Talis resembled other cities I had seen by this river, the ones I visited and those we passed. Constructed on both sides of the river, the city exhibited a mix of low-quality and high-quality buildings on the same streets. The sole difference was the lack of mountains. The river’s north side had hills, while the south extended into vast plains.
We rented a room at an inn, and I spent two days exploring the city. On my second day, I noticed a small square stone building with tiny windows and four guards in front. The heavy security piqued my curiosity, and I moved closer to investigate. A small sign beside the door read “Coin Exchange.” That gave me an idea.
I approached one guard and asked, “Good day. If I want to exchange coins, do I walk in, or do you need to announce me?”
“You a noble or merchant?” he asked, eyeing me skeptically.
“Merchant.”
“Prove it.”
Huh? How does one prove a class or profession if the person doesn’t use Identify?
“How?” I asked him.
He looked at me like an idiot and said, “How do you show your goods?”
I winced in embarrassment and removed a box of merchandise from my Storage. He still looked at me like an idiot, but opened the door and said, “You can go in.”
An obese man sat behind a stone desk, flanked by two guards. The fat man greeted me, “Good day, esteemed healer; how can I help you today? I’m not aware of an issue that needs a healer.”
“I’m also a merchant and would like to exchange coins.”
“You’re a healer and a merchant?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes. I also have a question,” I said, actively listening with my Sense Honesty skill.
“Yes?” he prompted.
“I made some sales in Rusha and was attacked by criminals. How can I be sure I won’t be attacked again if you or the guards know how much money I have?”
“You came from Rusha? That’s far,” the fat man said, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. He leaned back in his chair and waved his hand dismissively. “As for me or the guards, don’t worry. The first time a customer gets attacked after visiting me, I’ll lose my business and my writ from the crown.”
Sensing nothing amiss, I relaxed.
I kept all my gold and jewelry in an antique wooden chest that reminded me of a pirate chest (the esthetics appealed to me), but the silver and copper I kept in a round plastic wash basin. When I took it out, the fat man stared at it momentarily in complete bewilderment. Unsure of whether his reaction was about the amount or the container, I chose not to ask. I was getting used to “the look,” but still didn’t like it.
He shook his head slightly and said, “I charge a copper for every five gold coins exchanged.”
I nodded and started counting.
After I finished counting all of it, I had an idea. I didn’t want to summon my barrel with the copper after the look he gave me and didn’t want to summon it in pouches; they were too uniform to show them in bulk. So, I concentrated and summoned only the copper coins. It was more complicated. I think because they were in pouches inside a barrel, and my success was fifty-fifty. A big mound of coppers filled my basin with a few still in pouches. Well, at least no barrel.
He took one coin, examined it, and said, “I never came across coins like these. They are too big and too uniform. Where did you get them?”
“I’m from the islands in the south,” I replied.
“I know of those islands and had some coins from there. They didn’t look like this.”
That surprised me. With the speed of travel here and the distance, I didn’t expect anybody to know about the islands. Thinking fast, I said, “All my family are island merchants. Our trading house got many of these coins from a trading ship from another continent. All their coins were like this, and they paid everywhere almost exclusively with copper. So now, we have many of those coins on the island.”
He looked surprised and asked, “A ship came from Sovily? How did they manage to pass the whirlpools?”
This man was too well-informed, so I closed the conversation fast. “I have no idea; I didn’t even meet them. That’s all I know, and the information is secondhand from family members.”
He looked disappointed, and I just continued counting.
After I finished counting and he double-checked everything, he owed me 361 gold. I had a few more silvers and coppers I held back for change. He was eying the pouches with great interest, and I said, “Would you be interested in those pouches instead of me paying you in coins for the exchange?”
“How many pouches?” he asked.
“How much do I owe you?”
“Seven silver and three coppers.”
“Their price is one silver each. I’ll give you eight for the exchange.”
“How many do you have?”
“A lot.”
