I grinned at her. “That’s fine with me. I just wish it was possible to keep it.”
Risa’s expression was suddenly serious. “Actually, about that. I was thinking about what you said about the unbreakable ice sword, and I wanted to try something.” She then sat up abruptly, focusing her attention on the delicate rose in her fingers.
Unexpectedly, the warm air in the room cooled down significantly as she concentrated, and the beautiful flower began to emit a soft white light – just like magicite.
My eyes widened in shock, and I gasped as I pushed myself up to stare at the luminescent piece of ice. But Risa wasn’t done yet. She was still focusing intently, working her magic to create what she wanted. Nothing else visibly happened, but when she finally took a deep breath and looked over at me with a grin, I knew she had done it.
One of the most powerful spells an ice mage could use – the ability to force ice to retain its shape indefinitely so long as magic was available to power it, combined with imbuing an object with a small reserve of magic – the latter of which neither Eli, as far as I knew, nor I were capable of.
It was one of the most advanced spells someone could do, and most mages would never be capable of it even after a lifetime of training.
I quickly held out my hands, already pressed tightly together from my arms being restrained, as Risa held out the softly glowing rose and place it gently in my palms. It didn’t even feel cold anymore, as if it were made of a clear stone instead of ice, nor did it melt in my warm palm.
I thought I had been surprised before, but this was beyond shocking. I had no doubt in my mind that she was a fons’radix now, but it was still unbelievable that she was the once-in-a-century original. She had barely started using her magic and was already possibly the most powerful mage I knew – certainly the most powerful ice mage.
Eli’s hand suddenly reached out to touch it, making me realize he had sat up behind me. I hadn’t even noticed I was so stunned. He didn’t try to take it from me though. He just gently placed his finger on the stem, gasping as he felt the absence of cold. Mira reached out then across from Risa to touch the glowing flower too. They were all gentle in touching it, even though the delicate looking flower was now more sturdy than solid stone.
We were all too speechless for words, until I finally met Risa’s gaze again. “I can keep it,” I said breathlessly, still hardly believing it.
She nodded with another small smile. “I don’t know how long it will last, but yes. You can keep it.”
I smirked at her. “Well, now I don’t want to go back to sleep, because I just want to stare at this all night.”
Mira unexpectedly groaned. “Ugh, we do need to sleep though. Dad’s paying you three to be my escorts even while in town, which means you’ll have to go with me when I enhance the antidotes.”
That got Risa’s attention. “He’s paying me too?” She asked in surprise.
Mira grinned at her. “Well yes, of course. You’ve already proven yourself to be a capable mage who would be able to protect me if needed.”
Risa just stared at her in shock. “I’ve just…” She began, biting her lip. “Never been paid for anything before. Like, I’ve never had a real job. I’ve always been a slave, working so my master would be paid, but I’ve never had a single bronze that I could call my own.”
“Well, I’m glad to be your first,” Mira announced cheerfully. “Once we have to go our separate ways, you’ll have at least two silver to your name, if not three.”
“But that’s so much!” Risa exclaimed.
Mira shrugged. “It’s what Riella and Eli are getting too. Really, you’re just getting paid about double the average daily wage of a normal worker. For this kind of job, a silver and ten bronze per day is fairly standard.”
Eli nodded in agreement. Risa looked up at him when he spoke. “Yes, it’s true. While I do think the four gold he gave us for the magicite job was extreme, the sixty bronze a day for this job is definitely what I would expect.”
“Us?” Risa whispered, looking at me. I wasn’t sure why she was confused by what he said, but then quickly realized she was having the same thought I had earlier about Eli’s money. It felt like it was his money, not our money.
Eli addressed the topic directly. “Yes, us. If we are going to be traveling together, then that means we’re a team. As far as I’m concerned, my money is your money Risa. Granted, I don’t think we should go out and spend it like crazy, but I have no problem with giving you a gold to use as you see fit.”
It looked like Risa was about to pass out. “A gold?!” She exclaimed. “I’ve…I’ve never even touched a gold!”
“Oh, well we need to fix that then!” Eli replied with a grin. He quickly hopped off the other side of the bed and went rummaging through my pack against the wall where he had stored most of the money. He then made his way back, sitting down next to her, and handed her one of the gold coins.
She stared at it in awe for just a moment, before her expression abruptly changed. Suddenly, she looked upset as she quickly set it on the bed and held her hands up to her chest. We were all surprised by the unexpected behavior.
“What’s wrong?” I asked urgently. I gently placed the rose down on the bed beside the coin and reached out to hold her hands still clasped together at her chest. She wouldn’t let me pull them away from her body though, so I just held on tightly trying to understand the expression in her eyes.
When she didn’t respond after a few seconds, Eli spoke in a whisper. “I’m sorry.”
I was sure he had no idea what he needed to apologize for, but obviously he had done something to upset her. She slowly glanced up at him, and then quickly looked away. None of us were sure what to do, so we just waited patiently to see if she would explain what was wrong. Finally, she did.
“It’s just…” She began in an uneven tone. “You giving this to me makes me feel like I have to give you something in return.” She took a shaky breath. “That’s how it’s always been all my life, and I’m just not ready for that.”
