‘Some things are best left forgotten’
-Ancient wisdom from Mount Averus
*=====*
“In all seriousness, though, did something catch your eye? Or nose?” Mori asked with a grin. Fara rolled her eyes, shaking her head a bit and scanning the clusters of stands dotting the bazaar.
After a moment, she pointed in one direction and tugged Mori along, “Something over there smells pretty nice. Can you smell it?”
Focusing on her senses, Mori did indeed smell something in the air. It was a similar scent to burning wyrm or cooked steak or even Mrs. Notchings’ cooking, no matter how much she would never admit to it, “Well, I smell something being cooked. That’s about it. I mean, I can smell something being heated up, but that’s about it.”
“Huh. Well, that sucks,” Fara said.
“Fara, you’re repeating yourself,” Mori pointed out.
Through her eye-holes, Mori had the impression that Fara was smiling, “I know. I just think that it sucks. You’ll never be able to taste anything.” Mori gave Fara a grin, “Yeah, I know. Repeating myself.”
“Well, if it’s possible, I do wonder if I could taste mana in the same way people taste food. Maybe…” she trailed off, “Anyway, is that it over there?” she asked, pointing at a crowded stand with a chimeric woman serving the customers.
Fara, taking in the scent of the food, nodded, “Yeah, that’s it. It smells really good. I wonder how she does it…” she said.
Mori shrugged, “Dunno, but the line seems pretty long; let’s go before it gets too long.” Fara nodded and they quickly got in line. Checking the price of the food, Mori was reassured that she could buy two servings of the most expensive item with the few chips in her pouch. As they got closer, Mori took note of the stall-owner’s appearance; she was a human-shaped chimeric with scales running across her body. Unlike most lizardmen, however, her face was as flat as a human’s. She was also much larger than both of them, being as tall as the seven foot stall she worked out of. She wore an almost comically small apron that bulged with her muscles as she moved from the grill to the counter and back again.
After a few more minutes of orders, they were in front of the chimeric woman. She gave them a radiant smile, leaning on the counter, “Well, well, well. I presume your unlife has been eventful as of late?” she asked cryptically.
They both stopped and gave questioning glances to the woman before Mori smiled, “Ohh! You’re-”
“Yes I am. Thanks for sitting down and talking earlier,” she smiled, “Though, it seems like our time’ll be coming to an end.”
Mori tilted her head as Fara stood behind her, still befuddled, “Oh? Why’s that? You don’t seem in a rush.”
She chuckled, “Oh? Well, I had to thank the one who helped me out with my reason for being here. I mean, sure, it would’ve been a walk in the park for me, but still. I got to hang around here while you did the heavy lifting,” she explained, still smiling.
Mori gave a soft glare, “And what might that have been? I don’t remember doing anything that impressive. That impressive, anyway.”
“To the contrary, my friend. My big brothers and sisters were… erm… let’s say stranded around here and I was tracking them. Of course, now that they’re free and all, I can go back to what I like to do the most,” she explained with a grin.
Mori smiled, “Oh, okay then. Happy to help. Unless-”
“Don’t worry. Your benefactors, I think, prefer them being freed from this world. If they decided to have a little fun around here… well, it wouldn’t be pretty, let’s say that.”
Fara finally caught up to the conversation and scowled, “And what about you? You’re pretty harmless right now, but…”
“I can be a threat?” she asked, amused. Fara nodded, “Well, the thing I like to do most is something like this: be a normal mortal in some random world for a few days and see how it would be. Though, I did lure you two here, if that means anything.”
“Wouldn’t I have noticed something?” Mori asked, “I think I’m decently able to see that sort of stuff, so how’d you slip that past me?”
The woman grinned, putting a scaly, clawed finger to her non-existent lips, “Trade secret. Can’t tell you, but I will say that I was only going after her,” she said, pointing to Fara, “Good food gets everyone’s attention, after all!” They chuckled along with her for a few moments before she smiled, “Alright, now, what do you two want? I presume Miss Skelly here doesn’t eat anything?”
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Mori nodded, “Yeah, I thought my lack of… hardware would have tipped you off.”
The chimeric shrugged, “Can’t ever be too careful; I know that your boss can eat, no matter what his figure says,” she laughed.
After a few moments, Fara nodded, “How about a shredded camsca sandwich?”
“Water?”
“Always.”
The shapeshifter nodded and went to work, cooking at an impressive speed before presenting a completed sandwich and clay cup of water to Fara. She ducked beneath the counter and grabbed another bottle, placing it in front of Mori. It was a glass bottle filled with a glowing blue and red concoction that looked like a lava lamp, “Here, shredded camsca sandwich, water from my personal supply,” she winked at Fara, “and a little something extra for your work with my siblings.”
