Surprisingly, I did not have to walk that long to get out of the forest. But I did not arrive at any road as expected. Instead, the woods started getting thinner and thinner, the soil started getting replaced by sand, and soon I reached a beach.
The water looked calm, almost like I was looking at a massive lake, it barely had any waves at all. I approached it slowly. It was not glowing, like the lake under the mountains, so it was definitely not infused. Carefully, dipping one finger in, I double checked.
No reaction. That was just regular water. And it was salty. A sea? The sand itself also looked completely untouched, there was not even a sign of a seagull or any other animal footprints, even though there was pretty much no wind.
That was a bit strange. Melle never mentioned anything about the coast. Did she even give me the name of the village I was supposed to find? Damn that hag. Have I turned the wrong way? Impossible, but just to be sure I used the same spell again to check again, but with the exact same result. Maybe the coast used to have a road? I was about to start cursing her again for giving me wrong directions, when I spotted some brickwork under the sand, right at the edge of the forest. As I got closer, I realized that it was indeed some kind of a road that led further into the woods. It didn't look like a road to some major city to me. Sure, it was a paved road, but it was pretty narrow, at most two people would fit side to side. Sides were already disappearing in the sand, and further in, was overgrown by moss and leaves from surrounding trees. At least it was a road of some kind.
I spent about an hour, following the road and going deeper into the forest. The trip was pretty boring - the woods were quiet. Only thing that was breaking the silence was the occasional snap of a twig under my foot. The path was leading a different way - while I was supposed to go to the south, it was curving towards the east, and soon I arrived at a crossroads.
A bit perplexed by this development, I stopped and looked for any indications of a village. The hag did not mention any of this. I either could continue east, deeper into the forest, or to the west, where the road was getting a bit wider.
I guess that was somewhat right - the wider road usually means a city. The direction obviously didn’t matter any more even though I checked again with a spell, just to be sure, I started making my way west.
Another hour later, in the distance, I finally started seeing something more than just the trees. Getting closer, I started distinguishing some buildings. I guess I managed to find the supposed village. I use the term “village” pretty loosely here. There were barely any buildings there.
Architecture itself seemed similar to the hag's cottage, but this time some buildings were made of dark gray bricks, similar to the road. All windows were still made of that weird green membrane though. After another glance, I noticed that the brick buildings were very few - the first one being an inn, the biggest by far building in town. Unlike the wooden houses, being just classic simple cottages, it was pretty fancy. Every wall seemed to have decoratie reliefs, sporting an image of a crystal, overgrown with thorny vines, hanging from a tree, like some bizarre fruit. Above the front door there was a large sign, sporting what I suppose used to be a name of the inn - now mostly unreadable. The only word I was able to decipher was “respite”, the rest looked like it was scratched off.
Deeper in the town you could see some movement and a bit of commotion near another brick building. That one was pretty simple judging from what I could see standing on the edge of the village, straight up four walls, no windows and one door on the front. It was most likely a warehouse or a barn of some sort.
While slowly making my way through, I realized the weird layout of this place. It was just a singular road, with buildings on both sides, surrounded by trees from every direction. Overall, there might not even have been more than five buildings around
The commotion I saw earlier was caused by one man, who was apparently in an argument with one of the two other people standing next to the barn-warehouse. The two other guys had to be guards - in chainmail armor, adored with the same symbol I saw on the inn on their chests, armed with halberds. Both hooded. One lazily leaning against the wall, other in a heated discussion with a man with a box.
From what I noticed, the man had to be a merchant, he was moving some boxes from the barn to a small stall setup right in front of it, on the opposite side of the road. Passing by, none of them paid much attention to a singular traveler passing by - the guards busy with a one way argument with the merchant, and the merchant busy with the contents of his box, pretending to ignore them.
Further, on the other end of the town there was another brick building, very similar to the warehouse I passed just a while ago, but a bit smaller and definitely not as tall. While the warehouse had a singular door in the front, this one had its front wall demolished, some bricks were still sticking out from the sides, and apparently was a stable. It was pretty empty, just two horses idling inside. The road, getting a bit narrower, was leading further into the forest.
-I swear, this place is 90% trees - I muttered to myself, turning around, making my way towards the inn.
When I was passing by the marketplace again, the guards were gone already and the warehouse closed, the only person was the merchant at his stall, still busy with the box.
He noticed me, and immediately straightened up.
-Hello good sir, please come take a look at my wares! Beautiful jewelry, sculptures, magical periapts and utensils, all the best quality! You won't find those anywhere else!
Great. Even here they have souvenir stalls. But… Did he just say magic utensils?
-Sure, why not… - I said, approaching.
-Come! Come! The best of the best, only here!
