Asdras and Brian made it out to the merchant guild's branch shop in Baurous.
Technically, Asdras made it, and Brian stood outside. Both his feet were over the threshold as he gasped about the intricate letters on the letterboard: "Newest Edition of the North: Poems to Catch a Lady's Heart, Volume II.".
"This!"
Brian slipped his finger into the letterboard as if he were a maestro in an orchestra, reading and touching the letters in an attempt to picture the content.
Then he heard his friend's voice and went quiet, muttering gibberish that forced Asdras to stretch his ear near him, only to halt in wonder when Brian turned to him, fingers pointed in his direction, his body warming up until he spoke.
"I need this!"
Asdras, open-mounted, followed him. He knew his friend sometimes lost himself when the subject was about the opposite sex. At first, he thought it was all a prank, but as he got to know Brian better, it turned out to be something else.
Clean and empty. It was the scene that met the boy's eyes as they walked in. Within the small room made of polished lumber with a red carpet, the only piece of decoration was a balcony. Flowerpots and frames made an attempt to break off the monotony, but the dim lights in the corner hide it so well that at first glance, the shadow-like objects looked more like a glitch than garnishment.
"Whatt'a hell is this?!" Brian pointed to each spot he could. "Items? The books? Where?"
Asdras shrugged and tapped Brian's shoulder as he spoke: "Maybe everything was sold."
"No! No! No!"
Brian's dream was to become an adventurer, and true to his world and meaning, an adventurer had to get three things: monsters to slay, ladies to chase, and money to spend. So, pondering about the second point, and in a showcase of his will, he dashed towards the balcony, seeking the seller.
"Can I help, ya?"
"Hey, said something?"
"Hell no, bro!"
Asdras, imagining his friend was losing his mind, tried to get something out of the room. Flashing his eyes on the balcony, he felt curious as his steps led him closer. Peeking his head over, he saw hair.
At first, he thought it was a pet. A cat, maybe a dog. But the more he saw, the more it started to become apparent that it was something else.
"Excuse me?" A horse grunt grabbed their focus.
Brian took an impulse and peered behind the table, only to jump back as fast as it took him to glimpse a shadow jumping over the balcony.
A man in his late forties, taller than a child, nonetheless smaller than an adult. Hair so curly that it felt like fake, but a beard so well done that demanded their respect. Dressed in a green leather cloak that covered his full body, he burned his eyes at the boys.
"Ain't a bit too rude, ya?"
The man remarked, seated in lotus pose while staring daggers at them. Brian studied him with curiosity, while Asdras thought he knew the reasons behind the dim light, as the man's face became rugged and sharp as much as the shadows obscured his sides.
"Who?"
"And so I thought I was hearing things."
"Ain't a tad too young to be a lunatic, ya?" He pointed to Asdras, then to Brian as he grinned. "Who you!?"
"Me?" Brian pointed at himself. "Your best customer! A poet!"
Asdras tried but failed to hide his face while chuckling left and right. The thought about his friend entering the shop so focused and hopeful of getting the book, only to find an empty room and a man smaller than him, made him think it was divine intervention to help fix Brian.
"A lunatic, and a poet?" The man scoffed, nearly breaking his lotus pose. "Really now?!"
The shopper delved into his pocket for his tobacco. In his mind, the day started in the wrong way, and the only way he knew he could fix it was by using the smoke. And, as he started his fire, Asdras purred over Brian's flame a bucket of water to stop him from hushing over the man.
"Hey, relax; let me handle it."
"So?" The man asked while the first fillets of gray smoke began to spread around.
Asdras stood to his full height and grinned, but the acrid smell made him cough hard. In that moment, he looked less like a smart young man and more like an old man whose only solace was the constant coughs and spasms.
"A man from the guild gave me something; he told me to deliver it to you, sir."
"Ain't no frail old man, no sir, ya. Call me Yoozi," he inhaled deeply, then released a stream of smoke in Brian's direction. "Show me, yo."
Asdras bent his body while struggling with the smell. He felt obliged to find the envelope as fast as he could, only to hear his friend sharing the battlefield.
"Here."
The shopper took his time to check if the emblem of the letter was real or fake. No merchant worth his salt would spend or lose his goods for lack of attention. Believing it was real, he took a look at the names in the destination field.
"Ain't it Asdras, ya?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Ain't it Brian, then?"
"Curses, old man, please stop this smoke," Brian replied as he tried to find a bit of fresh air within the room.
