The gates of the city lay open, inviting all to enter and allowing all to leave. Zerrious and I joined the flow of hunters, traders, and travelers moving into the city.
"Stop for just a minute. You two traveling together?" asked a guard as we approached.
"Yes, we wouldn't want to travel alone," I said as Zerrious trailed off, not expecting this. There was no surprise for me, every movie and book set in these times had the heroes stopped by guards that they had to trick. We didn't have anything illegal, and we didn't have any illegal or even immoral intentions, but I was prepared for this in a way that my companion clearly wasn't.
"Yeah, not to dangerous out there but it's best to be safe, you never know," the guard smiled back as he dug a small clear stone with gold scripting out of a pocket. "Any contraband or illegal intentions?"
"No, of course not! We are on a quest for knowledge, we wish to make this world better," I told him confidently.
"Breathe onto this for me?" I complied and Zerrious followed suit. Both times the rock lit up with a white internal light for just a moment. "Alright, your good to go. Good luck on that knowledge thing, hope it works out well for everyone." The guard held up a fist and I bumped it as we walked by.
Not a few steps later I overheard the same guard say "see, I told you it would catch on," before we waltzed out of earshot and onto the busy main street lined with vendors and shops. Many were for mundane items, such as furs or shoes, but there were some buildings labeled with the enchanters Name and others with different schools of Magi, something that wasn't in the small village we both hailed from.
"We should spend a day recouping. I don't know if I can afford a long stay in a tavern, but maybe you could help with that. Your stories should be enough for a while at least," said Zerrious as we paused to decide what to do.
"Very well, let's go in and hope it's not too busy." The way to the tavern was relatively clear, and the tavern itself was fairly empty, only holding around six individuals that couldn't find anything better to do than day drink. The man behind the bar was taking the time to teach several young men and a singular girl his drink mixing techniques, using the day drinkers as their practice. Apparently, mixed drinks were more common in a skill based society, who knew.
"Ah, two knew costumers! Perfect! What can we make for you, and I swear on the gods themselves if you want an apple cider and whiskey. . ." he trailed off as we walked in, triggering the bell affixed to the doorframe. The drink sounded delicious, but it appeared very popular here as everyone seemed to be drinking it. I noted the mononym Amos before continuing on, though I still simply thought of him as the barkeep.
"Bloody Mary if you have it," I told him, figuring I'd shake things up a bit.
"Old Fashion for me," Zerrious piped up. I guess alcohol was called the same here as it was in my world, which I hadn't considered before asking for a Bloody Mary.
"Fine choices! You folks know what to do, get to work and I'll see how you do!" said the man proudly displaying his various Names revolving around alcohol, which seemed to include exactly how different alcohol contents worked as an accelerant. I hoped that was just for mixing drinks and not. . . other things.
Zerrious and I approached the bar, taking a seat on one of the wooden stools set nearby. "So what brings you folks into town," said the bartender as he absently wiped off the bar while throwing a glance over his shoulder at the kids slowly mixing drinks behind him.
"My friend here is on a quest and we need somewhere to stay. Alas, we are short on money, however, I am a very talented musician and would love the opportunity to play in your tavern in exchange for a place to stay," I told the man. The man glanced at the Names running down my arms, noting that I had more than one that had nothing to do with music but that I was indeed a Named bard.
"Why would I want that? It's great to have music to drink to, but why would that be worth you staying here?" This man wasn't aware of the common business practice from my world, it seemed.
"Allow me to break it down for you. Back home it was a common practice for traveling bards to stop in taverns and play music in exchange for their stay. This brought in new people and therefore more revenue. People would come initially for the music, get some drinks, decide they like like the bar, and come in every week for a good time," I explained.
He seemed to contemplate that for a moment before answering "I don't mind giving it a shot, foreigner, but if it doesn't work then this is the last night. Sound good?"
"Sounds wonderful. Call me Sigurd, foreigner is a group of musicians where I'm from," My smile grew wide on my face.
"I would like to apprentice under you. You hold several Names that I have not had the chance to gain and would be happy to offer any service I can in return," said Zerrious bluntly.
"One of those types eh? Look, I don't mind teaching you what I know, but I need something in return. It may not be the most useful skillset, but its still several Names," the barkeep responded. "One second," he said before either of us could answer as he turned to inspect the finished cocktails. He picked up some, others he dismissed outright, and finally he picked up one of each type and congratulated the student that made both of them, the young girl who clearly had a talent and looked very pleased. The drinks were set before us and Zerrious continued his proposition as I sipped the best Bloody Mary I had ever tasted.
