The talk in the tavern was finally calming down. A few punches were thrown during a heated debate about whether Star Wars or Star Trek was better, but overall, it was a fun, mundane, nerdy discussion—a sliver of normalcy in this recently discovered world.

I sat at our table while the rest of the party engaged in another debate about Pokémon generations. I smiled through the whole ordeal, and soon they all came over to sit down and rest.

“That was fun,” Amanda said. “And I’m glad we don’t have phones here, or some weirdos would be asking for my number.” Bea nodded and giggled along with her.

“Yeah, it’s not like the sending spell only needs your name and a clear mental image of your face to reach you,” I said, taking a sip of my drink and laughing as the girls realized what I meant. “On another note, we should go through the loot from last night. I bet someone in town can identify what it is and what it does.”

“That’s a good idea, Doc. Have you already taken the contract we agreed on?”

I nodded, pulling a paper out of my pocket and a pouch from my bag. “I also collected the reward from the goblin contract. It wasn’t much, but it’s enough for some rations for the trip,” I said, placing them on the table.

“And what’s our next contract?” Ghimli asked while Bea read the paper.

Farm Expansion.

Secure new grounds for farming expansion. Reports indicate that a monster hunting ground is nearby. Clear the area of monsters and secure it from future threats to enable farming.

Recommended Level: 2

Reward: 20 Gold Pieces

It was a simple contract—protect the fields, clear some nests, and return for the reward so the kingdom could assign someone to the lands.

“I think this is easy enough,” Bea said. “How long of a travel?”

“About two days,” I replied. “And I suspect a couple more to complete it, so we’ll be out for the better part of a week, at the minimum.”

“That’s fine,” Ghimli said. “I liked camping in that cave; camping in the open would be even better.”

“Agreed,” Amanda said. “And the other contract, Doc?” she asked.

“Mildreth didn’t like that I wanted two quests, but a call from her sister changed her mind.” I placed another sheet on the table.

Missing Person.

A group of lumberjacks went missing after collecting wood near the Braundes’ property. Reports suggest monsters are surrounding the area.

Recommended Level: 4

Reward: 40 Gold Pieces

“This is a level 4 contract, Doc. We can’t handle it,” Bea said.

“I think we can,” Amanda replied. “This seems like a simple case—find where these guys are and report back. And it’s right next to the first one, so we’ll save on some travel and food. If we’re lucky, we can use the Braundes’ property to camp out safely.”

“You’ve got a point,” Ghimli said, frowning. “But I have a bad feeling about this.”

“You’ve spent too much time talking about Star Wars,” Bea shook her head. “You’re not Han Solo, you know?” We laughed, but Ghimli remained serious.

“Yeah. But I think we should be careful with this one.”

“You’re right,” I said, tapping him on the shoulder. “While we’re doing the first contract, let’s scout the area for the second one. It wouldn’t hurt, right?” I asked the rest of the party, who all agreed. “Great. Let’s rest for today. Tomorrow, I’ll wake up early to sort through the loot.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Doc?” Ghimli looked at me, his orcish face stern.

“What?” I asked.

“The onsen,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Right. I’ll show you where it is.”

With that, we headed to bed to rest after a long day.

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The next morning, after breakfast, I showed Ghimli the onsen. The girls also wanted to experience it. While I could have taken another relaxing bath, I decided to accept the quests at the adventurer’s guild instead.

“Have you decided which one to take?” Mildreth asked as I entered the small room, not even lifting her eyes from the papers.

“We’ll take both, but we’ll handle the missing persons’ quest as a scouting mission for now—we’re not equipped to deal with it yet,” I answered, placing the two contracts on the desk.

She lifted her eyes to look at me without moving her head, and with a heavy sigh, stamped the two papers. “Thank you for helping Matt out last night. I heard my sister gave him a hard time.”

“Yeah,” I said, scratching the back of my neck. “By the way, she told me to ask where to find her today. I don’t know what she wants. I don’t even know her name,” I admitted, embarrassed.

“Her name is Thylla. She runs a magic shop in the market area, closer to the noble side,” Mildreth answered as if reciting a memorized script.

