The Trials of Magnus : Chapter 8. Chapter 8: In Search of Information
By: J. Charles Ramirez
Tags: Epic Fantasy, Litrpg, Fantasy, Series, Serial Fiction

Morning came fast; they had spent more time than Magnus had initially thought on training last night. Despite that, they both were up and ready not long after the sun announced itself through their window.

Ahnkiin had been extremely sluggish after waking. He groaned with every move as Magnus prepared himself for the day. The extensive use of his mana in novel ways had drained Ahnkiin in a way that mere rest could not sufficiently heal. Magnus kept an eye on him as they descended the stairway and headed into the dining hall for breakfast.

The room was much larger and more opulent than Palvar’s humble tavern. Gold gilded nearly every surface: elaborately trimmed columns, inlaid in rich mahogany wooden furniture, light flickering from golden streaks in the curtains, even the silverware had gold accents. Two large golden feathers created an arch over a bar that had eight seats in front of it. Two of them were already occupied by guests, with other groups sitting at various tables.

Magnus made his way to the bar, Ahnkiin close behind. As they sat, one of the men to their left looked over, and upon seeing them, got up, grabbed his drink, and walked away to sit at an unoccupied table on the other side of the room. Magnus ignored him, and Ahnkiin didn’t seem to notice either. A few moments later and Nik walked in from the kitchen, two trays of food in his arms.

He seemed confused when he saw the first man not in his seat still, and when he looked over, Magnus pointed him in the direction of the guest. Nik nodded in thanks and set the plates down for the customers.

“Good morning! Magnus, right?” Nik greeted them as he rounded the bar.

“Good morning Nik. We need some breakfast please.” Magnus asked.

“Sure thing!” He passed over a paper menu for Magnus and Ahnkiin to share. “Can I get you a drink while you wait?”

“The strongest coffee you can make.” Ahnkiin uttered blearily. Magnus held up two fingers.

“On the way.” Nik walked down towards the far end of the bar and grabbed two mugs before pouring a thick, dark, and pungent liquid into it. The smell of the coffee wafted over, and Magnus could hear Ahnkiin lick his lips in anticipation. When Nik placed the coffee down, Ahnkiin immediately took a long drink and sighed in relief.

“Figured out what you two would like to eat?” Nik asked.

“Yeah I think I-” Magnus started before Ahnkiin interrupted.

“Two pheasants, six eggs, eight strips of bacon, a rack of ribs with sweet syrup, two butter rolls, a nut and fig roll, shredded potato with cheese, and a cup of fruit.”

Magnus and Nik stared at Ahnkiin, confusion crossing their faces.

“Oh I am sorry! What did you want, Magnus?” Ahnkiin asked.

“Uh.” Magnus blinked a few times to clear his thoughts. “House special, I guess.” he offered.

“I’ll be out as soon as I can.” Nik said, leaving for the kitchen again.

Magnus continued to stare at Ahnkiin after Nik’s departure.

“What? I am hungry.” Ahnkiin stated before continuing to drink his coffee.

The time passed wordlessly before Nik and two other employees brought tray after tray of food out for Ahnkiin, followed closely by a single plate for Magnus.

“Enjoy!” Nik exclaimed as Ahnkiin tore into his food, barely stopping to chew. Magnus knew mana exhaustion always led to intense hunger, but even this seemed a little excessive. Despite that, after completing his own meal, Magnus couldn’t help but feel hungry still. Ahnkiin was still assaulting his meal when he looked over towards Magnus and passed a plate over to him. They shared the rest of the food and upon finishing they both leaned back with satisfied smiles crossing their faces. Nik was making his rounds at that time, and Magnus stopped him as he passed the bar.

“Hey Nik,” Magnus said, continuing when Nik looked back towards him, “who issues the bounties?”

“Huh…” he pondered for a moment. “Well, generally they’re delivered by a courier for the guard, but I’m pretty sure he comes straight from their office. He should be delivering some later this morning, if you want to ask him.”

Magnus scratched at his chin, he didn’t want to take a chance on missing the courier, but there wasn’t much he could do at this point. He accepted the answer and instead went down another line of questioning to satisfy his curiosity.

“So what’s with all the gold? I thought ‘The Gold Feather’ was just a name, but it seems like this place took it to heart.”

“I bet the feathers came from a huge bird.” Ahnkiin jested.

“That’s exactly right.” Nik said.

“What?” Magnus asked incredulously. “A bird with heavy, golden feathers?”

“Indeed. The owner of this inn saved an Alicanto, and it rewarded him with vast riches.” Nik continued.

“Ah, now that’s a great story, ye know?” came Palvar’s booming voice as he took a seat next to Magnus.

“Palvar!” Ahnkiin yelled, “It is so good to see you!”

“And you too, little cat.” Palvar laughed. “Nik? How are ye?”

“Splendid, Palvar.” he said with a smile as they exchanged a handshake.

“Now, about the Alicanto.” Palvar began, “The owner of this here fine establishment happens ta be a dear friend of mine, and the story one I’ve heard a million times.

“Once, long ago, Therin’s his name, found a tiny baby bird hurt by a river not far from the gate here. This bird was brown like dirt, and small. Couldn’t even fly. Well Therin, being the kind soul he is, took pity on the wee thing and brought him home. At the time, Therin and his family couldn’t put food on the table, and adding another burden was not something ta do lightly. Even so, Therin took care of the youngin for a long time. They built a very strong friendship, but ’twas not enough. The bird would not eat anything Therin had to offer. At night, when all were asleep, the bird would sneak out and eat any rocks he could find.”

“Rocks?” Magnus asked.

