Shards of Old

Downstairs was still as empty as before, just the innkeeper behind the bar. Behind him, in the kitchen I caught a glimpse of the kid.

-I do not give refunds - the guy immediately said when I sat at the bar.

-What? - I asked, pretty confused.

-You paid for a week, even if you leave now I am not giving you anything back.

-And who told you I am going to leave?

-Are you not? If you haven't noticed yet, this city is dead, and will be for at least a few months.

-It seems pretty deserted alright but it can’t be that bad.

Also, aren't you supposed to be trying to keep me here? You are making money out of this, right?

-I am realistic. I am not gonna bullshit my way into people's pockets like some merchants out there, as you know, I prefer a direct approach.

-Well thanks for being sincere, but I don't want any refunds. I told your kid I am waiting for someone, I thought he would pass the message.

-And he did. That's why I was thinking you are leaving. You are not the first one who got got by him.

-Excuse me?

-Travelers that pass through here often buy his charms, and then come to me, trying to get some information about his whereabouts. And when they learn that I don't know shit about the guy, they leave.

-You're half right, I guess - I admitted. - But it's hard to believe that you don't know anything. Doesn't he live here? Guards seemed to know him, or at least tolerate the guy.

-No. And no, I don't know where. He appears once in a while to sell his crap and then, after he sells something, he disappears for a long while. And those guards are my employees. They know as much as I do.

-You said you don't know anything, yet you gave me a lot of good information. - I said grinning.

-You are the most pleasant client that came here in a while. They are always mad and screaming about their wasted money or something along those lines. At least I can talk to you without being called names and suspected of working with him.

I don't blame them, that was a lot of money apparently.

-Speaking of clients… - I started, taking a look around the empty inn - Why is this place so empty anyway?

-You picked a bad moment to visit. Everyone left already.

-Left? Why?

-You don't know? Didn't you come here for the… ehm, auctions?

-Auctions?

-My bad. Since the first thing you did was checking the marketplace out I assumed so… If you don't know about it, you don't really need to be interested. Let’s just say it's a… festival. Yes. A big market festival.

What is that supposed to mean?

-If it's that big of a deal, why did people leave this place then? Shouldn't this place be a lot more lively as a center of trade?

-Lively, hah - the innkeeper laughed. - Good one.

He paused when I started looking at him questioningly.

-You really don't know, huh? - when I didn't reply, he continued. - Nah, no one wants to live in a place like this. You shouldn't linger here for long too.

-What's wrong with this place then?

-Listen - he leaned closer to me behind the counter. - It's just better for you to not know. Do what you have to and leave as soon as you can. That is a friendly tip - he said with a serious expression.

-Ominous - I said amused. - What about you then? Are you leaving as well?

-No. I will repeat. It's better for you to not know.

The hell is wrong with this guy? And the village over all?

-Eh fine, fine - I sighed with resignation. - Let me change the subject then. I am on the way to Arbo. It's supposed to be south of here. How far am I?

His eyes widened.

-South? Did you get your direction mixed up?

-What do you mean?

-Arbo is to the north. And on the continent to boot.

North? On the continent? Where the hell am I then?

-Great… Any other cities closer then?

-Nope, that's the closest one. This is a small island after all.

-That stupid hag… Close my ass! - I said angrily aloud. - Ehhhh… That complicates things…- I muttered to myself and started thinking.

- Do you have any beer or something? Give me whatever you got. - I finally said after a minute of silence and a bunch of weird looks from the innkeeper.

-This is an inn. Not a tavern.

-Well looks like both to me - I said pointing at empty tables.

-Just joking. Coming right up.

-You have a weird sense of humor - I added just as he disappeared in the kitchen.

Soon enough he came back with a big, wooden tankard full to the brim.

-Pretty good - I said after a sip. - How much?

-10 copper.

-Here - I gave him 1 silver. - With a bonus for a nice talk.

-Thanks. If you don't mind me asking, if you are that rich, why stop here, you surely have the money to get directly to Arbo?

