"No need to sugarcoat your words with ," smiled Alistar, who doubted that he would ever be a match for his riding instructor’s masterful control and instinctual affinity with the equine beasts that he loved so dearly. He brushed so amber hair from his eyes, having grown it out to about a hand’s length in recent months.
"I speak in all honesty." Taking Star’s reins in one hand and those of his own steed in the other, Stason nodded toward the manor house with a smile. "I’ll see these two back to their stalls. You plan to visit Enquin today, right? Hurry and wash yourself so that you don’t stink of sweat when you get to his place."
"Okay." Turning to leave, he paused after a single step and said in an appreciative voice, "Stason, thank you for your words earlier. I feel that they’ve lifted my mood so."
"Of course, lad."
Alistar made his way over to the manor house, stopping along the main cobblestone pathway to help the gardeners water a large stretch of flowers. Such a task only took him a matter of monts, far less than it would have taken the handful of sweaty, suntanned n. Once he’d made it to his room, he quickly changed into a fresh set of light clothes and then left for Mayhaven with a bit more peace of mind than he’d had earlier in the day. As had beco a habit, he was sure to bring along his swordsman’s stripes, which he was quite proud of now that he possessed the badge of a peak practitioner of the adept stratum. Similar to the one Edmun had showed off on the day that they had t, his had the shape of a kite shield, though it had four black stripes on a yellow background as opposed to the single one that the older boy had displayed.
As he made his way down the oak-lined pathway that connected the estate to the city’s western entrance, he recalled the day that his cousins had attempted to tornt Anice on this very road, a mory that brought a curl to his lip. While it had only been a year since then, he was now a first-tier mage, a far cry from the second-tier apprentice status that he’d held at the ti. These days, Alistar had begun to compile his own personal grimoire, which docunted the nearly twenty spells that he had learned either from Mr. Albeck, the madman in the cave, or from his own self-study. He wasn’t sure how much more progress he could manage in the coming year, and worried that it wouldn’t be nearly enough to sneak into Crystellum on his own and successfully see Kaila out of its confines without any complications.
Just how can I get my hands on so many high-class magic crystals?
Lately, he’d been entertaining the foolish thought of venturing into the Iron Dungeon to harvest so crystals in the sa manner that he had grown accustod to as a slave. Thanks to Team Tempest, he had a general idea of where the labyrinth was located, though the fact that such a capable team was still missing was enough of a deterrent to prevent him from doing so.
Once in Mayhaven, Alistar enjoyed the bustling atmosphere as he made his way across the city, stopping by at the marketplace to purchase a few skewers of at to share with Mr. Herst once he arrived at the man’s little house. Surprisingly, he ran into Ely a mont after buying the food, the short, sweet-eyed girl in the midst of a complicated conversation with a stall owner that specialized in the sale of small, exotic animals.
"Good morrow, Ely. What are you up to?"
"Alistar! I’m looking for so food to give to a new friend of mine." She hefted up a burlap bag that seed to contain a heavy load. "Only, this man refuses to help ."
"It’s not that I don’t want to help you," grumbled the fat, balding rchant, "but that your request is simply too unreasonable."
Alistar could sense a slight life signal from within the bag, making him wonder after what was inside of it.
"What are you asking for, Ely?"
"Well, a snake almost got to Ms. Parsnip today, but it was only because he hadn’t eaten in a long while. I was just looking around to see if there was anything that I could feed him that wasn’t a living creature, but all this man keeps saying is that my choices are mice, insects, or nothing."
"What else would you have do?" snapped the man. "Bake it a cake? It’s a serpent, for Lucian’s sake. Just throw it in a field and let it find its own food."
Apologizing to the man for the inconvenience, Alistar grabbed Ely’s free hand and dragged her away. Releasing her once they had exited the square, he chastised her in a warm tone.
"I know you don’t like the thought of creatures dying, but that’s simply the way this world works. We eat animals and animals eat us, just as snakes eat rodents and so birds eat snakes. If you really want to help your little friend there, then do as the man said and let him go."
"I tried," she said, sighing as she tugged at her shirt in an effort to fan her sweaty skin. "But he won’t leave alone. He seems to have taken a liking to , so I can’t just let him starve."
Blushing as he caught an unintended glimpse beneath her shirt, Alistar turned his head and forced out a cough. Like all of his female friends, Ely had matured into quite the pretty girl, not quite as shapely as the adult won that he knew but still far from the thin, childish appearance that she’d had upon their first eting.
"I’m on my way to Mr. Herst’s place. Want to co along? He might know of a solution."
"Mr. Herst? That’s a great idea, Alistar! He always seems to know what to do."
The two of them left the marketplace a short while later, after Alistar had purchased an additional skewer of roasted vegetables so that Ely would have sothing to eat once they arrived at their destination. East Street was quite busy today, with countless townsfolk streaming in and out of the various guilds that operated out of this side of the city.
It wasn’t long before they had passed through Mayhaven’s eastern gates and were drawing close to the Hanging Hill, which looked particularly serene on this fine sumr’s day. As they ca within eyeshot of Mr. Herst’s little ho, Alistar felt the need to ask after what kind of snake it was that Ely was carrying around with her.
"It’s just a cattle snake," she said, skipping along with a subconscious grin. "He’s about two paces long, and quite thick."
Eyeing the bag with unease, Alistar let out a light sigh. "As long as it isn’t venomous." Even if it wasn’t, cattle snakes were known for their particularly nurous teeth and the devastating bites that their powerful jaws could dish out. Considering the size of the one in Ely’s bag, it wouldn’t have a problem tearing off a grown man’s finger in a mont of carelessness.
They arrived at Mr. Herst’s ho to find him sitting out in the sun atop his favoured folding chair, the short, elderly man looking over at them with warm eyes as they rounded the corner of his cabin and greeted him with happy smiles.
"If it isn’t Miss Ely," grinned the Drunish man, who stood up to welco them with a bit of effort. "Alistar doesn’t usually bring friends along. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Ely told him about her current predicant, which caused him to raise a pale green eyebrow.
"I take it that the snake is in that bag?"
"He is. I think it’s about ti I let him out, though, since I’d imagine it’s quite stuffy in there."
Mr. Herst held up a wrinkled hand. "That might not be the best idea, lass. Cattle snakes have quite the bite to them, and I can’t imagine he’s too pleased after being captured and placed in a little space such as that."
"Oh, I didn’t capture him," she said, touching a finger to her bottom lip in thought. "He slithered in there himself. You see, he doesn’t seem to want to leave my side."
"Is that so?"
Alistar knew the old man well enough to tell that he was a bit skeptical, though Mr. Herst was too polite to openly express such sentints. These days, Alistar was about half a finger’s length taller than his elderly friend, the realization making him feel a bit forlorn for so unknown reason.
Without checking to see if the other two were comfortable with the act, Ely opened the bag and dipped her hand inside, the old man throwing his arms up in sudden angst only to lower them with a subtle look of bewildernt on his kind-natured face. He and Alistar simply watched on as a thick, ropy body wound itself around her arm and slithered all the way up to her shoulder, its head coming to a rest halfway down her other arm like a long, scaly sash of dull whites and blacks. Oblivious to their stares, Ely scratched under its chin as if it were so cute animal as the snake tilted its head upward to stare at her face with its narrow yellow eyes.
"My goodness," breathed the old Drunish man, who pinched at his chin in surprise. "It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen sothing like this."
"What do you an?" asked Alistar, keen eyes darting to and fro between his friends.
"Co, it’s better that we speak behind closed doors."
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