Chapter 14 A MORNING OF WAITING AND WONDERS
Xyra and Darren were sitting downstairs in two of the many chairs in the lobby, stationed near the door. They were once again waiting for Magnus, who had yet to show his face on that bright morning. His door hadn't opened once. In a way, it was no surprise. He had had a very eventful day, what with hunting demons, getting injured, and then healing said injuries. Besides that, using a talisman could easily exhaust a sorcerer. They were power enhancers, but they drew out a lot of a sorcerer's own magic. Even with how physically fit he seemed to be, there was always a limit.
Xyra heaved a deep sigh as she placed her head in her hands and began tapping her foot impatiently. She was hungry, and the more they waited, the worse it got. She had wanted to hurry up and get going in the morning so that they could spend some more time in Drester before the sorcerer's tournament and their departure the next day, but Darren had insisted that they wait for Magnus. The sorcerer hadn't joined them yesterday until they were almost done with breakfast, and then instead of looking around the city with them, he had gone out hunting and came back torn up. Therefore, they were going to make sure he came by this time. Besides, he needed to eat breakfast as well as spend the day relaxing. He had to be in top shape for the tournament.
"Should we wake him?" asked Xyra, finally running out of patience. If the sorcerer didn't get up on his own, they could always drag him out of the room.
Darren just shook his head.
"We'll wait a little longer," he said. "If he doesn't come out soon, we'll leave."
They sat there for a while longer, the boredom finally starting to sink in. A good portion of their morning was already gone, and Magnus still wasn't coming out. He had been sleeping for such a long time. He had gone to bed way before either of them. Hopefully nothing was wrong with him. There was always the possibility that he was just exhausted. It was also possible that he had gotten up at the crack of dawn and left before the two of them had even woken up. The first was much more likely.
Darren stood up suddenly and shoved his hands into his coat pockets. He took one last look at Magnus's closed door before heaving a deep sigh and heading for the exit. Xyra was quick to follow, almost knocking down her chair in the process. Finally, they were leaving. Apparently the hunter had gotten sick of waiting around as well.
"We'll come back after breakfast and see if he's up," Darren said as he opened the door, holding it for Xyra. "If he's not, we'll wake him."
"Sounds good," she agreed.
The second they left the inn and got onto the street, they began looking for a restaurant, one they hadn't been to yet. Both of them were in dire need of something to eat, and there wasn't a single place that was out of their price range. They still had more than enough money, thanks to Magnus. He had given them both quite a bit to spend as they saw fit. So far they had bought almost nothing but food. There wasn't too much of anything else that either one needed. Most of the shops in the area were magic and weapons shops. They had no magic and required no new weapons. As for buying supplies, they would leave that for Magnus to do. He was the one calling the shots; they were just following.
When the two of them passed by a small building, Xyra slowed her pace. She shot a glare in its general direction even though there was no one there to receive it. There was one just like it in every city, town, and village. Rarely was it used, but it was relatively important—a building for tax collecting.
"Something wrong?" asked Darren, glancing down at her. He soon saw what she was looking at and smiled. "Yeah. I'm not a big fan of them either. Thankfully, I no longer have to worry about that. I move around too much."
"I've never personally had to pay either, but I know plenty who have." Her expression sank as she heaved a sigh, her blue eyes taking on an almost nostalgic look. "Taxes aren't good for anything. They don't even help."
"Sure they do. Without taxes, the government couldn't really do anything for the people. It's because of taxes that we have schools, healing houses, inns, shops…although, I guess you do have a point, now that I think about it."
"What?" That didn't make any sense. Hadn't he just been talking about all the things taxes were good for? Why had he suddenly decided to agree with her?
"Well, there really isn't a need for them," he began. "There's a town up north called Millmore, and if I remember right, the residents there don't have to pay taxes. It's a very prosperous town too, second only to Drester."
"How's that even possible?" No town could get by without money. Wealth was needed for almost everything. If there were no taxes, then how could they build?
"Oh, it's very possible. Technically, no place should ever have to tax its people. Man… I'd hate to think what taxes would be like without those funds."
"Funds?" The more he talked, the more questions she had. Why couldn't he just get to the point already? All she wanted was an easy explanation. How hard was that?
