The Flying Emporium

All in all, Severin felt the way those two stories ended was rather anticlimactic and that he didn’t learn nearly as much from them as he had hoped to. Still, he considered carefully.

And, after a short stretch of silence, finally asked,

“Were they humans? Those champions I mean.”

shrug

“Then what about their names? Do you remember those?”

And yet another shrug, though this time accompanied by the dwarf shaking his head.

“Sorry, lad. No clue. I told you what I know. As I said, you might want to get a full copy if you want to know any more than that.

Or you could always just ask someone else. Ask Samuel.”

“No.” Came Severin’s immediate reply. “He’s already suspicious as is. And he told me other people are as well. Or will be, at least.”

“What do you mean, suspicious? Suspicious of what? That you… aren’t from here?”

“No, not that, but… He had remarked how summoning new buildings out of nowhere reminded him of dungeon cores and how those tend to seemingly create things out of nothingness. Also mentioned some sort of fluctuations; or the lack thereof. Not really sure myself on that one.

In any case, ever since I mentioned that I was looking for another dungeon core, he seems convinced that I somehow can harness a core’s power. Thinks others will reach the same conclusion. So for now, I don’t really want to give him any more strange ideas.”

“But that doesn’t even ma--!” Bandur caught himself mid-sentence. “Damn. From their point of view, it would make sense, huh?”

“Not just from their perspective, I fear. Told me about how these things can seemingly communicate with their monsters even across longer distances. And apparently without leaving a trace. Just like the-”

“Like the chat feature, as you call it,” the dwarf completed.

“Exactly,” Severin nodded. “And not just that. All these things, the buildings, the materials, the knowledge. They all have to come from somewhere.

As does the gold I spend in its store, by the way. Plus,” Severin hesitated for a moment. But alas. At this point, he might as well reveal everything.

“ ,the thing I mentioned earlier. I think it reacted to my words. It opened a menu on its own.”

“That’s… What are you trying to say?!” Bandur now sounded and looked as terrible as Severin had felt when he first learned these things just a couple of days prior; the possible implications seemed even more shocking to the dwarf than Severin’s original revelation.

“I’m not trying to say anything,” Severin therefore tried to calm him, but also himself. “Only that we have to consider all possible options. No matter how unlikely and far-fetched they might seem. I mean, it doesn’t necessarily have to mean anything. Other classes have to be fueled by something as well. No? And it is a [unique] class, after all, so who knows?“

“I-I guess you are right. But. Isn’t it all the more reason to talk with Samuel? Give him all the information? Maybe someone like him, who…”

“No!” This time Severin’s refusal was even more firm than before. “I know where you are coming from, but no. I understand Samuel means well. That he is trustworthy. But this matter goes beyond simply trusting someone.

Besides, I… we… aren’t the only people he has to consider. You know his relationship with Malcos better than I do. How close he is with Ringald and his children. Can you guarantee that when…” Severin shook his head. Too much that could go wrong when politics was involved. Or faith.

“I understand if you feel uncomfortable with… well, whatever this is, and I won’t hold it against you if you decide to term-”

“Stop it, don’t even try. I will not back out of this, Sev. You will not get rid of me quite this easily. It’s just that…”

“I know.”

Silence. Again. This time for an even longer period, and interrupted only by the returned gulping noises and the sound of a bottle changing hands.

Severin’s thoughts returned back to the Chronicles, and how to get his hand on a copy.

Even if he wasn’t currently as busy as he was, going himself, Severin felt, he would only draw unnecessary attention, and, consequentially, suspicion, onto him; that may have been him simply taking Samuel’s words too much to heart, though.

Still, on a first glance, asking someone else to get it for him seemed like better suited alternative to him. On a second glance, however, this ultimately would be no different from directly questioning that person about the stories and would draw just as much attention.

The only exception would probably be Emily. But, even disregarding the fact that the girl was currently just as indispensable, in terms of workforce, as Bandur, the girl at times was surprisingly quick on the uptake. There was a chance for her to catch on to not necessarily the truth, but to something. And involving her was not an option.

It would involve either lying to her or telling the truth.

The former was something Severin didn’t want to do.

The latter was something he couldn’t afford to do; he wasn’t afraid of her exposing his secret on purpose, but doing so on accident was a very real possibility; especially for a child. Expecting her to keep silent about interdimensional traveling, about potentially be some sort of champion, or whatever else this might be, was just not realistic.

And the risk not worth it; not just the risk to him, but also the risk to her soul.

‘Well, it doesn’t really matter.’

Yes, he would look more into it if he ever got the opportunity, but there was no hurry.

‘Doesn’t have anything to do with me, anyway.’ That was Severin’s conclusion; more so even after hearing the two stories than before.

He just wasn’t one of these traveling and world-improving good Samaritans like those alleged champions.

All he now was, was being a shopkeeper. Nothing more.

“Your turn now.”

“Huh?” Severin was startled when Bandur suddenly interrupted this prolonged period of silence and didn’t immediately catch on.

“Tell me something about your world. You said some ridiculous things before. That your home world doesn’t have any other races besides humans? That’s also why you asked if the story’s champions had exclusively been humans, no?

And yet you claimed to have known of other races even before coming... arriving here. That you have stories about them. I don’t know how this could be possible, but I want to hear them.”

“Oh, right. Yes. Well. I- I don’t know. I couldn’t really tell you. There isn’t any one specific story I could tell you. Just…”

“Just what?”

“It’s mostly just folklore. No clue about where exactly, even. Or how far they date back.

Some hundred years? Thousand, maybe?

And they will probably have significantly changed over time. So even if I did know something, it would probably be wrong. There are movies, but I doubt…”

“Movies?”

“Eh, forget it.

Dwarves are basically depicted as small, hairy-or rather beardy- humans. Mostly fun, sometimes grumpy. Living inside mountains with a penchant for masonry and metalwork and smithing. And alcohol.

As for other humanoid races like elves-”

“Wait a moment. That’s it? That’s what we have been reduced to? Some archaic stereotype?

Coming from some lanky, dwarvenoid creature who lives in collapse-prone huts, and with a penchant only for making gold? Well, and also alcohol.” Bandur in his faux-outrage could hardly suppress a snort.

“Hey, hey, hey! Careful there, little man.”