They talked quietly and learned about each other. The man, whose name was Rammak, was afraid that Kju was about to disturb his still. The Holy Order in Mabetshehir had outlawed alcohol consumption in Mabetshehir as they feared it would hinder levelling progress. And the Holy Order wanted their de facto capital to be high level. What it actually did was cause a thriving black market of moonshiners, rumrunners and smugglers to arise. Rumrunners like Rammak. He was a Level 20 Tailor and he also was a brewer, though without a class in that, as the blue system only allowed one class. He made booze and distributed it in Mabetshehir.
He seemed to be quite concerned about the glitchlings in the group, but talked happily (if a bit too flirty) to Mayana, asking her about her goals and her journey. She responded rather frostily: “I have a wife. Please do not flirt.”
Rammak immediately apologised: “I am sorry. I didn’t know you were a kept woman.”
Kiresula responded: “She is. And I would go to the end of the world for her.”
That ended this matter and Rammak helped them to process the goat and to make a fire to roast its meat. He kept an eye on the glitchlings. He seemed to not trust them even a bit. Kiresula and Kju tried to put him at ease by working hard. When they shared the meal, Rammak asked how they had been able to kill the animal and Kiresula explained the trap. She just caught herself before mentioning the spell she cast, but did show the sharpened slate rocks. These, Rammak found quite primitive, but when he heard that they escaped from the order with nothing but their clothes, he understood.
“I never thought about it like that. But I guess you guys are worse off under the Holy Order.”
Kju asked: “Are there any glitchlings in Mabetshehir?”
Rammak thought for a moment: “None that I know. I think there is no source of broken magic around here so people don’t glitch.”
Kiresula cussed: “Fiddlesticks, there goes my plan to fill my magic reserves before we depart!” She only then realised what she said and put her hand in front of her mouth.
Rammak laughed as if she made a hilarious joke. “Sure, so you can cast glitch-spells in your glitch-class! So you can glitch-level-up!” he said while guffawing.
Kiresula nodded to the raucous laughter of Rammak and forced smiles of the rest of the group.
Eventually Rammak calmed down and they talked about other topics while eating the goat meat. He offered some of his moonshine, but only Kju partook and he did so only barely. Kiresula joked that getting drunk would be difficult with a 255 Endurance as she declined, when in reality, she just didn’t drink out of a hatred of hangovers. Rammak once again deemed that a funny joke.
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When the sun met the horizon, Ramma returned to town and the three found a depression full of harmless plants to sleep in. Before doing so, Kiresula however used the [Preserve Comestibles] for the first time. She saw the meat being enveloped in the spell structure and smiled. The spell created a barrier that she could feel hard and that seemed to protect the food without freezing it. Kiresula smiled brightly. She could see the magic penetrating the food and preserving its state. She smiled brightly. This was exactly what she wanted. She felt immensely satisfied as she finally had regained part of her self that she lost when she glitched. It was not the same as ice magic, but she was satisfied. Her magic was much wider now. She had been given a second chance to advance and to define her path.
Mayana smiled as she saw her wife so happy. She put her arm around Kiresula’s shoulder. “I can see the magic. It is pretty!”
Kiresula smiled back. “You could enchant containers with this and keep food fresh.”
Mayana nodded: “This will however require an entirely synthic enchantment. This works of course, but I am not sure if this would be accepted. Especially with the Holy Order.”
Kiresula nodded, more subdued: “You are right… You could of course always add some decoy enchantments in traditional magic that throw anyone with a sense for magic off.”
Mayana smiled: “That sounds like a great idea. I am already seeing what I want to cast!”
A while later, Kiresula was the one standing watch while the rest slept. The darkness seemed eerie. She heard noises of the wind and the animal kingdom. She feared that any noise was of the Holy Order. The wind was cold and the moon didn’t do much to illuminate the depression, where the group slept. She felt Mayana next to her and this made her smile. She hoped that Mayana would fall asleep soon and have happy dreams. She hoped that they would make it to Ilkshehir and back soon. She hoped that Mayana made it through this extraordinary situation well. That the Holy Order wouldn’t make her life difficult. That Mayana and her would have a happy life together. Even though right now, the chance for this was slim. With the Holy Order after them, she had little hope for a good outcome. How could one even hope to defeat an international organisation that millions put their faith in? She was quietly murmuring about the impossibility of the task.
Suddenly, she stopped. She thought that she had heard something but she was not sure. She held her breath and listened. Were there steps? Or did her mind play tricks on her? Should she just cast [Illuminate]? But that would reveal her position. At that moment, she saw it: It was just an animal skittering around the forest. Nothing to worry about. It would not harm them, as it looked to be about the size of a cat. She slowly calmed down her breathing again.
The animal disappeared into the gloom and silence set in again. Kiresula waited silently and hoped that there was no more noise. She was thinking about the future but could not come to a conclusion. She just shifted anxieties around, suppressing the urge to pace. She could not cope with her own mind in the silence. That was the moment when she heard the breaking of twigs, footsteps and muffled voices. There were people around.