Wyatt shook his head. “It’s her name, Lily. Anyway, let me make some introductions. Coral, you obviously know Hari and his team, but they have a new member now—his name is Trevor.”
Wyatt pointed at me. “And Lily is his guardian of sorts. Also, the fire elemental in the fireplace there is his companion.”
Liane spoke up. “Crisplet.”
Wyatt quickly corrected himself. “Right—Crisplet. Then you have Micca, George and Darren. They are on their way to the capital to start a new business. Oh! We need to come up with one hundred and twenty gold for a new roof decoration.”
Milo chuckled, “One hundred and ninety gold.”
Wyatt waved him off. Coral just looked bewildered by everything.
Suddenly she shot to her feet. “Everyone downstairs! The whole town will be up in arms; they think you’re under attack or dead!”
“Don’t worry about that. I made everyone leave except the two groups staying here tonight—we’re closed at the moment. You’ve been unconscious for a little while now,” Wyatt said with a chuckle.
Coral shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. Several adventurers ran off to the guild for help, saying that only a powerful beast could have that aura, and they went to get help.”
Almost prophetically, there was a loud knocking heard downstairs.
Wyatt sighed. “Wait here. I’ll deal with it.”
While he was gone, Coral sat looking worried at the staircase as Micca came over to sit next to me.
“Tomorrow, you’re coming shopping with me, okay?” she whispered.
I nodded—I was really excited about it.
Voices from downstairs filtered up. “As you can see, nothing is happening; we’re all alive. Now please leave,” Wyatt could be heard saying.
The noise caught Lily’s attention, who looked up from where she was lying at the fireplace, causing Coral to squeak in fright.
Hari gently patted her on the shoulder. “Relax, she won’t hurt you.”
A moment later there was the slamming of a door, followed by heavy footsteps coming up the stairs.
Wyatt appeared, looking annoyed. “Bloody adventurers—always so willing to throw themselves into danger,” he muttered.
But almost like a lantern had been turned on, a smile broke across his face as he got to the top. “Alright, they’ve left us alone for now. Just how powerful is that aura of hers?”
Liane laughed. “Lily had half of Grey Rock frozen in fear or passed out when she thought Trev got hurt—that was really something. Even the people in the adventurer’s guild were dropping to the floor from two levels down.”
Wyatt fell onto his chair, shaking his head, while Coral still looked bewildered.
“Now, you lot will be wanting rooms, I gather?” he asked.
The mood lightened almost immediately. Lily even laid back down.
“Sure will—rooms, baths, food, and plenty of ale!” Hari said loudly.
Jen, Micca and Liane’s eyes all lit up at the mention of baths.
“Right. Coral, if you want to show the girls to the baths, I’ll show the rest where they can find their rooms.” Wyatt instructed, snapping Coral out of her bewildered state.
The rest of the night passed in a blur of food, cleaning, and tales of our adventure so far. He even got an entire roast boar for Lily! She wasn’t overly quick to eat it, which further reinforced my belief she was just very picky and preferred my cooking, but she ate it all the same before vanishing.
Well—her presence was still there. I found her later that night when I went to my room and she was already asleep on the bed, which made me realise that regardless of the bed size so far, she was still taking up the entire bed.
Was that intentional?
One of my favourite tales I heard Hari started his adventuring career in Wyatt’s party. Hearing how he began as a prim and proper son of a noble was really unexpected. Then there was the tale where their group was walking through the swamplands, only for Hari to fall prey to one of the mud worms which inhabit the area—stepping right into its trap.
“Was it the same type of mud that Milo fell into?” I asked.
Stolen novel; please report.
Both Liane and Jen nodded. “One and the same! Hari was telling us about this very tale that same day,” they laughed.
I couldn’t help but notice a couple of things. We had been told that Hari had been kicked out of home, and now tonight I’d heard he was a son of a noble. I was really curious about that, but it didn’t feel like the right time.
Saying goodnight to everyone and heading upstairs to my room, I stared at Lily on my bed… I had a dilemma. I could squeeze onto the small section of bed left next to her, or I could set up the bedroll on the floor.
The decision was quickly reached—I would not be giving up a comfy bed to Lily!
Lily left me the tiniest section of the bed. I knew she was doing it intentionally, because normally you couldn’t touch her unless she wanted you to—otherwise you’d pass straight through her smokey shadow form.
But this time—this time she was solid the entire night.
***
I woke up the next morning half hanging off the bed with a knock on the door.
“Trev! Wake up, breakfast is getting served!” Liane yelled through the closed door.
I groggily got up, pulling out some fresh warm clothes. That was one thing I noticed—and I assumed it was Crisplet’s doing—but the room was never cold.
Opening the door to my room, I was met with the sight of Liane, who grabbed me and pulled me out of the room with Crisplet following behind as I was quickly dragged toward breakfast.
“Why do you have so much energy this morning…” I grumbled.
“You slept in again,” she chuckled. “For someone who normally gets up before anyone else on the road, the moment you touch a comfy bed you’ll sleep all day. Maybe you’ll choose to become a noble after all.”
I could hear the jest in her voice, but my mind still raced over the thought of how comfortable a noble’s bed would actually be.
