Chương 130: [Races And Rewards]

"How do pies sound?" Torren asked, already moving toward a stall set slightly back from the main row. By the time they reached it, the smell of rich and spiced pastry had drowned out the other scents.

"What's in them?" Phil asked, already looking at the options laid out on the board above.

"Spiced bruck mostly," Torren said.

"There's a cheese and roasted root one as well."

"What's bruck?" asked Sam.

"A kind of farm animal. They're similar to cows but wider with six short legs. Their blue-green coats are made into leather that makes inscription really easy. It holds magic better than other leathers. They also produce milk, but it's saltier than cow's milk."

"Six legs," Leo said.

"Makes me think of Sleipnir."

"What's Sleipnir?" Rika asked.

"Odin's horse. Eight legs, though, not six. And it was a horse, not a..." he gestured vaguely "... blue cow thing."

"Okay. So what's an Odin?"

"Ancient god of Norse mythology." Rika stared at him.

"And what's—""Never mind." Luka looked at Torren.

"The cheese and roasted root pie sounds great." They ordered, the vendor moving quickly, wrapping each pie in a broad, flat frond that held the heat without affecting the pastry's flavour. Luka bit into his first, slightly suspicious, and his eyebrows went up.

"That's actually really good."

"Did you think it wouldn't be?" Rika asked.

"Vegetarian festival food has a history of being an afterthought. I usually end up just getting chips," Luka said.

"I don't know what that means, but I'll take it as a compliment," the vendor said without looking up. They moved away from the stall and back into the flow of the festival, eating as they walked. The village was fuller now than it had been all day, the tournament crowd spread through the streets, mixing with the traders and the visitors from the other villages. Leo saw a bruck in the back of a cart pulled by horses, its blue-green coat catching the light.

A dwarf and an elf were playing some kind of dice game on a table in one of the gardens. An otter beast-kin came out of the house beside them and set drinks down without interrupting the game. Phil finished half his pie quickly, burning his mouth on the first bite and telling everyone about it at length before finishing the rest in three bites. When he finished, he smiled.

"Yeah. That was mint. The vine hog was better, but this is still lush. I bet it's better than the usual chicken nuggets and chips you used to eat, Leo."

"You act like that's all I ever ate... But yeah, this is much better. Feels like this sort of thing would cost a ton in a restaurant somewhere back home."

"You're not wrong. Everything costs an arm and a leg. Food like this is meant to be easy, homely food. It's the sort of shit everyone tries to make expensive, which defeats the point," Sam said.

"Yeah, man. When all the good food, especially healthy food, is expensive, it's not hard to see why people are so overweight," agreed Parmo. Phil nodded.

"Couldn't agree more. You either buy cheap shit to make sure you have enough, or you spend way more than you should trying to be healthy. It's bullshit."

"We sound like a bunch of food critics or something," said Leo with a chuckle. He noticed the elven couple from earlier as they walked past.

"So you know dwarves live in mountains."

"Yes?" Shai said.

"Do elves actually live in forests then? Like, is that a real thing as well? In everything we grew up with, they're always in forests." Shai and Torren exchanged a brief look.

"They do. Somewhat," Shai said.

"There's a continent further east, across the sea. That's where they're originally from. Most of the elves you see here aren't from there anymore, though." Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Why not?"

"There was a schism," Torren said.

"A long time ago. Nobody seems to agree on exactly what caused it or when. The ones who stayed are apparently very different to the ones who left. The ones here," he nodded toward the couple, "lost something in it. To do with their magic. The details are vague even from the elves I've spoken to. They don't talk about it much, and the ones still on the homeland look down on them for leaving."

"So there are two kinds," Sam said.

"More or less. As far as I know, they look alike, but their attitude is different."

"Do they get on with each other here? The ones who left?"

"Generally," Shai said.

"Most still don't like the elves from their homeland, though. It's the kind of thing that gets passed down whether people mean it to or not."

"Makes sense," said Phil.

"Back home we have people who hate people from the next town over. It's because of football rivalries, but sometimes it's more to do with history. There are two teams from north of us, in this place called Scotland, that are well known for it." Leo watched the couple disappear into the crowd.

"What other races are out there? We've seen dwarves and elves today. We know about beast-kin and half-orcs. What else?" Shai thought about it.

