The cold moonlight poured into the small courtyard of Snowcharm Inn, where Felix was now occupied with chopping wood.
"Crack! Crack!"
The heavy axe in Felix's hands seemed as light as a feather, easily splitting a log thick as a man's waist into evenly sized pieces. His strength was immense, his chopping speed almost beyond human perception.
This puzzled Felix, as the inn's patrons had mentioned he must have been a great mage in the past.
In Felix's fragmented memory, mages were supposed to be rather frail, not possessing such brute strength, and they tended to grow stronger with age. Being so young, even if he was a mage, he would just be an apprentice.
Felix felt that he must have been a skilled swordsman or a dexterous ranger before his amnesia, as that would explain his astonishing speed. In an accidental brawl, a half-drunk swordsman couldn't even draw his sword before Felix had a kitchen knife at his throat.
Felix thought it more likely that he was a ranger, as he wasn't comfortable using two-handed swords but found daggers and one-handed swords much more to his liking.
However, this didn't explain the vine wood magic staff and the black cloak made of unique leather found with him, typical attire of a traveling mage.
After chopping enough wood for the week, Felix dusted off and prepared to return to the inn, where drunken patrons often tried to take advantages men are fond of taking. And at such times, a bouncer was needed to remind them of their manners. Evidently, Felix was an excellent bouncer.
The owner of Snowcharm, Lydiana Anya, a former wood elf priestess and mother of little Nayara, had spent all their savings, a total of forty-six gold coins, to treat Felix's wound.
Offering to help at the inn was Felix's own idea. Though only broken fragments remained in his memory, he felt it was not right to be indebted without doing anything in return.
To treat his deep, bone-exposing sword wound, the kind wood elf priestess even went to Lunawell, bringing back a flask of its sacred water for Felix.
They were a kind-hearted mother and daughter. Although the mother was a bit money-minded, under the guidance of the Goddess of Life, they radiated light.
Snowcharm was more of a tavern than an inn.
Because Snowdrift Hollow didn't have many passing travelers, but it did have its share of drinkers. Most of the settlers here were adventurers who sought a peaceful life away from conflict. For them, alcohol was an essential part of life.
"Felix brother!" As Felix approached the front hall, a little girl leaped towards him. She had a face even more finely sculpted than Felix's. Nayara, the little half-elf girl, shared some similarities with Felix, but her elven lineage was much stronger.
Perhaps it was because they were both half-elves that the slightly ditsy Nayara was so affectionately close to Felix, always clinging to him. The only discomfort for Felix was her habit of sneaking into his bed to pinch his ears while he slept.
Damn it! Felix hated that ticklish, trembling sensation!
Bending down, he picked up the slightly chubby little girl, thwarting her attempt to reach for his ears. He was immune to this trick now.
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"Felix brother, Odynman is drunk again." Seeing her ploy foiled, little Nayara quickly changed the subject with her bell-like voice, "Felix brother, did you know? Today Odynman challenged someone to a duel again!"
"Again?" Felix frowned slightly, a resigned expression on his face.
The Odynman mentioned by the little girl was the blacksmith of Snowdrift Hollow, a dwarf who loved to challenge people to duels when drunk.
This dwarf was almost as famous as Felix in Snowdrift Hollow. His greatest feat to date was mistaking a large tree outside the town for an ogre, hugging it, and shouting "I want to duel you" all night long while intoxicated.
Under the cold moonlight that shone into the courtyard, Felix found himself splitting logs. It was a common task for him lately, especially since he often had to repair the chairs broken by a particular troublemaker in town.
This guy was the very definition of a disruptive element, always causing some sort of trouble every day. Despite his quirks, the dwarf had good popularity among the townsfolk, as he was once an honorable and kind-hearted griffin knight, always willing to lend a helping hand.
The residents of Snowdrift Hollow were quite familiar with the typical dwarf temperament, so they never really got angry with this duel-loving fellow. Felix was no exception.
Probably the only one slightly perturbed by this was the somewhat money-minded innkeeper, as the dwarf often compensated for his destruction with weapons from his blacksmith shop. Given Odynman’s frequent duels, Snowcharm Inn had inadvertently also become a weapons dealer.
“Yeah, but he had bad luck today. He got hung up on a tree by a big bear,” said the little girl with a giggle, covering her mouth with her tiny hands. Clearly, she relished the sight of the troublesome, bearded dwarf getting his comeuppance.
Before heading to the inn, Felix saw the day's tragic hero, Odynman, hung on a tree next to the inn, drunk and dazed.
Upon entering the inn, Felix heard a robust voice. “I hate dwarves. They’re so rude, quick-tempered, always drinking, and recklessly challenging others to duels. And most importantly, they have bad breath.”
Lifting the door curtain, Felix was momentarily stunned, for he saw a bear holding a beer mug in one hand and a smoking pipe in the other.
“It's the big bear I was telling you about! He’s so strong, he knocked Odynman down in just a few moves!” The little girl, Nayara, clinging to Felix's neck, pointed at the bear, giggling.
“My dear little girl, for the record, I am not a big dog bear. I am a druid, a druid with noble ideals. I just had a little mishap with my shapeshifting spell.”
The bear showed a wry smile and then took a deep puff from his pipe, striking a rather cool and slightly pretentious pose, and declared in a deep male voice, “Those who disturb the beauty of nature like that dwarf, I can knock down a bunch with just one hand!”
After Felix, another notable figure arrived in Snowdrift Hollow – a druid who had a little trouble with his shapeshifting spell.
Due to an error in one of the transformation processes, this unfortunate druid was stuck in his bear form. He came to Snowdrift Hollow seeking a rare herb to revert to his elven form.
The druid's arrival was a blessing for the townspeople of Snowdrift Hollow!
Since being hung up on the laurus nobilis tree that night, Odynman seemed convinced that he had to deal with the bear-shaped druid. The dwarf, who was only wearing large shorts when hung up, vowed to throw the 'stinky bear' into a latrine!
With Odynman preoccupied with the bear-shaped druid, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for some peace and quiet.
Though the dwarf was strong, he was no match for the druid in bear form. So, lately, Odynman was often seen hanging from the branches of the laurus nobilis tree.
This bear-shaped druid’s full name was Thorne Natural Wind Earth Power Kolonymda Moikanashee Great Bear.
Felix found druid names annoying because they were always so long. "Thorne" indicated the druid’s expertise in thorn magic, "Natural Wind Earth Power" signified his recognition by nature and the earth, and the last two names were presumably his parents' surnames. The last part indicated his preferred transformation.
So, that was the name of the druid who had a little mishap with his transformation.
The arrival of this bear-shaped druid was indeed a boon for the residents of Snowdrift Hollow!
Since that night on the laurus nobilis tree, Odynman had fixated on the druid. The dwarf, who swore to toss the 'stinky bear' into a pit, gave everyone a break from his usual antics.
While the dwarf's strength was commendable, it was somewhat lacking against a druid in bear form. As a result, Odynman's figure could often be seen hanging from the laurus nobilis tree in recent times.