He thought momentarily and said, “I want thirty, and I will pay two gold. Will this be acceptable?”
I agreed, and we completed the deal. Having gold instead of copper was much nicer, and now I had an empty barrel for the long swords.
Back at the inn, I checked the Map, zooming out to see the entire continent. I had only done this once before, and it seemed like I barely moved. Now, I could see that I traveled quite a distance. I tried to calculate the distance I had traveled on foot, bicycle, and ship and compare it to the US and how far I would have gotten. I concluded this continent was the size of Europe, Africa, and the Americas, all squished together.
In this view, the distance to the next Gate was about two centimeters. But when I zoomed in again, it became clear it was still far away. Estimating my pace on foot, it could take two more months to reach there directly. Finding direct roads would allow me to pedal for a month.
The idea of walking for another two months wasn’t appealing. I loved Shimoor and its beauty, and to my surprise, discovered I was outdoorsy. But I had my fill of nature for now. To pedal for a month also didn’t sound appealing; it sounded too much of a physical workout. I found a tributary on the Map in the direction I needed. It was further west and then curved to the south. It had a point within two or three days’ walk from the Gate. I activated my Luck again, and it pointed right to the Gate. I was right; the answers were in another world.
I copied the Map section from Talis to the Gate on a big page. After going downstairs and calling Stretch, we headed to the docks. On the way, I asked Stretch, “You enjoyed the trip we took on the ship, right?” and got an agreement.
“So, you saw that boats are not that bad, right?”
He looked at me, and I got a sense of suspicion, so I said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to try taking you on the small boat you don’t like.” He relaxed, so I continued, “But we might need to take a smaller boat than the one we traveled here. It will be much bigger than the boat you don’t like but smaller than the one we traveled on.” There was a hint of uncertainty from him, along with a tentative agreement. My translation was, “I’m reserving judgment.”
I found the port office quickly this time. After twenty minutes in line, I approached the clerk and showed him my map sketch. “Good day, sir. I need to get to this point on the map. Are ships going there, or can I hire a boat to take me there?”
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He examined my map and asked, “Why, there is nothing there, just wilderness.”
“Yes, I know. I’m meeting family members for a hunting trip. This is the map they gave me of the location.”
He hummed under his breath and said, “No boats are going there–there is nothing there. Check on the other side of the river at the fishers’ dock; maybe somebody will agree to take you there for a fee.”
“Thank you.”
We crossed the river over the closest bridge and approached the first person I saw. “Excuse me, sir, can you point me to the fishers’ dock?”
He pointed to the west and said, “Head straight, you’ll find it by the smell.”
“Thank you.”
The smell made it easy to find—it hit me when I got close. There were a lot of fishing boats, and they all looked similar. Flat bottom, pretty square except for the curve of the boat’s bow, one mast with a sail, and a deckhouse.
I asked Stretch quietly, “You think you can handle a boat that size?” And sensed a hesitant approval from him.
“Thanks, buddy. I owe you one.”
I searched for someone who appeared to be in charge but couldn’t find anyone. Finally, I approached a boat with two men on it and waved to them. One came closer and asked, “What do you want?”
“I’m looking to hire a boat to take me somewhere. Do you know who is open to such a deal?”
He got off the boat, approached me, and asked, “Where?”
I showed him the map and pointed to where I wanted to go. “Here.”
“There’s nothing there.”
“I know. I’m meeting family for a hunting trip.”
He nodded and said, “Yes, many mukar, sipors and deer.” He said deer, in English, not a translation. That was a surprise.
He scratched his cheek and said, “I can take you. It will take two to three weeks and cost you three silver a day. You will pay me for two weeks when we head out, and if it takes longer, pay each day.”
Sensing nothing fishy from him, I asked, “When can we leave?”
“Tomorrow early morning.”
After we shook hands, Stretch and I returned to the inn. From my previous cruise, I discovered that the weeks here were six days long, not seven. The journey will last approximately twelve to eighteen days. Not bad.
