The illusion mage was quite handsome, she supposed. He was maybe twenty-four years old and a roguish air to him as he cantered up to their table. His long red - almost cherry pink - hung loosely around his shoulders, flowing around him as he walked. He smiled at them, though she saw it more as a smirk than a smile. He had rather sharp features as if he had been cut from glass.
“Beautiful Ladies.” He bowed while putting his hand to his chest. “I am Mikeal.” She could’ve sworn she heard a subtle vibration in the air as he spoke. Almost as if the very world was anticipating his next word. “Might I have the grand pleasure of joining you?”
Quinn could see a blush instantly rise to Ada’s entire face. “O-of course, sir Mikeal… uhm, assuming Quinn doesn’t mind?”
“Quinn? What a fitting name for someone as captavating as you.” Mikeal suavely sat down, drawing an emphasis on his tight tunic that exposed his muscles.
Quinn, for her part, felt quite ill by his presence. She had always found Casanova-type people annoying and disgusting in the way they flit from one to another like a lost moth. She almost wanted to tell him to go away, but Ada’s pleading gaze made her stop. Her disgust was so strong that it even overcame her usual nervousness around strangers. “Thanks, I guess.”
“S-so what b-brings ya’ here, sir Mikeal?” Ada tried - unsuccessfully Quin might add - to hide her blush behind her hand.
Mikeal laughed slowly in a low tone. “Other than your mesmurizing beauty?”
Quinn wanted to punch the red-headed man. “Of course.” ‘You dolt!’
“I actually had a business proposition I wanted to ask about… I don’t suppose you would do me the greatest of honors and hear me out?” Mikeal flicked back his long hair, somehow managing to get it to settle perfectly on his back.
See, this is why you just can’t trust players. Quinn had gotten this vital lesson planted deep in her head from her dad: they always want something. And as soon as they get what they want, they’re off to the next person to enrapture and twist around their finger.
“I, uh, I, uh would love to! What about?” If ever someone had their heart in their eyes, it was definitely Ada as she gazed at the pretty boy.
Mikeal laughed again, drawing Quinn’s righteous ire as he seemed to draw out each laugh. “My apologies, sweat captavating lady. I was talking to the girl.”
Quinn! For goodness sake, it wasn’t that hard to remember someone’s name, right? And he literally just said it! And what the hell was up with everyone calling her a girl? She was twenty-five, damn it! Fire was in her eyes as she responded. “What do you want?”
“A little birdie told me you were capable of hunting Rain Deer.”
Quinn instantly snapped her gaze to Ada. Ada, seemingly realizing she was wrong, shrunk back like a turtle hiding in its shell. “W-what? I only told a few people… but this is a small town, so…”
Quinn sighed. “What about it?”
“Why I just want to accompany you on one of your hunts… and take a small part of the creature… I, of course, am very willing to pay for allowing me to be in your envigorating presence.” Mikeal jingled a pouch of coins on his hip.
The blush instantly vanished from Ada’s face like it was a lie. “Now hold on just a minute, Mikeal. Quinn is still young, fourteen at most. And she just finished healin’ from a likely traumatic injury while sufferin’ amnesia.”
Fourteen? She was twenty-five! Sure she was a tad short, but there was no way would be mistaken about her own age… unless… a terrifying thought went through her head. When she was injured… did it change her somehow? She had been noticing some oddities recently, but she chalked it up to healing magic. Maybe there was something else at work? She would love to have a mirror right about now…
“I, of course, know that. That’s why I’m magnanomously willing to pay her even if she can’t catch a Rain Deer. A silver a day, how about it?”
“Your ignoring- A silver you said? How about two, and ya’ got a deal.” A look of greed passed through Ada’s eyes.
“You drive a hard bargain, but deal!” Mikeal agreed all too quickly.
Quinn finally couldn’t bear being ignored. “Hey! I’m the one you want to hire! Why are you making a deal with her?!”
“Ah, my apologies. Then two silver? And of course, I’ll pay you ten gold if you actually manage to get the Rain Deer’s antlers instead of the normal five.”
