The Mage Finder

“So, this is Meucheln…” Valeria remarked as they saw the first houses in the distance. ”Quaint little town, huh…”

“Looks like it…” Bastian said.

Sophia looked at Kieran, who was sitting on the cargo area next to her. He had changed in the past few days that they were on the road. Something seemed to trouble him. He barely talked anymore, only giving curt answers. Except when he and Sophia did their daily sparring match. During those times he talked a lot, since he began to criticize every little detail that Sophia did wrong and where she had to improve. Kieran also ramped up the intensity. Sophia began to feel slightly frustrated about that, but she knew that the things he pointed out were valid things, but the way he presented them was if he was pressed for time. She often asked what was wrong, but Kieran dismissed her every time and every time he had this extremely sad expression. The more dreams Sophia had shared with him, the more she questioned the stories about him. She swore to herself that after this mission, she would look into every file she could find about the Mage Murderer, and if there was even the slightest hint of his innocence, she would move heaven and earth to prove it somehow.

“Sophia? You still with us?” Valeria asked.

“Huh? Sorry I wasn’t listening,” Sophia said, pulled out of her thoughts.

“I asked what your plan is.”

“What plan?”

“Your plan on how to find this rogue mage… Don’t tell me you just expected to find him in the middle of the town with a sign pointing at him, did you?”

“No…I… have a plan… He will find him.”

Sophia pointed at Kieran.

“What do you mean, he will find him?” Bastian asked confused.

“Just that. He can find him… that’s what he does,” Sophia confirmed.

“So, he is some kind of Magic Finder? That’s handy…” Valeria remarked. “Just like a tool.”

“He is not a tool!”

Sophia had yelled surprisingly loudly, jumped up and glared at her. Valeria put her hands up.

“Woah… I was just joking! I didn’t mean anything by it!” Valeria said defensively.

“That wasn’t funny!” Sophia hissed and sat back down.

Valeria looked very surprised at the intensity of her reaction.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized.

“Good,” Sophia said curtly and faced backwards, looking away from everyone.

“How about we look for an inn before anything else. We’ve been on the road for a few days now and tempers running high… After a cold beer the world will look like a different place,” Bastian suggested to diffuse the situation.

“My dear Bastian! You can have a good idea at least now and then! I’m pleasantly surprised!” Valeria exclaimed and tapped him on the shoulder quite forcefully.

“If only you would listen to them more often, little g… woman…”

“Oh? Is there someone finally recognizing my fully grown womanhood after having seen something that he liked?”

“What? I never said that I liked them!”

“But you meant it!”

“Shut up… you’re still a little runt!”

“Old Geezer!”

Kieran chuckled suddenly and everybody turned around towards him. Bastian even stopped the horses.

“What?” Kieran asked, confused.

“We forgot you could smile over the last few days,” Valeria answered for them all.

“Very funny…”

“Well, enough with the jokes. There are four beers waiting to be drunk somewhere in this village!” Bastian said and snapped the reins, driving past the first houses.

“Three… I will start looking for this rogue mage.” Kieran said and stood up.

“You sure? You want to do it alone?” Sophia asked.

Kieran gave her a smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before it gets dark,” he reassured her.

Sophia somehow had a bad feeling about his smile, but she decided to trust him and nodded her head. Kieran grabbed his sword and jumped off the back of the cart. He then vanished in the next alley. The rest of them drove on in search of the nearest tavern. They found it three blocks further down the road. After caring for the horses and cart in a nearby stable they went inside the tavern and soon after sat around a table with their three beers.

“Sorry for what I said about your boyfriend… I didn't mean it in a derogatory way at all.” Valeria apologized again.

“It’s okay… I overreacted… and he is not my boyfriend, what gave you that idea?” Sophia rebutted.

“Oh… maybe the fact that you two slept in same bed back in Leiden?”

“What? You saw us?”

“Yeah. After you didn’t come down for breakfast I thought I would wake you up.”

“And you just came in?”

“I knocked first, but nobody answered. So, I looked inside if you were gone already, but then I saw you two sharing one bed!”

“That’s… because he would have had to sleep on the floor again otherwise!”

“There was a second bed, and he had his arm around you!”

“I… was cold!”

“Yeah, right… and a little friction warmed you right up, I bet!

