Chapter 1: The Town of Buttermilk
Hello, I am an enchanted book. I am here to tell you a story.
In a time when knights battled mythical beasts, kings ruled over stone castles, wizards threw fire and elemental magic, there lived a very good friend of mine. His name was Jason. He was a young man when I met him, barely twenty-five. He was a young blacksmith, the only blacksmith in the lazy, small town of Buttermilk. Buttermilk was a cattle rancher's dream, cows and horses roamed in open grassy lands. The farmers looked after their cattle, grew vegetables and traded goods at the daily markets.
The village had no more than fifty houses, It had a stable, a blacksmith, a market square, two churches and a clocktower.
The rich villagers lived in small stone houses in the middle of town. With amenities like magical freshwater plumbing, adjustable dimming magelight lanterns, slow burning logs and magical wards on the locks. In the outskirts, some villagers lived inside wooden houses, made from thick boards and planks, while some of the poorer families, or workers lived in the wildlands outside the territory inside tents, yurts or caves. On the outskirts of the town was an abandoned mansion, with an overgrown garden, that used to be owned by a great adventurer. When he died, the mansion fell into disrepair.
Jason was a muscular young man, and had grown up in the village. He was taught to be a blacksmith by his father. He was a muscular, tall man with wide shoulders and black hair. He had blue eyes, a large moustache and a light beard. He wore a black wool shirt, a black apron and some black pants. He wore some brown boots on his feet and on his chest was a home-made safety plate to protect him from heat, and stray metal. He also wore a very rudimentary welding helmet, able to flip up and down on his head so he could get close to the furnace.
Jason worked the shop alone after his father had been convinced to join the guard at the Castle nearby. Jason’s father now lived a day’s ride away, at the Castle of Flowers. He handed the business to Jason when he was nineteen. Jason was a master blacksmith now, nearly better than his father. He had worked with blades most of his life, but also crafted other metal items, like pots, pans, wood axes, nails, cauldrons, armour and custom pieces.
Jason was working the shop when an elf maiden approached him. She was wearing adventurer’s clothes, An elegant white gold and silver bow on her shoulder, and an ornate katana on her hip made from white gold and silver, with dazzling patterns through the blade. She was wearing a green cloak over some dented steel armour. She held a steel helmet with wings underneath her shoulder. Her long blonde hair gently glided over her pointed ears. She looked at him calmly and tossed a quiver onto the table.
“Hi there, what can I help with today?” Jason asked the newcomer.
“I’d like to repair some of these broken arrows. Just re-attach the arrowheads to some new flights, and make sure they fly straight.” She commanded.
“How many arrows?” He asked.
“Fourteen”
“If you come back in a few hours, I’ll have them ready. Is three dime okay?” He said to her, he had opened the bag and was inspecting the arrows for damage, appreciating the fine elven blacksmithing. “If you’ve got a few dime to spare, you should try Albert’s pies, over in the market. We have a cattle show in a few weeks. If you want to come back for that, we get half of the Castle folk down for the festival, but today’s a slow day. If you tell Albert that Jason sent you over there he’ll give you one for free, I swear.” Jason pointed to the centre of the village square, where locals traded daily goods like milk, eggs, paper, flavoured waters, potions, seasonings and livestock.
The elf maiden let the blacksmith do his work and she walked to the village square. While there, she met a tall blonde man. He stepped out from behind a stall selling chickens in wicker cages. He handed her a cage and told her it was a gift.
“A beautiful girl, for a beautiful girl. Hey this one is for free, I’ve never seen you around. Welcome to the village. This pretty little lady is called snowflake.” He said, then winked at her and smiled. He was handsome and carefree. She looked at the chicken. It was white, soft and fluffy. She decided to keep her new pet.
“Thank you!” She calmly stashed the entire chicken into her bag of holding. It disappeared into an imaginary void. The shopkeep jumped backwards.
“What was that!? Did you just kill Snowflake?” The man wildly accused. The elf simply laughed and pulled the cage back out. She then showed the man the chicken and stashed it back inside.
“It’s called a bag of holding. It’s a magic bag.” She said, smartly.
“I’ve never seen one,” he said, then laughed. “Can I put my head inside?”
“No, sorry. But I'll trade you for the chicken.” She pulled out a phoenix from her bag and gave it to the man.
It was a small budgie with gently glowing red feathers. It wasn’t actually on fire, but the glossy red feathers had a pearlescent orange effect, so it shimmered in the light and reflected light onto other surfaces.
“His name is Ignacio.” She said. “He was my brother’s pet. I have been caring for him since my brother died. That was two hundred and seventy years ago. He can be a bit annoying sometimes.”
“I couldn’t take your brother’s pet.” The blonde trader said.
