It has been a single day, and I already cannot STAND her. Lily Miller, I mentioned her a little while ago.. But I left out a crucial detail. She almost seems to exist JUST to irritate the people around her, and somehow there's always one or two people nearby who take her side. And considering how imbalanced this realm of literal superhumans is, those one or two people could potentially beat the ever-loving shit out of me without even breaking a sweat. Maybe I just lack her sense of humour, but by tying one of my feet down with her dumbass restraint ability and watching me trip over SEVEN. TIMES. In ONE. TRIP. becomes pretty goddamn annoying.
Ah, wait. I went on a bit of a tangent there.. let me catch you up. Like I said I would, I left the cabin and started to make my own way, the goal being some form of civilisation.. Cam had mentioned a great mountain lined with stone walls, and so I assumed that'd be a place to start. It was a bold assumption at first, but Athena told me that it's a city filled with distant descendants of half-giant people and distant descendants of half-dragons. I know. It's insane. Right? Nevertheless, the important thing was that I'd be safe to enter. The city is apparently "split in half" between these two races, as they have totally different lifestyles. The Giantkin, that's their name, are pretty general in their behaviour. They focus on manual-labour type work and stick close enough to their roots, not being massive fans of complex technology. They didn't outright hate it though. The Dragonkin were almost the opposite. They were very elitist, focusing on their "bloodline purity" (essentially, that's the amount of 'dragon' they have within them. Having a pure bloodline makes them look like tougher, winged lizardmen, the finer details depending on the particular dragon the descend from. Those with an impure bloodline resemble humans, with dragon-like features.). If you had an impure bloodline, life was inherently harder. And vice-versa. They're clever and their physicality depends on their particular bloodline.. Essentially, they're dicks and very complicated. So I aimed to go to the Giantkin side, and try my luck.
Honestly, I've only been here for half a day or so, but I must say aside from the occasional jokes about us each being tiny and weak, the Giantkin are pretty nice people. They aren't massive fans of magic, and all the complex stuff in life like technology and politics, leading to a pretty simple and stable community of manual labourers. I can respect that. Now, I suppose I ought to clarify on who Lily is, and why I'm now with her. It started when I nearly got arrested for illegally entering the city, which I'd just like to point out was not on purpose.
Apparently I have the perfect stature for stealth. And just as I was being dragged away..
"Hey, hey Hovan. You're pretty influential, right? Mind helping out ol' Zeke over there?"
"Huh? Alright.. You know him or somethin'?"
"Yeah. Kinda. The scary guy I told you about, he randomly grabbed him before we left."
"Ahh.. Off ya' go with those stories again. I get ya' don't wanna tell me. Ya' don't gotta lie."
She spent a short while explaining she really wasn't lying to the heavy-set, well-built Giantkin man only for him to further dismiss it and come to my aid.
"So.. You're Zeke, ain't ya? Miller over there asked 'es to come save ya. What's got ya in this scenario?"
"Well, they apparently didn't notice me entering, so I'm being arrested for trying to sneak in.. Which I wouldn't bother trying when everyone's more than double my size."
"Haha! You heard him, lads. Do me a favour and give 'im a break, I'll throw some words of praise to yer old boss."
It didn't take long for me to be released, pretty annoyingly ending up flat on the floor face down as my body wasn't quite ready to hold itself up again.. But, I suppose, it could've been much worse. We had a brief introduction before I found myself trailing along behind the two, as they discussed some stuff about 'Engraving' which went beyond my experience with anything of the like. Upon reaching the small, pretty shabby smithing shack the well-renowned blacksmith Hovan Devin called home with newfound pain in my palms and knees from Lily's unfunny joke, I decided to watch the two work.
Lily was pretty good at it, all things considered. Especially when Hovan was directly guiding her. He definitely knew what he was doing, but alternatively I can see how his stature might make him struggle to do such intricate details.. You see, from my current understanding, engraving was a complex yet very effective way to turn a tool from a run-of-the-mill standard tool, to a magic tool that could do the impossible. There was lots more they discussed, like how X pattern equals Y result, unless Z pattern is also there, creating V result, et cetera. Not really my forte. That took up most of today, as I watched the two work. Hovan says he's gonna throw me a weapon together tomorrow too, which is pretty fun. Not sure if it'll work with the whole anti-mana thing I have going on, but it's worth a try.
Only problem is the price.. Even if it's reduced, twenty gold sounds expensive, doesn't it?
Okay. Zeke, a day later here. And wow, what a ride it's been.. So. To start with the following morning, before I'd even had a proper four hours Hovan woke me up with the hammering of an anvil. Apparently he likes to start at four in the morning, unlike a regular functioning person in society. I went up to chat with him, finding Lily barely awake too.
"Good mornin' Zeke! I'm startin' on that weapon I said I'd make ya. I decided to go with an axe.. Dunno why. Seemed fittin' for ya. Gonna make it small enough to one-hand and if I get the time, I'll make it a sister axe. Sound alright?"
"Oh.. I've never used an axe before- Well, I suppose really, I haven't used any proper weapon too extensively.. Yeah. Sounds good."
"Great! Then, you and Lily should head out now to grab the wood I'll need for all but the head. I've heard they got a good batch of ashwood over on the Dragonkin's side. Lily's got the money, I'm only sendin' you both so ya can watch each other's backs. Yeah?"
"Uhh.. Right. Got it. Ashwood.. I'll assume that's black, then?"
"Aye, that's the stuff. Go on then."
And so, I went on. At this point I was still so tired and half-asleep I didn't quite get that I was just about to cross the city border.. Hell, I'm struggling to recall it now, which just shows.. So we did as we were asked, and after a minor bit of negotiation with the border guards who weren't all convinced we were going on behalf of Hovan, we got in.
When I tell you it was a blindingly sudden change, I really mean it. As soon as you crossed over, magic and architecture were already a solid blend, as floating staircases led up to floating storefronts, and most notably, the people. They would just fly around as and when they pleased. Some with the wings sprouting from their dragon-like backs, and some with a soft glow emanating from them as they utilised incredible magic. It was really astounding.. However, we also encountered their attitudes to what they perceive as 'low bloodline purity' when we were assumed to be exactly that.
A pretty ignorant twat of a cart driver damn-near hit me, and Lily barely pulled me outta the way.
"Psh! Watch where you're standing, low-bloods!"
I didn't even get the chance to start reciting the slew of curses I had welling up in my throat before he took off down the street again. That quite honestly eliminated lots of the majesty and awe I felt just moments before.. So me and Lily pushed on to find what we were looking for.
It's quite embarrassing to admit it took us hours to find the bloody storefront. I mean, It wasn't exactly easy. I can't read this language and Lily is about as useful as a toddler in an older body when navigating places.. Nevertheless, the transaction went smoothly enough, though they definitely hiked up the prices for us. Not that we could be bothered to push to get them brought back down. We paid, we left, we went for the border then..
"Stop! You, low-bloods! Move a single step and consider your head rolling. You are under arrest for robbery, and for attempted murder.
Yeah. Just our damn luck..