-Better for you to not know - I replied with a grin. - But if you have to know, let's say, my transport wasn't very cooperative.

-So you got scammed. Tough luck.

-You really have shitty luck. - he added, when I did not answer. - I don't know where you got dropped off, but the closest, and only port is about two hours' travel from here.

-Definitely not at that port.

-No wonder - he nodded. - It’s barely anything. That place doesn't even have a name, it's not even a village but sometimes ships do stop there. That's your best bet I guess.

-I'm guessing you don't have some friendly neighborhood captain that would be able and willing to transport me somewhere closer, do you?

-Even if I did, everyone most likely left already. And judging by your interest in that merchant you still want to wait here for the week anyway.

-Maybe.

I continued sipping the beer, thinking about my situation. It didn't look promising. Judging by the words of the guy, I was indeed stuck on this island for however long it takes for the new batch of merchants to arrive. In any case, I might as well check that port out, maybe I will get lucky. Not like I will have much to do here.

-So which way and how far is that port?

-Go east from the village, and again to the east on the crossroads.

-I guess I will take a look - I said, finishing the beer. - Thanks.

-I wouldn't bother. Last people left before you came here and if anyone actually comes, they will stop here for sure. It's the only place with something more than a wooden shack to hide from rain on this island after all.

-I will take a walk anyways. Not like I have much to do.

-Well, your choice.

Standing up, I remembered something.

-By the way, what's the other way?

-Other way?

-West. The road west from here.

-Ah. Nothing. A clearing in the woods, but that's about it.

-Really?

That was the way the merchant went.

-See for yourself if you are that curious.

-I might… Well, see you around.

He nodded and went back to the kitchen.

As I left the inn, I was greeted by the empty street again. Out of curiosity I took a few steps towards the stables, but even the horses were now gone.

It didn't take me long to get back to the crossroads. The road I was traveling on this time was almost exactly the same as one leading into the town. Sun was pretty high up, if I was to guess it would be about noon. The trip was very uneventful, and indeed, after about an hour I was able to see the water. Funnily enough, the forest was still as dense as near the village. Soon enough I was on the edge of the so-called port. Or rather a singular old, wooden pier, which occupied most of the "C" shaped bay, with an opening towards the east. The whole bay was overgrown with trees so much that even some roots were already in the water. A bunch of the trees were dead and broken, floating in the water, which was making the place look abandoned. That, and of course the lack of people and ships.

The pier looked stable enough, and supposedly was in use, so I walked all the way to the end of it, to hopefully see something on the horizon. Yet, even though the day was bright and clear, I couldn't see anything more than water through the opening of the bay.

-I guess he was right… - I said to the empty pier.

I couldn't help myself but wonder about this place. Such a "big market festival" and all, yet this place is in shambles. Who in their right mind would even think of coming here? Granted, the village was in a lot better shape, but still, seemed weird.

I took a while to look around the place, but couldn't find anything interesting, nothing was left behind. Not like I expected to find anything, I was no tracker after all. It was just an empty pier in the middle of nowhere. You wouldn't think that someone was using it recently, yet, according to the innkeeper, it was.

Sighing, I turned back, retracing my steps back to the road, and then slowly back.. Before I was going to go back to the inn, there still was one place I wanted to check out. I made my way through the village, still as dead as before, and to the western end, where I last saw the merchant. Soon after leaving the village, the road started curving to the right, and a few minutes later it just ended, leading me to quite a large clearing in the forest. Paved with the same stone, with a singular wooden structure in the back. It looked like some kind of podium, or a stage, with a set of stairs on both sides. It was pretty tall, about two meters high, and gave a great view on the whole empty circular plaza.

After climbing on top of it I noticed a long metal bar that was near the stairs. I realized that the same bar was going around the front side of the podium, then down on the back of the stairs, just to circle around close to the ground, behind the whole thing. Curious about the weird railing I jumped town to check what's behind the podium, and unsurprisingly found nothing, except the small rusted padlock on the bottom railing by the ground.

