The meal in front of Reid was simple but delicious. Fresh baked bread that was well complimented by a hearty vegetable soup. Joining him for this meal were Faerie, Faeth, Danny, and Mary. Reid was to preoccupied wolfing down his food to notice the whole table staring at him. Everyone had plenty of questions to ask the boy, but didn't want to interrupt the starving youth.
Mary was the first one to speak up. "I heard from Aron that you were the one who brought those two back home safely. Even though you have only known each other for a short time, you were willing to risk your own safety to protect them, and for that I must thank you. All of the children here are precious to us, losing anyone would have been devastating. Naturally, that includes yourself. So thank you."
Reid rushed to finish the bite he was working on. "You don't have to thank me. Besides we're a party, we're supposed to look out for each other."
"Still, I felt I needed to express my gratitude."
"Hey Reid, I heard you defeated a shadow wolf by yourself. Is that true?" Danny asks enthusiastically.
"Yeah, but it was already weakened and injured when it attacked."
"That's still really impressive! I heard their stealth and magic are a super deadly combo." Danny starts leaning over the table as he talks.
"Oh it was. It can hide in this weird shadow mist it creates and can fire off large shadowy spikes. I only survived because I have enhanced senses and could hear exactly where it was. I used that to trick it and hit it with a surprise attack."
"That's awesome! Hey I know! We should spar together sometime. I would love to see your techniques!" Danny's excitement is palpable and Reid responds in kind.
"Yeah, that would be great! I definitely need to work on my spear skills, I don't really know what I'm doing and had to rely way too much on my magic."
As the two boys continue their energetic conversation Faeth looks over at Reid and notices something. "Hey Reid, how come you have ears like us and also ears like Anna?" She asks with all the innocence you would expect of a child.
Reid quickly reaches for his head and realizes he didn't have anything wrapping the top. He was too tired and hungry to remember putting it on before coming to eat. His wolf ears quickly went flat on top of his head as he was unsure how everyone would react to learning what he truly is.
Mary was the first to speak up, quickly admonishing the young dark elf. "Faeth! That was a very rude thing to ask. You can't just ask someone a question like that."
Faeth's eyes start watering after being yelled at so unexpectedly. "I-I'm sorry, I was just curious. I didn't mean to be rude."
"It's fine, I know you were just curious." Reid tries to calm down the teary eyed girl.
"But why was it rude, I don't get it." Faeth complains, irritated at being yelled at out of nowhere.
Mary was unsure of how to answer the question, since Reid was in the room. Thankfully Reid spoke up instead.
"Well you see, when parents of different races have kids, those kids will only end up with traits of one of the parents. Some mean people really don't like the idea of different races having kids together. Thankfully for half bloods, kids with parents of different races, you can't tell the difference between them and pure bloods. Are you following so far?" Reid asks.
"I think so." Faeth answers, slightly confused.
"Now, outside of pure bloods and half bloods, there's one more group. It happens when a half blood has a kid with someone from a third different race. People call these kids mongrels and mean people hate them even more than half bloods. The unfortunate thing for them is that unlike half bloods, they don't look like just one of their parents. These kids have a random mix of traits from them both. In my case I got my elf ears from my half elf dad and my wolf ears from my beastkin mother."
"Okay, so you're dad was a half breed and you're a mongrel?" Faeth asks innocently
Everyone around the table, save the twins, had an awkward expression on their face. Reid once again answers the tough question "Well yes, but you really shouldn't be calling people that. You see people normally use that term as an insult."
"Then what should you call them?"
This question surprised Reid because he truly didn't have an answer. If there was some polite way to refer to mongrels then he had certainly never heard it. Thankfully Mary picks up his slack.
"Unfortunately there isn't any truly polite way to refer to such people. The closest I've heard is mixed blood." She then looks back over to the boy. "And Reid sweetie, you don't have to worry about us, we don't judge people for trivial things such as that."
"That's a relief to hear." Reid said, but wasn't truly convinced by her words. He had seen too many people say similar words of kindness, only to insult him behind his back. Though in a small sliver of his heart, he hoped she meant it.
A few minutes go by as everyone goes back to eating tasty food and enjoying casual conversation.
"Oh! And um… Maaarry?" Faeth asks as sweetly as possible.
"Yes dearie."
"If Reid goes to see Lance and Anna can we go with him? Pleeeease!" A hopeful look fills her eyes as she stares at Mary.
"Don't you two have to help Danny with the shopping today?" She replies, ignoring the puppy-dog eyes.