Mori lifted the bottle tentatively and peered deep into the colors, unable to see through it, “Umm… What's this?” she asked, “It looks like a lava lamp.”
The woman smiled, “I know, but a lot more interesting than that. It's a little concoction I put together for a mortal friend of mine; he wanted to win over a lich’s heart and needed a gift to try to do so. I came up with this here potion that can tether your soul to your physical body more strongly. Right now, your body can be destroyed and your soul let loose. That potion essentially beefs the crystalized soul up a lot, along with a few surprise effects that I don’t want to spoil. Anyway, while I would love to talk some more, I still have more customers,” she said apologetically. The two took the hint and took their leave as well.
After walking a few minutes through the bazaar, Fara turned to Mori, “So… that’s the weird elf dude, wasn’t it?” she asked.
Mori nodded, looking at the ‘potion’ that the shapeshifter gave her, “I assume so, anyway. I’m still wondering why she gave us anything; sure, that thing was her siblings or something, but the reliquary was hardly that difficult.”
“Well, whatever they are, they must have a different outlook on what’s worth rewarding. I mean, I’m pretty sure she said she wasn’t mortal at all. So, maybe a demigoddess? Whatever she is, she’s not like us; the way she said it, you’re apparently ‘mortal’ as well,” Fara pointed out.
Mori sighed, holding up the potion, “Yeah, that’s something kinda weird. I mean, sure, I’m probably not even half as powerful as she is if she can do something like this-”
“I think she has a bit of an advantage in that regard, being able to travel between worlds, after all.”
“-Nevertheless, being able to put something that can do what she says it can means she’s leagues ahead of me in that regard. Granted, I doubt we’ll have to fight something like her in the near future, but…” she trailed off, staring into the flowing colors of the ‘potion.’
Fara nodded slowly, taking a small bite of her sandwich, “I understand that,” she said, “But right now we can’t do anything in that regard. Focus on what we can do right now and leave the other stuff for later; liches are supposed to have good memories, after all.” she joked.
Mori slowly nodded, “Alright, yeah, that works,” she said, turning over her hand to look at the pouch in her hand, “Well, we didn’t have to pay for the food, so do you want to see if there’s anything else we want?”
Fara smiled, “That’d be lovely. Maybe I can get some scrap parts to have a bit of fun with, though I think you need a new mana type book.”
Mori tilted her head, “Why’s that? The one we have still has a bunch of stuff I haven’t been able to get to yet.”
“Because,” Fara said, “Most people can’t just be a master of everything. So far, your main types have been death, light, fire, and earth. Granted, the earth one is debatable because of the nature of what you made; if you had some other earth mana types-”
“Like, I dunno, your own earth mana? I’ve been using it as a way to get stuff on the ground closer to me.”
“Well, sure, that counts, but some other, more generic types wouldn’t go amiss. The one I made was made specifically to move stuff. I doubt you’ll be able to use something like that to raise a wall of stone or lift a big boulder. My point is this: If you want to be effective, I say specialize. There’re a lot of light and fire related mana types, I doubt you want to switch your death mana, and there are still a lot of earth mana types.”
Mori nodded repeatedly, thinking for a moment, “Alright, light and fire for attack, death mana because duh, and earth mana for defense. Anything else?”
Fara nodded, “Earth is fine for physical attacks and some more physical forms of magic, but barrier mana would be a good pick; if you can make a barrier that blocks a lot of abnormal stuff like curses and other barriers, it could make you very powerful.”
Mori nodded, listing everything out in her mind, “Alright, fire, light, earth, and barrier mana books then?”
“Yeah,” Fara said, “But the books are pretty expensive; you won’t be able to buy even one of them with the money you’ve got.”
Mori looked at the small pouch she was holding; there were nearly a hundred chips in it, “Alright, so how much do we need?”
Fara thought for a moment, “In total, five thousand. Maybe six.” Fara rolled her eyes as Mori did a double take at the amount, “What? The knowledge in those books are basically weapons. People are able to save up for a book like that, but it’s not a snap decision for most like a dagger is. Do you get my point?” she asked.
Mori nodded, “Alright, I get it,” she said, “That means it’s time to go back, then. You know what I’m about to say, right Fara…?” she asked with a teasing tone.
“Yeah, yeah. Get some rest. Have Zubov take you shopping tomorrow, I’ll be busy with my skiff work.”
“I know, that was the deal. Let’s go home,” she said.
Fara wrapped an arm around Mori’s shoulders, “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”