“No… I mean, yeah, kinda… but not what you think, we didn’t… I can assure you that there is nothing between us, we’re just friends… he isn’t even—”

“Your type?”

“Yes, exactly, he isn’t!”

“Yeah right… Ah, forget it… do what you want, I don’t care.”

“I will do that!”

“Good!”

“Good!”

Both drank their beer. Bastian just watched them while drinking his own.

“Ah… I’m in the mood to get drunk today… You in guys?” Valeria asked suddenly.

“Not me, I’m on duty… and I don’t want a repeat of what happened in Entfuhr…” Sophia declined.

“Pity…”

Valeria looked over to Bastian and began to grin cheekily.

“So that just leave us two, my dear Bastian,” she said softly and slung her arm around his shoulders. “How about we get shitfaced together? If you’re lucky you might even get to see the puppies that you love so much tonight.”

Bastian grabbed her by the neck and gently pulled her off of him.

“I politely decline that offer. You better refrain from getting shitfaced… and also, we’re getting separate rooms.” He said intently.

“No, we’re not… we don’t have so much money, remember?”

“Then I’ll sleep with Kieran tonight.”

“Absolutely not!” Sophia interjected vehemently.

Both turned towards her smiling.

“Not your type, eh?” Valeria teased.

Sophia quickly drank instead of answering.

“You know, I have a question I wondered about sometime now…” she said after putting her mug down. “Shouldn’t someone… like you… have a little bit more… travel funds?”

“Ah… that’s… uhm…” Valeria mumbled and scratched her head.

“She broke too much valuable stuff when she was younger and is now banned for life from using the family funds…” Bastian explained.

Valeria smiled sheepishly.

“That… doesn’t really surprise me…” Sophia remarked and nodded.

“Oi! What’s that supposed to mean?” Valeria blurted out indignantly.

All three of them began to laugh at the same time. Then they ordered something to eat and waited. Sophia switched to goatmilk after her beer. Bastian drank slowly, while Valeria seemed really thirsty. He was on his second beer and she on her fifth when Kieran came into the tavern and took a seat next to them.

“You find anything?” Sophia asked.

“Yeah, probably,” Kieran said.

“Woah! So fast?! You’re really some kind of Mage Finder, huh?” Valeria exclaimed impressed, slurring her words slightly.

“What did you find out?” Sophia asked.

“I’ve heard about some ‘Strange City Folk' Person that came through here a while ago, looking for a place to stay. They say he made himself a hide-out in an old, abandoned villa to the east, since he was spotted in that area a few times and rumors has it that strange noises and lights can be seen at night from that villa… but everybody that went to check on it, never returned,” Kieran reported.

“It’s not guaranteed that this is our guy, but it’s at least worth checking out.”

“How did you get that information?” Bastian wondered.

“I asked some beggars…” Kieran said.

“Oh, like you did with that gang’s hide-out.”

“Yeah, beggars often have a pretty good idea of what’s going on in the streets, and they tend not to lie to you when you’re treating them with respect. When you need information about something in a place, always ask the beggars, the barkeepers, or the ladies of the night. Not much gets past those three groups of people.”

“Did a lady of the night teach you that?” Sophia asked with raised eyebrows.

“One actually did in fact… a long time ago.”

“Is that so?”

Sophia took a sip from her goatmilk.

“Well, for today we better rest and tomorrow we’ll check out that abandoned villa,” she then suggested.

“Sounds like a good plan,” Bastian agreed.

“I still think that Sophia and I should do this alone…” Kieran said.

“Again with that? We’ve been over it! They’re coming with us, whether you like it or not!” Sophia told him.

“You’re not gonna get rid of us so easily!” Valeria interjected, slurring her words.

“You better watch how much you’re drinking, or you will go nowhere tomorrow because you’ll be puking your guts out.” Bastian reprimanded her.

“I can hold my liquor! But you’re right… one more round and then it’s sleepy time!”

Bastian shook his head but ordered another round. Kieran waited for an opportunity where everyone at the table was distracted by the music playing bard in the corner, and he swiped something into Valeria’s beer. Then they drank till their mugs were empty.

“Guess that’s it for today... let’s meet tomorrow at breakfast and then we can go and check on that villa,” Sophia suggested.

“Sounds good,” Bastian agreed and supported the tumbling Valeria up the stairs to the rooms.