Chapter 15
The three friends made it to the flea market which turned out to be half carnival and half yard sale as the roped off grounds were packed with tables full of items. Each table had a seller seated behind it who watched their merchandise carefully to make sure it didn't walk off on its own. Most couldn't afford to pay for a stall in the city proper so this was their one shot at getting rid of their unwanted items.
The three were in line for popcorn when a passing well dressed young man bumped in to Jay, who had been standing waiting in line, not moving. There was no reason for it with plenty of room to get by. “Watch what you're doing asshole,” sneered the young man who then stopped to try and stare down Jay.
Jay was about 6 feet tall, a rarity it appeared on Eden as most everyone was at least half a head shorter if not more. There were exceptions, Librarians for example, but the norm was five to five and a half feet tall. All the young man's posturing had done was make him look small as he was forced to look up at Jay's more imposing figure. “Ya, I totally can see how you didn't see me standing there not moving. Stop staring at your belly button and watch where you're going yourself, Tiny.” Jay said without pause.
The young man's expression became more furious the more Jay talked.
“Do you have any idea who my father is?” the boy, as Jay now thought of him, demanded.
Aiden looked uncomfortable but M'redith seemed to be having a great time watching Jay put the rich brat in his place.
Jay had heard this line before and was more than prepared, “No idea who your daddy is, why? Your mother won't tell you?” Jay laughed. He had heard that exact line on television once and always wanted to use it himself and here he had been given the perfect opportunity to do so.
The boy was now sputtering furiously as the people around him laughed. He raised a hand and attempted to cast something but was suddenly body checked clear across the street by M'redith. He collapsed in a heap and didn't move for a moment. “Nope.” she said loudly, “No casting at my friends while I'm here to do something about it buddy.”
The commotion had attracted an audience and a guard who shouted “NO CASTING,” which Jay could really do without so he grabbed M'redith by the shoulder, who was watching the boy pick himself up off the ground, then caught Aiden's eye and motioned away from the gathering group and the three ran off to get lost in the crowd.
“What a jerk, “ M'redith said as they finally stopped running after taking a few twists and turns.
“What the hell was that?” Jay asked staring at M'redith.
She shrugged with a tight lipped smile as they got in line for a ride that magically spun you about. It reminded Jay of the spinning tea cups ride from back on Earth.
“What?” M'redith said innocently. “I'm a Fighter type class. Its not like I was going to cast at him!”
Jay laughed. “I guess I just hadn't expected you to send him flying across the road. You're much stronger than you appear you know!”
M'redith chose to take that as a compliment. “Well, thank you Jay.” She blushed lightly but ducked her head in an attempt to hide it.
“No,” he insisted, not noticing the blush, “thank YOU. You saved me I think. What was he doing there towards the end anyhow?” Jay asked as he attempted to get in one of the ride's tea cups but M'redith beat him in and sat down first, forcing Jay to then sit, and then Aiden.
Aiden watched Jay who obliviously sat down next to M'redith. Aiden gave a slight shake of his head but didn't say anything, letting the two talk as he too took a seat.
The ride was moving now, and M'redith was already trying to spin the 'teacup' the three were sitting in. Jay quickly found himself pressed up against M'redith's body thanks to the spinning teacup as the ride spun faster and faster.
“He was about to cast a spell, a mean one. Whatever it was it would have hurt!” M'redith half screamed as the platform was now spinning wildly, the teacup they were sitting in whipping back and forth as the base spun about. “Don't worry though, you'll see him again. He's in our class.” she said while giggling like an insane person, her hair whipping back and forth concealing her eyes, as the ride squished the two of them together. It was difficult to hear over all the screaming from others also on rides.
Aiden was seated far enough to the side of Jay that he didn't run in to any problems squishing in to anyone and was certain that M'redith and Jay could sort themselves out if they really wanted to.