"I don't have much, but I can offer my services in any way you may need. I am a Named enchanter, architect, and chef," he said, trying to sell himself but not being very good at it.
"I can make that work." So the deal was struck.
Zerrious got right behind the counter and started learning, absorbing information like a sponge as I took our things to our room and set them down. I slept for most of the day, happy to finally have a bed, so what went down at the bar went unbeknownst to me.
When my eyes finally opened the sun was only an hour or two from setting and I had to get down the stairs to play a song. I ran down and started moving things around to make myself a makeshift stage area. I pulled a stool over to the center of the stage area and another to prop open the door. A few people milled in as shifts and work times ran out and I started strumming.
Good riddance started pouring from me, my favorite green day song. Some people were surprised and most seemed to enjoy it, but as the rush came in, clearly not more than normal based on the barkeeps expression, my voice started to get lost in the din of rowdy voices.
I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to sing louder, to strum just a little bit harder to get every ounce of sound out of the instrument as I could. It wasn't enough.
I panicked, but continued to play, even unheard. Something drew my attention to the fabric of reality that I had learned to ignore as it rubbed against my fingers, the Mana that bleed through that fabric, that bleed into me afterwards. I quieted my singing and felt at it with this awkward sixth sense, sending it into my voice and the strings out of pure instinct, coaxing the magic to resonate with the fabric that surrounds everyone.
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Green Mana flowed around my guitar and causing the strings to glow, my throat lighting up with an internal light as I was suddenly loud enough to be heard, a new spell being forged as I entertained.
Good riddance ended and I flowed directly into wanted dead or alive, the crowd jamming along. People heard the music through the open door and flooded in, packing the bar as much as it could hold, forcing me to jump up on a table to continue my song. I got more into it, bending over and swaying with the music, stomping on the hardy tables to the beat of the music.
The song ended but I kept playing, leaning on my new spell with my mind and bending the sound to force a metallic wine from the instrument and started playing I love rock and roll, the entire bar going wild and singing along as a thrill shot through me like the Mana that was consistently used and replaced, electrifying my soul in a way I never had before.
Soon that song ended and I made eye contact with the overwhelmed barkeep. I best be done, I thought. But first, there was always something I wanted to try. I jumped back first into the crowd, playing a song less guitar solo as people caught me and carried me aloft. I crowd surfed over to the back where I shouted "Thank you, and good night! I'll be here every night for a while, stop by when you can!" before I shut the door and walked up to my room, resolving to talk to Amos in the morning, as I clearly wouldn't be able to tear him away from his work tonight.
The next morning I made my way down to the bar. I hadn't had much to drink the day prior, but there was no harm in some drinking as I sang, music is an art, after all.
"Morning to you! I've got to say, that surpassed my wildest estimates last night," said the barkeep as I opened the door to the stairs and made my way to the bar.
"Glad to hear it. I assume that means I'll be doing the same tonight?" I asked, taking a seat and popping my back, just as I always did.
"No, I don't think so. Stay here as long as you like, but let's save your services for weekends. Better to do things on a day when work ends earlier for most people."
"Anything to eat Sigurd? Maybe a drink?" asked Zerrious as he popped from the back where most of the alcohol was stored holding two bottles in each hand.
"Food would be wonderful, thank you. You know me, I'm not picky," I responded to Zerrious. "Thank you for the extended stay, it's an incredibly generous gesture," went to the barkeep.
"Not a problem, you tripled my nightly revenue in only ten minutes!" exclaimed the burly Amos as Zerrious nodded and moved back into storage where I assumed food was made as well. Zerrious quickly returned with a plate of eggs, potatoes, sausage, and a drink of a type I didn't recognize, the deep amber color transfixing.
"For extra practice," Zerrious said in way of explanation before moving off again.
"That boy's already better than my top student. That kid learns quick, I tell you that," said the barkeep as I cut into the fried eggs and spread the yellow liquid over the rest of the food before mixing it all and shoveling bites of the mixture into my mouth. As always, the seasoning was perfect. A sip of the drink revealed that it wasn't the type of cocktail I liked, being a bit of a coward when it came to alcohol, but I enjoyed it all the same, whatever it was.
"You'll be here all day?" I asked Zerrious.
"Until I get the Names," he responded.
"I might as well explore a bit then. I'm sure there's something I can do, perhaps some spells I could learn, or maybe a bard collage I can visit. That's a thing, right?"
