A young man stepped outside a small inn, carrying a pouch with cups inside. He sat down on the side of the road as a carriage passed by. He raised his head, beret hat, and hand. The carriage stopped, and a couple of soldiers jumped out and pushed him because he was blocking the carriage door.
He chuckled when the carriage had left.
The young man left, entering a crowd of passersby.
He bumped into a group of women and children dressed in purple and yellow.
He left through the crowd and entered a small house where a tall, strict-faced woman paced around the room. Despite his rough travel home, the charisma and confidence in his demeanor persisted.
He smiled. “Amanda!” He placed down his pouch on a table.
The tall woman named “Amanda” showed him a small bed where her and the young man’s son lay and hugged a toy.
The young man named “John” picked up the toy and placed it on his son’s forehead.
He turned to Amanda. “How did they cancel the event so early? Is it just that way for them all the time?”
Amanda shrugged. “‘Keep it slow,’ they said. If only Jared had published the books without getting caught, he would’ve been fine.”
The young man cursed. “I see now. It has to go this way or another. Anyways, since you went out there and saw the soldiers’ new armbands for yourself, how did the adventurers do?” John ravenously ate a delicious meal, afraid that he might forget to eat later.
Amanda gave him a smile that reached the eyes. “In trouble.” She chuckled.
John raised his brows. “‘Trouble trouble?’”
“The good king of trouble. They’re collecting the Remnants right now.” Amanda gave him a suspicious but pleasant expression with a smirk.”
“Heh, is it that unbelieveable that they’re doing well? ‘Something trouble something’?”
“They could be grazing the fields right now looking for the golden goose they said they found.” Amanda laughed.
John frowned. “They’re not kids anymore, Amanda.”
“I know.” Amanda gave him a knowing look.
“No, I’m serious.” John looked half-serious.
“John! I’m just joking!” Amanda sounded half-exasperated and half-joking.
John kissed her and saluted as a goodbye.
Amanda gave him a quick, succinct nod.
John left, but he returned. “Did you get the cups?”
Amanda nodded. “It was right here the whole time.” She shook the waist pouch that contained the cups.
John turned to leave, but he noticed the scratch on her shoes. He fell on his knees and lowered his head. “I’ll fix it.”
Amanda’s expression became tender toward John. She loved him.
John gave her a quick smile. “I’ll pass by Mr. Sick.”
Amanda handed him a tiny pouch of coins from a different country.
John grinned. “I told him about you, and I also told him about the Dog Bandits. He was so surprised. He thought you were a ghost.”
Amanda sat down and tapped the chair as John and her son left his room. Their son pressed against her elbow and hugged it.
Amanda and John hugged the boy’s head.
John left and entered a small town corner where a storeowner greeted him. “Hi, how’s the limelight, John?”
“It’s sickening, Mr. Sick.” John’s voice was candid, and his demeanor was polite. He strided around.
The storeowner named “Sick” giggled sneakily like a little child. “‘Sickening’? Really?”
John pretended to laugh nervously. “‘Wouldn’t you have loved it if you had a child?’” He imitated a friend.
“‘Me, oh, John. I can’t believe it. He was beside me the whole time!’” Sick joined him.
A group of a couple of women and three children emerged from the corner of Sick’s store. One of the women raised a hand that held a small orb.
The women greeted him as the children raced to the store and jumped up and down, crying for chocolate candies.
The child who held an orb handed it to John.
John showed it to Sick, his expression becoming hostile. “See? Lavender purple like the rest of his works.” He removed the hostility of his voice. “What do you think about Charter’s ‘enterprise’?”
Sick laughed. “You can’t be jealous when your wife is the same woman he had coveted since he was young.”
John furrowed his brows. “A little touchy, but...” He feigned a grin and a laugh. “But seriously though, how about his two sons? Can he seriously put them in a tournament at five years old?”
Sick turned left and right and pulled down the wooden cover for his store. He exited the store. He sprinted up to John, grabbed his shoulder with his left hand, and shook his hand with his other hand.
The couple of women gestured as they spoke. “The death cart can’t be that old, right? It should’ve spoiled by then!”
Sick handed the three children the chocolate candies which he had promised a few days ago.
He gave John a secretive smile. “John, I can monitor them like I usually did.”
John frowned. “You can, but your spell is only good at ‘invading others’ privacy.’”
