And What Am I Paying You For, Exactly?

The atmosphere of the tavern was something I had always enjoyed. It was warm and comfortable, but there was a permeating sense of excitement and freedom that was seldom felt elsewhere. Drink flowed, men told their daily anecdotes too loudly, raucous laughter filled the room. I often found myself there alone, enjoying the food and drink but not conversing with anyone. 

Some nights I was content just to take in the snippets of merriment that emanated from the crowd. I would smile to myself and imagine that around me were adventurers and knights telling tales of glory. But on those nights when I listened more closely, I would realize that the tales were only of the mundane—of farming and family, romantic misunderstandings and friendly squabbles—and my mood would inevitably fall to a spiteful frustration. The simple-minded nature of the clientele clashed with the aesthetics of the place. Like the world itself, the tavern had such potential, but was held back by the people inside who never once considered that they could do anything but the same things they had done every day for their entire lives.

Well, for once, things were different, for inside the tavern were two people who had real adventures to discuss.

"Sho, what'sh next?" Marigold asked while chewing on a piece of bread. It seemed that talking with her mouth full was a habit of hers.

"Marigold. I believe it would help our working relationship for you to swallow your food before speaking." These kinds of things got on my nerves, and I couldn't help but comment on it. I figured I would just say something early rather than let the annoyance build. Marigold gulped down her bread then told me off for insulting her manners, saying that she could act how she pleased. I nearly argued back, but, in fairness, she did swallow before speaking, so I was content.

"Anyway, yes, what's next..." I considered our options. Although I had done a fair bit of exploring in recent years, the stone in the forest was the only oddity I had encountered that was of any real interest. Of course, there may well have been other strange artifacts scattered around the immediate area, but it was hard to say; how could one locate such things? Just then, an idea came to me: "Marigold, what about dowsing? Could we use magic to find what we're looking for?"

She shook her head. "It's like I said before. If you don't know what you're looking for, you won't find anything. Can you give me something specific to look for?"

I rubbed my chin in thought. "Hmm... How about a rift in reality, giving way to the true world!—a portal through which heaven may be revealed to mortals' eyes?" Marigold stared blankly.

"And what is that made of, exactly?" she asked, knowing damn well that I had no answer.

"And what am I paying you for, exactly?" I retorted. It seemed that magic was almost entirely useless when it came to my needs. I had saved my funds just for this, and for what? I thought it would be all smooth sailing with a mage on my side, but no. Marigold barely reacted to my snide remark, calmly taking a sip of ale.

"Look. You're the one asking the impossible," she said. "There are plenty of things magic just can't do." She sighed and turned her head slightly, staring off into the corner.

"Admiring the cobwebs?" I joked. To my surprise, and for what reason I had no clue, Marigold blushed—that is, if my eyes did not deceive me. She quickly turned back to face me.

"Hey, why don't we spend some time here, helping the townsfolk?" she said. 

"What? How will that get us any closer to—"

"I'll use my magic. You can get a better feel for what it can and can't do, and you can ask around about any weird rumors. Plus, you won't have to pay me until we leave town again. Helping ordinary people is what I came here to do originally, anyway," she explained. Ah, so she was still hung up on that. But, it was understandable; she only wanted to do what she felt was right, and I couldn't blame her for that. Even so, I doubted the merit of this plan. Having lived most of my life in this town, I found it hard to believe that there could be anything particularly interesting hidden in the minds of the populace.

"If there were any good rumors to be heard, I would have heard them by now," I said.

"I don't believe you," replied Marigold. "Do you even... talk to people?"

"Rude!" I exclaimed. "I have, on many occasions, tried to make conversation with the people of this town about all manner of topics! I just..." I trailed off, not wanting to admit that it had been many years since I had anyone I could consider a true friend. Marigold made a smug "mhmm" as if she had confirmed some hypothesis of hers. I didn't know what to say. It wasn't my fault that other people didn't understand me.

"Maybe something has come up recently that you haven't heard about," said Marigold. I thought about it. Perhaps she had a point. To be honest, I didn't have any better ideas.

"Very well," I said. "Let's begin tomorrow morning."

*   *   *

Shortly after dawn, I met Marigold back at the tavern, and we walked to the town square. The brisk coolness of night still lingered in the air.

"It's a nice town," Marigold said.

"Frustratingly so," I replied.

The stone paving of the town square glistened with dew, but that was soon whisked away by the sun, and with the sun came the townsfolk. They moved unhurriedly, heading to their jobs or errands or to visit a friend. I spied among the crowd a hobbling old man, and Marigold went to him, casting a spell to lighten his body. Instantly, his posture straightened, and he smiled. He thanked Marigold and offered her payment, and when they had finished I asked the man if he had heard anything interesting lately. He thought for a moment, looking slightly confused. I hadn't asked anything confusing, I thought, but maybe I just had that effect on people.

"Nothing much lately," the old man said, scratching his chin. "Well, Don beat Edsall at biffer the other day! Ha!" I hadn't the faintest damn idea who either of those people were. I looked at Marigold, who shrugged. Well, we were off to a fantastic start.

The rest of the day was not any more productive, but Marigold seemed content with her work. She healed some minor injuries, fixed a leaky roof, cast an enchantment over the fields to help the crops grow, and bolstered the warding spell that protected the town from any wayward beasts or other hazards of extreme rarity. 

Coincidentally, we happened upon the aforementioned Edsall, who was calling out for his lost pet, a plate-eared sartil named Caldwell (an awful name for a sartil, if you ask me). Edsall gave off the impression of a stranger your parents would tell you not to talk to, and I had my doubts about his story, but, as Marigold was able to divine, Caldwell was real and was stuck in an extraordinarily deep hole by the side of an unpaved road. To my dismay, I was tasked with climbing down into the pit to extract the beast. Marigold tried to frame it as a "little adventure" for me. Ha! Well, the sartil did growl at me, but he was no threat. I lifted him up and handed him off to his elderly keeper, who hugged him and ruffled his fur.

"Good you two kids came by. I was worryin' ol' Caldwell had up and skipped town!" said Edsall. He turned down to his pet and scolded him in a sickly sweet tone, "Now don't go runnin' off again, y'hear? Or Daddy's gonna get you and eat you right up!" This guy was really starting to creep me out. "Say, I haven't seen you two around. Are ya new here?" he asked.

"Yes, I am," said Marigold, smiling politely. "For now, I'm just helping out around town. It's good to have a couple of mages in the area, right?"

Edsall nodded. "And you, boy? Are you a wizard?"

"No, not me," I said. There was an awkward silence as the old man cocked his head. I realized he was expecting some elaboration, but words escaped me. I knew that if I spoke from the heart I would be ridiculed. Marigold glanced at me, then told Edsall not to mind me, and that I was "just a little off." At that, the old man's eyes lit up.

"Oh, I remember!" he started. "You're Hallister's kid, right? Godrick—no, Godfrey!"

"Godwin," I corrected him. I wasn't too pleased to have been recognized only after having been described as "off," but that was my reputation, unfortunately.

"Back when you were a wee little thing, you'd run around town shoutin' about some phooey, d'you remember that? You were real precocious; everyone thought you were just the cutest. Hadn't seen you 'round much lately, though. How's things?" 

"Good, good," was all I said. And what else was I supposed to say? To him, all I'd been doing with my life was just "phooey." There was another awkward pause as both Edsall and Marigold looked at me, keenly awaiting further details.

"Well, we ought to be going!" I blurted out, eager to end this pointless interaction. "Places to go, people to help... you know!"

"Oh... alright," said Edsall. Marigold elbowed me but played along. Edsall smiled and waved as we walked away.