Clinging to Bruce's back, they raced along like a flash of golden lightning. The three of them soon reached Rude Village at the end of the country road.
Once they climbed off his back, Bruce returned to human form, and they began looking around the seemingly peaceful village.
The village nestled at the foot of the mountains between two hills. It was small, with a few dozen houses of varying sizes scattered about and connected by gravel paths. These served both as the villagers' homes and as simple shops they ran to support their households.
There was only one inn in the village. Perhaps because so few travelers passed through, a night's stay cost far more than it did in the city-a full silver coin. Still, having come to Rude Village, they needed somewhere to stay. Chuan Wenwu decided to settle in here first, then leave once he had dealt with the problem in the mine.
By then, Raphtalia should have gained quite a few levels. The increase in her stats would help restore her health, and they could return to the city to have her last shackle removed.
Commerce in Rude Village was hardly thriving. Rather, the people living here depended entirely on mining for their livelihoods. Most of the shops they ran out of their homes sold ore, but many now had signs announcing they were closed.
The entire village did not even have a pharmacy. Anyone wanting to buy even low-quality potions had to rely on the traveling merchants who occasionally came to purchase materials-yes, this village did not even have a dedicated shop that bought materials of any kind.
Aside from the one inn, there were only the villagers' ore shops, most of which had now closed, and a tavern that was still doing brisk business.