Chapter 63: Chasing the Moonlight

  Emilia wandered through the city and soon found herself in front of the Griffin Tower. It was nearly complete and rose high above the town. Groups of workers labored around it. Some were clearing the surrounding terrain, others were finishing the storage rooms and servant buildings, and still others were hoisting materials to the top using a strange elevator powered by counterweights and the effort of five large oxen.

  The tower is so high; surely the oxen will look as small as field mice from the top. Some young griffin might get confused and try to eat them, she chuckled to herself.

  Meanwhile, young griffins could be seen in the sky, training with the first group of riders. Emilia could clearly perceive the griffins' magic, as well as the traces of aerial mana they left behind.

  A few small griffins—the size of a sheep or a small calf—flew alongside the main flock, playing with the residual aerial mana. The light of the setting sun shone on their feathers, and their games entertained the neighborhood children, who often stopped to watch them.

  Virtually all the young children wanted to become griffin riders and often talked about it. Emilia also wondered what it would be like to soar through the sky, dive through the clouds, and fly high above the Black Forest—to see people as ants and ships as small toys. Then, inspired by the muses, she murmured a verse:

  "Above the ground,

  Between the clouds,

  We chase the moonlight."

  "You could write 'clouds' with two other symbols preceding it; it would sound like a celestial mist. Let me show you."

  Emilia spun around, startled by the strange voice. She saw an unusual girl—about eleven years old, yet bearing an ageless look, with a tall, highly developed body that hinted at years of mana-induced growth—standing on the ground, her milky-white skin stark as she leaned against a tree.

  In her hands, she held a small fan with which she was fanning herself. When Emilia looked, the girl slowly began to trace symbols in the air with the fan. Thanks to the Great System and her reading skill, Emilia instantly understood the symbols.

  "Thank you very much. Truly, if it were written that way, it would be much more poetic. My name is Emilia, it's nice to meet you."

  Emilia approached with a smile and offered her hand to the stranger. The girl looked at the extended hand, hesitated for a moment, then took it and gave a faint squeeze.

  "My name is Rumi. It's nice to meet you, too."

  Emilia paused for a moment, "I haven't seen you in the neighborhood. Are you perhaps visiting someone?"

  "You could say that. My parents will be staying here for a few months for work. Do you live here?" the pale girl nodded towards the houses of the poor quarter.

  “Yes, I live almost right next to the forest. I often go with the others to the river to gather mushrooms, firewood, and wild berries. I also gather herbs. And when we get home, we play marbles.”

  Impressed by the girl’s strange magic and her deep understanding of poetry, Emilia quickly switched to childish language so as not to sound like an adult, wanting to investigate further.

  "And how do you play marbles?"

  "Don't you play? Come, let me show you."

  Emilia quickly drew a small field for playing marbles with a twig and then took out her favorite marbles. She explained the rules, and the two started a short game of marbles. Rumi learned incredibly fast, and by the end of the game, she even began to challenge Emilia.

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  They then played a second and even a third game. Emilia didn't lose any of the games, but she felt quite pressured. Rumi skillfully hit her marbles or sent her own marbles toward the border and the small holes of the playing field.

  "Are you sure you haven't played marbles before? You're doing really well," Emilia complimented her.

  "No, I just learn quickly," Rumi replied, never taking her eyes off the playing field. She had lost the game, but she looked as if she were analyzing it and replaying it in her head.

  "One more game?"

  "I can't. I have to go home to help my mother with dinner, and afterward, I'm going to throw leaves for my brother to shoot at with his bow. He's still not very good and rarely hits them, but it’s good practice."

  Emilia omitted the fact that she would be guiding the leaves with her mana, and besides the leaves, she secretly planned to surprise him with a few thrown twigs, just as Cassian had done while training her.

  After that, she and Rumi talked about other games, life in the neighborhood, magic, poetry, and griffins. Emilia truly was in a hurry, but despite her tender age, Rumi was an interesting conversationalist, and she stayed for almost half an hour. Time flew, however, and she finally said goodbye and rushed toward home.

  "Bye, Rumi, we should meet up again, just us girls, to play marbles sometime!" said Emilia, almost running toward home.

  "Haha, okay," Rumi replied. "Just so you know, I'm not a girl..."

  Over the next few days, Emilia worked hard drawing talismans to replenish her reserves and renew her old trade partnerships. She also prepaid for two months of training for Kael and bought him a new bow and arrows.

  I had 1,120 silver. I bought a brush and ink for 680, armor and a new spear for 70, and 20 for personal expenses, leaving me with only 350 silver coins. Now we paid 120 for Kael's training, plus 70 for the bow and arrows, leaving 160 silver coins, Emilia calculated, recording everything in a small expense ledger.

  I'm out of money again, she sighed, setting down the brush and putting away her ledger. And I thought those 1,000 silver coins would let us upgrade the house or buy a piece of land.

  Emilia took a handful of talismans she had drawn over the past few days, traveled around the city, and managed to make a few sales. Unfortunately, a large portion of her customers preferred to buy the cheap talismans made from tree bark, and the profit margin there was not particularly large.

  Afterward, she picked up her new armor from Master Zeno, who showed her how to put it on and what to watch out for.

  "You shouldn't tighten it too much, or it will be uncomfortable. Grease the leather with goose fat every week, and the rattan with oil from frog thistle. Here, I'll give you one bottle for free. After this, they're two copper coins each. Here and here are the strongest parts of the armor; if you have to take a hit, take it with this part. And here, here, and here are the weakest points. However, you should know that these armors are not especially sturdy. Don't rely on them at all. Armor can protect against cutting and weak piercing attacks, but strong blunt impacts will directly damage your internal organs and bones."

  Emilia listened carefully and asked many questions.

  "Master Zeno, when formations are drawn on armors like this, where are they usually placed?" she asked, with a deliberately casual tone.

  "It depends on the formations and the masters. Besides, you don't place formations on armor; you enchant them."

  "Isn't it the same thing, just different words?"

  "It might look similar, but they are two different sciences. Yes, a formation is ultimately applied, but Formation Masters usually work with either buildings or directly with the terrain where the formations are laid. The people who enhance weapons and all other items are called Inscription Masters. They still apply formations, glyphs, and runes, but they are specially trained to work with different materials. Often, Inscription Masters who work with weapons deal only and exclusively with that their entire lives. And entirely different people will inscribe, for example, a cauldron for alchemy or a pill furnace."

  Master Zeno considered this for a moment and carefully pointed out a few spots on the armor.

  "Most often, armor is enchanted for durability. The glyphs must be placed in a spot that would be difficult to destroy, yet could also be used as a center of power. That is by no means an easy task."

  Emilia listened intently and asked a few more questions. Zeno, however, was reluctant to answer most of them, and she quickly gave up.

  Afterward, Emilia took off her armor and headed to meet the three merchant brothers, to whom she sold ten bark talismans for 30 silver coins. They were transporting several carts of fresh meat from wild boars fed on a special diet of forest acorns. If the meat were salted, it would lose some of its flavor. These acorns contained a certain amount of mana, and the wild boar meat was a sought-after delicacy.

  Emilia gave them four extra talismans, using two of them to purchase a portion of the meat. Tonight, they would dine outdoors, roasting the meat on spits directly over the fire. Perhaps they could even open one of the demijohns of mead.