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Chapter Sixteen
Alex sat in his chosen corner table of the inn's ground floor. This was his first stop in Isenberg, having arrived early in the afternoon the day before. The timing worked out well since he was able to immediately approach the local mission board for the area's requests and pick up a few basic handyman requests and a construction job for the village itself. Gray's advice was priceless, the initially wary looks immediately softening once he expressed a genuine desire to lend his assistance around town. Any dissenters or comments regarding his age were quickly silenced as he went to work, repairs being finished in moments and, later, building materials floating into position, the construction work rapidly finding itself ahead of schedule and much closer to completion by the end of the day.
The men he had worked alongside had been practically tripping over themselves to buy his meals in gratitude, which he ultimately ended up awkwardly accepting in order to keep from being rude. Once he finished his breakfast, he slipped back out to the board, a notice regarding a magical beast rampaging through the area destroying important supply and trading caravans having caught his attention the day before. There were a few other notices with warnings regarding other local nasty beasties, but as long as none of the villagers antagonized or encroached on those creature's domains, they wouldn't become a problem.
Alex tore the notice down, waving to the chief as he passed by with the paper in hand to show he had taken it and was headed out for the day. According to the paper, the oversized boar made its home in the local forest, so it was only a quick trip down the road to enter into the tree line. Due to the harsh nature of much of Isenberg, hunting and fishing were the predominant staples of the people, the climate typically too harsh to promote agriculture, so it was doubly important for this overly aggressive creature to be dealt with to reopen not only the lines of trade, but the forest itself, the game that made the forest their home serving as a major source of food.
Alex steadily made his way deeper into the trees, keeping his domain spread as far as he could manage to hopefully either find a clue to the beast's location, or if it was sensitive enough to feel his magic, provoke it into attacking. Apparently broadcasting his location like a magical beacon was the correct choice, the beast barreling into his active domain like a freight train, what would have been a blur to a civilian's eyes was slowed to a more manageable pace in Alex's magically enhanced state.
Alex waited until the beast was within visual range before solidifying a cube of space around it, the materialized fabric stretching with the force of its charge before finally halting it in midair for a brief moment, the elasticity flinging it backwards in the next instant where it impacted the spatial plane on the opposite end, the effect repeating itself several times until Alex forced the fabric to be static.
"That worked surprisingly well…" Alex muttered as he surveyed the spatial box containing the confused and reeling animal. "This should work for containment, at least for weaker enemies." He nodded in satisfaction. He had been looking to expand his nonlethal capabilities, and a spatial prison tested against a magical beast's strength was perfect for his needs. He wouldn't always have the liberty to annihilate his opponents, so expanding his repertoire was important. He had initially tested some close-form spatial stasis with Gray, but it appeared a wizard's personal ethernano reserves and their passively emitted excess interfered with foreign abilities that attempted to linger around the body.
It was rather counterintuitive as the body could still be controlled mentally or be affected by other less direct magical attacks. After giving it some additional thought, Alex remembered similar instances that occurred throughout canon that seemed to corroborate his observed theory. Shelly, one of Lyon's followers, used puppeteer magic that allowed control of objects and spirits, but could not affect a wizard. Perhaps it was something else as well that had to do with life? Spirits technically weren't alive, so that would hypothetically make sense. Alex shook his head to clear his thoughts before they spiraled further out of control. Anything dealing with Life or Living Magic was a dangerous topic and better left alone in his mind.
He turned his attention back to the snorting and stamping beast currently testing his barriers for weaknesses.
"Alright you, we need to have a chat."
The massive boar creature looked down on him for a second before dismissing Alex with a derisive snort and returned to shoving its tusks into the walls of its prison. Alex grinned maliciously.
"That's fine too. The village will be able to enjoy magical beast meat for a while with how large you are."
It turned and presented its rear in Alex's direction, a massive fart projecting in his direction, though it was stopped by the spatial wall of the cage.
"Yea. I hope you enjoy the smell of your own fart. You really are pretty stupid, aren't you? Momma sabre was way more intelligent than you." His words foreshadowed the boar's next reaction, its nose getting a large whiff of its own flatulence, going still for a moment, then gagging the next, its pawing and poking at its prison suddenly becoming much more frantic, going as far as to rub its snout against the dirt of the ground beneath it to attempt to cleanse the smell when it began to get truly desperate. Alex had fallen onto his ass laughing hysterically as the beast thrashed around in disgust.
"Serves you right." He finally choked out between breaths. There was fire and fury in the creature's eyes as it looked down at its captor. Alex let out a sigh of relief when he managed to calm down. The boar maintained his arrogant look, its eyes maintaining its pride as it stared down at Alex.
