Chapter 6: Economic Impact
Ivan's face looked hardened to Mia, devoid of the usual glimmer of mischievous humor in his eyes as the group of adepts walked the streets of Kalay. Mia had expected the blonde boy to be more excited and happy to see his home town again, but after observing her surroundings, she was beginning to understand his guarded expression.
This isn't the thriving town bustling with life that Ivan described, Mia noted as her eyes took in empty stalls lining the streets, signs without anything printed on them, and the people walking past at a leisurely pace as if lost among what their city had become. Not wanting to be rude to Ivan, the rest of the adepts kept quiet about the air of deterioration they felt from looking around.
Glancing down an ally, Mia saw two children, no more than 5 or 6, sitting on the ground together sharing a scrap of bread between them. They lacked the energetic personality usually found among children and Mia's heart leapt out to them, feeling their distress. Tearing her gaze away from them, she saw that weary looking adults dressing in not much better than rags occasionally lined the street corners, speaking to the downward spiral the former trading city had apparently undergone in Ivan's absence.
Though visibly upset, Ivan was determined lead the adepts through the twisting streets toward the palace overlooking the rest of the town from the north. As the adepts walked up to the entrance to the palace Ivan finally faltered for the first time, noticing the state of disrepair that accompanied the palace as well. Hedges were uncut with ferns and plant life starting to poke out from the cracks in the cobblestone roadway.
As the group continued to walk up to the palace entrance, Mia noted the lanterns on the pathway remained unlit and there was some activity over on the west wing of the area. Servants of the palace were scooping food into bowls for a long line of destitute looking citizens who waited patiently for their turn to receive something to eat. A few glanced over at the adepts and Mia found it hard to meet their gaze, but most ignored the arrival of the group, having no interest in anything but the food in front of them.
"This...this isn't what Kalay is supposed to be like…" Ivan finally stated in a hesitant voice, trying to explain the sights and sounds around them to his companions.
Isaac gently placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in reassurance, though he didn't have a smile on his face either. "We understand," Isaac said simply, squeezing Ivan's shoulder slightly before dropping his hand.
As they approached the palace, two guards flanking the entrance stopped them. "The line is over that way…" one started to say on autopilot, pointing over to the food station setup Mia saw on the way in.
The other guard stopped the first in surprise. "Wait...Ivan? Is that you?" he exclaimed, as the first guard quickly glanced at each of the adepts in turn, showing more life at the sound of Ivan's name.
"Does that mean Master Hammet is okay?" the second guard asked, excited to see Ivan's return home.
Ivan looked confused at the question. "What do you mean?" he asked the pair of guards, who shared a puzzled look at his reply.
"You were with Master Hammet on his trip to Vault right?" one of the guards questioned, trying to confirm the sequence of events that led to his question, looking at each of Ivan's companions in turn. "I don't recognize these people either," the guard added, indicating the adepts standing next to Ivan.
Ivan sighed. "It's a bit of a long story, but when Hammet left Vault I stayed behind to find something that was stolen from us and ended up meeting all of these guys in the events that followed that…" he paused, switching gears to the other question the guard asked. "I was under the impression that Hammet was returning to Kalay when he left Vault…" Ivan said trailing off. "Is he not here?"
The guards shared another look before they both spoke. "That would explain it…" one said. "So you don't know…" the other one stated. The first guard shook his head. "You need to talk to Lady Layana," he said. "She can fill you in and she was expecting you to show up at some point anyway."
Mia knew there was something not right in the exchange between the guards and Ivan and could feel the worry emanating from the blonde boy as he nodded to accept the proposal. "Take us to her then," he requested, prompting the guards to give one last look over his companions before deciding they were fine because they were with Ivan.
"Follow us then," the second guard said, opening the door and ushering the party of adepts inside the halls of the palace.
The inside was nicely decorated, not overly fancy or showy, but pictures hung on the walls and decorative vases sat atop carved cabinets to give a sense of elegance to the place. Just like the town, the more Mia looked, the more unsettling the scene was. Whether it was a picture hanging slightly crooked on the wall, or empty spaces where a decoration seems like it should have been, Mia couldn't help but feel there was some untold story behind the degradation of the town as a whole.
Ivan was definitely uneasy with everything, looking around at first, but then gave up and kept his gaze straight ahead as he went down the hallway following the guards to where his adopted mother was waiting.
Reaching a set of double doors, the guards halted everyone and one knocked on the door to announce their presence. "Lady Layana?" the guard asked. "Ivan has returned and is here to see you."
A shuffling sound came from the other side of the door and a lady's voice replied. "Ivan is home? By all means, let him in," she said, sounding surprised.
The guard opened the door and ushered the group inside. "Thank you," Lady Layana said to the guards as she looked over the rest of Ivan's companions with curiosity, but not as much surprise as Mia would have expected considering they had never met before.
She was a lady of medium stature, but her red hair stood out in contrast to her simply adorned dress that betrayed elements of wealth without overdoing it. "Welcome home," she greeted Ivan with a smile before turning to introduce herself to Mia, Isaac, and Garet. "I'm Layana, Ivan's mother," she said to the trio of adepts. "I'm pleased to meet all of you."
Mia accepted her greeting and introduced herself as well. "I'm Mia from Imil," she replied. "It's nice to meet you as well Lady Layana."
Garet and Isaac also introduced themselves in a similar fashion, addressing Ivan's mother with respect and getting pleasantries out of the way so Ivan could find out what was happening in the town.
