by Pirateaba
“I tried to show Agnes how to make the Corusdeer soup. She couldn’t do it, even when she copied me exactly.”
“What skill do you have? [Magical Cooking]? I know it can create magical dishes but this—this is different.”
“[Wondrous Fare]. That’s what I have.”
Erin didn’t tell Octavia how she’d gotten it, but she explained how she could make the faerie flower drink. True, alchemy ingredients weren’t the same as hallucinogenic faerie flowers, but Erin thought what she was doing still made sense. Octavia nodded, finger on her lips as she thought out loud.
“You’re probably bypassing one of the natural steps in the creation process. Perhaps you’re skipping the need for a particular reagent? There are some high-level [Alchemist] skills that can do the same. Some really save on costs since you can practically create lesser healing potions for free by skipping on the need to mix up the proper base first—”
She broke off, shrugging.
“It doesn’t really matter. But there goes my idea of marketing this stuff and making a fortune. Only you can make it, after all.”
Erin nodded, smiling a bit. But the smile slipped.
“It’s good. I’ve finally got something only I can make, and it’s useful. It’s just—I wish it wasn’t so boring, you know?”
“Boring.”
“Boring. Even though I worked this hard—there’s still so much more to do, Octavia.”
Erin stretched out on her seat, feeling her tendons snapping as she tried to shake off some of the tiredness that felt like it was in her bones.
“I’m just so—tired thinking about it. I’ll get back to my inn, and then I’ll start selling this stuff. But even though I’ll probably get more customers, I still need a new helper, to build up my inn, buy some magical runes—there’s just so much to do and I can only take one small step at a time. It’s exhausting.”
“So what? ”
Octavia just looked blank. Erin glared at her.
“Don’t you wish you could be more like Ryoka? She doesn’t have to do stuff like this. She just—runs. She can do amazing stuff. I wish I could do something cool so quickly.”
Erin sighed. She didn’t like fighting or anything like that. She wasn’t athletic as Ryoka was. She knew that. It was just that this was—well, it had been fun. But now she was just tired.
But Octavia just snorted in derision.
“Only adventurers and crazy people like Ryoka can become rich and famous quickly. Everyone else just has to work hard and gain as many levels at they can. I’m going to save every coin I can, level up and learn as many recipes as possible so I can expand my stores, make better potions, and do more business until I’m the highest-level [Alchemist] on the continent.”
She gestured around her small shop.
“I might not reach my dream for years, but it’s a lot safer than swinging a sword around. Well, safer when you’re not around, that is.”
“But that’s…”
She realized she didn’t really have anything to say against that. Erin let her voice trail off unhappily.
What Octavia was saying was right. She was taking the smart option. Even if being an [Alchemist] was slightly dangerous, it was nothing like being an adventurer. It was just so boring to think of, though. But part of Erin thought that was just what being an adult was like. It was thinking about the big picture. She knew that.
So then why did hearing it all laid out like that make her so depressed? Erin didn’t know, but she did come to one conclusion which made her sit up in her seat.
“I’m done cooking for the day.”
Both she and Octavia brightened up when she said it. Erin was fed up with making useless soup, and Octavia was tired of eating it.
“Good! I’ll just pour your horrible soup into a jar, shall I? I can probably sell it—at a markdown of course…I can give you a good split of the profits if you’d agree to oh, a vendor’s fee of—”
Erin left Stitchworks and Octavia behind mid-sentence, shaking her head. She didn’t mind Octavia—well, she did sometimes. But there were just some days when she needed some alone time. Or more precisely, not-Octavia time.
The sky was still gray and the streets were still snowy when Erin left the shop. She walked carefully so as not to slip as she wandered down the busy streets. Celum was always bustling, even if it was a smallish city. Erin walked past countless faces who didn’t seem that different from hers—Humans, going about their daily lives who didn’t give her a second glance.
