Wh-where is Pip?

  Unconsciously, my hands clenched into tight fists at my sides. I felt that familiar, powerless rage bubble up inside me again. That utter helplessness in the face of my situation. I was just a twelve-year-old orphan in this world, confronted with a seemingly insurmountable challenge. But I also knew that Mara wasn't to blame for my anger, and therefore, she didn't deserve to be its target. Swallowing the bitterness down, I forced myself to calm down, to breathe through the tightness in my chest.

  I looked up and saw genuine concern in Mara's lavender-colored eyes. “Pip is… sick,” I explained, my voice a little hoarse. “She’s suffering from a very, very rare magical illness. According to an expert from the Arcane Sanctum, only a specific plant can help her. In the ancient texts, it’s known as the Phoenix Ember Root. But not much more is really known about it. And that’s why I’m here… searching for information about this plant.”

  Both Mara and Flora—uh, I mean, Ursula—furrowed their brows and looked at each other helplessly. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of that. Have you, Mara?” the shop owner asked, but Mara just shook her head, a look of disappointment shadowing her face.

  Disappointed myself, I sighed. “The problem is, the plant hasn’t been described in any known texts for centuries. It’s possible the information about it has been lost, that it’s known by a different name today, or that the necessary preparation technique has been forgotten. That’s the huge problem. All I know is that it’s supposed to have unimaginable healing and revitalizing properties.”

  When Ursula heard that, she crossed her arms and stared thoughtfully at the floor. Mara, looking dejected, hugged her own arm and stood silently beside her.

  Just then, Cansu emerged from the back room, carrying a large, heavy-looking book. As she stood next to Ursula, she placed the book on the counter with a solid thud. Ursula and Mara looked at her in surprise as she spoke.

  “I happened to overhear your conversation,” Cansu said, a little breathlessly. “If you’re looking for a plant and don’t know its name, you should look in the Codex Botanica. It lists all known plants. It's an abridged version, so it only has drawings and names, but that’s the only reason we have it—in case someone is looking for something more exotic and we need to show them pictures. Normally, the book is only of interest to alchemists and merchants. But don’t ask me how up-to-date it is,” she finished.

  Suddenly, Ursula started to laugh. “That’s a brilliant idea, Cansu! Honestly, I wouldn’t have thought of that myself!” When Cansu heard the praise, she puffed her chest out proudly. But Mara… she just lowered her gaze, a clear look of disappointment on her face. She reminded me a little of myself. I had always been the one standing in the background while others shone in the spotlight. Seeing her like that now, a small idea came to me, but that would have to wait until this evening.

  I looked at the book on the counter and said in my head, “Appraisal.”

  ========== APPRAISAL ==========

  Name: Codex Botanica (Abridged)

  Category: Book

  Quality: Good

  Condition: Used

  Durability: High

  -------------------------------

  (Further analysis requires higher rank)

  ===============================

  Huh. So, Codex Botanica it is. But since this version only had pictures and names, it wouldn't be enough for my detailed research. The smartest thing to do would be to buy my own, full copy, so I wouldn't have to study the contents of the book in this bustling shop and could take it with me wherever I go. But this was a start.

  “Cansu, thank you so much. You’ve been an immense help to me today… I’ll come back tomorrow to repay the favor.”

  When she heard that, she blushed a little and stammered quietly, “Y-yes, n-no problem.” Did she just trip over her words? Hm. Maybe I’m just imagining things.

  I looked over at Ursula, who was observing me with curiosity. “Good lady, I would also like to thank you. Could you perhaps tell me where I can find the next florist, herbalist, or alchemist?” I asked politely.

  Ursula nodded with a friendly smile on her lips. “Aside from the Arcane Sanctum, you can look for an old alchemist named Niclas in the Eastgate District, but I don’t know if he’s still alive, I’m afraid. Otherwise, I can only recommend that you search the market streets of the individual districts.”

  Hm. Niclas the alchemist in the Eastgate District. That, after Jim, might be my best lead. But I had to admit to myself that I had a huge problem. I didn’t know my way around the city at all. I knew the city was called Aegis, and how to get from the orphanage to Mantris’s and to the Arcane Sanctum, but that was it. Maybe I could buy a city map somewhere?

  I thanked Ursula and then finally turned to Mara. “Can you maybe help me with something tonight after supper?”

  She just looked at me, perplexed. Cansu, on the other hand, stared at me with wide eyes. “You two know each other?!”