Lady Layana chuckled after the group introduced themselves. "My, my, you are all quite polite young men and women," she commented with a smile. "I'm happy to see Ivan has made some good friends on his travels so far. Please, just call me Layana. Too much formality can be tiring sometimes and friends of Ivan's are also friends of ours," she explained.
The three adepts acknowledged her request and Mia was glad to know that she seemed to be a kind hearted woman. Ivan decided to jump right to the point about everything they had seen and heard since entering the city. "What is going on here Mother?" Ivan asked, not needing to indicate anything since it was obvious what he was referencing. "Also, where is Father right now? It sounds like he might not have come home yet…?" he added trailing off.
Layana let her smile fade as the serious questions required her to think over the state of things in Kalay once again. "Come in and sit down," she replied, indicating chairs near the desk in the study. "You must be tired from your travels and everything that's happening is all related so it may be a bit of an explanation," Layana stated.
Accepting the offer, each of the adepts took a seat in the chairs across from Layana and sat back to listen to her story. Layana took a deep breath, almost like a sigh and then started in on the events that happened since Ivan left.
"As you know when going to Vault Ivan, your father Hammet was trying to see if there was any other trade opportunities there now that we've been attempting to route the silk trade around the north due to the impossibilities blocking the Silk Road. Unfortunately, the destruction of the bridge leading to Vault makes it impossible to get to that city without crossing the river in between us; something a trade caravan cannot do." Layana paused for a moment to reflect on that particular issue before explaining why it was a problem.
"Now we're unable to transport silk in mass quantities, the mainstay of our merchanting business is inaccessible and our economy is in disarray. In addition, our shipments to Tolbi over the Karagol Sea have not been successful lately either. All of these issues are putting people here out of work and forcing us to survive on scraps of our previous prosperity. There is unfortunately just not much we can do about our present situation while cut off from other towns to trade with…"
Ivan nodded following along with her story as the pieces of the puzzle started to come together. For a place that thrived due to its ability to trade like this, being cut off so completely and utterly from all other potential trade partners is like a death blow! Mia realized. Everything wrong here can be explained by the one simple fact that they've lost the ability to trade and it all ties back to the elemental stars again…
"Your shipments are being lost at sea?" Isaac asked, picking up on the piece of unexplained information from Layana's speech.
"Yes," Layana clarified, looking over at the blonde boy. "Over the last couple months we started to lose ships in the middle of the sea. No matter if it was from Tolbi or Kalay, ships started to not make it to their destinations without any explanation. At first we thought it was just coincidence and bad luck, however the amount of ships vanishing into thin air has increased as of late and now it's extremely difficult to find anyone willing to sail across the sea since superstition and fear has infected the sailors."
"I see…" Isaac considered, not offering up his thoughts on the matter just yet.
"There are no pirates or any other settlements even near this sea," Layana explained her puzzlement over the situation. "We suspect there's something behind this...some reason that the ships just...disappear...but have no idea what it could be."
"I wonder…" Isaac though, before trailing off, catching the attention of Layana and the other adepts.
Mia glanced over to Isaac. "You're thinking it has something to do with the environmental changes don't you?" she asked, intentionally keeping the question vague.
Isaac nodded to confirm Mia's observation. I knew it, Mia thought. He knows there's something wrong with that sea that's changed...especially given the time frame in which ships began disappearing.
The idea clicked for Garet too. "Just like the Mogall Forest!" the Mars adept exclaimed. "Maybe the ships get lost at sea the same way we were getting lost there…" he added.
The idea definitely made sense and Layana helped confirm it with her own thoughts. "You came from the east then didn't you?" she asked rhetorically. "If figures that you would be the only travelers capable of making through those parts to us these days," she said.
"What do you mean?" Isaac asked, surprised to her that she put that much stock in their ability without even knowing three of the people sitting in the study.
"You are all like Ivan aren't you?" Layana asked. "You're adepts…" she clarified.
The four adepts looked shocked as she asked the question. "You could tell?" Garet chimed in.
"Technically not" Layana admitted with a smile. "Though I suspected as much…" She shifted in her seat, adopting a warmer expression now that she was not discussing her dying city. "We knew Ivan was an adept long ago," she explained. "Back when Hammet and I were young, Hammet would often explore the world searching for new business ventures. It was on one of these trips to the far west where Hammet was in trouble and saved by a band of Jupiter adepts."
Ivan leaned back in his seat and Layana began to tell the story, having heard it before when he was younger. I wonder if this will shed light on Ivan's past… Mia thought after Layana mentioned Jupiter Adepts.
"Anyway," Layana continued. "These adepts gave Hammet some business advice and asked us to adopt Ivan here as well since they claimed to have powers of foresight. The advice they gave was to buy silk in Xian and sell it in Tolbi...and as you can see, the advice was perfect. Kalay didn't even use to exist before this time and everything you see around you here was the result of that one piece of advice...no matter how diminished it is right now." Layana sighed. "Hammet holds adepts in very high regard as a result of this success."
She turned to Ivan and gave him a smile. "You returning here with your adept friends isn't actually a surprise to us at all," Layana admitted, reaching a part of the story Ivan had never heard before causing him to sit up in his chair and eye his mother cautiously.
Layana continued before anyone could ask any questions about her last statement. "Those same Jupiter adepts warned us that the day would come where you would need to leave on a journey with others of your kind and that it was your destiny to undertake that trip."
