Rumius immediately scrambled off. And that was how his new, humble existence as a mere apprentice mage began.
Living with the mistress was difficult, especially considering how small the shack was. The fact that the mistress seemed to take a bath only once every Millenia too, concerned him.
" Bathe?" She wrinkled her nose at him." Firstly, I hope you realise how discourteous you were in asking that question. Next is how stupid you were for asking that question." She had said.
Rumius could guess a number of reasons why. The most likely was be how often she got stained by magical impurities during her experiments. The only way to avoid taking damage from these impurities would be to wear the blue robe which seemed to be her only outfit. Rumius eventually realised that bathing itself probably wasn't the problem. The problem was with washing the dirtied robe that would get her dirty again, regardless.
Rumius needed only a glance to see how skilled a tailor must be to create such a work. Even his Maman's finest dresses paled in comparison.
And as for learning magic, Isadora proved true to her word when she said that she wouldn't teach him squat. Rumius didn't know why, but he also knew better than to argue and waste time. He could only hope the waiting paid off with some stellar teaching at the end. As of now, since the shack had no lack of books on magic and magical concepts, he could make do with that.
A number of surprises also came up long the way but Rumius eventually got used to it.
Journal entry: Day 1
It's been a week since Mistress has given me this journal that I've found in the pots. I'll probably be using it from now on. Today has been the same as usual. I woke up in the early morning, made breakfast for the mistress. After that, I swept the shack. Mistress left another mess of broken glass on the floor again. It took me all morning to clean.
The shack somehow has another hole in the roof. I spent all afternoon patching it. Mistress yelled at me for being late to make lunch. I swear to god this fucking bitch.
At night, I made dinner. Mistress brought back a deer. I had no idea how to even begin using it.
Journal entry: Day 2
This morning, I woke up and made breakfast. There were still some deer left. I found the mistress lying asleep on the floor. I didn't want to wake her up, so I had to tiptoe around the whole time.
Mistress sent me away in the afternoon, so I went outside with some books. There was a nice corner with some dense trees a distance away from our hut. I wish we'd stay here for a little longer.
That night, it was deer again for dinner. Mistress looked angry at something, so I didn't say much. She didn't often respond to my questions either, anyway.
Journal entry: Day 3
It looks like we've moved again. And in the night, Mistress seemed to have blown something up again. There was a gaping hole in the roof when I awoke. The stove was ruined, so I had to go out to collect berries.
Patching the roof took the entire afternoon, especially with how I had to keep using wind magic to cut down trees. The stinky bitch would never help me cut down the trees, even when I could have it done much faster with her help. At least I got some practice in. I swear the trees around here are tougher than they need to be.
Mistress Isadora was at her desk again by the time came back. I wonder how long had it been since she's taken a bath. At least she doesn't smell that bad. Dinner was rabbits that I'd caught.
Journal entry: Day 4…..
Journal entry: Day 5….…
Journal entry: Day 18
There was another hole in the roof this morning. And we were in a freaking desert. The first thing Mistress told me to do was to patch the roof and make dinner. Somebody…doesn't remember who exploded all our remaining food!
In the end, I went out until nighttime to find wood. There was only time for a single journey, so we didn't have enough materials to patch the roof properly. It should be enough to hold against rain…I hope.
Dinner was stale bread and some berries the mistress managed to preserve with a tool she's made. Come on, you're an…actually, I've never found out how powerful mistress was. But at least I've finally a promise from her to go get actual food at the next city we stop at. HELL YESSS! CIVILISATION!!
Journal entry: Day 19….
Journal entry: Day 20….
Journal entry: Day 28
" I didn't get a wink of sleep because of what happened last night. When I went out to ask, I couldn't believe I got roped into it as well. Mistress looked really happy at the end of it all though. She's just made something that looked like a rough, black stone surrounded by three clear glass prisms. But when I tried to hold it, I could only feel the stone. Hopefully this means that there wouldn't be anymore explosions for a while.
In the morning, we arrived in a city I've never seen before. I don't think it was a human city either. I did see humans around but the large part of them were in armour. The rest of the people there were around my height, dwarves, all of them, and every last one of them were bulging with muscle. Like actually, every one of them. From those in the stalls to on the streets. Man, were they born this way? I did see some Elves, some Demihumans and some creatures flying in the sky
The city itself was gorgeous. When the Mistress entered the gates with me, there were two giant statues guarding the front gate, each holding an axe. I actually think they were made of the same material as the wall. The inside of the city was quite steampunk-like. There were plenty of forges but also a lot of stalls selling normal goods. Everyone was going about their usual lives. But the goods sold were all normal sized, not miniaturised or anything.
