Chapter 32: Pascal’s Seventeenth Celebration

As I walked with Callem, I recast my obfuscate spell and set it to show my aether core at 10% of its actual size. So someone with a reading ability would see it as 123, still extremely large for a 15-year-old but not overly frightening.

I asked Callem what he had purchased at the general store to start a conversation during the walk. He said just some consumables and showed me the list. He had a long list focused on restocking the two larders on the farm. He had purchased everything I had requested for cooking and much, much more. With seven people living there, we were consuming food at a prodigious rate.

I noted he had bought enough ingredients to make the spicy chili a dozen times over and ingredients to make ice cream a few times. Dessert was a new concept for everyone, and it was something that was growing on Callem. All the supplies were being shipped out to the Gaskil farm to be loaded onto Callem’s new cart. Callem also mentioned that Wynna was paying a fair portion of the food bill. Apparently, his new live-in girlfriend was paying rent in food.

Getting a little bolder, I asked if we could go to the city today to buy a few things. “Can we go to the city today as well? I have a few things I need to get.”

Callem, like he always did, was processing the question. Before responding, “What do you need in the city Storme? I do owe you a lot of back pay.” Callem hadn’t given me any money for working his farm in quite some time.

I was ready with an answer he would like, “I want to get some chocolate to make chocolate ice cream. I also wanted to go to Marigold’s Mystical Emporium to get some spells. I don’t have any coins, but I could use the bracelet, or I could just…” I left the rest unsaid, especially after Callem’s cool gaze fell on me.

Callem stopped walking, his brow creased. A few moments later, he spoke, “Yes. Yes, we will go to the city, and I will accompany you. It’s the only way we can be sure you’re safe. Can you create coins in your pockets?” I nodded, slightly surprised. “Well, make as much platinum as you can. I have five of your platinum with me, so there’s no need to use your bracelet to withdraw funds. I will go with you and supply the coins for your purchases. That should divert all the attention to me as your benefactor.”

Callem grinned a little evilly, “We should make an effort to spend a few platinum. That way, it should reach back to the thugs who robbed you, whose coin they actually stole.” Callem's look turned to me, and I was slightly scared. “If you see them, point them out to me.” He had a grin now. “How many more can you make?” Callem asked.

“I should be able to make two complete platinum coins,” I responded.

“Good. You can palm them to me at the party.” Callem paused again. “When we get to the city do not speak out of turn. You are smart enough to know what not to say. After this trip everyone should think that your benefactors are Wynna and me,” I nodded. Happily, my thoughts had turned to what spells I hoped to purchase. Callem started walking again and I had to jog a little to catch up. I think he was excited.

It was great to see my family’s house. The noise from inside was quite loud, as everyone was singing a folk song about reaching maturity. It was around lunchtime and I actually didn’t know when the party was. I guess it was now.

Callem held us back until the song finished and then we entered. Everyone turned to us and everyone went as still as a statue. Oh, they hadn’t expected me back and I surprised them. “Hi everyone!” I said awkwardly and waved.

My entire family was there. I could hear Monty pawing at the bedroom door of my sister’s room, anxious to mingle. In addition, Pascal’s five friends were there, and Brianne was as well. Brianne was standing awfully close to Pascal, too. These seven would all be going to the academy together in a few months.

They were the seven from town, and there was another half dozen or so from the outlying farms, too, that would make up Pascal’s first-year Academy class. “Uh, happy coming-of-age brother,” I said as I moved into the room. Then I noticed no one's eyes were following me. They were locked to the doorway behind me. I turned, and Callem stood there, taking up the entire doorway. I guess I was a little portentous to think they were surprised to see me.

“Everyone, this is Callem. I mean Captain Callem. I have been out living with him for a while now.” Mother and father were the first to move into action at the unexpected guest. They both went to Callem and started talking with him in soft voices so no one could overhear. I moved to the group of Pascal’s friends and soon found Freya hugging me tightly.

“Storme, I missed you!” She pulled me down to whisper, “The sword is in my room. Mom did the engraving on the scabbard, and Antal did the handle. Mom paid for the scabbard, and Dad got the dragon bone for the handle. It looks marvelous! Pascal is sure to love it!” I had actually forgotten I had made Pascal a sword for his birthday.

My life was incredibly stressful, and I had been intensely focused on learning spells. “We are going to eat first and then open gifts!” Since our parents had paid for the scabbard, I wondered what happened to the coin I gave her to purchase one. Before I could ask her what happened to all the coins, Freya had already moved off. My guess was they had been turned into candy.

