Quinn woke early the next day. Or at least, she thought it was early. Time was quite difficult to tell in a room with no windows. It was also quite cold, which she suspected was due to the weather itself and not the time of day. Again though, no windows. She couldn't even tell if it was still raining. She was quite thankful for her new sagen. It was surprisingly warm and cozy.
Quinn didn’t really know what to do. Did she just wait for Ada to come get her? But who knew how long that would take? Usually, she would just read a book about Astronomy or physics when confronted with a wait. Here, however, she not only had no books, she also couldn’t even read the language. She was truly at a loss for what to do.
She stood up and stretched. Although slightly tender, her ribs felt quite a bit better than yesterday. She could actually move about without the breath being knocked out of her. She stretched the rest of her body out, carefully noting anything that seemed even slightly injured. Thankfully, nothing but her ribs seemed still injured.
Speaking of muscles, an idea came to her. It wouldn’t do to have a weak body in this place. Who knew when she would need to run away from a rampaging monster? From what she gathered, this world was quite a dangerous place, even more so than her original one. Even though she had gotten lucky and avoided danger so far, she couldn't expect that luck all the time. And she would definitely need muscles in her arms to pull the string of a bow. Since she had time, why not work out? It was quite easy and only needed solid dedication to produce results. Of course, she would have to be careful not to upset an injury, but she was already almost healed.
It must’ve been the work of magic. From what she could put together, she had only been in this world four days and was almost fully healed from injuries that would’ve taken months. Taking why she knew about magic, which was admittedly not very much, it only made sense. It was also probably why Alwin was referred to as a healer and not a doctor. She felt her respect for the elderly man grow even more. To be able to use magic, and yet use the power to heal. Truly a commendable act.
And he was so good at it. Quinn hadn't felt better in her life. She felt like the years of her body slowly shutting down were entirely reversed and she was back in her peak state like she was as a youth. And he must've done something to her voice box. She sounded a whole ten years younger! That wasn't even including her eyes. Although faintly, she could still see better than she used to. Even though she didn't have glasses, she could actually make out the details of something more than ten feet away! Alwin was truly a miracle worker.
But back to the matter at hand. Quinn thought back to the workouts she used to do back before she put her all into research. She was quite the avid mountaineer when her father was still around. Most of them would need weights, but she remembered a few she could do with just her body weight.
She stretched, feeling her muscles that hadn’t been used in so long strain. It was just a short stretching session, but it was important as it readied her body for her workout. Then Quinn set to it. Most of the exercises were variations of planks, push-ups, and crunches. This was so her body weight would act as leverage to push her muscles further.
That being said, she didn’t weigh all that much. She was already on the skinny side before she gave up on maintaining a healthy body. Add on top of that her tendency to work instead of eat and she was quite light. Her muscles were also in surprisingly good shape. She didn't have to strain nearly as much as she thought she would. Quinn was curious about why that was when a realization hit her. From what she felt that night, not only her bones but also her muscles felt ripped to pieces. And what is the goal of a workout? To break your muscles so they grow back stronger.
Quinn panted heavily as she finished up her new regimen. Her… everything felt super sore as she laid back on the bed. She breathed heavily with her eyes closed as she tried to stabilize her erratic heart. Sweat dripped off of her, but she couldn't care less at the moment.
It had been a long time since she had worked out so hard. Ever since her dad passed on, she lost the motivation to really push herself physically. Instead, she turned to pushing herself mentally. If she had to be honest, she really did miss the familiar burn of her crying muscles and the sweat pouring from her face. It was just so... familiar to her. It almost allowed her to forget the woes of being somewhere completely different then where she was used to.
Just when she had calmed back down, the door clicked open, bringing with it an earful of thunder and rain. “Mornin’, Quinn!” Ada’s gratingly cheerful voice overpowered the sound of her heart.
Quinn sat up and nodded at the chipper woman. “Morning, Ada.”
“That’s the spirit! Now get up! Today is a new and wonderful day, after all. Can’t have ya’ lazin’ around.” Ada pulled her to her feet, ignoring her unwilling groan.
