okay, so I need you to close your eyes. I’m going to trace your spine and then tell you to imagine something.”

  “O-okay. Eeek!”

  “Eeek? Pfft, haha.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine. Okay so just concentrate on your spine as I trace it.”

  “Okay.”

  “See, your spine actually goes a lot lower than you think it does, if you start to really feel it down your lower back as well and then imagine it expanding further down you’ll get a feeling as if it goes on longer than it actually does.”

  “Y-yeah kind of.”

  “Now just imagine that there is some weight dangling from it as well like a pendulum and that’s basically what a tail feels like. But you can also move it up and down and curl it.”

  “I-I see…Yeah, now that you say it I can imagine it quite well. Almost like it’s supposed to be there but isn’t. Seems…Like it would be nice to have one. Though now that I think of it having more than one would seem quite confusing. It’s very hard to imagine.”

  “Right? It’s actually hard to imagine for me as well! And now! As a reward for overcoming your fear and trusting me, you can touch my tail all you want! You said you wanted to do that right?”

  “C-can I really?”

  “Yep, go ahead!”

  “O-okay just, if anything hurts or feels weird just tell me.”

  “Pfft, don’t worry, it’s not that sensitive. You’d have to really try to make it hurt, just don’t pull on it too hard and you’re fine.”

  Ray then moves her tail towards me and I gently brush over it with my hand.

  “It’s sooo fluffy!”

  “Kekeke, it sure is! I take good care of it!”

  “Can I hug it?”

  “Sure! Go ahead.”

  “Oh man…This takes me back. This feeling reminds me of mom. I used to py with it a lot.”

  “With…Her tail?”

  “Huh? I…I’m not sure. Sorry my head hurts.”

  “It’s okay, forget it. If it gives you happy memories I don’t mind letting you do this more often.”

  “Th-thanks. Sorry I’m feeling a little weird, my head hurts a lot.”

  “That’s okay, don’t fight it. Just stay in the present and enjoy the moment.”

  “O-okay.”

  —-----------------------------------------

  “Hmm…Looks like he fell asleep. Maybe since I stopped him like this he’ll be able to remember what we talked about ter…Either way I need to write all of this down.”

  —-------------------------------------

  A few hours ter I get shaken awake by Ray.

  “It’s time Thoma. Look, they're everywhere. We’re lucky it isn’t cloudy tonight.”

  A bit drowsy I look around and see multiple herbs glowing in the moonlight.

  “Woah…They’re pretty!”

  “Also pretty useful! They’re one of the main three ingredients for healing potions.”

  “What are the other two?”

  “Uhm...Honey and…Some kind of alchemist alcohol I don’t remember.”

  “Neat! How many do we need?”

  “The Quest asked for twenty. Any more that we find we can sell ourselves, so make sure to get as many as you can!”

  “How much do they sell for?”

  “About a big copper per pnt.”

  “Woah, that much huh?”

  “Yeah, you can only really find them in moon light and it’s a bit dangerous to pluck them because you need to leave the gates at night for it. Also before we start gathering them, I have a question. Do you remember what we talked about before you fell asleep?”

  “Yeah, we talked about how your tail reminds me of someone, but I forgot who.”

  “That’s fine, that’s already a lot more than I expected.”

  —-------------------------------------------------------

  Currency:

  Every country has their own currency and exchange rates but generally speaking the currencies are:

  1 Copper (worth an apple or two eggs)

  10 Copper—> 1 Big Copper (worth about a day at a boarding house, which is one small room with a bed, heating in winter and three warm meals per day). The average single middle css worker makes about 2 normal copper per hour which is about 1 Big copper and 6 copper per day.

  10 Big Copper—> 1 Silver (about the worth of a piece of clothing for a commoner. A Whole set is about three silver.)

  10 silver→ 1 Big Silver (About the worth of an iron tool or a small set of utensils like cutlery). Usually most commoners use cutlery made from wood due to the high prices of ones made from iron while nobles would use cutlery made from materials such as pearl or silver to show off. Commoners who use iron tools often pay them off in rates over a few years. Usually these contracts come with free repairs and maintenance of said tool by the smith that sold them. Many adventurers also start off by getting a weapon made for them at the average cost of 8 Big Silver. Depending how successful they are as adventurers this is either a small investment paid off in a year or crippling debt that follows them for half their lives.

  10 Big Silver—> 1 gold (Worth about the living expenses of a lower noble, per day.) Many commoners would only see a gold coin in their life if they work in high end shops catering to the upper css or work in banks.

  10 gold—> 1 Big Gold Coin (About the worth of a piece of clothing tailor made for high ranking nobles without accessories or gems included.) Used almost only by nobles or high ranking merchants, this coin is what nobility use for nights out or small luxuries like going to restaurants or the theater. Big gold coins open the way to the lifestyle of a noble. Usually nobles carry these around like a commoner would Big Copper coins.

  10 Big Gold Coin—> 1 Jade Coin (About the worth of an accessory worthy to be worn by high ranking nobles.) 1 Jade coin could feed and house a small town of around a thousand people for about three months. Jade coins are often called the Emperor's pocket change and used by nobles for rge investments or trade outside their domain or country.

  100 Jade—> 1 Grim Created from the horns of the Grimjilow, a powerful monster that could destroy an entire city’s worth of people in a night. This currency is only allowed to be minted by one bank in dwarven territory and is very rarely used for international business between nations. It is not a coin that can be spent, instead it is a guarantee for a certain amount of real money for cases that a country does not have enough jade or valuables to pay the deal fully.

  —--------------------------------------------------------------------------------