I was slowly getting tired and annoyed by all this. Everywhere I went there was nothing helpful, and chances of finding someone with the ability to leave this island soon were getting smaller and smaller. The places I explored also did not bring any answers about the place, they only gave more questions. Why do people leave this place in such a hurry? What is this place for? Where did that merchant run off to?

Without answers for any of those, I turned my back to the podium and went back to the village and the inn.

Inside was as empty as I left it.

-So, you are actually back.

Greeted by the innkeeper I sat again by the bar.

-What did you expect? You told me yourself that there is no one left that would give me a ride.

-Yes, but that doesn't mean that you don't have a way to get off the island yourself.

-Why the hell would I ask you about that then?

He just shrugged.

-People have their reasons and ways, I learned to not ask them too many questions.

-Fine, I will ask again, this time more clearly. Do you have any way to get off this place to somewhere more civilized or populated, because I don't.

He just looked at me, full of suspicion.

-Look, you already figured out I got swindled and stranded here. Why are you so suspicious?

-No particular reason.

-Oh come on, just tell me how I can get out of here. From what you said earlier today it seemed you also don't want me to stay here, so why not help me leave?

-You are starting to be annoying - he replied with a still expression on his face.

-Of course I am. What, did you expect me to just swim out of here? Summon my private fleet with my amazing mind powers? Grow some wings and fly away? You keep telling me to leave, yet you won't tell me how I can do that.

He didn't answer.

-Ah whatever.

I stood up and went upstairs, back to my room.

I sat down on the bed, sighing heavily.

-What the fuck am I supposed to do now?

This whole place started to tire me. The one person that was here was obviously hiding something and didn't want to talk any more.

Thinking about it, it reminded me - there was still someone else I could talk to - the kid and guards. I haven't seen those two guys for a while.

I looked out of the window. There was no sign of guards outside, or anyone else for that matter.

So that was about it for that idea. I decided to find them tomorrow.

There was still the kid. I seriously doubted that he knows anything, and he keeps close to his father at all times. To be honest, after the time he led me to this room I have not seen him leave his fathers side. It's going to be hard to talk to him alone, and even if it were to happen, father most likely already told him to keep quiet. Not like he knew much about whatever's going on anyways, he's just a kid after all.

Not knowing what to do with myself, I started pacing around the room. Even after this much walking, I still was not feeling tired nor sleepy, thanks to the combination of a bath in infused water and the weird attempts of drugging me. I just was wondering, for how long is it going to last? Slowly massaging the wound through the cloth I started missing my old lab and workshop. If I had access to the same resources I had in the MIRE, I could easily just get out of here. Before all this I used to dabble in all kinds of elemental spells, but not in arcane magics, which now would be most useful. If I knew that in my future I would need to remember how to form the teleport spell manually… For better or worse I was stuck with only basic spells for now.

To cast spells you need the full formula transcribed in Forgotten Script, the more complicated the spell, the longer the formula itself. I remembered a few of those, but all of them were either experimental, like the fly spell, or more combat oriented. I was pretty fluent in the Script itself, but to cast spells without proper preparation first could be dangerous and unreliable. You could always improvise on the spot, but that brings a risk that the spell will do something completely different than you designed it to do.

Whenever I get to somewhere more civilized I would have to buy a notebook or something and start writing stuff down.

-Or maybe I won't have to wait, maybe the innkeeper has something.

With that in mind I left my room, but before I even managed to close the door, I noticed the door to the other room open, and inside the kid lying on the bed, kicking his legs in the air.

-Oh, nice timing.

I knocked at the door frame.

-Hello?

I think I startled him a bit. He immediately jumped onto his feet, facing me and bowed slightly.

-Good evening! What can I do for you sir?

-I was wondering, do you have some paper and something to write with? I seem to have lost most of my supplies somewhere during my travels - I said, taking a look around the room.

It was pretty much a copy of mine, maybe a little bit smaller.

-We should, but I need to ask my father about that.

