[https://i.imgur.com/VGCFMQy.png]

They arrived at Hamlin shortly before sunset. Refenial looked down from the hill the road took them over. The large port town was in the distance, with its stone walls and wide streets.

It had a different feel to it than Oldspire and Waterhill. Both those towns had crammed as many buildings as possible behind their walls. Hamlin, by contrast, seemed spacious. There were even large open areas of grass where the town had yet to grow into its walls.

He could see a large port, filled with a forest of masts rising from small fishing boats, and large sheds next to the water where people were working on maintaining them.

They walked down to the town gates. As they approached, the guards gawked at Elagabalus.

Elagabalus just gave them a friendly wave and smile as he walked into the town.

Like all towns he'd seen, the streets were no stranger to filth and bad smells, in this case, one that had a heavy overtone of rotting fish.

They quickly found their way to an inn near the seafront, a sign with a painting of a half-rotted fish on it. It was called 'the forgotten fish' according to the sign outside that gently waved in the evening sea air.

Elagabalus led the way as they stepped in.

"We've got no rooms left." an irritable man's voice called out.

Refenial stepped into the tavern and saw it was low-ceilinged, with fishermen and merchants sitting at the dirty tables in groups.

The man, who had a large beard and looked to be in his late 50s, with wrinkled sun-battered skin, turned pale as he looked at Elagabalus. "For-forgive me, sir, I didn't realize."

Elagabalus gave him a disarming smile as he held up his hand, "It's no problem. I quite understand."

Refenial watched the inn, its customers silent as they took in the exchange.

Elagabalus walked to the bar and brushed it carefully several times to remove all hints of dirt or dust before leaning against it.

"I understand. Your inn must be very busy, especially with the fair tomorrow."

The man behind the bar nodded uncomfortably.

Elagabalus continued, "The problem is my young companions, and I have been travelling and need a good night's sleep to properly enjoy the festival tomorrow."

The man nodded even more uncertainly.

Elagabalus slowly looked around at the patrons of the bar, who were still silently staring at him as if he'd just remembered they were there.

He leaned across to the innkeeper and whispered in a theatrical whisper loud enough that the whole bar heard, "if I convince anyone to transfer their room to us, I take it you'd have no objections?"

"Un no si-"

"wonderful", Elagabalus exclaimed loudly, clapping his hands together once. He rapped his knuckles four times on the bar and then held his hand up, four huge gold coins sticking out from between the fingers of his half-closed fist.

The room had been quiet before, but now it was the silence of serious men looking at serious money. Everyone in there stared at the coins, each one worth more than a fisherman would see in a year's work.

Elagabalus addressed the patrons of the bar. "I and my two friends each require a room tonight, a coin to each person who is willing to give up their room."

There was a long moment of silence as everyone in the inn digested the offer, then a frantic borderline stampede as a dozen different people ran towards him.

Elagabalus quickly gave out the coins, confirming with the innkeeper that each one genuinely had a room before doing so.

Once that was done, the disappointed men and woman began to disperse, but all the eyes in the inn were still on Elagabalus as he idly flicked the last gold coin over and over in his hand.

Elagabalus looked down at the coin, "I'm Elagabalus, the Morning Sun..."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

He suddenly flipped the coin towards the innkeeper, who panicked at seeing the fortune flying towards him and fumbled to catch the large coin.

"...And for as long as that coin lasts, the drinks are on me!"

The room exploded into cheers and revellers chanting his name.

Elagabalus grinned widely as he listened to them chant.

Refenial exchanged a glance with Nia, not sure what to make of the scene.

[https://i.imgur.com/oMrGBK6.png]

It wasn't long before Refenial found himself in his own room. It was simple, with a fireplace gently burning and a straw-stuffed bed. He'd slept in much worse places.

He sat on the bed, and as he did so, he heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" He called out.

"Nia," Nia said from the other side of the door.

He sighed and stood, making his way to the door. He let her in. While the door was open, he could hear the sound of the partying downstairs much louder now.

They sat on the bed.

Nia opened and closed her mouth several times before she asked. "What do you think of Elagabalus?"

Refenial shrugged, "he seems nice. He's helped me lots, even when he didn't need to. Why?"

"I just keep wondering why he's helping us. He's a powerful titled. Usually, people like that don't notice anyone beneath them."