Callem had finished talking with Caleb and Alurha and they were all smiles. Mother motioned me to the small kitchen to help with the food. Of course, I wouldn’t get away without cooking. The meal was to be chicken fajitas with honey ginger rice. There were a few bottles of wine on the table as well as it was customary for your 17th birthday to drink a glass of wine or beer. Most kids had tried alcohol long before this occasion, though. Both me and Gareth had downed a bottle or two of cheap wine ourselves.

“That blade is marvelous, Storme! How did you ever get Callem to part with it?” My mother asked in a hushed whisper as we heated up the food. My mother thought Callem gave the blade to Pascal? Of course, she did, as it was probably quite valuable. I held my tongue, not wanting to say something in error. They had just talked with Callem, and I looked over at him, and he winked. Son of a bitch, he had taken credit for the sword! I was angry for the briefest moment before thinking this was good. I didn’t need the recognition.

Soon, everyone was eating and happy. I listened here and there as this group was not really my friends. They were mostly discussing their upcoming entry into the academy. Freya had accidentally let Monty out, and she was chasing him to bring him back into the room. The guests' excitement was overwhelming for him, and he dodged her at every turn. I sat in one of the few chairs and relaxed for a moment. Brianne approached me and leaned against the wall to my right. “How is Gareth doing?” she asked attentive.

“He’s doing pretty well,” I said. This crowd wasn’t Brianne’s usual group. She typically hung out with the younger kids in town. “Do you want me to pass a message to him for you?” I asked, as Brianne hadn’t moved.

“No, I was just wondering if he was ok,” she said. She didn’t move and, a minute later, added, “On second thought, just tell him I was wondering why he wasn’t here as well.” After a brief pause, she added, “And also tell him that I was happy to hear he was doing well.” She smiled at me and moved away. Well, Gareth still had a chance with Brianne if he was interested. Maybe she came to this party in hopes of running into him? I didn’t understand women at all.

Soon, the gift-giving started. Pascal’s friends started. They gave him some silly gifts that I assumed had some meaning from the years they had played and practiced together. Freya went to her room and returned with the sword. It was wrapped in fine white cloth. Mother intercepted her and tried to give the sword to Callem to present to Pascal, but Callem motioned to me and mother walked over to hand the package to me.

It was obvious that it was a sword, but still, all eyes were on me. Taking the sword, I approached Pascal. “Brother, what we have here is a gift from your family. The blade was given by Callem...I mean Captain Callem, but mother made and engraved the scabbard, father had the work done on the hilt, and Freya was instrumental in getting it all completed, carrying it from Callem’s farm to here. I...” What did I do then? “I...I have paid Callem for his time to teach you how to use it properly. He will...”

I didn’t have a chance to finish as Pascal jumped up and actually hugged me. Chatter began as Pascal proceeded to unwrap the blade and draw it. Everyone was awed by the sword, even me. It was passed around, and when it got to Callem, he spent a good minute studying it before passing it along. I inspected the handle and sheath; both were impressive and highlighted the watered blade I had made.

Everyone was clapping and congratulating Pascal on the back. I moved to stand next to Callem to talk.

“It is a fine blade, Storme,” Callem said. “Definitely created by magic and should serve your brother extremely well. Do you know what such a blade is worth?” he asked.

I didn’t really care. It was just an hour or two of work on my part, but I decided to humor Callem with a guess. “Fifty gold?”

Callem huffed. “No. Not even close. People would pay three hundred on a bad day for a blade like that. Twice that on a good day and if it was prepped for enchanting.” I was in a little shock. Maybe making coins was the wrong way to make my fortune. That blade may make your brother a target. I will make sure your parents know to let him know to temper his enthusiasm in showing it off.” I took this moment to stuff the two platinum coins into Callem’s pocket. Callem moved away from me to make another fajita and talk with my mother.

Callen and I soon made our excuses to leave. I got hugs from everyone in my family, and Callem said Pascal could come to the farm tomorrow for four weeks of training with his other students. Pascal was over the moon, and I had to smirk a little because Callem hadn’t mentioned the three young women. Pascal was probably just thinking it would be me and Gareth. He was going to be in for a shock!

We started on the road to the city, and Callem started talking about blades non-stop. I threw up my arms and said I got the hint. He wanted me to make him some swords. He had a giddy childish grin on his face. Then he began detailing six different blades he wanted me to make for him, two blades were for him, one for me, one for Gareth, one for Aelyn, and one for Cilia. As we approached the city, he said it was time to watch our language and keep our eyes peeled. We ended the one-sided sword discussion and passed through the gates.