"Where do you want to start?"

"Surprise me."

"There are the ones with horns and tails," Rika said.

"Odd-coloured skin. You hear stories about them bringing bad luck, but I've never met one and I don't put much weight in that. Too many people say the same thing about beast-kin." Sam looked up from his pie.

"Tieflings? Or demons?" Rika stared at him.

"Tieflings. You know them?"

"We have them in a game back home. Dungeons and Dragons. Horns, tails, odd skin colours. Exactly what you described."

"What are they actually like?" Leo asked.

"Not the game version."

"I'm not sure, I've never met one," Shai said.

"If the stories are similar to what you hear about beast-kin in the empire, though, then I imagine they're stigmatised because of how they look, same as a lot of races."

"I've heard they're known for fire magic," Torren added.

"And being able to go unnoticed when they want to. People take that as proof of something sinister."

"What about dwarves," Luka said. He'd been quiet while he finished his pie.

"Gomir's runes. Are those the same everywhere? Like, do all dwarves have them?" Torren nodded slowly.

"That's the interesting thing about dwarves. You find them across the whole world: different mountains, different clans, sometimes different languages. But the runes are always the same. Nobody knows why. The dwarves themselves don't seem to find it strange, it's just how it is. And the stubbornness," he smirked, "that's consistent too."

"There's a winged race," Rika said.

"I think they're called Seraphim? They aren't like me, though. You hear about them showing up at important events. Historical battles or other events that change things. Nobody I've ever spoken to has actually met one, but everyone seems to know about them." She glanced at her own wings briefly.

"I've always wanted to meet one, but I don't even really know if they exist. They could be beast-kin someone made stories about and those got passed down over time."

"What do they look like?" Parmo asked.

"The stories vary. They always have wings, but sometimes those are like mine and sometimes they're made of light. That's another thing: apparently they are amazing at light magic. And honourable. I can't imagine they get on well with nobles."

"There are merfolk as well," Torren said.

"They control most of the sea trade between continents. Traders who deal with them say you pay the toll or you don't cross. That's about all anyone up here knows."

"I heard they have a city on the sea," added Shai. Rika nodded.

"There are the dragons as well, obviously. I know we mentioned the different types earlier, but there are stories of some of the older ones being able to take on human form. Those are more myth than anything else, though." Before anyone could say anything else, Leo, Phil, Luka, and Sam paused. The usual distant look gave away what had happened. Parmo looked between them.

"You get something?"" Yeah, UI notification," Leo said, already checking.

"Hang on."

"Woah," Luka said. The others looked at him.

"I got a message. In the chat. But the sender," he frowned slightly, "it says UI."

"Read it out," Sam said. Luka read it. Quarter final reached. The name of Monkhaven spreads. This is necessary. The town must be known if the path home is to open. Progress in combat noted. A reward has been placed in your inventory. The lads looked at each other.

"Is that the first actual message from the UI since the one we got when we arrived?" Phil said.

"The one about getting home?" Luka nodded slowly. He checked his inventory. Went quiet for a moment. Then looked at Torren.

"Torren. Can we go to yours for a minute? I got something in my inventory, but I don't think pulling it out in the middle of the street is a good idea. Not if it's what I think it is." Torren looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Sure." The inside of Torren's cottage was warm with an open ceiling, the rafters exposed. Wooden floorboards worn smooth underfoot gave it a natural feel that matched the big man's personality. Bunches of dried herbs hung from the beams, their smell filling the space. An oversized table and chairs sat in the corner, sized for someone Torren's height, and the shelves along the walls were packed with jars and small containers. A large fireplace took up most of one wall; a large pot sat over where the fire would be.

It suited him completely. Torren shut the door behind them.

"Well?" Phil said. Luka reached into his inventory and pulled out what the message had left him. It was slightly larger than an ostrich egg, heavy-looking, the shell covered in fine scales that caught the light differently to anything else in the room. The colour was gold. Not painted or coated, gold all the way through, a deep warm shine that seemed to come from inside it rather than reflecting off the surface. He held it out so the others could see. Torren's breath caught. Luka looked at him.

"Is this what I think it is?" Torren stared at it for a long moment, then nodded.

"That's a dragon egg."