Preparing for the Journey

Theo, Leo, Cleo, traveled down the road from the castle into the bright artificial sunlight. As they walked, Leo looked over at Theo. “Theo, when I found you, you were running from the Eyeless, and I don’t know what your situation was before coming here. Are you tired? Should we wait?” Theo thought as he focused on the road ahead. Before this experience he was running from loan sharks and jumped off a building out of spite. By all accounts he should be exhausted. But on the other hand, he doesn’t know how long he’s been unconscious upon waking in this world, and simply ‘taking it easy’ isn’t something he has done since becoming homeless and being chased down. “I think I’ll wait until we get to the Sun Sanctum. The Titanos sound like they’re allies right? I’ll either rest there or when we get back.” Leo nodded “Sounds fair. But before we do that, we need to get some equipment. We should stop by the shop ran by Dwarfs. I’ll lead you there.” Theo was caught off guard. This world so far didn’t seem to use normal video game or anime logic like he was expecting, so hearing something familiar like Dwarfs making equipment almost felt refreshing. “Lead the way.” Theo said.

The three headed into the city and went past the market. After several turns, they approached an empty forge. “I guess no one is here.” Theo frowned. Leo shrugged “We’re heading inside the building next to it.” A Dwarf came outside the shop Leo pointed to. He looked like your standard fantasy Dwarf, stout frame, muscular arms, a large beard with an apron and leather boots. His brown eyes looked to Leo and waved. “Hey, Leo! Are you here to get some equipment replaced?” Leo nodded. “The protection I normally wear got torn to shreds. I also need you to make a bag and make three of them please. Mind helping us out Grant?” The Dwarf nodded. “Come inside then.” As they walked into the shop, Theo frowned upon what he saw. He didn’t see a bunch of blacksmiths working on metal and creating weapons and armor. All of them were...sewing. Nearby he looked to the left and saw two of the Dwarfs going at it “I TOLD you that Mrs. Wells house would look better with curtains with a contemporary style and a neat floral pattern with layered sheer and opaque fabrics would look better? WHY did you make this monstrosity?!” he yelled angrily with veins on his forehead, holding up a plain purple curtain. The other Dwarf snorted. “You’re overthinking it, a minimalist purple design with beige cotton is more suitable for a woman of her taste!”

“It’s lazy!” “No! It’s efficient!” “Screw you!” “Bite me!” They soon butted heads “YOU WANNA FIGHT?!” they both screamed. Grant sighed “They got a request and the customer left it up to their judgment. They’ve been doing this for over an hour. Ignore them.” Theo raised a hand “Uh, question. Who owns the forge next door?” Grant looked up at Theo “Huh? Oh. Yeah, it belongs to a guy named Dave. Why? Did you think we owned it? I guess that can be confusing if you’re new considering it’s right next door.” Theo nodded slowly “I see…” “Anyway.” Grant continued before looking to Leo. “So you want protection back huh? In order to deal with the rain easier, we need to make you more rain-proof cloaks. Three right?” Theo turned to Leo, expressionless. “By protection you meant…” “Yeah, protection from the rain. If we’re going to travel it’d suck to get constantly wet.” “I see.” Theo responded. “And the leather bag is for…” “The cloaks when we aren’t wearing them. It’s not like we have something to store it in right now.” “Of course.” Theo replied dryly. “…Those curtains are ugly.” Cleo whispered silently. The looked over at Cleo, surprised at her sudden commentary, but when he looked at her she went silent again.

