Vol. 2 – Chapter 49 – Kindling Your Dreams
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Alchem took his buddies and left Vek whose red scales looked a bit bruised, but nonetheless, the kobold didn't seem upset, instead told Mathias with an excited voice.
"There are so many strong people here. I am just like a small ant compared to them."
"Ohh, you now saw that the path forward is a long one, and there's more room to grow, right? Hungry?"
"A little bit."
"Then let's return to the tavern and eat something before returning home."
As Mathias said that, he extended his hand to Vek, and after getting up, the duo entered the Tavern, where the laughter of men who were telling some stories about Vek, suddenly stopped when noticing the newcomer.
"No offense taken, you can continue. We are here just to eat something." said Mathias calmly to the one telling the story, before getting a slight nod, and continuing.
Reaching the tavern counter, where Edmon was pouring some beer in mugs, he asked, turning his head at him.
"How can I serve you, young man?"
"The Specialty of the tavern and two cups of wine."
"Are you sure, young man? It's quite spicy." asked Edmon out of courtesy, not wishing for this crimson-haired possible nobleman to suffer from the specialty of his wife, since she had the pathos of ushering in the cries of the brave who tasted her food.
Besides this the Innkeeper wanted to make sure, Mathias understood what hitch he was stepping in, while the people all as if some type of trauma awakened in them, they shifted their attention on Mathias, discussing openly about the one who took on the challenge of the 'Speciality' that made the madame of the tavern infamous with all cheap people and beggars of the Wallmort District.
Mathias didn't answer the question, knowing what Edmon implied since he took on that challenge in the Beta Phase and was taken aback by the "Speciality" , a dish that made him crave for spicy food even outside, discovering the benefits of the spice on real-time. He didn't answer the inquiry, but the innkeeper could hear a small chuckle, which gave the impression he was offended, thus Edmon no longer bothered to ask questions.
'I warned you, lad. Now, don't you dare to make some drama here.'
Getting his confirmation, Edmon simply noted down the order on a small piece of paper, and ringing a bell, a young lady, Silvia, Edmon's daughter, walked out asking the innkeeper for the note he wrote before quietly returning back to the kitchen.
"Hah, old Edmon, that lass of yours sure is shy around people." commented one of the drunkard adventurers, barely able to see Silvia's butt for a brief moment.
"Piss off. You better don't think of anything indecent with my little jewel or I will cut your dicks off. Wait, I can't with you since you are stronger than me, but I will ask brother Corvus to do it for me."
Achelm shrugged his shoulders and smacked the drunkard who remarked about Edmon's daughter in an indecent way, telling Edmon with an innocent voice.
"Brother Edmon, you know I don't recognize those people. It's on them if they mess up something, now come pour me one more please."
"Whoa, Achelm, that's cheap. Don't think I don't know what you were …"
*BAM*
Before the drunkard could continue mentioning what Achelm was "doing" the latter swiftly reacted to dispose of possible danger to his source of alcohol and also another danger that might make him run for his money, the Crow.
In the meantime, Vek who got used to the atmosphere of the tavern, even the antics of the drunkards that didn't contain any malice, turned to look at Mathias and saw that he was staring at the drunkards.
"Mathias, aren't you disturbed by the atmosphere here?"
"Me? Why should I? This type of atmosphere makes food go down even smoother, so no need to bother with me."
"That's right, lad. For a noble kid, you know what's up. Once again, cheers for the great patronage." raised Achelm his mug of beer celebrating Mathias for his magnanimous patronage.
After a while, Silvia arrived from the kitchen holding in her hand two bowls steaming hot, that she placed on the counter, before returning again with the remaining tableware and bread buns with two cups of wine. Behind her, from the lobby that took the kitchen and the tavern rooms, a middle-aged lady wearing simple clothing could be seen gazing toward the counter.