"You're venturing out of my wheelhouse here," Zerrious told me.
"It's a thing. From that question that means you got the Names on your own? Impressive, but I understand why after that performance," the barkeep piped up.
"Wonderful, much to occupy my time then."
The tavern occupied what appeared to be the main street of the city, most likely under some sort of kingdom for protection. It wasn't long before I came to a building that looked interesting, the sign displaying that the person inside was Named in abjuration magic. Not sure what that meant exactly, I walked in. There were various staffs and wands, and it looked like there were scrolls in a large glass case behind the man sitting at the counter wearing a sleeveless robe to show off his Names in various magical skills.
"Hello sir! I'm not sure how to go about this, but I'd like to learn some bits of magic?" I said with a bit of question in the statement.
"This ain't the place for you fam, nothin' flashy here. Y'all want evocation," said the bored man with his feet on the counter. His eyes never so much as opened.
"That's good, I'm not looking for anything flashy, just curious to learn a bit of magic is all. Seems like a good place to start as any," I responded.
"Aight. Not near as common as it should be, but it's not unheard of. How much gold you got?" he responded, his legs swinging down and his eyes cracking open.
"Not much, about twenty with me."
"Well, that ain't no good. Magic's expensive fam, twenty wont get you nothin'."
"I have a spell I don't think anyone else has. I could teach you for a spell," I offered. My quill blade wasn't a great spell, but I might as well try to get something out of it.
"I doubt that, but I'll take that if I can see it. Whip it out," he told me.
In response I feigned reaching into a pocket and pulled out my quill. The man had an expression of shock on his face, though he was clearly unimpressed. I spun the Mana in the patterns necessary and a quill blade sprung into being, a green flowing mess in the shape of a rapier that was, if nothing else, stable at the edges.
"What the fuck?" exclaimed the man as he stormed over to me awkwardly holding the sword. "How the hell did you learn this? Just for discovering it should get you a Name! Is that why you're here, already got the evocation Name? Embarrassed about how many you got? Is that why you cover your arms?"
"What are you talking about? It's just a worse Mana blade." I felt attacked but also a bit flattered.
"It is not. How the hell did you harness the natural chaos of wild Mana in a tamed form? That's impossible! I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't looking it right in the eye!" he shouted. "But you don't know that. Look, I'll teach you everything I know, I'll give you my Names if you teach me this spell."
"Sounds like a deal to me," I told him, dismissing the blade and following the man who had run into the back while beckoning me to follow.
"Abjuration is the act of using your Mana to renounce things as they are. This is the kind of magic that makes shields, dismisses spells, and even banishing if you get enough Mana, although I don't know of anyone that can," he said as I pushed the swinging door open and taking a seat across a large desk from the man. I listened attentively, although he quickly found that he had to teach me the basics before we could move on to anything.
He taught me to breathe, to feel and see the Mana flowing from the Aether and into my core, and from my core out to the world around me. He taught me that breathing right could deepen the pool of Mana over time, and that I had to direct it to stay in my core rather than letting it bleed out into the world around me. I would never be perfectly successful at this, but that's good, he explained, because that's my impression on the world. Spells are a lot more difficult when you don't already have a hold on the world around you.
I returned daily and slowly learned until I could finally start work on abjuration rather than simple tricks that wouldn't do much more than make me smell good before I shower, a useful ability, I admit. Zerrious earned his Names with the barkeep and started working to pay off the apprenticeship while I was learning, and continued to make me drinks to keep up his skill. I continued to play weekends at the bar, having fun but making an effort not to party too hard in fear of doing poorly with my lessons the next day. There wasn't a religious day anywhere here, although a five day work week within the seven day total week seemed the standard even still. It seemed that worship was working on a craft, trying to better society as the gods told me was the goal on my first day here in the woods.
One day, my teacher in magic was away on business and he told me to practice magic however I felt like it, but not to leave before he could get my spell. I laughed him off, obviously, but it still left me with a Wednesday (approximately) without anything to do.
I wandered the city, deciding to skip the bard collage for the night, not wanting to add more work and skill sharing for the day, and found myself in what looked like slums. I got looks, but I remained fairly safe, walking around until I came across a large building that seemed out of place amongst the dirty alleys and ruined buildings that seemed inhabited nonetheless.
It was a clean building, with dark walls and barren grass around the front and sides. There were voices inside, young and innocent, with the sounds of a woman, clearly older than the rest, telling them sternly to behave.
"I can do some good here," I said to myself and turned to the gate of the orphanage.