Considering yesterday’s raid on the town and the bad weather, the streets were bustling normally by the time she returned to the centre.
“THE SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE WILL COMMENCE AT 1400 HOURS TODAY. ALL THOSE WISHING TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO THE FALLEN, PLEASE ATTEND PROMPTLY.” The now-common sound of the mage, who made the announcements, rang out. It was only mid-morning, and SJ still had plenty of time before the service. Although she didn’t know those who had been lost, she still felt obliged to attend.
Walking along, a small gnoll child ran into SJ’s leg, nearly taking her off her feet. She looked down at the pink ribbons in her hair and tears running down her cheeks. The gnoll was sitting shaking its head after crashing into her. Kneeling down, she looked at the young gnoll.
“Are you ok?” SJ asked, concern on her face.
“No. My daddy is dead,” the girl wailed.
“You poor thing. Where is your mother?”
“I don’t have one.”
This surprised SJ, filling her heart with sorrow. “Oh dear. Who is looking after you?”
“I was collected from home last night when Dad didn’t return and taken to the orphanage.”
Reeling from the news that the town had an orphanage, SJ was lost for words for a moment in response.
“Where are you going?”
“Away.”
“Away where?”
“As far away as I can get.”
“You are too small to take care of yourself.”
The young gnoll looked at her resolutely and snapped, “I’m not too small.” She growled, showing her rather sharp teeth. She reminded SJ of a small puppy rather than the young child she was. “But how will you get food?”
“I will hunt, just like Mum and Dad used to.”
“Hunting is a good profession,” SJ replied, smiling, trying to gain rapport with the young gnoll. “I am sure you will become a great hunter one day, but you need to train and learn the profession.”
“I will train. I will learn to hunt and kill, and then when those horrible creatures return, I will kill them all.”
“Which horrible creatures?”
“The ones that attacked the town.”
“Did you see them?”
“No. But I know where they live. Dad always told me they come from the valley.”
“Have you eaten today?”
The girl looked at her for the first time in her eyes, and when she saw SJ’s kind and concerned face, she replied, “You are very pretty.”
SJ blushed, “Thank you. You are pretty also.”
The girl looked at herself, frowning. “Do you think so?”
“I do, yes. I think you will grow up to be a beautiful young lady.” SJ noticed her face relax, and the tears stopped flowing for the first time since she had run into her. “You can’t grow up alone though. You need people to help you; otherwise, you will struggle. To be a Hunter, you need to fight hoglings. I have fought hoglings, and I know how difficult they can be to kill.”
“You have hunted hoglings?”
“I have. Yes.”
“Could you teach me how?”
“I am no expert, and you are a little small still. They are not small creatures.”
“But I need to be a hunter. I need to. I need to learn how to kill.” The anger that appeared on the girl’s face was heart-wrenching. SJ’s emotions were being taken on a rollercoaster listening to her and her determination to become a hunter and seek revenge. The hobs had a lot to answer for.
“Have you eaten today?”
“No. When I woke up, I snuck out.”
“They will be worried sick wondering where you are.”
“I need to learn, though. I need to make a coin. Dad always said coin must be earned.”
“Your dad sounds as though he was a wise gnoll.”
“He was the best,” the girl replied, sniffing and a fresh tear running down her cheek.
“Would you like some food?”
The young gnoll placed her hands on her stomach, looking down where she still sat on the cobbled street.
“Come on. Let’s go and get you some food, and then we will get you back,” SJ said, offering her hand.
The gnoll looked at her hand momentarily before reaching out and taking it. SJ stood, helping her to her feet. Glancing around, she saw food stalls in the market, but she knew exactly where she would take her, turning and walking over to the inn.
The inn was quiet at this time of day, and only a few patrons sat at tables. She walked up to the bar with the gnoll and stared around the inn. It was obvious she had never been there before. Kerys was polishing glasses behind the bar and saw SJ looking over and seeing the young gnoll.
“Who do we have here then?” she asked, smiling.
“She ran into me in the street, and I said I would get her some food. Is there any breakfast left?”
“I can check,” Kerys replied, smiling.
SJ led the gnoll to a table in the corner of the inn and sat her down, “I will be back in a minute,” she said, smiling sweetly at her.
She didn’t respond, and SJ turned quickly, heading back to the bar.
“Who is she?” Kerys asked as she approached.
“No idea. She is from the orphanage; her dad was killed yesterday, apparently, and she has no mother.”
“Oh dear. That must be little Cristy. Dawkins’ daughter. He was one of the town’s best hunters. Bordon killed him yesterday during the raid. He tried to protect the mayor when he got knocked down.”
SJ remembered the name being mentioned last night. The comments had been that he had fought bravely but was no match for the power of the ogre.
