33 – Aurelius (almost) kicked the bucket. Part I

  Aurelius sat in a large, noisy tavern hall. A light haze of pipe smoke lingered beneath the low ceiling. It mingled with the aromas and steam of freshly prepared hot dishes and the inescapable smell of beer, the hallmark of such establishments. It was quite bright here, with light pouring through large, clean windows. The weather that day was splendid, but the young mage had to bide his time inside.

  Overall, it wasn’t the worst tavern Aurelius had seen so far on his strange journey. Reasonably clean and tidy. Reasonably friendly personnel. The patrons were reasonably unobtrusive and didn’t pry into his affairs with their annoying attempts at socializing. In some ways, it even reminded him slightly of the dining hall at his alma mater, Hexw?r University. Unless, of course, he ignored that the ceiling there was incomparably higher and the folks incomparably nobler and more refined. Otherwise, he could say it was identical. The same buzzing bustle.

  Aurelius sat alone at his small table, preferring the privacy of a corner. He settled there in such a way that from his place, he could immediately see who just entered. From time to time, Aurelius glanced at the front door, expecting his contact to appear at any moment.

  Or rather, it wasn’t his contact, but Geta’s. But the merchant, expecting that he might be considerably delayed by his own business, asked Aurelius to back him up. Besides, as he noted, the young mage would clearly have plenty to discuss with this expected person beyond what was related to Geta’s trade: his vis-à-vis was a Master of Constructs, straight from Mirdain.

  Aurelius showed no outward enthusiasm for the upcoming conversation, but meeting the Master of Constructs intrigued him nonetheless, both because as a scholar of sorcery he was curious about all things magical and for other, personal reasons. That’s probably why Geta had no doubt that Aurelius would agree to do him this favor. The merchant indeed saw right through him. Perhaps because he’d known Aurelius since he was a baby. Though not related to the Narmer family, he was a good friend of his father’s, and frankly, he was even closer and dearer to Aurelius than his uncles. As well as their insolent, arrogant offspring—his cousins. Aurelius got along much better with Geta’s children, especially his daughter…

  Aurelius was torn away from his thoughts, for the newcomer immediately filled almost the entire space of the doorway. Broad-shouldered and tall, he towered over everyone around him, almost brushing the ceiling. His strength was further emphasized by his sleeveless jacket, which revealed his impressive physique. However, Aurelius was aware that this was nothing out of the ordinary. To be a strong and healthy Mirdainian, one simply had to be born a Mirdainian.

  Meanwhile, the man moved between the rows of tables with the grace of a panther. And although his powerful figure held no hint of aggression, people passing by him involuntarily looked up and fearfully moved out of his way. To be so intimidated by someone who was simply bigger and different from you was rude and impolite, Aurelius believed. But what could one expect from the dwellers of this backwater, where Mirdainians were clearly not frequent visitors. Locals weren’t accustomed to the fact that, stopping by your favorite tavern in the morning for a pint of ale and a chat with friends, you might bump into a tall guy with grayish blue skin, black eyes, and pure white hair—not gray—milky white.

  Seeing Aurelius in the corner, the Master of Constructs nodded to him and began moving in his direction, carefully passing the tables. As he approached, Aurelius could see that his shoulder-length hair was braided in braids of varying sizes and styles. The young mage knew, in Mirdain, the way you braided your hair said a lot about your family, profession, reputation, even habits. It was a completely unique, sophisticated yet clear, and fascinating system of self-identification within society. Not like the Imperials or citizens of the Alienated Principates, with their primitive badges only telling what guild you belonged to and how high up in its hierarchy you had climbed.

