Mageblood

by Christopher Johns

  “They’ll leave soon.” Codgy grinned and went back to his wheel, then stopped and turned about. “Ophira, my apologies for not addressing you and welcoming you into my shop sooner. I take it that Kyvir has brought you here so that we might reach an agreement on business?”

  “He has and seeing the way you handled yourself with those two, I fear for any who genuinely upsets you.” She smiled at the ogre and it reached her eyes. “I heard that you would like basic dyes for simple clothes, I take it at a steep discount for yourself?”

  He nodded once before adding, “Any and all who seem even remotely interested in other colors or kinds of dyes, I will immediately send them your way, where I assume you will work your magic and ensnare them as you seem to have done with Kyvir.”

  I snorted, and he patted me on the shoulder. “Thanks, you big lug.”

  “I find this agreeable, I will sell you dye at fifty percent of the cost, so long as each sale of any of my dyes receives marketing and I receive a share of the profits, say, twenty percent?” Ophira offered with a small smile.

  “How much is fifty percent?” Codgy narrowed his eyes.

  “My basic stock will dye one item per vial, and each vial would normally sell for a silver.” She held up a hand, her lips moved, and she smiled wider. “If you buy them at five copper, and sell them at eight, I will take only a copper of the sale. A sign of good faith.”

  “So, selling two vials, I recoup the cost for almost three vials that I buy from you.” Codgy drummed his finger along his shoulder, he’d crossed his arms during her figuring. “This is amenable to me. And if it does well enough, I may buy more of your stock. We can renegotiate at any time and should they not sell, I will sell them back to you at cost.”

  “At cost, it is, Codgy.” They shook hands, and when they did that, two things happened at once. One was that the optional quest was completed, which was awesome, but the reward didn’t just automatically come to me. The second was that a long sheet of paper with ink and quill blinked into existence on the nearest surface to them.

  “What in the seven hells is that?!” I cursed, opting for a little more flavor than I might normally just because it had truly startled me.

  “This is a minor accord,” Ophira explained with a look of patient amusement on her face. “It is a contract of the business terms that we just set under the Trade Accords—a magical contract that all crafters and merchants sign to do business within the city limits. I hope you paid attention to that deal just now, as it will serve as your introduction to the accords and how they can be made.”

  “So, I’ll have to sign that too?” My right eyebrow raised as I tried to glimpse the contract for myself, but Codgy’s massive mitt engulfed my face.

  “To glance at a contract, you’re not part of before it is signed is a slight most won’t ignore, my friend,” His kindly rebuff made me step back. “Good man.”

  They took turns signing, then the contract poofed away as it had shown up in the first place.

  “Where are you supposed to be able to read it if you don’t have access to it?” I blinked, racking my brain for places you might go in real life to do so. “City hall?”

  “And the guildhall, yes.” Ophira seemed impressed that I had known something like that. “When would you like to begin your training?”

  “You’ve taken a wanderer as an apprentice?” Codgy tilted his head at her in confusion. “They aren’t meant to stay in one place for long.”

  “His passion and mine are twins, so I will see him become a dye maker.” Ophira smiled, then raised her brows. “So, when can I expect you?”

  “Soon.” I smiled at her, holding my hands out before her. “I’m serious about this, but time works differently from where I’m from.”

  “You mean when you disappear?” Codgy blinked, touching his chin in thought. “I’ve had people do this in my shop. Made me think they were a ghost for a little while. Luckily, they do not appear in my shop, but outside when they come back. Keeps me from being robbed, I think.”

  “That is disconcerting, but yes, when you come to me, I will teach you.” She smiled once more, her mischievous grin signaling an incoming ribbing. “So long as it isn’t too late. I am not at your beck and call.”

  She turned to Codgy. “I will bring some product for you within the hour, and thank you for your patronage.” She turned to me, “Until we meet again, my apprentice.”

  I grinned at her as she swayed away, outside of the shop as Codgy chuckled, then said, “You seem to have made a friend of the witch. For your reward, here you go.”

  He tapped my shoulder, and I saw that he imparted 35 EXP giving me enough to level up to five! I opted to wait on going through my notifications until he was done with me.

  “And you’ll be taken care of as far as prices are concerned, not to mention, anything you bring me for materials; I’ll do what I can to make good clothing for you.”

  “Thanks, Codgy, I really appreciate you taking a chance on us.” I held my hand out, and he clasped it in his own, making me feel like a child. After that, I walked outside and opened my status screen to check and see what my tree had in store for me, but instead of any sort of increase, I saw affinity. I tapped it for an explanation.

  Affinity – Each and every person in this world has an affinity to a specific element. Some can have more, but rare is it for someone to have none.

  Beneath that, it showed that my affinity was for ice. So… I could use Ice magic?!

  I had one point that I could spend on my stats, so I decided to add it to Knowledge in hopes of it being useful.

  I looked over my stats, pleased with what I saw.