Disappointment shows on Faeth's face as she remembers her duty for the day. Thankfully Danny was there to have her back.
"Well I was actually thinking of taking Reid with me today. He still hasn't seen most of the town so I was gonna show him around the shopping district. We can all pay them a visit on the way."
"Well, I suppose that should be fine."
Faeth jumps out of her seat and throws both hands in the air. "YAY!!! Thank you Danny, you're the best!"
"Haha, anytime." He replies with a kind smile on his face.
⁘⁘⁘⁘
Ava walks through the halls of her unexpectedly busy clinic. Behind her was the full entourage of orphanage children. She guides them to a door at the far end of the hall, opening it and gesturing them inside.
"Go on in. You can take as long as you like in there, just remember there are patients in the other rooms so try to keep it down."
"I'll make sure they don't get too loud." Danny assures her before leading the group into the room.
The group enters to find two beds at the far end of the room with Cynthia sitting comfortably on a chair at the foot of the closest bed. However she wasn't what the group was focused on instead it was-
"Hey everyone! Good to see you!" The red haired boy had already woke up and gave them a toothy smile as they walked in.
"Lance!" Faeth screams as her and Faerie run over to hug him.
Danny gives a joking sigh as he looks back at Ava. "Guess I couldn't keep my promise."
Ava giggles a little as she slowly closes the door.
"Alright, alright. I'm glad to see you guys too." Lance says, hugging them both. "You too Danny. And Reid…"
He pauses as he looks at the other boy his age. "I'm sorry… I should have listened to you when you said it was a bad idea. I put all of us in danger, especially-"
He looks over to his left, at the girl still sleeping peacefully in her bed. He had to clench his fists and grit his teeth to stop himself from tearing up.
"So I'm sorry… and thank you."
"Don't worry about it. Helping each other out is just what a party does, right?" Reid gives him a cheerful smile.
"Yeah, of course." Lance answers him with a smile of his own, one that slowly fades away as he turns away from Reid.
Something was obviously on his mind, but Danny interrupted his train of thought before he could ask.
"So Lance, how are you feeling? Wounds healed up?" Danny asks.
"Yep, feel good as new! Doc even said I should be good to leave in the next few days." The boy gives them a thumbs up to emphasize how good he was feeling.
"Great! Then you should be back in time for your laundry duties!"
"Hey c'mon, cut me some slack here!"
The twins, and even Cynthia laugh at their familiar banter.
⁘⁘⁘⁘
Reid's eyes go wide as he takes in the incredible sight before him.
The shopping district was an enormous coliseum-like structure that was easily twice the size of a football arena. Its' rising concentric rings were packed with stores and shops of all sizes.
"Wow! I never expected it to look this amazing!" Reid couldn't even figure out where to look amidst the chaotic crowds and stores.
"Right? I remember the first time I came here. I was completely awestruck. I somehow ended up getting separated from Cynthia. We didn't end up finding each other again until it was sunset." Danny began to reminisce about the past as Faeth and Faerie looked around nervously, clearly not enjoying the big crowds.
"So what are you guys looking to buy?" Reid asks.
"Just some ingredients for dinners and such. You know, despite how crazy this place looks, it's actually pretty easy to find what your looking for."
"Really? How?" Reid said confused.
"It's divided by color into four sections. Green is for foodstuff, like fruits, vegetables, or even fresh meat up top in the richer areas. Blue is for household goods like silverware, plates, furniture, that kinda thing. White is for clothing and accessories and, word of advice, if Cynthia ever asks you to go with her you should politely decline. She can spend the whole day at just one store."
"Of course she does! She's a beautiful young maiden who needs to look her best! You need to suck it up and let her shop!" Faeth jumps to Cynthia's defense.
"Yeah yeah. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Danny responds sarcastically.
"The last section is the one you'd probably like the most. The red section is technically called the miscellaneous section, but most people call it 'the hunters paradise'. Weapons, armor, potions, magic books, anything you'd need as a hunter, you can find there."
"Really? Do you think we'll have time to stop there?" Reid asks while looking toward the shops with red colored roofs.
"If you wanna go, we can just split up here. I'll take the twins to get the ingredients and we can meet up over there at 3rd bell." Danny points to the large clock tower at the center of the coliseum. The bottom level, or what Amadeus would consider the coliseum's arena, was filled with nothing but restaurants and food stalls.
"We can grab some food there afterwards, my treat. Just don't tell Mary." With a mischievous smile, Danny he gives them a quick shushing gesture.
"Yay! It'll be our secret!" Faeth nearly dances away as Danny grabs the twins hands.
