Sideroads and blind roads budding with buildings broke off from the main road. One such blind road housed a two-story inn behind a small pond. Homely, rosy, and just to my liking, I checked in at the front desk for later that night.
Breaking some change, I said goodbye to 10 adamant coins, but received 65mc in return. Heartbroken by our departure, it was mended by the fact that I would have a room to myself.
Finally able to stretch my legs, I ventured through the village. Through branching paths, gardens, and outlets, I strolled by stores to do some window shopping in hopes of finding a souvenir for Evie.
Eeh-. Not really anything for people passing by. It’s mostly basic needs and wares.
I stumbled into a shop, its roof wicked and warped like a witch’s hat. The bell above the door alerted a man behind the counter. He smiled behind wrinkles and a long, white beard. A beige robe draped over his frame with green hexagons stitched into the fabric.
“Welcome to my humble shop. Hm? An Architect?”
“Ah, no no. I’m not really an Architect. More like a consultant.”
“Well Miss Consultant, I welcome you to Norville’s Novelties. Please feel free to have a look around and let me know if I can help with anything.”
“You can call me Marina, thank you so much.”
The fragrance of warm apple filling flowed down the aisles. Dangling garlands and dazzling lights lifted the shop by its ceiling. Throughout the room, dots of reds, greens, and whites sparkled in and out of sight. A Winter’s End wonderland pushed to Late Spring.
In the second rightmost aisle, popular fantasy novels wrapped in colorfully stained leather bindings stretched along the shelves. My hand traced and tipped one into my hand. Raised, black leather that formed bumps along the trim where it met the pages’ glossy, rainbow edge. I skimmed a few pages. Drawings of a brother and sister team duo turned into view every so often.
I tipped the next book, a red and gray knight’s helmet stitched into a white cover. Decisions, decisions. I clapped the books together and placed them back on the shelf.
Further down the aisle, I stopped. A blue stained book shimmered with cerulean flakes that matched the edges of the paper. A portrait of a girl with ashen hair and a big hat filled the cover. I tucked it under my arm and continued up the aisle. Encouraged by the heft of the book, I swung my arms in delight and rounded the final aisle.
Shelves stocked with snow globes filled the outer wall. I picked one up and swirled its black and gray flitter over a mosaic of ashy dunes. Along its edge, a figure of a girl held her arms outstretched.
When the flakes fell to the bottom the voices of two women caught in conversation carried through the window.
Eygh- Too depressing. Huh? Glasses?
I plunked the snowglobe back on its shelf and pressed my face against the glass.
“UM EXCUSE ME. DO NOT MOVE- AAAH-”
I scrambled for the door, but tripped over my leg during the pivot. The book I held flung across the floor.
“Ech- ow ow. Harsh, but at least that was effective.”
After collecting myself and assuring the shopkeeper I was alright, I flung open the door. My luck was finally turning around as the two women gave me the directions I was after.
“But he’ll certainly be closed by now. You probably will have to stop by there in the morning.”
“Um, if you don’t mind, do you know anywhere I can relax with a drink?”
They pointed me in the direction of a tavern just one road over and we said our goodbyes. I returned to the shop and recovered the book I had lost control of. On my way up to the counter I walked past a shelf full of painted figurines. The detail and colors made them appear almost life-like.
“Will this be all Marina?”
“Actually, I was wondering- do you make those figurines?”
“That I do. It has become a hobby of mine recently and is fairly relaxing. Do you have a particular piece in mind?”
“Maybe. I’ll be back, but just wanted to make sure.”
“Whenever you’re ready. I will be more than happy to make a fan of the Meandering Mage a personal piece.”
Why does being a fan sound so weird when he says it aaah-
I handed the shopkeeper three adamant and four mithril coins before heading to the tavern.
Exhaustion stretched with my legs. The must of ale thickened the air. Tickling my nose, the stench woke me up slightly, but also made me consider leaving. The tavern's cozy quaintness however drove me to sit at the bar.
The owner glanced sideways with an ire of contempt. He stood about my height and had an unkempt brown beard that frayed out sideways below oily orange skin decorated with large pores. The poor buttons on his shirt struggled to hold it together.
“What’ll you have?”
“Can I get-”
“I’ll have some red.”
