Capítulo 4: Into Town
"I will absolutely grant that wish if that's what you want of course!"
We had been running for quite a while but now, Laloo had begun to slow down, I guessed that he wanted to take a break. About ten seconds later after we stopped Laloo signaled for me to get off him by crouching down.
"Hmmm, I would say we're nearly halfway there"
Halfway! We were running that fast for a whole hour and we are not even halfway.
"You got to be joking? How fast were we even going!?"
I actually do need Laloo to clarify how speed and distance are measured, that's one thing I haven't actually learned.
"Here, come sit down, even though I did all the work *heh*"
With the way, Laloo said that I don't think he meant that as an insult but it seemed to me that he was actually glad. He's had a very faint calming blue aura since we first began running, surprising since I'm pretty sure I almost killed him earlier.
"Ha ha very funny, you should rest too you know."
I said that because I noticed he was still walking around picking up random sticks and leaves… I wonder what he's doing? about a minute later, he bought it back to where I was sitting, dug a little hole, and filled it with the leaves, followed by the sticks. however, some of them were propped up making it into a pyramid.
I watched Laloo intently as he pulled out another stick, however, this one looked different from the others, and it almost looked handmade. He pointed it at the hole with the leaves and fire shot out of the tip of the weird stick, making a fire.
"You keep on surprising me, what the hell was that just now?"
"Wellll, it's another kind of magic, we call it Expel Magic"
Expel Magic? So instead of keeping the magic inside the body, you instead shoot it out. Can it only be used with a stick similar to the one Laloo just used?
"So you're basically shooting the magic out of your body?"
"Hmmm, close but no, think of it more as forcing the magic from your body, it's mostly used by those that want to cause harm."
After hearing that it makes sense that its main use would be to hurt something, if it means your forcing the magic out of the body that would most likely mean that you're not supposed to… but why would we be capable of doing it then?
"Well if it's only meant to harm, is there some sort of restriction on it?"
There has to be a restriction on something like this, otherwise is hurting others normal, shit I hope not.
*breaths out*
From that heavy breath Laloo just did, it seems like he is about to answer my question, and it won't be the answer I'm wanting.
"Even though it's mainly used to cause harm, only the people who are rotten right down to their core use it on people. Expel Magics' main use is for all the dangerous creatures and animals in this world. speaking of, we shouldn't take too long resting, we might get attacked by said creatures. Anyway… you ready to go again?"
So I guess the same common sense applies to magic as it does to weapons, I wonder if those are easily accessible to everyone, if they are, we got to be living in one hellish world if you need a weapon on you all the time. But it seems we're going to start running again as Laloo has crouched down… well this is going to be fun.
"Auric… Auric, what is taking you so long, get on my back."
"Oh yeah my bad"
I climb back onto Laloo's back as I did previously and prepared myself for the trip once more, I noticed again that Laloo also had to repeat the same phrases as he did last time, hopefully, there's a way without having to say it every time.
About ten minutes later, still looking around… well trying to, it's still pitch black and I don't even know what time it is, however, I'm guessing that it's about midnight. I still can't believe that a person can run this fast.
…
…
FUUCK! I forgot to ask Laloo how speed is measured, so I still don't know if this is considered normal Speed Type Magic, or if this guy is just insane at everything he does. Well, I guess I'll have to wait until we stop again to find out.
*Sighs*
…
I would say it had been just under two hours of running this time before the valley we were in started to look like it was coming to an end. After traversing that hilly terrain we came up to a hill that was perhaps the biggest of the bunch, so high that it blocked out the moon. We started to slow down as we got closer to the top, and the first thing I noticed was that the mountain to the right of us, which seemed to never end had finally come to an end, and once we reached the top I saw it.
"A town!"
"Ha Ha!, welcome Auric… To the Town of Betwin. Most known for its unique location being situated between the various landscapes."
illuminated by the town I took in the sights. I noticed that from where we were standing the town was situated on the corner between a vast grassland to the west and south. an extremely dense forest to the east, and the decline of the mountain to the north. I don't know whether or not this is excitement I'm feeling but, something about this sight is just so, so very mesmerizing.
I just stood there, and I guess Laloo allowed me to because after around thirty seconds I realized I had stopped breathing and almost passed out.
Hearing footsteps behind me I feel Laloo place his hand on my head, is he going to make fun of me?
"If you're this amazed by a town like this, just wait till you see the rest of the kingdom"
Is this guy trying to kill me from excitement, all these comments are giving me more questions, and answering none of them… I really got to get a grip before I faint soon. I notice that Laloo had begun walking down the other side of the hill towards the town, he noticed me still up on the hill and started yelling.