“Aye. He didn’t know then, but he had saved an Alicanto. They’s very rare birds that don’t eat ta seeds or worms like regular birds. They eat rocks. The rarer the stone, the better. So since this here Alicanto only ate quarry stones from around Therin’s home, he stayed brown and grey, but their relationship grew stronger still. As he got older, Therin went ta work in the mines by Shalitan Mountain, with the Alicanto always following him. Twas round then that Therin discovered the Alicanto loved ta eat stone. After that, the Alicanto grew at a tremendous pace. One day, there was a cave-in, and Therin was stuck inside with the Alicanto. The cave-in was due ta an earthquake, and it had opened up other tunnels in the mountain. The Alicanto led Therin down deep inta the mountain, and led him ta a vast cavern covered in gold. Therin let the Alicanto eat his fill, as he had gone nuts over the ore, and afterwards the Alicanto turned a brilliant gold. The Alicanto did not want ta leave the cave, so he gave Therin two golden feathers as remembrance of their friendship, and allowed him ta gather gold when he needed it.

As such, he used that friendship and fortune to build this inn. Nobody but Therin knows the location of the golden cavern, and the Alicanto protects it from detection; leading explorers ta their doom if they get too close.”

Magnus sat, blinking, still unsure of the story. Ahnkiin only nodded as Palvar spoke. At the end, Ahnkiin said, “I have always wished to see an Alicanto. My grandmother swears to have seen one in Vernet once.”

“Is it really so hard ta believe, Mag? I’m sure you’ve seen things just as strange.” Palvar questioned.

“I guess not.” Magnus hesitantly replied. “Just, you find a cave of gold, and the first thing you do is open an inn?”

“It is not becoming to be greedy, even when offered plenty.” Ahnkiin recited.

“Aye.” Palvar agreed, nodding.

“In any case, I’m glad you could join us, Palvar. We are a bit out of sorts here in the city, I’m afraid.” Magnus redirected.

“Yes, I thought you would not be here until tomorrow or the next.” Ahnkiin said.

“Well like I said, Ma knows a soldier’s lot in life. She’s happy with the time we got ta spend together; many years since I’ve been ta battle.” Palvar said.

“Hopefully you won’t have to shake the rust off too soon, Palvar.” Magnus joked.

“Not ta worry there, little cat! I brought me best sword and armor ta boot,” He flexed his bicep as he said, “the strength of my back hasn’t ever gotten rest.”

Palvar’s show had drawn a crowd of laughter from everyone, and he feigned hurt at it. Nik was still laughing as he wandered out from the bar to continue his duties. As he left, Magnus brought Palvar up to speed with how their troll hunt had gone, and the situation that transpired at the operating center they had retrieved their payment from.

“A troll that looked like a human?” Palvar was incredulous at the revelation.

“We even kept the head.” Ahnkiin said, shaking his head as he shivered at the thought.

“What do ya think it was?” Palvar asked.

“Can’t be certain. Troll’s aren’t a race that can interbreed with humans, or any other sapient race, far as I know. It’s magical power also was vastly superior to many elementalists I know. Sure we were near a swamp but I could tell most of the water it conjured was purely from magical ability; it didn’t carry any containers for it.”

“D’ya think maybe it had an enchanted item, or a magical boon?”

“Unlikely. I would have noticed if it used an item to focus its power, and when I cut it there weren’t any unique mana compositions magical enhancements provide.” Magnus continued.

“You can notice things like that?” Palvar wondered.

“I’ve always been extremely sensitive to mana, and I’ve learned how to extend that. Besides, my blade is just highly concentrated and dense mana I’ve produced; so it’s like an extension of my senses. I can feel what it does, or doesn’t, cut through.” Magnus explained.

“Aye. So it was just its own power fueling it, then?”

“I can think of no other answer at the moment.”

“I too am at a loss. I had not seen trolls before this point, either, so I am of little help.” Ahnkiin chimed in.

“That is why I want to meet with whoever issued the bounty. The pay seemed a little high, even for how dangerous trolls can be, and I need to know if there is something else at play here.”

“Why do ya want ta bother yerself with it? I thought you came here looking fer a book; not fer weird beasts.” Palvar said.

“Things like this aren’t usually due to something natural. If there were more reports of similar happenings, that could mean something much more sinister.”

“How’s it related to the book, then?”

“Monsters suddenly appearing with new mutations and vast magical ability indicate the gods are moving again. The last time the gods moved in such direct ways we ended up losing two of them, and forgetting they ever existed. The book is supposed to tell me the events that led to that. If they are connected, my goal and the need for that information are one in the same.”

Palvar sat, contemplating. The implications of Magnus’ discovery were a lot to process and work through. Ahnkiin just sat there, wordlessly accepting Magnus’ resolve. Palvar noticed as well, asking, “Yer okay with this, Ahnkiin?”

“Why would I not be?”

“I never expected I’d be going up against the gods themselves.” Palvar confided. “I know I must help you, being of the Eirskottir” -he said this in a hushed tone towards Magnus- “but I must confess I’m not too sure about this path you’re taking me on.”

“You’re free to come and go as you please, Palvar.” Magnus stated. “This path very well may be deadly, and I will not force you to follow. Having you around would be a great benefit; if just for your knowledge of the area, and if you feel it is becoming too dangerous for you don’t hesitate to prioritize yourself.” Palvar seemed to relax at Magnus’ statement.

“Tis a deal.” Palvar responded.

“As for now, let’s try and find out some information on the bounty, and go from there.”

“On it.” Ahnkiin replied before teleporting away. A few moments later he returned with the bag held outstretched from his body, obviously unwilling to be close to it.

“Blech,” Ahnkiin groaned as Magnus grabbed the bag from him, “disgusting, Magnus. I hate carrying the head of a dead man.” Palvar seemed very interested in it, but Magnus pulled the strings even tighter as he rose to leave. Ahnkiin just shrugged at Palvar and followed.