Red?
Before I could turn around, Ligmas and Sugma sat down in the seats to my left.
“Good evening Miss Marina, partaking in the nightlife?”
From behind us came a cold, pointed voice.
“If you could even call this nightlife, this place is practically dead.”
BD and Loric took the seats on the other side of me.
“You’re all staying in town for the night?”
Loric stuck three coasters between his massive fingers and wiggled them around.
“Yup. We figured it’d be best while we all get to know each other before we set out in the morning.”
The bartender broke into the conversation with a forced cough.
“So I’ve got red for the Mr. Center-Right-Your-Left here. What can I get the rest of you?”
Ligmas danced the tips of his claw along his chin. “I have been curious ever since Mister Sugma brought up the delicacy of his village as to what it was like. I will also have some of this red.”
Twenty people is hardly a village.
“I’ll have a Wizard’s Bomberry.”
The bartender’s eyes narrowed to a sliver.
“You sure you two can handle those?”
“I would certainly think so.”
“Hehe, probably~”
Die.
“And what about you Ms. Center-Left?”
“Just get me an ale. Doesn’t matter what kind.”
“And for Mr. Last-But-Not-Least?”
“No alcohol for me thank you. Do you have any milk?”
All four of us turned to our right and stared at Loric. He did a double take as he looked back at us.
“What? We’ve got a long walk ahead of us tomorrow. Also, I’m the only one who’s been to this village before. If one of us is going to be alert it might as well be me.”
“Two reds, one bomberry, a brainless brew, and milk. I’ll have that ready for you in a minute. Don’t time me.”
What did he say? Brainless? Is this some cruel joke?
BD rested her head against her hand.
“What about you Marina? You ever been here before?”
“No, this is my first time here, but I got pretty lucky. I think I have a good idea of where my job is tomorrow. How about you BD?”
…
“Ah- Loric just said you’ve never been here before, sorry- long day.”
I folded my fingers around the fringe of my cloak and brought it to my face. Sugma nudged my arm and my shoulders sprung up.
“You can call her Beanfist.”
“Beatrice. My name is Beatrice. I just said that balls deep crap at the ceremony as a joke.”
Eeeh.
I glanced at everyone's faces, but no one was the least bit surprised.
“I would have never expected that from you.”
“You’ve known me for half an hour tops. Do you think I just spilled everything about myself in that short amount of time?”
..Kind of..
“Ah, sorry- I didn’t mean-”
“You gotta open up your mind a little more, we’re not just - ah, speaking of fun, here come the drinks.”
Wooden mugs thumped against the counter. The bubbling, blue head of my Wizard Bomberry tickled my lips. It sat in my mouth for a second before I forced myself to swallow it.
Bleh- you can’t even taste the blueberries in this.
Beatrice slid her drink in front of me and motioned to the bartender for another.
Ah- no, she didn’t have to. Mm.
“Thank you.”
The dark brown liquid had a harsh, gruff taste, but didn’t linger in my mouth.
Ligmas raised his glass of red to the bartender.
“mˈæhoː͡ɹd͡ʒə lˈuːn .”
The bartender nodded and let out a grunt behind a loose smile.
“nˈɛktəlˌiː ˈiːe͡ɪ ?”
“Yes, I am a bit of a polyglot. The monastery I hail from has people from many walks of life come to visit, so I have picked up a thing or two.”
“Wao~ kˈiːɑːki ˈɛlæs ˈa͡ɪɹuː ~”
“tˈɔːltɔːli vˈe͡ɪɹuːi vˈe͡ɪ ?”
Sugma slammed his empty mug on the counter.
“Common is hard enough and now you’re speaking in tongues. Ey barkeep, another if you don’t mind.”
“Ehe~, sorry, it’s not often I run into someone who knows that kinda stuff.”
Then again, this is the most I’ve been around new people in a long time.
Beatrice snatched a coaster Loric was playing with.
“That’s a surprise I didn’t see coming. You speak any Elvic, Ligmas?”
“A moderate amount. It is a simple language.”
“Good. It’ll come in handy tomorrow if I’m not the only one doing the talking.”
“What’s tomorrow?”
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Loric set his remaining coasters on the bartop.
