“I mostly wanted to watch to see if the rumors about how wondrous the craft is were true. They definitely are. How does your magic work, like how did you become a Thread Mage? If it’s not a secret.” He stoked the Mage’s ego before asking his question, aiming for the best chance of getting to know how magic worked. He knew the general concept, having studied under his brother for a few years, but no one ever really explained how someone became a mage.

Lira paused for a moment, before gently setting down her tea cup. “Magic comes to a person in the same way a storm comes to port. It is not a process or even something you can really aim for. I became a Thread Mage when I was thirty. I had just finished one of my favorite pieces. It was a shirt for my son, and while it wasn’t anything fancy, I put my whole heart into it. He still wears it to this day.” She told him.

“The moment I finished it my class changed, and I was a Novice Thread Mage. Suddenly pieces of string would move where I wanted, and I could make cotton work itself. It was quite amazing at the time. But now? Oh dear, I could lift this city off the ground if I put my mind to it!” She bragged. Mel soaked in the knowledge, having heard something similar from his brother.

When it had first been explained to him, he had thought it was simply something you were born with. But it seemed it was something that could be earned, if through indirect means. “Do you think there's any kind of magic for a Traveler?” He asked hopefully.

“Oh most definitely. Have you ever heard of a skill? They are all magic.” She laughed for a bit after saying that, looking pleased. “But really though, any class can have magic. I’ve met many people who have gone far with unconventional classes. I met a Farmer who could make plants grow faster than a Druid. Once I met a man with a class called Acrobat who could jump around in the air, and move with such grace. It was stunning. A group of people like that would be a sight to see.”

Mel went to take another sip, only to find his cup empty. Before he could even mention it though, a teapot emerged from behind him. A quick pour refilled his cup, and he took a sip before continuing his conversation with Lira. They talked for nearly an hour longer before Mel decided to leave. He did not want to have to fight his way back to his inn. Quite possibly literally if the shadows became too intense. Stupid weird magical artwork. Although it was absurdly cool. Cool but dumb.

The walk was mostly uneventful, excepting the subtle shift from where he was outside of Lira’s shop to the street he had originally been walking through. He got back to the Painted Respite and greeted Josh before getting a small plate of chicken. As he ate he remembered a treat he had bought a couple days ago. Or was it just one? So much had happened, and his prior lack of sleep had made the concept of when one day began and another ended hazy. He shook off the confusion before digging in his pocket for a small wrapped piece of candy.

It didn’t seem to have melted at all in his pocket, which was a good sign. He popped it into his mouth and tried to chew through it. The candy burned like it had caught fire in his mouth, but that was supposed to happen. If he remembered right. It wasn’t actually unpleasant, but it was far too hard to bite through so he simply let it sit in his mouth. The burning eventually stopped and Mel was mildly disappointed. Not in the candy, but in the fact that he had no more. Surprisingly the burning felt… Not pleasant, but kind of nice? It was novel, and he decidedly liked it.

He made a mental note to go buy a few more, now that his budget had increased to the point that he likely wouldn’t have to sweat small purchases. Magic stuff, like the painted dragons were still far out of his price range. Again, he knew he could get Simon to buy it for him with the leverage of him literally saving his life, but Mel wanted to actually earn nice things. Not just have them handed to him. Maybe it was arrogance. Or pride. But it was just the way he was.

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“You like spicy food? A bit too expensive here, but not nearly as bad as it is further south. In Robes it’s almost a gold coin for a pound of pepper, let alone Crown city. The goblins are surprisingly adept at growing spices though. It takes a hell of alot convincing to get anyone to go up there and bring the stuff back, understandably.” Josh said, perpetually tidying stuff up and cooking. There were a couple of Waiters going around and helping the other customers, but Mel enjoyed talking to Josh.

“Just tried a spicy piece of candy for the first time, it’s pretty decent. Not the best thing I’ve ever had, but I do like it.” He said, a bit curious about how he knew the candy was spicy. He liked to imagine what kind of skills people had that let them do the odd things they did. It was a pretty fun way to pass the time.

Josh made a couple suggestions of good dishes to try out, before heading to a different part of the inn to prepare some more food. Mel chatted with a couple other people in the inn, before paying for his meal and another night. Once he finished taking care of that, he went up to his room and laid down for bed. Sleep came to him shortly, but not without a small bit of trouble. His dreams were rough, and more than once he woke up with doubt and accusation fading along with the memory of the dream.

A poor night's rest aside, he was doing well for himself. He had a destination in mind, and the means to get there. He spent most of his day talking with Lira about magic and clothing, before heading out to meet up with Simon and chit chat. He loved to talk about his family back in Robes. A wife and two daughters, one five, the other eleven. He went on about them for hours, and Mel peacefully listened. It was incredibly soothing to relax and talk with people. That wasn’t to say he expected to delay his departure any. Once he got his cloak, and said his goodbyes, he was heading North towards the city of war, Leoris.

Although with quite a few stops along the way. He was currently aiming to visit a few dwarven ruins, and maybe explore a bit. After that he would hopefully find his way through the immense forested area to a rather famous waterfall known as the Dividing Falls. It did not in fact divide the continent, he was disappointed to find out, but instead divided the city states land. After the Dividing Falls, it was no longer the city of Langston's land, but the much older city of Leoris’s land. It was kind of odd that water sources were the main factor of deciding land ownership.

He supposed it made sense for the time, but now that almost everyone could afford a water condenser, which produced perfectly clean water, having access to a small creek was no longer worth fighting over. Or in the case of all of humanity living on Regalia, having inter city council disputes over. On other continents they might be able to afford to fight amongst themselves, but with the ever lingering threat of goblin hordes riding down and slaughtering them all, everyone agreed to obey the ancient treaties. Even if some, if not most of, the premises were outdated.

The rest of the week went on in a pleasant monotony of him wandering the city in the mornings then spending his evenings with Simon and Lira. Then his cloak arrived. Simon held up the metallic article of clothing with a goofy grin.

“So how do you like it!” He said smiling. The man was far too pleased with himself. Especially for this lunacy.

“It’s metal.” He deadpanned. It had a silver sheen, and the ‘fabric’ of the cloak was obviously some sort of metal. Maybe it was something lightweight, like aluminium. But aluminium was exceptionally expensive and not much use. It wouldn’t hold an enchantment, and it most certainly wouldn’t make a good cloak.

“Pft, it’s not metal. It just looks like it. It’s technically made out of a blend of spider silk and whatever ‘various alchemical reagents’ are.” Simon responded while tossing Mel the ridiculous looking garment.

He wasn’t one to turn down something interesting just because it clashed with his own internal sense of style though. He took off his current cloak, which he wore literally everywhere, and put on the new enchanted one. It felt like an incredibly soft felt, and it gradually took on a dark green color. “This thing obviously has more than just a shape changing enchantment.” He accused Simon. The man didn’t flinch before quickly nodding.

“Of course. You saved my life. And kept my daughters from growing up as orphans!” Simon proudly declared.