  Kyvir Mageblood, Level 5, Race: Kin

  HP: 160

  Strength: 10

  Skill: 11

  Heart: 11

  Knowledge: 7

  Serenity: 5

  Presence: 5

  Unspent Stat Points: 0

  EXP to next Lvl: 522 / 600

  Was there any quantifiable amount of Aether that I had? I didn’t see anything on my HUD like a blue bar or number of spells. Maybe I had to actually learn a spell first? How could I go about doing that? So many questions.

  —p/Did all of you just get an affinity?— Mona’s whisper interrupted me getting my own party message sent out.

  —p/Ice, for me. You guys?—

  —p/Animal and sealing, a weird combination, but I’m interested to see how it will work.— Sundar replied a little breathlessly.

  Albarth’s reply left me more than a little jealous. —p/Mine are for wind and space. Mona seems to have an incredible affinity for metal according to Ori, he just offered to make her an apprentice.—

  —p/How do we even begin casting spells?— I posed to the others.

  —p/Ori says that we have to go to the square that has something to do with our affinity, and the guardian there will unlock it? It’s weird because both myself and Sundar will have to go somewhere very specific for ours.— Albarth explained, his voice turning sour at the end of his statement.

  —p/Let’s get that done, then I’ll be on my way to see Gage for training. Meet there as soon as possible?— I was already moving toward the Water Square as I sent that.

  —p/Sounds good.— Mona whispered back, and the others remained quiet, likely trying to figure out where they had to go.

  It took a while to work my way through the city and the crowd, but once I arrived in the square, I stared up at the majestic mermaid and called out, “Hello, Trickle!”

  Her head poked out of the water at the top-most portion of the fountain, where she seemed to reside, “Kyvir, hello!” She waved down at me, excitedly. “What are you doing here?”

  “Well, it turns out that I have an affinity for ice magic, and I was wondering if you could unlock it for me?” I tried to give her my winningest smile.

  “For you?!” Her eyebrows shot up just before she disappeared behind the edge of the bowl. Then a splash of water arced through the sky, and a shadow m
oved across the sun before the beads of water filled the air with a rainbow, and a splash soaked me to the bone in chilly water.

  I spluttered wordlessly, trying to shake the water off of my skin and drenched clothes as Trickle giggled hysterically.

  “I thought you would have an affinity for my magic if you appeared here, but some don’t.” Her tail flashed below the water as I stepped closer. She patted the edge of the fountain in a familiar motion that had me sitting next to her as she lounged. The water played along her skin in beads that fled from her shoulders, down her chest to her waist where her tail began. The scales there started bright green and slowly faded to black and yellow near the tail. “Enjoying the view?”

  I lifted my gaze to find her mere inches from my face, making me flinch in surprise. “Uh, yeah. I love the colors on your tail, and it’s nice to see you again, especially without craning my neck to see your face in shadows.”

  “Ah, a sweet talker, eh?” She held a hand up to her mouth almost bashfully, batting her eyes at me.

  “Nah.” I waved it away. “Honest and naïve, maybe? That’d be more my speed.”

  “I believe you.” Her grin flashed at me as she relaxed, but she did nothing to increase the distance between us. “So, you have an affinity for ice magic, and you need me to unlock it? Well, that will require a trade.”

  “I see, well, what can I give you?” She seemed to think on my question for a moment then looked into the water around her.

  “In order to unlock the Aether within you, a sacrifice of something important to you is necessary.” She reached into the water near her tail and fished out a golden coin. “For some people, it’s money. For others, a weapon, or a favorite item. But for you, I can tell that the only thing you truly desire is magic.”

  I froze, my heart racing wildly. Would I not be able to pay the price she set forth? Would I lose my affinity? Would I never be able to cast a spell in this amazing world?

  “But not for the reasons that some other wanderers seem to have.” She lifted her cool hand and pressed it against the side of my face as she stared into my eyes, her focus going beyond me. “You seek it for the wonder that it creates. The joy of being able to do something so spectacular, even the most minor and mundane things. You seek to find the magic in you and bring it out of others. I cannot take that from you.”

  My heart sank a little further. “I understand if you can’t help me, my only regret is wasting your time, though I am happy that I was able to see you again.”

  I made to stand, feeling dejected and colder than even the water that forced my clothes to cling to my body. Her hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me down, so I looked back into her face once more.

  “I am the guardian here, and I decide the price, and for this service of unlocking your Aether, I choose to take something almost as precious to you as magic is.” Her eyes widened, the depths suddenly golden, eyes enticing, and swallowing my sight as her thin lips met mine. I tasted salt, and something sweet, almost like saltwater toffee, then the sensation was gone.

  “Wha—?” I tried to speak but found that it was a little difficult to put a coherent thought together as it felt like a dam burst inside me.

  Aether pool unlocked.

  I blinked, and an icy looking bar segmented into seven appeared beneath my health bar.

  “I took your first kiss in this world, and with it, something precious that you can now never give to anyone else.” Trickle’s cheeks seemed a little flushed as she spoke.

  “Well, it wasn’t bad as far as kisses go.” I narrowed my eyes at her, then glanced around to ensure that… why did I care if Mona saw or not? It wasn’t like either of us was going to act on what we felt.

  I had to admit, I still thought Al was full of it, but for now, that could wait.

  “So, what do I do? How does magic work here?” I looked at Trickle as she watched me with fascination.