“We were gonna head south to Port Thaus. We heard there’s this island not far off the coast that’s haunted beyond belief. At least, it had the sailor we talked to pretty freaked out.”
“Then let’s celebrate your last night in town.”
Fresh glasses slid across the countertop and clinked together. Was that the third round or the fourth? Either way, Sugma was further in the count than any of us.
“I’m telling you guys, I need a new ax. Something bigger. Logic’s got the right idea going for trees.”
Trees?
“Your ax looks pretty new. I think you’re in the wrong profession to be acting like a collector.”
Beatrice poked her finger into the bartop and leaned toward Sugma. She rubbed up against my shoulder in the process.
Personal space intruded, help.
“And on toppa that tha- *hic*~ That ax already looks ridiculously big for you.”
Loric leaned back in his seat.
“You know Sugma, my dad’s the current managing blacksmith of the Dwarven Forge in Eyngard. I could put in a word with him to make you one.”
“Ah-ha-ha, you know Doorlick, you’re alright.”
Ligmas, with his head relaxed on the bartop, looked like he was lost in a dream.
“That’s the most repulsed name yet; *mnn*”
“Now now Lettice, what did I say about calling others names.”
“Sumuvus are built different; *ueh* oh god.”
Ligmas’s eyes jumped open. He scurried across the floor of the tavern on all fours to make it outside.
We all had a mixture of disgust and second-hand embarrassment on our faces as we tried to process what just happened.
Loric’s milk disappeared behind his clasped hands. “This is fun.”
“It is.”
“When we were walking around earlier I told you guys my dream was to pick up a tree like a weapon. That’s just because I never thought I’d be able to do it. It’s kinda scary thinking about it - like what if I do it and never strive for anything else, you know? I’ve never had another goal before.”
Ah- kinda feel like a fifth wheel now.
“But now I do. I want to go on the greatest adventures with my new friends.”
Beatrice groaned. Her mug slammed into the counter.
“Ya know-w that’s a death flag right there, but yeah. You bet.”
Sugma traced the lines of bottles and glasses along the wall behind the bar with his eyes. “I don’t see any flags.”
“It’s not really that kind of flag - like you know in books where someone says a whole bunch of mushy gushy stuff to get the reader invested? Ah- no offense Loric.”
“Uh-. None taken, I think?”
“It sh- sets up for thish big dramatic moment where they die, but you end up seeing it coming from a mile away. Even worse they try to subvert it with some out of nowhere twist to be special and unique. But all they do is make you feel like an idiot for playing along.”
Sugma covered his mouth with his mug.
“Ah books, yeah of course I do. Shut up Lothric - no debt flags. You’re only allowed to have friend flags.”
“That’s not- eh whatever, it’s like-”
Sugma let out a resigned groan when Ligmas tugged at his belt.
“I ackshly think dat it gives you ample preparedness to be ready to grieve for them and when missed provides a genuine avenue for you to explore your emotions and reflect on.”
“Hey, when’d you get in here- let go of my belt, stop scratching. Hold still.”
“Your entire exishtence has been a death flag Mister Sugma.”
“Why you little-”
Sugma peeled away the claw that was clutched his belt and slung Ligmas over his shoulders like a barbell.
“Alright buddy time to go.”
“I didjn’t finish my drink.”
“It probably isn’t cold anymore. Besides that I think you’ve had enough.”
Sugma turned around and grabbed Ligmas’s mug.
“Red stuff always has way more kick when it sits.”
He sloshed back the brew into his mouth and we all dropped our coins down on the bartop. Goodbye my precious 2ac.
“Hyaa~ that’s good stuff. Nothin’ like we got at home, but that really hits the spot. Speaking of which, you hold your drink pretty good little lady.”
Little? I’m over twice his height. What does he mean little?
“Uh - that’s a good thing?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? You have the stomach of a warrior.”
“Thanks- I don’t think it’s the stomach that does that. But, ah- it just gets so expensive to get drunk when you have a high tolerance.”
“Drunk? Why would you want that? If you’re drunk you can’t taste all the flavors and enjoy it properly. Your mind’ll just make up flavors or ignore them all together.”
You’re supposed to like the way this stuff tastes?
“It reminds me of when I was younger. Me, my brother, and our friend used to wrestle dragons.”
How could this possibly remind you of that?
