Reeve turned and saw a little girl, about 8 years of age. She looked quite pale, and she had blonde hair.
"Good morning, what is your name?" asked Reeve.
"Alice", replied the little girl.
"That's a nice name. Is there anything I can do for you, Alice?"
"The grand priest was looking for you, Sir tribe protector", replied Alice.
"Really? Where is he?"
"He's at your house."
"Okay, Alice, thank you."
The little girl's cheeks turned rosy, as she turned to leave. Reeve didn't even notice this; he was now engrossed in his daydream again. He was trying to think of questions to bombard the old geezer with. Of course, this was beside the other questions he had already set aside.
He walked towards his house, and within a few minutes, he entered the small wooden hut. Inside the house, Karim was the only one present. As Reeve entered, he hurriedly stood up and offered him a seat.
"You said you had questions, oh messenger of the deities", he began.
"Start by explaining to me how your tribe survives", started Reeve, with a frightening expression.
"Well, our tribe mines copper and iron ore from the rock mountain. We also mine emerald crystals and everything we mine, we sell to the surrounding tribes. That's where we get the money we use to pay taxes to the government", replied Karim.
"Now, why did you give the chief's daughter to me as tribute?"
Karim was confused, and in that confusion was a slight shade of fear. He was confused because he thought Reeve would have enjoyed himself without asking so many questions. Most normal people would have just taken the girl as wife, and not asked anything more. The fear came from his speculation that Eskaria might have done something to piss off the messenger of the gods. He didn't want to end up like Azera, and another thing was, he wanted his tribe to be protected.
Karim sighed before replying, "She's also my granddaughter. Actually, the truth is, eighteen years ago, I was being chased by some mercenaries. During my flight, I stumbled upon some ruins. The ruins were still smoldering, meaning that a village had just been destroyed."
He paused, before continuing, "As I was running, I saw a basket and, in this basket, there was a baby. There was a small note with her name on it. I took her and the moment I did, I lost the mercenaries. I managed to somehow escape from the ruins. I prayed to the gods, and promised to take care of the child. I gave her to my son, who was having problems bearing a child of his own. When the Southern Water tribe started bullying us, we decided to summon you. The thing is, I didn't expect it to work at all. In order to make the summoning work, I had to give the gods tribute worth their while."
Karim paused to look at Reeve, who remained serious. Inside his mind though, he was shocked by everything he had heard. It sounded like some tragic adoption story you only watched in those western dramas.
"So, you decided to give her to be a servant of the gods, if they answered your prayers?" asked Reeve.
Even though it was a rhetorical question, Karim still answered, "Yes, oh messenger of the deities. It was also her decision to make, and she agreed to it."
"You're all twisted; sick in the head and mad in the stomach!" mumbled Reeve.
"Can you ask louder, oh messenger of the deities?"
"Never mind! Anyway, how do I learn magic? You people just summoned me without knowledge of magic!" replied Reeve.
"Umm, I'm afraid I can't teach you magic, oh messenger of the gods. I only know two spells, and only those who have an affinity to earth magic can learn them. Currently, our tribe does not have the tool for testing magic affinity, and it can only be purchased in the capital", Karim paused.
He continued, "For a considerable amount of gold, you can learn magic from the only prestigious school of magic, Artemine Elemental College, which is located in the capital. All I know is that there are only four types of magic, each being based on a natural element. The four types of magic are, Wind magic, Earth magic, Fire magic and Water magic. The shamans from the Southern Water tribe use Water magic, so they can use spells based on the water element."
"Hold on, you said that you do not have a tool for testing magic affinity, how then did you know your apprentices have an affinity for Earth magic?" asked Reeve.
"Umm about that… when they were young, they showed signs of magic. The first time someone shows signs of magic affinity, it's called an Awakening. These signs show up differently in different people. For example, there's a child who could lift a rock twice his age. Another could make stones levitate without being conscious of it, and so on."
"Is that so? And at what age does this Awakening happen?"
"Again, it happens at different times for different people. However, most of the people who have awakened in the tribe were mostly children."
"I see", replied Reeve, with a sigh. He continued, "What do you know about the Ancients?"
"I do not know anything, oh messenger of the deities", replied Karim.
"Oh? Okay. Tell me, what are the white specks of colored light that flow around from the forest?"
"I do not know, oh messenger of the deities. I have never seen them", replied Karim. Reeve could tell he was being sincere.
"How do I gather the foundation stones?"
"Umm, you should be careful about those, oh messenger of the deities. Disaster befalls anyone who gets involved in the gods' quests. I know you're immortal, oh messenger of the gods, but in this country, foundation stones are something that should not be mentioned so casually. Before we came here, a rumor spread around that our tribe had a foundation stone. We do not know how the Three Kingdoms Alliance came to know of it. However, after invading our country, they searched everywhere. Since we had already fled to this country, they failed to find it. Therefore, you should be careful about where you mention the stones", as Karim said this, there was a deep sign of melancholy hidden in his voice.