“He’s an eternal being, I’ll live almost as long as he does. He’ll fly home to the elf homelands once he matures for mating season. He always comes back home. It’s pretty hard to kill the little bitey guy.” As she spoke, the fiery budgie nipped the neck of the trader and then sang a little chirp. “See you in about fifty years, Ignacio.” She said, she gently touched the beak of the little bird with her pointer finger and the bird bit her gently and blinked one eye, then the next.
“Th-Thank you, lady.” He said, then the bird burped and a stream of fire shot out of its mouth.
She walked to the market centre and looked around. Food stalls were set up, people were buying freshly baked bread from a bakery, a rotisserie boar was being cooked over a coal fire and the people running the stall were using tongs to put the meat into fresh bread rolls. She found Alfred’s pie shop. It was full of delicious looking freshly baked pies. She joined the line and looked around. It was a peaceful day. I needed a break, thank goodness, she thought to herself. Suddenly she heard something incredible from a few shops over.
“Enchanted Items! The Sword of souls! This sword will make you stronger than any man. You will be given the strength of magical enchantments!” The shopkeeper bellowed to a crowd of bearded knights. The Elf girl walked over and cast a spell to detect enchantments. The sword was just a regular sword. She brushed it off and left the toothless idiots to gaze at the ripoff sword and the con man shilling the bad merchandise.
She waited in line at the pie shop for a little while, when a shopkeeper dressed in an apron ushered her forward.
“Hi, I was just talking to Jason over at-...”
“Say No More!” The shopkeeper bellowed. “What discount did he offer you?”
“He said I could have a free pie if I mentioned his name.” She said back, shyly.
“Of course, anything for Jason.” He laughed. Then he put a pie from the warming rack above the stove into a piece of parchment paper and handed it to the girl. “This is the town’s favourite. Bacon, Beef and Salted Butter.” The Elf girl noticed that the oven had an enchantment, making the food come out perfect every time. She wondered how many people knew about it.
He handed her the warm pie and she looked at it with wide eyes. It was so big in her hands. She looked around the busy town square for a place to eat. She couldn’t find one so she started walking back the way she came. She approached the front counter of Jason’s shop, found a hefty sitting rock and sat down. On the gentle sunny afternoon she sat there, listening to the sounds of hammering coming from inside the blacksmith. Villagers calmly walked past as she ate her pie.
She took one bite and it was delicious. She took another, and another and before she knew it, it was completely gone. She was dusting pastry from her clothes and licking gravy from her fingertips. She overheard a conversation. A pretty blonde human girl had approached the front counter. Jason started blushing and talking shyly.
“Hi Jason.” The new girl said.
“Hi Stella.” Jason spoke, smiling ear to ear. “I am almost finished with that order. I might need another ten or so minutes. How is your day today? Did your dog have any pups?”
“Not yet. I think she might be due any day though.” Stella responded shyly, she looked down at the ground then up at his face. Stella was dressed in a white sundress, with a brown apron over the top. She had freckles and her blonde hair was elegant and smelled like berries. Jason was in awe of her perfection. Stella was too shy to admit she was into Jason. She looked at his deep eyes and sharp brow. She felt something inside.
“I was wondering if you had a date to the show this month? Could I maybe take you there, Stella?” He said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
“I was already asked by Aaron.” She said, stinging Jason. “I didn’t say yes,” she said next. Which made him feel relieved.
“I was thinking It might be best to just see you there. I will go alone, but you can buy me a sugar cake, and we can split it.” She laughed.
“A sugar cake, sure thing Princess Stella.” Jason laughed. Stella turned red and thanked him.
“I’ll come to see you tomorrow, Jason. I’ll see you then.” She said, and walked away. Jason waved and watched her go. He got distracted by the movement of her butt and didn't notice the Elf was staring straight at him. He was so lost in thought. He jumped when he turned and saw the Elf so close. Jason blushed, having just been caught checking out Stella’s walk.
The Elf giggled to herself then looked around. Her detect enchantment spell was still active. Jason had returned to work. He was fletching her arrows. She looked at his wares and realised they were all enchanted.
She curiously asked about his items for sale.
“How much for the enchanted gear?”
“I don’t sell any enchanted items. I just craft things out of steel and wood, and iron. Sometimes gold and copper. I’m always looking for new metals though.”
She looked around and saw a sword with an enchantment of life drain, a shovel that increases strength, A pickaxe that gives the user nightvision. The shop was full of metal trinkets and miscellaneous wares. A metal toy knight had the enchantment of vampiric fire, when blood touched the toy, it would set on fire. A soup pot had an enchantment of creating dishes with magic healing properties.