Grant lead them towards the back away from the yelling to a long metal table behind some curtains with a long metal table. Two cloaks dark gray cloaks were already waiting on the table. Grant looked at Theo “These two cloaks are for Leo and Cleo. Am I to make the third one for you?” Leo nodded. “Yeah, his name is Theo.” Grant chuckled. “Seriously? Leo, Cleo, and now Theo. That’s funny.” Leo smiled. “Yeah, except he’s the Rain Wizard and we’re to be his guards. So it would be more accurate to say it’s Theo, Leo, and Cleo.” Grant raised an eyebrow and looked to Theo. “So he’s the new Rain Wizard huh? You know, you’re…the third one in the last 100 years? Your guys’ luck suck.” he said bluntly with a chuckle. “Thanks for noticing.” Theo frowned. “...How about Theo, Cleo, and Leo?” Cleo suddenly said. There were several moments of silence at her sudden comment. “I think we’re past that moment, Cleo.” Leo replied. “You’re right. Move on.” she said simply before going quiet again.

“Anyway.” Grant continued. “I’m probably going to have to make the cloak a little more durable for Theo. If I make it the same way, it will probably get ripped to shreds too soon.” “Because of my bad luck?” Theo asked. “Hey, good job, you seem to be getting used to this.” Grant smirked. Theo sighed and Grant continued “Go get some rest, it’ll be done in the morning. Now shoo. I got work to do.” Grant said as Theo, Leo, and Cleo looked at each other before turning the other way to out of the door. As Theo followed behind Leo and Cleo, a little disappointed he had to delay their voyage, he looked at the brick floor and ended up bumping into somebody. He looked up and saw a man with a white shirt and rolled up sleeves with muscular arms and brown eyes and hair, appearing to be in his 20’s. The man looked Theo up and down. “Who are you?” Theo replied “Theo. Who are you?” “Dave.” the man replied, soon walking past him and moving to work at the forge. “Huh. So that’s Dave.” Theo thought.

Leo led them to an inn, inside was what you’d image a fantasy hotel to look like. Wooden floor and tables, with a counter with a woman behind the counter and stairs leading to the next floor. Leo walked up to the woman and placed several gold coins on the counter. “Three rooms please.” Leo said as the woman smiled and bowed, turning behind her to grab three keys off a hook. “Rooms 9,10, and 20 upstairs. Ten numbers on the right, and ten numbers on the left. Enjoy your stay.”

The trio go up the stairs and Leo and Cleo lead Theo to his room first. Room 9. He unlocked the door and walked into a simple room with a white bed, white curtains with a window where the city and artificial sun could be seen outside. There was a drawer on each side of the bed, and a desk with papers and a quill pen against the wall of the room. “We’re your bodyguards Theo. If anything happens, let us know.” Leo said. Theo turned around to look at him. “Are you saying I’m in danger even in here?” Theo replied. Leo smiled wryly “There’s a lot of people who won’t be thrilled at the Rain Wizard being back in the world.” Theo raises his eyebrows in surprise “Just how badly did the last guy mess up?” Leo hesitated for a moment “Well, it’s not just the last Rain Wizard. They’ve been around for hundreds of years. A couple hundred years ago, it’s said that the original goal of the Rain Wizard was to bring the sun out for festivals and keep crops healthy. But...one of them caused the rain to never end and disappeared. And the last one we also disappeared, many think he just ran away. Suffice to say, a lot of people think it would just be better to get used to the world as it became and get rid of a Rain Wizard whenever one shows up. If people find out the Rain Wizard has returned, we may deal with some fanatics. Cleo and I will be on guard in case word gets out. Try to get some rest for tomorrow. We’ll head out early.” Leo gave one last friendly wave as Cleo slowly closed the door.

Theo eyes peered down on the wooden floor before heading to the window, looking at the city outside. “Great. So now I also need to worry about cultists with a grudge.” he sighed. He lifted his head again upon hearing a voice echo throughout the city, through some sort of speaker system. “Attention everyone. It is now night time. Please have a wonderful night.” it said before the sun at the top of the dome faded, and street lights dimly lit up areas of the city. Theo looked at the ‘sun’ now that it was turned off, and seemed to be a giant orb with gears and rings around it. Theo tapped his fingers on the window sill before turning to his bed and laid down, closing his eyes.