The looks of shock on each adept's face made Layana laugh briefly as she held up a hand to ward off questions. "Three years after the storm that hit only Mt. Aleph…" she quoted. "That is what the Jupiter adepts told him." She turned back to her adopted son. "We've known this was coming for quite some time," she explained.
Ivan didn't know how to take this revelation and at in silence, contemplating what this could mean as Mia felt her head spinning from the surprising reveal. These events were predicted beforehand by wherever Ivan actually came from… Mia thought, trying to wrap her head around the idea of Ivan's actions already being predestined. It's not impossible for them to have seen the future...after all Feizhi was able to do it as well though she only developed the power recently…
Seeing that the adepts were absorbed in their own thoughts on the matter, Layana gave them a moment to dissect everything she had just told them before speaking again. "Those adepts also gave us that staff you carry with you Ivan," Layana added. "They said that you would need its power when the time is right."
Ivan picked his head up as he registered the comment. "So that's why father was so upset when it was stolen…" Ivan said slowly, glancing to where the Shaman's Rod was sitting by his pack on the floor.
Layana gave a pained smile as she stood up and walked over to the window to look out at the grounds outside. "I know it's time to let you go...even if as a mother, it is hard to do."
Everything she explained was hard to process for the group and it seemed to Mia like the conversation was moving so fast. Since she knew this was coming already, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, Mia mused, glancing over at Ivan to see how he was taking things. He actually seems to be doing quite well considering he just found out half the the information we did…
"What about father?" Ivan asked, looking over at his mother and addressing the one subject they had not yet broached.
Layana stiffened up, noticeable to the adepts even though her back was turned. "Hammet is...not here right now," she replied, avoiding the question and composing herself before turning back to the party.
Once again confusion swept across the adepts in the room and the underlying feelings of uncertainty began to creep out at the vague answer. Knowing she would have to explain herself, Layana spoke again. "After leaving Vault, Hammet was blocked off from returning home immediately and he decided to head north away from a rockslide towards Lunpa…" she stated.
"Lunpa?!" Ivan exclaimed, surprised that his father would even consider going to such a place. "But there's nothing there except thieves…"
"I know," Layana said simply. "Hammet knew too, but said he had no choice. They seized the caravan and the town's ruler Donpapa is holding him hostage to extort money from us," she revealed.
"Hostage?" Isaac asked seriously, looking over at Ivan's reaction as well.
"What are they going to do with him?" Ivan asked, his expression grim.
Mia looked pensive as she considered the negative outcomes of Hammet being kidnapped for ransom. It's not something related to our quest, but we can't just leave Ivan's father trapped there. There must be some way we can rescue him and bring him home…
"Don't worry," Layana said, breaking the negative thoughts the adepts were having about Hammet's wellbeing. "They won't hurt him in any way. They need the ransom money they are asking for to survive as well since they relied on our trade thriving and it no longer is. They can't afford to lose him."
Ivan gave a sigh of relief as he understood the logic behind those words, but was still visibly upset as expected. He gave a glance over to Ivan, Garet, and Mia who all nodded silently in agreement. Speaking for the group, Ivan addressed his mother. "We will go get him back," Ivan said, offering to detour to save Hammet from Donpapa's clutches.
"No, no," Layana replied to the surprise of the adepts. She paced across the room and turned back to Ivan. "You have your destiny to fulfill. Not even this can stand in the way of your journey now. Your father would say the same thing if he was here as well."
"We are not so pressed for time that rescuing Hammet would prevent us from completing our mission," Isaac argued, surprised by Layana's insistence that their quest was the top priority.
Layana just shook her head slowly. "Even if you were able to help, the town of Lunpa has been locked down completely. They posted guards and lookouts at the closed barricades since they know we would want to get him back if possible."
Garet stood up, looking energized and pissed off at the situation. "In that case we can just break their barricades down and storm in there if needed!" he exclaimed, a flicker of flame emanating from his open palm.
Eyeing Garet's hand warily, Layana let out a sigh in response to the outburst. "Actually...that's the last thing we would want to do," she stated. "You saw the state of our city right now...if we were to become embroiled in a conflict now…"
Garet relaxed a bit and sat back down to listen to her words as Isaac leaned back in his chair with an understanding expression on his face. Mia noted that Ivan was still having a hard time accepting the idea of leaving his father in the clutches of thieves, and was still mulling the situation over. I get it, Mia thought to herself. They can't afford to fight against them due to how poorly the town has fared because they would actually lose…
"There are a lot of moving parts to this, aren't there?" Mia asked, chiming in and catching Layana's attention.
Though Layana nodded and acknowledged Mia's comment, she was unable to reply because Ivan spoke up. "I don't like the idea of leaving Father behind…" he said. "There must be something we can do for him…"
Mia sympathized with the feelings Ivan was having, knowing that the state of things back home would likely weigh on his mind if they continued on their journey and left Kalay as such a mess.
Layana paced across the room again, considering her adopted son's sentiments. "You came from the east right?" she finally asked, looking at Isaac after observing the group's behavior and determining he was their de facto leader.
"Yes," Isaac nodded, confirming the answer, wondering where she was going with it.
"Hmmm," Layana paused her pacing. "That means you must be heading west…" with a smile, she turned to look at each of the adepts in turn before her eyes landed on Ivan. "In that case, the best thing you could do is try to find out why our ships aren't reaching Tolbi since you're going that direction anyway. With adepts such as yourselves on the ship, you should be safe and you might be able to discover what is blocking our shipping routes and cutting off our trade…"
"I get it," Mia said. "You're saying the best way for us to help the town as well as Master Hammet is to open up trade routes again to revive the economy…" The Mercury haired adept was impressed with Layana's grasp of economics and trade. I suppose Ivan's father must have seen the same thing in her and appreciated the fact she is just as capable a tradesman as him…
"Precisely," Layana replied with a smile. Making a decision, she walked over to her desk again and sat down in her chair.
