CelestialShadow
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Chapter 22 - Farfield Village
🕑 Added 2023-11-22 17:27:40 +0000 UTCAdion stood watching the kids greedily eating while leaning against the wagon.
Must not have been barely fed since they were captured, scum slavers.
Slavery was abundant on the continent, mainly in the two Empires. As well as in the Velorian Kingdom and the Melorian Kingdom. But it was more or less banned in Adion's home country, the Valis Kingdom, as well as in the Duts Kingdom, the Rellen Kingdom, and the elven kingdom Iitha. So Adion wasn’t used to seeing such things and wasn’t very fond of the idea of selling and buying humans.
The kids had all helped set up for dinner when he had asked them to. A few girls got together and took charge. Only Sabi didn’t help. She just stood there with her arms crossed, looking around as if scouting for enemies.
The kids were all impressed when Adion lit the fire by conjuring his own fire. Most villages had people capable of the same thing, but not any as young as Adion could do it so skillfully.
When they finished the food, Adion jumped up to his seat at the front of the wagon again. He preferred sitting down to meditate instead of stretching his legs. The kids were starting to liven up a bit and talking with more excited and energized voices after being fed.
Sabi still sat next to Adion and asked him a lot of questions. It allowed Adion to develop and modify a story as he went along. He said that his parents were dead and he had been traveling alone for years. He never said where he came from, only that it was far to the east. He also asked Sabi about life around these parts and gathered some useful information.
They were in the southwest of the Delovan Empire, and there were only villages and small towns around these parts. The closest thing to a big city was Port Gladia, which was by the coast further east, and Billford City, which was inland to the north. She didn’t know how far those places were. She only knew they were very far away. Adion thought that maybe Billford would be a good place to head to. It would probably have a large branch of the Outskirts Guild, considering that it was close to the Endless Forest.
These parts were also close, but there weren’t many strong beasts unless you went very deep into the forest. A few Silvers dispersed through the small towns were enough to keep order here.
He could probably get to Mermi, the closest town, easily from Farfield. Once there, he could probably find someone with directions to Billford.
I will keep moving northeast and then cross the border to Iitha. After that, it is not far to Cyalis. But I’m not in a rush. I have at least two years until I need to be there. It wouldn’t hurt to get a little more experience and earn some money before that.
“Can you teach me how to use magic?” Sabi suddenly asked.
“Do you have a spark?” Adion asked back.
“No,” Sabi answered dejectedly.
“Well, do you have an affinity to any element? Can you sense the mana around you?” Adion asked back. It was interesting talking to another sparkless like him.
“I do! I can!” Sabi answered excitedly, “No one in the village seems to believe me, but I can sense water mana. I’m sure of it. My grandfather has a water spark, you know.”
“Hm. In that case, all you need to do is practice. It will be hard and take a long time, but if you want to form a core, that is the only way.” Adion answered seriously.
Sabi looked at him with wide eyes, “Do you really think it’s possible?” she asked.
“Of course it’s possible, it’s just incredibly difficult. You need to train your water mana control to such a high degree that you can collect vast amounts of it without a trace of any other mana. You need a Will strong enough to keep a core in place without a spark to help you. It will take time and hard work, and you won’t have much time for other things, but it is certainly possible.” Adion answered truthfully.
Sabi was quiet for a while before slowly starting to tear up. “Are you speaking the truth? You’re not lying, are you?”
“Of course, I’m not lying. As far as I know, that’s how it works. At least that’s how it worked for me.” Adion revealed.
“You were a sparkless?” Sabi asked, stunned.
“Mm. And I did what I instructed you to do. The key is to have an immense amount of, in your case, water mana when you form your core. Don’t try to hurry too much to get there, though. It will take longer for you than it does for someone with a spark. But all your efforts will pay off in the future. And if you really want to become a mage, I promise that all that hard training will be worth it once you finally get there.”
Adion didn’t know if it was a good idea to reveal him being a sparkless or not, but he just didn’t want the girl to give up. He had his grandfather to believe in him, but she had no one. And even if she told people about Adion, he didn’t think people would believe her.
“I will become a mage. I swear it on everything I am.” Sabi said with great conviction.
Adion gave off a little smile and said, “Then I have no doubt you will succeed.”
Sabi closed her eyes and quieted down, sitting in a lotus position. Adion was glad that he could help, if only a little. There was only so much he could do. If Sabi didn’t have the discipline for this, then there was nothing Adion could do about it.
They continued their journey, with the kids getting livelier as they got closer to Farfield. It took them a little over two days, and they arrived in the village two days later, early in the morning. When the first people noticed them, it started a big commotion, and soon, what Adion assumed was the whole village was gathered around them, kids crying in their mother's embrace. Adion himself walked away for a while by himself. He had no desire to interrupt the happy reunion and ask for directions just yet, nor did he want to explain how he had managed to kill the slavers. He would probably be asked by someone in charge later, but he didn’t want to have the entire village in front of him when he did.
Adion strolled around, looking at the old, humble buildings, and thought it was a nice place to live in. The village had a small square with a store for food and a smithy as well as a building where he guessed the village head resided.
I guess I will have to talk to him later, so I might as well stick around here for a while.
