Options appeared on the screen, and the player selected [Accept Patches' offer].
Patches' mouth split into a brilliant grin. "Heh heh heh... Come on, it's just outside the gate, inside a cave."
He turned and walked toward the city gate.
The player followed behind.
After leaving the gate and turning right, Patches stopped before a poisonous flower. A concealed cave entrance lay here, more than half hidden by the flower, impossible to spot without looking closely.
The player followed him inside and activated the Site of Grace. [Perfumer's Hidden Cave]
The cave was long, its passages winding and twisting. The player followed Patches deeper inside, turning right all the way.
The player had an ominous feeling: Patches was a habitual trickster.
The time before last, he had tricked the player into fetching treasure, only for the player to get locked in; last time, opening a chest had brought a tardigrade down from the sky. What would it be this time?
Filled with unease, the player reached the end of the cave. Hmm, there really was a treasure chest. Was this the treasure Patches had mentioned?
But the space in front of the chest was anything but empty.
A tall man wore hemp clothing, a dark red scarf wrapped around his head. Behind him stood several people in Perfumer robes, holding bottles of various colored aromatic powders.
Margit: "Oh, thief! You dare return!"
Suddenly, there was a crash, and the player looked back.
Huge rocks collapsed from the cave ceiling, blocking the passage so tightly that not even a rat could squeeze through.
And the player's "dear friend" Patches had long since vanished.
Margit: "So you've abandoned your accomplice? Hmph, I despise you... Then you shall pay the price in his place!"
The player was forced to fight.
Margit charged forward,