“Fuck.” Jay said, now not as thrilled about the earlier encounter. He had been hoping to avoid assholes on Eden after seemingly being surrounded by them on Earth but that was not to be. It would certainly add a new layer of challenge on top of an already challenging opportunity with joining The Guild. Determined not to let it get to him Jay decided to ignore the earlier encounter with the young dumbass and instead paid a bit more attention to M'redith, who had really turned this ride in to a memorable event.
The cups slowly stopped spinning and the ride came to a stop, the three friends stumbling out on to the grass on unsteady legs, M'redith holding on to Jay for support for a brief moment while smiling happily. Her hair had a rumpled look that Jay thought looked pretty good on her but he wisely kept that to himself.
They stopped briefly for Jay to grab a few bags of meat on a stick for everyone, paying for everyone once again. He had so much money that the cost was barely noticeable, just a few copper. The food however was very noticeable, and turned out to be SPICY meat on a stick – an important distinction that they had each overlooked. The three ran across the road to a lemonade stand and got large drinks which saved them just before the burning taste got too bad.
The lemonade stand was doing brisk business and had picked an amazing spot to set up in.
“Jay doesn't get to pick the food anymore,” Aiden said in between panting breaths, the heat still not quite yet gone from his mouth and throat. “Oh my gods it still burns!” he said, taking another gulp of lemonade.
“I don't know, I kind of like it hot.” M'redith said with a sly grin, not looking at either of them.
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Aiden and Jay both laughed at the joke. “Cute.” Jay said with a smile.
“Why thank you Jay,” M'redith replied with a mischievous look.
“Ok, break it up you two. There's still shopping to be done.” Aiden said with a serious expression.
M'redith sighed, “FINE. What's next? Writing kit, right? I think there's a scholar section over there in the corner.” She pointed off to the left.
The three walked for a bit, still chewing the spicy meat even though it was spicy as it was also quite delicious. The sounds of eating was interspersed with the sounds of panting and chugging lemonade. Their bags and cups went up in motes of light as they finished their to-go meals.
They were in an area of the flea market dedicated to various scholar items. Papers, books, journals, pens, inks, writing satchels to hold it all, writing kits, finishing sands, lap desks, little orbs that glowed so one could write in the dark, wax seal kits – the list went on and on, all spread out on tables and shelves. Sellers shouted hawking their wares while others sat quietly, letting the merchandise do the talking.
They browsed the various booths and tables for a half hour or so, each time one of them found something interesting the others would come over to see what it was. It ended up being a co-operative shopping experience with Aiden being the one who found the winning pick.
It was a 6 by 4 by 1 inch buttery soft leather case in yellow with a black pinstripe along the cover. It zippered open and lay flat on the desk like a book would, each half having various compartments. It had five pens of various line widths and ink colors, three ink vials that the vendor assured Jay magically held much more ink than they appeared to, and two small, one inch, circular trays with lids that held both normal and glittering finishing sands. The vendor again assured Jay that the storage capacity of the sand trays were much larger than they appeared. Magic, but of course. Jay gladly handed over a few silver, pleased with his purchase.
On the way out they stopped at a large booth by the exit. “Let's get pictures!” M'redith said, grabbing Jay's hand and dragging him inside, Aiden trailing along a few steps behind. For half a silver Jay bought a strip of four. They all were hustled inside of a curtained off booth and someone counted down from five after which there was a bright flash.
The first two were group shots, one of Jay, M'redith, and Aiden looking serious but with smiles on their faces. The second one was silly with them all making faces. The third was Jay and M'redith, with the final being M'redith alone. M'redith picked out three copies for each of them of the first two pictures, but got just Jay and herself the picture of the two of them, with the final solo picture of M'redith going to Jay.
“Don't look at the final one until you're alone though,” M'redith said with a playful grin. It was Jay's turn to blush but he grinned through it.
Aiden rolled his eyes and sighed. “Gods you two can be insufferable. Why are we friends again?” He smiled to take some of the edge off of his words.
It was time for them to move on and the three left the flea market. It was almost noon and they were well fed and practically stuffed with lemonade. Jay just needed to get his staff identified and he'd be finished with shopping for now.