"You're obviously not willing to listen, and you're far too territorial and aggressive to be allowed to live otherwise. It's unfortunate." He let out a different sigh this time now that he had sobered up, a bit of melancholy leaking into it. He made it quick and painless, an overcharged String Theory slicing through its neck and cleanly decapitating the creature.
With the beast's death, its natural magical resistance ceased as well, allowing Alex to lift the massive corpse with his magic in order to float it along behind him. The village would be able to eat very well for a few days off of its body, and while normally larger boar meat was not very good, over the years of working with his mother, Alex had discovered that no matter what animal it might have come from, if it was magical beast meat, it was, without fail, delicious.
Alex was greeted with excitement at the gate entrance, the guards having spotted him some ways off, the massive floating corpse giving away his position long before he actually came into sight. He left the body with the hunters, the resident butcher organizing a few of them to start skinning and dismembering the creature while he made his way to the chief's home.
"Hey, Boss." He stated with a wave, the middle-aged man looking up from his carving work. "Took care of the boar. The roads should be clear and the forest open for hunting again."
"Thanks, lad. We might have been in a bit of a tough spot in a few days if ye hadn't come by." He tossed a pouch of raw golden nuggets out, Alex swiping it from the air. "Now, why don't ye give me the rundown for the real reason ye stopped in?" Alex glanced between the bag in his hand, significantly heavier than it should have been based on the reward stated on the flier and back up at the chief who simply cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at him. Alex tossed the bag up and had it land within his backpack.
"I'm hunting a local legend. It's supposedly located in the Dragon Spine mountain range, but I'm very unfamiliar with Isenberg as you've no doubt noticed."
"Aye, we noticed, though ye stick to our basic customs well enough fer a foreigner."
"Thanks, I'll let my friend know he did an acceptable job teaching me."
"Another brat like ye, eh? Well, whatever. The Dragon Spine is in the northeast of Isenberg. It bridges the border with Pergrande. That's pretty much all I can tell ye though. I've lived in this area me whole life, same with everybody else, so we won't know anythin' about any legends from out that way." His hands had kept moving, slowly shaving away curls of wood and chips as the shape of his creation began to take shape.
"No, that was already very helpful. Thank you."
"Ye earned it, lad. The extra gold in that bag should come in handy when ye need to trade with other tribes or in the towns. It's a bonus for taking the time to help out around the village as much as ye did."
"Ah, thank you again, then."
"No worries, lad. We find plenty of the stuff in these foothills. Do me a favor and keep it a secret, though. Don't want a bunch of greedy foreigners coming in to dig up our home."
"You have my word."
The chief grunted in acknowledgment, Alex giving him a respectful nod and a wave as he turned and left. It was only midafternoon, so he had more than enough light to begin his trip further east. His next stop would be one of Isenberg's remaining larger towns. Deliora had really put the hurt on the larger bastions of civilization in this country. Now that he was no longer traveling along the border of Bosco, he could afford to be a bit freer with his magical abilities, which was fortunate, as it would rapidly speed up his travel time.
Alex had already spent a month on the road to make it to Isenberg, so he was a bit relieved that he would be able to increase his pace greatly while moving through Isenberg proper. What would normally have been a week long journey on foot was shortened to three days of trampolined flight through the skies as he circumvented the craggy hills and icy terrain that made up much of Iceberg's landscape.
Isenberg was a bit of an anomaly in regards to its climate. It was longitudinally lower than much of the Pergrande Kingdom, yet was much colder and barren than most of the Kingdom's northern reaches. Part of the reason for this was the land's average altitude, as it was much higher than the majority of the continent. The other primary factors were the wind and oceanic current that ran North to South along the coast of the western continent. A branch of the cold northern waters split off to be captured by Isenberg's northern sea, both the wind and water funneling their lower temperatures down into the country between mountain ranges.
Isenberg, despite its harsh climate, was a beautiful country, and Alex took a few extra minutes occasionally taking snapshots of the various mountain ranges and scenery as he sailed high over the land. His unique abilities allowed him to see and record the world from locations others wouldn't even begin to consider, and he was looking forward to sharing the moments with his friends once he returned home.
It was evening when Alex dropped down a short distance from the stone walls of the town of Denuse. From what he had learned from the innkeeper at the village, much of the remaining population of Brago and Gray's hometown of Isvan had fled here as refugees, causing a massive expansion. He would definitely be able to find a tailor in this city, and perhaps more than just rumor and hearsay regarding the Dragon Spine.
The gates were open when he walked through, the guards giving everyone coming and going cursory glances, though it appeared traffic was free to enter and exit at will so long as it was orderly. Alex kept his eyes peeled as he officially entered Denuse. Despite the massive growth in the size of the city to accommodate the influx of refugees, Alex knew that it was likely that many fell through the cracks. There was only so much a populace could do without supporting infrastructure already in place after all.
