Hello folks. I'm posting another chapter, although I'm less than thrilled with the reviews you've sent me. I've already considered whether I shouldn't just stop posting the stories and just keep writing for myself. Above all, the private messages were very borderline. Some even wished me dead. It is understandable that I reported these people. I found a new way to have my text corrected. This should make my writing style a little better.


Journey to Lys

Faster than his first trip to the port, Harry arrived at his destination and began to search the houses. It had become morning again and he was slightly tired from his journey. Most of the buildings were brothels and inns, but in them he found what he was looking for. Money and food. The money he found mostly in the brothels, where it had been left by the fleeing whores. He had no qualms about stealing from these women. Fortunately for him, there was even an old donkey in the harbor, which he quickly rescued. This he found him in a slaughterhouse, where they would have otherwise processed into meat. After searching the houses, he went to the ships to search them. He searched one ship after the other, taking everything that could be used. From sails to crates filled with trade goods. He took everything. Fortunately, he found no prisoners.

Harry didn't know if he would have freed them in his rage, or simply killed them. After two days he had stowed everything that could be used. Since his old trunk was filled with goods after a while, he expanded the storage space of some chests to be able to store even more goods. The chests in turn ended up in his suitcase, which was then stowed in his tattoo.

Since he knew that he would be on the road for a long time, he immediately created more magic stones to bury on his way. In the harbor itself, he buried twenty of these stones at once. This had the advantage that he had so a further efficient anchor point for his Ward net. The spread of the net would circle from this point very quickly, and with the magic he had put into it, in a few weeks everything within a radius of two hundred miles would be visible and then spread further. Then once he came back, he would have access to a tremendous amount of magic. But if the web expanded even further, it would eventually encompass the entire planet. Especially because it was expanding exponentially. Each stone could produce another stone. Whereby only stones at the edge produced any, while the other stones provided the magic for them. The more stones provide magic, the faster the production itself. It can also dramatically increase the spread of connections.

When everything was ready, he turned his gaze south. Pentos was the city he could reach by the quickest route. So he rode there on his old donkey. The road to Pentos was an arduous one. Although the land was fertile and he kept seeing small villages, people always ran away when they saw him. He did not know what made people do this. For unlike the other travelers he saw, he wore no armor. Even the members of the caravans were armed. A few times he was attacked by bandits, but he was able to fight them all off and capture the items of the fallen. Mostly they were just rusty weapons, but even these could be turned into money. The plain was wide and it almost looked as if they would not get far at all. That's how monotonous the path was. Along the way, Harry lost all sense of time and if his stones didn't show him how far he had traveled, he wouldn't even know they were making progress. After a few days he ran out of beer and the water had evaporated as well. He didn't dare approach any of the villages, so he had to summon his water with magic. The vastness tugged at Harry and he felt himself slowly losing weight.

He almost lost his courage, had not a city appeared before his eyes, when he almost had no more hope. With renewed vigor, he urged the donkey to run faster to the city, but even he was at the end of his strength. At least they reached the city after a while. Like most free cities, Pentos was located in a bay that had been developed into a large harbor.

The city was huge and dozens of ships seemed to have docked in the city's harbor. There were several guards at the city gate, stopping any travelers who wanted to enter the city. Not that Harry minded being checked. A long line had formed outside the gate and he had to wait what felt like an eternity before he was in front of the guards. In the process, he had the opportunity to observe the people leaving and re-entering the city. Most of them were merchants, but simple farmers and guards had also mixed in the crowd. Since the guards wore the same uniform as those at the gate, Harry guessed that they were also part of the town guard.

When it was Harry's turn, one of the guards asked harshly, "What are you doing in town and where are you from?"

"I'm a traveler looking to replenish my supplies and then move on. I come from the north where I was attacked by pirates," Harry answered in a weak voice. His throat was dry and he just wanted to get into town to get something to drink.

"All right, you can pass. Before that, we need to search their pastries," said the city guard and two of his colleagues led Harry away to search everything he was carrying. They didn't find much, however. Just a small purse, which they confiscated, claiming it was stolen money from Pentos. Harry put up with it, knowing that there were only a few pieces of money in the pouch and his actual possessions were safely hidden in his tattoo. However, one of the two city guards was a little merciful and gave him enough pieces of money so that he could at least afford a meal. After that, he was allowed to enter the city and he learned from the city guards that the city was indeed Pentos.