The drunkards and the rest of the people in the tavern turned silent when this woman made her silent appearance, while Mathias took half of his mask off, and slowly enjoying the 'Speciality'. Inside the bowl steaming in front of Vek and his eyes, was a soup that had all sorts of vegetables reminding him of the Russian Borscht, with a red papery color, giving off an appetizing smell.
"Thank you for the meal." heard the drunkards not far from Mathias, glancing at half of his face, as he started eating silently.
Vek too followed Mathias' customs, doing the same thing as thanking for the food, and later on using the tableware in a clumsy way.
"HOT!" exclaimed Vek after he ate five spoons of this soup, making the people laugh, and making the woman at the corner smile a bit, but as she watched the two, Vek and Mathias, she failed to notice Mathias signaling some displeasure.
Eating slowly the soup, as if he wasn't affected by the spicy soup, in about 10 minutes that it took him to clear out the entire bowl, he didn't whine at all about the hotness, instead they could see him snack his lips, before taking the remaining bread left out, which he used to clean out the remaining leftovers from the soup.
"Madame, your soup makes my heart warm, making me remember my mom's Borscht. Thanks for the meal." mentioned Mathias lowering his mask to fully encompass his face, as he was looking at the middle-aged woman whose expression warmed out, just like in the past when she heard Mathias mention his mom's food.
"Much good may it do you, young man. This is the first time when I see a nobleman eat my food, so I will also note it down somewhere in my marks." affirmed the middle-aged woman who walked back to the kitchen.
Not too long, Vek too finished the bowl of soup, and saw Mathias drink casually the wine, while he was playing around with the gold coins, tossing them and catching them in a fast way. Sometimes he would toss one, before placing on more gold coin and tossing them shortly where he would catch them, just like how the old coach taught him to train his reflexes and mental quickness.
"Are you done, little Vek?"
Grabbing the glass with wine, he downed the alcohol on his throat, burping, making the people in the tavern chuckle a bit, and with Mathias too finishing the remaining wine in one gulp, he took another 50 gold coins that he gave Edmon for the food.
"It is too much, young man. I might accept it for those fools, but with my own product, I feel I would cheat you. The food costs 50 silver coins per portion."
"I know, and so what? Just keep the gold coins and maybe do some renovation around, it will attract more people. Maybe hire some orphans who live day by day struggling to keep themselves alive, into your establishment, allow the madam to teach them how to cook, let them assist your daughter in cleaning the tavern, taking orders, and other menial things."
"Young man, it is too much even for me."
"It is a lot even for me, but do you see me caring that much? Take them before those guys steal my money."
"Ed, take the coins, I will consider what the young nobleman suggested." said the woman in a loud voice from the kitchen leaving Edmon without a choice but to take the coins from the counter.
.
.
Bidding his farewell to the Innkeeper, he took Vek with him after glancing once at the people around, he getting out from the tavern, Mathias went on the district streets that seemed to turn quieter as if a sleeping spell has been cast on the streets.
Regardless, the atmosphere on the streets was pleasing, and his return home, to Fayrene, where inside the raven haired lady was writing something at the main room counter under the lights of the candles.
"I am home, dear."
The raven-haired woman raised her face a bit to glance at Mathias and Vek, before returning to writing, which made Mathias curious into finding what she was up to.
"Are you troubled by something, Fay?" asked Mathias who arrived next to her, resting his left hand gently on her shoulder, as he took a look at what she was writing.
It had some numbers, but mostly it was some sketches where Fayrene seemed to structure how she would envision her tailoring business succeeding.
" I am planning to expand the workshop, but it is too complicated. I remember everything you taught me, but I just can't figure out in which direction to take this endeavor of mine. I don't want to be sitting here by myself sewing, and having a select few enjoy my work."
"Indeed, it would be a real tragedy, but don't consume yourself too much. Let's have a discussion, a brainstorming session. Have your quil ready." said Mathias with a small smile while tapping on Fayrene's back.
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"Thank you Mat."
"Heh, is there even a reason to thank me? Since I am the Administrator of this Workshop, I have to give my all to my Lady Director and Boss. So let's start with those circles you've marked on the sheet. What could we do about them?"