His diligence paid off as he spotted a few children peeking from a small alley out into the crowds of people as they passed by going about their business. Alex altered his direction, making a beeline straight for them, one of the older kids immediately spotting him, nudging the others deeper into the shadows to begin dispersing, though Alex had long since dropped a spatial wall behind them to keep them from retreating.
"Yo, squirts." The smaller kids were pressing back against the spatial fabric wall with wide eyes, while the older pair stood in front of them.
"Who you calling squirt, midget!?"
"You." He looked around at the five kids with a bored stare. "And your friends." The boy made to open his mouth again but Alex cut him off. "I have a silver piece for whichever one of you can show me around the city. I need an average inn, food supplies, and to talk to someone who knows a lot about old stories." The kids exchanged a series of glances between them before one of the younger kids in the back quietly spoke up.
"I know 'bout all that." He murmured, slightly raising his hand. The two older boys gave him a glare that said 'shut up', but the damage had already been done. Alex leaned forward a bit as he addressed the boy directly.
"Excellent. My name is Alex, what's yours?"
"Michael."
"Nice to meet you. Lead the way, the rest of you can tag along if you want." Alex gave a gesture and Michael gave a couple of furtive glances at the older boys who maintained wary eyes on Alex. He scurried past the pair and took off down the street at a brisk pace, Alex following along casually behind. They had only gone a few steps when the sounds of footsteps followed along behind them.
"Let's start with the inn. You can show me the market after I book a room. I can pick up supplies tomorrow if it's closed." The younger boy nodded his head and changed direction slightly. It was only a few minutes of walking before the group stopped in front of The Downy Crake.
"This a good inn… sir. The mistress real nice too."
"Perfect. Come on then. I can't have my guides scurrying off before they get paid." Alex pushed open the doors as the group hesitantly followed him inside. It was definitely cozy, a roaring fire keeping the place very warm as waitresses bustled about attending to patrons. Alex paused for a moment before making his way to the bar, the burly man behind the counter eyeing their group curiously as they cut their way across the floor.
"Barman, who do I talk to about a room for the night and…" he glanced over his shoulder. "…six meals?"
"That'd be me, assuming you aren't pulling my leg, kid." Alex floated a single golden nugget up out of his backpack, allowing it to rest on the counter between them. The barman grunted in acknowledgment. "Aye. Alright, a room and six meals. Lemme go speak to the missus. She handles all the money, and she'll need to open up the box to get your change." Alex nodded, leaving the man to head into the back kitchen while he grabbed a free table for him and his entourage to occupy while they waited. He was studiously ignoring the bewildered looks the older boys were giving him or the excitement of the young kids as he surveyed the clients.
"Why are you doing this?" Alex blinked and focused in on what he had mentally dubbed Big Squirt.
"Doing what?"
"Feeding us? Having us show you around? Why?"
"First off, I'm having him," he pointed at Michael, "show me around. You guys are just lucky enough to be associated. Second, I'm hungry and rich. I wanted to eat and wasn't going to make you sit and watch while I did. That'd be super awkward, so I bought you all food too." Alex went back to looking around the room.
"Still… you guys are missing a great business opportunity. I'm surprised none of you have tried to offer errand running services or guides to travelers and merchants. This is a pretty big city; you're really missing out." The older kids exchanged glances that held a silent conversation.
"Why would we do that?" Alex turned his attention back to them again.
"To make some money? You're orphans, right? Or at least if you aren't your families aren't very well off." None of the kids made eye contact, studiously studying the floor. "Exactly. I'm willing to bet you guys do pickpocket work for one of the small-time crime bosses that cropped up with the influx of refugees. You probably have a coin quota you have to meet and in return, you get protection and food or shelter. Does that sound about right?" The leader looked up to meet his eyes with a bit of fire in them.
"Yea. Yea it's right. So what?"
"So what? Squirt, how much money do you pull in right now with pickpocketing? A few silvers a week? You could probably get at least that much in a day just hanging around and running errands for the merchants. You hit your quotas, the rest goes into your personal, very well hidden, stashes to save up for food, clothes, maybe once you're older it can pay for an apprenticeship or tools or a place of your own." Their de facto leader had an increasingly thoughtful look on his face as he mulled over Alex's words. The food chose that moment to arrive, breaking the conversation as the kids all dug in to hearty stews and warm bread, Alex doing the same under the watchful smile of what he believed to be the missus the barkeep spoke of beforehand who had retreated behind the bar with her husband.
Once they had all finished up, she swooped back in to grab their dishes, depositing a key and a small sack of coins in place of Alex's bowl which he pocketed.
"Alright squirts," He pulled out a silver coin from the pouch and floated it over the table to Michael. "Tell me about this storyteller, then we'll go off to the market and you can go back home." The leader spoke up this time.