"Hey, Auric! Quit dawdling and get down here!"
I quickly rushed down to where Laloo was, nearly tripping.
"That would have been bad"
Being as steep as the hill was, I would not have been able to stop until I hit something at the bottom while going incredibly fast. As we got closer to the bottom I noticed what seemed to be a human-made path that goes through the dense forest. Still running I began to make my way into the forest before I was stopped by Laloo.
"What the hell, I thought my arm was going to rip off!"
"SSSHHH!"
He's never shushed me that loud before, what could be wrong. I notice Laloo crouching down, aiming his left ear toward the forest and covering his right ear with his hand. And after about ten seconds he stands up and looks at me.
"Listen, Auric, stick very close to me, there's a very large creature nearby and it sounds very, very angry. stay on the path and make it fast. Follow me."
Following Laloo, we entered the forest walking at a brisk pace, and about ten minutes later we could see the forest exit in the distance, however, Laloo grabbed me and hid in the nearest bush.
"Don't move, or make any noise."
Laloo whispered that to me once we were hidden, but there was nothing near us, I couldn't hear nor see anything, so what is his deal.
However about one minute of waiting I started hearing the sound of leaves crunching, I could feel something big making it's way closer to us. Looking through the holes in the bush I finally spotted what it was, and it looked to be an eagle, but why would it be walking through a forest, however, once I started to see it more clearly I realized what it was.
With its lion-like body, gigantic talons on its feet, and its massive eagle-like beak. But that wasn't all, I noticed it looked a bit distressed, and what followed was the most I've ever truly been scared, raising what looked to be one of its front legs, it let out one of the most deafening roars I have ever heard, it was so loud that I could feel the sound waves. Looking closer I noticed its front legs were actually monstrous wings that spanned over eight meters, not only that but it had the thickest most suffocating black aura I have ever seen, the feelings of sadness, anger, and death were so excruciating that I had to close my eyes and cover my ears until it was over. What seemed to last an eternity was actually about forty seconds.
"It's safe now Auric, let's hurry to town"
Right with you on that one Laloo, I want to get the hell out of here. thought I was going to die there.
Still that animal… I recognize it, I think I read about it in my bestiary. A lion-like body, talons as feet, enormous wings, and an eagle-like head? Shit, what was it called.
After trying to remember that animal's name I noticed that the forest was getting less dense the more we walked, until all that was left were small bushes on either side of us.
"Oh look, what's this?"
My eye was caught by what looked to be some weird plant with fluffy yellow balls on it.
"Ah, that's wattle grass"
Wattle grass? Ah, right they usually grow in bushy areas… what a silly name for a plant, and if I shake it, a yellow-like dust puffs out of each ball.
*ACHOO!*
"Careful there Auric, that's pollen, if you breathe it in like that you'll never stop sneezing."
Ugh seriously, it smelt so nice, but I guess I won't do that again, I feel terrible all of a sudden. Pollen Is powerful stuff.
"I knew that, definitely."
"Ha ha, course you did, anyway stop dawdling, we need to get to an inn."
Okaaay, now what the hell is an inn? wasn't in any of the books I had, but taking the time right now into account, perhaps it's a place where you can stay overnight. I wonder if people would be awake around this time, I wonder what time it actually is? I could never tell the time at night, I should have bought that clock I had.
"Will we be able to enter this inn thing, at this time?"
"Course we can, there usually is someone you can talk to."
Oh yeah, I forgot that there are going to be tons more people in this town.
"I won't attract attention in the town will I?"
I asked that due to the reactions we got from the three Z's before, with them mainly commenting on the length of my hair and its colour… is it really that bizarre.
"Hmmm, the length of it, most definitely. And the colour of your hair, even though it's extremely rare, people believe it is just being born with no melanin in the hair. But I think it's something else."
isn't Melanin the thing that just determines the colour of the eyes, skin, and hair, but it only seems to have affected my hair as even though my skin is fairly light I wouldn't call it pale, like my hair, and my eyes… I haven't even seen them yet so I can't think about that yet.
"As long as you keep that hair tied up for now, in the morning you can get a haircut, then you won't stand out at all."
After the thirty-minute-long walk and that encounter with that animal we had finally made it to the gates of Betwin, the first thing I noticed was that connected to the gate was a wall, that seemed to go all around the town, as in the distance it had wrapped around one of the corners, but… it was only around fifty centimeters tall.
"How does that wall keep animals like the one before out if it's that small?"