I begged mistress to stay the night in the city but she refused. Honestly, why do we keep moving so much? It's a new location every two days, and at this point I don't even knew which direction home is in. No wonde-
" Rumius."
Rumius abruptly raised his head from his journal, pen still in hand.
" Yes Mistress?" he asked, directing the question to Isadora, who was sitting on a wooden rocking chair near the fireplace. The handle of a steaming cup of tea lay gripped in her hand as she looked at him with her usual lazy eyes. " Sleep early tonight. I'll have you awake by daybreak tomorrow."
Rumius immediately groaned in protest.
" Ehhhhh? Didn't you already kept me up the whole night yesterday? Surely you don't still need me for something? Aren't you just finished with that…"
Rumius made a hand gesture to try to make his point.
"….black stone thing?"
When she didn't immediately answer, Rumius killed a huff and waited patiently for her response. Mistress Isadora wasn't a woman who liked to be rushed.
" I'm planning to stay a little longer at the destination we will arrive at tomorrow. I'll have need of you."
" But why? Also if we're staying any longer can't we just stay here?" He pleaded.
His mistress gave him one of of those smirks which has become characteristic to her. Rumius felt a chill go down his spine.
" You'll know tomorrow."
Rumiu signed in defeat.
' This can't be good.' He thought as he retreated to the little storeroom which she had given to him to live amongst a pile of discarded magical tools.
The next morning, he really was awake at daybreak. Not by his own volition, of course, but he managed with the help of the little " alarm clock" which the mistress had so graciously given him. And in his groggy rage, Rumius swatted the parrot away but the wooden mechanical terror simply flew up a little higher and resumed pecking.
" Yes, yes I'm awake! I'm awake! Please stop!" Rumius staggered out of bed and hurried out into the hallway, slamming the door shut after him. He leaned against it, panting. The hallway was dark, as in dead of night, kind of dark. Just being up and awake at this time felt wrong to him.
The washroom had a little faucet built in that sprayed water as long as a fresh mana crystal was put in. The mistress's strange machinations took care of the rest. Rumius washed his face thoroughly, making sure he was wide awake once he left.
When Rumius entered the living room, it was deserted. He stared around in shock.
" That woman! Did she seriously dupe me? Have me 'awake by daybreak' my ass, where the hell even is she?"
Rumius looked around once more in disbelief.
The thing was that Mistress Isadora always never slept. And on the rare occasions which she did, she would always be sprawled on the floor or on that chair near the fireplace which coals were now cold. There was only so much space in a shack this small, after all.
' Then that means...she's outside?'
Rumius decided to go have a look. Pushing open the wooden door, he stepped into what looked like the end of a forest. A grove of trees stretched behind him and before him, was a gigantic slope that sloped high up into the clouds, ending at a peak that looked as if it wanted to puncture the black sky.
He was on a mountain, he realised.
Turning, Rumius could see what looked like a point where the ground seemed to cave and fall off and beyond that, there was another mountain. Close enough that Rumius could still feel its might but not enough to be squashed by it. Several other peaks rose up and down further off into the horizon as well.
" We're on a mountain range. Does the mistress want to get something from here?" He wondered, looking around for a while before deciding to go further out.
Rumius channeled mana into his legs as he ran, borrowing the winds to blow him up higher and faster until he was racing across the mountainside.
He stopped some distance later when he saw the faint silhouette of a woman sitting down at the edge of a small drop, a small cliff if you will, that signalled the end line of the plains. Rumius could see the rough ground below, filled with rocks and not a tree or plant in sight. It was like this plain upon a mountain, was a sanctuary for all those who managed to conquer the climb.
Isadora quickly noticed his presence. She stood up unhurriedly and made her way over. Without a word, she walked past him and pointed.
Rumius looked toward her hand. Initially, he could spot nothing there in the darkness, but on closer inspection, he managed to discern, far off into the distance and atop a tall tree, the shape of something that looked like a straw dummy. His eyes widened in realisation of what was about to happen.
Isadora's next words sent his heart racing.
" Let's see what all my time wasted on those questions have amounted to."
Isadora used her chin to gesture again.
" Shoot."