“He was small compared to us, but us three were pretty good at it. Since then he trained and trained and now I swear he could pick up a house if he wanted. - But that’s nothing compared to ol’ Sugma here when I get serious.”
His friend was smaller than him? Eeeh.
Riker’s Soulgazer
+5(🜁,ᛉ) | ᚨ+2 | ᛞ
🜁 . 2ᛉ . 3ᛞ . 4:i2(🜁,ᛉ,ᚨ) . 10:i2(🜁,ᛉ)
They will never curse me. I can see it. I know it’s there.
“Imagine you are woken up in the middle of the night. Through the darkness your mind distorts ordinary things into objects of horror. Keep focusing. Make out its true shape and trace its outline again with your eyes.”
Founded by Cornelius Riker
4-7 Late Winter Year 1: Age of Sorrow
The room filled with a void, blanketed in black. Small, blood red blotches swirled where Sugma stood.
“Hey, Sugma-”
A punchy bang boomed from the bar’s countertop.
“Hey Center-right, you’re short one adamant coin.”
He has to already know. It’s none of my business anyway.
Sugma reached into a pouch that ran along his belt and pulled out a handful of dark blue coins.
“Uh. I - huh. Can anyone spot me?”
Beatrice reached into his hand and pulled out ten mithril coins and slapped them onto the counter so we could take our leave.
The cool night air carried itself through the streets. Sugma stretched toward the moon like he was just getting out of bed.
“I’m gonna put Limplicks to bed. Keep the party going and I’ll catch up.”
Beatrice shuffled alongside him.
“I’m gonna skip on this one. I’ve had enough excitement today.”
Loric looked up at the moon. Its dim, silver glow took up a quarter of the night sky. Specks and clustered streaks of rainbow colored stars shimmered around it. I interpreted Loric’s daydreaming to mean he didn’t want the night to end just yet, but that was probably more me not ready to fall asleep.
“Hey Loric, ya wanna lift a tree?”
The musty stench of milk aftertaste filled my nose.
“Really? You think we can?”
I pressed my palm square against his face and pushed him back.
Ehyeye- too close.
“Mhm. I do, with magic.”
“Oh. I only know a little bit. I do know something like that fire spell you and Ligmas were doing earlier. Would you be able to teach me?”
“Ohoho~ The great Marina Elysera will always share her knowledge of the mystical and magical with those willing and able. Follow me my little disciple, you have much to learn.”
Ehee~ Time to teach, time to learn. Weehee~
I coughed into my fist and walked down the main road out of the village.
“The first thing we’ll need to do is find a suitable target.”
Outside of the village we didn’t have to travel far to find some felled trees beside the road.
“Mm - where to begin. Ah, can you read spell instructions?”
“No, I’m kinda self taught.”
“Ooa~ You’ll pick it up no problem then. They’re super simple. I’ll walk you through it. Ah- hang on, can I borrow your plate guards?”
Loric unbuckled the scraps of metal fashioned to his sides. His eyes grew wide as I hucked them away from us.
“That should be good. Ah- sorry, I just needed to get them at least 3 meters away from us. We’ll get them after.”
I grabbed a stick off the ground and sketched a spell into the dirt road.
“Since magic comes from your imagination, the most important thing is to keep your mind a clean slate. So if it gets to be too much don’t strain yourself. It’ll only make it more difficult.”
Debtlift
+2(ᛉ,ᛈ) | (🜁,🜃,ᛃ,ᚨ)
ᛉ . 2ᛈ . 3🜁 . 4🜃 . 5ᛈ . 6ᛃ . 7ᚨ . 8ᛉ
If this cannot raise me out of poverty, then I don’t know what will.
“Imagine you have just put your life savings on the line in a high stakes poker match. Feel the weight upon your shoulders lighten as you win it big.”
Founded by Travold Miriculus
4-1 Winter’s End Year 32: Age of Guilds
“Poker? What’s that have to do with lifting a tree?”
“These instructions almost always dance around the actual effect so it can distract you and let your imagination flow more naturally.”
I tapped the first line of the spell with my foot. Part of it accidentally smeared.
“The name of the spell doesn’t matter much-. Ech.”
I traced the stick back along the part I erased. The sizing of the redrawn parts didn’t quite match and irked my brain.