"Yeah. I can't remember his name or where he lives, but there's a man on this continent who donates a large sum of money every three years to all the cities and large towns, and then they distribute it to the smaller towns and villages in their district."
"There's actually someone with that kind of money?" And here I was thinking Magnus was rich. I wonder who this guy is…
"Yeah, but he's really discrete about it. Only the officials know his name. Pretty nice of him to donate like that. He must have more money than he knows what to do with. It really is a great system though. It keeps people's lives simple, although…like Drester, some places still collect taxes. Most are really low, but I bet there are some places that aren't as lucky."
"Got that right," she mumbled under her breath, but he managed to hear her. The little thief seemed bitter about something, but he quickly decided it was best not to ask. She probably wouldn't tell him anyway. She had no reason to; they had only met the other day. However, judging by what she had said, he could easily draw his own conclusion. Maybe she lived in a town like that. I wonder if that's the reason she seems so poor…
As they continued walking, they passed by a rather large street stand with an ever-growing crowd surrounding it. Just like so many other people, Xyra had to stop and look, her eyes instantly going to the words painted on the beam above the larger-than-average stand. The words "Sorcerer's League" were there in bright red, catching everyone's attention. There were quite a few people accumulating there, forming three single file lines at the counter.
Xyra smiled brightly, her previous mood now forgotten, and began heading over, not bothering to tell Darren. It didn't take him long to notice her absence, so he quickly turned and followed her into the large crowd. He couldn't help but be a little surprised when he saw what she obviously planned to do.
"So you're one of those people," he said, sounding neither impressed nor disgusted with her decision. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave a small glare at the street stand. All of these people were obviously fans of the Sorcerer's League, but he personally hated the company. It's not that they were doing an injustice. He simply didn't like what they sold.
Xyra turned to look at her companion from her place in line, a bright smile on her face.
"Yep," she told him, not sounding insulted by his tone of voice at all. She wasn't ashamed of what she was doing. There were plenty of people like her—people who went to the Sorcerer's League stands in just about every town. The company had been established seven years ago, but it had grown quickly in popularity due to its type of merchandise. It practically dominated the continent. There was at least one in almost every town. Very few refused the league to do their business. The stands brought in a lot of money, some of which the towns were allowed to keep. There were so many benefits that all the downsides were completely outweighed.
Even though the organization was called the "Sorcerer's League," it had next to nothing to do with actual sorcerers and wasn't even a real league. The name was very misleading, but those who knew of it knew exactly what the company was all about. It was a place for non-magic folk to purchase spells so that they could rival a sorcerer. A lot of average human beings were envious of those who had been gifted with magic. This was a way to even the playing field a bit and get a taste of what spell casting was truly like. Many took full advantage of this service, and few abused the power they received from it. Those who did were caught almost instantly and thrown in prison. The consequences were harsh to those who broke the law.
Xyra eventually made it to the front of the stand from her place in line and began looking over what they had to offer. Most of the contained spells were ones she already owned or had no use for, like the wind and lightning spells. She had a few water ones, but she never found much of a use for them, which made her wonder why she had even bothered purchasing them in the first place. Water produced by magic had no thirst-quenching abilities, something she had unfortunately learned after already buying them. Water magic was used for putting out fires, washing, and sometimes for cooking. She hadn't been in a situation yet where she could really use them effectively.
Besides the many spells, there was something else she took interest in. Stationed on the back of the stand were wanted posters, all of which were for sorcerers. The league was solely responsible for displaying information about criminals with the ability to use magic. The posters often enough drew in a great number of bounty hunters who were more than willing to perform the service. One such poster was about the infamous sorcerer, Albus, but no picture was provided. However, that didn't matter, or at least not to Xyra. She was only curious as to why his bounty had increased.
"Wow," whispered Darren, who had been standing behind her, looking over her shoulder the entire time. She was startled a bit to see him there since she hadn't known he had followed her in line. He hadn't seemed very interested in the league a few moments ago. "They raised the bounty, huh? Man, if I were a bounty hunter, I'd hunt him down."
"But… I thought you were a bounty hunter."
"Nope. Just a hunter."