The man looked tired, but as soon as I came to his stall, he tried his hardest to not let it show. He was a bit shorter than me, had a balding head with a hint of gray hair, and judging by his clothes and the fact that he was thin as hell, he wasn't very wealthy. His plain clothes were pretty good quality, but it was obvious that they were not very new - torn and patched up with random scraps of cloth. Contrasting his other features was his mustache, looking almost like those you'd see on old paintings, comically large and black.
Taking a look through the stuff he got on display, I immediately got disappointed. There was no magical aura radiating whatsoever from anything. His assortment consisted mostly of weird wooden sculptures, mostly animals, but each one was slightly different, and, to be completely honest, a bit crappy. Aside from that he had some figurines sporting some tree with something that looked like pinecones on it, which seemed weird, since the tree had leaves. He also had a handful of jewelry, or rather a bunch of rings, without any gems even. So basically nothing I would be interested in.
-First of all, what are those? - l asked, pointing at the weird trees.
-You have a very good eye, sir! Those are the arbo trees, complete with the life fruit, a symbol of our country! The life fruit, widely known as the prime gem of nature, is said to be the first gem that existed and the pride of ours! The beautiful image of it can be seen on our local inn, but nothing can compare to the original in the City of Abro itself! That is a sight to behold!
Ah, so that's what those pinecones are supposed to be.
-Interesting… Say, you mentioned magic components, what did you have in mind?
-Ah, a more demanding customer! Those are hard to find, and not cheap, I must warn you! You'd pay at least 100 times more than for my figurines, but since it's your first purchase, I'll give you a discount.
-Such generosity… - I muttered, while the guy started rummaging in his box again.
I didn't think he would have anything that would be even remotely helpful, but It wouldn't hurt to take a look.
He pulled out a pouch and opened it on the counter. Inside, there were even more wooden figurines and other weird pieces of wood.
-Those, my good sir, are magical charms! Every and each one of them has a different effect, from plain ones, like this one - he pointed to something that looked like a slightly bent wooden horseshoe - is to grant you overall better luck in life. Those, on the other hand - he pointed to a bunch of heart shaped carvings - also grant luck, but only in love, they are very popular with young girls and can make a beautiful present.
He noticed my unamused expression.
-But of course those are just examples of the small ones! I feel like you are the man that clearly knows what he needs, so tell me, what effect specifically would you like for your charm to have? I assure you, that I have one of those! And even if I don't, I will order one at once!
I didn’t even bother focusing. None of those had even a word written on them in Forgotten Script. Those were just plain pieces of wood, and that guy was clearly basically just a scammer.
-Show me the most powerful one you have - I told him, a bit curious what story he will make up this time.
-Ah of course! But be warned, that magicks are not to be played with. Let me just find it.
And he went back to digging through his box.
-This is - he proudly exclaimed, pulling out something that looked like some piece of bark - a charm of infinite possibilities! This amazing thing is to provide its owner with help when he most needs it!
-What is that supposed to mean? - I said, trying to sound interested.
-That’s the magic, my good sir! The powerful enchantment put on this carving will not show itself before it decides it is time for its miracle! Then it will decide on its power and then serve its owner either in that moment, or if you are lucky, it will become a constant charm to help you in your endeavors!
-So, you say before its time, it will be just a plain piece of wood, right? How do I know you are not actually selling me a regular piece of wood? - I asked, amused with his obvious bullshit.
-All of my charms come with runic markings, even those simple ones! No one but powerful magis and crafters are able to decipher it, but if you look closely, you can see them carved on the back side of the charm, or in case of some, on the base of it.
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-Let me see it then.
-Please go ahead, but be careful, they are fragile. You don't need much to disrupt the magic forces, dormant inside them.
-Right, right - I replied, picking up, so-called charm of infinite possibilities.
There was indeed some writing on it. And surprisingly, it was actually in Forgotten Script: “fibosu fi wowu”, or rather “wish of life”.
I took another look at the smaller charms. As he said, they indeed had writing on them, but they were just in plain english. I started recognizing some more words: luck, love, health, money - those ones were recognizable, but most of them were just too crooked to read, like they were written by a kid. All but that one.
-That are some interesting pieces. Who do you get this from?
-Oh, my good sir, what merchant would I be if I told you my suppliers! That is a trade secret!
-Of course. But I would like to congratulate them on this great craftsmanship personally!
Or rather to ask them why are they pawning such crap on unsuspecting people - I thought to myself.
-Thank you, I will pass the message to them without fail.
-I hope so. How much is for this one? - I asked, taking the "infinite possibilities" charm.
-It is 70 silver pieces, but for your kind words, it's just 50.