“So what’s the plan?” Quinn asked. The muscles all over her body were twitching fiercely. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to push herself before she knew the day's plans?
Ada froze for a second. “Umm… we should probably- no… ah! Help me repaint one of the rooms first. Then we should go to see Eric…” She tapped idly on her chin. “Then probably lunch? I’ll let ya’ have the day to yourself after that. I decided last night that you'll help me every morning to take care of room and board, and then have the rest of the day to yourself.”
That worked well for her. Sure she wouldn't have an entire day to herself, but that would hopefully be more than enough time to hunt a few things in the forest. She would hopefully have her debt paid in no time. Quinn stretched out her back one final time. “Hhhaaawwww… alright, let’s get to it.”
“Great! It’s the first room on the left of the entrance. I’ll go grab the paint!” Ada races up the stairs.
Quinn lazily trotted to the room and waited. A door opened up further down the hall and a man stepped out, reminding her that the place was still a clinic even though they were letting her stay. The man was unlike most others she had seen. He had on the usual tunic and pants along with a silver sagen, the first she had seen of the color. A difference was the sword hanging from his belt.
This truly was a dangerous place. She was terrified at the thought of running face to face with a monster. What even were monsters to begin with? She had been envisioning goblins and ghouls, but was this world's monsters just animals? That would be a let down. All this hype about terrifying monsters, and it’s just a squirrel.
His blue eyes held tears in them as she met his gaze. He quickly wiped them away and forced a smile. “Ah, hello there. You must be that mystery girl the folk from Aftersafen brought in.”
Girl? She was well in her twenties. Sure she felt quite young, but that didn't deny the reality of the fact. She smiled back, hers just as forced as his. “Yes, sir. You know me?”
“Yeah, most everyone does. It’s not every day that a random woman shows up heavily injured. Especially not in the Veiled Grove. Few people come to such a dangerous area.” His smile faded.
“I’m Quinnzel. Call me Quinn, sir.” She held her hand out to the man.
The man shook it. “A pleasure to meet you, Quinn. I am Rolf Keifer, the head of the guard in this fine town.”
A little pressure was on her shoulders at the realization that she was meeting someone important. “The pleasure is all mine.”
Ada’s voice saved her from further conversation. “Rolf! How’s your daughter?” She came down the stairs holding a large bucket and a couple of brushes.
His strained smile returned. “Could be better. Alwin asked me to step out while he heals her. I was just on my way out. Duty calls and all that.” He laughed and walked out the door, a mist of rain came in as he did.
See that the newest person in her memory was gone, Quinn moved to the first room next to the entry and held open the door. Ada walked into the room and Quinn followed after her, letting the door close on its own. The room would've been just like her own, but all the furniture was piled up in the middle, leaving free access to the walls.
Quinn was expecting the outside noise to stop but was quite surprised when it continued. It seemed as though their soundproofing had broken. “What’s with the noise?”
Ada set down her bucket and looked at her with a confused gaze. “The noise? Oh, you mean the storm. The Lynx Suppressant has worn off. We’ve got to reapply it.” She held out a paintbrush.
Quinn grabbed the offered brush. “Lynx Suppressant?”
“Yeah. It’s a type of glaze made from the blood of a lynx. It suppresses all noises from comin’ in or goin’ out. Quite the lifesaver here in Halis. It’s just too bad it’s so damn expensive.” Ada sighed as she grabbed the bucket.
That sounded… nonsensical. Lynx blood had nothing so... so… magical about it. She was in a different world, however. Maybe animal biology was entirely different too? Why wouldn't lynx blood be magically quiet? It was only natural. And of course, wolves blood must cause berserk rage in all who are touched by it. And sloths must make everyone around them feel super tired. After all, this world was 'magical'. Anything goes, or at least that's what she decided to live by since trying to go by her own common sense would likely drive her insane.
Ada popped open the bucket, revealing a slightly red glaze. She pointed to the back wall. “We just have to finish this side. I’ve already done the other three, the floor, and the roof.”
“Gotcha.” Quinn dipped her brush in the bucket and started to paint.