  Only now did Aurelius realize he had no idea how to properly greet a Mirdainian, let alone greet him in his language. How ignorant of him, he scolded himself! There were at least a few representatives of this people at his university, both among the professors and the students. But he had never personally met any of them, let alone made acquaintance. It was all his unsociability and shyness—

  “Good morning! Aurelius, this one assumes?” A melodious bass sounded right next to his ear, pulling Aurelius out of his thoughts and catching him off guard. He looked up; his interlocutor stood right in front of him. Aurelius jumped up to his feet, an act of etiquette that cost him another jolt of pain coursing through his entire body. He leaned on his right leg, that very leg. And he couldn’t hide his painful grimace.

  “No, no, no,” the Mirdainian immediately protested, seeing Aurelius wince in pain. “Don’t bother yourself. This one is perfectly capable of sitting down without anyone’s help.” And he immediately landed on the chair opposite Aurelius, which squeaked in pitiful protest under his weight.

  He spoke like a true Mirdainian, both because of his noticeable accent and the charming trait of his people to not use the first person in speech.

  “The weather is certainly clement today, isn’t it?” Aurelius couldn’t think of anything better to do than start the conversation from the base.

  “It is?” the Mirdainian raised his brows in surprise. “This one is not a big expert on surface weather to know for sure whether the weather is good or not. Only, it is a little too bright, for his taste.”

  A little too bright. Aurelius couldn’t help but grin. Even for him, a human, accustomed to the constant semidarkness of a library, going outside on a sunny day was uncomfortable. What could he expect from someone who spent most of their lives deep beneath the mountains? Their eyes, too, as far as he remembered, were structured somehow differently. However, now that he had the opportunity to examine his interlocutor up close, Aurelius didn’t find the eyes of the Mirdainians all that different from those of humans. Yes, The Master of Constructs’ iris was pitch-black, almost indistinguishable from his pupil. But some claimed that the Mirdainians didn’t even have sclera and that they were completely blind in daylight—that was a complete lie.

  It took Aurelius a moment to realize he was openly staring at the Mirdainian’s face. He quickly lowered his gaze.

  “Let this one clarify, are you sure you are Aurelius?” the Mirdainian repeated.

  “I am,” the young mage nodded. “And you must be the Master of Constructs.”

  “This one does not like being called a master.” The man winced at such a title. “For being no master to anyone. Please call this one ?thelflorm, this name his father gave to him. This one understands the merchant Geta will not be present.”

  “I suppose so,” Aurelius shrugged. “But he left me some instructions to conduct our business on his behalf.”

  He tried to peer behind ?thelflorm to make sure no one was spying or eavesdropping. Not an easy task—the tall Mirdainian blocked his entire view, so Aurelius simply hoped they were of little interest to anyone here. He reached into his cloak’s inside pocket and pulled out what Geta had asked him to give to ?thelflorm: a sheaf of papers, probably some petitions and business correspondence, as well as a construct compass or rather, the half of it that remained with Geta.

  ?thelflorm accepted the documents, examined them one by one carefully but without much enthusiasm, and put them back in his bag. The compass, however, aroused much greater interest in him. Aurelius noted that in the Mirdainian’s hand, the artifact, the size and weight of a decent stone, looked like a toy.

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  “If ?thelflorm understands correctly, you had issued the compass’s twin to a team of hunters for a while now?” he looked up at Aurelius.

  “Not exactly,” he tried to recall how long ago they’d encountered those adventurers that night. Or rather, Geta had encountered them: Aurelius hadn’t even left the carriage. “Ten or twelve days, at least.”

  “Then it is probably not the first time they have done this.”

  “I can’t say for sure. I can only speak from Geta’s words,” Aurelius began hesitantly. “But I got the impression they were new to this business. They were low-level, I don’t remember exactly how low, but enough for Geta to call them kids.”

  “Then ?thelflorm is very impressed. Because the compass shows that of the seven rogue constructs spotted in the Valley of Ringing Springs, only one remains.”

