"Honored Sirs, what would you like to order?" The shopkeeper greeted them, face with full of smiles.
"Stop fooling around, Stefan, and help me get this kid some proper clothing." Ben retorted. He obviously brought Nick to a tailor he was acquainted to.
"Oh, what do you want me to make? It is still winter, I could make you a nice fur coat." Stefan looked at the bold goblin-like creature up and down like taking measurements with his eyes.
"Thank you, no need." Nick quickly assessed the man in front of him and decided to play out 'being cute' card, therefore tried to smile as warmly as he could, "I would like to have robes, similar to these but from a simpler fabric, and a scarf to hide my bold head. It would be nice if colors were not too bright."
The confident, but adorable reply was not what Stefan expected, but still he instantly started to like Nick more.
"Where did you find this young man? He is so much more sophisticated and pleasant than you!" Stefan looked at Ben and mocked.
"Think of him as my nephew." Ben obviously knew Stefan for a long time and didn't care for the harmless tease.
"I don't have that much clothing for children, but if you give me a day or two I can make something. Of course, I don't lack scarfs around here, especially during the winter."
It the end they decided that Stephan will make a new, simple robe right away and they would pick it up later in the afternoon. Nick also picked a cherry red scarf that he immediately put on his head. He loved the Stanford colors, but wearing white might stand out too much. The red headscarf had to do for now.
Although most of men he saw on the streets were wearing coats, it seemed that beneath the usual clothing were trousers and jackets or sweaters. Nick decided to continue to wear a robe for now because of a practical reason – he wasn't cold anyway and it was possible he would outgrow any regular clothing in half a month if the steroids kept working.
Before heading home they visited a small market and bought some provisions.
"Are you this free every day? The hunter's job seems to be really effortless." Nick was curious.
"No, I only have few days like this and also only during the winter. Normally I would just use this time and hang out with Paul and the other guys in tavern, but since we still have stuff to do, let's go home and cook something to eat."
"Who's Paul?"
"He's a fisher, an old friend." Ben explained, "We all were in the army together back in the day. Me, Nigel, Paul, even that stupid Stefan and some other boys as well. We kept the Sand kingdom's invaders away for quite a few years."
The sun was high up and it seemed they had spent half of the day on the streets. While chatting, they arrived at a two storey house that didn't look much different from its neighbors. Inside was also simple, with very few furniture peaces, but everything was clean.
"You live alone?" Nick asked.
"Yes, my wife died and we didn't have any children."
"Sorry."
"Nah, don't worry. It was a long time ago. I should have found another, but for some reason none of them are as good." Ben waved at Nick and shook his head, "Let's cook something. My cooking is not as good as Nigel's, but should be passable."
Ben heard about Nick's preferences in the palace, thus he made a light vegetable stew. Back in the Holy Order Nick already learned that most vegetables and fruits were quite similar to those he knew at home. And the current stew also mostly consisted of carrots, potatoes and onions. Ben didn't use or maybe didn't know many spices, just salt. But Nick was fine with it – his body first had to get used to a regular food.
After lunch Ben refused Nick's help and washed the dishes alone. Then he sat down and pointed at an empty chair in front of him. It was the time for Nick to explain everything.
Nick collected his thoughts and gave a short description of events that transpired during the last year: his family was murdered by the Holy Order, he was experimented on with alchemy and rune formations from his birth. Later he managed to free Angel and as a reward it brought Nick back to the capital.
"That's basically it." Nick didn't tell everything, but didn't lie much either, "The bird you saw in the morning was a rank six shadow eagle. It was still injured so it left for a new home in the Northern mountain range. And I hope to find some cure in capital, otherwise I'll live only for another five to ten years. Normal doctors can't really help me, therefore I need to find some detailed information on detoxification systems and techniques."
Ben patiently waited for Nick to finish. All of the information was quite shocking, especially about the rank six beast. Most of the people have only heard about them and to see one was incredibly rare.
"I have to lay low for a while, because those bastards at the Holy Order will definitely try to kill me for releasing the eagle." Nick already tried to imagine how the sect was right now. In these couple of days they not only would notice the obvious disappearance of Nick and the beast, but also find the headless grand elder.
'I would love to see the expression on their faces when they entered his bedroom. The old witch definitely went full psycho mode.' He thought.
"So you are saying the eagle is not coming back?" After a pause Ben asked.
"Of course, not! Why would he come to the city? You saw it with your own eyes – its only real meal is at least rank four beasts thus I was the reason he was here. He'll probably hunt in the Northern mountains by tonight."
"It will not come for you?"
Nick looked at the hunter with a surprise, "Why would it? It already repaid me for setting it free. Do you think I manage to domesticate it? Do you really think anyone in this world is capable of taming a rank six beast?"