I checked the food supply and saw we had enough, but I wanted to cook more, just in case. There wasn’t enough time to leave the city in the late afternoon. I approached the innkeeper and asked, “Can I pay you to use your kitchen to cook?”
He laughed and said, “When you get married, you’ll discover it’s not your kitchen anymore.”
His comment hit me hard. I was married, happily, and lost it. I felt choked and had tears in my eyes.
He noticed and asked worriedly, “You alright, lad?”
Nodding, I turned to hide my face and headed to my room. I just lay on my bed in my room, tears streaming down my face. It was close to two and a half years since Sophie died. I overcame my grief and was much better, but not completely healed yet.
On my way to the dock the following day, I stopped at every food vendor I saw and bought food. The early selection wasn’t impressive, but since it was a “just in case” food, it wasn’t a big deal.
I needed a few minutes to locate the boat. It docked in a different location, but I recognized the sailor I talked to yesterday. When he saw me, he waved me over and yelled, “Come aboard.”
When I approached, he looked at Stretch and said, “You didn’t say anything about a dog coming with you.”
“Since he was with me yesterday and you didn’t say anything, I assumed you had no problem with a dog. He traveled with me on a ship from Rusha to Talis with no problem. He does his business in a bowl, and I throw it overboard. I’m also a healer with the Clean spell, so I can clean everything if he has an accident. But from experience, there is no need. We traveled for almost four weeks, and he had no accidents.”
He grunted and said, “It will cost you four silver and five copper a day with the dog.”
I still sensed nothing fishy or suspicious, so I agreed with a nod and gave him five gold and five silver. He checked the coins one by one by biting them, and it took immense power to stop myself from laughing. I saw it in movies, but didn’t believe people did it in real life.
He saw something on my face and asked, “What’s so funny?”
“I’m happy we reached an agreement, and I can start the journey. My family is waiting for me there, and I don’t want to delay.”
With a wave, he signaled for me to follow him. He led me around the boat’s deckhouse, where I spotted two young men handling ropes. Pointing at them, he said, “My sons Jul and Rin, I’m called Romas, but everybody calls me Ro.”
“Nice to meet you, Captain Ro; my name is John, and this is Stretch.”
“No captain, this is no ship, just Ro.”
He led me into the deckhouse. The door opened into a tiny entryway with three doors. He pointed at the right-side door and said, “You and your dog can stay in this room, and my boys and I will stay in the other. My wife cleaned it the best she could, but we are working men, so don’t expect a ship’s luxury.”
He opened the door opposite the entrance, and I saw it was a pantry. There were shelves with food on them and a big water barrel. “We don’t have a galley here.” said Ro, “We eat hardtack, jerky, cheese, and vegetables. Don’t drink from the river. Fill this barrel and drink only from it. It’s a mage barrel spelled to purify the water.”
That excited me—my first magical item!
“Can I examine it? I’m interested in magical items.”
He looked at me suspiciously and said, “You said you are a healer and hunter; why are you so interested in magical items?”
“I’m no hunter; my family members are the hunters. I join them as a healer, just in case. I’m fascinated by magical items. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to the barrel. I want to examine it to figure out how the mages do it. It’s a hobby.”
He nodded and said, “You can look.”
Despite casting my light ball and examining the barrel from all sides, I found nothing. “Do you know where the magic is? I don’t see anything.”
He shook his head and said, “I don’t know anything about magic. I know it cost me ten gold, and my boys and I never got sick from drinking the river water.”
“Can I empty it to examine the inside?”
“It will cost you a silver, and you’ll have to fill it up after you examine it. But not now; we need to set sail. I’ll tell you when.” And I nodded in agreement.
He joined his boys, and we went to our room. It was tiny! There were two narrow bunk beds attached to the wall, a bucket in the corner that, judging by the smell, was the chamber pot, and maybe forty centimeters of space between the bunk beds and the opposite wall. Just being inside made me claustrophobic. I cast Clean and Purify on the chamber pot and, just in case, on everything else. Stretch didn’t look or feel too impressed, either. I scratched his ear and said, “We will spend most of our time outside, don’t worry.”