  “Really?” Aurelius was also surprised and looked at the compass with keen interest. To his shame, he didn’t know how to work with those types of artifacts, how to read them. Primarily because it was far from his area of ??interest—the realm of spirits. Or perhaps because the professor who taught them artifactology was a person of limited teaching talent and moral quality. In fact, Aurelius believed that if the university had a true specialist in such devices in his place, like ?thelflorm, for example, the students’ interest in artifactology would have been incomparably greater. Who, if not a Mirdainian, knew better than anyone how inanimate objects could carry and channel magic?

  “?thelflorm has taken an interest in these hunters and would like to meet them personally, if Geta does not object.”

  “I think he’d be very much in favor,” Aurelius remarked. “That’s precisely why he wanted to meet you. I believe he said he wouldn’t have time to visit the Valley on his way back. And yes,” Aurelius chuckled, remembering how Geta had instructed him to mention this exact clause. “He wants to bring to your attention that the compass he uses is certified in the Mirdain Catalogue as authorizing your services to deal with construct hunters only on his behalf.”

  “This one is not interested in dirty tricks,” the Mirdainian frowned. “This one is simply curious to see what kind of gifted hunters they are.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I just…” Aurelius said hastily. “Geta simply said to make sure I mentioned it.”

  “Do not worry. This one knows the rules. Is that all, or did Geta want to convey something else to ?thelflorm?”

  “I suppose that’s all,” Aurelius shrugged. The meeting had ended quickly.

  Quest: The lower one descends, the higher one rises

  Status: Updated

  Objective: On behalf of your friend, you have successfully met with your contact within the construct makers’ caste and provided them with all the necessary documentation to gain favor with Mirdain’s highest circles.

  Additional Information:

  You have personally made the valuable acquaintance of a specialist in constructs and blacksmithing.

  Reward:

  +500 Mirdain reputation

  “Aurelius frowned at the quest menu. This wasn’t supposed to be his quest. “Looks like I’m already part of Geta’s plan.” He thought. The pause hang in the air.

  ?thelflorm chuckled. “Does Aurelius have any requests for this one?” he suddenly asked.

  “I... Um, I don’t think so.”

  “Is Aurelius certain? This one is asking because one of the documents indicates a request for an osteological examination. ?thelflorm just thought that since you have a problem with your lower right limb, it was your request.”

  “I... No, I guess that doesn’t concern me.”

  “Is Aurelius absolutely certain?” ?thelflorm reached for his bag with papers. “Because the request states—”

  “I think Geta needs this for some business of his own, unrelated to me,” Aurelius assured him. But he thought to himself, “What a bastard, he eventually meddled in my affairs, and behind my back. Well, if he wanted true secrecy then asking me to pass on this request was not the wisest decision. Or maybe he set it all up this way on purpose. He’s capable of it. The sly fox.”

  “You know, I just remembered, maybe this really is a request from me,” Aurelius changed his mind.

  “What exactly are you interested in? Any details this one should know?” ?thelflorm gave him a careful look.

  “I’d like my leg to stop hurting every time I step on it.”

  “So you want ?thelflorm to cure it.”

  “No.” Aurelius shook his head. “I mean, yes. I do want to cure it. In fact, I’m going to see a specialist on this matter. It’s just that in the meantime, I’d like to make it so it doesn’t hurt when I walk. The walking stick doesn’t help a lot, and I feel quite infirm with it.”

  The Mirdainian nevertheless opened his bag and, running through the documents with his fingers, pulled out the one he needed.

  “The measurements are listed here. For instance, 44 inches from the hip joint. Is that correct?”

  “Probably,” Aurelius frowned, wondering when Geta had managed to measure him.

  “I see,” ?thelflorm chuckled. “If Aurelius is not sure, this one will bring the measuring instruments to our next meeting. Besides,” he paused and continued guiltily, “Surfacers are notorious for their imprecise measurements. This one also will take all the necessary materials. And then we will start constructing.”

  “Constructing what?” Aurelius became increasingly curious about what Mirdainian technology could do to alleviate his pain.