All our eyes widened in shock. Eli spoke barely above a whisper.
“No,” he exclaimed quietly. “You don’t have to give me anything. It’s a gift, with no strings attached. You don’t even have to be nice to me if you don’t want to.”
Risa glanced up at him briefly, but then looked away, still seeming uncertain.
Eli sighed heavily, plucking the rose from the bed and holding it up in front of her. “Risa, look at this,” he whispered. She did and then looked at him with a confused expression. “This rose is worth much more than a gold – no one else can create something like this. This type of thing might sell for as much as ten gold, depending on how long it will last. So then, do you expect Riel to give you something in return, or is it a gift?”
“No!” Risa exclaimed breathlessly, glancing at me. “It’s a gift…” She hesitated, suddenly seeming embarrassed. “If anything, I feel like I owe her for being my friend.”
“But,” Eli pressed, “you didn’t make this for Mira, right? You made it for Riel.” She gasped again, looking apologetically at Mira. Eli continued. “If we are talking about owing people, then you owe her more than Riel. She saved your life.”
Mira immediately held up her hands. “No! You don’t owe me anything Risa!”
Eli quickly continued, speaking her name to get her attention. “Risa, that’s my point. You made this for Riel as a gift, not because you had to, or because you owe her, or even because you want something in return. Instead, it was because you wanted to give her something special, right?” She nodded tentatively. “So then, can you understand wanting to give Riel something without expecting anything in return?” She nodded again, prompting Eli to set down the flower and pick up the gold coin. “Then please understand that this is the same. You don’t owe me anything. It’s a gift and it will remain a gift even if you decide you never want to speak to me again.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” she replied quietly.
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“Well, then thank you, but me giving you this doesn’t mean you have to be nice to me. Otherwise, it’s not truly a gift. So please accept it.”
“You don’t have to,” I added, looking meaningfully at Eli. “If it’s too much for you right now, then you can refuse it.”
Risa glanced at me and then back down at the rose as she thought about it. Her gaze then fell back on the gold coin in Eli’s hand. Hesitantly, she slowly reached out and gently took it from his open palm. She then met his gaze as she spoke. “I know it would hurt my feelings if Riel had rejected my gift to her, so I will accept this…and try not to feel like I owe you.”
He nodded slowly, seeming hesitant himself for some reason. “Can I ask a favor then?”
Risa immediately dropped the coin, causing it to bounce off the bed and clatter on the wooden floor.
“No! Not that kind of favor!” He exclaimed. “I mean, I wanted to say, please don’t accept it because you’re afraid of hurting my feelings.” Mira had picked up the coin, so he accepted it back from her with a sigh. “What I mean is, there are people who will try to give you things that you don’t want to accept, and I don’t want you to feel obligated to accept them because it will hurt their feelings. There are especially men who use that tactic to try to manipulate women.” He placed the coin back down on the bed in front of her. “So please accept this only if you want to, not because it will hurt my feelings if you don’t.”
Risa was watching him carefully as she listened. I could tell she was really thinking it over, trying to understand what he was explaining. After a moment, she glanced back down at it and nodded. “I accept it,” she replied, not making any gesture to grab it. “Although, I’ll let you hold onto it for now.” She then met his gaze again, her cheeks blushing slightly. “I don’t really have anywhere to keep it safe,” she admitted.
I laughed at that, surprising even myself that I could manage a laugh right now. Eli chuckled as well beside me, reaching out to grab the coin. “Sure,” he replied, handing it to Mira’s outstretched hand.
Our human friend got up to stash it away in my pack again, before sitting back down on the other bed. “Now,” Mira began, “I hate to be the one to ruin everyone’s fun, but we really need to get back to sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow, especially for me.”
We all nodded in agreement.
I wasn’t looking forward to falling asleep again, but I knew I had to, or else I’d be useless in the morning. I was looking forward to spending time with everyone though. I just wish it didn’t have to end so soon.
Chapter 19: Charity
Sleep evaded me for some time after our conversation, but I managed to find rest eventually. I must have been more tired than I thought because I was the last to wake up too, not even noticing Eli slipping away from me. Granted, they all got up with the sun. By the time they woke me up, it was light outside.
Sonya was kind enough to check in on us, seemingly under the belief that it was her fault that I had ended up in someone else’s room. She of course still thought that some unknown mage had been controlling me – someone who might have been staying here as well. None of us corrected her, and although her concern was unnecessary, it was nice to see that she wasn’t mad at us for causing trouble. Since the man’s door had been broken, he had been moved to the first floor.
I was hoping to get out of the place without the guy seeing us, but apparently that wasn’t going to happen. Because he was waiting.
We came across him leaning next to the entrance, his arms crossed over his chest.
I immediately groaned in annoyance and embarrassment, slipping behind Eli to hide from the guy. At first it looked like Eli was going to ignore him, but when it became obvious we weren’t going to get by without a confrontation, he finally stopped and glared at the man.
“What do you want?” Eli demanded in a firm tone.
The man uncrossed his arms and stood up straight. “You need to take responsibility for your pantherian’s actions,” he snapped harshly.