“But like all things, there are always exceptions. I make it a point to devulge the information that I believe should be public.”
John’s frown reached his neck.
Sick returned the orb which John had given him. “See to it that your wife doesn’t have her usual outbursts again, alright?”
He left.
John watched him leave, and his mouth was wide open.
Sick forgot to remove his apron, and it was bright-pink.
A guard reprimanded Sick and fined him for wearing the apron out in the streets.
John shifted between his legs and guessed the distance of the sun now in view of several seconds ago.
When night came, John returned home where Amanda and her friend waved their hands around.
John grabbed a bunch of bananas and split it in half. He handed one half to Amanda’s friend.
Amanda’s friend taught Amanda magic related to basket strengthening.
When John and Amanda’s son entered the room, Amanda’s friend bowed and said: “Just test the barrier. Don’t let it reach too deep. Treat it like a lamb. It needs to be calm when you’re shearing it.”
The child raised his hand, willed a portal to appear, and grabbed a different wooden toy from last time.
John and Amanda clapped.
The child leapt, clapped, and tripped. He created a portal to stop his leg from hitting the ground.
The child had created two portals between their hands when they clapped their hands.
Their hands disappeared and appeared, but when John noticed it, he stopped his hands and Amanda’s.
Amanda’s friend covered her mouth elegantly and nodded. “Woohoo! Nonetheless, he won’t hurt you.”
Amanda dropped her jaw. “Can he take care of himself now?”
Amanda’s friend nodded.
Amanda fell to her knees and cried, grinning behind her hands.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
John tapped her on the shoulder and told her to stand up.
Amanda stood up.
John prompted Amanda to tell her friend to leave.
After Amanda’s friend left, John told her about Sick’s leaving out of the province.
Amanda covered her mouth. “He got ordered to!” She sounded offended.
John stared for a few seconds with a pleading expression.
Amanda composed herself and relaxed her shoulders.
John took a deep breath and sighed. “They hoisted him away from here for the War God Game.”
“That’s the one where the king tells you you’re not good enough?”
John chuckled. “Exactly.” He stood up and invited her outside.
They included their son and left, stopping beside a store where hundreds of tiny toy monkeys screamed and cried.
“They really don’t want to turn those things off.”
“They really want to, but people like it when there’s some noise beside the human booms.”
Amanda nodded. “Right, as a person who had grown up far away from all that, might I ask what it’s like?” She sounded matter-of-factly.
John pressed his lips together. “Imagine a small boat—”
“No, I mean, specifically.”
“I’m getting there, I’m getting there.”
“‘Kay...”
“Imagine a small boat where hundreds of people row. That’s that.”
“That’s it?”
“Their rowing somehow creates these loud booms, and it’s a human sound since the rowers are the ones generating all that noise by transmitting their mana. In reality, it’s their souls’ screaming that gets ‘boomed out.’”
A human boom sounded and reached John and Amanda’s ears.
John chewed and swallowed. “Like that?”
Their son, whom they placed inside a tall, wooden basket, cried, but a nanny emerged and cast a spell that calmed him.
“Right,” John said. “Doesn’t it sound a little different?”
Amanda nodded. “I don’t know.” She was so focused on listening and showing that she was listening that she nodded out of habit.
John opened his mouth. “Either way, let’s eat.”
They grabbed a bowl and asked for mushroom soup.
The storeowners handed him a change of seven copper coins, two silver coins, and one gold coin.
John praised the soup’s taste, but Amanda chewed it with a dissatisfied expression.
When they left, Amanda greeted one of the two women from a while ago and showed them John’s new clothes.
John struck several, sexy poses and raised his leg even.
The women nodded several times and praised him in simple words.
Amanda laughed, but she also whispered to them a warning not to go too wild.
John laughed, jokingly asking the two women for forgiveness with hands of prayer.
John handed them the orb which he had gotten back from Sick. “Tournaments?” He gestured with his implication with his eyes.
The two women danced a little, imitating their children.
“The children haven’t forgotten it!” said one of the women. “They were so ingrained in that. I haven’t forgotten!”
“Same thing with Adrian,” said the other. “He was utmost voracious about the whole contentment part of the event where you slash and swing your legs like some peacock!”
They both sounded energetic, getting a glanced from onlookers.
John turned his chair around. “Is Shiela coming?”
