Chapter 34: Chapter 33: quest details

The morning after goes pretty well. I had to get a bit creative to get privacy, but an improvised curtain did the job fine.

When we ate breakfast, I created myself a stool of mana, and a table of mana. I actually remembered about the chairs in my inventory today, and let Jo and James use them. They are not particularly impressive, as one of them is classified as a joke weapon that gave you an achievement for beating a certain boss and the other being a vanity item that you could find in a lot of different places.

The reason for my chair and the table is partly because making my own chair makes sense and combined with the table, Alesha got starry eyed and excited about magic.

Her parents also became wide eyed at my demonstration, though for entirely different reasons. The stool alone contains more mana than the both of them have combined.

After touching the chairs and table for a bit in amazement, she asked me a question she seems to not have thought about yesterday.

“Since you have wings, can you fly?”

I can fly, either with dimensional impulse, or my new spell, though dimensional impulse is more akin to jumping, even when the starting point is already in the air.

“I can.” Is the answer I go for.

Her eyes then go even wider and she starts to beg me to show her. I stand up dramatically and let my stool shatter into pretty sparkles. I would do the table as well, but the others were still using it.

I then use the new spell to hover a bit in the air, whilst flapping my wings for effect, and she squeals with joy.

I even go as far as to tell her that she can learn to fly as well if she gets good at magic, to which she sort of just stops and contemplates the possibilities. She does have mana, even if very little, so she should be able to in the future. Her parents seem a bit more hesitant, but I explain that even though the flight spell I just used is very inefficient and recently developed, flight is possible for normal mages if they work towards it. I specified normal, because I am aware that I am abnormal in the fact that I have a lot of mana.

Their caravan is heading towards Draumr, so we set off in opposite directions. Interacting with a child who is excited about something you are good at, is probably one of the best ways to start the day. As such I’m in a great mood.

Aside from my great mood, today's travel was pretty boring. Nothing of note happened, though we met a few other travelers going the opposite direction.

Once the evening came, we settled in a forest clearing a little bit away from the road. The atlas was a great help in locating a campsite. Entering the clearing, we find someone waiting for us there. A beautiful elf sits in a small circle of flowers. 

I have never met her before, though I can guess that it is Lara, since David told us she would meet with us. The first to speak up is James, and he confirms my suspicion.

“Hello Lara.” He simply states, while waving at her.

“Hello James. I see you have been doing well since we last met.” she simply responds.

They continue exchanging smalltalk for a bit, whilst me and Jo sets up our camp.

Once we finish making our campsite, Lara takes a step back and addresses us all.

“So! Onto the quest.” she continues, speaking to us all “There is a special Gem located in an abandoned mine. It’s not super rare, but the local source is unavailable because of golems in the area. The jeweler Malka Ashtyn is to receive this gem so that he can create his next great work.”

That sounds easy enough, and fighting Golems is part of the reason we are heading towards the agate mountains. We probably won’t feel bad about killing them, and Jo can grow a fair bit in strength. I’m not all that considered by getting a reward, but it seems James wants to know, and asks her. 

“Malka is not only a jeweler, but also a skilled artificer. He can easily arrange for proper equipment for Jo.”

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That seems likely, but I wonder if he is actually aware of the quest. Either way, I find it acceptable. James seems to think for a bit longer, before eventually accepting. Jo, seems a little befuddled by the whole affair, and simply remains silent.

After getting our acceptance, Lara turns towards me and start to speak.

“Zena, before I leave, I have to tell you that you should probably read the letter from your parents, instead of forgetting about it. Also, once you get to Aeshraton, use Guillard messaging guild to send a letter to your parents, ideally telling them of your adventures so far. They won’t be able to force you to return, even if you let them know where you are.”

That comment catches me off guard, and before I get a chance to answer, she waves at James and disappears in an explosion of flower petals.

Afterwards, James sets up the campfire and we eat our food. I’m almost out of the pears I bought, so I have to stock back up on mana rich fruit when I get the chance. As we eat, we discuss the quest, but don’t reach any conclusion other than we need to do some scouting. We do have the quest marker, so locating it shouldn’t be a problem. I hand the atlas over to James so he can look over the location. Turns out Aeshraton is about three days' travel from here.

Afterwards, James and Jo keeps looking through the atlas for interesting locations, and I pull out the letter that Dallard gave me. I recognize the wax seal from Zenas memories, two separate flowers and my surname in fancy calligraphy. Opening the letter reveals a fairly normal letter that a parent would send their child, who is away traveling. It’s clear that they didn’t know when, or even if I would be getting this letter. They simply wish me well, and say that they would welcome me back with open arms whenever I decide I have had enough of adventuring.

It also mentions that I have gotten a younger brother. He was born about a year after I fled, which seems to be the time they wrote this letter. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about becoming a big sister, especially since I remember being the younger brother for most of my life.

The most noteworthy thing about the letter is the sigil that is placed at the bottom. It’s the same as the wax seal, but I can feel the mana in it. It is unmistakable the mana of my father. I don’t know how I know it, but I am absolutely certain of it.

Pushing a tiny amount of mana into the sigil has it glowing green. Nothing else happened, except my mana replacing my fathers in the sigil. I should learn to make one of these if I send a letter to them.

Once I put away the letter, Jo turns to me and ask about the letter, and I tell her it’s from my parents. 

“From royalty?” she asks, almost in awe.

“Yes?” I answer casually.

She seems to hesitate for a bit, but ends up asking “What is it about?”

“You want to know what’s in a letter sendt between royalty?” I ask her in an incredulous voice, and I can see her beginning to panic a little. I continue before she can properly panic, “Relax. They simply wished me well on my travels, and informed me that I have gotten a younger brother in my absence.”

That last part caused James to look up from the atlas and say “Big sister Zena” in an almost mocking voice.

“Oh, hush” I answer back. I’m not really sure how to feel about it, but my reply causes James to chuckle a bit, before continuing.

“What’s his name, and how old is he now?”

“They didn’t mention his name in the letter so they might have sent the letter before his naming ceremony. He was born roughly a year after I left, so he should be around seven years old now.”

At this Jo speaks up again “You have been away for eight years?”

I confirm and she steers the conversation towards my home country. I try to steer it away again because I don’t really want to think about it, but she remains persistent. 

Eventually I just decide to crawl into my tent and go to sleep. As I lay in bed, I overhear Jo and James talk for a bit, with Jo asking more about my past, and James telling her that he doesn’t know to much about it, and that she should respect my wish to not talk about it.