"Hmm..."

Hylltywyll still looked a little dubious as he eyed the wriggling leaves, but he felt somewhat reassured he wasn't going to be tricked. Earth domain magic, growing plants and stuff. It seemed handy. He'd have to get some later, but not right now. Marion could make good use of it, but Hylltywyll could tell his earth domain magic was only novice. If he was going to gain magic of the earth domain, he wanted it to be more powerful.

With their captive now wrapped in witcher pitcher leaves, the sticky sap was unnecessary for keeping him from escaping. In fact, it only prevented them from moving him from this location, so Hylltywyll mumbled a few words and made the sap disappear from the rest of the man's body, along with all the dirt and grass stains that were on him from his fall, leaving him completely clean and tidy and most importantly, no longer stuck to the ground. Even some wrinkles in his clothing suddenly smoothed out.

If he was getting half the reward, he might as well help finish things up here, if only to get that reward faster.

"There. Now to just bring him to whoever hired you and tell them what he told us."

"Yep!"

Kweh laid down on all of it's 6 legs and helped Marion tie the moon elf onto it's back to carry, before getting up again and walking beside them- and the odd trio head off to where officials are stationed to relay this information as well as turn in their captive.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

The procedures were cleared with relative ease, and there was quite some odd looks directed towards the choice of rope- it took some time to untangle them and they resolved to use a little saw to get through the tough fibers in the end- as well as the odd little fella that is Hylltywyll. Marion explained what had happened in the forest, though, and everything went considerably smoother after that, with both getting the reward promised for the quest.

When the two finally got out of the building, it was not so late yet- Kweh is ill-suited to being in a city-ish environment with it's sheer size, and Marion let it go back to it's pocket space as soon as it could be done. Now it's just the two of them, with their pockets abit fuller than before, and it's definitely past bedtime, but optimal time for some late time snack.

"I am abit curious, if you don't mind me asking."
Marion said, tilting his head abit.
"- where are you from? I have never learnt of a race like you before- And I would love to hear about your stories! If you want to share, of course."

Hylltywyll was a little disappointed. He wanted to ride on the back of the dragoonfly, but with the man on his back tied in witcher pitcher tendrils, he didn't want to risk getting close enough to share the bug's back. He just had to walk to the town on his own two legs.

Actually walking into town, out in the open instead of sneaking in hiding in the shadows was unusual for Hylltywyll. He definitely preferred keeping a low profile. So low that some would consider him to keep no profile at all, trying to just never be perceived by anyone unless he was pranking them and wanted them to know it was him. Letting himself be seen was all part of the fun as much as staying unseen was, along with knowing when the right time was for either.

Hylltywyll wasn't nervous at all about the size of the place. He'd been to Sol City, which he was pretty sure was the biggest city on the continent, lots of times. This place was nothing in comparison. The only difference was that he was walking openly down the street instead of skulking. But, he couldn't get his meal if he vanished into the night, so he dealt with it.

He slipped his half of the reward into the shadow beneath his poncho, storing it away and adding it to his secret hoard along with the fake royal emblem the lunar rebel man had thrown away.

"Hmm? You've never learnt about Fae before? Well, you probably will soon." He answered with a snide smile. From what he could tell, there was a serious rise in other Fae ever since the Sol Stone incident and it only picked up after the whole thing with the big dragon.

"Now, where's that noodle shop you told me about? I want some food."

"I have only heard of them! But I do seem to hear more about them now more than before... So you are a fae? Oh, I do want to know- are the mushroom farie rings a real thing or is it just something people made up?"

And of course the first thing his mind went to was fungus. Marion is quite eager to know- he know that these rings can be formed from remains of tree stumps hence their circular shape, but that's the main word- 'can'. There obviously could be other causes for the same phenomenon, and the whole portal to the feywilds thing- well, it's pretty out there, but he had seen wilder things already so who knows what to expect?

"Right this way! I think they are still open and serving at this hour- but it'd be up to luck if they have any of those fried dumplings left!"

As it turned out, there was. The shop was still somewhat lively with people that got off work and came for food and a drink- the two secured a table, and Marion explained what had gone on with the whole ghost thing briefly with the shop owner lady that had greeted them. It sounds like she was the main reason why Marion took on the job to get to the bottom of it- and she expressed her thanks, as well as giving them an extra treat for it alongside their orders- a dozen of nigiri sushi, served on a little wooden platform. In her words, it is a day to celebrate, after all, since they'd finally be able to get a good night's sleep afterwards as well as better business later on, when people aren't as worried about going out at night with the hauntings and all.

"Faerie rings? Oh, you mean Faerie circles? They're real. But they don't have to be mushrooms." He answered with a shrug.

This information wasn't exactly secret, so he didn't care about revealing it to a curious sun elf that was about to buy him dinner. Still, he wasn't going to explain anything in much detail. The intricacies of Faerie circles and other crossings in the Realm of Wonder, he would keep to himself and only offer small tidbits of vague information. It was entertaining for him to see Marion confused by what he said, or his answer only causing more questions. His answers weren't very detailed, but none of them were a lie.