That was reassuring, but also disheartening for some reason. Erin missed Liscor. She missed seeing Drakes and Gnolls, fantastic creatures going about their everyday lives. Celum was nice because it was reassuring, but it was also boring for the same reason.
Boring. That seemed to be the word of the day, didn’t it? Even though Erin had come up with an amazing discovery—she still felt the word in her soul.
Bored. She wanted to do something exciting. No—not just that. She wanted to be with someone exciting. She missed Ryoka already. And not just Ryoka. She missed all of her friends.
They were back in Liscor. And Erin was far from there. She kicked miserably at a patch of snow and then looked up. What about the Horns of Hammerad? That nice Runner guy had come by yesterday and told her Ryoka was going to see them. They were close by!
But just as she had that idea, Erin’s face fell. She could go meet them—Erin knew they were still probably in Remendia—but going there would be dangerous, wouldn’t it? Everyone was still talking about the Goblin attacks and besides, Ceria and the others would probably come here instead, if Ryoka had told them where Erin was.
All she had to do was wait. And practice her alchemical cooking while she still had time. Erin knew that.
But…she didn’t want to.
The sky was grey. The people wore thick clothing and walked briskly to get about their business as quickly as possible. Few people stopped to chat in the cold weather, and no one talked to Erin. She walked alone, staring at the city and feeling that this was all wrong.
This world was missing something.
Fun.
Octavia had said it: the people in this world didn’t really have much fun, did they? Back home, well, Erin knew there were crummy office jobs or backbreaking jobs with bad pay all over the place. But at least people could go back home and drive to a pool, or watch videos on the computer, or play videogames or—or do things.
But here? What did the people here have to do in their spare time? As far as Erin could tell, they just kept working. They worked hard to earn more levels, or to be rich, or to enjoy themselves. But that was always for ‘later’, never now.
There was just something so wrong about this idea that Erin couldn’t stand it. How could anyone live like this? Was this really what life had been like back in her world, back before the modern era?
What did people do for fun back in the Middle Ages? Erin couldn’t remember. Go to festivals? See jugglers and performers? Get drunk?
This wasn’t the Middle Ages of course—there was a lot more handy technology, not to mention magic. But magic seemed so far away in day-to-day life, even in Octavia’s shop. Oh, there were [Mages] around who cast spells like [Message] all day, but that wasn’t real magic. That was just more work.
If she’d been back home, what would Erin be doing right now? Thinking about college, or being in college no doubt. But if she’d just been back at home, she would have been practicing chess, debating calling one of her friends, watching a Youtube video, talking with her pare—
Nope! Can’t do that! Erin stopped in the street and slapped her cheeks hard enough for them to sting. She couldn’t think about home or friends or fa—
She couldn’t think about it. She’d done well so far, but being in a city full of Humans was making her nostalgic. And Erin didn’t need nostalgia right now. She needed…
“A distraction.”
So saying, Erin set off walking in a specific direction. She wasn’t
far from where she wanted to go, so in a few minutes she was pushing open the door to the Frenzied Hare.
“Miss Erin!”
A welcoming voice instantly called out her name. Erin turned, smiling, to see Miss Agnes bustle up to her, all cheer and good humor.
“Why Erin, it’s a surprise to see you this early! Are you already done with your business at the [Alchemist]’s? Or—don’t tell me, Miss Octavia’s concocted some nasty brew that’s set her store on fire again?”
“Nothing like that Miss Agnes. I just finished up early. How’s Mister Cumin doing?”
Erin smiled at the older woman as she took a seat at the table. While it was true she was sort of the new boss around here—at least when it came to cooking—Miss Agnes was the one always running the inn, and Erin was gone outside of breakfast and dinner most days.
Miss Agnes smiled at Erin as she always did when Erin asked about her sick husband. Ryoka never asked, even though Erin kept reminding her to. Although…Erin wasn’t sure Ryoka even remembered Mister Cumin’s name, or Agnes’ some days.