Amanda’s eyes were open and staring at the table. She was slouching.
John massaged her where her knee was. Amanda wore exquisitely colorful, tight clothes.
Amanda glanced at him, and her face lit up.
John forced a smile after he had heard the violent imagery that the two women described.
The two women paused to breathe.
They continued talking, but it was about pet dogs.
When John’s posture became tense and his expression became bored, the two women said that someone was calling them.
John raised a cup of water as they said their goodbyes.
Amanda had been chewing when the two women danced.
She faced the storeowners. “What time do you close?”
“No comment.”
“What time do you go outside at morning night to buy food?”
“No comment.”
“Where do you go to find inspiration?”
“No comment.”
“How long does this stay open on average?”
“No comment.”
John and Amanda left.
They walked up to a set of gates. The gates looked desolate, and the etchings on them were only vulgar and offensive. A long circular rim at the top part of the gates carried hundreds of sleeping goblins. Each of them wore colorful, distinct clothes.
John, Amanda, and their son observed the goblins’ breathing and the shades of their clothes.
Hundreds of goblins teenagers emerged from a cave near the gates and ruined the trees and vegetation. They screamed and threw their rage at nature, grabbing leaves and tearing them apart. Their voices were devilish and piercing.
John and Amanda’s son cried as hundreds of bats flew and passed the goblins.
The goblins rejoiced and cheered. “Woohoo! Yahoo! Yaho!”
Their voices became calm and pleasant.
The bats formed and transformed into a man with silver hair and black clothes. A large spear five times taller than he was flew above him, lying down.
Several groups of hooded travelers behind John and Amanda ran past the gates and disappeared.
John and Amanda ran too, but they stopped before they passed, seeing the strange silver-haired man turn his head toward them.
They yelped.
A tall piston pushed John, Amanda, and their son’s dead bodies into a vertical shaft.
By reason of the natural process of the gates’ magic, their bodies became alive again, and they breathed.
They stood up, and Amanda frowned, almost crying.
John placed his hand over her head and pointed toward the shadow his hand made. “That’s me. I’m still here.”
Amanda calmed down and hugged John’s arm as they walked toward a tall statue with etchings of hundreds of offensive symbols.
Some of them John knew, but Amanda knew all of them.
The statue turned into a small boy that pointed toward a wall of darkness.
John and Amanda entered, patting their sleeping son on the side of the head.
Amanda grabbed a scroll from her pouch and a small compass from John’s pouch.
John tied a rope which he had brought out before they disappeared. “One, two, three.” He whispered. He turned the rope into a hitch, fastening it onto another rope and around his pouch’s opening. He fastened the other rope around a small, red orb. When he pushed it away by accident, the red orb floated through the air.
Amanda leapt and hit her chin on the ground, but she grabbed the orb.
John and Amanda put the orb on the ground, and when he whispered an incantation, the orb turned stiff and heavy.
John and Amanda entered a portal through the wall of darkness and disappeared.
Their bodies shook and flew about.
They hit the walls and the ground in the darkness.
Their bodies scraped against the walls, but it regenerated magically.
John and Amanda appeared, their clothes returning to what they were before they entered.
The orb exploded, and its pieces slammed against the statue.
John and Amanda each held a broken rope, but they smiled.
Amanda reached inside a basket she and John carried and patted John and her son.
John joined her.
John bumped into a branch, and his feet scraped against vegatation.
A warty pig fell from a tree and hit the ground, but it stood up and walked well.
Amanda pointed at a group of finches that cut a branch off and carried it away.
John and Amanda grabbed a small toy in the middle of a glade and left.
They returned home, and John lounged near a pile of boxes where a giant, bulky man picked it up litter of shreds of books.
The man pointed toward a two-seat table. He walked up to it, sat down, and plucked the armband around its symbol.
John squinted for a split-second when he saw the symbol. Yet, he accepted the man’s invitation and opened his mouth: “The chocolate candies are here, and Jared too published his book.” His tone suggested teasing.
“It’s not just ‘chocolate candy’ anymore.”
“Semantics?”
The bulky man stared at him for a few seconds, shaking John’s hand with a strong grip.
“Hmm?” John raised a brow.
John and the bulky man turned around and noticed the purple and white clothes of a passerby.