Chapter 33: Callem's Shopping Spree

After passing through the gates, I fell in behind Callem. He was leading this shopping expedition with a spring in his step. Our first stop was a clothing store. When he told me Gareth was outgrowing his clothes, I understood why we were there. He went through the racks and pulled a few shirts, pants, socks, belts, underclothes, and shoes.

It was all good quality and cost Callem a little under three gold coins from his own purse. The man fashioned the clothes into a large makeshift backpack, and I was stuck carrying it. Soon, I was once again following Callem. Thankfully, we were headed to Sweet and Treats next, a familiar place for me.

While I was getting cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate bars, and semisweet chocolate bars in quantity, Callem was stuffing numerous items into his large basket. I noticed he was staying on the high-end shelves as he pulled things into his basket without rhyme or reason. My own package of chocolate weighed over fifteen pounds, as I just took everything they had in stock for baking and had the clerk package it.

The young clerk was shocked but said my total was 2 gold and 8 silver after a small discount for quantity. He explained that chocolate imports were infrequent from the lowlands, so it was fairly high in cost. Callem, on the other hand, must have had 40 pounds of finished candy. I smirked, wondering what would happen if I gave Freya such a bundle of candy on her birthday. She would be ecstatic, but her teeth would fall out.

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Callem’s total easily outclassed my chocolate, coming in at 6 gold, and 39 silver. Other shoppers were just gawking at us as Callem paid with a large shiny gold and received 3 gold and 61 silver in change. The clerk spent almost an hour carefully packing everything for transport and filling my pack. We walked out, and my backpack was much heavier, almost unmanageable. Callem said not to worry. Just a few more stops, and then we could go back to the Gaskil farm to unload it all into his new cart.

I really wanted to ask him if he was going to carry anything, but I knew his response would be one of two things. Either he would say it was good weight training or that we were playing master and student for observers. I hadn’t seen any of the ruffians that nearly killed me the last time I was in the city, but I was constantly on the lookout. Callem also kept checking with me to see if I noticed things, quizzing me like we were doing observation training.

Unfortunately, our next stop was not Marigold’s Mystical Emporium. It was a jewelry shop. At least I got to put my things down while Callem shopped. He got two necklaces, a brooch, two pairs of earrings, and a beautiful silver gilded jewelry box. The total was 46 gold! Callem happily paid with a shiny platinum coin.

At first, I thought he might get an engagement ring for Wynna, but that was not a custom in Skyholme. He was just going to lavish her with gifts it appeared. I thought about asking him what his intentions were with Wynna, but discarded trying to tease Callem—nothing good could come from it.

Our next stop was a weird storefront that I didn’t recognize until we entered. It was a specialty men’s store. Callem was a big man, so he needed to shop here, I guess. He didn’t get much: a new pair of leather boots, some underclothes, three sets of sleeping clothes, and four new shirts. The total was two gold and three silver, mostly because the boots were expensive. At least Callem was carrying his own clothes and jewelry for Wynna as my back ached from burden.

Our next stop was the cooper. I had told Callem I needed a special setup to make ice cream and that was why we were here. At his urging, I talked to the barrel and bucket maker to get something that would work better than my improvised setup. It took ten minutes before I got nested buckets with room for ice and matching lids. It cost just a few silver coins, and they were of satisfactory quality. I hadn’t told Callem I was planning to try my hand at enchanting yet.

I was all shopped out, but Callem went to the butcher next and, thankfully, just placed a massive order. He paid in full, 7 gold, for the massive order and its delivery to his farm. The butcher in the city was much better than the one in Hen’s Hollow, so I had no objections to his purchases here or the extra time it took. I made sure the order included lots of bacon. I found I missed having thick bacon and egg biscuit sandwiches in the morning.

We went to a pottery shop next. Callem was planning to buy a tea set for Wynna. While he was shopping for the various sets, I found a set of dinner plates that were pretty spectacular. There were 23 plates, each with a painting of a mythical beast. Well, not mythical, as they all existed in this world. Callem had a great dining set, but these plates were too cool to pass up. The artist in the store said the plates were black iron stone, painted with glazes, and sealed with a clear glaze. They cost a steep 40 silver each.

He was trying to upsell his work, “It takes me two days to paint and fire each plate and two days to fire the clear glaze after. The stone is extremely strong and was shaped by a mage's spell.” There were three different sets of 23 plates on display, 69 in total. Even though the creatures were the same across the three sets, the artist had them in different poses and backgrounds.