“He’s doing as well as can be expected. Still feverish and he sleeps too much, but I’m hopeful the new alchemist’s potion we bought will sort him out. We have you to thank for that of course—we’d never have been able to spare the coin if you hadn’t come by.”
“Oh, it’s—I’m really glad I could help.”
Erin smiled and waved her hand. Agnes smiled at her, and then glanced at the kitchen.
“You know, if you’re done with work, I’m sure the morning crowd would love to sample your cooking—”
There it was again. Erin’s smile twisted a bit on her face. It was always work, work, work. Even here.
Agnes saw Erin’s expression and hurried to reassure her.
“We don’t have that many guests, and I’m sure if you’re not feeling up to it—”
“I’m just a bit tired today. Um, I was wondering if I could have some eggs?”
“Of course! Why, you must be tired—Maran! Some eggs for Miss Erin please!”
The [Barmaid] glanced up from one of the tables and waved at Erin in acknowledgement. Soon, she was back with the eggs, and she and Agnes sat with Erin and talked. The inn wasn’t at all crowded and Safry was cooking whatever was needed in the kitchen while she served the tables as well.
Erin chewed the decent eggs with a bit of pepper and salt added for flavoring and chatted with Maran and Agnes. They didn’t have much to say, to be honest. Business was good—but Erin knew that. Maran was dating another guy, a young [Cook] whom Agnes wanted to lure to the inn, but Maran wasn’t even sure if they were serious about each other—soon enough, Erin felt compelled to bring up the issue on her minds.
“Hey, I’ve been wondering…what do you guys do for fun?”
The two women exchanged a surprised glance.
“Well, what do you mean, Erin? If you’re asking about fun things to do on a date—Maran would know more about that.”
Erin shook her head.
“Not like that. I mean—what do you do for fun, when you have time, I mean? Read books?”
Agnes chuckled.
“Free time? There’s precious little of that here. And books? I’m sure Cumin and I don’t have the coin for that, even if I wanted to spend hours reading. No, that gives me a headache.”
“Then what do you do?”
Maran smiled.
“The other day I went shopping and bought a pair of earrings. The gemstones are just quartz—but they’re so beautiful and they sparkle in the light! I’ll show you tomorrow.”
“Okay. But…did you do anything else?”
The young woman blinked.
“Anything else? I didn’t have time to do anything else.”
“Oh. Well…what else do you do for fun?”
Maran and Agnes looked confused, but they told Erin what they did when they had a day off for whatever reason.
“I have been known to have a pint or two when the dinner rush is slow—usually with Cumin—”
“I’ll dance in any tavern, that is, if I haven’t been on my feet all day—”
“There’s a [Shepherd] who plays beautifully on a flute. He goes to other inns sometimes and plays—I wish I could have him here so we could listen to the music—”
Dance, drink, gamble, listen to music—Erin listened to the short list and felt the small hole in her heart grow wider. It wasn’t any of it bad, but it wasn’t interesting either. Her ears did perk up when she heard Maran mention a familiar word, though.
“Oh? You have holidays here too?”
“Of course! We have a few every year, and everyone looks forward to them.”
Apparently, even Agnes would close up her inn most of the day on such occasions. The entire city would celebrate special days in the year, a lot of them right around the time holidays were observed in Erin’s world.
“The real fun is during one of the festivals. There’s candied apples, games to play, entertainments bought by the city, and so much to do! The Winter Solstice is coming up—there’s always a good time to be had then.”
“And it’s such a romantic time as well.”
Maran sighed wistfully, and Erin suspected a certain [Cook] had been chosen to share that special day with. Agnes smiled mischievously.
“Of course, that another way some folks entertain themselves each night—”
“Miss Agnes!”
The [Barmaid] raised her voice in shocked outrage, and Agnes laughed. Both women looked at Erin—she looked just as unimpressed.
“Oh. Right.”
That’s it? Of course, Erin got the attraction, but besides festivals, was there really nothing else to do? Flummoxed by Erin’s indifference, Agnes and Maran tried to come up with other things that were fun to do.