"Very well, you may pass. Before that, we need to search their pastries," the city guard said, and two of his colleagues led Harry away to search everything he was carrying. They didn't find much, however. Just a small purse, which they confiscated, claiming it was stolen money from Pentos. Harry put up with it, knowing that there were only a few pieces of money in the pouch and his actual possessions were safely hidden in his tattoo. However, one of the two city guards was a little merciful and gave him enough pieces of money so that he could at least afford a meal. After that, he was allowed to enter the city and he learned from the city guards that the city was indeed Pentos.

When he was finally allowed to step through the city gate, he was literally overwhelmed by the city. People were walking through the streets and there was a sudden hustle and bustle of business. People were buying and selling goods, gossiping in the streets, or romping through the streets. The roofs of the buildings were mostly red tile, only the rectangular towers did not have them.

Harry strode through the town looking for the nearest animal dealer to sell his donkey to. He knew that they would try to rip him off, but he didn't care. In exchange, he would steal the merchant's purse. Yes, his donkey had served him well, but he knew that he could not take it to the next inn without them trying to steal it. So it was wiser in his eyes to simply sell it.

Faster than expected, he found a merchant and went to him. The man was fat and had a double chin. His clothes consisted of a richly decorated tunic, made of white silk. Quite expensive for an ordinary merchant, but Harry did not care.

"Good afternoon, kind sir. What can I do for you?" the merchant asked, giving Harry a smile. "I would like to sell my donkey," Harry said promptly and got a nod from the merchant.

"Well, I'll take a look at him," said the merchant and walked around the donkey. First he looked at the bit and then at the hooves. Both the bit and the hooves seemed to satisfy him, and when he had finished his examination, the merchant said, "Well, I can give them thirty penta. That's all I can do." Harry looked into the dealer's eyes and briefly penetrated the man's mind. Here he found something interesting. His donkey was worth at least fifty penta, according to the merchant's thoughts.

"How about sixty penta. Is a pleasant offer," Harry haggled, and the merchant said indignantly, "That's usury. How am I going to make a profit on this lame donkey if I have to pay that much! I'll give them thirty-five."

"Are they trying to rob me? This donkey is worth at least sixty penta. But since it's them, I'd settle for fifty-five penta," Harry haggled on, and the merchant shook his head.

"No, that's way too much. How about forty penta. That's my final offer," came from the merchant, holding out his hand to Harry. Harry looked at the merchant for a moment, sighed, and slammed it down, thus sealing the deal. The merchant took out his wallet and by a discreet spell on Harry's part, the merchant paid eighty penta for the donkey. Harry thanked the merchant for the purchase and made his way to the nearest inn.

At the inn he immediately went to the innkeeper standing behind the counter and said to him, "Good afternoon. Do you have a room for me?"

The innkeeper nodded to me and put away the cloth with which he had wiped out a jug. "Yes, dear sir. Four penta the night without food, twelve with food. A pint of beer costs one penta, a jug of wine the same."

Harry went over the prices in his head. It wasn't too expensive, nor was it too cheap. As it was, he could live in this inn for six days with the money he had earned from his sale of the donkey. After that, he would have to draw on his reserves, which he really didn't want to do.

"All right, I'll rent a room for three days. Here's the money," Harry said, handing the money to the innkeeper. The latter took the money and counted it through again before giving Harry a nod.

"I'll show them to their room in a minute. Then they can leave their luggage there," the innkeeper explained, calling to one of the women who was serving several other men, "Obella, take over the bar for a minute. I'll show the gentlemen to his room."

The woman turned to the innkeeper and went hip-swinging to the bar to stand behind it. "Hadn't I better show him to his room and give him a warm welcome?" the woman asked with a seductive edge in her voice. Although the woman didn't say it openly, Harry could already guess what warm welcome could mean.

"No, he didn't order this service," the innkeeper replied shortly, gesturing Harry to follow him. Harry gave the woman another ambiguous wink and then followed the innkeeper. He was led up a narrow staircase to the second floor and then along a long corridor. Soft moans could be heard again and again, and Harry could already imagine what was happening in the rooms. Before he knew it, they had arrived and the landlord handed him his room key.