  My eye twitched with stress. “Yes…?” I said cautiously. “We live in the same orphanage.” But since they both just stared at me blankly and no one said a word, I decided it was time to retreat. Shaking my head, I offered a quick goodbye. Why are women so… complicated? Shrugging, I left the shop.

  The busy shopping street greeted me with a wall of noise and movement. Carts rumbled, vendors shouted their wares, and the smell of roasted nuts and horse manure mingled in the crisp air. I took a moment to orient myself.

  How do I best get to The Broken Shield from here… Do I go all the way back to Mantris’s and then head from there? No. That was too much work. So, I just roughly estimated the direction and figured I would arrive sooner or later… I hoped. Otherwise, I would finally get to explore the city and maybe browse the shops I saw along the way. Optimistically, I started walking in the direction that my gut told me was best.

  The streets were consistently busy, and the people seemed to be in a good mood. The air was clear and cold, but the shine of the sun made the chill bearable. Some hardy workers were walking through the streets in short pants and shirts while carrying all sorts of heavy things like crates and sacks. The people seemed to be doing well, but here and there, on the edge of the street, you could also see those who were not. Beggars, homeless people, and unfortunately, criminals among them. I knew it all too well; some fought for their lives, and some fought for profit. Organized begging mafias, for example. That’s why people were reluctant to give money to the homeless—often also because it was spent on alcohol and drugs.

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  I felt sorry for these people; I knew their pain better than anyone, and it felt so… wrong to do nothing. So, I decided that today I would perform a small good deed. Following the smell of freshly baked bread, I stood in front of a bakery after a short time. Let’s see if we can find something nice.

  Ten minutes later, and forty copper pieces poorer, I walked out of the bakery with a bag full of freshly baked loaves of bread. A full stomach was worth more in these temperatures than a bottle of liquor that just numbed the feeling of cold.

  Strolling down the street, I found my first “victim” after a short time. An older gentleman sat on the roadside, wrapped in a blanket, breathing warm air into his hands. I went over to him and took a warm loaf out of the bag. “Here, this is for you. It’s still warm,” I said with a friendly smile.

  The man, however, looked at me with a furrowed brow and an open mouth. He carefully reached for the bread I was holding out to him, and as his fingers touched the warm loaf, he bowed his head and said, “Oh, thank you, sir. May the Well of Solace bless you.”

  I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Am I near the slums, or has the name just spread that far? Confused, I walked on, distributing the loaves to the homeless people I met along the way, until I had only one left.

  In front of me, huddled against a wall, sat a small girl, perhaps six years old, shivering all over. Her hands were cupped, her fingers blue with cold. Her clothes were full of holes and far too thin for the weather. She looked at me with weak but hopeful blue eyes, but when she realized that I was also just a child, she lowered her gaze, dejected.

  My heart ached bitterly at this sight. Carefully, I knelt down in front of her. “Say, what are you doing here all alone? Don’t you have a family?”

  The little girl weakly lifted her head and stammered quietly, “I-I have a mommy… but my m-mommy is very sick and weak. That’s why I’m trying to find something to eat for me and my mommy…” Her lips were completely dry and blue. This poor little thing… Now I understood why Pip hadn’t just left. When I was homeless myself, I fought every day for our survival. But now? Now I could afford to share.

  Carefully, I took the last loaf of bread out of the bag. “Look, I’ll give you this bread if you do me a small favor, okay?” I offered. The little girl was now looking at me with big, hopeful eyes. She nodded energetically and said, “Wh-what do I have to do for it?”

  Putting on a friendly smile, I placed the bread bag right next to her. She looked alternately at me and the bag. “You just have to give me your hands for a moment. It won’t hurt,” I explained gently.

  The girl looked at me a little suspiciously but then held out her hands. I took them and felt the icy coldness. Gods… how long has she been out here? Carefully, I channeled fire magic into my hands, so that a constant stream of warmth radiated into hers. The girl’s eyes widened. “You have really warm hands! That feels so nice!” she grinned happily. That brought a genuine smile to my own lips.

  When I was sure that the girl was now thoroughly warmed up, I said, “I want to buy a few more things and then take them to your mom. Is that okay with you, and do you know the way back?”

  The girl could hardly believe what she was hearing. She stared at me with an open mouth and then nodded energetically. “Of course, I know the way to Mommy. Mommy will be so happy when I come back soon.”

  I chuckled, amused, and said with a playful gesture, “Well then, take your bread and let’s set off quickly!” I didn't have to say more. The little girl grabbed the bread bag and scrambled to her feet.