"Some people's sole job is to utilize Static Magic, to keep up powerful barriers, every major town or city has those. I'm not an expert but to my knowledge, it takes a great amount of focus and mana to keep them up, so they need a lot of capable people, things that smaller towns don't have. Smaller towns are surrounded by a regular wall that doesn't need as much upkeep."
Wow, and there he goes again sneaking in another form of magic that I never knew about, giving me more questions than answers again, I'll save my questions about Static Magic for another time. Right now we need to focus on getting to that inn.
"Identification please"
We had arrived at the front gate of the town, and the person who said that looked quite intimidating, not because of his looks but because he had what seemed to be a sword on his back and a similar-looking stick to what Laloo had. But the problem is… that I don't have any identification.
"Here you go sir"
Laloo said that as he handed the same thing he used to open the dungeons exit back in Movia.
"LALOO ARYA!"
Shit, what's with that excited yell, and what's with the Arya, does he have two names?
"My bad my bad! I didn't know it was you due to how dark it is."
Why is he acting like Laloo's a celebrity, isn't he just a regular adventurer.
"Hmmm, don't worry, I'm back later than I expected anyway, what is it, like, three in the morning?"
"Something like that, how did the job go?"
Huh, Laloo can tell the time, and what… job? What job was Laloo out doing?
"It went great! I managed to bring back several Tackius for the lady that wanted them."
Tackius? What the hell is that, I haven't heard of that one
"I still find it weird someone like her would want such a tacky-looking flower, and to send a D rank to get it as well, but I guess we're talking about you here, so it makes sense."
Laloo was only looking for a tacky flower all the way out there, I was kind of wondering what he was actually doing before Movia showed up.
The guy also mentioned Laloo being a D rank, and the way he put it made it sound silly that sending someone with that rank was a waste, it also seems that he knows Laloo quite well from the last thing he said as well.
"Anyway Laloo, who's this with you, you left alone if I remember?"
Uh oh, here we go again, what will Laloo say this time, he might want to see identification of me, but I don't have anything.
"I found him on my way back, seemed to be lost, kept saying how he's training to be an adventurer and acting all high and mighty."
Who do you take me for Laloo?
"So I decided I may as well give him some actual training, next is trying to find his family, he refuses to tell me where he came from. I would assume it's somewhere close, meaning I'll just go from place to place."
I don't know how he does it but he always ends up telling a half lie, I mean yeah, I don't know where I came from, however, why did he say I acted all high and mighty, I don't think I ever acted that way.
"Well if that's the case I won't question it, however, you're lucky that Laloo found you, anywhere outside a town or city is quite dangerous, if you act recklessly you might just die."
"That's good to know, no wonder I wasn't allowed out, and from what I've seen Laloo is quite impressive."
I still know next to nothing about Laloo, so I would like to find out just how strong he is.
"Course he's impressive, a lot of newbie adventurers look up to him, with his rank being D and himself as a person too."
Alright, that answers a previous question I had, I guess Laloo is quite a well-known person, from what I've seen he's also a great person, feels very safe just being around him.
"Awww come on, I ain't that great, I still have a ways to go before I'm strong."
It seems that whenever someone brings up Laloo's strength it makes him sad, from the blue aura he has, I can still tell that he'll keep getting stronger until he finds his son. That kinda makes me feel a bit sad, I wonder if my parents are searching for me.
"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, any way you two should head in, if you're looking for the inn, there's one just straight down the street and it's the fourth building on the right."
What a kind person, not only did he not check identification for me, but he also gave us directions to the closest inn, I have a big feeling that it was because of Laloo, he seemed to respect him a lot.
"Thank you very much, best of luck to you for the rest of the night, might see you later."
As we walked into town Laloo signaled for me to wave as we walked off, when I turned around the guard was waving at us as well, he seemed to be smiling at us as also. Everyone seems so nice wherever I go with Laloo.
Continuing into the town I look around at the buildings, the closest to the gate looked like a tower more than a regular building, and the next couple looked just like normal houses, some with lights on and some with them off.
"People are still up at this hour?"
"You should know that some people enjoy being up at this time, whether it be for work or just recreation, night time can be quite peaceful."
That makes sense, I never stayed up late, as most of my days involved being outside hunting and reading the books that were left for me, I was mostly just surviving day by day.
"Anyways, we're here."
We had arrived outside this so-called inn. Laloo led the way and walked through the door, holding it open for me, inside it looked quite cozy, a few couches around the room, desks next to them with lamps that were basically just a condensed ball of light, there were a few different plant pots around the room—
"How much for one night with two beds?"
My guess was correct, an inn is a place you can stay, and there's a price to stay in such a place.
