Mage apprentice

That morning, beside a path outside Brekka Town, Renato looked at Perly, who had caught up with him, with mild puzzlement.

She carried her luggage on her back and was panting:

"W-wait!"

The girl braced her hands on her knees and gasped for breath. Mud spattered the hem of her black cotton robe; she had clearly run the whole way.

"Renato, I've made up my mind. I still want to adventure with you."

Renato studied the persistent mage apprentice. Her hands were clearly less steady than her voice-her knuckles were white, and her palms curled slightly with nerves.

"I thought I made myself clear last night." Renato kept his voice even. He knew young people her age were always impulsive. "This life isn't for you."

"I know you think I'm a burden." She bit her lower lip. "But I'll prove myself to you with my spells!"

"You're very brave, Perly. Much braver than I am." Renato's expression remained unchanged. "But against a blade, a brave heart is just as fragile as a coward's."

"Just take me on your next job!" She stepped forward eagerly, almost bumping into Renato. "I can handle magical traps and identify magic items. I'll prove I'm useful!"

"Arrows from the shadows and daggers in the city will get you killed..."

"I know Mage Armor! And Blade Ward!"

Renato took another look at the mage apprentice before him. Apparently, she wasn't merely reckless. Every sentence addressed a concern of his; she had clearly prepared carefully to persuade him.

Perhaps she wasn't as useless as she appeared.

Renato knew little about mages and couldn't tell whether Perly really knew those spells. But taking her along to Fried City, which was on his way anyway, would cost him nothing.

"We split the reward for the first job twenty-eighty." He decided to lay out the unpleasant terms first. "If you do well, we'll keep working together, and then we can renegotiate the split."

Perly immediately nodded her agreement, so quickly that Renato regretted not asking for more.

"Then let's hurry. We need to reach the next village before dark, or we'll have to spend the night outdoors."

Renato looked in surprise at the girl, who was ready to set off. He caught her by the arm and asked in bewilderment:

"How did you get to Brekka Town? On foot?"

"Of course. The first stretch was a little rough, but it got much better once I reached the main road. If we walk fast, we'll see the city gates by noon tomorrow."

"Stop, Perly. Don't say such terrifying things." Renato couldn't help pressing a hand to his forehead. "We're waiting here for a wagon."

On the wagon, Renato pushed at the bundled deerskins beside him to make himself more comfortable.

He and Perly had each paid ten copper coins for a ride on this freight wagon returning to Fried City.

"I didn't expect there to be a public carriage here. I thought only big cities had them."

"This isn't a public carriage, Perly. It's a freight wagon."

The road was rough, and the wagon swayed. For someone with senses as keen as Renato's, it was quite an ordeal, so he could only distract himself by talking:

"Brekka Town has neither a mill nor an oven. Apart from meat, all its food-bread, vegetables, and so on-has to be brought in by wagon."

"The wagons arrive full of food, but often aren't full on the return trip because Brekka Town doesn't have that much freight to send out."

"That's not true, young man!" the middle-aged driver interjected loudly. "Brekka Town has as much freight as you could want. I just can't afford to buy that much!"

Renato was momentarily speechless. It was the first time he had heard someone say "I can't afford it" with such unapologetic confidence.

"Anyway, the wagon shouldn't go back empty. Taking us along earns him a little extra, so why not?"

Renato changed the subject and asked about Perly's circumstances in Fried City:

"You just came from Fried City, right? Do you know your way around?"

"Only the neighborhoods in the north. I stayed there for a while, but eventually I couldn't find any work in the city that paid, so I thought of coming out here to become an adventurer."

The jolting was too severe. Perly gave up trying to read on the wagon and tucked the little book inside her robe:

"Renato, are you from Fried?"

"Of course not. Why do you ask?"

Perly rested her chin in her hand and stared at him:

"Because the way you speak reminds me of the nobles in the city."

Renato snorted, making Perly frown:

"What are you laughing at? Am I wrong?"

"Didn't you mistake Little Finger for a noble too?" Renato deliberately mimicked her tone. "Mr. Joe Laurent recommended me..."

His teasing made Perly's face flush.

"All right, I admit I may not have seen much of the world, but Mr. Joe really is a respectable man, and he keeps his word..."

Little Finger, respectable and trustworthy? Renato privately disagreed. A swindler, gambler, and thief-that was his objective assessment of Joe. But there was no need to spell it out to Perly; after all, they had only just met.

Some things were better left unsaid.

At dusk, before the gates closed, the two entered the city through the south gate.

Renato visited several inns in succession, but none satisfied him.

Winter was approaching, and many wealthy people from the countryside had come to spend the season in the city, driving room rates up considerably.

"Rooms around here are far too expensive," Perly muttered. "Why don't we look for somewhere on Old Alley Street?"

Renato had no desire to experience an inn in the slums. After weighing his options, he decided to stay at an out-of-the-way inn in the south of the city.

Its sign was rather elegant, bearing a line of Elvish script beside a picture of a leaping silver deer. Renato recognized its meaning: "Silver Deer Inn."

