Traveling outside the city is always a treat. Take in the sights, smell the fresh air, feel the wind on your face, fight off a horde of gremlins, and throw a coin into a pool of lava for luck. Oh, no, sorry. Not this city. Have you smelled the countryside here? Awful.

-Basen Koh on life outside the city

Reid followed the mage in silence for over an hour before he had to ask the man to stop. Reid wasn't out of shape by any means. Years spent jumping around the swamp near town had kept him fit, but the mage's pace was brutal.

"Sorry. Just need to catch my breath for a minute," Reid said, collapsing when the mage nodded for him to stop.

"Ah. I kind of forgot you were behind me. I'm used to traveling with other mages. Good job keeping up. That's impressive."

The mage sat down and pulled a canteen out of his side bag.

"Thanks. I'm Reid, by the way. I don't think I actually introduced myself. I meant to do that earlier and to tell you that I'm actually a mage, too."

The mage raised an eyebrow and studied him.

"Really? Well, that would explain how you managed to keep up. I'm Arvind."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Arvind spoke again.

"It's not common to see many mages in the countryside, but in New Avennia, many of the residents are at least lesser mages, but no one calls themselves a mage until they've bonded at least a three star item. Given your stamina, I assume Lesser Mage?"

"Yeah. I just have a one star item. It lets me identify items, though."

"Really? That's rare for a one star. You mentioned trading services before we left. Is that what you meant?"

Reid nodded and pulled his mark from under his shirt. The symbol glowed slightly, even in the daylight.

"Lets me identify items, but I have to physically mark them with my merchant's mark."

"Ahh. It's a small drawback, but it makes sense. Most people won't care, but some merchants in the city might not want you to mark their wares."

Reid worried about that. He wasn't necessarily looking to sell his services, but if he couldn't find items to identify or wasn't allowed to identify items wherever he ended up working, then he wouldn't be able to grow his merchant's mark.

He didn't let it get him down. It was just a bump on his path that he was confident he'd overcome.

"I'm sorry if this is rude," Reid asked. "But I've been curious. Is your sword magical? I notice it doesn't glow, but..."

"But why would I carry a bent sword around?"

Reid nodded.

Arvind unclipped the sword since it couldn't be drawn and tossed it over.

"Why don't you take a look?"

"You don't care if I mark it?"

Arvind shrugged. "It needs some work anyway. You'll see."

Reid focused on the sword and allowed his mark to work.

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Magic Sword of Dreams (Broken)

* 4 Star Potential

* Dream Aspect

* Unbindable

* This item is broken and has no functioning effect.

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"Huh. I didn't know magic items could break."

"It's quite rare for high star rating items to break, but one and two star items can break given enough stress or neglect, but the magic naturally reinforces their structure. A master crafter can repair them or break them down for raw materials."

"How did you know it was magic?" Reid asked, handing back the broken weapon. "I wouldn't have known if I hadn't identified it."

"Potential. You must have three or fewer stars of magic potential."

"Yeah. Only three."

"Only! Ha. You're young. Three is excellent for your age. It takes time, effort, and bindings to raise your potential. But your ability to sense magic is tied to your potential. You can sense your mark, or the item your cousin bound. They pull at your attention. This only happens for items at or below your potential."

"So you have at least four stars and can feel the sword's magic?"

Arvind nodded and stood up.

"We had best get moving. Let me know when you need to rest again, but we'll slow our pace."

Back on the road, Arvind wasn't as quiet as he'd been before. He asked about the swamp and the items they typically found out there. They passed through a few small villages, but the land in the area was fertile, and being early spring meant most of the townsfolk were out in the fields planting. They didn't encounter anyone else before they made camp at the end of their first day.

They ate travel rations and slept under the stars. The clear sky and mild evening air felt far too nice to ignore for the cramped confines of a temporary shelter. The countryside was wide open rolling hills, and nothing stopped the dawn sun from reaching Reid as it peeked over the horizon. As he woke, he felt nothing but the excitement of new adventure and opportunity.

The first opportunity presented itself a few hours into the morning journey. They walked along a road between orchards. The small fruit trees were just budding leaves, but it was the first area with tree cover that they had passed on their journey. Ahead of them, they spotted another figure and a pack animal walking in the opposite direction. Reid could tell by the look of the woman that she was a traveling trader. If the fully laden pack mule hadn't been enough of a sign, her bulging bag was a clear enough indication.

"Ho there!" Reid called with a wave when they were within reasonable speaking distance of each other.

"Well met, travelers. What road do you travel today?"