Yoozi nodded, then gave the letter a good read. It was a short letter, but the more he read, the more he smiled.
"Yo net some goods, ya?! It states that only if ya delivered an item to that bald man of the academy, yo would receive it all."
"Bald man of the academy?"
"Ain't no know, ya? The headmaster, Stencil."
"Wait, wait! Ain't from the academy. I'll be in the military. What about me?"
"Ain't be a bit angry, young poet," Yoozi got another look at the letter. "It's bad for your health, ya' now. And, ain't ya received the pills?"
"Pills?!"
Brian searched his pocket as if he were dusting it off, then he flashed the flask. "This? Only this?!" He said, neither attempting to hide his sarcasm or his crescent disappointment.
"Good stuff!" Yoozi mused as he eyed the flask. "No rush, boy. Here, read it yourself."
"I can't, not with this damned smoke!" Brian then handed the letter to Asdras. "Please, tell me he is wrong."
"It reads." Asdras took as little air as he could, then spoke. "By the by, to my two youngin' nobles, I, this blessed rounded fella, reward with. For the calm boy, two gold coins and one set of ranked light armor. Only on the condition that he delivers something for Stencil in the North's Academy. And, for the energetic boy, besides the pills, the freedom to choose one item valued under two gold coins. Signed under the name of the blessed house from the west, Cinnamon Casket."
Brian almost made the mistake of breathing heavily in relief, but he held on and asked eagerly. "The book. I want the book. Do you have the book?!"
"Ain't thinking I'm a fortune teller or what? Which book?!"
"Poems to Catch a Lady's Heart, Volume II," Brian's demeanor took a turn that made him immune from the tobacco. "The book that will change my life! Written by the mysterious author. No one knows his name, but every proud man in the North must hear and talk about him! Please tell me you have one."
As Yoozi leaned against the balcony, puffing on his tobacco with a frown etched deep into his brow, he ruminated over his recent decision to advertise the mysterious book.
Just then, on the very edge of the balcony, a book appeared as if summoned by magic, framed by the faint, shimmering outline of a white, glowing rectangle. It materialized into the void, then it moved to his hand. He checked it over to make sure it was the book, then extended it to Brian.
Brian, oblivious to the scene, took the book and started to smell and touch while murmuring words that only he knew the meaning of.
Asdras, on the other hand, gasped at what happened. For him, a few things mattered, and one of them was what he saw. "What was that?"
"Ain't boy never saw it?" Yoozi shrugged, avoiding explanation, as he hoped to be left alone. "Bank?"
"Excuse me, bank?"
"Ain't wishing to have your gold and armor in the bank, ya?" Yoozi gave him an annoyed look.
"I don't have an account yet," Asdras sighed.
"Whatever, ya, tell me, boy. Can I trust you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, then," Yoozi said, touching the balcony, and both the two dark yellow coins and the armor set materialized together with a dark flask with an unknown liquid. "Take it. Don't forget to fulfill the condition; I'm betting my salt money on ya."
Asdras carefully pocked the money and the flask while eyeing every detail of the armor. It weighed more than he thought. He wasn't strange to rank items since Joe made sure to teach them the basics of the world. But knowing and touching were one world apart.
*"Smooth",* he felt, but as he tried to pierce with his nail, he almost made his finger shape it an 'U'. It was devoid of anything fancy, tinted in a dark brown color; nonetheless, it was his, and that made it more special than anything else.
"Yes, sir, I'll do it."
"Good. Anything else, ya?"
Asdras looked over his friend and sighed in relief as Brian acted more normal. He then remembered Raffin's advice.
"How much is for two Monster Encyclopedias of the North, Volume 1, and two black clocks with a decent amount of pockets?"
"One gold and te-, no, fifty silver coins."
"Good."
Asdras and Brian finished gathering their goods. They exchanged a satisfied glance as they steeped out into the fresh air. And by the time they pushed through the Rine's Heart doors, the sun was peering up above the city.
They found themselves settled into their seats at the inn's table. Asdras, with his newfound light amor set, and Brian, both donning their new cloaks, raised their cups in a silent toast. In that moment, it was special for them because tomorrow would mark a new start in their lives.
"Ready, mate?"
"I'm. I just hope nothing went wrong."
"Don't jinx, bro! Let's make it legendary!"
"Don't die; otherwise, I'll hunt you in whatever afterlife there is."
"Puff! I'll never. We will become adventurers. The world is our home now, mate!"
"Then let's become legends!"