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Most of this stuff could be sold in the Elven Realms for lots of dime, but here it was in the commoner’s shop being sold a few dime each item.
“How much for everything in the shop?” She asked. He dropped his hammer and stammered.
“Uuuuuuuh,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “Let me count.”
He took stock of all of his inventory quickly and came up with a number.
“About one thousand dime.” he said. She reached inside her bag of holding and pulled out a large treasure chest. She smacked it on the counter and started counting. Jason was flabbergasted.
“Keep working, I still want my arrows.” She said. He started attaching the old arrowheads to new wood shafts. She sat at the counter on a stool and counted one thousand and three dime. Stacked in neat piles on the counter. She locked the chest, stashed the chest back inside, and pulled out the cage. Snowflake the chicken laid an egg. The Elf warrior pulled a large fur from her bag. Inside was an assortment of eggs. Some were reptile, some were nautical eggs, some were birds and other poultry. She added the egg to the collection, rolled the furs into a bundle and carefully placed her eggs back inside.
Jason approached the counter with her fixed arrows and handed them to her. She smiled and inspected them. Some of the arrows were enchanted. Two had explosive damage, three of them had love enchantments and one of them was given a swiftness enchantment. She didn’t tell Jason.
Jason was very pleased as he counted the money on his counter.
“I’ll have so much money to start new projects,” he said, smiling. “I have so much room to start making new inventory. I might have to close the shop for a bit, except for custom orders.”
She started loading all of the loot inside her bag of holding. Soon Jason’s shop was empty of everything but his tools and raw materials.
“I’m rich. I gotta tell my dad.” he said, smiling. “I can buy a horse!” He couldn’t hide his smile.
She started smiling too.
“Is there a place I can stay the night?” She asked Jason.
“Conveniently, I have a room upstairs for guests. Two rooms actually.” I charge 2 Dime a night. It’s not fancy, but It’s warm. There’s a small wood stove in your room so you can cook. I can help you start it. I have a hot shower too.” He said. This gave her goosebumps. Humans are so clever sometimes, she thought to herself. She was used to waterfall showers, but waterfalls are rarely warm.
“Jason, that sounds great.” She said, smiling, curious to try a hot shower.
Jason took her upstairs and showed her the room. It was a humble room. Single bed, straw mattress. Wool blankets. A pillow made of wool. A small chest was beside the bed, it held a few children’s books. There was a wood stove connected to a chimney system. It was made of steel and had a grate on the front. A small cart of firewood was next to the stove. Jason started the fire with a flint and steel rod. Some linen scraps and pieces of parchment were the tinder. Jason rapidly built a fire from small twigs and started some logs burning slowly after. Then he showed her the shared bathroom. He pointed to a steel bathtub and a copper exposed pipe overhead. The pipe was connected to a tank of boiled water. A temperature controlling spell made the water very warm and pleasant. Not too hot. Jason showed her the water and put his hand in to test it. It was good.
She reached out and touched the warm water with her hands. She shrugged with nice surprise and started to take off her armour. Jason saw this and started to leave. She pulled off her dress as he stepped outside.
Her perfect elf body stepped into the water. Her soft, perky breasts beaded up with water. Her hair became a wet silky mess. She scrubbed herself with stringy moss and it foamed up with the water, giving her a lather of antibacterial soapy suds. She washed her breasts and then followed by washing her abdomen. Her tiny waist was accompanied by a wide bum and a tight, shaved, slender vagina. Her blonde hair stuck to her tits like wavy tentacles and she washed her face thoroughly with her soapy hands. She grabbed a jar of scent-berries from the shower’s shelf.. She poured berries from it into her hands, She squished the berries to make a different soap and massaged it into her scalp. She smelled like Apple, Berries and sugar now. She washed the soap off her body and she stepped from the water, goosebumps forming on her skin. She grabbed her clothes and walked naked back into her room. Jason was downstairs.
He came up a few hours later to see her. She was tucked in bed, reading a book. The fire was burning in the stove in her room, which made it very warm. She was wearing a pink silk singlet. He walked over to her and thanked her for buying the whole stock.
“Hey thank you, the money will change my life,” he said.
Mine too, she thought to herself. She thought about the profit she was going to make selling these items back at her home village. She would be set up for a long time.
“No worries, my name is Freya by the way. I am princess Freya of the Timber Elf Kingdom.” She said and then Jason's jaw dropped. “Goodnight magic boy.” She said, with a smile.
He smiled and walked out.
“Goodnight Freya,” he said. He stopped outside the door and thought for a moment. Then he remembered Stella and went over to his own bedroom. He undressed and got into the shower. While he was in there he smelled the apple, berry smell of the soap and thought of Freya. She was incredible. He washed up, and put his towel over his waist as he walked to bed.