“Oh really?” Eli responded, crossing his arms. The muscles in his forearms rippled underneath his skin as he did so. “And how do you suggest I do that?”
“Five silver at least,” the guy retorted with a glare. “And if you don’t pay up, then I’ll file a report with the city that I was harassed by your property.”
Eli glared right back, before his tone abruptly changed. “Is that what it seemed like?” He wondered casually. “Because I could easily file a report that you tried taking advantage of my property.”
Instantly, the man’s face began turning red. I had no idea how familiar Eli was with the laws here, or if he was just making stuff up, but clearly it was getting under this guy’s skin. “Now you listen here,” he finally managed, aggressively taking a step closer. “I can make this really bad for–”
Eli abruptly cut him off. “I’ll give you twenty bronze to make you shut up,” he offered.
That drew the guy up short. He almost seemed surprised that Eli was really negotiating with him now. The man crossed his arms again. “A silver and I’ll drop it,” he finally countered.
I was shocked when Eli began digging into his pocket. “You can’t be serious?” I whispered in disbelief. “We shouldn’t have to–”
Eli shook his head, prompting me to stop.
Despite how it probably seemed to the man, it wasn’t about control or putting up a front that I was Eli’s slave. It was about trust. I trusted that he knew what he was doing.
As he held up a silver coin, which the man eagerly held out his hand for, Eli surprised me again by sending sparks of electricity all around his fingers.
The guy immediately jumped back in surprise as Eli spoke up. “But I never want to see you again,” he hissed threateningly. “Are we clear?” He demanded.
The man nodded, his eyes wide. Eli then flicked the coin towards him, which the guy caught against his chest, before Eli grabbed my hand and rushed me out the door. Risa was right behind me, trailing us closely.
I sighed in relief once we were out of sight.
“Sorry,” I said quietly, feeling like this was all my fault again.
Eli shook his head a second time. “You have no reason to be sorry,” he replied seriously. “Let’s just focus on the day. Hopefully that’s the last of our problems for a while.”
I nodded silently in agreement.
The shop where Mira needed to enhance the antidote was towards the middle of the city, so we all piled back into the wagon to make the trip. Even by horse, it was still almost an hour away. I couldn’t believe how big the city was. Or rather, it wasn’t exactly the size that surprised me but the density of people within the large space.
In the elven village where I had grown up, I imagined the size of some of their cities were comparable, but the elves were more spread out with a lot of nature in between. It was nothing like that here, where it seemed like people were piled on each other everywhere I looked.
We made one stop for food, which we ate in the cart, and then we made an extra stop because Tobias happened to notice a shop that sold metalwork. I felt mortified when we spent half an hour finding manacles for me that would be the right size for my wrists. In the end, the blacksmith had to manually make a few adjustments since one half needed to fit me and the other side needed to fit Eli. At least the blacksmith didn’t find it too odd that he was customizing shackles for a pantherian. It was still embarrassing though.
Once that was taken care of, and the manacles were safely in my pack, the rest of the trip was uneventful.
The architecture seemed to become more advanced the further we traveled inside the city, with stone transitioning into cement, creating perfectly seamless structures. A lot more metal was used too, with some of the shops having canopies of metal out front to shield customers from the elements while they came and went.
Mira explained that Vanardis was divided into nine districts with the central four being the wealthiest. There was
a slum on the northwestern side of the city, but otherwise the other three outer districts were as nice as the one we were in. It was surreal to see the rapid transition of architecture as we reached one of the inner districts. By the time we made it to our destination, it felt like a different world entirely.
We came across numerous junctions where roads for cars passed overhead on bridges made out of concrete. The smell in these areas was horrid, since the exhaust produced by the gasoline vehicles drifted down to the lower streets. It appeared that the acrid scent bothered Risa and me a lot more than everyone else, since our noses were more sensitive. However, while I was confident our sensitivity to sound was equal, I suspected that Risa’s nose might be even stronger than mine.
Apparently, there were three areas of the city where only cars were allowed – one of the wealthier outer districts with nicer bottom-level streets, as well as two of the inner areas.
Given what I had seen thus far, I assumed the place we were heading to would be nice, but I was still stunned to see that the potions shop was such an impressive building. It had a cement foundation like the rest in the immediate area, but was built overall with ornate wood that gave it a luxurious feel.
The front entrance of the shop had a sign above the doorway that said, ‘Finn’s Apothecary.’ On either side, large glass windows revealed ornamental potions in various colors, with one of the windows having a sign announcing, ‘Bleeding curse antidote sold here!’
“What’s the bleeding curse?” I wondered absentmindedly as Tobias directed the horses down a wide alleyway beside the building.
Surprisingly, no one answered, prompting me to look up at Eli at my side. His expression was reserved, and he was looking away now. I glanced at Risa to see a similar reaction. Finally, I caught Mira’s eye.
Her voice was low as she finally replied. “It’s the disease I’m enhancing this antidote for,” she admitted with a grimace. “Most people think it’s a curse, especially since the symptoms are so weird, and only a magically enhanced potion can cure it.”
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