“I am going to feed her and then take her back,” SJ said.
“We still have breakfast leftovers; I will get Floretta to plate some up.”
“How much?”
“Nothing, it’s on me,” Kerys smiled.
SJ walked back over and sat with Cristy. “I am SJ, by the way. What is your name?”
“Cristy,” she replied.
“Nice to meet you, Cristy. That is a pretty name.” confirming that she was Dawkins’ daughter.
Cristy made the faintest smile at the compliment.
It didn’t take long for Kerys to walk over with a child-sized portion of a full breakfast. It even had mushrooms, which, since being added, made it even more wholesome. Then returned a moment later with a large glass of fresh milk.
“Coffee?” Kerys asked.
“I may as well while Cristy eats,” SJ replied.
Cristy was not hanging around and wolfed the breakfast down and polished off the glass of milk in quick order. SJ hadn’t even drunk half of a cup before she was finished. The young gnoll released a small burp and covered her mouth in embarrassment. SJ chuckled at her.
“Sorry,” she replied.
“No need to apologise. In some places, it is polite to burp after a meal.”
“Is it? My dad always said it was bad manners.”
“Oh. If that’s the case, then maybe I am wrong,” SJ replied, not wanting to tarnish the vision she had of her father.
“Shall we go back to the orphanage?”
“I will be all alone there.”
“I am sure you can make friends there, and I promise I will come and visit you as well.”
“Will you? Will you also teach me how to hunt?”
“I may in time, but for now, you need to grow stronger by exercising regularly and learning.”
“Learning?”
“Yes. Learning, getting educated.”
“What’s educated?”
“Reading, writing, maths. Learn what you can and become intelligent and strong all at the same time.”
“Do you think I can?”
“I do, yes. I think you can do whatever you put your mind to in time. It may not always be easy, and at times you may struggle, but the more you can do, the better you will become.”
Cristy smiled at SJ. Taking SJ by surprise, she hugged her.
“Thank you,” Cristy said, squeezing her tightly.
SJ hugged her back and held her tight for a few moments, her heart almost breaking at the courage and bravery of the young gnoll.
“That has to be one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen in a long time,” Dave said in a caring tone.
After asking Kerys for directions to the orphanage, SJ escorted Cristy back. The grandmotherly dwarf who ran the orphanage had been worried sick, finding that Cristy had gone missing, and had even informed the town guard to look out for her. SJ explained to her what she had said and said she had promised to come and visit. The dwarf named Madeline had promised to take special care of her. SJ had asked about education, and Madeline had told her that they were taught the basics once they were old enough, but they were restricted by what they could do at the orphanage.
Reminding SJ of the social care system in the UK and their hands being tied usually due to lack of finances, SJ offered to pay for her to get an education. Madeline had informed her that hiring one of the local scribes would require a monthly fee once she had learned the basics. It cost 40 coppers a term, which the orphanage couldn’t afford, and SJ didn’t hesitate to take out 2 silver 40 coppers to pay for her first year.
It wasn’t even midday when SJ left the orphanage, promising Cristy she would come and see her in a couple of days.
“What you have done today has, above all other actions, made me the proudest to be your administrator,” Dave said as SJ walked off, continuing her original journey to find Fizzlewick.
SJ could feel the heat in her cheeks from the compliment. “Thanks,” SJ replied, feeling thoroughly embarrassed.
“In all my years, that has been one of the most genuine interactions I have witnessed. I only say what I see.”
“Enough, please, Dave. I didn’t do it for compliments. Then again, since it is a compliment from you, maybe I should be grateful and take it while I can.” SJ said, grinning.
“I agree you should. Aye, hang on, that’s not fair. I do compliment you.”
“Do you?”
“I gave you a 9/10. That was a compliment.”
“Which you then changed to a seven if I remember rightly.”
Silence.
“Dave?”
“Yes,” he replied, grumbling.
“Thank you. It is appreciated.”
“My pleasure,” he replied in a gentle tone.
Reaching the Tailor’s shop, SJ was delighted to see that it didn’t have the usual closed sign she had gotten used to seeing. Opening the door, the bell tinkled, and walking in, the front of the shop was empty, with no sign of Fizzlewick’s quarterling form.
“Fizzlewick?” SJ called. Walking towards the counter.
Hearing movement in the back room, she waited patiently until the beads moved. It was funny knowing that the wizened old quarterling who wandered through was, in fact, a god.
“SJ,” Fizzlewick replied, a smile breaking the wizened face. With a flourish of his hand, the shutters closed, and the front door locked. Fizzlewick transformed before her.
“Hi, Fizzlewick.” She said excitedly. Finally, she would be able to progress in her Tailoring skills.
“I see you are now apprentice level 3. I am guessing you need more recipes?”