Layana pulled out a piece of parchment before writing something on it and handing the note over to Ivan. "Give this to the dockmaster down at the docks. It will secure you passage on one of the ships slated to head to Tolbi for Colosso tomorrow morning." Addressing the whole group, Layana spoke. "Go...you all have your own destiny to follow. We will negotiate with Lunpa and worry about getting Hammet back."
Knowing it would be rude to continue to insist on helping, the adepts all rose from their chairs and bowed respectfully towards Ivan's mother. "We appreciate your guidance and assistance," Isaac stated, grateful to have a way across the Kargol Sea to their next destination.
"Thank You," Mia and Garet concurred after Isaac spoke, conveying their agreement with Isaac.
Ivan turned to the rest of the group with a somewhat troubled, yet hopeful look on his face. "Do you guys mind taking care of provisions and everything else?" He asked the other three adepts who were about to leave. "I'd like some more time to speak with my mother for a bit," Ivan explained.
He must be conflicted about his father and the fact we have easy passage across the sea, but can't really do anything to help Hammet, Mia knew. "Of course Ivan," she gave the blonde boy an encouraging smile to try to alleviate the heavy mood around him. Nodding again at Layana, Mia turned to leave with the other adepts in tow to give Ivan a chance to speak alone.
As they opened the heavy door, the guard outside snapped to attention and helped them, holding it open so the three adepts could leave. "I hope all went well in there," the guard mentioned as the trio walked with him to the exit of the palace again.
"It did, thanks," Isaac answered as they traversed the halls again, this time with some context as to why certain decorations seemed to be missing in empty spaces and what the money from selling them was probably being used for.
"We were very glad to have you all show up. Knowing that Ivan was safe for sure was a huge relief for us all. It was bad enough that Hammet got captured...though we are a resourceful bunch so we'll get him back one way or another," the guard added positively, before pushing open the front door to the courtyard.
The guards they use here are quite informal compared to most other places, Mia realized as they continue to chat back and forth.
"I just wish there was a way for us to help with that," Garet said with a slight frown, unable to provide his assistance to the cause. "Of course Lady Layana told us specifically not to go break open the front gates…" he continued, trailing off.
The guard shared a hearty laugh. "I like you big guy," he jested. "You think like some of the other guards do, even though we know it would be bad for us as a town that relies on trade as Lady Layana doubtlessly told you."
"That she did," Garet replied with a smile of his own. As they reached the edge of the grounds and the guard saw the group off, Garet asked one last question. "Where's a good inn around here where I could possibly talk to some to the sailors that sail the Karagol Sea?"
The guard stopped for a second before pointing to the west side of town. "If you head down that street and take a right at the lampost, you'll end up at Land's Edge Inn. That's where some of the sailors from towns on the other side of the sea stay when they come here. There are actually a decent amount in town these days that don't want to go back across so you should be able to find a few."
"Thank you," Garet replied simply, nodding toward the guard, who nodded back in respect.
"Have a good rest of the day," the guard replied with a short wave, before turning and heading back to the palace, leaving the adepts on their own.
"Why do you want to go talk to sailors?" Mia asked Garet as soon as the guard was out of earshot.
"If we're going to be crossing the seas where ships sometimes disappear, I'd like to know why," Garet pointed out. "Sailors might have a tendency to embellish stories a bit, but there could be some value to hearing what they have to say so we know what to watch out for."
Isaac nodded, looking thoughtful. "That's a good idea Garet," he said, agreeing with the Mars Adept's reasoning.
"I suppose Isaac and I can stock up on supplies then," Mia added, voicing no objection to the plan. Parting ways with Garet, Mia and Isaac began to walk down the streets in the trade district, searching for shops that would allow them to restock supplies. The story seemed to be the same everywhere the pair looked, with empty vendor stalls lining the cobblestone streets, unable to provide the goods they normally would.
Knowing it was on Isaac's mind as well, Mia broached the topic. "It's just certain vendors and products that are having issues," she commented as the two adepts walked past an empty market stall sitting next to a food vendor that was advertising his wares.
"Some of the actual shops seem fine too," Isaac replied, stopping to peer in the windows of a bakery that was teeming with life. The strange dichotomy between a bustling trade town and a stagnant economy was playing out in front of their eyes. Though the town seemed to mostly be operating as normal where possible, all the signs of unease were there as well, just like on their first walkthrough of Kalay with Ivan and Garet.
It was unsettling to Mia that she could see a piece of the prosperous town Ivan described to them, but also the ghost of businesses that were completely eliminated by the inability to effectively trade over long distances for the past few months. It was really a sad thing to see, but Mia knew there was not much they could offer in the way of help other than investigate the issue with the ships as Lady Layana said.
Wanting to take Mia's mind off of the state of the city, Isaac spoke up as they walked. "You're serious about this whole melee combat thing aren't you?" Isaac asked nonchalantly, knowing that once Mia's mind made a decision, there was rarely any going back on it.
The distraction worked and Mia thought back to the Lamakan Desert as well as her conversation with Isaac shortly thereafter regarding how to further improve their combat abilities. She smiled at the blonde boy and gave him a nod. "Indeed...I still need to get strong enough to hold my own in a battle even without psynergy if necessary," she replied.