Ten gold! She actually had an idea of how the money system worked around here, and that was an insane amount of money. To put it into perspective, most commoners only make around fifty copper every two weeks. A hundred copper made a silver coin, and a hundred silver made a gold coin. Ten gold was equivalent to forty months of work.
Why in the world were reindeer so highly prized in this place? They were more of a tasty nuisance than anything where she originally came from. The prices for reindeer truly went over her head.
She, unlike Ada, didn’t let the money blind her. She learned her mistake from the last time it caused her to do something unprepared. It was quite odd that he was out here instead of catching it himself. “You’re a mage, why can’t you just hunt it yourself.”
“Ah! You are not a formed-able mage, so you haven’t had this problem.” Mikeal said as he lightly stroked his lute. “So you know how Rain Deer will simply turn into water and run away if they aren’t killed in a single shot, right?”
“Of course.” What the hell! What kind of logic was that?! This place was well and truly deep in the shitter if even reindeer have magical abilities. Do all animals have some kind of insane skill? First, it was the lynxes, and now reindeer… Did squirrels actually have some kind of monstrous ability? Maybe they could mind control the passerby and make them buy various nuts… truly a terrifying thought.
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The good news was that their being able to turn to water wasn’t something that would interfere too much. She usually tried to kill them in one shot anyway. If she could place her arrow just right, she could wipe it out with a straight shot through its lungs and heart.
“Similarly, they turn to water and run away if they sense even a hint of magic, hence my unfortunate predicament. I’ve tried a few times, but I’m no good with a bow, and very few people are capable of hunting a Rain Deer this far from the cities…”
“That’s why sagen are so expensive.” Ada nodded. “They’re made from Rain Deer fur, so they can fetch quite a high price. You’re lucky I kept mine from my youth, Quinn.”
“Can’t they just be made from something else?” Quinn asked.
“Well… they could be, but Rain Deer fur is the only water-repellent material that can be accessed in bulk. Especially since Rain Deer can be tamed and bred like farm animals.” Ada sighed and leaned back in her chair.
Then why was Mikeal here? Surely he could just go to a farm, right? She asked as such.
“I’m on assignment for my fourth-year finals, my lady.” He actually looked a bit embarrassed. “It’s a practical assignment to get rare magical materials without help from the academy. One of the requirements is that I’m present during the actual hunting of the material and that it is taken from the wild and not just bought. Hence my request to hire your fabulous self.”
“Oh? What academy are you from?” Ada asked.
“Merlo Academy.” He almost whispered it.
Ada looked entirely surprised. “YOURE FROM-“
“Shhhh! I’d rather keep it on the down low…” He glanced around as if to make sure no one heard Ada. A few people did, but they didn’t seem to care about whatever she was saying.
Quinn’s eyebrows tightly knit together. “What’s so good about Merlo Academy?”
“It's only the best magic academy in the world! It’s in Magin, the magic monarchy. Simply graduating from there can guarantee a high-paying job at almost any place. Their entree requirements are incredibly strict, and it is incredibly hard to be accepted from there.” Ada said in a rush of excitement.
“So about my deal?” Mikeal asked.
She hadn’t planned on hunting quite so soon. She was still weakened and wasn’t sure if her accuracy would hold up. And she apparently needed to brush up her knowledge on reindeer. “Hmmm… maybe a week from now? I’m still recovering, so I’ll need some time. And deal if it’s three silver.” He obviously didn’t have a problem with money, so may as well flake him for all he’s worth.
Mikeal excitedly nodded his head, his flashy red hair splaying everywhere. “That’s good with me! I won’t be going anywhere. The next caravan back out of the Veiled Grove isn’t coming back for another week and a half anyway. Thank you, my kind and most generus lady.”
Ugh, he made her feel queasy with all of his flirting. “Yeah. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m starving.”
“Right!” Mikeal stood up and went back to his original position, leaving the two of them to eat in peace.