"He's a historian. Keeps a bunch of books and junk at his store. He knows all kinds of crazy stories, tells them to the kids at the orphanage every now and then."
"Oh? A historian. That's perfect. Is his shop near the market?"
Big Squirt gave a nod.
"Yea. All the best shops are around the market square. They all close a little before dark though." Night had fully set in over the course of their meal, visible through the large windows peering out into the street. Alex gave a hum of confirmation.
"Alright then. In that case, you guys can head on home. I can probably ask the Mistress for directions tomorrow morning." He pulled out another silver coin and flipped it to the leader. "Be careful with your money. Don't let anyone see it that isn't a part of this group. Remember what I said about the merchants." Alex hopped off his chair and gave the group another once over. "Good luck, squirts." With a parting wave, he made his way up to his room, the kids leaving soon after.
The next morning, Alex did as he said he would, getting directions from Missus Marm and heading to the market not long after breakfast. He needed to restock on non-perishable food for the road, primarily jerky since he had worked his way through most of his last purchase and had been too lazy to catch any wild game. Afterward, he would stop by the local tailor and see if they would teach him how to properly stitch a strong seam, then finally pay a visit to this historian.
Alex made the rounds quickly, restocking his needed supplies before bopping over to the tailor. The man running the store was a rather elderly gentleman by the name of Gerard according to a young woman running a fresh vegetable stand he had been passing by.
"Good day." Alex was greeted upon entering the domain of fabrics. "How can I help you, young sir?"
"Hello. I'm assuming you're Gerard?" The gentleman nodded. "Penny directed me here. She said you'd be the best person to ask about properly stitching fabric together."
"I see. Yes, I believe I'm likely the best authority on the topic in Denuse, though the answer will likely vary based on your project, young master."
Alex took a moment to think over how best to phrase his problem before simply shrugging and pulling some fabric and thread from the spatial weave.
"I'm trying to stitch these pieces of spatial fabric into a cube." A shadow was very suddenly cast over him, causing him to glance up in confusion into the face of a wide-eyed, fanatical expression. Gerard's eyes were practically on fire as he looked over the material in Alex's hands.
"Fascinating! Incredible!" Similar adjectives continued to spill from his mouth as he surveyed every angle of the spatial weave made visible, though he only attempted to touch it once, his hands passing through as if it didn't exist, noting the silver glow of Alex's ethernano coating his hands moments later. "Yes, yes! I can absolutely help you! A perfect seam! I can be the first to see it realized!"
What proceeded was a few hours of careful instruction as Gerard walked Alex through the process of backstitching his pieces of fabric together. It was a long, tedious process, but Alex finally managed to create a single seam up to the standards of his impromptu teacher. The man nearly broke into tears at the completed product. It would still ultimately end up taking him a while to correctly perform the same quality of work necessary for the full construct, but he now had a proper starting point to begin practicing.
As odd as it was, Alex was the one being profusely thanked as he left the shop despite having been the one asking for assistance. Nevertheless, he had achieved his goal, and so he made his way over to the local bookstore to pay a visit to the man known as Nathaniel Vix, just so happening to catch sight of a boy running through the crowd with what looked to be a letter in hand.
A/N:
This is going to be another AU point for my story similar to Bisca. While Bisca was an accident, this is intentional. Gray and Lyon are actually from the Northern continent, but tbh that'd be super annoying to write so I'm making them from Isenberg for plot convenience. Having Gray as a child cross the ocean to the western continent and end up in Fiore seems ridiculous, and Lyon and his band of troublemakers lugging a massive frozen Deliora from the northern continent to Galuna Island off the coast of Fiore seems silly, so they're from Isenberg now.
Donumah36 – We've got a while before canon. We have this original arc, the dragon slayer arrival, the Strauss siblings joining, the Exceeds showing up, and all the S-class trials to go over at a minimum just for important timeline content before canon begins.
Yukilumi – Yea, basically. You aren't wrong. I wanted to explore the other characters off on their own adventures during a travel sequence that I didn't want to describe. I probably could have dedicated a chapter to them retelling their adventures to Alex once he returned to have it fit the narrative better, but that's a relatively distant ways away and felt like they needed more immediate development since we won't be seeing them in the story for a few chapters.
Guest – I'm sorry you feel that way? It should get pretty interesting here soon, but then again, I can't please everyone.
TehStorm – Ehhhhh. An entire personal dimensional realm might be a bit much.
Cade2065 – All Fairy Tail magics have some sort of defined limit to them. This is one of the angles I'm pursuing for Alex's magic.
Yami-Guy – Somewhere between the two, though if I'm looking at it as a sliding scale it's probably closer to Space Stone than T. Law.
I'm glad you're enjoying it, hopefully you'll continue to enjoy both stories moving forward :)