In Ease of Mind

The carriage was shaking, and the wind howled when I woke up. I yawned and sat up, scratching my drowsy eyes.

The rain had stopped.

It was early morning, the wind the only sound.

The sunrays shone through small holes in the ceiling, spilling columns of light across the wagon.

I sneezed, rubbing my nose. The lingering damp from yesterday’s rain probably made me feel a bit sick.

This hadn’t happened in the forest. Perhaps microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses were also affected by mana.

Mana likely affected all beings.

It matched the fact that none of my wounds became infected.

My right arm and neck itched, and I felt small bumps on my skin. The insects from last night had probably bitten me.

“I hope they don’t transmit diseases,” I yawned, still waking up.

I peeked outside.

The ground was full of puddles, stunningly reflecting the early sunlight. The fresh scent of wet dirt floated in the air.

I liked that smell.

I reached for my cloak in the back of the cart. It was slightly cold to the touch but dry enough to wear. A faint, muffled odour clung to it, and it felt wrinkled in my hands.

I folded the blanket, stuffed it into my backpack, and draped the mantle over myself.

Avoiding the puddle directly in front of the cart, I squeezed my way to the side and grabbed both my spear and my backpack, not wanting to leave them unattended.

All the windows were closed when I turned to face the inn. It was still rather early in the morning. Most people were probably asleep right now.

In the other direction, the town was just as quiet, save for the wind’s roars.

I decided to try the same thing I had done in Tristte while exploring the town.

I tried concentrating on both my surroundings and my mana handling.

It took some time to adjust. Nonetheless, since I had been meditating for the majority of the carriage travel, it felt much easier than before.

Shaky at first, I matched the throbbing mana's cadence to my heartbeat.

Then to each stride.

I maintained a firm grip on its position throughout my body and practised pulling outer mana towards my legs while I weaved my way through the puddles on the ground.

All the houses resembled the inn, built of rough stone with dark wood features and shingled roofs.

It all felt unfamiliar. A new town in the vast, unknown world.

I was alone amidst the unrecognisable, but for the first time, it wasn’t so bad.

Though I was anxious, it was liberating to realise that even in a world far from mine, I could still feel the same way.

Leaving the carriage parking area, I reached a large fork in the road. These were the town’s main roads, each one likely ending at a different exit.

The dirt roads sagged with holes, water pooling in their uneven dips.

The wind pressed harder here, pushing at my clothes.

I stood still, admiring how the light scattered across the ripples in the soaked ground.

I turned towards the main street, houses lining both sides. It was the road we had taken yesterday to reach the inn.

Tristte was that way…

Then, a bird-like chirp echoed from in between the houses to my left.

I had yet to see any birds in this world. I didn’t even believe they existed here because I couldn’t find any in the forest.

I headed towards the sound, walking through a small alley. My hand brushed softly against the stone walls.

The houses blocked the wind and light from passing through, creating a pleasant shadowed passage where only the calming coos resonated.

Then, I came upon a barrage of thin trees with a dense canopy. Light dappled into the shaded grass.

At the top of one, a nest of sticks and pebbles clung to the branches, its insides hidden from my sight.

A creature perched beside it, claws hooked into the wood, its gaze locking onto mine.

It had a dark beak, sharply pointing downwards. Its eyes were pure black, outlined by a grey ridge. As it twisted its head, loose brown feathers drifted to the ground. Its slender wings shivered, and a long tail dangled below the branch.

I knew no species like it, but there was no mistaking it for anything other than a bird.

Curious, trying to figure out why there weren’t any in the forest, I slowly pooled mana closer to the creature.

Initially unfazed, as more and more mana gathered, it adjusted itself before taking flight and landing on top of a different tree.

It definitely felt the change in mana and tried to avoid it.

Mana definitely affected the creatures too.

Maybe that was why no birds ventured into the forest.

However, they were far larger than the hardshell insects I discovered there. Could birds be less resistant to mana?

Maybe the forest simply had no small insects for them to eat, so they learnt to notice when density was too high and avoided it.

I set foot on the grass, droplets splashing in all directions as my boots sank, crunching the blades beneath me.

Small drops fell from the trees as they swayed with the breeze. The leaves let out hollow claps, and the branches snapped faint clicks as they waved in the current.

Walking through the trees, I found a stone well.

A wooden roof sat above the deep hole, and a bucket, tied by a rope to a pulley mechanism, dangled inside it as I looked down.

The water rippled and swooshed slowly, hardly visible in nearly complete shade.

“Heeeyyy!” I shouted inside, making sure not to speak too loud so as not to disturb the townspeople.

“Heeyy… hey… hey…” it echoed back.

“Anyone down there!”

“Anyone down there… Anyone down there… anyone down th..." it replied.

When I lifted my head, a flock of the same brown birds from earlier glared at me. They all twirled their heads, their gaze fixed on me.

As a stray breeze grazed my nose, I sneezed, and they all jumped back in sync and flew to the tops of the trees.

I chuckled.

Beyond the well, lined by the trees and a low fence, stretched a wide field of crops.

Ears of wheat lurched in the wind, their tips catching the rays of sunlight. Beside it, neat rows of green-leafed plants hinted at hidden vegetables beneath the soil.

This was likely the only farm in the town.

A small wooden barrack, working as a storage house, sat to the right of the field.

Through the crack of its half-open doors, I could barely see stacks of wheat and rolls of hay stored inside.

The breeze gradually softened as I stared, lulled by the gentle rock of the golden stalks.

The first voices of the day finally rang.

The town was slowly awakening.

The sun was now higher in the sky but still far from noon.

I definitely woke up too soon today.

My stomach grumbled.

I hadn’t eaten anything yet. So I decided to head back towards the carriage.

I walked back to the parking area, focusing on each step as I controlled the mana around me.

Most windows were already open when I reached the inn.

Faint voices came from some of the carriages.

I likely wasn’t the only one who chose not to pay for a room.

“We aren’t so different, after all,” I quietly giggled.

The cart shrieked and yielded under my weight in a gentle dip, springing back up with a subtle creak.

The wind had mostly ceased, leaving a soft zephyr to whistle as it passed by. Only small ripples on the surface of the puddle showed remains of its existence.

The storm was gone.

I put my backpack and spear down inside the cart and took out some dried berries.

The bread loaves were totally eaten by now. Only a few biscuits and some handfuls of berries survived the journey.

I would need to ask for food at some point. These wouldn’t last much longer.

After finishing eating, I put the berry bundle back inside my backpack.

Then, the inn’s door creaked open.

A grating, dull jingle of metal pieces cut through the chatter, steadily approaching.