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Run of the Mill or Not?

Bab 1: Prologue

Prologue

Central Plaza, Cornell Academy, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, Year 2050, Planet: Grimoire

Golden rays of sunlight bathed the central plaza of the Jade Blade Marketplace which was affiliated with Cornell Academy. It was in sharp contrast to the burnt remains of two dormitory buildings that Grifton Tinroy just left the boundaries.

He disliked recalling darker and very unpleasant memories that sight conjured from his past. "Man, what a mess."

That's when Grifton realized he reeked of smoke and other greasiness. "Maybe I should head to my room and get a change of clothes and clean up."

He still had time to do it and realized that yes it would behoove him to do so.

"I guess I should be thankful that someone went out of their way to protect Lamberton Building." Grifton reflected with a huge sigh.

As he headed for his dormitory, Grifton glanced toward the sky. Plumes of black smoke filled the eastern part of the sky.

That was going to make navigation difficult within that area of the city. Damn, but Grifton felt bad for the people caught in those parts of Three-Pronged Fork.

"It is bad enough that I was nearly caught inside Istwell and Girth outliers." He shook his head in aggravation. "What is it with my bad luck of getting almost burnt to death?" This wasn't the first time such a bad circumstance occurred when he'd been almost too vulnerable once more.

"Good thing I received the summons from the headmaster, Torrent Granville fifteen minutes earlier." Grifton grimaced wearily.

The afternoon was relatively quiet, but it was early yet. Eventually, it would become lively and noisy with the evening vendors hawking all their goods.

Grifton was happy that he wasn't one of those vendors right then. He'd be out of luck since he no longer had goods to sell. "Oh, that's right. I'll need to pull some heavy hours to recreate some of those supplies that were custom-ordered." He frowned with aggravation.

Oh, that's right. He could kiss goodbye that long anticipated leisure time he'd racked up the last few weeks. It had all gone up in smoke, literally, what a mess. Now Grifton was feeling exhausted.

Should he skip out on the meeting with friends, or say hi to them for the last time?

What a dilemma he faced and one that Grifton would've preferred not to have to deal with right now.

"Humph, I'll just enjoy this festival atmosphere." He decided. "It isn't even that loud right now either," Grifton recalled as he strolled around the various aisles of stalls.

Right now, however, was the best time to wander around and check out what was going to be sold later. Not that he had anything that he could purchase gifts with right now. He'd barely avoided winding up in jail after someone stole all his currency and set fire to those buildings!

"Hey, Tinroy, are you selling anything tonight?" One of the vendors called.

"Nope, I was one of those unfortunate souls that lost everything that I'd made in the fire." Grifton gestured to where smoke could be seen in the distance.

"That's too bad." The vendor shook his head. "Nasty happenings," He commented. "There's been a rash of those occurring lately. Seems like someone doesn't want competition or something."

Grifton had to agree. "Too true, I almost didn't escape with my life." He folded his arms. "You've heard from your sons?" He knew that two of them had rooms in one of the buildings that burned down.

The vendor shot Grifton a startled glance. "Ah, now that I think about it, I haven't." He checked the messages that he'd clearly been ignoring to that point. "Huh, they're safe and sound, but angry. It seems you're not the only one who's been thoroughly sabotaged." There was a wryness in the vendor's voice.

Grifton nodded with a sigh. "I'm glad that they're safe and sound at least." As for the ruined crafted pieces, well, Grifton could always pull a few all-nighters to recreate the majority of them in time for the dawn vending festival that was set to begin in a week.

The vendor glanced at him warily. "Don't kill yourself with overwork." He advised. "That festival isn't worth ruining your health over."

Grifton sighed. "I'll keep that in mind." He waved to the vendor and others before moving elsewhere.

A bell tolled making Grifton realize that time was flying past. "Ah man, I need to get a move on." He was still going to check out what was being displayed for the night market though. That was always fun, and it might give him some inspiration since he'd gone into a bit of a slump recently.

Still fuming over what happened to him after wasting a day working somewhere that almost got him killed, per usual, Grifton Tinroy drifted with the many students who studied at the academy. "Why am I even walking around here?" He muttered in disgruntlement.

While he hadn't officially joined the student body six years ago, he had joined the workforce credit program as a homeless teen. He reflected on how his life changed for the better since then.

"Oh, that's right. I'm meeting some people for what will be the last time." A pity, but friends come and go. This wouldn't be the last time he said goodbye to people he thought were pretty decent. Grifton glanced around and smiled slightly.

"Hmm, guess I should go to the Jade Palace and join some friends." A sigh escaped Grifton. "If this happened on any other day, I'd be happier about meeting them." While he liked their company, he also preferred alone time as well.