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After they finished eating, Quinn went on her own again, but she had something else in mind for today as she walked to the southwest. Everyone had been calling her super young, so she wanted to go and see why. Since nobody had a mirror - Quinn asked to make sure - a puddle of water was the next best thing.
She got through the gate with a similar interaction as the last time, though they already knew her name when she approached. It seemed that Weildenbach was plagued by the same small-town gossip that she had heard about in her previous world.
The south side of the town was entirely different from the north. A river cut through the path not far from the gate with a stone bridge standing firm on top of it. The bridge was well-worn and had moss creeping up the side of its support pillars. Past the bridge was sprawling farmland full of ripe-looking crops.
Quinn was quite impressed by the crops. They must have been well adapted to deal with all the wind and rain. And indeed it was windy out past the south gate. Since there were no trees to act as a wind guard, the full brunt of the wind dove down into the farmland. It was moderately breezy as it blew around bits of dirt and caused the trees to whistle. And this was the weakest the wind would get. Apparently, the wind grew stronger the closer one got to the center of the Eternal Storm.
She walked over to the river, careful to not actually touch it. She had no mistakes about where the people of Weildenbach did their business. She had taken care of it out in the woods, but as per most towns back in her own world, the commoners used the river as a means of toilet. The only good news was the conditions were much more sanitary thanks to Cleanse.
The river was moving slowly enough that she could see herself for the first time in nearly a week. Her long, curly brown hair remained much the same, though it was slightly darker than it used to be. Quinn chalked the darkness to the soaking conditions she was living in. Her face was where there were significant changes. She looked a like her young self from when she was a teenager, but her features were warped. It almost looked like her original self had a new parent’s DNA added into the mix. A new incredibly beautiful parent. She didn’t have any of the normal acne associated with a teen, but her face definitely had the biggest change.
Her features had reverted, becoming smaller than they had in her youth. The lines around her mouth and eyes had all disappeared, replaced by smooth skin. Her nose was definitely smaller than it used to be. She had inherited a large schnoz from her parents, but now it was tiny. Her forehead was also a lot higher and her jaw was way smoother than it was in her teen years.
The rest of her face had also changed, turning more flat and less round than it should’ve been. Her high cheekbone distinctive of her father was gone, replaced by a flatter shape. The change in depth caused her face to always look like it was smiling. Even when she tried to intentionally frown, she looked quite friendly. It was sickening. No wonder people tried to talk to her so frequently. Gross.
Above all were her eyes. Gone were the slightly downturned and sunken eyes of her heritage. She now had almond eyes that seemed just a tad too big. And they were slanted quite a bit more than a normal person’s. Her pupils were also wack. They weren’t the perfect circular eyes that she was used to. They were faintly more vertical, almost leaning towards a vertical slit, but still keeping their defined round shape. They were still brown, but she could see almost a violet hint in the outer rim of her iris.
Just what had happened to her to change in such a way? It wasn’t even as though magic could have done this. If magic was capable of reversing the aging process, then Alwin should have looked far younger than he did. So what caused the sudden shift in appearance? And why was she so young all of a sudden?
She hadn’t felt much different, but now that she had gotten a look at herself, some other odd peculiarities started to rise. Namely, her vision. She could see way further than she could when she first arrived. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was vastly improved from when she first arrived. She had chalked it up to healing magic, but was that actually the case?
All the questions left her frustrated. She had no real way of finding answers since she didn’t even have a place to start. Her lack of knowledge about the world was really starting to become irksome. And it's not even as though she could find new information at will either. Since most people were illiterate everything was word of mouth, so there was a high potential for misinformation if she asked questions. The exception was Ada, Alwin, and the mages she had encountered.
And she was illiterate! She had picked up the language somehow but didn’t know how to read or write it. She couldn’t even read a book to find out either! The caged feeling she had was by far the most rage-inducing feeling she had ever had. She calmed the inferno raging in her heart with much effort. It wouldn’t be like this for too long. She just had to get money, which she could from Mikeal, and get on the first caravan to a bigger city.