|Chapter 07|
~.-.-“Bound for Disaster”-.-.~
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“Magic Particulates - A Final Hoorah From Magic... Magic Particulates are much more complex than once could ever hope to fully comprehend. These ethereal particles of incommutable, magical residue come in a variety of forms; All of which are structurally unmalleable. From those composed of the fundamental elements common in the formation of basic spells, to the more exotic ones composed of Neutral, Null, Primordial and Flux magical remnants. It is believed that they are the catalyst for dictating the effects of a spell or otherwise anomalous phenomenon. Thus imbuing mana with a purpose; But they are extremely taxing to make. Most of the time they are gathered from the surrounding environment to perform a specific role, or drawn from the particles stored within a magic item. But when an abundance of magic particulates strewn an area; It can alter said land. And when enough of them are gathered in a single area, they spontaneously fracture, causing a multitude of peculiar phenomena... - Frangor Yutez, “Eccentric Researcher””
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Nuki - POV -
Letting out an audible groan, I reluctantly began the arduous, aether-defying task that is waking up. Struggling with the binding sheets and their oh-so-snug embrace; I groggily manage to sit up before almost immediately falling back down. Feeling the oppressive weight of laziness, I’m all but fruitless in my foolish endeavor. Laying against my ragged bed, I resign to my fate; Accepting all further attempts as nothing if not futile. Rolling to my side, I pull up the covers.
‘A little bit more couldn’t hurt...’
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Walking down the shoddy, well trodden streets of the central shopping outlet; I remark upon my earlier decisions. ‘Laying in bed until lunch is probably not all too responsible...’. Remembering the days earlier events caused a slight shiver to run down my spine. Trembling, I nonchalantly meandered through the festive, brightly colored vendors and stalls. But it wasn’t really the shirking of responsibility that had put me off; No, I would have very well just ignored that. What TRULY frightened me was Miss Sweetie.
It must have been but a little after 12am that she had neglected knocking, instead opting to barge into my room; A sandwich and watered down pint of ale in tow. Now, many people would see this as excellent ‘room service’, excluding the no knocking part. And with how much I paid for the room, it is much more that I should have gotten. BUT, for an adventurer such as myself; When I saw an imposing, bulky mass towering over me. I quite genuinely felt like I was going to die. Watching her brawny body try to squeeze its way through the already massive doorway; I really thought that an ogre was making its way towards me. And coupled with my blurred vision; I believed it, and leapt off of the ragged bed.
Which leads back to now, as I carefully cradle the large knot now residing on the roof of my head. Momentarily disregarding the throbbing pain coursing through my head, physically and mentally; I stopped shortly away from an old, yet surprisingly well kept food stall. Standing behind said stall is a similarly well kept middle aged man; Handing off baskets of bread to his customers whilst grinning ear to ear. Casually glancing my way, his smile somehow grows bigger yet.
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“Nuki~ If it ain't my seventh favorite customer. Come here, come here!”
Ushering me over with a jubilant wave of his hand; I find myself face to face with the jovial lunatic. Stopping in front of the stall, I lean with my elbows on the ledge; Propping up my chin with my interlaced hands.
“So... Mr. Ceres... To what joy do I owe you this fine afternoon?”
Waving farewell to his previous customer, he locks eyes with me; His manic grin quickly vanishes. Cautiously, he leans down to my ear; His bitter breath prompting tingles down my neck. Shakedly, as if held at knife point, he mutters three words.
“The Bread Cartel...”
Immediately, all of the tension once held in my body is simultaneously released. Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose whilst cradling my forehead.
“Mr. Ceres-”
“UPUPUP! None of that! You MUST take them seriously. Even royalty need to placate them, they hold more control in the country than you’d think! HELL! I don’t even know to what extent!”
Rambling, he continued forth on the prospect of total market manipulation and further outlandish premise that even the king must prostrate himself to this elusive group of bakers. Feigning attentiveness in his delusional conspiracies; I lay down two coppers and grab one of the fresher loaves that I could find. Eating the surprisingly decent bread, I carefully waited for the moment that I could shut down the conversation and get back to the inn.
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Shambling towards the inn, I spared one last glance at the now dimming sky; As I entered the rustic building. Mr. Ceres had taken much more of my time than I had initially expected. Honestly, I should have just dashed the moment his attention was on me. I just knew that this day was bound for disaster the moment I knocked myself silly on the stupidly low ceilings of my room; And it has proven itself quite competent in that regard throughout the remainder of the day. The only thing worthwhile that happened was that I got a Sanguis Potion and two Universal Wand Charges. It wasn’t like they were dirty cheap, mind you. They just so happened to have been selling at around a 30% markup; Much better than the normal price gouging around these parts.
Meandering towards my room I’m suddenly struck by a daunting realization, and immediately begin sprinting. Bursting into my room, I swiftly threw my stuff on the bed before making haste for the cellar. Through the day's constant stream of lunacy, I had totally forgotten about the newly caged slime. ‘I haven’t fed it today! Wait... what should I feed it?’. Scrambling down the short stairwell I barreled through the shoddy door; In a fit of rasp breathe.
Heaving, I turned towards the slime’s cage... And everything seems to be in order. Currently, the amorphous blue blob was positioned as if staring at me from the far side of its cell. Sighing in relief, I began the process of figuring out what to feed it.
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After little more than a few minutes later; I almost applauded myself as to how dumb I was. Literally the first page in the Deadly Fauna Handbook had the lines of; “Everyone knows a thing or two about magical creatures, like how slimes will eat anything and dragons...”. Wow, I must really sit up there with the greatest of minds if I harbor this kind of profound intellect. Putting my misgivings aside, I shelved the book and went off to see if Miss Sweetie was willing to part with the leftover scraps from her most recent vegetable stock.
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Food acquired, I attached one of the larger bits to the pointed end of the ABW. Kneeling in front of the cage, I methodically dangled the food covered wand in front of the cute little slime. After a little bit of waiting and a few modest pokes to the face(body?); It finally engulfed the discolored carrot. Watching it munch down and dissolve the orange vegetable, I attached another piece to the ABW. Casually, I pushed the ABW through the barri-
SHATTER!