"Perhaps he really just wants to help people. Look at what he did downstairs with that money."

"Hmmm," Nia said non-committedly. "Anyway, I wanted to see if you were ok. It's been a rough few days."

Refenial looked down at the bed, the memories of death playing over and over in his mind. It took him several moments to speak. "I'm not ok, but I've seen enough people die by now. It's starting to feel normal..."

Nia nodded sympathetically.

Refenial looked up at her, and even though she looked in his direction, he could tell she was looking at something far away in her memory. "Do you remember those muggers? They were the first people I ever killed. The only people, actually. I did it because it needed to be done. It felt so hard to do at the time but also so easy."

She focused in towards him, her expression unsettled. "If I had to do it again, it would be easier. I wonder if that's what happened with people like that Traveller. If they got to the point where killing becomes so mundane, it feels like a boring chore?"

Refenial listened, disturbed that he had no answer for that question.

She continued after pausing for a moment. "Griselda, Puss, Hildegard, the Traveller, our list of potential enemies seems to get longer and longer every day. They're so powerful too. If one of them decides were a boring chore, we couldn't stop them, not as we are now."

Refenial pulled his fists tight, realizing she was right. "Nia, you should go, live your life. Those people are my enemies, not yours. If you leave, they won't go after you."

Thwack.

Nia smacked him gently around the side of his head. "I make my own decisions. I'm not going to let a bunch of immortals push around a small child like you." She patted his head with exaggerated condescension as she said the last two words.

Refenial batted her arm away, "I mean it, Nia. You don't have to do this. I can give you some money, and you know a little Frullian, it might be rough to get by at first, but it'd be better and safer than this."

"I didn't travel halfway across the world to run away. I didn't choose the easy path when I left home, and I'm not choosing it now. I may not like some of the things I've seen and some of the things I've done." Her voice dropped into a whisper for the last few words before she pulled herself up and spoke firmly. "But I would do it again, face it over a hundred times before I chose to live a life where I run away from the challenge."

She chuckled darkly and pulled out the memory crystal. "Besides, if I wasn't here, I wouldn't have got this." She waved her free hand in melodramatic mock mystery in front of the hand holding the crystal. "One day, it'll make me so powerful even kings will bow before my majesty."

Refenial gave her his best unimpressed look.

Nia laughed at his reaction.

"So, are you going to teach me any more enchanting?" Refenial asked, hopeful now the subject was brought up.

"A little if you really want me to, I'm tired, though, and I've got my own project to work on."

"Oh?" Refenial asked, interested.

"I'm making some changes to my wand. I'm not going to say any more, though. What do you want to know?"

"Why do you only have the wand? Couldn't you make all sorts of enchanted items?"

Nia smiled glumly, "Eventually if I become good enough at enchanting. It's hard, though. The coin was easy because flipping a coin and getting heads is so close to the narrative truth of the universe."

"The narrative truth?"

"It's the fundamental law of magic. All magic mirrors the narrative truths of the universe. For example, if you flip a coin, almost half the time you get heads and almost half the time you get tails."

"Almost?"

"Well, occasionally, you might drop it and lose it, or it might somehow land on its edge. Making a coin always that always lands on heads or tales is easy. Making a magic coin that only lands on its side is much harder because it goes against the truth of the universe."

"So it's harder to make enchantments that do unlikely things?"

"Yeah, but there's more to it than that. It's not just about unlikely things. Certain magic is easier than others. For example, it is a universal truth that living things heal. If it wasn't for that, healing magic would be much too complicated. Also, everything tends towards breaking down and destruction, which makes destructive magic easier to work with."

Refenial nodded as he considered the implications.

"With enchanting, the object you enchant also makes the spell easier or harder. Enchanting a carving of wings with flying magic would be much easier than enchanting a carving of a house. Because wings fly, but houses don't."

"Is this only true for enchanting?"

Nia seemed to consider the question for a long moment, "No, I don't think so. Doesn't Systematic Magic reward people for acting like their title? Perhaps it works like that for the same reason as enchanting."

Refenial went to ask her another question, but only a yawn came out.

"Looks like you need some sleep, Reffy."

He opened his mouth to argue back that he was fine but realized that would be childish and shut it again.

"Good night, Nia."

Nia stood, heading to the door, "Goodnight, Reffy."

[https://i.imgur.com/3vZaHAB.png]