Chapter 47 Greed.

If you have greed in your noggin.

You have a good sense of reality.

There’s nothing like the chime of gold.

There’s nothing like a hoard of gems.

Kilako, the Golden Prince of Gains

{27} Mayan (December) the 17th

The next day turns foggy, the mountain climb gets steeper, and the paths are narrower. Everything is covered in snow, too much snow. I am happy I have Loyal to ride on instead of threading in knee high wet and dirty snow. My horse snorts as if he read my mind, I pat his neck and whisper in his ear. "Thank you for carrying me Loyal..." He neighs and paces forward.

Great! We need to clean the way for that stupid carriage again… I sigh when the mercenaries take out their shovels. I get off Loyal’s back and let him nuzzle against my hand. “I’ve regenerated my mana Salik. I can clean the way again you can tell your men to stop.” I say as I step forward, stretching my arms and back. It took me two hours to recharge my water mana.

The man make way for the snow blockage, and I step forward. “Ganim uriss nim” . I use the snow version of ‘ice to water’ spell. With a slow drain to my water mana pool, I melt the snow, forming a small flow of cold water down the mountainside. Once my water mana is fully drained, the path is clear and the carriage can continue.

The mercenaries cheer at the sight. I just saved them an hour of shoveling snow with my magic; being useful is a good feeling. “Good work” Salik pats my shoulder warmly. Now after I proved my usefulness time and time again, the gruff mercenary leader is a whole lot warmer than he was back at Axero. He also compliments me more.

“Thanks!” I smile at him patting Loyal’s nose as I eye the carriage with the noble lady. She hadn’t left her carriage for days, not even once. She had a maid that did leave a few times, mainly to get food and water, but I’ve never seen the lady herself. I wonder when she takes her toilet breaks… Probably after we’ve all gone to bed, or very early in the mornings. She doesn't want to associate with lowly mercenaries or something... Holding her needs just to avoid the mercenaries all day seems rather weird though. Sure, some noble ladies can be too eccentric or too delicate, but maybe there's a different answer. I wonder if it’s some sort of magical creature… she can’t be holding her natural needs all day long right? I should’ve seen her leave her carriage by now…I wonder what type of creature it is and why we’re escorting it… It’s none of my business… I doubt Salik will appreciate my curiosity… He finally started to warm up to me…

After a tiring morning of cleaning out the snow, we finally make it onto the narrow snowy path.

*

It’s late afternoon when we head down the mountain. The gloomy fog eases up a bit, and with that, the people’s mood alleviates as well. The snow is no longer high enough to need cleaning. I can even see a large city below the mountain, not as large as Axero, but definitely bigger than my home town of Nurio.

“Hey! You! The necklace you gave me is fake gold! Give me something else!” The chirpy voice snaps me out of the breathtaking view. I glare at the little pixie. She floats in front of my face with her hands crossed on her chest and an angry expression on her tiny face.

“A deal is a deal. You wanted my necklace, you got my necklace! There are no refunds.” I exclaim with a chuckle. I bought that thing for the familiar feeling and because it looked nice, not because I wanted some really expansive trinket.

The little magical creature with her loud chirpy voice attracts attention from the rest of the group.

“See?! See?! I told you so! I told you that fairies are real! And see? She has butterfly wings! I didn’t make it up! You’re all fools! You should’ve believed me!” Berthold exclaims, while most of them stare dumbfounded at the little thing.

“I want gold! Gimme me some gold! You humans have gold right? Give me some gold or I’ll unleash my magic!!!” The pixie screams at me.

That threat again… sorry pixie, I already gave you something, and… “A deal is a deal. If you’re threatening me now it’s pure robbery, is that what you want human beings to treat you as? A robber?”

“I want some gold! Gimme some gold!!! Now!!!” She screams like a toddler who’s asking for candy.

With a sigh, I take out a gold coin. I shouldn’t mess with her. A creature that can read minds can possibly be dangerous. A gold coin is not much for me. I have a small fortune of more than nine hundred gems each worth a hundred gold coins… “Here, take it and leave me be.”

She takes the gold coin out of my hand. “I want your small fortune! Give me all those gems! Now!!!” Ok… she is robbing me… good to know… “Yes, I am robbing you! Give me all of your gems!”

“I’m sorry, but they’re not here. Would you please tell me why you want gold and gems anyway? It’s not like you can buy anything out here in the forest can you?”

“They’re sparkly…” She puts her cheeks on both her hands, and her voice sounds like a teenage girl who’s talking about her first crush.

“Huh huh… and one gold coin isn’t sparkly enough for you?”

“Did you just think I am childish?! I am ‘not’ childish! I am two hundred sixty-four years old! I am fifteen-time your age, you baby! Baby!!! Now give me all of your…” Sorer swats her out of the air before she finishes that tantrum. It looks almost accidental, like he was trying to brush away a fly, but the little pixie gets knocked down to the ground.

“Shut up you stupid bug jar. My head hurts! I just lost twenty gold coins because of you! I have a wife and kid that depends on me, you snowy bug!” The bearlike man is about to stomp the little creature to death.