  Together, we walked down the street until I found a general store. The shop was clearly laid out and offered almost everything I wanted to buy. We left with two warm woolen blankets, a piece of dried meat, and a kind of healing potion. The shopkeeper explained that it would help the body fight against the illness. I just hoped that it would actually work and wasn't some kind of snake oil. All of this cost me a whole 2 silver and 30 copper pieces, and I still didn't get a city map, but maybe Mantris has one.

  As we left the shop, fully packed, the girl explained that we were almost there; we just had to go two more streets. She walked ahead at a brisk pace, leading us through the streets until we stood in front of an alley where clotheslines were stretched, and crates and barrels were scattered about. “Come on, we’re almost at my mommy’s,” she said cheerfully and walked on.

  Somehow… this place looked familiar. Curious, I looked around, dodging the hanging clothes. Hoping I wouldn't get robbed here. I really wasn't in the mood for that right now. But we finally left the alley and found ourselves… in the slums.

  Oh, shit. I should have realized, but somehow… I guess I had suppressed it. Now I really hoped that no one would recognize me and, in the best-case scenario, want to kill me for my actions. But apart from an odd look here and there, the people left us alone. The little girl, meanwhile, walked purposefully past wooden huts, tents, crates, clotheslines, and people, until we stopped in front of a small linen tent.

  The girl looked at me and explained, “This is where Mommy and I live. Thank you, thank you so much, dear uncle, for the nice things. You can give them to me, but you’d better stay outside, otherwise you might catch what Mommy has.”

  I had to chuckle inwardly… that was direct. But she was still a little child, so I didn't make anything of it. I placed the meat and the healing potion on the blankets, which I set on a crate that stood in front of the tent. The little girl somehow managed to carry everything at once. “Byeee!” I heard her say, muffled through the blanket, and with that, she staggered, completely overloaded, into the tent. She looked a bit like an ant carrying something much larger than itself.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Startled, I turned around. Standing in front of me was a young woman with long, matted brown hair. And suddenly, images of that damn night flashed before my eyes. How she had shielded her brother from… me. She was the older sister of the boy Pip had last healed—the boy who was in that state because Pip had drained herself to save him. A spark of anger flared up in me, but I tried my best to swallow it down. She wasn't to blame for any of it, I knew that, but the sight of her still pained me.

  Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck and avoided her gaze. “I brought a little girl home who was half-frozen and begging on a street not far from here,” I explained casually. But when I got no answer, I looked up and saw that she was watching me with an uncertain look. “I’d better go,” I said and walked past her.

  “No, wait!” she called from behind me. When I slowly turned around, I saw her rubbing her wrist nervously. “How is the Well of Sol– …your cat?” she asked quietly.

  Hearing that, a roaring filled my ears, and I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath, in and out. I opened my eyes again and looked up at the sky. “She is trapped in a place between life and death. And now I am searching for a legendary plant that can supposedly save her. I have no clues as to what the plant looks like or where to find it. If it exists, it probably costs an absolute fortune. So, yes… I’d say she’s doing just fine. And how is your brother?” I said mockingly, whereupon she lowered her gaze. Man, Grim, you stupid asshole. You know she’s not to blame for it.

  I sighed heavily. “I-I’m so incredibly sorry. I didn’t mean it like that… it’s just damn difficult for me without her. I hope your brother is doing better now.” I apologized sincerely.

  The young woman nodded slightly and then looked at me, her eyes filled with a haunted understanding. “I understand your anger very well, really. My brother, Ivo… he’s a mage, like you. He went into the city one day and came back with a richly dressed man. Ivo proudly told me that this man was a servant of a high nobleman and would like to recruit him as a personal mage for his master. He was promised proper training in the arcane arts while serving this nobleman, and a good wage to support us.” Her voice trembled slightly. “But then, a few weeks ago, I found Ivo lying in front of our hut with this gigantic burn wound. He was unconscious, barely breathing. I was so terrified he wouldn't make it through the night. He had a high fever, and when he finally woke up, he told me that he had been hit by a fireball during a training accident and his master had told him that he was no longer of any use for a tournament or something,” she explained wistfully.

  Tournament? Wait a minute… Mage… Noble… Tournament? She doesn’t mean…

  “Was your brother supposed to compete in the Adept Tournament of the nobles?” I asked, confused, and her eyes lit up.

  “Yes, that’s it! The Adept Tournament.”