-Listen. I will give you a gold coin for that, and you will pass a message to your "source".That I want to meet them. I’m going to be spending a few nights in a local inn. This made me very interested in their work. And this - I gave him another gold coin - is for them personally, so you know I am serious about this.
His eyes opened so wide, you'd think they'd pop out of the sockets.
-Gods! Of course! Thank you! - he started mumbling. - I can't guarantee that they will show up themselves, but for sure I will give you a reply as soon as I can! I swear on my life!
-Good. Pleasure doing business with you. I will see you soon, hopefully.
Pocketing my purchase, I started making my way back.
-Oh the pleasure is all mine! And thank you again, I will not disappoint!
I could still hear him shouting his thanks for a good while after leaving his stand. As soon as I was out of the earshot, he immediately started packing his stuff up. I slowed down my pace to check where he was going, but to my disappointment, he went towards the opposite end of the village and left it post haste. For a second I thought about following him, but dismissed that thought almost instantly. It would be obvious that I was following him, and either he will be back as soon as he can, as he said, or he will never come back to this place ever again. Both worked for me, but the last one was more likely. Not wanting to waste any more time, I went straight to the inn.
First thing I was greeted by was the sculpture of that weird tree, as big as myself. I guess people living here are very proud of their heritage. You would expect that it would be made of some precious metal, but no, it was wooden, just like most of the furniture inside. Even including lights - those were some candle shaped wooden pieces, with small crystals instead of flames, that were glowing brightly.
Behind the main counter, near the entrance there was a man, in his 50s I'd guess, with short, black hair. He looked like he had not shaved in a while. His nose was weirdly short, as it was cut off by something. Unlike that merchant, he was dressed better, but even though he looked like he was not poor, he was unhealthily thin. As soon as I entered, he turned to me.
-Welcome. How can I help you?
-Good day. I was looking for a place to stay for a few days.
-Free rooms are from 10 to 30 silver per day, depending on your needs. Cheaper ones are communal ones.
-I will take the personal room, thank you. Doesn't have to be anything special. I would like to stay for a week for now, if that's not a problem.
-1 gold 40 silver up front or 20 silver per day every night.
-Here - I replied, giving him 2 gold.
-Thank you for the patronage - he answered dryly, giving me my change back. - My son will lead you to your room. If you need anything else, ask him.
-Sure.
The silver coins he gave me looked almost exactly the same as the gold ones, besides being made of silver, or at least something that looked like silver.
-Kon!
-Coming! - a kid's voice sounded from somewhere upstairs.
Waiting for them, I realized something. Either lodging here was pretty cheap, or that fake talismans were horribly overpriced. I expected something like that, but not on this scale.
Well, one more reason to have a chat with him again, I guess.
Just as I had this revelation, the kid came down.
The kid was about 10 years old and a splitting image of his father, including the outfit. Also, as thin as him.
Was there a famine in this village or something?
-Show him to his room, nr.3. And mind your manners.
-Hello sir and welcome, please, follow me - he exclaimed, excited, bowing in half.
I nodded at him, and gestured for him to lead the way. He took me upstairs, where a long corridor with doors on both sides was stretching across the whole floor. We emerged in the middle of it, and he led me to the end closest to the street, where another door was open, leading to some other room, but before I could take a peek, he closed me and invited me to the room just beside, on the left side instead.
The room was not very fancy or spacious. It consisted just of a bed, desk with a chair and a small wardrobe. There was one window though, made out of that weird green membrane, with a view on the street. Both walls and the floor were wooden, which struck me as weird, since from outside it looked like the outer wall would be a brick one.
-Here you go sir, this room is yours for however long you wish to stay. Presently you are the only guest, so no one will bother you. If you ever need anything please call me or my father. You can find us either downstairs or the room right besides yours - he said, pointing at the door he closed just a second ago and giving me a small key to my room. - Do you need anything else, sir?
-I am fine for now, thank you. By the way, you are pretty well spoken for your age. How old are you?
-13 sir. Thank you. Father always says that good speech is the most important for any innkeeper.
-He is not wrong. And before you go - I added, just as he was to leave - if a mustached merchant shows up looking for someone, he is most likely looking for me, so send him this way.
-Of course. Anything else, sir?
-That's all, you are free to go. I will probably just stay in my room, please do not disturb me for a while.
-Of course, I will make sure of that - he said, closing the door behind him.
-Yeah, that merchant… - I muttered to myself, pulling out my most recent purchase and sitting by the desk.
When I first saw it, I got interested just because of the writing on it, but now I wanted to check something.
I peeked out of my room for a second. The corridor was completely empty, and the innkeeper, together with his son, were downstairs. I could hear both of them talking about something. I slowly closed the door and locked it, just to be sure. The desk was far enough from the window, so I didn't have to worry about someone seeing me from the outside.