-Fine, I will be waiting in my room. I don't think he likes me very much.

It didn't take long for him to return.

-I am sorry sir, but according to my father we are very low on that ourselves. We recently used a lot and…

-Right… Logging sales and all that… Must've been a lot of people here.

-Yes sir. Father is still trying to finish writing down all the clients and sales, even right now.

-Too bad. I won't be keeping you here then, go and help him.

-Don't worry sir. I would be only distracting him - he answered with a hint of shame on his face.

-And why is that?

-I… I can't write sir. - He said, embarrassed.

That one caught me off guard. I never considered that someone could be illiterate.

He noticed my shocked face and turned crimson red.

-Ahem. I didn't expect… My bad - I said, trying to collect myself.

-No, no it's alright. But soon I will start learning! My father said he will be getting a teacher soon.

-A teacher? Can't he teach you?

-I… He… He is busy - he started stuttering.

Not even trying, I found an opportunity. And apparently struck a delicate subject.

-Interesting… Thank you. - I said, leaving him alone and making my way downstairs.

He bowed to me again and closed the door to the room, still red.

I went down to the ground floor to have another chat with the innkeeper, but the counter was empty and the main door closed. Even the light crystals were dark, only the one by the bar was still on. Curious about where the guy walked off I took a peek into the kitchen. It was completely dark, but in the back I noticed faint light coming from under another door.

I knew I shouldn't stick my nose in someone else's business, but I couldn't help myself.

Knocking loudly on the kitchen door I walked into the dark room.

-What is it? - I heard from behind the closed door. - I told you I still have more work to do.

The door opened, flooding the kitchen with light.

-Oh. What do you want this time? - he asked, surprised to see me.

The room behind him was filled to the brim with papers, ledgers and books. You could barely see the desk that was standing on the opposite wall from under all the stacks of papers.

-No paper, huh?

-As you can see I am in the middle of work and would appreciate not being interrupted - he said, crossing his arms, visibly upset.

-Yes, I see… - I replied slowly, glancing behind him on all the stacks of paper. - Hard to believe that you can't even spare a bit for a poor traveler…

He noticed my looks, but even though I could clearly see what he was writing there, he didn't bother to hide it.

-I can't and I won't. Anything else?

-I heard that a certain kid in this house is illiterate and I find it deeply upsetting. It's a shame that the son of such a busy businessman as yourself has such poor education.

-Not your business.

-Right, right. I was going to offer my services as a teacher, but since you are apparently not interested, then I will leave you to it.

-Pff, sure, right - he laughed - I need a better teacher than some random drifter right off the street.

-Your choice. If you change your mind you know where to find me.

-Leave me alone already!

With nothing more to say, I left him to his devices. I didn't expect him to accept my proposition, but it was worth a try. Funnily enough, although our conversation was brief, I got out of that more than I thought I would. He didn't even try to hide from me all those documents, most likely assuming that I can't read them. But those few glances were enough for me to read some parts, and they were most interesting.

From what I could tell, those papers were in Forgotten Script, but also weirdly mixed with regular english. I was only able to read a few sentences but they looked like actual legitimate ledgers, speaking about sales of something, along with a lot of what seemed like names. Sadly I didn't have time to find out what because he closed the door. At least I knew he didn't lie to me about that one, because I straight up thought he just made up something for me to piss off, he actually was processing his recent sales.

Alone, in the main room, I started wondering, what the hell should I do. It was already getting dark outside, and even after my previous endeavors, I was still as energetic as you could. I still had my doubts, so I decided to test my limits a little bit, and go for another walk, check how long my crystal can keep me going. There had to be some kind of limitation. I decided to take a walk towards the beach, since that was the furthest location with a road, and I wasn't really in a mood for another trek through some bushes in the dark, I had my fill of that already.

As I left the inn, I checked around for any signs of light anywhere nearby, and just as expected, I discovered absolutely none, every other building in the village was completely dark. Without anything better to do, I started my nightly walk.