There weren't many guests inside. Most of the staff and lodgers were half-elves, and the reception was hardly warm.

His clothes were ordinary, and he wasn't lavish with his money. Renato understood perfectly well why the attendant was indifferent. Besides, with no one coming over to make idle conversation, he actually felt more at ease.

Compared with other inns, the price here wasn't high: only ten copper coins a night. He had intended to take a room for himself, but at Perly's insistence, the two had to share.

Under the half-elf attendant's suspicious gaze, Renato steeled himself and entered the room with Perly.

Unlike the inn's elegant frontage, the room was small and its furnishings were fairly plain.

There was a wooden bed covered with a thick wool blanket, a washstand, and a small table beside the window. An oil lamp with barely any oil stood on the table, while a bucket for washing clothes sat in the corner.

Perly was petite, so even sharing the bed wouldn't be cramped.

Renato had wanted to go relax at the bathhouse alone, but seeing Perly sitting on the edge of the bed, chewing black bread and looking at him expectantly, he could only sigh inwardly:

She can't go to the bathhouse... Forget it. Let's talk business first. I'll bathe tomorrow.

"Perly, we're companions now, aren't we? Can you be straight with me? Exactly which spells do you know?"

"Companions..." Perly struggled to swallow her black bread. "I can cast five first-level spells."

At Renato's faintly amused expression, her cheeks reddened with embarrassment:

"I didn't lie to you yesterday. I can only prepare two first-level spells at a time, so I only mentioned the two I had prepared then."

"Besides Burning Hands and Magic Missile, what are the other three?"

"Identify, Alarm, and Mage Armor."

Renato considered this. All three were utility spells he had heard of, and they were unlikely to hurt a teammate by mistake. There was no problem there.

He had always been curious about how mages cast spells. With Perly right in front of him, young and lacking guile, Renato simply asked:

"What does only being able to prepare two spells mean? You can only cast twice a day? You don't have enough mana?"

Perly's eyes went wide as though she had heard something shocking, and she nearly choked on the bread in her mouth.

She gulped some water, patted her chest theatrically, and adopted a worldly air:

"Ah, I forgot you aren't a scholar. It's only natural you'd get basic facts like that wrong. Allow Mage Perly to give you a brief introduction to spells."

"The entire universe is immersed in an invisible 'web' made of pure magical energy." She coughed twice and straightened her back. "This is the Weave, the foundation of spellcasting."

"Magic exists everywhere in the world-in special metals, in unique bloodlines... But however extraordinary they are, as vessels, their capacity to store magical energy has limits."

"We mages are different. We draw energy directly from the source of magic. As long as we can still cast spells and connect to the Weave, our magical energy never runs out..."

"So mages cast through the Weave and don't run out of mana," Renato interrupted her somewhat grandiose explanation, summing it up in his own words. "Then why can you only prepare two spells?"

"Hey! Don't interrupt. I was getting to that." Perly gave him a displeased look. "Spells aren't as simple as you think. You can't cast one just by saying an incantation and making a gesture."

"How should I put it? A spell you've learned is like a blueprint, and casting it is like building something according to that blueprint..."

"No, no! I need an analogy you'll understand..." Perly rubbed her brow. "It's like having lots of weapons in your Bag of Holding-longswords, daggers, hammers... My Spellbook is the same!"

"And preparing spells is like putting on your armor and strapping on your sword every morning."

"Just as you can't carry every weapon because they'd be too heavy, I can't prepare every spell because I can't remember that many precise formulas and models!"

A trace of resignation crept into her voice. After a pause, she continued:

"Because I don't have the 'strength' to pick up that many 'weapons,' I can only choose the two that suit me best."

That explained it. Renato understood, then asked another question:

"What about cantrips? I've seen you cast Ray of Frost. What limits does it have? Why can you cast it whenever you like?"

"Because they're all very basic and simple."

"They're like the throwing darts at your waist. Carrying an extra set wouldn't burden you at all. Cantrips are similar to throwing darts. Most are a simple, fixed set of formulas or models that need no special preparation or precise memorization."

"Never mind. Let me show you the wonders of magic firsthand. I'll demonstrate a spell I memorized today. Renato, feel the surge of magical energy!"

Perly stood and took a small bell from her pocket.

Her hands moved through gestures as she murmured an incantation, walking around the room and gently shaking the bell.

Renato watched carefully without saying a word.

There was no magical glow, no extravagant display. He felt nothing at all; only the bell gradually became transparent as Perly moved.

The ritual lasted about a minute. Perly stopped only when the bell had vanished completely.

"There. Alarm is set. Now we don't have to worry about our things being stolen."

Renato looked around, still unable to see any change, and asked curiously:

"What exactly does Alarm do?"

Perly replied smugly:

"Whether it's the door or the window, if anyone touches this area, the spell sounds a 'ping' of warning in my mind."

"Of course, I can also make it produce an actual ringing sound that everyone nearby can hear."

A very practical spell. Renato immediately understood its value.

"Now do you see the benefits of having a mage as your companion?"

Looking at Perly's smug little face, Renato corrected her:

"A mage apprentice."