"So, this is their room. Food is available in the morning and evening. For lunch they can eat here for four penta. The service Obella mentioned costs 12 penta per hour," the innkeeper said and Harry just gave him a smile before saying goodbye to the innkeepers.

He unlocked the room and immediately shot the door behind him after he entered. As expected, the room consisted only of a bed and a chest in which he could store his valuables. Under his bed was his chamber pot. Not that he would ever use it. He could also get rid of his necessities with a spell.

Once he had determined that everything was in its place, he pulled out his suitcase to replenish his wallet a bit. He needed the money for his trip and he was already hungry. After this was done, nothing stood in the way of a stroll around town.

Harry locked his room and hung the key on his belt. Not without putting a discreet theft protection on the key in front of it. Anyone who took the key, their hand would rot off. Not a very pleasant punishment, but the only anti-theft spell he knew that worked in this world.

As he did so, Harry noticed a very interesting fact. The more old-fashioned and harsh spells seemed to work in this world, but none of the spells that had been developed in his world in the last three hundred years. Yes, magic had evolved in the wizarding world and spells became more efficient, but whole magic branches that did not work. He had not expected that. So he was severely limited magically and had to research his magic before he could use it. Nothing was worse than a failed spell in no fight. Fortunately, the items he had with his two friends still worked, though he hadn't had time to go through them all yet. Which is why he didn't use them yet. The risk was too great for a malfunction that could kill him.

Before he knew it, Harry was out of the inn and walking down the street that ran through town. The sun seemed to have reached its zenith during his search for a place to stay and it was getting warmer. Along the roadsides he could see lightly clad women offering their services in many places. This was exactly how he had imagined a medieval city.

A few meters away from him, Harry could make out a shell player. A small crowd had formed around the man and again and again some brave tried to play against this man. But mostly the brave ones lost.

With firm steps Harry went to the man and observed some minutes exactly the goings-on, before he tried it once himself.

"Who wants to try it now! Noble sir, give it a try," said the shell player, glaring at Harry.

"Okay. What's the bet?" asked Harry and the man replied, "Just three penta and they can win nine penta."

"So you always get three times the bet?", Harry asked in more detail and the man nodded. Satisfied with the answer, Harry dug three penta out of his pocket and placed them on the table. The shell player shuffled his shells and Harry watched the man very closely. As he did so, he noticed that the ball discreetly landed in the man's sleeve.

Now Harry had the man figured out and he waited until the shell player had finished shuffling before he decided on the middle shell and tapped it briefly with his finger. Without the hat player noticing, Harry had cast a light spell on the little hat.

The man lifted the little hat and then said, "Too bad, it would have been the left one." Just then he lifted the left little hat and quickly slipped the ball under it. Dramatically, Harry gave a disappointed sigh and now brought out six penta. The game began anew and again Harry chose another little hat to lose again.

"I want another game," Harry said curtly, reaching for nine penta. The shell player was by now slightly cocky and even offered Harry that he would quadruple the winnings if Harry won. Unfortunately for the cheat, everything went according to Harry's plan. One more time the shell player shuffled and this time Harry chose the right shell. The shell player seemed to smile victoriously and then lifted the little hat. But unlike what he expected, there was the ball.

The man's eyes widened. He had not expected that. He reached for his sleeve and looked to see if the ball was there, but it was not.

"Is there a problem, noble sir?" asked Harry innocently, and the shell player quickly replied in the negative before giving Harry the 36 penta he had won. Satisfied with his winnings, Harry said goodbye to the man and put his winnings in his wallet. In a few minutes he had made 18 penta profit, which many in Pentos did not even earn in a day.

Next, he searched for a weaponsmith to find out the value of his swords. The swords may already be used, but they still had some value. Even if it was only the metal value. Fortunately, a few streets away he found a blacksmith and quickly got rid of the sword for 30 pentos that he had carried with him.

Afterwards he strolled leisurely through the streets to finally find a place where he could eat something. Yes, he could have eaten at the inn before, but he wasn't sure then if he could sell the swords. Now that he knew he could easily generate money, it was no problem for him to spend it again.