"Listen, magic can broadly be divided into two main categories. External and internal magic. External basically means magic that you cast outside of your body. Internal is the opposite. People who can cast magic are divided by if they cast internal or external magic. They get further divided by the type of magic they can cast. Namely imbuing magic, linear magic, body magic and mind magic. Imbuing magic and linear magic belong to the external magic grouping and the other two obviously belong to the internal group." Besin said, pausing for a moment to think.
"There are also people who don't fall into the main two categories of magic and instead belong to the unique category. It's basically just full of people who've created their own magic. Chances are you won't ever meet someone like that in your life time though." He paused again and saw the look of eagerness in Sol's yellow-amber eyes and continued.
"Imbuing magicians can, well, imbue objects with their magical powers. This is the type of mage that I am. I imbue a refreshing taste that washes away exhaustion into that drink. Linear magic is the most well known kind of magic that the idiots in the royal magicians use." He rolled his eyes and picked up a drying stein. He started drying the inside with a towel as he spoke.
"Body magic is any kind of magic that enhances your body physically like making you stronger. Mind magic is anything that enhances your mental capabilities. Making you smarter allowing you to move things with you mind etcetera." Besin said as he finished drying the stein and set it with the rest of the clean glasses.
"Yep! That's about the jist of it! Thanks for explaining, Binbin!" Rulo's jolly voice said. Besin's face twisted in anger and he roughly grabbed Rulo by his head. "I thought we agreed that you wouldn't call me that you little twerp!" Besin said aggressively. Rulo let out a little chuckle which seemed to make Besin even angrier. Before Besin could actually harm Rulo another patron called him over and his face shifted into a kind closed eyed smile as he went to attend them.
Sol tugged on Rulo's sleeve to get his attention away from Besin dealing with his customers. Rulo looked over at him. "What is it?" He asked. Sol looked nervously at Besin and then back at Rulo. "Does Besin have a grudge against them?" Sol said under his breath. He seemed slightly worried that Besin might hear them talking.
"The customers? Nah those guys make a mess in here basically every day!" Rulo said. Sol shook his head. "No, no, not that! The linear mages and the unique magic users." Sol clarified a little exasperated. Rulo's mouth made an O shape and then his brows furrowed deeply in thought. He started thinking so hard that he'd put his half full glass down and crossed his arms with his fist under his chin. His face slowly started turning more and more red until his arms sprawled out on the bar. He let out an exhausted sigh.
"I've got nothing. No clue. He's never really said his opinions on them but it's pretty clear he doesn't like them." Rulo said turning his head while it still rested on the bar to look at Sol. Sol nodded. Even to him that was obvious just from the way that he talked about linear and unique magic users.
Sol opened his mouth to say something more but before he could Besin walked back behind the bar. Besin sighed while saying, "When will those assholes learn." under his breath. Then he turned his attention back to Sol and Rulo. Sol looked at the bottom of his empty glass with a nervous look on his face. Besin's eyes narrowed at him. "Well, what were you two talking about while I was busy?" Besin said with suspicion lacing his voice. Beads of sweat started to form on Sol's face and his eyes darted towards Rulo. Rulo caught this and sent Sol a wink as he finished his drink. He let out a satisfied sigh and then spoke.
"Oh that? He was just asking if he could learn more about magic. All up close and personal. Ya know?" Rulo said giving Besin a knowing look. Besin let out a sigh. "You sure you wanna do this? Do you even know his name?" Besin asked with his hands on the countertop looking at Rulo with a questioning look. Rulo nodded.
"Of course I do! His name is... Um... Dul! No. Um... Hole? Cul? Mole?" Rulo looked absolutely puzzled and looked at Sol who sighed. "I thought he was kinda intelligent but he might just be an idiot. Why would he drag me with him if he didn't know who I was?" Sol thought before answering.
"My names Sol. Sol Gre-" Before Sol could finish speaking Rulo interrupted him. "Ah ha! Sol! I knew I was close!" Rulo said hitting his fist on his palm. Then he got closer to Sol and lowered his voice. "Be careful saying your last name around here. Most people don't have one, let alone one with so much prestige." Rulo whispered. The severe tone in his voice made Sol nod even though he didn't quite understand why.
"Anyway! I'm sure so gimme the keys Besin!" Oregrulous said slamming his hands on the bar top and standing. Besin rubbed the bridge of his nose in obvious frustration but still reached under the bar and pulled out a set of keys. There were about 5 keys on a metal ring that jangled as he handed them to Rulo. The part that was slightly strange about them was that all the keys were made from a pitch black material. "I hope you know what the hell your doing." Besin said with an annoyed look on his face. Rulo tossed the keys into the air and then caught them.
"Of course I do! I'm me damnit!" Rulo said pointing to himself with his thumb. A big smile was plastered on his face. A few murmurs went around the room. "Is that the new one?" "I bet he won't last a week." "I bet he won't last a day." "We're gonna have to take care of another one." Sol heard a handful of these and started getting a little nervous.
Sol cleared his throat. "I think I'd better find a place to stay for the night instead." Sol said, standing from the bar. Rulo smiled wider somehow and let out a boisterous laugh. He was laughing so hard that his whole top half started leaning backwards. When he was done he wiped tears away from his eyes and wrapped his arm around Sol's shoulders. His coral pink eyes held a mischievous look in them.
