The Hidden Gold Map

Mr. Fast was a good man. The bard was a good man. Mr. Victor had an odd temper, but he was a good man too.

Annan took their lessons to heart:

Keep your distance from nobles. Don't let desire corrupt you. Master yourself and your power.

Now Annan stood before a dressing mirror in a fitted black suit resembling a tuxedo. Beneath his tousled black hair, his eyes were clear and pure, and an intangible air of a Sorcerer surrounded him.

No wonder Aunt Susan had said Annan must be a noble or a prince.

To be honest, Annan was used to rough linen and an unkempt appearance, and this refined version of himself felt strange. But there was no need to make himself look shabby just to hide his gifts.

Especially when Lady Fine Wine was said to be attending the banquet.

"Sir, please allow me to say how honored I am that you're wearing this suit..."

The woman who owned the clothing shop gazed at Annan as though he were the man of her dreams, especially when her praise made him blush shyly.

"How much is this suit?"

"This Lund wool suit is only fifteen... ten silver coins."

Still reeling from the price of the magic scroll, Annan thought it sounded cheap at first. Then he remembered that ten silver coins could buy hundreds of pounds of dark bread.

He glanced at Mr. Fast, who was leaning by the display window and watching the street, then asked quietly, "Could I rent it?"

"Of course. The price... You can wear it for free!"

"Thank you. I'll wash it before I bring it back."

"Don't wash it!" Her sudden shriek even made Mr. Fast turn around. The shop owner cleared her throat and explained, "Lund wool needs special cleaning. Just bring it back when you're done."

"All right."

Annan nodded, still a little bewildered.

Back in the carriage, as they pulled away from the clothing shop and the shop owner's lingering gaze, Annan asked Mr. Fast, who was still wearing his yellowed shirt stained with grease:

"Why don't you have to dress like this?"

"Because everyone in town knows I'm a warrior. A rough warrior ought to look the part."

Mr. Fast adhered strictly to people's stereotypes.

Rich Street lay at the center of town, and the mayor's mansion stood at the center of Rich Street. Though the heart of Pinglin Town was hardly heavily guarded, most of its few professionals were stationed there.

Every noble and wealthy resident in town had been invited to the banquet, along with some of the middle class. Well-dressed strangers were everywhere.

Cakes, fruit, and prepared dishes filled the banquet tables. The food the guests barely touched held Annan's attention instead. Unfortunately, his striking appearance made him the center of attention too—many guests nearby were whispering about which noble family he belonged to.

Their attention shifted when the mayor appeared. This was Annan's first time seeing her. Her name was Axela Perez, and she came from Plangraced County. Her father had once been captain of the guard to the eighty-sixth king of the Rikaner Kingdom.

By rights, the child of a palace guard should have followed family tradition and continued serving the royal family in the capital. The bard had once guessed that her father must have offended someone...

The mayor, whose hair was already threaded with silver as she approached old age, welcomed her guests before speaking about Pinglin Town's tax revenue for the first quarter of the year.

At last, Annan could look around while popping a couple of grapes into his mouth or cutting himself a slice of cake.

That was how he first spotted Lady Fine Wine and Lindy coming in. He had just licked the cream from his lips when he heard the mayor say, "...a young Sorcerer has awakened in our town."

Eyes turned toward Annan all across the banquet hall.

Fortunately, Annan had put down his cake in time.

"It is my honor to announce that Annan has become an Honorary Townsman of Pinglin Town."

Applause broke out. Annan saw Mr. Fast motion to him and walked onto the stage under everyone's gaze.

"Your youth and good looks have made quite an impression on me," Axela Perez said appreciatively.

"You flatter me."

"Annan, is there anything I can do for you?"

Of course there was. Plenty.

Annan ran through a long list in his head, from something as simple as gold coins to all manner of Magic Materials and scrolls. He just couldn't say any of it aloud.

"Aunt Susan and her family still live in a place that's falling apart."

"Leave it to me."

Axela Perez gave Annan's shoulder an affectionate pat, then turned to greet her other guests. The mayor showed restraint, making no obvious attempt to win him over.

It wasn't just the mayor. Few of the other nobles or wealthy guests approached Annan either. Even Horn, the wealthy man's son, was avoiding him.

"Because Mr. Victor and I kept them away."

That was Mr. Fast's answer when Annan voiced his confusion.

"Only twenty-four professionals live in town. Eight work for the mayor, thirteen for the nobles, and I make one. Mr. Victor counts as half, and the bard makes up the other half."

"What about the last one?"

Mr. Fast looked at Annan.

At least Annan wouldn't have to worry about being interrupted so often that he couldn't eat.

But he hadn't gone entirely unnoticed. A young figure beside Mayor Axela Perez seemed particularly interested in him, stealing discreet glances his way. Whenever Annan casually looked toward the mayor and the young man, the glances stopped.

Annan was sure he didn't know the young man. He had no memory of him at all.

"Oh, right. Can you make sense of this?"

Remembering something, Annan took out the slip of paper and showed it to Mr. Fast.

Mr. Fast tilted his head this way and that, then frowned. "It looks like a few forks in a road..."

Forks?

Annan suddenly thought of the Haunted Gold Mine, where Tasia had lingered for so long. Then he spotted a cross marked on one of the "branches."

Which meant that cross represented...

Horn's father arrived with his son Horn, interrupting Annan's train of thought. He apologized to Annan and Mr. Fast on his son's behalf and offered to make it up to Annan by donating a batch of books to the Library in his own name.

Annan wanted to say he wouldn't turn down money either...

After Horn and his father left, Lindy came over with a gift box.

"My aunt asked me to give you this." Lindy handed Annan the gift. "Congratulations on becoming a Sorcerer."

"Thank you."

Annan opened the box. A Mage Robe lay neatly folded inside. He looked up and scanned the banquet hall until he found Lady Fine Wine talking with Sir Sean. Her heavy makeup accentuated her striking features, making it hard to look away.

As though sensing his gaze, Lady Fine Wine turned her head, lifted the corner of her mouth, and raised her glass to him.

There was one more incident at the banquet. While Annan was choosing food in a corner, he heard jealous whispers drifting in from the terrace. Someone said he spoke with a poor country bumpkin's accent.

Annan deliberately stepped onto the terrace, frightening the two young men into silence. They hurried away.

Late that night, the banquet ended. Annan and Mr. Fast followed the crowd out into the cold, quiet streets after the rain.

It had been like a warm, lavish dream. Waking from it left only cold reality.

Annan felt the Haunted Gold Mine Map in his pocket, the one Tasia had given him before she left. It warmed his heart.