What a beautiful afternoon! The sun is still glowing its welcoming light and the air is fresh! I can’t believe that I’m in Golosumna! Did I dream of this growing– no, no I didn’t dream of anything really. Bah. Now I’ve gone and soured the mood.

Whatever. I’m just happy to be here, plus I’m gonna learn stuff and maybe even make some new friends! Now if I’ve been following those nice guardsmen’s directions right I should start seeing…

Woah… that’s incredible. A massive glass dome of that size in the middle of a city? For growing all sorts of plants and making cool tinctures? I can’t wait around for that to come to me, screw it, I’m getting there as fast as possible. Chev will forgive me.

It’s like looking at a, well, a giant greenhouse. We used to have one back with… nevermind, uh, it looks really cool. A glass dome that stretches super wide across a chunk of the city. I wonder why we couldn’t see light reflecting off of it from outside the walls though. Or see it once I was inside the city too for that matter…

As I pass through the brick streets, I take the time to check out some of the other buildings. I’m currently passing through a section of the city called History’s Mark and apparently it’s where all the people who like to learn about the past go. Though I can’t see the appeal.

I mean it is nice to look at. Very, um, stylized. Some of the buildings look like they’ve been standing for at least a hundred years. Though it also kind of makes them look unstable…

As I pass through the streets lined in slightly crumbly looking marble buildings, I stop paying attention to where I am. Which isn’t great given I’m currently riding on Chev’s back through a city. Although I have noticed that most people here don’t seem to mind my little Thistle Wolf much. Maybe they understand that Thistle Wolves are super chill with people or maybe the people here are used to weird stuff like this happening.

While I’m in the middle of my inner monologue about how Thistle Wolves are really neat, I feel a bump and then the sound of things hitting the ground followed by a person groaning. Looking down I see a short boy– wait no, a gnome, with silver hair and small glasses lying on the ground surrounded by a bunch of books.

“Oh Eddallius, I am so sorry. I wasn’t watching where Chev was going and, here let me help you.” I jump down and start picking up the gnome’s books for him.

“It is fine, really. I was not paying much attention to where I was going either, it did not help that I was carrying a stack of books taller than me either.” He apologizes with an almost melodic voice as he dusts himself off. “But if you feel like doing me a quick favor, I would love some help with taking these back to my dorm room.”

I finish picking up all the books that had fallen and stacked them up neatly, which I have to say he wasn’t lying about the stack being taller than him. I wonder how strong this guy is to be carrying all these…

“Sure, I’ll help you out, uh, sorry what’s your name? Mine’s Charlie.” I hold out a hand to him.

“Ah right, where have my manners gone these years, I’m Runva, Runva Chelshivene.” He takes my hand and gives it a good shake. “Thank you in advance for your assistance. And might I add, your Thistle Wolf is quite a fine specimen. I would love to hear about how you found them.”

I take a moment and give the gnome a once over. He’s on the shorter side by human standards, if Ollie were here he’d probably ask how tall Runva is, like a weirdo. Silvery hair that’s cut short with slightly pointed ears sticking out and has a pair of wire rimmed glasses resting on top of them, along with a bronze cuff. Mostly pale skin, he seems like an indoor person, with a kind of boyish charm I guess. Overall he looks like a bookworm through and through.

“Hmm, well I’ll tell you but only if we can stop somewhere before heading to wherever your dorm is. Sound like a deal?” I take some of his books with me and put them into my lap as I ride alongside him on Chev.

“Certainly. I am currently studying at the Pathfinder’s Institute back that way, they are also housing me for the time being. I am, however, spending my summer vacation leafing through as many of the city’s history books as I can for pure entertainment.”

“I guess my first impression of you was right on the money! You are a nerd.” I laugh for a moment. “Wait, uh, not that being a nerd is a bad thing or something, I just, oh gosh you must think I’m a jerk now.”

“Nonsense, I am quite content being a nerd and am unbothered by people calling me such. Most people wouldn’t apologize after an insult either, so I take that as a sign you are a good person. Plus, most humans tend to make fun of my height before my interest in studying.” He chuckles to himself with a lighthearted grin on his face.

“Still, that was rude of me to just blurt out. Here, to make up for it I’ll tell you that I’m a nerd too. But I’m mostly into plants and alchemy.”