The bulky man’s tone changed, and he chuckled. "No, not semantics. I've been experimenting with different flavors and ingredients. I call them 'gourmet chocolate candies'."
John smiled. "Sounds delicious. Can't wait to try them."
The bulky man handed him a small box of the candies. "Here, try these. Tell me what you think."
John opened the box and took one of the candies out. He took a bite and closed his eyes, savoring the taste. "Wow, this is amazing. The flavor is so complex and rich. I can taste hints of coffee and nuts. Great job."
The bulky man beamed with pride. "I'm glad you like them. I've been working on perfecting the recipe for months."
John nodded. "It shows. These candies are something special. I'm sure they'll be a hit with the locals."
The bulky man nodded. "I hope so. I'm planning on selling them at the market next week. I'd appreciate your help in promoting them."
John smiled. "Of course, I'll help spread the word. These candies are something special, people need to know about them."
The bulky man nodded, grateful for John's support. "Thanks, I appreciate it." He chortled.
The passerby whom they had noticed went out of earshot.
The bulky man’s tone returned to normal. “Dang near twice dead. I avoided that arrow you and your friends pulled. That small, little drake was for me.”
John jokingly scoffed. “I’d like to hear about that when Sick’s gonna be holding the group accountable.”
“Sick? That’s the son of a man who tried to chase my gooselings.”
“Oh, your gooselings, pitiful, isn’t it?” His tone was disbelieving.
The bulky man smiled and shrugged. “Can’t be jealous when you have three wives in one.”
John pursed his lips. “Up above, there’s a world where you and Sick can be friends.”
“Closer than grapes? We can... All he has to is...”
John continued what he was saying, “... eat a bunch of grapes and die.”
The bulky man frowned for the first time during their conversation.
John showed an open hand. “The man is not dead yet. Take it from me. Believe that he’s not yet dead at this moment.”
“You think I’m that heartful? I’ve already pressed against his family time and time again. If I had a choice, I’d mock it and slice.”
John closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them. “Can’t have dogs if you can’t have...”
He craned his head and showed him an expectant stare.
The bulky man wrinkled his nose. “What?”
John raised his brows.
The bulky man laughed at John’s candid expression. “What? No, what? Seriously?”
John compressed his lips. “You... Whatever. You’re still fine anyway since you and Sick share a plantation.”
The bulky man cried and laughed at the same time.
John left in a hurry, but he left a long letter Amanda wrote in John’s words.
When the sun set, a couple of ogres had inspected a dead horse. “What’s up with that?” One of them rubbed his fingers against a horse tail, feeling its softness.
The other ogre said: “Pretentious like that.”
The ogres greeted the running John.
“They got the magecasters on the ceiling about to pounce,” said the second ogre.
John handed them the bulky man’s letter. “It’s that serious?”
The ogres forced a smile and nodded, the flaps of their chin making squeaky noise.
John handed them another letter. “This is Amanda’s.”
The ogres nodded again.
John handed them another letter. “This is Thomas’.”
The second ogre’s expression became disappointed. This ogre turned around, handing it to the first ogre. “See, like this, he puts that all the time.”He snickered, his overbite causing whistle to seep into his voice.
The first ogre joined him as he handed John a sack of books.
John left and returned to the bulky man, handing him the sack.
The bulky man thanked him, and John received a sack of packed, cold food.
John left and returned home. He handed Amanda the sack and pointed toward a thunderstorm in the distance outside.
Amanda tied the broken rope which she and John had used at the gates around her arm.
John’s son created two portals. The compass which they had also used at the gates fell continously through these portals.
John showed his son a sack and opened it, and its smell flew around the room.
His son created a portal between John’s neck and head.
John grabbed his neck and pretended he was dead.
Amanda screamed.
After a whole minute of his son laughing, he reached toward the portal.
He tossed it down, treating it like a piece of paper and stepping on it.
“Muahahaha!”
Amanda hugged John.
John chuckled, but he stopped when his shoulder became wet. “My clothes... Ey.”
Amanda continued hugging him and rubbing her head against his neck.
John’s chuckle became nervous. “Did I not tell you he’s fine?”
The thunderstorm stopped, and a horde of goblins emerged, fell down, and landed perfectly fine. They charged toward the province Amanda and John were in.
Amanda left.
John bent over and gestured as he spoke. “Make it stronger and harder by practing with heavier objects, okay?”