  “Well, you summon the Aether with your will, and think of what you want it to do.” She shrugged, motioning with her hand as water geysered two feet from us for a moment, and she stopped it by lowering her hand. “The more complex the thought, or spell, the more Aether consumed. At higher levels, your ability to manipulate Aether may change, and experience definitely plays into things.”

  Something simple, I could do simple. There were several ice spells at low levels in some of the games I’ve played, so I thought of one that had served me extremely well. I focused on trapping the cold in my palm and pressed it forward with the Aether in my body. It worked!

  A wintry blast of freezing wind gushed from my hand, and in my surprise, I stopped it short, a single segment of my Aether pool gone.

  “That was very well done, though I imagine you could come up with something more creative.” Trickle observed aloud.

  “So, you’re really only limited by your imagination?”

  She nodded but held up a finger. “And the amount of Aether you have. Depending on how serene your mind is, your Aether may not recharge as fast as some others, and should you try to cast spells without the necessary Aether, you will pay a steep price.”

  “Thank you for your warning.” I smiled at her and then looked toward the crowd who watched us speaking together. “And for your help. If you ever need me, please get a hold of me, okay?”

  She winked. “I might.” Then she was gone in another gout of water, and I was drenched once more.

  I snorted at her display and stood, resigning myself to a cool body and decided to try and find my way to Gage’s place.

  Only to realize I had no clue where it was.

  —Hey Sundar, you wanna share Gage’s house with us? The location, that is?— I whispered to her.

  The location-sharing notification popped up before me, and I opened my map. His house was a few blocks away, awesome!

  I sloshed my way over to the corresponding location on my map and wondered whether I was in the right place or not. It was a fenced in home, a little over fifteen feet tall, with large windows and a broad door. Blinking, I wondered if this was really it because it looked to be the size of a larger studio apartment.

  The door opened, and Gage’s great horned head poked out. “Hello, Kyvir, friend and party mate of Sundar. I welcome you to my humble home. Please, come inside out of the street. Do tell, how did you become so wet?”

  “I had a meeting with Trickle to see about getting my ability to work with Aether unlocked.” I glanced down to where I dripped on the street. “I really wouldn’t like to drag water all through your house.”

  I glanced up at the overcast sky. It didn’t have that distinct scent of moisture and ozone that usually preceded thunderstorms. But this was a whole new world they had programmed and who knew if they would think to add something like that.

  “Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Kyvir, but I insist,” the muscle-bound Minotaur pressed and stepped outside to motion me inside once more.

  I acquiesced to his request, droplets of water plopping onto his stone floor. The inside of the home was lavish, but a little more military, as would be expected. Weapons hung on hooks and displays on the walls, but there looked to be large windows to the outside of the fenced-in portion of the home.

  A cloth draped around my shoulders as Gage stomped by me, humming a genial tune to himself. Off in the corner, he approached a desk that seemed much taller than the average. A little under chest height where he worked on something I couldn’t quite see.

  “What is it you’re doing?” I asked as I took the cloth and realized it was a towel I could use to dry myself.

  “Since Sundar has opted to go and search for her magical awakening, I have decided to tinker with this. One of my subordinates likes to play music on an instrument that was hilariously poorly made.” I found myself frowning at him, but he picked up an object, looked it over, then grunted to himself as he put it down with a sigh. “I respect the man, and his desire to improve himself as a civilian. His desire to master something outside of combat is exemplary, an
d I would see him rewarded for his efforts.”

  I could appreciate that. Actually, it was far kinder than I had thought the sergeant capable of.

  I looked around the home some more, the simple things and weapons seeming more of a collection than instruments he would use. But he took his time working, then he snorted in what I thought could be a happy manner.

  “Ah, I think I’ve done it.” His long ears twitched as he threw his head up with a grin and held his work up. He frowned, then motioned me close. “I lack the… dexterous appendages necessary to play the notes of this particular instrument. If you would please, play some?”

  He handed me a metallic item that looked like a sweet potato, ten holes punched and filed into the top of it at the location where the player’s hands were to go—four along the long side and then the other side of it near the mouthpiece. There were two smaller holes just above each line of the holes, then three on the bottom. It was beautifully crafted.

  “Sergeant, this is amazing.” He motioned for me to play it, ignoring my compliment completely.

  I tried to blow into it, my hands in what I thought was the right spots, fingers moving over the holes as I did, and the sound was horrible. The Minotaur flinched as if I had tried to hit him. He held his hand out and looked it over.

  “It’s a perfect match, but he played better, and here is hoping that he plays better with this than the other one he’d had.” He placed it into a pouch at his hip and smiled at me. “Thank you, Kyvir, for your patience. Please, in my home, you may call me Gage. Come, let us go and see my men.”

  I nodded at him as he led us out into the back yard through another doorway. The yard was beautiful. The left-hand corner of it was a large garden with tomato plants, peppers, peas, and all other manners of vegetables.

  “Who’s the green thumb?” I asked before I realized what I was doing.

  Gage’s ears flicked back and forth, a look of humility settling over him. “I have no green thumb. But I find solace in tending plants.”