Reid wasn't sure what that meant or if the road even had a name, but Arvind saved him from saying so.

"We're a day out of Glarrus by the Broken Swamp, bound for New Avennia. And you?"

"Fresh from the capital myself, bound for Derrish. Have they begun planting?"

"Derrish..."Arvind said, unsure of the town's location.

"We passed through yesterday," Reid said. Derrish was the first town they'd passed outside Glarrus. "They were planting, most likely. We didn't stop to talk to anyone."

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The trader nodded. "Good, good. I like to swing through during planting. Nothing gets people in the mood for a little convenience like a few days of back breaking work. And what of you two? Are you looking for anything? I'm fresh out of the capital, and my inventory is near to bursting."

Reid wasn't sure Arvind wanted to take the time. He had seemed like he was in a hurry early yesterday, but he had slowed once he realized Reid was having trouble. Maybe that was just his normal walking speed.

Contrary to what he'd thought, Arvind gave the trader a smile and said he'd love to take a look.

"Wonderful!"

She unstrapped her pack and set it down, then gave her mule a few oats to eat while they traded.

"What are you looking for? Either of you? I have a bit of everything."

"Do you have any foxweed?" Arvind asked.

"I have a little. Do you prefer foxweed, or would you like to try something new? I just got a wonderfully aromatic red climbing leaf in that's quite nice. It's slightly milder than foxweed, but it burns cleaner. Overall, I think it's better."

"I'll take a smell. The real question is, is it cheaper?"

"For you, today? That it is. Here, give it a smell and a feel. And the foxweed to compare. Take a pinch if you like."

Reid watched the exchange, fascinated. The trade was always his favorite part. New items and interesting suggestions were what he lived for. Arvind looked into two pouches. The red climbing leaf was red and dull, while the foxweed had an oily quality to it. Reid wasn't familiar with pipe leaf, but some of the retired men in town liked to buy it whenever traders came through.

"What about you, young man?"

"I don't need anything, but if you're willing, I'd trade for some advice?"

"Advice?"

"I'm heading to the capital to learn the mercantile arts. I was hoping for any advice you might have."

The trader gave him a surprised look. "Really? That's lovely. I'm chock full of advice, but if you want to become a good trader, then I'm going to treat you like one. What will you give me for it?"

Reid pulled out his mark. "Do you have any unbound items you need identified?"

The trader's brow lifted when she heard his offer. "Identify? That's a fine ability to have as a fresh trader. I do have one item, actually. Picked it up for a lark from one of the new shops in town. There's a man who doesn't know what he's doing. Anyway. He told me what it was, but I wasn't sure I believed him."

She dug in her backpack for something. Arvind had taken a pinch of each leaf, rubbed it between his fingers, and sniffed it. As soon as he crushed the dry red leaves, the smell began filling the air, strong enough that Reid could smell it a few feet away. It smelled nice. Reid couldn't describe it, but it made him think of a cozy library in someone's home, with a leather armchair, roaring fire, and a warm drink. The impression was incredibly strong despite having never actually been in a room like that.

"Here we are," the trader said. She had pulled out a metal rod around a foot long. The rod ended in a wicked point on one side and had a small button on the other. "You can identify this for me?"

Reid accepted the rod and looked it over. Unlike the broken sword from yesterday, Reid could feel the device's magic pulling on him. The rod didn't glow, but some magic items didn't. Those were very rare in the Broken Swamp, probably because hardly anyone in town had their potential unlocked and couldn't feel the magic.

"I can identify it, but it will leave my mark on the object. Just a tiny stamp with this symbol."

"That's fine. I don't use a mark myself, so there won't be a conflict or anything."

Reid focused on the item. He tried to see if he could get a sense of the magic inside before he identified it, as he had started to do when he was identifying items with his friends over a month ago. It felt like the item had an effect that could be activated, and it didn't take much to guess that the button probably triggered it.

He spent another minute studying it while the trader negotiated prices with Arvind. There was another property to the item that felt incredibly familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. After a few more moments, he gave up and marked the spike.

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Lesser Magic Spike of Well Drilling

* 2 Star Utility Tool

* Earth Aspect

* Bindable

* When bound, planting this spike in the ground and activating it will cause it to expand and bore into the ground until it hits the water table.

* This item can only be activated as a utility tool, and its functionality has no effect on materials other than earth.

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"Not what I expected," Reid said, handing the spike back.

"Whoa," the trader said. "You didn't mention your mark would make the identification permanent. That's powerful."

As was becoming more the norm than he liked, Reid was confused. He didn't know how to clarify his confusion, so he just felt like his head was going to pop for a second. Arvind rescued him once more.