"If you're using currency, that would be five copper"
Copper, after the lady behind mentioned what I assumed to be the price, Laloo pulled out quite a big pouch that made a weird jingling sound, he opened the pouch and pulled out five small round-shaped objects, and handed them to the person.
"Follow me, Sirs"
Laloo waved me to follow, she seemed to be leading us down a hallway, it had several doors with a number on them, nearing the end of the hall the lady pulled out a key and unlocked the door that said, (15).
"I hope you enjoy your stay"
As she said that, she seemed to have given a little bow, so I decided to bow back.
*snicker*
What... did Laloo just laugh at me, what for.
"What was that?"
"Just hurry up and get in will you."
Is he making fun of me, he definitely is, but what did I do wrong, was I not supposed to bow back or… no that was definitely it.
"So what are we doing tomorrow?"
Saying that while I walked into the room I noticed that Laloo was already fast asleep on one of the beds, he does deserve his rest, he wouldn't have slept since he found me way back in Movia, how long ago was that… like... a whole day… HOLY SHIT! He's been awake for that long, he's incredible, can't say the same for me, I haven't done anything but ask him questions and annoy him. The best thing I can do is just enjoy tomorrow. With that, I crawl into my bed and shut my eyes.
…
"Auric?"
…
"Auric… Auric."
*Groan*
"Auric! Wake Up!"
"Ahhhhh!"
I look around in a daze and notice Laloo above me shaking my shoulder.
"Oh, it's just you Laloo."
"You are one tough one to wake up."
What was that just now, just then I swear I heard someone say my name, I don't think it was Laloo, it sounded more like a woman's voice… wait could it be. I pull out the blue rose from my pocket and look at it.
…
It just looks like a normal blue rose now, nothing strange about it. well guess there's no point worrying about it. Getting out of bed I first need to ask Laloo what we're doing
"So what are we doing first?"
"Getting that hair of yours cut!"
Right, hopefully after it's cut I'll be able to see better, right now I can't see that well, also all this hair does get in my way the most of the time, I can't believe there wasn't anything in the books about how to give myself a hair cut.
Making my way to the door I look back to see Laloo looking to see if we left anything, on the way out the door he placed what seemed to be half a yellow coin on the small table at the door, I wonder what it is.
Making our way back through the hall we pass the same lady again, and on our way out we both say thank you, I also bowed again followed by the same reaction as before from Laloo.
"Yeah, he's making fun of me."
Walking out the door the streets are much busier than at night, from just stepping outside I would say I could see about a hundred people, just on the street. But I followed Laloo and he leads me straight to the front of the building where I would get my haircut, and on the way, I could feel the eyes of everyone staring at me, Laloo was right, this hair does bring attention. However, standing out front I noticed that the sign had what looked to be two blades connected by a curved end. Again Laloo walks in first and I follow, we were then greeted.
"Good day to you two, what can I do for you?"
"Give the little one here a shorter haircut, whatever you think is best."
Little one? I ain't that little… well I guess compared to Laloo I am.
The guy who greeted us guided me into a chair, once I sat down I looked straight ahead and saw myself. Ah a mirror finally, I can somewhat see myself now.
"How do you think this looks?"
WHAAAAT!, what, what the hell, is that. The guy placed his hand in front of me and it showed several drawings of different short hair cuts, how is he doing this, don't tell me this is another type of magic Laloo never told me, I look at him, and noticed he had a cheeky smile on his face.
"Ahhhhh, this one looks good."
I point to one that was quite short at the back but long at the sides, with the front being longer on the right side than the left.
"Understood Sir"
What is with everyone calling me sir, I'm only fifteen, aren't I.
The guy starts by cutting off all my hair at the back, except I can't see what else he's doing. After he's finished with the back he makes his way around to the left side of my head and starts cutting the side and front. Once he cut away the hair covering my left eye I could finally see its colour, it was a gorgeous bright yellow.
"Now that I think about it, I've never seen your eyes, and what can I say, it looks like gold that you would find shining at the bottom of a lake."
A golden colour huh, they do look quite nice, how did I not know they were this colour for the last seven years. Once he was finished cutting the left, he moved to the right side and started cutting the sides, before moving to the front. Both I and Laloo were waiting for the reveal of the right eye, so we could see its golden colour, however, as soon as the guy pulled my hair out to cut it we both saw it.
My right eye was not the same Golden colour as my left.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
Baitozz
Baitozz took me longer to write this chapter as i had to do a shit load of world building, but hey i should be set now.
i'm also posting this over on wattpad and that allows me to include images, so if you need visual representations of the characters its over there.
also stuffs getting quite interesting now
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