“And don’t forget to get in between the cracks! The stuff don' work with big gaps in the paint.”
And just like that, they spent the next couple of hours painting away…
They both stood on the bed, painting the last bit of the wall. With a final stroke of their brushes, the low rumble of thunder was completely cut off as if someone had hit the mute button.
Quinn was quite sore. The workout from before mixed with the near-constant reaching had broken down what remained of her musculature. She was beginning to regret her desire to work out. She hopped off the bed, noticing that she had gotten her sagen and tunic coated in the glaze. It looked like oil as it gleamed with a faint red hue. “Hey Ada, will this stuff come out with water?”
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“Just use Cleanse.” Ada lightly said as she put the lid back in the bucket.
“Cleanse?” Quinn asked.
Ada frowned as she looked at the stain. “Yeah. Wait… don’ tell me ya’ forgot how to do lifestyle magic too!”
Lifestyle magic? What the blazes was that? “Uh yeah… this dang amnesia.” Quinn was starting to like the excuse of amnesia. It was quite handy, and nobody could say that she definitively didn't have amnesia since she truthfully didn't know the stuff they were talking about.
“Okay, I’ll teach ya’ real quick. Lifestyle magic is pretty simple after all. Almost everyone - even those who aren’t mages - knows how to cast a few spells. Cleanse is one of them. The magic has very low mana requirements, low enough for normal people to use them. They are also super useful in everyday life, hence lifestyle magic. Cleanse is simply magic that uses mana to clean stuff. It’s primarily used to clean clothes and items as well as a replacement for hygiene habits. Since only wealthier people can afford good soap and toothpaste, us commoners use cleanse in place of bathing and brushing out teeth. It works about the same anyway.”
Quinn was quite shocked to hear that they don’t bathe. To be fair, if the magic was as good as she claimed, then she didn’t really see the point in bathing. If she could clean herself in a second instead of spending twenty to thirty minutes every day, she would rather use magic too. It would be a massive time savor.
Also, magic sounded freely accessible. She had originally thought that only mages used magic since she hadn’t seen anyone use even a hint of it. But if everyone could use it, what set mages apart? Quinn asked Ada that very question.
“Oh, pfft!” She started laughing. “Don’t let a mage hear ya’ say that. Hahahah! They would hate to be put no better than a commoner. So, from my very basic understanding, everyone has mana. Not everyone is the same, however, so not everyone has the same amount of mana. Mages have access to far more than us commoners.
"Hmm... I've heard someone describe it like this: commoners have a single point of mana, and mages have a hundred points. Lifestyle magic is an oddity that only costs point one mana, but most every other magic costs at least ten.”
She kind of got it. To be honest, it sounded almost like video game. Ada also made it seem like there might be a kind of caste system in place separating the commoners who couldn't use much magic from the noble mages. “So cleanse?”
Ada nodded and started walking towards her. “Lifestyle magic is usually taught to children when they’re three or four, so you should be able to relearn quickly. Give me your hand.”
Quinn held out her left hand. Ada grabbed her arm and pointed it toward the stain on the clothes. She then closed her eyes in focus. “Try to focus and feel what I’m doing. You might not feel it the first time, it just depends on how high your mana sense is. I've also been told that everyone feels mana differently. I dunno how it describe it to you…”
”Well, what’s it feel like to you?” Quinn asked.
Ada froze for a second before a conflicted look sprang across her face. “Ya’ aren’t supposed to share what it feels like with others… It’s a very personal thing… ya’ probably knew that before the amnesia, and I’m being considerate when I tell ya’ not to ask others. Most everyone else would become enraged by that question.”
Why couldn’t they share what it felt like? Was it like some kind of massive weakness could be revealed? They say knowledge is power, so maybe for a reason along those lines? Quinn didn’t really understand the logic behind that, but decided to respect it anyway. “Ok…”
”Now, let’s get back to Cleanse…”
That said, they just stood there for a few seconds. Quinn didn’t feel anything particularly different. And then she did. It was as if a small string was entering her skin through where Ada had grabbed her. The string turned into a snake, slowly coiling into her arm. She could feel it worming its way to her palm. It wasn’t a painful feeling, but it was odd. It felt similar to the feeling of her arm falling asleep, but it was an almost comforting pulse sensation instead of pins and needles. It was also odd that she could feel it in between her muscles, but could tell that it wasn't actually physically touching anything.
