NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 2.3 Magic of Love
When they left their room to explore the town the next morning they were met by two guards.
“Please come with us.” One of them said in a curt but polite tone. Rick couldn’t think of anything that would have landed them in trouble so he figured this was about the report they made with Captain Foltig.
“Yes, take those filthy heathens away. Their presence has already stained the reputation of my fine establishment beyond repair.” Both the guards and their charges stopped and turned to face the man who spoke. The innkeeper was glaring at them. A look of triumph plastered on his pudgy face.
Rick looked to Sade then to the guards. All of them shared the same look of confusion at the sudden vehemence thrown at them. From the beginning, the man seemed to have never liked the two travelers. Rick just chalked it up to personal opinion and put the matter aside. It seems this dislike ran a bit deeper than he thought. "Um, excuse-"
"Be silent you filthy thing!" The man roared. "You two reeked of foul magic from the moment you walked in here. In that time the stench has only gotten worse. I should have refused your coin and kicked you out from the start. Now I will need a priest to exorcize the room you no doubt saturated with your taint!"
The pudgy man had worked him up to a frenzy at that point. Veins bulged on his neck and spittle went flying from his mouth as he continued to spit curses at Rick and Sade.
Never in his entire life had Rick ever encountered such open hatred for another human being, especially not aimed at him directly. Sure the internet exists, and the media liked to showcase the various hate rallies. But those situations always had a degree of separation from his life and the people in it. For some reason this man hated the two of them with every fiber of his being, and Rick, for the life of him, could not figure out what it could be.
The two guards quickly ushered them out the door and back into the relative quiet compared to inside. "The fuck was his deal?" Rick asked.
One of the guards spoke up. "I'm sorry to ask, but are one or both of you mages?"
Rick tried to meet Sade's eyes. She gave him a quick nod then looked down at her feet. "I am, I guess." He admitted.
The man nodded his head. "That may explain it. It seems other than the increase in monster attacks, there is also rising violence against mages." He bowed his head low. "We are sorry you had to endure that. I'm sure my captain would agree with me that if he knew the man would react to you like that, he would never have recommended that inn."
Rick gave the man a friendly slap on the shoulder. "From what little I've seen, you and your captain are all good men. I don't blame you at all." He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "If it's alright with you, could you send someone to pick up our stuff? I'd rather avoid dealing with that man anytime soon."
The guards gave him thankful smiles and agreed to do just that. It seems that the good captain had good men under his command. Rick shuddered at the thought of other guards, let alone Captain Foltig treating him or Sade the same way the innkeeper did.
Soon they found themselves at the patrol station once again. Inside the captain waited in the exact same spot as the last time they saw him. Rick wondered if he ate and slept at his desk as well.
"You two certainly look a sight better than when you first walked in. I take it that your stay in Valmik was restful?"
Rick shrugged. "For the most part." At the captain's quizzical look, Rick gave a brief overview of the innkeepers rant.
"From the bottom of my heart, I apologize for the way you were treated!" Foltig practically slammed his head down on the table with the force of his bow. Rick did his best to reassure the man.
"Hey, hey, your men already said sorry on your behalf. They even agreed to get our things for us. You and your men are good people, we know you didn't purposely send us there to be discriminated against."
"So what did you need to talk to us about?" Rick hoped the captain would accept the change in subject and drop the matter. Foltig coughed to regain his composure and thankfully switched gears.
"I received word that my men have found the attack site. They have corroborated your story and are attempting to track the creatures down.”
Rick was happy that the guardsmen were taking their story so seriously. “That’s good to hear. I hope the hunt is successful”
The big man nodded. “I hope so too. Now where were you two heading before all this happened?”
“The caravan was heading to Shatak.” Sade piped up for the first time since the outburst at the inn. “I was going to start my studies there. But I have yet to find any passage from here that would arrive before the semester starts.”
Foltig folded his arms in thought. “If you could, when would you prefer to continue your journey?”
Sade blinked at his question. In an unsure voice she replied. “Immediately?”
The captain laughed. A great and powerful sound that rumbled out from his massive chest. “I guess I should have anticipated that response. Here is what I will do, I will ask a friend or two to see if they can send you on your way. Meet me at the western gate in four hours. If I am successful, you will have transport to Shatak. Is this agreeable?”
Rick was excited and Sade perked up as well. “Thanks so much! But why are you doing so much for us?”