Callem was done, paying 2 gold and four silver for ten aqua blue tea cups, a matching tea kettle, and three sugar, honey, and milk accessories. When I asked Callem if I could get all 69 plates he came over and looked at them before paying the 28 gold for them from his purse. He winked at me as he paid, as we were making an impression in the city. Word would definitely get back to my assailant that the coin he stole belonged to one of the most dangerous men on the island. They would send a runner to the Gaskil farm to drop off the tea set and plates, which I was thankful for. Each plate weighed over a pound and I was already burdened.

Leaving the potter shop, we finally turned in the direction of Marigold’s. I thought Callem would tease me and that we would take another detour, but we finally arrived at the magic shop. I had only peeked in the window a few times prior to today. I had never actually gone inside because I didn’t have the coin to purchase anything, so I was thoroughly excited.

Callem leaned into me briefly while adjusting his load and whispered, “Your budget is five platinum here, and then we can return to the farm.” My eyes widened in surprise for a second before I nodded in understanding and entered. I would be advertising that I had an awakened core but was under Captain Callem’s protection.

The shop was arranged with three long shelves of books on the right. One shelf had textbooks, one shelf had spellbooks, and the last shelf was labeled as enchanting and alchemy. On the other side of the shop was a selection of magical ingredients and items.

The proprietor was located behind a large black lacquered desk. She was an older woman, well dressed with long salt and pepper hair. Behind her was a large array of potions and crystals on the shelves. Only three other patrons were currently in the shop. Two I immediately presumed were guards by their disinterest in the goods in the shop and their sword belts. The third person was shopping for a spellbook under the watchful eyes of the guards.

Callem sat down in a chair by the door and I unloaded the burden I was carrying next to him. “One hour Storme,” was all Callem said as he started digging around in his massive candy sack for something to eat. That shouldn’t be hard as he had practically bought out the candy shop.

My mental list only included two items: tier 3 aether crystal dust and the tier one dimensional space spell for Aelyn. It didn’t take long for me to find Aelyn’s spell book. They had about 100 different tier-one spells and a dozen or so tier-two spells available. There were multiple copies of each tier-one spell by different authors. The spellbook I chose had six identical copies on the shelf.

This was a far cry from the selection Gareth had described while shopping at the capital’s spell shop. At least the bindings were color-coded by magic sphere, similar to Gareth’s description. I wasn’t going to find anything unique here, but Callem gave me a five platinum allowance. So far, I had a book that cost 12 gold.

I walked the rows and didn’t find anything piquing my interest other than a tier 2 healing spell for combating poison, 60 gold. I added it to my stack. I was finding that although the selection was minimal, prices were about half what Gareth had paid in the capital.

There was a levitate spell but I thought to myself that I should probably just get a fly spell to imprint instead. I was about to move to the front to get my aether dust when I noticed the alarm spell. I had walked by it twice in my perusing. It was just a tier 1 spell but I opened it and studied the description and its utility.

It would be super useful after a few evolutions as it could wake you from sleep if danger was close. I added the well-worn book, just four gold. I think my biggest hang-up on not getting more spells was the fact I didn’t want to waste space in my spell matrix with tier one spells. I wanted at least tier two spells even though they took two slots, they were usually twice as powerful.

I approached the desk with the woman, and she had a kind smile, pleasant wrinkles, and bright eyes. I placed the books on her desk. She was starting a slip for my purchases, and she started talking, “Newly awakened?”

“Yes, I have a few lesson books and plan to start on spell imprinting soon,” I replied, glancing at the shelves behind the woman.

“Good choices on the alarm spell and pocket space spell. Both are easy to learn and have good utility. The cure poison spell—that is used mostly by adventurers in delving dungeons.” She left her question hanging, and I figured it would be ok to lie a little.

“Yes, my patron over there,” I pointed at Callem, “wants me to attend the Adventurer’s Academy after my first year of the academy.” I paused and then said, “I plan to try my hand at enchanting as well. What do you recommend for a beginner?” She had a knowing look in her eye.

“Enchanting is a difficult path, and you will find yourself investing endless hours to become a competent enchanter if you travel that path,” she said with a warning. I already had a cheat with my metal shaping skill. She continued a little more positively, “It is a financially rewarding path, though.” She winked at me. “I would suggest a roll of thin silver wire with tier 1 aether dust already embedded. That should allow you some practice at writing out runes. You will need the stylus that the wire feeds into as well to write out the runes.” I nodded at her advice.

“Do you have any silver wire with tier 3 aether dust?” Her eyebrows arched in surprise at my question.

“Yes,” she said, going behind her and pulling a coil of wire. It costs 10 gold for the spool, mostly due to the cost of the aether dust.” I nodded, motioning to add it to my books.