“Latsa!!!” I scream in panic as I weave my gravity mana. I catch up his leg with ‘Minor Telekinesis’. Instead of lifting his leg directly with the magic, something that’d be impossible to do with his weight and force. I tug it toward me. He loses his balance and falls backward.

My head pounds with pain and a trail of blood trickles down my nose. Spells shouldn’t be used in ways that are above their limits, the sharp drop in my gravity mana pool tells me that it took a whole lot more mana than any normal ‘Minor Telekinesis’ cast would have. I estimate it to be fifteen gems or possibly more. If I had tried to lift him, I might’ve passed out or worse. But I couldn’t let him stomp this pixie. Not because I care about her, oh no, she’s annoying as a snake. But she may be valuable, and if I can catch her alive, now that’ll be a score.

Dropping off Loyal’s back, I wipe the blood off my nose, and take the little pixie in my hands. She seems to be unconscious, it’s perfect. I wonder how much the hag will pay for her... “Give me something made out of iron! Quick!”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Elitar passes me his iron dagger. “It’s very expensive, it’ll be twenty gold coins for it!”

I snatch the thin dagger and press the pixie’s body against it. Now she won’t be able to cast any spells.

I take a bowstring from the dumbfounded Berthold, and tie her to the dagger. As I tie her up, I notice that her butterfly wings aren’t physical. The bowstring passes through them, and they even phase through the iron dagger.

If that thing can still fly even with iron attached to it… “Sorer give me a jar!” I order the bearlike cook.

“Give you a jar? What do you mean? I’m not a woman.” He looks at me, still seated on the ground, scratching the back of his head in bewilderment.

“A jar. An actual jar! The thing you put food in, not what women have between their legs, you pea brained moron! By all the venom in the world, your language is rotten! I hate Sinteo !”

The bear-like man gets up and stretches with a chuckle. “You speak and swear like an experienced sailor HA! And your accent is pretty exotic. Sorry lass, I don’t have empty jars on me.”

“You’re a snaking cook! You have jars!”

“Not an empty one.”

“Then give me a full one! Hurry!”

He sighs and hands me a ceramic jar of honey. I don’t need the honey and I empty it down on the snow. I put the dagger inside and close the Jar, just in case.

If my hypothesis is correct; her soul is way more powerful than the badger, considering she isn’t human, it wouldn’t go against my morals to feed on its soul or eat it right?

Then why does it feel so wrong?

“Thank you, lass.” Sorer gestures for me to pass him the ceramic jar.

“Thank you for what?” I raise my eyebrow at him.

“For wrapping this thing up for me.”

Why in hells would I do it for you? “It wasn’t for you, it’s for me.” I declare without leaving any room for argument.

He leans forward, towering over me. “I am the one who knocked it out, it’s mine. I just lost a twenty gold coins bet. I need to repay that somehow.”

I refuse to back away, I move closer, looking up into his eyes. I highly doubt he’ll do anything, at least not while everyone is looking. “Not my problem. I didn’t ask you to gamble! You are the one who tried stomping it, It’d be dead if I hadn’t stopped you. So it’s mine!”

“You little venomous jar! You’d never catch it without it me, and that’s ‘my’ jar you’re holding! Now give it back!” he attempts to take the container off my hands.

Hugging it to my chest, I turn around preventing him from touching it. “I’ll pay you the damn twenty gold if you leave me in peace! Forty even!”

He keeps up and still trying to grab it. “Do you take me for a pea brain?! I know that little bug bitch is worth a lot more than that!”

I close my eyes and weave light mana patterns. “Revisor ak!” I cast the ‘blinding light’ cantrip. I use his confusion and blindness to get some distance, I aim my free hand at him, and hug the jar to my chest. “You’re not in a position to negotiate Sorer!”

He unsheathes his axe. “Oh, we’ll see about that little missy!”

“That’s enough!!!” Salik intervenes before things turn sour. “Sorer. Without Marisha’s expertise, you wouldn’t be able to catch such a creature, much less know it has any worth.”

“That’s right!” I exclaim, happy to see Salik takes my side.

“Marisha. Sorer did knock it out, and it is indeed his jar. I say it belongs to the both of you. Once you sell it, you will share the profits equally.”

“But…”

Salik cuts me off, raising his hand fast before I manage to open my mouth. “If you aren’t happy with that, you can both walk out of this group and settle it between yourselves. These are the rules of this company. In fact, I'd much prefer if you did that.” Salik glares at his cook.

Sorer nods in approval. I can see he doesn’t like the idea of sharing, but he acknowledges Salik as his boss, so he accepts the terms.

I'm not going to kill him over this! I need this group to like me, to go out with me on more hunting trips... But I also: “I need the creature alive!” I exclaim once I get a chance to talk.

Salik furrows his brows for a moment, and Sorer tenses up, getting ready for another loud argument. Salik puts his hand on the Sorer’s shoulder, stopping the beefy man before he can talk. “Ok. How about this. Once we get to Numila we appraise it and Marisha will pay you half the price?”