"If you come with me you won't have to worry about where you'll sleep tonight and~ you might even make some money~." Rulo said, poking Sol on his check and drawing out his words to emphasize his point. Sol swallowed hard.
Sol had saved up all the coins he had now by doing odd jobs back in Wesi for a few years. The idea of getting more far quicker was tempting. Rulo quirked a brow at Sol. "Well?" Rulo said. Sol bit his lip and nodded.
"I'll at least hear you out." Sol said. Rulo pulled him by his shoulder and started guiding him to a wall near the back right of the bar. "That's what I like to hear!" Rulo said. He stopped in front of a door by the bar and found a key on the key ring. It was a black key with a gemstone of some kind engraved on it. He unlocked the door with a quick motion. He pushed it open and a set of stairs leading up greeted the pair.
"HEY! Oregrulous! Don't you dare break anything up there, ya here me!?" Besin called as the two slowly started up the stairs. "Yeah yeah. Whatever you say. Your the boss or whatever!" Rulo said as he closed the door at the bottom of the stairs. He climbed the stairs and nearly bumped into Sol as he got to the top. "You okay?" Rulo said. He peered around Sol's shoulder and looked at his face. Sol was looking around with bewilderment on his face.
The room was lined with full bookshelves. Each shelf was full of tomes and things that looked like ancient artifacts. Tables filled the room covered in scattered papers. On the right most wall was a large dark wood desk that had papers and large crystals strewn across its surface. Golden ornamental filigree covered basically every edge in the room. The edges of the bookshelves, the tables and the desk. Even some of the artifacts were guilt in gold.
"What is this place?" Sol muttered. "The tavern downstairs seems cheap in comparison to this. If they have enough money to make it look this nice in here then couldn't they make downstairs look better too?" Sol thought looking around in shock. Rulo chuckled and just watched as Sol looked around the room. Once Sol seemed satisfied Rulo answered him.
"This is our little haven in this disastrous hell hole filled with thieves, pickpockets, and murderers. The only space in Wormwood were you don't need to worry about getting stabbed in your sleep. The only place in this whole town protected by magic. Also known as The Mages Den." Rulo said walking around Sol and gesturing to the room.
"Can I look around?" Rulo nodded and Sol began wandering around the room looking at everything in sight. He pulled his hood off after confirming that they were in the room alone. "Are their mages here?" Sol asked turning to Rulo. He nodded yes and then shook his head no.
"Kinda, it's a little hard to explain. To put it simply there's a mage that comes by here every few months to teach a select group of people magic. Most people would call us apprentice mages but apprentice mages can't take any sort of job without their masters say so. We, on the other hand, take missions the same way that adventures or mercenaries do. We prefer the title of Mercenary Mages." Rulo said, pulling the silver pendant out from under his shirt. A silver dragon with its wings spread lighting its own tail on fire glistened in the rooms lights. The fire on the dragons tail and it's one visible eye were a pumpkin orange colored gem fading to a pastel orange.
"This here is the symbol of us Mercenary Mages. It's a little different for each of us but it's always a silver dragon in some shape. Oh, and the outfit I'm wearing is actually the uniform." Rulo said enthusiasticly. Sol stared at the blue blazer with it's black accents and the white dress shirt underneath. He blinked hard a few times and then he looked down at his clothes. Rulo watched as Sol visibly cringed at the thought of wearing what he was wearing. Rulo let out another huge belly laugh, to the point that he was practically rolling on the floor.
"There are different uniforms if this isn't your style." Rulo said between laughs. When he was done he ran a hand up his face and then ran it through his hair. He let out a breath through his nose after he had finally caught it. He walked over to a heavy looking wooden door across the room and waved Sol over to him. Sol took a last look around the room and then walked over to Rulo.
Rulo started heaving the door open with great effort. He stopped panting and Sol grabbed the handle and pulled it open with ease. Sol quirked his brow at him. Rulo let out a huff. "It's supposed to be a hard door to open. Your just... You damnit!" Rulo said, a mix of frustration and embarrassment on his face. Sol bit his lip trying to hold back from laughing. He ended up having to cover the bottom half of his face to stop Rulo from seeing that he was starting to laugh. Sol stood to the side and let Rulo into the next room first.
"Get in here, Sol!" Rulo said. Then he muttered under his breath. "Laughing at me and shit. Gods damnit!" Rulo grabbed Sol by his arm and dragged him into the room. The door thudded closed loudly behind them. The room was filled racks upon racks of clothes. All neatly hug up and perfectly organized by color. A small bed was tucked away in the left side of the room and on the opposite wall was a vanity covered in various jewelry.
Sol set down the pull string bag that had been resting in his lap when he was drinking. He looked around more and saw that there was a curtain along the back wall near the clothes racks. When he looked closer the rack was actually guilt in gold and the hangers were all made from gold wiring. "What is this for? Is this were you get your uniform or something?" Sol asked.
"Yep! Though we don't get to pick them." Rulo said, running his hand across the clothes that were hanging up. Sol gave him a slightly concerned look but Rulo hardly noticed and continued. "Each outfit is enchanted with imbuing magic that makes it impossible to put on for anyone who isn't worthy enough to wear them. They take your personally and abilities into consideration and determine if you have what it takes. Right now we'll see if you can join the Mercenary Mages. Get undressed."