It was surprising just how much the tiny gremlin could eat. Fried dumplings, sushi, ramen. It all vanished into him like a black hole with teeth. He ate one thing after the other, enjoying the taste and texture of it all, but never feeling any satisfaction or sensation of fullness. The food was good, but it just didn't do anything for him anymore. If he wanted to feel full, he needed something else. He needed mana.

He looked across the table at Marion, sensing the powerful light magic within him. Hylltywyll put a hand on his stomach as it let out a growl, clearly unsatisfied with the meal.

---

Vampiric Heritage- Chaos Touched
Wicked Desires

Marion ate heartily as well- it was like magic how quickly food disappeared between the two of them, and the little elf had quite a few extra orders before himself was all sated, washing it all down with a pint of beer of his own. He happened to quite like alcohol, but likes to drink it slowly and savor the taste- Marion is the sort to like to guess the year, but he is no professional when it comes to wine-tasting and often get it all wrong than right.

"Whaaaa- I'm all done! I've never actually tried sushi before, and they turned out to be so nice! It's a shame I never had them before..."

And when he heard the quite obvious growl from the other, Marion looked abit surprised, but not troubled by the prospect of paying for even more food. It was as if he really didn't have much of a plan when it comes to money.

"Oh, you sound like you could use some more though- what would you like? I'm not going to let you go off still hungry- these grilled fish are something I could never quite finish because they are abit oily, but maybe you can consider that- or we can go for another shop if you want to sample something else- Cresent isle cuisine is quite the repertoire to go through!"

Hylltywyll shook his head and pushed away the latest empty plate in front of him. Eating all this stuff might have been fun, but it didn't help sate his hunger at all. He didn't like to admit to others what he actually needed to eat. It was a curse, the result of a mistake he made out of anger while trapped in some kind of underground ruin. It was all because of that damn frog.

"I don't need grilled fish." Hylltywyll said calmly and quietly. "I need something else."

He glanced around at the rest of the shop, making sure no one was listening in or watching them. Everyone else seemed to be going about their own business, enjoying their own meals and drinking the same smelly drink that Marion had been. Hylltywyll still didn't know how people could enjoy that stuff, but that wasn't important now. While they had been devouring their meals, they'd gotten a few glances from the other patrons, but it looked like no one was paying them any mind since they'd finished their meal. That was good.

Hylltywyll leaned in over the table and spoke in a whisper.

"I need mana." He said before his stomach let out another, louder growl.

"- How can I give it to you? Do it work like casting a spell, or-? "

Marion asked, without batting an eye.
He didn't seem like he found the idea disturbing or anything- and it have been almost more odd that this elf never really questioned anything about the peculiarities that Hylltywyll's presence exude and simply accepted it as it is. Maybe he's just used to the whole thing about oddness since he's so into nature and nature is odd as bonkers already so he really didn't mind.

"I am able to grow plants with magic too, but they are just quite regular plants, as you have seen- as regular as they are originally, by any means. Do we need to move somewhere else for it to work or wherever is fine?"

But in all honesty, feeding himself off his own mana is not a concept foreign to Marion- with that whole plant growing thing. There are other creatures out there that feeds on mana, or is able to extract that energy effectively, like the previously mentioned pitcher plant. He would have thought it be a possibly regular trait for fae, if not for the hushed tone the other spoke about it- but the elf was not worried. He is always eager to share, and happy to be able to provide.

Hylltywyll leaned forward and motioned for Marion to give him his hand. The Elf was surprisingly cooperative after finding out the little Fae needed to eat mana, but he wasn't complaining. He would just take this opportunity to have a real meal.

It wasn't anything as complicated as needing to cast any sort of spell to consume, or making mana-filled fruits to eat. It was a very simple process, really.

With Marion's hand outstretched an no one paying the two much attention, Hylltywyll took Marion's hand, held it in front of his mouth, and bit down on it. His bite wasn't hard enough to do any actual damage, not even breaking the skin. It seemed like he was just holding the Elf's hand between his teeth, but the effect was immediate.

The mana began to flow out of Marion and into Hylltywyll rapidly, draining Marion of his energy and causing him to feel weak and fatigued enough to have to lean on the table in front of him with his other arm. The mana drain didn't stop until Marion was nearly completely dry and on the verge of passing out, at which point Hylltywyll finally pulled himself away and sat back down into his seat with a sigh.

Now, it finally felt like he had actually eaten all that food he just scarfed down as his stomach felt full. The light magic was satisfying, but he enjoyed the taste of the earth magic sprinkled in, a mana he didn't normally have much of himself.

---

Wicked Desires

"- Ah, I see."
Marion know this feeling- and expects it, the usual dizziness of mana sickness kicking in when it falls under certain threshold and he reached up to wipe under his nose to confirm that he was again bleeding from the nose.