The next morning Jason woke up feeling strange. He walked downstairs and saw everything missing from his shop. He nearly thought for a moment he’d been robbed when he was interrupted by a noise. A creak on the step behind him. It was Freya in her pink silk singlet, she wore a small patterned wraparound silk skirt. Tied up in a loose knot. It was very short. She asked about breakfast.
He cooked up some pancakes, bacon and eggs. Then they ate at the front counter. They started laughing.
“So the rock monster was crushed by it’s own boulder?” Jason asked, in disbelief.
“It was too heavy for it to carry. I made it trip over and it crushed itself. I laughed for about 15 minutes.” She said, giggling sweetly. Jason laughed again.
“So tell me about this show again, Jason. In a few weeks?” She grabbed his forearm when she said this and looked him in the eyes. He nervously looked at his arm and pulled it away gently.
“It’s when the King comes down to inspect the cattle. Each farmer puts forward their biggest animal. We have chickens, ducks, boar, cows and pheasants. I don’t own any animals, but travelling brew salesmen arrive with carriages in a big convoy, all loaded with strange and wonderful flavours. It is a mighty time. Not to mention the travelling bands. I’ve seen some bards conjure all types of illusions to make their stage shows incredible.” Jason said, excitement overflowing from his words.
Stella approached the shop and saw the doors closed. She continued walking towards the town. She heard a girl laughing and Jason laughing too. She frowned and got upset.
“Can I come?” She asked. “Go with you? I mean.” She said, bluntly.
Jason stuttered.
“I-... Uhhh…. Oh yeah, Well I got this thing.. I should probably… What time is it? I should probably open the shop, shouldn’t I?” He said, changing the subject. He then opened the front door of the shop and started stoking the fires of the forge, gathering his tools from his wall. The Elf princess sat there slightly defeated, but very impressed by his resolve. She went upstairs to change.
She came back downstairs in her full armour, and left through the door without saying goodbye. She felt something grab her arm. It was Jason. He was flustered.
“Did you… Uh… Are you coming back?” he stammered, then looked at the floor. He was shy? She thought to herself.
“I can come back, if you want me to come back.” She said, giving him a sly smile.
“Yes, sure,” Jason said, nodding slowly. “I want you to come back.”
“Okay then, Jason,” she said, walking away smiling. “Don’t miss me too much.”
“Bye Freya.” He said with a wave. Then he finished opening his shop.
He finished repairing a collection of cooking pots and pans for stella. He had done ornate flower engraving on the sides of the pot, and he was only supposed to attach some broken handles. He went above and beyond for Stella.
Stella appeared and smiled shyly at Jason. Jason carried a big crate to the counter for her. It was all of the pots and pans. Once she saw them she beamed with delight!
“They’re beautiful! But I don’t have enough money to pay for these!” She said.
“That’s alright Stella, I did this one for free.” He said and smiled. “You’ve been my friend for a long time and I just wanted to help.”
“I also wanted to give you this,” he pulled out one hundred dime in a small wooden box. He opened it and handed it to her. She gasped!
“Jason! What is this? Where did you get this money?”
“I sold my whole stock, calm down. I made a thousand dime yesterday. From a new customer.” He pointed to his empty shelves. She looked around and nodded.
“Why are you giving me this money?” She said, looking at him strangely.
“You told me you wanted to buy some books from the Castle of Flowers library. With this money you could buy maybe three or four new books.”
“But the Castle of Flowers would take me four days to walk there. I’m not allowed to travel the road alone.”
“I’ve had my eyes on Alfred’s work horse for a few years, I think he’d let me have him for a hundred dime.” Jason said. “I have to go to the city tomorrow to buy new materials for my shop, ask your father if he would let you travel there with me. We will be back in a few days. We can stay with my father in the city.”
“Sure” She said, shyly. “I would love to get some new books. You are the best Jason.” She kissed him on the cheek and walked away carrying her crate of goodies. Jason saw this and closed his doors. He put up a sign and left, running to catch up with Stella. He stopped her, grabbed the crate and started carrying it on his shoulder. They soon rounded the corner and left. Chatting away about some local town gossip.
“Did you hear about the herd of cattle that went missing last week. Farmer Brown's put a bounty out for the leader of the gang living in the woods far south. Reckons it was them.” Jason said.
They were interrupted by the same blonde chicken seller.
“Stella, beautiful as ever. Have you thought about my offer?” The man asked.
“I'm not taking anyone to the show, but I will see you there.” She said.
Jason looked at Stella’s gaze and his heart sunk. He could tell she liked talking to Aaron. The blonde handsome rich guy. Jason looked at the ground. The conversation continued but Jason wasn’t paying attention.