As the pair turned onto another cobblestone street, their destination appeared in front of them and they stopped to enter the shop. A small wooden sign hung from an overhang with the image of an herb and vial on it, indicating that it was the apothecary Isaac and Mia were looking for. With a sidelong glance at Isaac, Mia knew he had more to say regarding melee combat, but the blonde boy shrugged instead and opened the door for Mia to step inside.
Allowing the conversation to fall by the wayside for the time being, Mia glanced around the well lit shop, taking in the earthy smell as she saw herbs growing in all corners of the room. Isaac followed her inside, allowing the door to gently shut behind them and the pair was approached by a middle aged lady wearing an apron.
"Welcome, welcome," the shopkeeper said, ushering them further inside with a friendly smile. "What brings the two of you here today?" she asked, looking back and forth at Isaac and Mia expectantly.
Mia returned the smile with one of her own. "Thank you," she stated politely. "We're just here to pick up any medicinal herbs we can use for a journey we're on," Mia explained. Glancing around the shop again to see if she could find what she was looking for, Mia stopped as she noted the plants growing in the left corner of the room.
Following Mia's gaze, the shopkeeper smiled again. "Ah...it seems you know what you came for," she commented, walking over to some of the plants she had growing by one of the windows allowing light inside.
"Tell me dear…" the shopkeeper started to ask curiously. "Do you have some training in the art of herbalism yourself?"
Mia stopped inspecting the plants to answer. "I actually do know a bit about it," she replied with a smile of her own, humble about the extent of her knowledge.
Isaac stepped over and placed a reassuring hand on Mia's shoulders. "She's actually being quite modest," he explained, catching the lady's attention. "Her understanding of traditional medicines has come in handy quite a bit over the course of our travels," Isaac stated. Mia could feel her cheeks burning with a slight blush, unsure if the sudden heat was caused by embarrassment at the boast about he abilities or Isaac's touch on her shoulder.
"Is that so…?" The shopkeeper wondered aloud, raising her eyebrow at the pair's interaction. "Well I have to admit it's not often that I get visitors who know the difference between a Coriond and Calfius plant…"
"A-Anyway…." a flustered Mia said, turning away from the two named plants she had been inspecting and stepping in a different direction to force Isaac to drop his hand without being too obvious about it. "I do actually want some Calfius herbs if you have some in stock," Mia stated, trying to get things back to business.
The shopkeeper chuckled, entertained by the younger pair. "Well my dear, you're in luck. I actually was just picking some Calfius herbs today that I was planning to use in an ointment, but I can sell them to you instead if you'd like."
"Oh no," Mia replied with a shake of her head. "If you need them, I'm sure I could find something else that would suit our needs…" she tried to say.
"Don't worry about it," The shopkeeper replied, dismissing the notion with a wave as she walked back over to the counter where she was working when Isaac and Mia entered the shop. "You must understand that most people that come here have no knowledge of how to create the medicine themselves and want it pre-made by me. I still have some vials of this particular ointment left so it's no issue for me to just sell you the herbs instead," she told Mia with a smile.
Mia approached the counter as the middle aged lady started stacking the herbs Mia requested neatly into package that she could wrap up, leaving Isaac looking on from afar as the two women worked out the transaction. Halfway through wrapping them up the herbalist suddenly stopped, and looked back up to Mia. "You did want the herbs themselves and not an ointment right?" She asked for clarification since neither of them had ever actually specified that fact other than talking about the type of herb.
"Yes, the herbs themselves would be great," Mia replied with a grateful smile as the reassured shopkeep finished wrapping up the herbs into a neat package for her.
"I thought so," the shopkeeper answered. "Being the bright young lady you are, I figured since you were asking about the herbs specifically, you wanted the flexibility to use them in whatever you need as opposed to a pre-made medication." Handing the package over the Mia, she smiled and named her price for the herbs. "That'll be 10 gold my dear."
Mia pulled out a small coin pouch she had brought with her and counted out 10 gold coins for the herbs and handed them over to the shopkeeper, who smiled at the Mercury adept. "It looks like you have a good man there," the herbalist told Mia in a hushed voice nodding over at Isaac, who was not paying attention to their transaction anymore and instead looking over some of the other plants in the shop.
Mia's face turned beet red at the insinuation that she and Isaac were a couple, much to the amusement of the older lady. The suddenness of the situation put Mia at a loss for words, but fortunately the shopkeeper saved her from needing to recover her voice.
"Ah...it's not like that yet is it?" she asked rhetorically, even more amused by the blush that had rapidly spread across Mia's face. "Well dear...If I can give you any advice on the matter I'd tell you to stay close to kindhearted souls like your companion here. It seems he's the encouraging type who will stick up for you, which is a wonderful thing to have in life," the herbalist added, referencing Isaac's comment about Mia's herbalism skills.
Raising her voice again, the older lady thanked Mia and Isaac for stopping in. "I appreciate you coming by and hope you both have a wonderful trip," she said, nodding her head towards her customers slightly.
"Thank you again," Mia replied still slightly flustered by the comments regarding Isaac, before turning to leave with the blonde boy.
Isaac thanked the shopkeeper as well who replied with a smile of her own and a wave as he joined Mia on the way out the door. Mia's mind was buzzing as she tried to re-center her mindset, but Isaac could tell there was something up.
"Are you all right?" Isaac asked the cerulean haired girl as he opened the door to allow her to exit the shop. "You seem kind of red," he stated.