  “External bones and joints for your leg,” the Mirdainian’s eyebrows rose at the unexpectedly naive question. “So Aurelius can walk without a cane. This one thinks we could meet in about a week. You’re travelling west, is ?thelflorm right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, in a week you might be in Shpelfinn. ?thelflorm will wait you there.”

  “That’s great!” Aurelius bowed politely, as much as the table allowed him to do so.

  Quest: Relieving Suffering

  Status: Acquired

  Objective: You met with ?thelflorm, one of the best construct manufacturers, and he agreed to make a prosthesis that will solve the problem of your leg pain, but of course will not delay the inevitable.

  Additional Information:

  To meet ?thelflorm in Shpelfinn in 7 days to take measurements.

  Reward:

  - Brand new Mirdainian exoskeleton.

  The Mirdainian smiled again, apparently about something he was thinking. “If there is anything else Aurelius wants to discuss with ?thelflorm…” he only said, putting the document in his bag and was about to stand up.

  “I think no, thank you for your time. It was a pleasure to meet you,” Aurelius was about to stand up too, but the Mirdainian stopped him with a hand gesture.

  “It is not good to strain the leg if it hurts.”

  “But I’d like to take a walk, get some fresh air.”

  “The air here is not bad either.”

  “I meant figuratively.”

  “As Aurelius wishes,” the Mirdainian shrugged. From his expression it was clear that he still did not quite understand what his interlocutor meant.

  For Aurelius, to stand up was a quest in and of itself, but he politely declined ?thelflorm’s outstretched hand. When they exited the tavern, the young mage pulled up his hood. Firstly, because it was truly too light for his taste. And secondly, as Geta had said, it was best not to show off his face of a Narmer offspring so deep in the Imperial lands; who knew, someone might recognize him. Although the chances were slim to none, it was better to be safe than sorry.

  Besides meeting with Aurelius, or rather Geta, ?thelflorm had no business in this town, so he headed straight to the portal located in the middle of the main square. Along the way, they mostly discussed Mirdain, its geography, climate, fauna, etc. Aurelius was incredibly curious to learn more about this exotic land, and in ?thelflorm, he found a rich source of information.

  Soon they reached the square where crowds of people were bustling past them. The Mirdainian’s powerful figure towered over everyone around him and naturally attracted attention. Not so much as all eyes were on him, but still. He seemed, however, completely oblivious to it.

  Bowing once more to Aurelius, ?thelflorm walked briskly straight to the city portal. Its stone arch glowed, as if someone had thrown an iridescent veil over it. The Mirdainian stepped through and disappeared. The glow vanished the next moment.

  “Ah, portals,” Aurelius sighed. A convenient and quick method of travel. Such a shame that, for certain reasons, they were unavailable to him.

  He set off at a leisurely pace on his way back to the tavern. As he walked, he pondered on his conversation with ?thelflorm, a possible solution to his leg problem, the curse that had befallen him and caused his affliction. And whether he would even be able to cure it. What if, when he met grandpa, who he placed so much hope in, he didn’t live up to it? For now, Aurelius tried to push these dark thoughts away.

  But as it had happened to him many times before, his deep musings did him no good. Combined with his topographical agnosia, this backfired. When Aurelius’s mind finally returned to reality from his thoughts, he realized he had no idea where he’d wandered and how to get out of there.

  He was in a deserted narrow alley, dimly lit because of the tall, leaning buildings. It was dirty there, rows of crates stood against the walls. Aurelius definitely hadn’t taken this route when they’d walked with ?thelflorm to the town square.

  “Hey grandpa, got lost? Need help?” A rough voice came from behind him, its intonation clearly indicating that no one was going to help Aurelius. But... Grandpa?

  Aurelius turned around. A gang of five men stood in the alley. All were grinning. They were probably delighted to have stumbled upon a defenseless hooded stooping man with a walking stick in a deserted alley, someone they could easily rob.

  The bracelet on his left wrist lit up, activating his orb into combat mode.

  “What need have I in all this squabble now?” he sighed.