“I do, yes. I also have some questions.”
“Indeed, I bet you do,” he replied, chuckling. “Bob was very complimentary of you.”
“So, you did go and see him.”
“Yes. We had a long old chat. It has been a century or more since we last had a chance to catch up properly.”
The periods still amazed SJ. She still hadn’t even been in Amathera for a month, and it already felt like she had done so much. Considering what she might have done in a century made her head hurt.
“Did Bob tell you what he gave me?”
“He did, and I am glad you are still alive. It was very risky for him, although I had to take his judgement on that even as a god, I was not fully aware of how the symbiosis works with dragons. You are both very fortunate and must have done something to impress Bob. He has had the opportunity over his life to have chosen a bond before, and after meeting you for the first time, he decided to share his most precious gift.”
“He mentioned that he could see why you had asked him to come down here.”
“He needed a holiday. After all, he is the ruler of the Northern Ice Regions and doesn’t get away very often. It was about time his daughter stepped up and took some responsibility. I just hope she didn’t cause too many problems while he was away. For a Blue dragon, she does have rather a temper.”
Trying to comprehend the family dynamics of a dragon was not something SJ was quite ready to consider.
“Ruler, you say?”
“Yes. Bob oversees the Northern territories. The Ice Mountains, in particular. They are in constant conflict with the Ice Giants and Elementals that live there. It has been an ongoing feud for over five centuries.”
SJ had images of huge Ice Giants and dragons duking it out. She bet it would be a sight to behold.
“I need the Cloth Gloves recipe. I also had loads of the Woollen recipes become available.”
“Yes, yes. That’s normal practice. Let’s go downstairs, and we can start sorting you out.”
Once they were in the cellar, sitting in the luxurious chairs that Fizzlewick had made appear, he presented various recipes. SJ had fourteen woollen recipes she could learn for various clothing items and cloth gloves.
“How much do these all cost?”
“All woollen recipes are a copper each. Cloth starts at ten coppers but increases in price depending upon the item.”
SJ counted out 24 coppers and handed them to Fizzlewick. He took them, making them disappear. Picking up the cloth recipe, SJ opened it and began to read what she would require. The needles were not a problem as they were in her tailoring set. She did need to purchase thread and buttons, though. Looking at the design, they looked like standard gloves with a small button and loop that could be fastened at the wrist to help them stay on.
“Can I get all the extra materials I need please?”
“Of course. Here you go.” With a flourish of his hand, the required items all appeared on the table. Three more coppers for the lot.”
Paying Fizzlewick the coppers, SJ picked the items up and added them to her inventory. Looking at the recipes, she began to add them to her inventory. Every recipe took up an individual slot, meaning she would need to carry some of them with the other items she was still carrying. They did fit into the Tailoring slots in her inventory, but fifteen recipes plus the three slots for the buttons and different threads and the items she was still carrying as standard meant it was again already full.
“I really need to get a larger inventory. These recipes take up so much room for being a roll of parchment,” SJ said.
“Recipes can be combined into one slot,” Dave interjected.
“How?” SJ said.
Fizzlewick smiled, looking at SJ, knowing she was replying to Dave. It was nice being able to talk openly to Dave in the presence of the god.
“In the tailoring inventory slots, you have various settings, one called a bookcase. Do you see the three dots?”
SJ looked at her display, saw the dots, and selected them. She found the option to turn a specific slot into a bookcase. She selected her first tailoring slot and chose the option. She then noticed a sort button. Selecting it, her vision flashed as the recipes all got moved around, and in place of the single recipe in the first slot, there was now the image of a book. Selecting it, a sub-window appeared listing all the recipes. Selecting one, the recipe appeared in her hand.
“That is amazingly useful.” SJ smiled, happy at the new information.
“It appears your friend is very supportive,” Fizzlewick said.
“He is.”
“Aww shucks, you will embarrass me,” Dave said.
Laughing at Dave’s comment, SJ felt relief for the first time since yesterday’s raid. It was amazing how the small things brought happiness.
“Is there a way to learn tailoring techniques that I may need in the future?” SJ asked.
Fizzlewick narrowed his eyes slightly at her question.
“You mean advanced techniques?” Fizzlewick asked.
“Not necessarily advanced. I mean, currently, I have only made the woollen socks, and I had to learn the knitting method required in Amathera from the recipe. Is there something that shows you all the various techniques you can practice before they become part of a recipe? I suppose like an instruction manual of knitting or sewing or whatever all the other requirements are.”
“Manuals are held in the libraries of some cities. They are not normally mentioned as the recipes have details for each design.”
“I understand, that it would just be nice to practice some of the other techniques before I potentially have to use them on a recipe, making it easier when I do.”