As we went downstairs and into the main inn, the smell of ale hit me, and I could finally take it all in without the crowds. The building looked like a fusion of wood and stone—the walls stone with thick dark wooden beams, the roof incredibly high again with very large beams running across. Hanging from them were magical lanterns similar to what Micca used to have.
To the side of the room was a large wooden bar with several stools. The floor looked very worn, with large scratches and cuts in the wooden boards, and most of the tables looked like they had been broken more than once and repaired.
I joined the others sitting at the table, where everyone looked like they had already finished breakfast, and took my seat. Lily appeared next to me just a moment later.
Still half asleep, I pulled out the third boar-bacon belly—my only one left—and proceeded to cut off a big strip, all while Liane was chuckling and Coral looked mortified.
I placed the strip on the table for Lily and stored the rest away, but she just looked at me, then at Crisplet.
A moment later, a coal appeared from nowhere and was thrown at me by Crisplet, who then floated over and started to cook the piece of bacon I had cut for Lily.
“You’re really far too fussy, you know that, right?” I said, looking at her.
She just tilted her head at me as if I were stupid.
A moment later, Wyatt came out of the back room carrying three plates. “Ah, she’s already eaten, has she? I had some meat cooked up for Lily here as well,” he said.
Wyatt placed the plates on the table in front of myself, Liane and Lily.
I decided to play a prank on Lily, taking both mine and hers and sliding them in front of me. “It’s okay—she’s already eaten. I’ll have this one.”
I felt the glare, enjoying the fact that her aura didn’t affect me the same way. I looked over at her. “What? You won’t like this anyway—it’s not specially cooked by Crisplet.”
Everyone around me looked nervous, Wyatt even backing off a little. I just laughed.
“Lily, stop being so mean to everyone with your aura. Of course you’ll get the food. How much do you think I eat? This is what you get for stealing the bed all night!” I said, pushing the food back over.
Both the bacon and her food were gone in an instant. I also couldn’t help but notice half the bacon off my own plate vanish as well—though I didn’t know if it was Lily or Liane, as both looked incredibly guilty.
I quickly ate what was left before more vanished, and once Lily was finished, she gave me a head bump before vanishing again.
Wyatt leaned in, whispering, “I’ll get another bed moved into your room,” he chuckled.
“Appreciate it!” I said with a smirk.
“So, how long are you all staying in town for?” Wyatt asked, looking at Hari.
Hari shrugged. “No more than two or three nights. We need to get to the capital and get the meeting over and done with. Once they learn of Alira, there will be more pressure than ever to attend a meeting.”
“I’m surprised they let you make your own way there to begin with,” Wyatt commented.
“They didn’t have a choice,” Milo said with a chuckle.
I had barely finished the food on my plate when Micca was suddenly standing next to me, lifting me out of the seat.
“We have shopping to do! Let’s go!” Micca said.
Hari coughed a little. “Sorry to do this to you, Trev, but I’m sending Liane with you today. We’re going to pay a visit to the guild—make sure they know what to expect. I also suspect there will be some royal guards stationed here, and they have almost certainly heard of you, so I’ll alert them to your arrival as well, just to buy us some time.”
I nodded. As I stood up, Micca looked me over. “Right—you have some money on you, right?”
“Uh… I think I have some, yeah?” I said, feeling a little embarrassed—I hadn’t looked at how much gold I had in a very long time.
The look I got told me this was very much the wrong answer.
“Don’t worry, Micca. I’ve got his gold—he’s not grabbed any of the party funds yet,” Liane said, taking her last bite.
“Just as well you’re coming, Liane, or I’d end up killing him!” Micca said with a laugh.
But the moment she said it, there was the familiar pressure—sharp and angry.
“She’s kidding, Lily—don’t worry about them, it’s a joke.” I looked around, trying to see if I could spot her in the shadows, but there was nothing.
Micca just shivered. “Okay, no jokes about harming Trev.”
We left the inn shortly after, walking onto the cobbled road outside and being hit with the smell of leather, smoke and roast meats. Across the road stood three guards watching the inn, and all around there was the sound of life—wagons moving, smiths working, and even from the inn you could hear merchants in the market.
“Right—where to first?” Liane asked.
Micca just smiled. “First, we need him to understand how to haggle, because I’m fairly sure he’s getting ripped off at every store he visits.”
Liane laughed. “Without a doubt.”
REVENGE OF THE FATED MAGE
— A Progression Fantasy —
Richard Serdin died in the mud, a self-inflicted blade in his heart.
He was the only son of the legendary Archmage—Duke Voltair Serdin, and thus the only heir of Frostpeak. Upon ascending as Duke, Richard's inexperience cost him everything.
Betrayed by his own ministers and hunted by every crown in the continent of Zogria, Richard fled until he reached the world’s end: a southern sanctuary for the discarded.
In that town of outcasts, Richard was no longer a Duke. He was a man with a saw and a scarred past. He spent years as a lumberjack, trading his pride for the warmth of shared meals and companionship. He had found a home far from home.
Then, came the storm.
Returning from the forest on a rainy day, Richard found his sanctuary turned into a slaughterhouse. His neighbors, his friends, the people who had taught him how to be human—all lay butchered in front of him. There were no explanations.
Crushed by the carnage, the burden of being alive turned into unbearable torment. Unable to endure a world capable of such cruelty, Richard chose to die beneath the rain.
Yet, his story didn't end there.
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