Aiden waved to get the other two's attention as Jay was staring at the booths they passed while M'redith stared at Jay. “We need to go across the city to the East side. I know a woman that can Identify things, not as expensive as the big name places but I think she's just as accurate.”
Jay looked around at the various brightly colored carts being pulled along the street. “Can we rent a cart or should we walk?”
M'redith silently answered the question as she flagged down a bright green passing passenger cart and paid the woman driving, She hopped up and Jay hopped up after her as Aiden picked that moment to tie his boot whose lacing appeared perfectly fine but Aiden retied it anyway, taking a moment to speak with the driver as Aiden and M'redith got comfortable. He finally climbed up after them and took a seat across from them instead of sitting next to Jay.
They chatted about the morning, the food, The Guild, Jay's items, finally settling on Jay's Mighty Book as a topic of conversation. Jay took the opportunity to ask something that had been gnawing at him. M'redith had been leaning her head on his arm but sat up after a short time, brushing her hair back behind her ears.
Days ago upon finding The Book Jay had guessed that the two triangles were a symbol of Gaia, which matched the color of the dress the AI Alice had been wearing. He had guessed that the two were the same person based off of the way the symbol reminded him of her dress. Although the shape had been different the color was an exact match.
“What about this symbol,” Jay asked, pointing to the two teal triangles on the cover of his Book, which was currently full size.
M'redith nodded, “That is a symbol of Gaia. Think of it like a maker's mark. Any item with that symbol on it was made, or its creation at least influenced, by Gaia.”
Jay immediately thought of the two marks on the backs of his hands.
“But what does it mean?” Jay asked.
Aiden began speaking as if he were reciting something, “As above, so below. It represents Gaia's will coming to fruition on Eden. Before you ask, her will is basically her core tenants, Choice and Consent. When you level and get to choose between multiple options – that's Gaia. She did that. It wasn't always that way though.”
As he spoke The Book flashed briefly but then went dim again. M'redith nodded while eyeing The Book, and added “My father used to tell me stories about ages past and lands too distant to travel to where magic worked differently. Classes awarding preset abilities, class types awarding the same abilities to everyone, talent trees instead of class choices, class abilities locked behind achievements, all sorts of weird stuff. Magic on Eden isn't static, it evolves over time, other times it evolves far more quickly. Or, as in this case, magic is forcefully evolved by a goddess to allow everyone with a class to choose their class abilities instead of being told what they get by the system.”
They passed many stores and buildings, their brightly colored facings covered with decorations in the hope they make each store stand out. Instead it was a dizzying mix of sounds, smells, and sights. The crowd was a constant murmur in the background, occasionally rising to an almost intolerable level before the cart whisked them past, the noise receding behind them as they continued on.
After a moment or two had passed M'redith tilted her head while she peered at Jay, “I'm not overly religious but even I know that. Where are you from anyway?”
“Earth.” Jay replied, deciding he didn't need to hide anything from her. He could tell she didn't know where that was and was about to ask another question when Jay interrupted her. “You wouldn't have heard of it. I'm a Traveler.”
She seemed slightly upset at learning that.
“What's the matter? Are you upset because I said I was a Traveler?” Jay asked puzzled at her sudden change in behavior.
“Well, there are really two types of Travelers. The first type is not from Eden but come from a place somewhat like it. Others come from the Void where there exists no magic. Those second kinds of Traveler never live very long in the stories once they get here, but no one knows why. The Travelers, the second kind, never would say why. Its always a big secret in my father's stories.” M'redith replied and then went quiet after answering Jay's question.
Jay went quiet too before perking up. “Well I'm the third type, and while it sounds like I'm from the Void, the place with no magic, I'm not visiting. I don't think I can even go back. I am here permanently. I think I can tell you more but maybe we should wait until we are somewhere less...open.”
Aiden and M'redith nodded in agreement but the conversation didn't pick back up after that, all three caught up in their thoughts as the rhythmic sound of the horse walking and pulling along their cart slowly took the place of conversation. It seemed everyone needed a moment to themselves to think things through, Jay included.