“So, what brought you out to the Emberwoods?” the scruffy man asked.
Sebastian mentally stored away the name of the forest,
and the town they mentioned earlier, before he gave a vague answer.
“Nothing really. I was just hoping to do some adventuring, I guess.”
“Oh, an adventurer, huh?” He lifted an eyebrow. “I'm not
sure the Emberwoods are the best place for that, what with it being
wedged between the capital and the Forgotten Canyon and all. There are
plenty of savage monsters worse than goblins around—and the goblins
themselves are quite the issue already. It's why the old man won't cross
it without me. If it’s adventuring your after, the Morrowwoods would be
the better option.”
Damn, that sounds like something I’m supposed to know. I’m gonna need to figure something out for why I don’t.
“You know, I heard the canyon had another name,” Sebastian asked in an attempt to deflect.
“Ah, yes, ‘the Valley of… memory’… or something or
other,” he scoffed. “Some king, ages ago, didn't like having something
as ominous as the Forgotten Canyon so close to his castle. So, he
decided to change the name. Flip it around, make it seem like some sort
of sacred ground. Some place worthy of being so close to him, rather
than some cursed hole in the ground only good for bringing down the
value of his land.”
“I take it people never really took to the new name, huh?” Sebastian followed up.
The man shook his head with a chuckle. “Nah, the kingdom
does alright by us, for sure, but this land ain’t their playground to
change as they please.” He looked directly at Sebastian. “You must not
be from around here then, if you don't know well enough not to adventure
in the Emberwoods and don't seem to have much of clue when it comes to
the state of things here.”
Sebastian drew a breath but had prepared in his mind for
the question during the conversation. “No, I'm from quite far away
actually. Rather not talk about it if you don't mind,” Sebastian
asserted, hoping the man would accept it and not pry.
His eyes lingered on Sebastian for a short while before
nodding. “We're all entitled to our secrets, no worries here,” he
assured. “I guess a welcome is in order then, given your previous
encounter with the “locals”—although, calling goblins “locals”, even in
jest, might piss some people off. Please don’t tell anyone I said that,”
he pleaded before continuing. “What I meant to say was, your first
impression might not have been particularly pleasant, but I promise,
it's not all bad here,” he said with a laugh.
They arrived at the village maybe an
hour or so before sundown and parked the wagon effortlessly in a spot
that seemed reserved, either specifically for them or for merchants in
general. The square, or marketplace, already had a few other merchant
wagons, and the buildings looked like storefronts, although it was
difficult to tell since they were all closed.
A boy came half running, half walking, from a small
stable in the area and the old merchant tossed him a coin before the boy
tended to the horses.
“We're staying at the Ashen Stallion inn, how about you?” he asked Sebastian.
“He was attacked, remember!” the scruffy bodyguard
quickly interjected. “How about we help him out, cover a night at the
inn and get him some food? Show him that we take care of people around
here,” he said as he nudged the old merchant with his elbow.
The merchant didn’t seem quite as keen on the idea.
Giving someone a ride was one thing but actually spending coin was
another. A short yet meaningful conversation held solely through eye
contact with his friend convinced him otherwise.
“Sure, what's a few coins between travel companions,” he reluctantly said.
Sebastian thanked them, and they walked down the street
toward the inn. Even though the town looked rather small, the streets
were paved with cobblestone and had street lamps at regular intervals.
Sebastian couldn’t quite see how they worked, but the large stones
encased in glass were likely similar, albeit larger, glow rocks like the
ones he found in the goblin camp. The sun was still moving toward the
horizon, lighting the town with a nice orange sheen, so the street lamps
weren’t lit just yet.
Although this world seemed to be mostly medieval, there
were hints of a more modern world hidden behind the simplistic exterior.
Every house looked sturdy and was clearly built with more precision
than could be achieved by just skilled, manual labor. For example, all
the windows were basically identical.
Sebastian was no historian, but he knew that windows in
medieval times tended to have more variation to them—not to mention, not
be quite as large as they were on some of the houses in this town.