"I thought you'd realized, but maybe not. None of your friends had their potential awakened. It seems like your mark lets any mage see the identification you placed on an item."

That was amazing. He'd wondered how people handled the inherent trust issues that might stem from having a merchant identify your items and then tell you how much they're worth. It seemed like his mark made him at least a little honest. He wouldn't be able to hide his identifications from other mages.

"Oh. I didn't know it did that. The description wasn't explicit about how the identification worked."

"Either way, it makes your identification skill more valuable. Merchants pay licensed identifiers to write up descriptions and certify them. This is just as good, and maybe even better, so long as their clients are mages. Hmm. I sell to a lot of mundane folk, but if I do ever want to sell this spike, your identification will make it a lot easier. So now I owe you!"

Reid smiled. He was honestly happy just to have found out a little more about his ability, but he wouldn't say no to more advice.

"Well, as I said. I'm just looking for the best path to becoming a merchant. If you have advice about New Avennia or being a new merchant, I'm all ears."

"Alright. First things first—check the guilds. First thing you do in town. You don't have to join them to check their boards. All of them have a spot where folk can post their regular requests that can be taken without guild membership. You'll eventually want to join a merchant's guild, but not until you're working in a shop and have some income. When you check the boards, look for two things: quick money and connections. Rent in the city isn't cheap, but you'll need a place to live. Connections are important to being a merchant in the city. If you want to move items or get more stock, you'll need to know who can do what for you. You'll have an advantage with making both money and connections because there will always be people looking for identification services at a slight discount."

She stopped talking and held up a finger to forestall questions. She rummaged around in her pack again, finding a small scroll.

"One more thing. Your identification is going to help me, like I said. The information I gave you isn't worth that much, but this should make up for it. A map of the city. My map of the city. I'm loaning it to you. It's a map of New Avennia with numerous notes, details, and the locations of every shop that's worth a damn in the city."

Reid took the scroll with a little reverence. It was exactly the kind of thing he'd been hoping for.

"What's your name?"

"Reid Aveno."

"Alright, Reid. I'm Quinn. I'll be back in town in a couple months. I'll find you and get my map back then. I think we're even with this. Deal?"

Reid was satisfied with the arrangement and shook on it.

"Deal."

Quinn packed back up her things and got her mule moving. They wished her well, and Reid thanked her again for the map.

They were still making good time across the countryside. Arvind told Reid they'd be in New Avennia in four days' time. Unfortunately for Reid, nothing else interesting happened by the time they got to the city. The morning of their arrival, Arvind woke him up extra early to catch the morning market.

"When we get into the city, we'll swing by the grand market, then I'll show you where the guilds are. After that, you'll be on your own," Arvind said as they headed out.

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"It's alright. Thanks for keeping me company. Sorry, I might have come off as a bit of an ass when we met up. Part of my arrangement with the mage's society is that I have mandatory potential awakenings, and I wasn't exactly happy to have to travel out to your middle of nowhere town for a few measly silver. No offense."

"None taken. I get it. You're part of a mage's society?"

Arvind nodded. "Yep. Anyone who has bound at least a three star item is required to join a mage's society. There are a couple, but I'm just with the kingdom's official branch. It's mostly just a formality, but they have the right to call upon members with useful abilities. Unfortunately, that means me."

Reid's excitement from a few days ago was turning into a slight worry in the back of his mind. There was just so much to learn. He knew nothing about guilds and other mage societies. When he'd looked at the loaned map, he'd been somewhat shocked at the sheer scale of the city.

When they crested a hill after a few more hours of travel, Reid got his first glimpse of New Avennia. It spread out before him, larger than he had ever imagined. Massive towers crowded the center of the city, rising far higher than he thought buildings could go. A thick, high wall surrounded much of the city, but parts of the wall were being actively torn down and rebuilt.

He tried to take it all in, but his breath was stolen by something he'd only heard about. He'd thought it was just a story they told to kids. High above the skyline at the center of the city floated a massive castle of brilliant white stone. It sat on a disk of earth that extended a few hundred feet beyond it. Reid couldn't see anything that might support the castle. It was just floating there.

"Quite the sight, isn't it? I've been to the palace a few times. The journey up to it is a harrowing experience."

Reid couldn't find a reply. Everything that he'd imagined about living and working in the city was changing. His worry about the scale of the city melted away. Instead of seeing it as a daunting place that he needed to master, he now saw the city as a place of opportunity and mystery.

He just grinned at Arvind, unable to hold back his excitement, and together, they made their way to New Avennia.