"You two remember the rules, gotta hold hands while we're in the market. See you soon Reid." Danny and the twins happily walk off toward the green district.
"Alright! this is going to be an excellent opportunity for us." Excitement taking over Amadeus' voice.
"Yeah, we can see all of the weapons and armor we can buy once we sell the core!"
"No you fool! I'm talking about the magic books."
"Oh, well we probably can't afford those. Even novice magic books cost hundreds of thousands of tiss. We just cant afford them."
"Oh don't worry about that. We're just going to take a look…" Reid couldn't see it, but a devious smile had formed on Amadeus' face.
Reid casually walks toward the red district. He regretfully walks past store after store containing weapons, armor, everything a teenage boy would want to look at. With a goal in mind and resolve in his heart he powers through, eventually making it to the top rung. The stores in this area are far nicer than anything below. From pristine white marble to beautifully crafted dark wood pillars to crystal clear glass windows, the area screamed wealth. This is where they finally found what they were looking for, a magic bookstore.
The sign in front of the store was made from a thin obsidian colored block with white lettering. It read as 'Seldi's Store of Magecraft'. Reid slowly pushed open the heavy wooden door to see rows of books in glass cases with a bookshelf against the right wall and a clerk's counter against the left. The store was arranged in a way to keep the more expensive items closer to the clerk.
As the door closes behind him, Reid nearly jumped after seeing an intimidating man in full plate armor with a halberd in hand. The man glanced at Reid before continuing to look out over the rest of the store.
"Welcome to the Seldi's store of magecraft, my name is Van Seldi, how may I be of assistance?" The man behind the counter beckoned Reid over with his hand. He wore a fine silk robe with vibrant colors and detailed tailoring. The man could easily have been confused for a noble if he was judged solely by the quality of his clothing.
"Good morning Sir, I'm hoping to look through your selection of magic books to see what you have."
"Are you now?" The man takes a look at Reid's tattered clothing. "There's no problem with looking but even the beginner magic books tend to be quite expensive." He warned him in most polite way he could.
"Oh I know, I'm looking for my party's mage. He paid me to go look for him, saying it was beneath him to actually do it himself. I tried to explain that I don't exactly look like I belong in the area, but he wouldn't listen." Reid's incredible talent for lying was on full display yet again.
"Ah yes, I know the type. Did he tell you what he was looking for?"
"Well he wants to learn runic magic, despite our many warnings against the switch." Reid lets out an exaggerated sigh.
"I can understand your frustration, successful rune mages are as rare as can be. Let me guess, he insists he can do it despite never having tried it before?"
"Yep, and he can't be convinced to change his mind. Well, if he wants to waste his money that's fine with me. Oh by the way, what is your policy for customers looking through the books before buying?"
"Anything novice or below is fine, you can find them on the bookshelf on the other side of the store. We're a bit short on the novice level books at the moment though, a collector just came through the other day and bought most of them. As for the books in the glass cases you have to buy before you can handle them."
"Were too many people trying to steal them or something?" Reid asks curiously.
"Oh no, my security can handle that issue." He says while pointing at the well armored man. The clerk looks around the store before leaning over and whispering the answer to Reid. "It's because of nobility actually. Young lords would come in, insistent upon their ability to master magic and pick up a book way above their ability. When they couldn't decipher it they would throw a tantrum, usually trying to destroy the book while claiming it was defective. Even worse they would often try to discredit my business for selling faulty merchandise. Either way I would rather have their tantrum take place in comfort of their mansion." A bit of rage showed through his mercantile smile. It had obviously been a frequent occurrence for it to have caused such a big change in policy.
"Sounds like we have similar problems then."
"Hah, it appears so. Oh, you said you don't have a lot of experience with looking for magic books yes? Well books with a circle on the spine will indicate they have information on runic spells inside, while books with a music note will have information for a chanted spell inside."
"Got it. Thank you for all your help Mr. Seldi." Reid gives him a head nod before walking over to the bookshelf. "Hopefully that bought us enough good will to look through everything."
"Another spectacular performance. If hunting doesn't work out you could always pursue a career in theatre."
"Thanks, but I don't think anyone would want a 'mongrel' to act for them, unless it's a villain role or something…" Reid's joke ended up hurting his own feelings more than he anticipated. "Anyway, I guess we should get started."
With that Reid got to work flipping through the books one by one. Amidst the collection were two novice earth magic spells, six beginner spells of various elements, and a collection of household and cleaning magic's. By the end, no page was left unturned.