“Ah I see. So that is why we are heading towards The Greenhouse district. They have some lovely parks there that I like to read in.” He looks off at the glass dome we’re approaching. “We can be nerds together if you’d like, I spend a lot of time around here studying history and doing some stuff for a friend of mine.”

“Dude, we just met and you’re already asking me out. Bold.”

His face goes beet red and he manages to stutter out, “N-no! I-I am not t-trying to ask you out! I-I am merely p-proposing–”

“Proposing huh?” I tease.

“Eep!” Is the last thing he manages to squeak out before tripping face first onto the cobblestone, dropping his books all over again.

I laugh as he gets back up and gathers his books. “Sorry, sorry, you’re just too easy dude. Plus I’m used to hanging out with a guy friend of mine and we constantly tease each other about romance.” He dusts himself off and we continue walking towards where the massive glass dome is.

“I–It is fine. I know that I am not the best with people, so I should have tried to choose my words more carefully. Funny how even after two years here, I cannot seem to grasp how to act around others.”

After a few minutes of small talk, mostly about how he’s really into studying history and that he wants to do some archeological adventures with a friend of his at some point during the coming school year, we make it to an opening in the glass dome. Two guards stand on either side and give us a passing glance, before turning back to the street. Inside is breathtaking. Everything is like one big park, like back where I used to live, but much bigger and there are buildings in here. I think one of the bigger ones is a school of some kind. Although…

“Hey, Runva?”

“Yes?”

“Is it normal that Chev is here in the city? Most people don’t seem to mind me riding a wolf around, only one guard ever stopped me and that was on my way into the city.”

“Oh you don’t know? Hmm, how about a quick lesson then?” I groan as he chuckles at my apparent boredom. “Nothing long, just a quick and interesting fact about the locals.”

“Fine, let’s hear it.”

“I take it that you came through the western gate?” I nod and he continues. “So you saw all those street magicians. They aren’t your average performers though, they actually act as a show of military power.”

“Huh? How’s that?”

“The Bardic Republic is one of the strongest nations here on Archlam, but most people do not take them seriously due to them being a nation of performers. However, they happen to have the highest population of natural born mages here as well. So having the most busy entrance filled with magical people and items is like a show of arms, think about it like having a large army made up of spellcasters. Now put all of them at the busiest place of entry and show off their abilities and how effortless it is to cast spells for them. See what I am getting at?”

I pause and consider it for a moment. “So basically nobody’s worried because they think they could deal with me if I tried to do anything bad with overwhelming power?”

“More or less, the bards put this into practice back when they first opened their borders to the rest of the continent. It is rather interesting that they thought to do that.” Runva gets a goofy looking smile on his face as he talks about how smart and clever of a move it was.

We eventually find a nice spot in one of the park areas of the district, which I can’t even begin to describe how amazing it all is. It’s like the perfect balance between park and city. Shops, houses, fountains, even schools and labs, this place is like a dream come true. I saw at least ten different kinds of plants I don’t recognize and even more that I’ve only seen in books! And the fact that this is all inside of a massive glass dome makes it all the cooler!

Runva says that at night you can see the stars clearer here than anywhere else, something about magic runes circles to keep the light polu-whatsit down. And he says that the gardeners who take care of this place apparently just let people take the plants growing here for free! Like what?! I really want to see about spending some time here before we go to school.

Oh! And speaking of, Runva says that people here get to enroll in multiple schools at once as long as they can keep up with the workload. He says most people only do it during their second year of studying, but that if I wanted, he’d help with keeping up on stuff over at the Pathfinder’s Institute if I wanted to study over here as well. Super chill dude as well, a bit stuffy, but otherwise he has a good heart and knows a decent bit about monsters. Most of my knowledge is only here because of my Inkling.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“So you say that your home was attacked and this big fellow was a part of the raiding party? I am surprised, most Thistle Wolves dislike attacking any kind of settlement.” Runva comments as he gives Chev some scritches behind the ear.

“Yeah, it was odd… the one who was controlling his mother was this weird lady. She was working with a Netherfolk man who was riding on top of a Pyrmeleon, super cool looking as well other than the fact that they were burning the place down.” I sigh and lean back against Chev. We were currently sitting under a tree in the early part of the evening.

“A Netherfolk man? Hmm, surprising what with the talk of war with the Beastfolk.”

“A war?”

“Oh yes, it is not a public thing as of now. But the older gnomes back home were worried that it could have us pulled in seeing as we are quite close to the Demon Isles. I probably should not have told you, but I am sure you would not spread it around too much.”