I said my goodbyes and made my way to Thylla’s shop, stopping at the tavern to pick up the loot from the last contract. If she ran a magic shop, it was possible she could identify the items. While we were still too broke to purchase new magic items, we could at least have them identified to use or sell them. It wouldn’t be wasted time, and I still needed to wait for my friends to finish at the bathhouse.

The market district was already busy in the early morning, more like a food market today, with more offers of fresh produce than the day before. I saw Johnny running around with his friends and gave him a wave when he noticed me. I delved deeper into the district than before—both Matt’s house and my encounter with Ashura were closer to the entrance of the district.

The stores grew more refined, and the people more scarce, as if an invisible barrier separated the two types of clientele. The smell of freshly baked goods was replaced by the scents of herbs from apothecaries and leather workshops. I could swear I caught a whiff of perfume from some of the nobles browsing the windows.

At the border of the district, a white wall separated the market from the noble district. This was an actual physical wall, well-guarded too. The earth tones worn by the guards at the city entrance were replaced by vibrant blue uniforms, and a separate road circled the entire market, granting access to this inner wall.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” a familiar voice called from beside me. I looked over to see Thylla standing in front of a door close to where I was standing. I looked at the name embedded on the plaque in front of the window: Gyld’s Cauldron.

“It really is. It’s nice to see you again under better circumstances.” I bowed slightly. “I was looking for ‘Thylla’s shop’ or something—Mildreth didn’t tell me the name.”

Thylla let out a small giggle. “Gyld was our mother. Mildreth wanted to be an adventurer, and I wanted to be an enchantress, so I inherited the shop when she retired. Do you want to come in, or will you stand in the middle of the street?”

The shop had a warm, inviting smell of apples and cinnamon wafting from a cauldron in the corner. The shelves were filled with trinkets I couldn’t even guess the purpose of—they looked like children’s toys. Thylla made her way to a round table at the center of the store and waved me over to sit in a chair while she took another.

“What can I do for you today?” she asked, gesturing to the items dangling from my arm.

I snapped out of my daze and placed the items on the table. “Sorry. I don’t know if it’s possible, but I’d like to identify these items.”

She put on her glasses and removed the sheet covering the items. “Let’s see what we have here.”

She picked up the chest piece, which had looked small after Bea tested it out. Thylla placed the plate inside an arcane circle and chanted something under her breath. A small gust of wind circled the table, and her eyes flashed white, matching her hair. I held my breath, waiting for the result.

“Interesting,” she said, picking up the plate again. “It’s a common enough item, but the size enchantment is very well done. It’s a chest plate with enhanced defense.”

“What do you mean? Is it a Plus One item?”

“Some call it that, but I’ve never liked that terminology. Let’s see what else you have.” She picked up the staff next.

After the same process, she gave me the results. “It’s a wind staff. It has a small charge that allows you to cast a minor hurricane once a day,” she said in a monotone that crushed my hopes. She picked up the last item.

The process for the orb took longer than the others. After the spell was cast, she took her time examining the marble orb with care, tapping it with a small copper hammer she pulled from a drawer nearby.

“This, I don’t know,” she said finally. “It’s magical, for sure, but the identify spell told me nothing. I could hold on to it and run more tests if you’d like.”

“Thanks, I would appreciate that,” I said with a smile. “Do you buy magic items?”

“Oh, dear, I’m sorry, but these are too low-level for my shop. I could refer you to a colleague who deals in more low-level items and potions, if that’s okay with you.”

“Yeah, that would be great!”

Thylla told me about a shop called Arcane Jolt near the beginning of the market, but that the owner, Rick, would be out of town for a few more days.

Not wanting to delay our contract, I decided to keep the items for now, leaving the marble orb in her care. I purchased supplies for our trip on my way back and found some small potions that would be really helpful.

I found a beaming Ghimli in front of the onsen, with a relaxed Bea and Amanda beside him. “Did you guys enjoy it?”

“I don’t know how I spent so much time in my life without knowing these things existed,” Bea said.

“If you watched the shows I recommended, you would’ve known,” Ghimli said.

“Are you guys ready? We have a long way ahead of us and two contracts to fulfill.” I could feel the mood shift from relaxed to determined.

Dividing the rations and provisions, we took to the open road with a mix of excitement and apprehension. Finally, we were all on the same page, and our adventuring days were only just beginning.