"I think the heat was getting to me a bit," Mia replied as nonchalantly as possible, not able to admit to him the real reason for her face being flushed.
The herbalist overheard the exchange and just shook her head with an amused grin, seeing something between the two that they could not as Isaac and Mia stepped back onto the street.
"I'll be all right," Mia reassured Isaac with a grin, successfully convincing the Venus adept that she would be okay. "Where to now?" she followed up, allowing Isaac to also focus on their next destination as opposed to her excuse about how she was feeling.
"Ah….yes, there's one more stop I'd like to make," Isaac answered her, omitting the specifics as they began walking down one of the many cobblestone streets once again. Mia's mind was still worked up over the herbalist's words as she walked along next to the boy they were about, preventing her from inquiring about their destination.
She thought Isaac and I… Mia squeezed her eyes shut tightly in a long blink as the thought of her and Isaac together entered her mind again. I wonder if that's really what we looked like though... she considered, glancing over at Isaac with the slight turn of her head.
The streets were getting noisier as the two adepts continued walking, distracting Mia from the embarrassing thoughts in her head. The people passing by were less in number, but spoke more loudly to be heard over the the din of metal hitting metal repeatedly in the background.
"Where are we headed?" Mia finally inquired as the banging noises increased as they continued to walk toward them.
"The blacksmith," Isaac answered. "You said you were serious about learning physical combat so we're going to get you a weapon," he explained.
"Oh, okay," Mia replied, letting her determination rise again. I guess now is as good a time as ever to start learning, she thought, realizing that while she had talked about it and did genuinely want to learn to better defend herself in combat, she hadn't considered how she would go about actually doing it.
Mia glanced over at the sword strapped to Isaac's back and considered herself wielding such a weapon. Though Isaac often switched between a larger sword using two hands and a smaller, thinner blade that could be used with one, Mia thought of herself attempting to use the two handed one and the image in her mind made her laugh. There's no way I'm even going to attempt that, Mia smiled with an amused shake of her head.
The laugh caught Isaac's attention and he glanced over at his companion. "What's so funny?" he asked her, thinking he missed something that she had seen.
"Nothing," Mia replied with a grin. "I just thought about myself trying to use that sword of yours and well...you know that would probably be a disaster," the Mercury adept explained.
Isaac held back his own laugh, trying not to make fun of the girl, but a grin escaped at the thought of Mia fighting with a two handed blade. "I...agree that maybe that wouldn't be the best idea," Isaac replied, keeping his voice steady and still refusing to laugh. He looked at Mia with a kind smile. "I think we'll find something a bit easier to learn to use that will suit you better."
Mia nodded as the two approached the blacksmith's shop and noticed a younger man, likely the blacksmith's apprentice, outside hammering out a piece of metal and causing the noise they heard on the way. The apprentice's back was to the adepts so he didn't noticed their approach as they made their way into the shop itself.
A burly man looked up from some paperwork on the counter as they walked in, seizing them up, somewhat surprised to see Mia standing there next to Isaac. The man looked like a blacksmith, rugged, with muscular arms and large hands, perfect for pounding out metal into weapons and armor. Setting his paperwork aside, the man introduced himself as the town blacksmith and glanced at the large sword strapped to Isaac's back before looking back at the pair.
"That seems like a mighty fine blade you've got there," He commented with a lazy gesture of his hand to indicate what he was speaking about. Mia found herself glancing over at Isaac's weapon again briefly as they approached the counter.
"It's certainly served me well," Isaac replied, with a fond glance back at the pommel raising above his shoulder line.
"So what is it that brings you into my shop today son? Repairs? Perhaps you need some armor….?" the blacksmith asked Isaac, looking over the gear he had brought with him.
Isaac shook his head to say that it wasn't either of those before indicating Mia at his side. "Actually we're here today for her," he explained shortly.
The man looked taken aback for a second, wondering if he had heard correctly, before shifting his attention to Mia and giving her a once over. "Hmm...is that so…" Mia could tell the request was unusual and imagined not many women frequented the shop based on what they were selling. "So miss...what can I do for you then?" the blacksmith asked, unsure where to start.
Steeling herself and diving into the new situation, Mia replied. "I need to purchase a weapon," she said, not sure exactly what she was looking for.
"A weapon you say…" the man repeated, looking for clues that would tell him what kind of weapon she was looking for, but finding none. "Well, we sell all kinds of weapons, so let me know what kind you'd like and I can show you some options."
Isaac stepped in to assist in the conversation since he knew Mia didn't really know what would be good for her. "She's not really a melee fighter," he explained to the shopkeeper, who nodded in agreement with something he finally found normal in the entire exchange. "She is actually looking to learn more about how to fight effectively and protect herself in combat so what we need is a weapon well suited to basic attack and defense, but also with minimal upkeep."
Coming out from behind the counter, the blacksmith got a better eye for Mia's stature while absorbing Isaac's words. "Well I must admit, I don't often have women coming to me asking to purchase weapons...though it has happened before and I usually recommend a dagger for personal defense…" the man mused as he tried to figure out what to do. "I don't believe that meets your specifications though...and judging by the look of you, you appear to be travelers that see more combat than most," he commented, looking over and Isaac and back to Mia for confirmation.
"We do," Mia replied. "These are dangerous times for travelers and I should really learn how to use a weapon more effectively for when we need to fight.," she explained.
The blacksmith seemed to be pondering the dilemma and looked away to check out a selection of weapons behind the counter. "She's stronger than you might think as well," Isaac spoke up to see if that would help the man come to a conclusion.