I laugh and he gives me a worried look. “I promise I’ll do my best, but, mmm, well I don’t know if I should say anything about it to you.” I smirk as his eyes light up with curiosity.

He pushes his glasses up and straightens up. “Something interesting? Possibly history-in-the-making information?”

“Damn dude, chill, it’s not really my thing to be saying. You’d have to ask my friend Ollie, it’s his information. He’s actually back at the school so we should go and see him and drop off your books.”

“Ah, yes. It is getting later in the day. Perhaps tomorrow then, I could meet the two of you at the little cafe next door to the Institute, the Student’s Alcove, in the morning?”

“Sure!”

With that we start walking back towards the school and plan to meet up in the morning. I hand him his books once we get close to the school and he disappears down one of the halls, hopefully without any issues with carrying all that. I take Chev back to the wagon and wait for a moment before Ollie and his mother arrive, though Ollie looks a little out of sorts.

“How’d your little chat go?” I ask, hooking Chev back to the wagon.

“Ah, well, it was fine I guess… Do you mind if we have a quick chat so I can catch you up on things? Mom says she’s going to take the wagon and the wolves over to the school’s stable area.” Ollie says as his mother walks over and takes the reins of the wagon. She then walks them off past the side of the school.

“Sure, what’s up?”

He shifts uncomfortably. “I learned some rather, um, complicated news. About the whole Demon King thing.”

“What a coincidence! So did I!” I cheer.

“What? When? How?” He asks, confused.

“I met a nice gnome who seems to know his politics well, he actually is studying here at the Institute. He wants to meet you as well actually, he’s curious about what you know about the war between the Beastfolk and Netherfolk.”

“There’s a war between them? I mean I think The Dreamer might have mentioned something about that, but mostly that we needed to deal with the Demon King. Hmm…”

“Tell you what Ollie, we wait and talk to this gnome and then share information. It might be a good idea to at least hear him out.”

“Is he trustworthy?”

“Seems pretty harmless, honestly I doubt he could do anything all that bad.”

Ollie sighs and pauses to consider the odd circumstance we’re in. Then he mumbles something under his breath and looks back at me.

“Fine, I feel like this is kind of dumb but I trust your judgement when it comes to people.”

“Yay!” I cheer, clapping my hands as Ollie sighs and turns around to go back inside.

With that out of the way, our night is pretty uneventful. We are given some temporary rooms in the school for the time being, until we decide if we want to stay there or find a place to rent during the school year.

…

“Mmm! Good morning!” I say as I stretch out in bed. It’s early morning, the sun is just rising, and I’m inside of a small room. There isn’t much in here, a desk, a chair, a bed, and a dresser. But that’s not important, I’ve got to go get Ollie. We’ve got a date to keep!

I get dressed in my new clothes that I got before we left Hemlile. I’ve got to hand it to whoever made this, it’s really nice clothing. Super comfy and smooth, you’d never think it was made of wool! It breathes well, it doesn’t stain easily, I’ve even heard that it can protect you from electric attacks and that it functions like armor but is more lightweight.

I do a little twirl and watch my orange riding cape and skirt spin with me. It’s so cute! I love it, I just feel like it’s missing something… Oh! When she showed me that stuff in the mirror I think I had some other parts to my outfit. I just can’t remember what they were, hmm, oh well I’ll figure it out later.

“Time to go! May Eddallius’ light illuminate the paths of today.” I say my prayer and head over to Ollie’s room and knock on his door. There’s a groan and the sound of shuffling of clothing being put on. Next thing I see is Ollie standing in his new clothes, his poncho has some new embroidery that wasn’t there before, still sleepy.

“Ugh…” He groans as I grab his wrist and pull him along. “Why are we up so early?”

“Because we’re going to meet my newest friend!”

“You’re too chipper in the morning, can’t you let me sleep in or something? Do you even know if he’s there right now?”

“Nope! To both of your questions, you really need to start waking up earlier, Ollie. It’s good for your health.”

We make our way outside and walk next door to the Student’s Alcove for breakfast. To Ollie’s surprise, Mr. Ciabatta is already waiting for people to start entering his cafe.

“Well! Welcome back Kiddos! What can I do for you?” Mr. Ciabatta asks in a playful tone, stroking his gray beard. “It looks like one of you could use something to wake up.”