Magic was clearly favored over basic technology here. It
made sense; why spend all the time, effort, and resources into
developing and producing something that magic could do with relative
ease?
The air was warm yet the breeze was cold. Only a handful
of villagers moved around on the otherwise calm streets. Some were on
their way home after a hard day’s work while others were making their
way to the Ashen Stallion inn which also appeared to serve as a popular
tavern.
As they came closer to the inn, Sebastian could hear the
calm of a nice evening be overtaken by a cheerful crowd singing and
laughing.
They entered the inn and Sebastian’s benefactors were
immediately met with cheers and people coming up to greet them and
pester them about wares and supplies. When they finally reached the bar,
the old merchant payed for three rooms and meals in advance.
He turned to Sebastian with an air of finality to him.
“We still have setting up to do before the night’s over and we’ll be out
early in the morning. The meal’s already paid for but you’re probably
going to want to clean up first.” He gave Sebastian a pointed once-over
with his eyes. “There’s a washroom at the end of the hall upstairs. It
was good to meet you, and I wish you the best,” the merchant said as he
handed Sebastian a key along with a firm handshake.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The scruffy bodyguard did the same, a quick goodbye and a handshake.
Sebastian thanked them both again before he headed up a
narrow wooden staircase to a surprisingly large second floor with two
hallways in an L-shape, both full of rooms.
Sebastian found his room without issue.
The room was pretty nice, infinitely better than the
make-shift shelter in the Valley of Remembrance, or Forgotten Canyon as
the locals called it. The bed sheets looked clean and fresh and while it
was rather small and lacking in decoration compared to the room at the
castle, it was clearly better taken care of.
Since he didn’t have much actual luggage—and what he did
have he cared about far too much not to carry with him, he simply locked
the door again and moved to the end of the hall where he found the
washroom. Although it was a shared washroom for the whole hallway it was
still intended to be for private use. It was first come, first serve.
By luck, or because of the late hour, it wasn’t occupied.
He locked the door and excitedly looked around, like a
kid in a candy store. The washroom, for the most part, looked like what
he expected. There was a round wooden bathtub, several stools, and
shelves filled with various soaps and towels.
What Sebastian didn’t expect was a shower head hanging
over the bathtub with some simple knobs at the base. Inside the tub a
drain with a stopper to the side and a faucet with more knobs, just like
a modern bathtub.
To the side of the room was a strange device… machine…
something that looked like a small wardrobe, or a drying cabinet. The
door was open. Inside was a hanger, seemingly for clothes to be placed
in the cabinet. The inside of the door was covered in small stones, or
crystals, in a beautiful, symmetrical pattern. The same stones and
pattern was on the back wall of the inside of the device as well, behind
the hanger.
Sebastian’s confusion didn’t last for too long.
A sign with instructions and rules for the washroom was on the wall by the entrance.
{Welcome to the Ashen Stallion’s bath!}
{Please follow our simple rules:
1. Don’t take too long!
2. Don’t make a mess!
3. If you do make a mess, clean up after yourself!
4. Respect the privacy of your fellow guests!
Thank you! Enjoy your stay!}
{Water magic for the bath:
1. Turn the knob on the right to turn water on.
2. Turn the knob on the left to control the temperature of the water.
(It’s not that hard…)}
{Cleansing cabinet:
1. Hang clothes inside.
2. Close door securely.
3. Turn knob to the right to activate magic.
4. TURN OFF THE KNOB WHEN DONE!
5. Retrieve your clean clothes.
(Seriously, TURN IT OFF WHEN YOU’RE DONE!)}
Sebastian couldn’t help but laugh, even in this world of
magic people still struggled with the most basic things. Too many times
had he seen signs just like it during his life on earth.
He couldn’t be sure exactly how they did it, at least not
until he got a better understanding of the magic of this world beyond
his own cultivation, but at least some of the modern comforts he was so
used to existed in this world through the use of magic rather than
technology.