Adion walked around for a little longer before going in to buy some fruits in the food store and then taking a seat on a small bench outside. It wasn’t long before a middle-aged woman in clean clothes approached Adion with a motherly smile.
“Are you Adion? The young man who helped bring the children back?” the woman asked.
“Yes, that would be me,” Adion responded as he stood up.
“Our village head would like to have a word with you. I will bring you to him if that’s alright with you?”
“Of course, lead the way.”
The woman turned around and walked to the big house by the square, and as Adion had thought, the house belonged to the village head. It wasn’t as fancy as the buildings Adion was used to growing up, of course, but it stood out in a village like Farfield.
When they came to the front door, the woman opened it without knocking and stepped inside.
“Come on in. The village head is in his study waiting for you. It is down the hall. I will take you there.”
When they reached this door, the woman knocked, and a deep voice rang from inside telling them to come in. The man, who Adion assumed to be the village head, was sitting behind a desk with two simple chairs in front. There were some papers on the desk and a few books, but otherwise, the room was pretty much plain and empty.
Adion had thought of the village head as an old man, probably known for his wisdom around the village. But the man behind the desk didn’t look much older than 40, and he had a strong body, looking more like a warrior. Adion felt from his aura that he was a middle Bronze mage like himself.
“Take a seat, take a seat. I am Villum, the village head of Farfield. It is a pleasure to meet such an outstanding youth such as yourself.” Villum introduced himself with a jolly smile.
“A pleasure to meet you too, village head Villum. My name is Adion, as you might have already heard.” Adion palmed his fist in greeting as a sign of respect for the man's position.
“I have indeed talked to the kids about you and found myself very curious how such a child as you found his way all the way out here. You can’t be much older than 14 and already a peak Iron mage. That is incredibly rare in these parts. I believe it would be an achievement to brag about anywhere on the continent, for that matter. Something that tells me your background is not so simple. But I won’t pry into your secrets as that would truly be ungrateful. Instead, I simply wished to repay the favor of saving the children. If there is anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask. I will fulfill any wish that is within my capabilities.”
Adion was a little shocked as he was prepared to be grilled on every detail of his made-up story. But when he thought about it, it made sense. Generally, someone of Adion's strength and age speaks of a powerful background.
He probably thinks of me as someone he can’t afford to offend, even if he is curious. It wouldn’t do to get on the bad side of a family that could raise someone like me.
“Well, if the village head insists there is something I am in need of. You see, I am on my way to Billford but don’t know how to get there. Is there perhaps a map that I can see or maybe the way to Mermi and the name of someone there that could be of help?”
“Such an easy request. Of course, I know the way to Billford, and Mermi is on the way, so you would pass by it no matter what. Let me show you. I have a map with me here.”
Villum stood up and went to a large chest that stood in the corner of the room. He opened it up and pulled out a big map that he unfurled on the desk in front of Adion.
“As you can see, it is quite far from here. You can get to Mermi in a carriage in about three days. From there, it would be around three weeks of travel in a carriage to reach Billford, with a few more small towns like Mermi along the way.”
Adion studied the map and thought it made sense. He memorized the general location of all the towns and villages on the way; he would only need to head north, and once he got close, he could always ask someone for directions if he couldn’t find the way himself.
“Thank you, village head. I believe I should be able to get myself to Billford just fine now.”
Adion got up from his seat and saw that the smile on Villum's face wavered a little.
“Surely you are not leaving immediately?” he asked Adion.
“I am afraid that I am in a bit of a hurry, so I should get going as soon as possible.”
“I see. In that case, I won’t keep you any longer. But are you sure there is nothing else I can do for you? I should be able to get you on a carriage from Mermi headed to Billford. Even if you have your own, it is always safer to travel in groups. Even though you are strong, there are many stronger people out there.”
Adion thought about it, and it would be nice to have a ride with someone who knew the area. He could just meditate during the journey, after all.
“In that case, I will accept. And as for the carriage that I came here on, it belonged to the slavers, and I won’t need it.”
“Is that so? Then I will buy the carriage and the two horses from you.”
“No need, village head. If you want, you can sell it and give the money to the kids that were kidnapped. It might be a little compensation for their troubles.”
“That is very kind of you, young master Adion. Fairfield Village is surely indebted to you. One last thing before I get started on securing your journey. You see, I have a son who, like me, is a mage. His dream has always been to become an Outskirter. He has always been a very hard worker and is now a middle Bronze mage at the age of 22. He is located in Billford these days, going on adventures in the Outskirts along with a friend of his from the village. If you get to Billford and find yourself in need of anything, please don’t hesitate to ask my son. His name is Villem. I will send a message to him to let him know that he should help you if you ask.”
“In that case, I won’t be polite and ask him to guide me through the city once I get there,” Adion said.
The smile on Villum's face finally returned in full vigor when he heard that, and he laughed aloud.
“Very good! I will make sure he knows how to behave. Just wait here, and I should be able to get you on a carriage within the hour.”
“Well, thank you for the hospitality village head. No hurry.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you? I still feel very much indebted.”
Adion was just about to answer no when he suddenly came to think of something.
And a few hours later, Adion was sitting on the front of a wagon headed for Mermi, where he would take another carriage to Billford. He enjoyed the warm late summer sun as his hand combed through his newly washed and freshly cut hair.
