After one day of walking Sien and his master reached a village named Sahman. It was much bigger than the one Sien visited before coming home and bigger than the one Sam lived in. It could almost be considered a small town by the size of it.

“Many mages tend to get into adventures since they can freely use their magic and make money out of it. There might be a chance we find one in this village.” Sam gave Sien a lecture as they entered the village, passing by an adventure group with one mage with staff in the group.

“But how do we find the right one in a village? There is no guild hall around here.” Asked Sien as he looked around for a distinguished building of an adventurer’s guild.

“The guild found a way to reach their services in every village around the world. In the smallest villages, you can find a board with announcements to the villagers as well as tasks for the passing adventurers. And if there is an Inn. The guild makes a contract for that place to be the interest point for the adventurers. Just like this one.” They stopped in front of the two-story high building with a restaurant on the ground floor and the rooms to stay in on the upper floor.

The building was made out of light wood and with a roof out of red stone tails. Near the entrance, there was a fence with horses tied to them, drinking water from a big bowl. The doors were wide open, letting the sound of chatter of the people inside be heard on the street.

Even though it was a village, many people dined there. Many were villagers but some people stuck out, especially the ones with weapons on them or full traveling bags beside their tables. Travelers and adventurers alike. The adventurers sat on one side of the tavern, close to the quest board. Sien and Sam sat near them to watch out for the mages who could help them.

“So we are looking for an old man with a beard, pointy hat, and a big stick.” Sien looked around the inn for the specific person he described.

“Some mages might look like that. But not all of them. Women also can be a mage. They don’t need to be old nor they don’t need to have a big staff to use magic. Do you see that guy with a sword whose handle is made of a wooden branch? It might as well be his wand.” Sam whispered to Sien and secretly pointed at the man closest to the board, hiding his hand under his arm.

“Then why don’t we ask him if he is a mage?” Sien was about to approach the man with an unusual sword but Sam stopped him before he even left his chair.

“Better not do that.” Sam simply said.

“Why not?” Asked a confused boy, standing beside the table.

“If he is not a mage he might lie a bit to try and make money out of us. And if he is a mage he might come with his own prices for the ‘helping hand’. That's just how most adventurers work…” Answered Sam, whispering to not agitate the surrounding adventurers.

“Oh… Then I have an idea!” Sien took out a piece of paper, placed it on the table, and wrote something on it with his claw, hiding what he was writing with his shoulders and head that he had close to the paper. He ran to the board and placed the paper on the board, proudly looking at Sam with his chest pumped out and a smile on his face.

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“Looking for mage’s advice… for… ten silver coins… Sien. I think that is too much for simple advice. Maybe lower the price.” Sam read the text and scratched his chin as he suggested the change to Sien, thinking of how to price the request.

“We have enough coins. And that price might attract the more experienced mage.” Answered Sien, standing by his solution to their problem.

“Ekhm… Excuse me. Before you hang anything on the board you need permission from the guild or the inn.” The waitress approached the board looking at Sien’s paper.

“Apologies. I didn’t know it worked like that.” Sien lowered his head to apologize for the inconvenience he had caused.

“Nothing to worry about. I just wanted to let you know, not to scold y-” The waitress picked up the paper when suddenly someone grabbed it out of her hand and began reading it while having an open book in the other hand.

An elf slightly taller than Sien with white-blond hair long enough to reach her chin. She was wearing a long white dress with a curvy thin, almost transparent, collar. The blue robe that was as long as her dress broke the dominating white color of her clothes with a dark line separating the white dress from the blue. The sleeves of the robe were much wider than her thin arms, making her look like she was wearing her boyfriend's clothes. By her hip, she had a belt with two pouches attached to it and a smooth wand made of silver wood.

“Excuse me. Who made this quest? There is no address or information about the quest giver. Oh. My apologies. Did you want to read it?” The elf, confused by the waitress’s expression, gave back the piece of paper.

“We were the ones who made that quest.” Sam joined in the conversation.

“Oh. Is that right? What kind of advice did you want?” The mage asked, ignoring the waitress behind her as she explained that the quest wasn’t yet verified. The woman tapped the mage’s shoulder to get her attention. “Yes?” She asked as she turned around to face the waitress and ignored Sam’s explanation.

“Did she ignore me?” Asked Sam not understanding the elf’s behavior, which was easily distracted.

“I think she can focus on only one thing. Tap her on the shoulder.” As Sien instructed, Sam tapped the elf’s shoulder and she turned around to listen to what he was about to say while ignoring the waitress behind her.

“You’re right…” Said Sam in disbelief.

Sam and Sien let the elf sort out things with the waitress. She proposed that the quest can be verified and ranked accordingly but the elf denied it and pointed out that it would be low rank so there is no need for that. The three of them then sat by the table in the corner of the restaurant.

“Before we pay you we’ll ask if you have any knowledge of that. If you have. Will pay after you tell us.” Sam negotiated the way they would exchange the information for the payment.

“Sure. That’s reasonable. So what kind of advice do you want?” The woman asked, her eyes locked on Sam.

“It’s not as much as advice but-” Sam tried to think of a way to ask without giving unneeded information to a stranger.

“Do you know anything about runes?” Sien cut into Sam’s speech, impatient for the knowledge he was looking for.

“Runes? Well, I do possess some information about them. But I didn’t study them very much. Just the basics. Well. A bit of basics.” The elf explained figuring out how much she really knew about the runes, looking up toward the ceiling as she ignored all the noise around her and focused on her thoughts.

“Okay. How about we pay you a bit now for the information and the more you tell us the more we add?” Said Samuel as he placed a silver coin on the table, attracting the mage’s attention.