"Wish of life". Two words that always bring the most interest and controversies to every mage. To see those on a piece of wood in some remote village was completely bizarre. And on top of that, to see them connected… It's like finding a sheet of paper with nuclear codes, complete with a key, in a trash can. If you don't know what you are looking at, it's just an innocent piece of trash. But with enough information…
I focused my attention on the charm in front of me.
To my relief, I felt absolutely nothing. It was just a plain piece of wood. To be honest, I probably should’ve done that before buying it, but it's better to be carefull.
That kind of focus I just presented was easily noticeable for anyone that has enough grasp on magic, that is if you pay attention. Some people call it “magic sense”. I guess this is a valid name, since you are basically using another sense. When you focus on an object, you always emit a slight aura around whatever you are inspecting. Not like a glow, no. It's a small breeze, not even strong enough to move your clothes much. You can easily miss it, but it always has some hint of mana to it, a sweet scent that almost immediately disappears, so sometimes even people that are not trained are able to pick up on it. If I was to do that right there in front of that guy, he’d notice for sure, trained or not.
Even if I effectively wasted my money on some lumber that was for free and in abundance available everywhere, it did not change the fact that someone knew a bit too much.
Back in, well, my world, some words were banned for various reasons. That included "life". "Wish" on the other hand, was interesting. It was not a word of power in any shape of form, it was just an artificial creation, without a real use. so you can imagine my surprise when I saw it here, and accompanied by "life", which is very much an actual runic word, and powerful to boot. It's like seeing a nice sports car, but someone replaced the engine with a large iron ingot and is selling it now as a sofa. Made completely no sense.
“Life”... I knew a lot about this one. Back at the MIRE, we were sometimes dispatched along with emergency services, when someone had an “accident”. Or rather just failed an illegal magic experiment. Funnily enough, people loved to experiment with “life” in particular. To be honest, I can’t blame them. Prospect of creating artificial life and maybe even extending your own is tempting after all. Sadly, it’s not that easy, and after the knowledge of its existence spread, so the abominations started appearing.
First was some guy who tried giving life to a wooden toy. Instead he gave life back to the wood itself, creating a tree. You'd think that's not very dangerous. But when the tree did not stop growing and consumed its creator, it started taking over the whole neighborhood, the situation got pretty serious. It took quite a lot of fire to stop that one.
Next was someone's attempt at creating a water elemental. Well, they succeeded in some way. But the thing they made was just an orb of water, pretty much the same as one I usually use. When neighbors of the newly created lifeform, if you could call it that, started complaining about constant leaks, the would-be scientist got found out. Dead. And above his corpse was the orb, just flooding water everywhere. And of course you can't forget about human experiments, trying to bring back the dead, or trying to mess with aging and all that. But those always ended with just one more dead person, nothing more, nothing less.
As you would expect in this situation, governments swifty banned the word. After some more deaths, people started slowly losing interest in those experiments, seeing like every single one ended in the death of the caster.
And right now, the same runes were right in front of me, sold as some dumb charm.
-Well, now I can only wait for my supplier to show up - I said to myself, hiding the stupid thing in my bag. - If he ever will, that is.
Wondering what should I do for now, I thought back about my "work" I was supposed to be doing for that stupid hag. I suppose her potions finally completely stopped working, because I was pondering about just ditching her and just going to some other city. But as soon as I started considering that idea, I remembered about the kid. Even with this world's weird rules of magic, she was the one that teleported me here. And that meant they most likely could easily trace my steps. Plus I had on me their fire gem, and ditching it for the sake of getting away from them would be a waste. Might as well go to that city and check what the hell is going on. Not like I had any better lead on learning more about this world, so I might've as well go to that Arbo of hers and cooperate with them. That didn't mean that I couldn't take my time
-That's what you get for hanging me upside down and drugging the hell out of me. If you were in so much hurry, you wouldn't drop me off in the middle of nowhere. So now you can wait.
With that thought, smiling to myself, I looked out the window. The city was still empty, and after the one vendor left for who knows where, there was no one in sight. From my window I was able to see the whole town - now, from above, I could indeed confirm that from all sides I was surrounded by more forest, and there were no high mountains in sight, although the area west looked wavy, meaning there were some hills around and looked annoying to travel through, but that was definitely not "The Bowl". Wherever I was, it had to be pretty far from the mountains I came from. Come to think of it, I couldn't see anything around here in any direction, even to the south, where the city was supposed to be. I should've landed somewhere close to it, not in the middle of nowhere. Maybe it was somewhere past those hills? They weren't exactly south though...
With nothing better to do, I decided to ask the innkeeper for directions. Either way I was gonna leave this place sooner or later, so better to make some plans now.