"Boy yous finally don it," Ethier said in a slightly higher pitch than normal, patting Vincin on the back as they finished putting their tools up. "Alden will be happy to hear it," Vincin said with a smile. "Don’t goes eh wastin ma teachin now, come on back next week and ills get ya started on increasin yer skill," Ethier said, handing Vincin a small coin pouch.
After a short farewell, Vincin loaded Alden’s order onto Bella and headed back through town. He noticed a sleek black horse tied to a post in front of "The Oaken Boar," a small tavern near the center of town. It was "Gallar," Crae’s horse.
Vincin redirected Bella towards "The Oaken Boar." He slid off her and tied her next to Gallar, patting her neck. Vincin said, "I’ll be back Bella, won’t be too long this time." Vincin turned to Gallar and gave him a quick scratch on the head. Gallar, a large Shire horse with a charcoal coat and thin pink and white scars running down his sides, gave a short Whinny towards Vin before turning to Bella and letting out a long, drawn-out neigh. And like that, they were off, whinnying and neighing back and forth. Vincin headed inside "The Oaken Boar" with a wide grin.
Vincin entered a mostly vacant room with tables lining the floor and a bar across the back wall. The room was filled with a sweet sound from the music box in the corner. A few patrons were passed out on stools from the night before. At the bar stood a small woman serving a man with his back to the door. He was wearing studded leather and had long auburn hair with streaks of white peeking through.
The woman locked eyes with Vincin as he entered, but it wasn’t her voice that rang out across the room. A raspy and somewhat chipper voice reached Vincin's ears. “So boy how’s Alden these days?” It was the kind of voice that makes you think of a crazed wizard. Vincin never thought the voice fit the man. “On second thought, how did he even know it was me?” Vincin was too busy thinking about it when Crae began beckoning him to sit next to him. “Don’t be a stranger now, it hasn’t been that long.”
As Vin got to his seat at the bar, he could finally see and make out Crae's appearance. The man was a half-elf; his long pointed ears gave it away. He could almost pass for a full-blooded elf if it weren’t for his eyes. They didn’t have that link to the fey; his eyes were still an off color, a beautiful lavender, but they lacked a presence Vincin didn’t quite understand yet.
His features weren’t harsh like you’d expect from a man Alden’s age; they were still slightly subtle. The man came off as if he was only hitting 40 years of age. Crae's Elf blood definitely helped with this, but he didn’t have the full effect of it. The true secret to his youth was that Crae had broken through the first threshold of this world.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
He had pushed his body past the point of most people or even living beings and formed a fundamental connection with the world around him. Crae had ascended to the first step of true cultivation, often referred to as Purity. Reaching this level forced most toxins and buildup out of your body, extending your life and freeing your body up to grow stronger. Most humans that reach this stage live for roughly 130 years. For Crae, most guess he could live to see 200 after his breakthrough.
He was a handsome man by most and a disgrace to elven kind by some.
Crae turned to Vincin with a sly grin and said, “How ya been kid?” Vincin replied quickly, “GOOD!! I finally got 'SMITHING' as a skill.” He pulled up his 'Skills' screen and willed it to be visible for Crae.
————————————
Skills
Herbalism - Level 1
Carpentry - Level 1
Swordplay - Level 1
Smithing - Level 1
————————————
Crae looked at the screen in front of him for a moment before looking back to Vin. “Well congratulations, boy, you’ll be forging swords for great heroes soon!” He said with a wink. Vincin smiled and puffed out his chest. “Of course I will! I’m Vincin The ForgeMaster,” he said, pulling his hammer from his side and raising it high.
Vincin beamed for a moment before staring at Crae and asked, “How did you know it was me?” Crae looked him over and chuckled. “It’s simple, really. No one’s dumb enough to come drinkin this early. And I’ll tell you a secret, no one gets Gallar going like that but Bella,” Crae said, gesturing towards Vincin, who looked at Crae dumbfounded. “Besides, the only other person coming in here this early is Henry wondering why his farm hands didn’t show up,” Crae said, gesturing towards three young men passed out at a table across the bar.
At this point, the barkeep laughed as she handed Vincin a water. “Won’t make that mistake again after he finds them here.” She began pouring three more glasses of water and took them to the table of men.
"Are you coming to the house later?" Vincin asked.
"I will. I've got a few more stops to make in town first. Let Alden know before I get there," Crae replied.
"I've got something for you before you run off again." Crae pulled a small coin out of his pocket and slid it over to Vince.
Vince looked at the coin with confusion at first, but then his face lit up with excitement as he realized what it was. It was an entry coin to "Oridia," known as a sanctuary to all races. Oridia was built around the largest life tree in the world, and it was said that Indra himself protected the city. With so many people leaving and entering the city, they began using marked coins to verify entry.
As Vince turned the coin in his hand, he ran his thumb across the intricate engravings on the back. He had never seen magic script so detailed before. The most complicated runes he had seen were relatively simple elemental creation runes in the irrigation system on the farm. Those used a mana crystal as a power source, but Vince couldn't see any points for a mana crystal on the coin.
He did know its purpose, though. It allowed safe passage through the gates of the city. How it did that, he had no clue. This was a one-time entry token, signified by the silver coloring and the number 1 engraved in the tree's trunk. Vince continued to thumb at it as he thanked Crae.
"Thank you!" Vince nearly screamed in excitement.