“Good morning Mr. Ciabatta, forgive Ollie, he’s not much of a morning person. We’re actually here to wait for someone, so if it’s okay we’ll just have some tea.”

“No problem at all, would you like a show or do you only care to drink?” There’s a sparkle in his eye and a small grin forming behind his thick beard.

“I’d love a show!” I exclaim, letting Ollie slump down over a table and probably fall into that almost sleeping state. I move over to the counter and take a seat on one of the stools in front of it.

Mr. Ciabatta's smile widens and he turns around, grabs a small teapot and walks over to an arcane sink. He sets it to boiling water and takes two small boxes out from underneath the counter. His hand gains a splash of color as his Inkling appears and he makes some hand gestures before starting a chant.

“Tea of sun, tea of shine, please oh tea, grant a bright day to one who smiles like the morning light.” His voice is surprisingly lovely as he recites his strange poem. Suddenly one of the boxes’ lid bursts open with a burst of wind and leaves scatter into the air. He starts to direct his hand, as if waving a wand, and the leaves follow the path he outlines. They land gently into the teapot and begin to soak.

“Woah! What was that spell?!” I lean over the counter to look at the teapot with wide eyes. “I’ve never heard a spell being cast by a poem before!”

He laughs and shakes his head. “That’s just how we simple folk of the bards do it, people have different ways of spell casting all over the world. People here normally use chants and flashy hand movements. Though some use music or theatrical actions to let magic act.”

“That’s so cool! I never knew that, I’ve only ever heard people say like one or two words for magic to happen before. Is there a difference?”

“I’m not entirely sure, never studied much around the magical arts unlike others. You’d have to ask a teacher about it. Speaking of, who are you meeting this early in the morning? It can’t be the headmaster, she’s always in bed til mid morning.”

“Oh, I’m waiting for a gnome. Male, silver hair, glasses, you know him?”

“Runva? Yeah, comes in on the off days and reads quietly in the corner. Though if you’re meeting him then you might be here a while.”

“Huh? Why?”

“He’s normally somewhere in, I think, the workshop area of the Institute, almost every morning really from what I’ve heard. He doesn’t seem to come out of there, even if he has plans. Most of the times I hear he’s always failing to get to morning meetings because of his habit of spending time there.”

I sit there for a moment as Mr. Ciabatta brings over a cup full of tea, which I happily drink as he prepares something for Ollie. There’s another chant and swirl of magic, with some lights this time, but I’m too busy thinking about what I was just told to pay any attention.

“Ollie, finish your tea.” He looks up from his cup at me confused. “We’re going to go find Runva right now.”

“But–” He starts before I hop down and grab his wrist again.

“Thank you for the tea sir, we’ll be back with Runva in a little bit.” I say over my shoulder as I walk Ollie to the door.

“Sure! Don’t worry, I won’t charge you until you come back.” He laughs as we exit and head towards the school again. We run into a well dressed mage in purple as we enter the building.

“Oliver? And who is this?” She asks.

“Oh, I’m Charlie and I’m his best friend. Who are you, Miss?”

“Ah, I’m his other aunt. Clementine or Clem if you wish.”

I smile and put on my best face. “Nice to meet you Mrs. Clementine. I’d love to stick around and chat but I’m looking for a gnome right now.”

“A gnome?”

“His name’s Runva, do you know where he is?”

“Runva, yes he should be in the workshop. Door number two. Down the hall and towards the right, then take a left. Big metal doors with anvils engraved into them, number should be in the anvil.” She points down the hallway.

“Thank you!” I dash off while waving at her, she waves back and looks worried about the fact that I’m dragging Ollie around by the wrist.

We eventually make our way to where she said to go and find the door with the number two on it. I go up to it and knock loudly. The sound of things falling over and someone saying something in a very angry tone in another language can be heard. Runva’s voice comes next trying to calm the other person down.

I hear someone come up to the door and open it just a crack, before a loud slam hits the door from the inside and Runva tells them to calm down. “Hello? Who is– oh Charlie! Is it time already?”

Another voice from inside, one that’s very gruff and somewhat femine sounding yells, “OI! TELL ‘EM TO PISS OFF WOUJA!”

Runva laughs and steps outside, closing the door. “I am sorry, let us go get some breakfast and maybe something to appease my friend in there as well.”

Ollie gives me a look and I just smile at him. I know that this is going to go great.