Foltig chuckled at his question. “I have a few reasons. One is that you two are good kids. My men noted how you treated the fallen. Not many would go to such lengths for relative strangers as you have.” His eyes grew sullen. “And I still want to apologize for sending you to that inn. My honor demands I try to make amends, even if you do not hold it against me.”
They thanked the captain and left. They had four hours to kill and a possible trip to plan for. And unfortunately, no room at the inn to go back to. I really hope that fat bastard didn’t mess with our things before the guards could retrieve them. Rick thought before following Sade through the streets.
This was Rick’s first time actually wandering the various markets that dotted the main streets of Valmic. He still had a hard time adjusting to the difference in technical development his old life had compared to his new one. When they were walking through the woods, certain creature comforts like toilets were expected to be missing. But after spending a couple nights exploring a ‘civilized’ town, he had to face the reality that things like the internet, electricity, or even working plumbing were now behind him.
Rick was no historian. Anything older than the industrial revolution was just a series of names and dates to him. Valmic was a town of maybe a couple thousand residents. Whether or not that meant that the town was large, small, or constituted a small city, he had no clue. All he knew is that this was a small town to him, in some developmental period similar to the early middle ages.
Since magic was a thing in this world, Rick wondered if the city he and Sade were traveling to would have used it in its construction. He wouldn’t really know until he got there he supposed. He would adapt, he had with everything else so far. It still concerned him how easily he got used to walking around naked in the forest.
The two lovers wandered around and looked at all the various wares on sale in the market. They had many of the supplies they needed already from their looting of the doomed caravan, but a few more supplies couldn’t hurt. Sade helped Rick pick out a few outfits that were a bit better fitting than his borrowed sets. He would still need to visit a tailor at some point to adjust the clothes to fit him properly but they would do for the moment.
Thinking about fitting into his clothes had Rick’s mind go down an odd path. “So my magic is intimancy. A mix of ‘intimate’ and ‘mancer’, right?”
Sade looked up from the row of various clockwork curios being peddled by a dwarf sporting dirty blond hair that reminded Rick of a surfer bro. “I would not announce your magic so freely out in the open after what we experienced at the inn. But yes, I think your analysis is correct.”
Rick nodded and continued to outline his train of thought. “That just seems like a silly name for a branch of magic though.”
She blinked in confusion. “You think it is… silly?”
Rick smiled. “Yeah, silly! I would go with something cool like ‘Fuck magic’ or the like.”
She just looked at him for a moment then turned away with a curt “No.”
“Oh come on! How about ‘Coital-crafter’?”
“No.”
“Fornigician?”
“No!”
“Intercorcerer?”
She stopped her walk down the street and faced him. “Okay, I will admit that the last one was clever.” Before Rick could revel in his small victory she put a finger to his lips, shushing him. “But I still would not change the name, even if I could.” It seemed that Sade was finally shaking off the funk from the situation with the innkeeper. Her expressions, while still calm and analytical, were starting to gain their previous vibrancy.
Rick was just happy she was talking again. “Oh? What’s wrong with the other names?”
She beckoned him to follow her. It was almost time for their meetup. “All the other names sound selfish and crass. Like the magic they invoke is all about pleasuring yourself and taking what you want from others.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
Sade sighed and continued with her explanation. “Your magic isn’t just magic invoked during sex. It is about being intimate with another person.” Her hands were gesticulating around, as if mere words couldn’t contain the full depth of what she was trying to say.
“Think of it this way. Your magic could give you coital energy for simply engaging in sex with a woman. Or every time you release, even if it was just by yourself. But that is not how it works, as we so thoroughly discovered.”
She smirked and Rick returned the expression. They had indeed been thorough in discovering how to cultivate that special energy. “Your magic activates only when your partner achieves release.” She continued. “Both of us benefit when we take the other’s pleasure into account. When we are intimate, rather than just seeking our own joy.”
She hugged him fiercely then. The gesture somehow conveyed all the feelings she couldn’t articulate otherwise. “That is the reason I love you and your magic so much. It is just as kind and considerate as its wielder.”
She said ‘love’.
Rick’s mind grinded to a halt at the words and he froze in place, all mental energy devoted to processing those simple words she casually uttered. Sade broke the embrace and began to move ahead of him, oblivious to the storm of emotions raging inside his skull. She turned and bade him to follow before continuing on her way.
She said that she loved him. Rick didn’t have much experience in romance or dating. But as he watched her petite form retreat into the distance he knew one thing. He would do anything to make her repeat that statement as many times as he could.
He suspected that’s what it meant to be in love as well.