"Is that so…" he said, turning back to eye Mia again curiously before going back to the weapons he had available. Selecting a weapon from a barrel in the corner, he pulled it out and weighed it in his hand. "In that case, maybe a mace would work well for her," he said with a smile, turning back to the adepts with a small mace that he handed to Mia. "Simple, effective, low maintenance, and relatively lightweight in some cases…" the blacksmith rattled off the perks of a mace to the two adepts. "What do you think?" he asked Mia as the cerulean haired girl felt the weight of it in her hand.
It doesn't seem much more useful than my staff, Mia thought as she stepped back and tested her reach with the weapon as well as her ability to swing it gently. "I'm not sure about this one," Mia stated as she gave it another swing.
Isaac frowned watching the display in front of him. "I think it's too lightweight," Isaac added his opinion. "You might need something at least a little bit heavier that can inflict more damage."
Mia nodded in agreement and handed the mace back to the blacksmith, who put it back in the barrel from where it came. "More heft huh…?" The man asked himself as he walked over to some weapons leaning up against a wall, sorting through a few before another smile lit up his face. "Ah...This might be the one for you," he said, picking it up and carrying it over to Mia to have her try it.
Mia gripped the mace with one hand and tried lifting it, struggling slightly, but still being able to control it effectively. A few swings of the weapon let Mia feel the weight behind it, making a satisfying swooshing noise as it cut through the air. The wooden handle and leather grip felt comfortable to her as she adjusted her hand the the shaft.
"This is much better," Mia said, feeling the smooth leather against her skin and admiring the star-like shape of the metal weight at the end, tapering into a single point at the far end of the mace. "It might be just barely on the heavy side for me, but I think I can handle it and get used to it with some practice," she explained.
The shopkeeper was happy to hear that and was excited to see that she would be able to wield a mace like that well. "Excellent!" he replied. "I thought that one looked like it was a good match for you as well," he explained, glancing over at Isaac to see his reaction.
Isaac gave a nod of approval, seeing that it was the near perfect balance of usability and weight for Mia. "I believe we have ourselves a deal then," the blacksmith said, glad he could help the adepts find what they were looking for.
Heading back to the counter, the blacksmith found a small leather belt and handed it to Mia as well. "Here, put this on," he said. "This belt will let you hook the mace to it so you can walk around without holding it all the time," he explained. "I'll throw that in for you with the mace since you're new to weapons like this and are going to need it."
"Thank you!" Mia replied with a gracious bow, doing as instructed and attaching the mace to the belt so it could hand by her side as Isaac paid for the newly acquired weapon.
"Ah...don't think me too much," The blacksmith replied as he looked up from the completed transaction to see the new Mia, all ready for combat. "That belt is much too small to be useful to most of my clientele or the guards around here," he explained. "It looks great on you so I'm glad that someone has a use for it and it won't just keep sitting in my shop collecting dust," the man added with a hearty chuckle. "Well I hope you two don't need it much, but if you do, it should serve you well on your travels," he added as a goodbye.
Thanking the blacksmith again for his assistance, Isaac and Mia stepped out of the shop with her new weapon in hand. The newfound weight at her hip was unbalancing to Mia, but she figured she would get used to it in due time.
"Say...we still have some time before dinner," Isaac said, prompting Mia to look over at the blonde boy. "What do you say we get a little practice in with your new mace?" Isaac asked with a grin.
Mia hesitated at the sudden proposal, but corrected herself quickly and smiled. "Sure," she answered. "Like you said, we do have some extra time and I can't think of anything else we need to do right now."
Isaac seemed excited at the prospect of teaching Mia and surprised her, grabbing her hand and leading her through the streets towards the edge of the city. "They likely won't take too kindly to us swinging weapons around inside the city limits," Isaac explained as they walked quickly outside the city gates. Passerby stared at the pair as they went past due to how much they stood out from the crowd.
It's not every day you see a mace wielding girl with blue hair accompanied by a traveler with a giant sword after all, Mia mused, considering how strange they must look to the regular townsfolk.
Reaching the gates, Isaac let go of Mia's hand, no longer concerned about being caught up in the crowds on the streets. As they walked out of the city and onto the grassy plain in front of it, Isaac scanned the area for a suitable place to practice. A patch of land in front of the town walls that was devoid of grass caught his eye. Figuring it was perfect for what he had in mind, Isaac lead the Mercury adept over to it and turned to face her.
Mia scanned the area, seeing the empty plain around them with the town walls in the background, assuring herself that she would not have to embarrass herself in front of other people.
"Don't worry...There's nobody else around," Isaac stated with a grin, reading Mia's mind. Mia gave him a half smile back, nervous, but still determined now that she had come this far. Feeling the unusual weight of the mace at her side, Mia reached down and unhooked it from her belt, holding it next to her as she waited for Isaac to say something.
The blonde just stood there for a moment, looking at her and Mia began to wonder what he was thinking. The mace still feels foreign in my hand, she thought, running her fingertips gently over the smooth leather handle. Not waiting for Isaac any longer, Mia swung the mace through the air with the same swooshing sound as she heard in the blacksmith's shop to test it out. Though the mace was heavy, she found that she didn't really have any issues swinging it; the only trouble she had was stopping the swing at the end without being thrown off balance.
Isaac continued to watch Mia practice swinging the mace as she got used to its heft before holding his hand up and interrupting her. "Hang on Mia," he called out, prompting her to stop what she was doing. "Try swinging it from different angles...like this," Isaac demonstrated. The blonde boy raised his hand and brought it crashing down, mimicking an overhead swing. Transitioning from his last demonstration, Isaac also showed her an underhanded swing that started low and ended higher in the air as another alternative.