“You can remember it however you want. I’d like to say to give credit by calling it whatever the first person who discovered it wants it called, but-”
I couldn’t let it be, so I erased the name and redrew it.
“Eh- but after some archmage called what would become the most used flying spell of its time ‘stutter stepping’ it’s pretty much just left up to being a socially driven convention. The rule of thumb is just be courteous to the original founder when you can.”
I poked the stick along each of the symbols on the second line of the spell’s instructions.
“These symbols are the magical components that are proportional to each other. This spell has twice the amount of protection and charm components as it does force, terra, transmutation, or transcendence components. The numbers don’t have to do with ether, which is kinda like how hard your imagination works.”
I poked around the third line the same as I did the previous one.
“The like, really long line here is written so that you can go step by step to make it easier on yourself as a beginner. Think like one one thousand, two one thousand, and go down the line to the next component like that as you follow the wordy instructions at the bottom. You probably already know what each component feels like since you’ve done some magic before, but I’ll do my best to try and explain it if you don’t know any of these.”
“I see. I’ll give it a shot.”
Runes might be a bit too complex to go over with him, but the boost to ether and anima are really gonna help.
“My staff is my second best rune, but it’d probably get in the way, so maybe-”
A constrained breath cracked the air when Loric gripped his fingers into the log.
“Ah- ah wait-wait hold on.”
“Did I already do something wrong?”
“No, not exactly. It’s just, you might want a rune to take the stress off your body or you’re gonna be exhausted after one go. Here.”
I took my old runestone from my bag and snapped my fingers in a display of showmanship. I relaxed my grip and the runestone dangled on a leather strap, wrapped around my finger. I placed the amulet around Loric’s neck for him and flashed a slanted thumbs up.
“Woah, this is so cool.”
“I know right? Mm, now give it a try. It’s kinda hard to explain how to use it. - The best way I can is focus on the images in your imagination coming from the stone. Like they’re jumping right out of it.”
With the runestone around his neck, Loric lifted the log an inch off the ground. His arms gave way and it crashed back down. I pressed the end of my stick against my bottom lip and tapped my finger along it.
“Mm. - What might help too is sometimes people also do things like- wave a stick for example. Or draw a circle with a fancy design to get more immersed. Ah- it doesn’t even need to be that big a thing. Cracking fingers, fiddling with a piercing, even just striking a pose, there’s a lot of little rituals people do to make it easier.”
“That seems like it’d take more effort with everything else I need to juggle.”
“Ehe~ You’d be surprised. Think of it like talking with your hands. Eventually you just get in the rhythm of it and it makes talking and thinking about what you wanna say easier. Ah- talking’s another good one. Saying the name of the spell or just a phrase in general is another really common way to make spellcasting easier.”
Loric drew in a deep breath and brought his fist together. “Alentze.”
“Alentze? Ah- sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you.”
I wasn’t supposed to say that out loooud.
“I just really like that word. When my mom and I have dinner she always holds our plates above her head. She shouts it like it’s a magic word and then brings it down to show me what we’re eating that night.”
Loric steadied himself and gripped his fingers into the log.
“Alentze.”
He lifted the tree trunk above his head. With one hand he swung it about, a low hum vibrating around our ears. We both cheered right as Beatrice called out from behind us.
“Well I’ll be damned.”
Pushing past her, Sugma continued stomping toward our direction.
“Ey! That’s cheating. We don’t need silly wizard tricks. Here lemmie show you. It’s all in the back, gotta put some power behind it.”
Sugma dug his fingers into the side of another log and groaned when it refused to budge.
“Ok, that time I wasn’t serious. You see Lovesick, you need to really be prepared for these kinds of things.”
Beatrice and I giggled.
“It’s fine, let Loric have his fun. He’s earned it after hanging around you and Ligmas all day.”
“Don’t start with me Beakwise! Why don’t you try and lift this thing then.”
“Gladly.”
“Heh, good luck- Hey woah, put me down.”
“You didn’t say which thing.”
“I am not a thing. Stop- ok this isn’t funny, put me down.”
The night out didn’t last much longer. The four of us wandered the streets for a bit to get a better feel for the village, but before long we said our goodbyes and retired for the night.