“There’s always a good time when a [Troubadour], [Bard], [Tumbler], or some other person with a class like that visits. I always try and go see them if I have the time.”
“They wander from city to city?”
It made sense, but that was just as…well, at least they were some fun people who visited now and then. But still. It seemed like people in Celum just waited a long time for fun to occur. Erin sighed, even more melancholy than before.
Agnes looked a bit worried that Erin was so down.
“Are you well, Erin dear? Would you like to have a rest, maybe?”
“Nah. I’m not tired.”
Erin pushed her empty plate back and stood up. If there was no fun to be had here, at least she could see if…
“I’m going to go see Fuzzylips. I mean…yeah, him.”
“Who? Oh, you mean Wesle? You go visit him practically every day. Has he caught your eye?”
Maran and Agnes smiled knowingly at Erin. Erin gave them a blank look.
“Not really. I just want to know if he’s found my skeleton yet.”
“Your what?”
—-
“Hey Wesle.”
The [Guardsman] had been napping, or maybe just resting his eyes, but he sat up in his wooden chair and looked attentive the moment he heard his name. He relaxed when he realized his superior wasn’t calling his name—and then he straightened up in his chair again when he realized Erin was standing in front of him.
“Oh, Miss Solstice! I didn’t realize—um, let me—would you like a seat?”
Fumbling at his words, blushing, Wesle stood up and offered Erin the only seat in the room. His. Erin just laughed at him until they left the small room which was meant for—well, probably napping [Guardsman] and talked.
“I didn’t expect you to be here so soon. Ah, what can I do for you, Miss Erin?”
“Any news about Toren?”
Wesle was ready for the question, because Erin asked it every day. He shook his head ruefully.
“You mean the skeleton? No, Miss Erin. I haven’t heard any of the cities reporting any sighting of the undead—and I did send out a request asking if any reports had been logged with the Adventurer’s Guilds as
well.”
“Oh.”
Erin knew that was the response she’d likely get, but she sagged anyways. No one had seen Toren. Selys would have messaged her if he’d appeared around Liscor, but he hadn’t gone back there. And no one had mentioned seeing a walking skeleton around the cities either—it was like he’d disappeared.
Where was Toren now? And when she finally found him…would Erin really have to do what she was thinking? Maybe Pisces could help. But he wasn’t here yet.
Awkwardly, Wesle patted Erin on the shoulder. She smiled at him.
“That’s too bad. Thanks for looking, though.”
Wesle hesitated.
“Are you sure you won’t sit? You seem less spirited than usual, Miss Erin.”
“Really? I’m sorta…tired, I guess. You seem tired too.”
The [Guardsman] hesitated, and then nodded with a grimace.
“It’s Esthelm, Miss. Or rather, after that all the [Guardsmen] in every city are working around the clock.”
“In case the Goblins attack?”
“That, and trying to find out when they’ll attack, or at least, where they are.”
Wesle gestured to a large map that had been pinned to a wall of the City Watch barracks. It had a lot of colored pins in it, most of them centered around a red cross over what had been Esthelm. Erin’s stomach twisted a bit just looking at the map.
What about Rags? Another friend she couldn’t do anything for. She let Wesle explain the problem, hoping Rags wasn’t with any of the Goblins he was talking about.
“It’s not like there are Goblins everywhere now, but there are certainly more of them. Just the other day a village near Esthelm – Verdun – reported seeing a group of a hundred or so armed Goblins.”
The man showed Erin a small pin on the map. She stared at it and looked at how close it was to Liscor and Celum. A hundred Goblins? How many did Rags have…?
“These ones aren’t like the normal groups of Goblins. They all have weapons and armor—and they move and fight like they’re actual [Soldiers]. If the village didn’t have walls, I think they’d have been attacked. But the Goblins were moving north, and luckily no one was killed.”
“Are they attacking something?”