"How should I put it Mat, but my funds are simply nonexistent. The biggest problem is the lack of funds to acquire materials for better projects. If I want to expand it I also need people to work alongside me, I can't just make you work for free with me, and don't get me started with the Arcane Study, we are maybe on the same level right now with regard to the magic since I have no recollections of what I've learned.
Mathias chuckled in an easy-going way, staring at Vek who watched the couple talk about things that he had absolutely no idea. Still, the atmosphere was pleasant for him who walked toward the couch and nested himself there, while the couple was discussing.
"Fay, I am also a tailor now, a beginner one, but nonetheless a tailor, which means I can still put on the work. Jokes aside, dear, you think the problem is insufficient funds?"
Hearing Mathias's questioning tone, as if he was testing her, she pondered for a brief moment before confirming to him the stem problem.
"That's right and besides that, there's also something else. Here, and here."
Saying that, Fayrene showed Mathias the circles she made on the sheet of paper where written down was "supply", "equipment and ``qualified people'. It looked at first a simple problem for Mathias but then thinking about the setting of the world, where it looked closely in hand with a medieval era, he pondered, while Fayrene too was quiet.
"We talked about this type of expansion."
"Indeed, step by step." remarked Fayrene, who was tapping with her quil on the sheet of paper.
"Step by step you'll navigate the Oceans. Let's wrap it up and draw conclusions. It is true you need funds to start advancing on your workshop, either by crafting and selling individual pieces you've crafted and later investing it, or search for an investor who would put his money on your ideas, giving them a breath of life."
"I don't have enough pieces to even sell in order to expand. I barely make the end meet with the orders I get. As for someone to help me? Who would even have that type of money?"
Fayrene explained to Mathias her struggles while the latter remained behind her as if he was her shadow, turning quiet thinking of something. Fayrene raised her head from her seat to glance at Mathias who gave off a confident smile.
"Dear, I was waiting to tell you about something, since I wanted to surprise you and Jeanne at the same time. But my adventure from Gravelmark toward Titan wasn't fruitless, make space a bit so I can show you what I mean by that."
Fayrene brought to her inventory bag the quil, inkwell, and paper she used, before in front of her, a closed bag that released a metallic sound when hitting the table appeared, followed by a box that started being filled with gemstones.
"There are more gemstones apart from this box, but I will resume to only show you this much since technically I am half owner of these valuable gemstones. Once I will turn them into gold coins, this will be my investment for your dream."
Fayrene stared at Mathias as if she was a ghost, with trembling hands picking up one gemstone that was similar to the one Mathias gained from the first Elite Owl he hunted in Empar Forest, The Cracked Sapphire which he managed to sell for quite the sum of money, more than she ever saw.
"How? There's so many gemstones here. Enough to buy multiple mansions inside the Inner City." asked Fayrene, picking another gemstone, that she observed attently.
"As I said and mentioned in my story, but it seems someone didn't pay a lot of attention, my adventures were not just focused on traversing Gravelmark and reaching Titan. I went to solve the problems the kobold friends in the mountain had with the bear monstrosity."
The memories of her fighting alongside Vek and Mathias resurfaced as if they were fresh, which made it easier to understand the dangers fought by Mathias and the party he teamed. She nodded after most of the puzzle pieces were combined, remarking with complex feelings.
"This is the wealth of the Kobold Elder, I will not allow you to waste it like this, Mat."
"There's enough to fulfill my promise to Elder Morlk, acquiring equipment and other materials that their tribe would require. But simply put, there's a surplus of gemstones that I have split up. One for you, and the rest I didn't show which will be used strictly for acquiring equipment and other necessities."
"So the Kobolds will not suffer from us using these gemstones?" inquired again Fayrene to make sure, there was no doubt about the origin of the gem, not wishing to enter into a string of complications.