“How much for a unit of just the tier three aether dust and a stylus for writing the runes?” I asked, trying to decipher the labels behind her. A unit was about the size of a golf ball from its looks.

“Five gold for a unit of tier three dust. That’s about the amount in each spool. We have three styluses for sale. The basic one costs two gold, and the other two are priced at nine gold and twenty-four gold, respectively. The expensive one should last a few thousand hours and has a fine point. The two cheaper ones will last a few hundred hours of use, but honestly, they're the same except that the nine gold one is made from rarer materials,” she added, looking at me with newfound respect. Maybe she appreciated me trying to become an artificer and was genuinely advising me, even if it meant a loss in profits.

Damn, I thought. It was hard spending five platinum. I guess I could go with volume.

“I will take the stylus for 24 gold, 10 units of tier 3 aether dust, and two coils of wire along with the tier 3 aether dust. Do you have any spell books that aren't on the shelves?” I asked, hoping there was a book I could buy to utilize my five platinum limit.

The old woman was gazing at me more critically now as she added the items to my invoice slip without breaking eye contact. “Yes, a few tier 3 spells and two tier 4 spells. I can also get you a copy of most spells in under a week for a price from the library in the capital.” I waited for her to continue. “For tier 3, I have Compulsion, Hail of Ice, Fire Mantle, Illusionary Companion, Wind Step, Advanced Water Breathing, and Summon Greater Fog. For tier 4, I have Dimensional Step and Paralysis.” She looked at me expectantly. The tier four spells were probably both over five platinum, so there was no need to ask further about those. What sounded most interesting from the tier three list?

“I am not interested in ordering a spell right now,” I said thinking Callem wouldn’t let me back into the city anytime soon. “Can I see the Illusionary Companion spell?” The woman went under the counter, unlocked a cabinet, and brought the tome out. It was extremely thick and I went inside the cover and looked at the price, 350 gold. Excellent. I had too many spells to imprint already and this was mostly to get me to 5 platinum. I perused the spell. The spell created an illusionary and animated figure the mage could control with his mind.

My hour was almost up. “I will take this spell book as well.” The woman totaled everything to 530 gold. That was great, but before calling Callem over to pay, I asked about some of the enchanted items she had in her store. “What enchanted items do you sell?”

The woman was very attentive to me now. “I have an array of aether lights from a few silver to a few golds. I have fire starters, water condensers, cold chests, heater stove tops, leather armor-enhanced bracers, shielding brooches, and communication stones. Most are high-turnover items.” Most of the items she had in stock were imported from the artificers in the capital. Any enchanter worth his salt established his business there. The capital was where all the trade passed through. Any dungeon harvests or dungeon imports would pass through the capital, making it the easiest place for a good enchanter to get materials.

I found a better aether light stone for five gold. It had adjustable brightness and an extremely small rechargeable tier four aether crystal. I thought about getting Gareth and I communication stones but we really didn’t need them. The shielding brooches were a definite possibility and started at 20 gold, but before I could explore the selection, Callem was approaching. “Storme, are you finished?”

“Yes,” I said reluctantly, adding the improved light stone to my pile. The woman handed Callem the completed slip after adding the stone. 535 gold. Callem produced five shiny platinum coins and four large gold to pay. The woman pulled a device to check the coins and confirmed they were good, which caused me to grin at Callem. He didn’t return it. The woman packed up my purchases neatly into a complimentary leather satchel. The woman handed Callem his change, five gold coins.

Callem dropped the five gold coins in my pocket as I struggled to juggle all the packages into a comfortable carrying position. “For working on the farm and cooking,” he said in a low voice. Wait, did he just pay me with my own coin for working for him? I didn’t see his face, but by his gait, I knew he must be grinning.

Our shopping spree finally concluded, and we headed back toward the Gaskil farm. We had attracted quite a bit of attention throughout the day. Callem was relatively silent during our walk. When we arrived at the Gaskils', the cart was overpacked with chickens and goods, and I wondered how we were going to get the clucking mass of items back to Callem’s farm. Then he stepped in front of the cart where a horse should be and started to pull the load. I quickly placed my burdens in the cart and attempted to join him in pulling, but Callem waved me off, saying, “No need, Storme. I need some exercise.”

The trip back to the farm was slow, and I talked with Callem the entire way about trivial matters. The man was inhuman, as he never breathed heavily, pulling the massive load at a steady pace. When the farm finally came into view, I was surprised that things had gone so smoothly. I cursed. Every time I thought things were going well, something bad tended to happen.

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