“That is a very diligent approach. The Tailoring Guild would be very happy with someone with your thought process. The problem you have with that is that without a recipe to follow, what would you do?”
SJ remembered her days in school when, as part of her design technology and art lessons, she had spent several lessons just performing various stitches in nice, neat rows on cards to showcase her skills. She hadn’t taken it for one of her education choices, never thinking she would need the knowledge she had started learning again. Thinking about the various things she had learned during her relatively short time on Earth, she thought that many of those she had given up would have been much more useful than she gave them credit for.
Being one of the technology age and e-commerce where everything was only one click away on a screen, she never had to consider the manufacturing or time needed to become proficient in many of her lost or misplaced opportunities. Another example would have been cooking. She had cooked back on Earth, but most of her life she had spent eating out.
“I can just practice the different stitches; I don’t need to have something to make to sew.”
“You are correct, you don’t,” Fizzlewick smiled. Shortly after he had waved his hand, a rolled piece of cloth appeared on the table. “Please,” he indicated.
SJ picked the piece of cloth up and slowly unrolled it. It was the size of a hand towel, and in neat little rows on the clothes surface were many different stitches and approaches. Each one had a small neatly sewn label above it.
“This is exactly what I meant,” SJ said. “I can create something similar and practice each of the styles.”
“You can indeed. Would you like to keep that as a reference?”
“Are you sure? It is pristine.”
“Ha. I hope so. I am a god and a Grand Master, after all.” Flicking his hands, he produced a new piece of plain cloth with a golden needle and thread.
“What is that thread?” SJ asked in amazement.
“Oh. This is nothing special, really. It’s just imbued to prevent knotting.”
SJ watched in amazement as Fizzlewick began to sew quickly and precisely the first of the various techniques completed in no time. “See, making a new one doesn’t take long.”
“I think it would take me a very long time.”
“If you keep training, you will become proficient. One day, you may even become Grand Master.”
“I hope to. I have a long way to go; those woollen socks took so long.”
The whole time Fizzlewick was talking, he continued to sew with an unnerving speed and precision.
“Can I ask about Bob?”
“What did you want to know?”
“Why was he here? He said it may be because of me.”
“You would be right. It was because of you,” replied Fizzlewick matter-of-factly.
“Why would he be here because of me?”
“I asked him to come and see me, and you just happened to visit him.” Fizzlewick smiled.
“Was the event because of you?”
“I can’t give away the secrets of the gods,” he replied, winking.
“Why would you do that?”
“I have already told you. We, gods, are very excited about you and your potential not being held to the terms and conditions. Bob is one of the strongest and most respected across the continents. He is also one of the few dragons with the gods’ respect. He has brought relative peace to the North since he took over his reign, and if there is one person for you to know in your long journey ahead, it would be one of such high standing.”
“I am so new and such a low level. What could I possibly bring to aid?”
“Nothing as yet, but in time, those who align with you will, I believe, see the benefits.”
“What benefits?” SJ asked, feeling daunted and confused.
“I cannot say at this time.”
“Why not at this time? Isn’t it right that I should know if it’s something about me?”
“Unfortunately, no. As you grow and become stronger, you will realise that what we started in this town called Killic may eventually lead to great things for this continent and even Amathera as a whole.”
The thought of her having an everlasting impact on Amathera filled her with dread, fear, trepidation, and excitement in equal amounts. Could she really have the impact that Fizzlewick believed could happen? The waiver was one thing, but what could she do as a single person to affect the workings of a whole world, and in what way?
She sat in silence, watching Fizzlewick sew, his hands in a blur. After what seemed like no time, he held the cloth up before him, smiling. “There we go.”
Checking her display, SJ noticed that there was only an hour until the service would start at the church. “I better go. I want to make sure I get to the service on time.”
“Of course. I understand.” Fizzlewick said, nodding his head.
SJ stood to leave when a question entered her mind. “Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Please do.”
“Were you here yesterday?”
“No. I returned this morning. Why?”
“I wondered if you could help defend the town or not?”
“Unfortunately, no. If I did, that would be considered interference, and we would come under the System’s scrutiny. The gods exist with the freedom they have because we must follow certain rules, one of which is that we may not directly join any combat situation.”
“That is a shame.”
“If I had, the chances are another god would do the same for the hobs, and then it just gets overly political. The last time it happened, which is why the System amended its laws, it led to one of the worst wars this continent has ever seen.”
“What was that?”
“The Scrug wars. I may tell you about it one day. It was a dark time. Anyway, you better go if you aren’t going to be late. I almost forgot, nice choker.” He casually added, winking.
SJ smiled nervously, knowing he knew exactly what it was, “Thanks, and I will be back soon.” SJ left and began the solemn walk to the church.
