To Beeble

“How far to that human town?” I asked.

“Beeble? Not too long, a couple of hours on foot.” Amelie replied.

“Sounds like a good place to start. Every adventure story worth a damn has humble beginnings.”

We walked for some time, but it seemed to go by fairly quickly. I was absorbed in the natural beauty of the world around me and there was no soreness in my legs or feet, likely thanks to the amulet around my neck and my new athletic build.

At a certain point in the trek, Amelie began speaking. “You seem to be enjoying the scenery.”

“It’s gorgeous.” I replied as I watched the leaves on the trees to the south rustle in the cool breeze. The skies were blue with a scattering of fluffy white clouds. There was a scent of grass in the air and I could hear the sounds of birds chirping in the distance.

“All of that stuff you’re experiencing, hold on to it.” Amelie said. “Every single thing in Seradyne has magic in it. More specifically, an energy called ‘mana’. When you feel a connection to the natural world here, your mana is connecting with its mana.”

Now that she mentioned it, I did feel oddly connected to it all. Like we all shared a single commonality. Not just the plants and birds, but even the wind and earth beneath my feet.

“Focus on that connection. Magic uses mana as its fuel to do extraordinary things. Feeling the connection to the mana of the world around you is the first step in learning now to control it so you can cast spells.”

“Got it.” I said and let myself get even more focused as we walked along. I listened more closely, drew in scents more deeply, and even lowered my gaze to the cobble road to allow my other senses to become magnified and amplified. The resulting connection was so strong, I could almost feel the wind as the trees might have when it blew through their leaves. I felt the love in the songs of the birds as they called out to potential mates. I could feel the chill of the peaks of the northern mountains. I could feel the world breathing and its heart beating to the same rhythm. All of it was like clockwork, everything moving exactly how it should have. My feelings had become tuned to the macrocosm of this reality. I began to understand perfectly how the Studio worked, this was all just math, in the end. Everything was the result of a single chain reaction, the Studio simply needed to change the formula, or introduce a new one.

As an experiment, I tried to zoom in my focus from the grand scheme of things down into my immediate area. It took some effort, but I managed to refine my focus down. Solar system, planet, continent, kingdom, then it stopped suddenly. I was laser-focused on the woods to the south. I felt a ripple in the mana of the forest, a virtual shockwave of sorrow that hit me in a wave.

Please, help…

“Hail travelers!”

A nasally voice snapped my thoughts back to reality. I blinked and looked around. I was still on the road, but I had apparently made significant progress. In front of me was a modest but tall stone wall and a man suited in chainmail with a spear standing in an archway leading within. I did not recall this wall being there just a moment ago.

“Good day.” I replied, perhaps a bit too late and a bit too distractedly.

“Welcome to Beeble.” The man, obviously a guard, smiled at our approach. “What brings you to our humble town?”

Taking a moment to remember the backstory for this character I had more or less made up along the way, I replied. “We’re on something of a pilgrimage. I am Alex Winter and this is my mentor, Amelie Willowbell. We come from Vallace in search of adventure.”

“Ah, well we’re always happy to see new faces, especially adventurers. They’re a rare breed these days.” The guard said. “If you’re looking to hang up your cloaks and give your feet a rest, I should recommend the Lunar Lady just down this road. It has good ale, good food, and especially good wine. Comfortable beds too if you’re planning on staying for the eve.”

“Thank you.” I nodded gratefully. “Say, as a guard of this town I suspect you have your ear pretty close to the ground.”

The guard looked a little surprised but smiled. “I’ve never heard it put that way before, but I like it. And more importantly it is true, I hear lots of things come from these folk.”

“Hear any interesting rumors lately?” I asked.

The guard laughed. “You adventuring sorts, always looking for trouble. I suppose I can spare a few things I’ve heard.

“But all I’ve got that adventurers might be interested in is about the old fort about an hour north of here. Way back during times of war, before humans started even showing up in Elwindale, the elves built a fort up there called Felae Routh during its struggles with Arkendale. It was one of the last lines of defense to Verium. We used to maintain the fort, but times have been tough, and we simply don’t have the manpower or the funds to do so anymore.

“Anyway, the people have been saying a dragon lives up there now and has even been building a small hoard of treasure. Ordinarily I would be skeptical of that, but anyone who has gone up there to investigate hasn’t returned. If it isn’t a dragon, it’s certainly something dangerous.”

A classic adventure hook, a dragon holed up somewhere nearby. Even if the rumor wasn’t true, it was bound to be something exciting.

“A few folks have been talking about the elven commune to the south as well. Most of those places are run by druids, old elven spellcasters, who act as spiritual leaders to the whole commune. Well some people around here are claiming that a druid isn’t in charge of this commune, and it’s actually a fey creature.

“It certainly sounds like common tavern rubbish, but a lass by the name of Yanna swears that she actually saw the thing, and she isn’t the sort to tell tales. Of course, nobody can confirm it anyway since it’s customarily forbidden for outsiders to lay eyes on the druid of an elven commune unless invited to. Of course, that makes me wonder how Yanna managed to spy the thing in the first place.”

That was interesting. It may do well to have a chat with the woman.

“The only other rumor I’ve heard is that the owner of the Lunar Lady is a witch who has been enchanting her ale and wine so the customers enjoy it more. I’m not sure I believe this one, I can’t see any reason a caster would go to such lengths to hide what they are in these parts. We could use something like that in Beeble. And more importantly, the one who started the rumor is the son of the previous owner. Knowing him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was just jealous of the elf, since his father chose her to run the place instead of him.”

I nodded, taking it into consideration. This was getting more fun by the minute. A dragon in an old fort, a fey creature running an elven commune, and a tavern-owner who might be a witch. If every town in this world was like this I could definitely enjoy coming here. The best part was I wasn’t even stuck here, I could just go back to my reality when I got bored, not that I thought I would.

“Well that’s all I have. I’ll leave you be, stay safe.” The guard nodded to us and marched back into the town with spear in hand.

“Well that’s cool.” I said to Amelie. “Which of the rumors were true?”

“Oh, you want me to spoil it?” Amelie asked. “I thought you would have wanted to find out on your own.”

She brought up a good point. “Fair enough, it is more exciting that way. I suppose I’d just rather not go chasing after rumors that don’t go anywhere.”

Amelie nodded. “Then all I will say that one of the rumors is true, and one of them is sorta half-true, and the remaining one is false; but following any one of them will lead to something interesting.”

“Got it.” I nodded and walked into the town of Beeble past its gates. It looked exactly like a classic medieval town. Most of the buildings were made of wood panels with cobblestone foundations with roofs of straw, but occasionally a wooden roof could be seen among them. The main street that seemed to bisect the town was a flagstone road, and I noted several smaller flagstone paths branching outward from it as I made my way through.

The town center hosted a large statue carved from stone of an elven woman clad in revealing robes, and there were at least a dozen people wandering around and going about their business. I got the impression that it was sometime in the afternoon, based on the position of the sun, so it was probably a busy part of the day. I very quickly caught sight of a sign that read “the Lunar Lady” attached to one of the buildings surrounding the square.

“There’s the tavern the guard told us about.” I pointed out the place to my companion. The sign also hosted the image of an elven woman who looked similar to the statue.

“Yup. Should we go in there first?” Amelie asked.

It was a good question; I hadn’t really decided my overall plan yet. Which rumor was I going to chase after first? If I wanted to check out the dragon in the fort, getting the word from some people in the tavern might be a good idea. It would also be the ideal destination if I wanted to see if the tavern’s owner was a witch. Though if I wanted to learn more about the elven commune’s leader, searching for this “Yanna” person would be the best bet.