He sent me a sense of cold, and I said, “It didn’t snow for a week, and I saw some flowers near the river. Spring is here, so no more snow.”
I got uncertainty from him.
“If it snows or rains, we’ll find a solution.”
We watched them navigate the boat out of the docking area. They had oars on the boat with a metal ring to secure them to the railing and used them to navigate out. I went to the back of the boat, looking for a spot out of the way. There was a strong smell of fish everywhere, and not fresh fish. I diligently cleaned the entire back section of the boat, repeatedly casting Clean and Purify until it was impeccably clean and had no trace of odor. Better.
After arranging Stretch’s blankets, I treated him to a tasty breakfast of barbequed chicken, organized my camp table with a chair, and enjoyed breakfast with coffee. The issue of coffee on the trip had me worried. They allowed me to use the galley to make more on the ship.
On our journey to the tributary, we sailed peacefully down the river, allowing me to unwind and enjoy the calm. It was unexpected. Our boat sailed faster than the ship I had arrived on.
The coffee issue bugged me, so I looked in the Spells list and found the spell Heat in the Fire Discipline section. Again, it was a channeled spell, but this one cost 1 Ability Point, not two. At least that. After buying it, I took out a pot, filled it with water, and channeled the spell. In less than a minute, the water was boiling. The moment I stopped channeling the spell, my hand got burned from the pot.
Oww!
After healing myself, I wondered about it. When I channeled the spell, the heat didn’t bother me. The moment it stopped, I got burned. I pointed my hand to the sky, channeled the spell with the smallest amount of mana possible, and sensed with my mana what was happening with my hand. A barrier on my palm was part of the spell, on top of the heating aspect. While channeling it, I tried to analyze everything about the barrier: its thickness, its position on my palm, the mana density within it, and its overall “feel.” I tried to learn it and replicate the same pattern on my hand.
Recalling my mana shield, I cast it on myself. Again, I tried to analyze it with my senses. I cast it again and again, learning it. Once again, I channeled the Heat spell, split my mind, cast the shield, and compared between the two. They were similar yet distinct. The mana shield was thin but had a “thickness” and “protection” flavor or feel. The barrier was the same thickness but had a “layers” flavor. I cast them repeatedly, zeroing in on the different flavors until I could easily distinguish them.
I started playing with my mana and tried to recreate the barrier. It kept dissipating into the surrounding mana. Based on my experiments with the jurbers, I created a bubble around my hand. I had to actively maintain its bubble shape. Otherwise, it dissipated. I practiced exerting less and less control over it without letting it dissipate. It was a long process, but gradually I improved.
When I could “keep it together” with almost no effort, I switched again to a barrier shape. It was harder to prevent the dissipation. Something about the bubble shape made it easier to keep it whole, maybe because the bubble had no boundaries. With this thought, I tried to “close” the barrier boundaries. It was still flat, not a sphere, so the mana kept dissipating, but slowly, I could “lock” it more and more to prevent, or at least slow, the dissipation. When I reached a point where I could keep one millimeter of mana for almost three minutes before it dissipated, the red light started blinking.
You have learned [Mana Manipulation]
YES!!
The sun was setting, and I felt lightheaded. It shocked me that I had spent over ten hours playing with my mana. I checked my mana: 120/7200. Wow! It was full when I started. It was a surprise I had spent so much. I checked my Profile, and I had Mana Manipulation [Novice] under the Wizard Class.
Stretch was dozing on his blankets with his head on my foot, and I was starving. As I took out some food, he woke up and appeared very interested. I fed us both and lay down to regenerate. I was physically and mentally exhausted. As soon as I set up the camp mattress and my sleeping bag, I settled down to regenerate and was asleep in a flash, less than a minute later.