After a rejuvenating shower, Sebastian placed his torn
and dirty clothes into the magic washing machine, one at a time. To his
surprise, not only did the machine wash his clothes, it also repaired
them, to an extent at least. It couldn’t recreate fabric that was lost
but it did mend simple tears.
Before he left, he made sure to also run the blanket and
the duffel bag through the washing machine since he had stolen them from
a goblin camp. While the desperation had allowed him to overlook the
hygiene aspect in the past, now that he was clean he was no longer quite
as comfortable with it.
All in all, Sebastian spent about an hour in the
bathroom. Thankfully no one had knocked on the door even though he took
his time.
Once he packed up his things in his bag
again, feeling clean, fresh, and smelling vaguely of lavender, he walked
down to the tavern. Although he could hear the noise from upstairs, the
atmosphere hit him like a wall when he walked back down the narrow
wooden staircase.
Sebastian had always been a bit of an introvert and
spending weeks “camping” alone made the experience slightly
overwhelming, but it was still nice to be around people again. The
tavern was crowded but most of the people were standing around in groups
so Sebastian managed to find a small table to the side after he ordered his
meal.
There wasn’t a menu, they simply offered “Food” and would
serve whatever they had in stock and felt like cooking. It didn’t take
long for the food to arrive either. A woman found his table without
issue and placed down a bowl of stew and a beer-like drink.
“Here you go, sir. Enjoy!”
Sebastian responded with a quick thanks before taking a
bite of the first cooked meal he had had in a very long time. The brown
stew didn’t look very appealing but it tasted better than anything he
had ever had before, including the feast at the castle which was
prepared by master chefs. He didn’t know what sort of vegetables and
animals there were in this world but he thought he tasted potatoes,
carrots, and beef, just like home.
As he savored his meal, Sebastian also eavesdropped on
the other guests and patrons of the tavern to try and learn as much as
possible about this world, especially when the table next to him started
talking about heroes.
“I heard the King has appointed 4 new prodigies from the military academy as hero candidates,” one of them said.
“Oh yea, I ‘eard the same! Supposebly, all of 'em have
limits right on up ‘ere with that Calindorian Swordmaster, Kairon,”
another continued loudly. “We might finally get a swordmaster of our
own!”
“No no, don't believe their lies!” someone for the table over shouted back.
“He's right, you’re all wrong! I was told, from a
reliable source mind you, that these so-called hero candidates are
actually mutants that the court wizards enhances with dark rituals,” yet
another one jumped in.
“They're not mutants, you daft drunkard! They're angels
summoned with divine magic from worlds up among the stars, everybody
knows it! The same thing happens every time there's a war, they summon
angels to help us fight, and when the war is won, the angels return to
the heavens. It's why Lumeria remains the strongest kingdom of all, even
though the other kingdoms have their swordmasters and archwizards with
levels in the nineties. They still can't defeat angels.”
After that, the conversation turned to a screaming match
which somehow ended up about which form of potatoes was superior: mashed
or baked. Sebastian wasn’t very invested in that particular debate,
mostly because the answer was obvious, mashed. However, he was very
interested to hear the news about the other four earthlings.
It seems that they’ve been appointed
as hero-candidates, or at least that’s the story being released to the
public. Another bit of information that was good to know is the
existence of swordmasters and archwizards. I wonder how that’s different
from an archmage? I’ll have to look into that some more at some point.
The single most important thing,
however, is the fact that “Blessed Ones” has been summoned before, just
as I suspected, and that they tend to disappear once their mission is
complete.
With level limits up toward a
hundred and the kingdom’s help with leveling, surely they would be
strong enough to protect themselves from the kingdom once it’s been
decided that they’re no longer needed.
Which means they must do something
to them, probably mark, poison, or curse them somehow. Likely as part of
this appointment ceremony while they’re still weak. Something which
they can then use to kill them whenever they want.
I guess it wasn't all bad to be
discarded and left for dead at the bottom of a canyon, at least they
have no way of controlling me like they surely do the others.
