As Jason finished his first month at the Bicard forge, things seemed to be looking up. With the spare money he had, he was able to purchase a few books. While his downtime was minimal, he spent most of it reading them as much as he could. He also became decent friends with many of the Smith's, as he lessened the already strenuous work they had to due. But as he tried to make friends with people his age, they quickly left him as he wasn't rich. While he did like the white city, he shortly realized it's true dark nature. Many people were killed dayly, as he had heard of many murders in his short time their. Most people valued ones pockets than personality, and the pieces for food were surprisingly higher than back home. He thought, "With such a large port, you would think that food would be very cheap." But as he spent more time down by the docks, he quickly learned of why food was so expensive. Many pirates were hijacking ship and taking their goods. Last month, they were prioritizing wealthy personal vessels. After getting defeated many times by advanced mages, they changed their aim to normal cargo vessels. But, this was something he could sadly do nothing about. One night after work, he was out looking at different shops for books. They were much cheaper her than at home, as the port brought in new shipments of paper. But as he was looking at the different shops, he realized that their prices were up 25% from lat week. They were now way out of his price range, and he didn't want to spend anymore time of the streets at this hour. But as he was able to head back, he saw a small stand in an alley. While he most certainly didn't like it's location, the man's table was covered with books. He was too enthralled with the idea of a new book, so he took his chances. As he approached the table, the man said nothing. All he did was point out the prices he had made from an old wanted poster. Jason saw that most of the books were out of his price range, so he didn't even bother looking at them. Only two of them were something he could afford, so he opened the cheapest one. What he found astounded him beyond belief. The book entailed the basics of fire magic, and images of how to use it. While he was more than estatic on finding such a gem, he quickly realized that it posed no benefit to him. So he proceeded to pick up the second one, and it detailed something he had never seen before. The first page talked about the usage of rune and crafting magic. It intrigued him more than the last book, as it was a concept he had never heard of. With hopes that he might be able to use it, he placed the money on the table and ran out of the alley. He quickly went back to his room, and began to read the secrets it held. But he quickly realized why it was so cheap. The book was written in Alstenzian and the old tounge. While most people couldn't read it, he had some knowledge of it from his mother. Even his mother didn't know much on how to write it, so what he knew was quite minimal. He could make out a lot on the first page, expect one phrase written in bold print. "This type of magic should be kept secret, as all who pronounced their apptitude shortly died or disappeared. If you can use the magics discribed in this book, tell no one of it except your apprentice."
While Jason didn't quite understand why it said apprentice, he thought that it was because you could only trust other practitioners. Two more weeks had passed, and he was beginning to be efficient enough in his work to help on actual projects. While the things he learned weren't much different than techniques that he already knew, they helped him understand the basics at a much higher level. But before he had completed two months in the capital, he got a letter from home. It talked a out how his father had become deathly ill, and how he needed to come back home. He hated having to leave his job, so he made sure to say goodbye before leaving. He told Mr.Bicard about his situation, and he said "Well you obviously have to go back home. I'm sad to loose you, as your the hardest working kid I've ever seen. Best of luck to you Jason."
He then said his goodbyes to his co-workers, and then left the forge. On his way out, he uses a decent portion of his saved money and bought a few pastries that he'd been dying to try. After eating his sugary lunch, he proceeded to walk home. The area around the city was a collection of oak trees and low bearing brush. As he walked along the main road, the stone homes faded into wood ones. Eventually, the oak trees turned into evergreens, and the smell of pollen gave way to the smell of pine. As the sun faded over the horizon, he saw his first glimpse of Lake Komic. The lake was quite close to him home, so he wasn't that far away. But the smell of pine fades into smoke and suit, as the smell of the fireplaces from the main road flooded the air. He made his way to his house, which was the largest one on the road. It wasn't much larger than any other one, but the forge connected to it made it seem much larger than it was. As he opened the front door, he was met by a swarm of children. His sister's and brothers swarmed him, asking a variety of questions. He smiled, but said "Now now. I want to go see father. Afterwards, I'll answer all of your questions."
A large sigh was said in unison, as they went back to the kitchen. He placed down his satchel on the kitchen table, and made his way upstairs to his parents room. He opened the door to see his father, but what he saw was only a shell of the man he once knew.