Before Mathias could respond to her, the one with an answer was Vek who made himself comfortable on the coach, remarking calmly, as if those gems were nothing much besides shinny rocks.
"Lady Fayrene, it is still troublesome for me to understand why you are so nervous looking at the shiny stones. They are something common for us kobolds, in fact we like to gather around those types of shiny stones, and make some ornaments from them. Besides, if I am not wrong Elder Morlk gave Mathias what has been gathered for the past generations of his."
"You heard him, the kobolds will be fine. Believe me, Fay, when have I did something that will put someone in danger? Or cheat someone of what is rightfully theirs?"
"Sigh, it better be as you said. For a peasant girl like me, the value these gems hold is more than I can grasp."
"It will go to the right cause. Still, the process of converting the gems into gold will be slightly troublesome so until I sell the gems, I will take the pouch with gold and use it to acquire the equipment needed for more people."
"Is there something wrong with the gems to make it troublesome?"
"Well, last time we didn't raise much attention because it was only one gem, a low-quality one at that, so imagine how it will turn if I take all those gems for sell. For starters, the jeweler or owner of the shop might not have the funds to buy my gems, then the news will spread around, bandits, thieves, gang members, all sorts of shady people would come after me."
"Thus, I will have to make a plan for how to dispose of those gems and earn their full value, so our little business can start growing. I am your Guardian Angel, my little Fay." laughed Mathias at the end, when he thought about something similar to what existed, called Angel Investors.
Fayrene whose biggest hurdle to date got magically removed, by one gentle smiling, young man, who proclaimed himself as her 'Guardian Angel' she couldn't help but chuckle along, later on placing a kiss on his lips in a grateful way.
"My 'Guardian Angel' I am leaving myself in your care. Even after you taught me all those complicated notions, I can only understand so little. However, Mat, one lingering worry of mine is concerning a possible failure of this endeavor."
Caressing her face, he shook his head and mentioned calmly.
"It is too early to worry about such things. I will tell you certain things after I show you my last surprise I was holding back. Remember how I told you in brief about the Fortress Ruins used by the mountain bandits who I fought, but there was still one more secret left there, an Underground Vault."
Taking back the gemstones, and letting Fayrene take ownership of the gold coins, a total of 650 gold coins which in itself was a lot for the simple woman, he later started taking out books that he stashed on the table.
"The Vault of that Ruined Fortress belonged to a past Great Magician Frederick, who had a death wish, and even achieved his wish, leaving out a vast library untouched by those bandit brutes. I took a bit of my time to turn the pages of randomly picked books, and I noticed they all had something in common, they were magic-focused books."
Once he said that Fayrene approached the table timidly seeing with her two eyes the old books that were still dusted, or had dry leather pages used to write down the contents.
If she managed to keep her composure about the gemstones and money, finding her past reliving helpful, this other surprise from Mathias put her little heart on a challenge.
Her legs trembled as she opened the books to take a glance at their content, and thankfully with Mathias to hold her and give his support.
"Am I dreaming? Pinch me please."
Mathias, who was holding her up, pinched her cheeks, making her joilt, before she spoke with emotions in her voice, and tears flowing down.
"This is simply too much to comprehend. I … I don't deserve such a gift, and honor of having ownership over so many magic books. I am just an amateurish girl who only recently discovered magic. An nobody like me can't hold on to so much knowledge.
I can only say my dreams have some substance, but they are just dreams. Yet, now?"
"Shhhh, don't be silly Fayrene. Do you remember when you told me your dreams?" inquired Mathias, wiping her tears in a gentle way, as he took her in his arms.
"The Magic School. But it is too early, I can't. I am just an Apprentice, no way I can teach others magic."
"Silly girl, I brought those books so you can read them, thus making the first steps in creating your own magic library and further developing your knowledge. This is the kindling fire for that pure dream of yours. For dreams, we can't abandon them and have to at least attempt at reaching them before saying 'No'."
In his warm embrace, Fayrene could feel herself calming down, with Mathias words acting as an anchor and also a Lighthouse, guiding in the darkness of her anxieties.