Ada was panting quite hard as the snake of mana formed a tiny circle on Quinn’s left palm. As the circle formed, a very minute glow radiated off her palm. “Cleanse.”
Quinn could feel what she assumed was mana congesting and consolidating into the circle as the light grew stronger and washed over the stain. As the light passed over, the stain was completely removed. Then the light disappeared all together.
Ada collapsed tiredly onto the bed. Quinn wasn’t far behind her as she felt a wave of fatigue hit her. Not only did she feel super tired all of a sudden, but the air itself almost seemed to weigh her down. She felt like someone had attached weights all over her body while she wasn’t looking. All over except her left hand. Her left hand felt like a fish in water, completely unweighted compared to the rest of her body. It was quite uncomfortable.
“J-just, hah, give me a bit…” Ada’s face was entirely drained of blood. “Using magic, hah, through someone else, hah, is super tiring.”
Although Quinn had a hit of fatigue, she was already feeling better. “You’re good.” She was tempted to ask about the weighed-down feeling but decided against it. She didn’t want to look like a complete idiot in front of Ada. Quinn looked down at her palm. She was slightly in shock. She had just used magic! Sure, it was with assistance, but still. Magic! It was the fantasy of everyone.
if only she could learn to harness it. She wouldn’t have to fear being attacked by monsters. Better yet, she could use it to search for a way home.
After a few minutes, Ada was back to her cheerful self. She jumped off the bed and grabbed the painting supplies. “Wait here, I’ll be back!” She ran out of the room, leaving Quinn to herself.
Now alone, she tried to think back to how the mana felt. She focused on her left arm, which was feeling oddly light still. The more she focused, the more she could feel something off about it. It was almost as-
“I’m back!” The door slammed open with a boom of thunder. Ada walked in with cheer written across her face. “To Eric’s!”
Quinn stood up and followed Ada out the door. She could feel the rain smacking her as soon as she stepped outside. The scent of fresh rain and burnt ozone caressed her nose. Although she was in a different place entirely, the rain remained mostly the same as her home. Today's rain was incomparably lighter than last night's downpour. The visibility was hardly even reduced by the small drops, allowing her a clear view.
The sky was a light gray, almost radiating a warm light through the clouds. Now that the visibility was better, Quinn could see the town with better clarity. Most of the town was made of simple one-story buildings, but she could see several two-story buildings peeking up over the black roofs. A tall tall black tower stood above its brethren in what she assumed was the middle of the town. There were also quite a bit of trees here and there. Their branches just barely reached over the first floor of the scattered buildings.
Down the black bricked-up path, Quinn could see a large stone wall surrounding the town. She was too far to make out any detail with her half blind-vision.
There were also a couple of people walking about. Everyone had the familiar gray sagen pulled up and over their heads. They weren’t moving slowly either. Every person was moving with a purpose, not that she was any different.
After seeing Rolf’s sword, she started paying more attention to what the people were carrying Almost everyone that passed by had some form of dagger as well as several pouches around their waist. A few even had short swords. And that wasn’t counting the people who had bows strapped to their backs. It was quite odd seeing everyone so armed. It was as though they were expecting an attack at anytime.
She looked over at Ada and saw that the young woman also had a long dagger around her belt. All the weapons on open display were just driving the point home of how dangerous this place was. If everyone had a weapon, then surely there must frequently be a reason to use them...
Quinn followed the rapid Ada down the street and around several turns before they arrived at a rather wide building. Unlike most of the homes they had passed, this one had a covered porch. A long bar sat back in the recesses of the porch, safely away from the rain. From over the bar, she could smell the thick stench of blood.
Ada stepped up to the counter and lightly hollered. “Mr. Eric!”
Quinn walked up with Ada and saw that the building was some kind of butchery. Racks of meat were sat out with a man cutting into them from behind the bar. Off to the side was an assortment of bows and arrows. Quite the odd combo.