Ben shook his head. Then thought for a few minutes and said, "Fine, you can stay here. Upstairs is a spare room, you can use it. We also have a little courtyard that I share with few neighbors – you'll probably meet them soon. If you want to learn how to hunt, you can tag along tomorrow."
"Thank you, I would love that." Nick was, in fact, interested to see the hunting ways of this world.
Although he was not a big fan of meat, he was not a vegan either. Those were just Marianne's teachings that have been engraved into his brain about the healthy diet and lifestyle.
Still, Nick understood that this world might be somewhat different, especially the Qi part. It might turn out to be beneficial for a growing body or for a Qi practitioner to consume meat of a higher rank beasts because it could provide some benefits for cultivation, at least it worked like that in the animal world. There was a lot for him to test and learn.
He also understood why Ben wanted to bring him along. First, so that he didn't aimlessly hang around the house and streets – Ben didn't know him too well after all, and second, it looked like Nick was capable of dealing with Ben's 'nightmare'.
"Do you know where I could find more detailed information on herbs and advanced medicinal treatment techniques?" Nick turned to his most important question.
"I thought about it while we were strolling around." Ben nodded, "But I don't think anyone else besides the royal doctor can help you. He is the most knowledgeable person in alchemy in the whole country. There are some other Qi master alchemists, but I think your problem is very specific – that is the reason regular doctors can't help, right?"
'Usually he is quite slow, but sometimes his judgment and insight are on point. Maybe that is how a real hunter should be?' Nick pondered.
"Indeed. How can I meet this royal doctor? And is he very expensive?"
"He went with the king to fight the barbarians, but as far as I know that war is already over and they are heading home. We will try to think of something after the king returns. You don't want to miss that. Although a war is a terrible thing, return of the king to the capital is a grand event that brings along big festival." Ben looked into distance seemingly reminiscing on old events.
Finally Nick had a plan or rather, a direction.
They chatted a bit and there was a lot Nick wanted to learn. Ben didn't refuse to inform the little intelligent boy about the traditions and habits of the capital, general political situation and even some rumors. Later they went out for a stroll and Ben showed more of Aurora.
Then they picked up the Nick's new robe. It was gray and plain, just like Nick wanted. Stefan tried to hold back laughter, but Nick didn't notice it and actually wasn't really paying attention as well. But Ben already in the morning felt his old buddy might pull some prank and was not too surprised, Stefan had always been like that. There was definitely something wrong with the robe.
They had dinner in a small tavern Ben frequented and Nick got to know few more of Ben's old army buddies. It felt like they have been through a lot and after years have passed these guys still had a genuine brotherhood.
That evening both went to bed early and Ben woke Nick up well before dawn.
After quickly washing up, Nick wore his new robe, and they proceeded to the Royal woods where he learned about how to place rabbit traps and track deer. He understood the concept of the last part, but there was no way to apply this knowledge in the Royal woods. The reason was simple – there were too many of them. It almost felt like if Ben shot an arrow randomly, it would still hit some unlucky animal.
Turns out there was a reason for this overpopulation – the royalties had a traditional event during winter when they hunted in the Royal woods. The aristocrats from the city and ministers also took a part in it.
Nick was not interested in mass slaughter of animals and decided to ignore it though. He didn't judge either, because this world had its own traditions and the animals were not wasted – after the hunt they were making bonfires, roasting the fresh game and the leftovers were given to the poor people of the capital.
Ben was surprised with Nick's tenacity and seemingly unending reserves of energy. Nick, of course, didn't feel tired because he was practicing all three Qi techniques for many months, in fact there was no way he would get tired. Ben was not a Qi master, but, similar to the most people in the army, he practiced a simple Qi technique that strengthened his body and that allowed him to be, look and feel much younger that he actually was. When Nick first saw Ben, he seemed like a man in early fifties, but it turned out he was long over sixty years old.
Both of them quickly made a tour around the Royal woods, gathered the trapped rabbits, fixed broken traps and then proceeded to the palace.
Most of the guards on the morning shift were the same as the previous day and to see the brown colored boy was not a surprise. But they still made the same jokes. Accompanied with laughter, both arrived in the kitchen and what greeted them this time was the somewhat guilty face of Nigel. He didn't even say anything, only shrugged and pointed at a corner.
There, on a big wooden chair, was sitting her highness, the 'nightmare', like a queen on her throne. She was humming some song and watching her legs swinging up and down. Looked like yesterday she found the shoemaker and he did indeed manage to make her white rabbit-like boots. Well, the only thing that pointed to rabbits was the fur and the dangling ears, but they did look nice.