Mia nodded at Isaac. Adjusting herself, she brought the mace crashing down toward the ground, noting that it required completely different balance than the horizontal swings she was just working on.
"Woah!" Isaac said as he approached the cerulean haired girl cautiously to avoid being walloped by her brand new weapon. "Your footwork is out of place to offset the change in balance with that swing," Isaac said, inspecting the placement of Mia's feet as he circled around her.
"Yeah, I could feel that something was off," Mia replied, following Isaac's gaze towards her feet. "I didn't consider that it would be more than just swinging the mace since it's a lot heavier than my staff," she added, recognizing the mistake.
Isaac dropped to a knee and put his hand out to indicate what stance Mia should use. "Try moving this foot here," he said, waiting for Mia's reaction before widening her legs to improve balance and stability when swinging the weapon. "This should help prevent you from stumbling after a heavy strike," Isaac explained, standing back up and dusting his knee off before walking around behind her again.
From behind, Mia could feel Isaac move up close to her and reach out with his hand to grab her arm that was holding the mace. "Try starting your swing closer to here," Isaac instructed, moving her arm down farther and a little wider than before.
Mia shivered uncontrollably as she felt Isaac's breath on her ear, hyper aware of the blonde boy's close proximity to her as he adjusted her position. Her heart fluttered quickly, a bout of nerves coming on from Isaac's touch as she again recalled the herbalist's words from a short while ago. Flushing uncontrollably, Mia attempted to get her thoughts under control even though she knew Isaac wasn't acting like this on purpose. No! No! Not now, she told herself. This is the worst time to start feeling this way, Mia knew.
She adapted the position that Isaac indicated, careful not to move her feet at all despite the obvious distraction right behind her. Mia willed herself not to think of Isaac, a daunting task with his arm around her, resting on hers. Calm yourself! Mia's mind told her, even as her heartbeat increased in pace, a rapid reminder of the situation she was in.
Isaac backed off to allow her to swing the mace, saying something that Mia didn't hear properly as she trembled at the sensation of Isaac's hand brushing her arm as it pulled away. Shuddering, the Mercury adept closed her eyes and tilted her head back, drawing in a deep breath to calm herself and remind herself that Isaac had backed off.
Knowing it would be awkward if she stood there too long without moving, Mia readied herself and took a swing of the mace again to test the new balance, following it through with a twist of her body as her footwork kept her in place and prevented her from stumbling.
"Very nice!" Isaac commented, knowing it would take some more refinement and tweaks to perfect the balance and detail, but happy to see his instruction paid off.
Mia took her time to reply, still normalizing her thoughts after the close encounter. "Thanks," Mia replied in turn, facing Isaac despite the tinge of pink left in her cheeks. "It helped to fix my feet like that," she also explained, knowing the balancing made a huge difference for her.
Isaac smiled, glad to know his adjustments were helpful, but noticed that she was awkwardly standing there as if she was lost in thought. "Are you okay?" the Venus adept questioned, concern for his companion showing as the smile dropped from his face.
"What? Oh!" Mia replied back, jumping slightly as she was jerked out of her daze by Isaac's question and subsequent approach again. "Y-Yes," I'm fine, she stuttered out unconvincingly, but the smile reassured Isaac and he let the matter go.
In reality, Mia's mind was abuzz with thoughts, playing back the feeling of Isaac's touch as he helped her adjust to her new mace, surprised to find herself actually enamored by it. I….liked that, Mia realized, surprised by the signs and signals indicating her enjoyment of the experience despite the fact she was supposed to be training for combat. I wouldn't mind at all if I felt that way again… a stray thought ran through Mia's head, causing her to blush furiously again as she realized what it was.
"Well anyway, that's the basic stance you can use," Isaac broke into her thoughts with a comment on their training. "You should probably practice that swing some more just to fine tune it to work best for you," he added, backing away from her a little more so she would have room to try.
No! Mia's mind cried out, suppressing the rational side of her thoughts telling her to let Isaac back off. You can still use more of his help… she heard in her head, fixating on the thought of his touch. I would improve and learn more with extra help, Mia considered, rationalizing her desire by masking it behind the guise of training.
"Actually Isaac…." Mia spoke up, much to the horror of the rational side of her mind. "Maybe...maybe you could show me another stance to practice as well?" she said, becoming more timid as she trailed off near the end of the question.
Isaac looked surprised for a second, but smiled and nodded, not realizing what was going on in Mia's mind. "Sure Mia. It would be a good idea to practice a few different styles at the same time to learn faster," he replied.
Oh Mercury, what am I doing? Mia thought, turning her face slightly from Isaac in embarassment of what she knew she was thinking as he began walking back toward her.
I'm a horrible person aren't I? Mia reflected as she felt her heartbeat began to race again in anticipation of Isaac's approach. I hope Isaac has a lot to teach me tonight...
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated the story. Life has been busy and I don't want to put out chapters that were too rushed and not up to standard. This one turned out okay even though I was trying to cover a lot in it from character development as well as the main story of the games while not glossing over the fact Hammet was captured. I always found it odd that the party just threw up their arms in the game and said "oh well" and continued their quest until they found a psynergy that would work to break him out.
I did my best to explain some kind of reasoning behind doing so to tie in the action in game in a believable storyline. Hope you all continue to enjoy =)