An older man appeared at the bar, his red sagen flowing around him as he looked over. He had a tough set face that looked like he was always angry and short gray hair. His steel-colored eyes locked onto the duo. “Miss Ada. What brings you here?”
“I’m here to introduce you to someone!” Ada moved her hands back and forth between the two of us. “Mr. Eric, meet Quinn. Quinn, meet Mr. Eric, the town butcher. His wife doubles as the town fletcher and bowyer.”
Quinn lightly waved. “Hello-“
“And I care why?” Eric scowled at her.
Ada looked annoyed. “Play nice or I’ll tell Mrs. Merla you’re acting’ out again.”
The scowl disappeared and a small hint of fear crept into his eyes. “Y-you wouldn’t. She made me sleep outside the last time.”
“And who’s fault was that?” Ada asked innocently.
His face turned red with irritation. “Yours! It was hailing that night! I still feel the bruises, you fiend!”
A woman's shout came from inside the store. “Eric! Did I just hear you call our sweet Ada a fiend?”
He blanched instantly. “I said friend! Me and Ada are friends, right?!”
A woman walked into view. Her long locks of gray hair easily blended into her gray sagen. She smiled at Ada and Quinn as she walked over. “Did he say friend, Ada?”
Ada had a look of pure mirth on her face as she looked at Eric. She tapped her chin with an aloof expression. “Hmm… I wonder.”
Quinn thought Eric looked a little panicked. “Of course! I was just telling my friend how big of a discount I was going to give her the next time she comes to buy meat!”
Ada instantly agreed. “Yeah, Mr. Eric would never call someone a fiend, Mrs. Merla.”
“So what brings you by, Ada?” The older woman asked as Eric briskly retreated to the back of the shop front.
“Quinn here,” Ada pointed to her side, “is a hunter without a bow. I was hoppin’ to buy one.”
Merla looked directly at Quinn, eying her up. “Any idea what you’re looking for?”
Quinn thought for a second. Considering she wanted to hunt, the best thing was a recurve. That, and she highly doubted that compound bows even existed here. She was going to aim for reindeer, so she would need at least a forty to fifty-pound draw weight. “Do you have a twenty-five kilo Recurve? And broadhead arrows?”
“Kilo?” Merla asked.
“She means drekks. She hit her head recently so…” Ada explained.
“Ah! Suddenly it makes sense why she is traveling with you. You must be that mystery girl everyone is talking about. Looking to hunt something big are we?” Merla looked over Quinn once more with a new light in her eyes.
“Yeah. I need to pay off my debt somehow, right?” Quinn said with a chuckle.
“I guess so. I do have one bow with that specification. Three silver for the bow and a copper per arrow. Twenty-five for a quiver.” Merla looked slightly over our shoulders as if the prices were written there.
“A quiver and a bow.” Ada took a coin pouch from her belt and retrieved the exact amount. Once Merla had left, she turned to her side. “Just so we’re clear, this makes your debt seven and a half silver.”
“No problem.” Quinn sighed as she felt a slight pressure in her head. She only had to owe more and more as the days passed. She was starting to have flashbacks to college.
Merla returned holding a black recurve bow and black leather quiver. A small flap of leather covered the ends of the arrows and the quiver already had a sling built into its design. She exchanged them for Ada’s money. “Oh, the bow and quiver are already covered in Rain Deer oil, so no need to worry about the rain for the next year or so.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Merla!”
Quinn slightly bowed her head. “Yes, thank you.”
Merla smiled brightly. “It’s always a pleasure doing business with such polite youngsters. Take care now.”
Ada handed over all the bow stuff to Quinn. “You know what you’re doin’ with this stuff anyway.”
Quinn grabbed the quiver. It had two straps, one slightly longer than the other. She put one around her waist and the other over her opposite shoulder. The quiver was snuggly held on her left hip by the straps. The strap around her back doubled as a sling, so she easily kept the bow on her back. The only downside was that her sagen now hugged her body tightly.
“Great! Now to lunch!” Ada laughed as she ran ahead of Quinn.