He didn't struggle at all when the other took his hand and mana rushed out of him into the other, though, and let him take as much as he could give- He had a larger reserve of mana now compared to before, so this didn't happen as often as it had, but the sensation of light-headedness and drowsiness was familiar enough. It isn't anything alarming, and he just had a stomach full of food- he would just need a good night's rest.

"Mn, tired... "
The elf's head hit the table, blood staining the gold.

But he just let himself rest like this for a few moments before gathering whatever strength left in him to get up, wobblily, and just headed towards the back of the ramen shop and wiping his nosebleed over the back of his hand, leaving all his stuff behind at his seat at the table. It was a rather disastrous state he seemed to be in- like when someone had gone five days without proper sleep and finding his bed to crash in on is probably the only thing that was left on his mind.

The ramen shop's owner rushed from behind the counter with a look of serious concern on his face. One of his best customers was covered in blood and stumbling around like he was about to pass out! What happened!? There was blood all over the table too. Did he drink too much? Did he smash his face on the table?

He put his hands on Marion's shoulders, doing his best to hold him up and keep him from falling over if he suddenly lost consciousness. He didn't know what was going on, but he would do his best to help.

"Are you alright? You don't look good! You should sit down, here." He said, his concern audible in his voice as he lead Marion to the closest empty booth and tried to get him to lie down. He turned to look over his shoulder at one of the workers behind the bar. "Get some water."

The worker nodded and went into the back for a moment before emerging with a ale mug that was filled with clean water. He brought it around the counter and set it on the table of the booth the owner had lead Marion over to.

"Sleepy..."

The shop owner seemed abit puzzled and sniffed him for alcohol- well, he did have one beer, but that's nothing that would cause such a state in him... right? But he just waved his wife over from the tables to help the young elf back upstairs to his room.

It was later, when he had came around to clean up the table the two had sat at, when he spotted Marion's things still left where they were. Seeing that he have his hands full with running the shop, the man asked for Hylltywyll to help bring these upstairs to Marion for him- they do need to clear out seats for new customers. Besides, they seemed like quite good enough acquaintances judging by the bill.

The satchel and the staff was not heavy, but the staff is quite odd to hold- for one, it is much too tall for Marion himself, much more to say for someone of Hylltywyll's stature, and it is warm to the touch- seemingly resonating with the light magic that the other had just consumed, the staff seemed to pulse under your palm. It was an extremely subtle feeling, but you distinctive knew this thing is very much alive- from the white bark to the golden leaves to the single bright red fruit it bore. It is a staff woven out of living wood.

Hylltywyll grumbled in annoyance at being asked to help. He should have just left as soon as he finished drinking Marion's mana, but he had been surprised by the Elf's reaction to it all and stayed to watch. No one he ever drained had suddenly gotten a nosebleed before. Sleepy and a bit out of it, yes, but not bleeding. Not even the bite marks on them bled. That must have been unique to Marion.

Fine, he'd just carry some stuff, and then he was leaving. Marion was fine in his room. The effects of him draining their mana was also always temporary. He'd never sucked enough mana out of someone to actually kill them. Not even when the person had very little mana for him to drink. He had enough control over himself to do that.

The staff was odd. He felt it. He could feel it connecting with the light mana in his stomach, as if it thought he was Marion or something. He'd never had a living weapon before. It didn't talk. Not like that floating dagger and toy hammer he'd seen some guy using. He just felt like it was alive. Weird, he didn't think he'd want one of his own any time soon.

He just slipped the staff into his shadow along with everything else Marion left behind at the table. The owner looked surprised, but didn't question it. Magic wasn't his area of expertise. That would be cooking delicious food.

He lead Hylltywyll up to Marion's room and Hylltywyll unceremoniously dumped the Elf's belongings onto the floor before walking into the dark underneath a small desk. The owner bent down to look, expecting to see the small creature curled up beneath it, but Hylltywyll had simply vanished. The owner shook his head and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

The ghost problem was solved. They had only captured the one rebel, but they knew the location of their hideout so sending the guards to capture the rest was a simple matter.

---

Hylltywyll's Shady Shelter

The next morning Marion got out of bed, Hylltywyll was nowhere to be found. He looked everywhere- but nope, he had disappeared without a trace. Maybe that is how fae are, Marion mused to himself.

While he couldn't help but feel somewhat dejected, Marion thought to himself, that he had still made quite an extraordinary friend, and maybe they'd meet again out there somewhere. He still knew quite little about the other, but they shared a meal together, and it had been quite fun- and this is one of the many little joys of being on the road, Marion thinks to himself, as he packed his things and thanked the household for hosting him, and went on his way westwards as well- that he may just meet the people he had gotten to know again.

There is no telling when, or where, or how- but the idea of having this chance of a joyous surprise when they bump into each other again is enough to set a smile in his face. Its like having the stars littered on the ground and every person is one sparkling dot. At the right time, in the right places, they link and become constellations.