Sorer grunts. “Fine by me!”

“Ok” I agree. “But most of my money is back at Axero, so you’ll have to wait until we get back there. I need to bring the pixie there anyway."

“Fine! But only if I get to keep it until you pay me!” Sorer declares.

“No way!” I don’t trust you, you can get drunk and break it! I can’t risk it!

“Then we’ll sell it at Numila!” he exclaims victoriously.

I look at Salik helplessly. He shrugs. “I’ll have to agree with Sorer on this… Or you can get out of our group and settle your differences.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I'm not going to kill him over money, stop suggesting that! I'm not letting him keep it either, what if he gets drunk and breaks it?! What if the pixie gets away?!”

“And risk a fat purse of gold?! You’re underestimating the mercenary spirit!” Sorer pats his chest with his beefy fist. “Trust me, I am going to keep an eye on that little snowy jar like she’s made out of pure diamond! She might as well be made out of diamond!”

Ok, good point… he doesn’t wanna risk his pay… “And how do I know you won’t just sell it off on your own?”

“I guarantee you that he won’t. Sorer is an honest man. If he sells it off, I’ll pay you double its worth.” Salik intervened again, now he takes Sorer’s side.

I don’t want double its worth… I need this thing’s soul… money can’t buy that… I heave a sigh. I’ll have to trust them… this is a compromise I’ll have to make… I hand it over to the beefy man. “I have no idea how much it’s worth. If it’s a price I can’t afford we can sell it and split the money. Otherwise, I’ll take it off your hands when we get back to Axero deal?”

“It’s a deal lass!” He takes the jar with a large happy smile on his bearded face and offers his other hand for a shake. He almost rips my hand off my shoulder with that handshake.

I hope I won’t regret this… not that I have much of a choice… my only other option is to cast a flying spell and get away or kill Sorer… At least they won’t be able to harm me once I reach Axero… but that will only guarantee no mercenary group will ever trust me. It’s better if I learn how to deal with them because I am going to need them for future hunts…

“What about my twenty gold pieces?” Elitar asks. “For the dagger.”

I roll my eyes and hand him twenty gold coins.

And thus, our journey continues quietly.

*~*~*

Interlude 47.1

Salik

"Have you lost the last pea in your brain?!" Salik drags Sorer out of the camp, they need to have a talk.

The large man grins widely. "Think how much that Pixie thing is worth!"

Salik pushes Sorer against a tree. "If you piss her off, you're dead. Your wife is dead, and your child is dead! The mage behind her doesn't thaw snow, she's a snaking devil!"

The cook snorts. "Then why didn't you side with her?"

"Because if she finds out this had been ordered by her master, I'm dead you snaking peabrain! I like you, but I'm not dying for you."

"Heyaa..." The large man sighs and shakes his head. "Let me run this scam boss, this pixie is probably worth risking my neck for. Isn't that what we're doing? Risking our necks for gold? If everything works out, I'll retire after this run."

Salik lets him go. "Fine! I'll stay neutral. If this goes to hell, you'll find yourself alone on that snow storm."

*~*~*

Power level: 2nd stage apprentice.

Mana pools status:

Crown-knot: Affinity 10: formed: 1 gem replenished per five minutes.

Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 66

Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5: formed: 6 gems. Conversion ratio: 6:1

Air: Affinity 4: formed: 18 gems

Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems

Light: Affinity 3: formed: 14 gems

Water: Affinity 6: formed: 27 gems

Earth: Affinity 1: opened: 3 gems

Wood: Affinity 2:

Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 40/41 gems

Cantrip known:

Air: Shavi’s Breeze, Shavi’s Sword. Shavi’s Hair Dryer, Aria’s Enhanced Hearing.

Fire: Nuriss’ Flame. Effrat’s Firefly, Effrat’s Fire Breath. Sorladika's Lesser Heating.

Light: Noxi’s Light, Lako’s Blinding Light.

Water: Water Evocation, Water to Ice, Ice to Water, Water to Vapor, Vapor to Water, Mayan’s Icy Spike, Ayla’s Water Jet.

Earth:

Wood:

Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s lesser shield. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Imari’s Jump. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light Body. Alino’s Heavy Body.

Spells known:

Gravity: Alino’s weightless bodyb.

Focus capability: 10 patterns

Social status: apprentice to the maven of mysteries.

Wealth: 900 gems. 1817 gold coins, 13 silvers, 47 coppers.

Items:

1 simple healing potions.

2 potions with unknown effects.

An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keeps the pouches’ content fresh.

Fresh rose petals, 8g

3 soul containers size 1. (Borrowed item. Ownership: Maven of Mysteries.)

Roll of magical cloth, any carcass wrapped fully in the cloth will not rot. (Borrowed item. Ownership: Maven of Mysteries.)

A magical pouch, any carcass attached to the pouch will shrink in size. (Borrowed item. Ownership: Maven of Mysteries.)

Languages:

Toml’a Fluent

Sinteo 9/10

Myrsha 5/10

Felul 1/10

Injuries and scars: Back, lightning scar.