"What's the difference?" The only variation she could see was the lack of the word "bounty." Both hunters and bounty hunters sought after payment for their assistance, so what made them so distinct?
"A hunter only goes after demons," he explained. "They're way easier to kill than a sorcerer, especially one like Albus."
"Do you know why he has a bounty?" She couldn't help thinking about the conversation she had had with Magnus the day before last. He had brought up a rather valid point. Everyone knew that Albus was a wanted man, but people didn't seem to know exactly what he was wanted for.
"I don't know," he answered, not seeming to care too much, "but if the Sorcerer's League put out a bounty for him, then there has to be a good reason. There are rumors, of course, but that's all they are, even though most people tend to believe them. Some say he's the one who burned Vekta five years ago."
"Vekta?" she questioned, confused. She knew she had heard that name somewhere before but couldn't quite remember where.
"It was a city full of sorcerers. It was even larger than Drester, but someone burned it down five years ago. Very few survived. There are some who blame the Devil's Upholder, but like I said, it's only a rumor. There's no proof he did it. No one knows too much about Albus."
Xyra just stood there and stared at the wanted poster as thoughts began racing through her mind. She was really starting to wonder now. Magnus had said that Albus was innocent, and he seemed to be quite firm in his belief, but it just didn't make any sense. Albus was a criminal, and his name carried the biggest bounty by far. There had to be a logical reason for that. Maybe…he really did destroy Vekta.
"Excuse me, miss?" began the man at the counter, drawing Xyra and Darren's attention. "Will you be purchasing anything?"
"Um…" She didn't want to really buy anything, but she felt kind of bad for wasting this person's time as well as the time of those still waiting in line. Plus, for the first time in a long time, she had the money to buy one of their more expensive products. She could get a really powerful spell with the amount Magnus had given her. "I'll take that."
The man went over to the place she had pointed to and picked up a small vial. In it was what looked like liquefied fire. It was swirling incessantly, as if begging to be released from its glassy confines.
"This is a powerful one," he told her, a warning to his voice. "You sure you want it?"
Xyra nodded, a large smile on her face. The man handed her the vial, and she handed him one of the rubies Magnus had given her. He seemed a bit surprised when he saw what she was paying him for, but he simply put it in a box and counted out what was owed back.
"Thanks," she said as she tucked the vial and the money away in one of the many pockets of her cloak. After giving a small bow, she turned and began leaving, making her way through the swarming crowd. Darren was quick to follow, not wanting to be left at the stand. Large gatherings of people just weren't his thing. He broke into a jog to catch up.
"What spell was that?" he asked, peering over at her curiously.
"One that I've always wanted," she said with a bright smile. "Thanks to Magnus, I had enough money."
She glanced over at Darren, her smile widening with a mischievous curve.
"It was an Incineration."
Darren's face paled a bit as that particular name rolled off her tongue. The Incineration was probably one of the most powerful spells that the Sorcerer's League could create. Very few sorcerers knew it and only a handful could properly cast it. Most who tried were hit with a type of rebound due to the massive amount of heat the flames gave off. Some had been burned alive while casting it, often because of just one or two mispronounced words during the casting process. It was indeed a dangerous spell, one that amateurs weren't meant to possess knowledge of. The league was insane for mass-producing it and selling it so nonchalantly to the common, non-magic folk. If the company wasn't as powerful as it was, the government probably would have put a stop to selling such spells, but as long as no one used them illegally, the league claimed there wasn't a problem. Until a situation arose, they would keep doing business like they always did.
"Be careful with that," he warned her. "Don't use it unless you absolutely have to, and make sure you're far away when you do."
"Don't worry," she told him with an overconfident smile. "Nothing will happen. I'm careful with my spells."
"Hope you're right…" he whispered, once again falling silent as they walked down the crowded streets. He wasn't very fond of what Xyra had just done. People who bought from the Sorcerer's League were people who wanted very desperately to have magic. Most don't understand that a lot of sorcerers see it as a burden nowadays. Some would rather not have it at all and often envied those who were "normal". It was only natural, considering some of the outcomes. Apparently their magic often got them in trouble, because most of the people with bounties on their heads…were sorcerers.