"Good, you calmed down. Why are you so anxious lately? It is unlike you Fay. Once again, it is good to have dreams regardless of how foolish or unachievable they might sound, only by trying one can see the truth."
With Mathias giving his motivational speech, it was visible having an excellent effect on Fayrene who felt more empowered, something which made Haycien remark in a content way, as if he was reminiscing about past memories.
{Bravo! A well-prepared speech that made even this old man feel your emotions. 'It is having a dream regardless of how foolish or unachievable they might sound'. I couldn't agree more. Boy if your lady ever feels scared of dreaming big, tell her about this old man who from the lands of a small tribe, taking along on his shoulders that tribe, he elevated to the pinnacle of glory, turning it into an Empire.}
'Thanks, what you said also motivates me a bit, even though your time was different.'
{For nothing. In fact kid, you got me curious since young ones like you shouldn't even have such concepts down. What is your dream?}
'My dream? On this land or outside?'
{Why not both?} asked the old man with a curious expression on his face as he rested inside the inner dimension of the crimson ring.
'I haven't settled on a final dream inside this world, but I guess reaching the pinnacle of this world could be my Lighthouse to keep me on a target. As for outside, it might sound foolish or confusing, but I dream of giving once again life to the abandoned monuments of my country.'
'In terms of how achievable this is, it is 98% unachievable, but dreams never die.'
{You need money, right?}
'It is complicated, only to acquire those monuments from their scum owners would require a high sum, then you might also have to hold legal battles with different institutions who have their own agendas. A headache if you take your time to go deeper into each detail, but the dream is idealistic and grandiose, that's something I foolishly dream of.'
{If you need guidance from this old man, some sagely words, you know where to find me.}
In the time Mathias was having his conversation with Haycien, it was also when Fayrene calmed down, and started taking in her own inventory the books, holding each of those books carefully before they disappeared.
"I will read all of them, and teach you those spells. Just tell me what you want to learn and I will do my best." mentioned Fayrene with a committed vigor, only belonging to those who started to believe that they could achieve their dreams.
Time passed, and the couple later joined the bed after an ample discussion, there they could destress from all the complicated subjects they had to manage. Both were just as inexperienced with regard to taking a business to a concrete stage, which Mathias confused to Fayrene that he might be wrong at times.
"This is why I always want to have a discussion with you in regard to those subjects, because I am not really experienced. I have the notions, the drive, and even some of the madness of jumping in the fire of investing money, but in the end, I am just like you, Fay."
Stroking her raven hair in the bed as he mentioned that, he heard Fayrene remark slightly tired.
"Compared to you, I am shy, not willing to take risks that big."
"Yet, you did. Haven't you risked taking me inside your home when you knew nothing about me? Haven't you risked by picking up the Ancient Tome from the graveyard outside Cidarian? Your scars? Also a byproduct of your gutsy personality. Going alone to a big city from the simplicity of Cidarian?"
She brought her head close to his chest, and with a pouting expression along with a displeased tone, she mentioned.
"Can't I even get spoiled a bit?"
"Hmm, obvious. Still, if we are on that subject, I can say that compared to you, I am more shy."
"You? Shy?"
"Indeed, don't deny it, I am a bit of an introvert myself."
"Maybe a bit, but that doesn't make you a shy person."
The couple had their moment of laughter, lifting the atmosphere from the early heavy talk about the workshop development or the Magic School, and slowly after Fayrene entered the dreamland, Mathias waited patiently while Fayrene used his left arm as a pillow.
He still had a lot of time before returning to his small-sized room, in the single room apartment he was living in, and with Fayrene sleeping profoundly he slowly extracted his arm from her grasp, later on walking out without disturbing his sleeping princess.
Closing the door to their room, he turned his eyes toward Vek who sensed his arrival getting up from the coach he was standing.
"Mathias, are you going to train? Can I join?"
"Follow me, and don't be noisy."