Chapter 31 — Welcome Dinner

The darkening sky confirmed Ria's fear as she exited Master Rigure's house.

Ranger hadn't contacted her, so she probably wasn't that late yet. Still, being late for a feast in her honor wasn't a good way to show her appreciation to Grandpa Orlan and Grandma Fana.

Holding up her long skirts so her legs wouldn't get tangled, Ria ran as quickly as she could without being too improper. She kept to the main roads, even though the back alleyways would most likely be a shortcut. Getting lost or worse wouldn't help her get home any faster.

A few chuckles at her antics reached her ears as she ran by, but that was a small matter. Ria did take note of the tavern locations in case she got thirsty while out in the future. Waterskins didn't really match with dresses, after all.

Ria ended up in front of the butcher shop before the sun had fully set, so she called that a victory and took a moment to straighten her skirts before entering.

"Cut that one a bit close, didn't ya?" Grandpa Orlan teased from where he was cleaning up the display counter.

Ria looked down bashfully. "So, I'm not late yet?"

"Nope," he chuckled and advised, "You'd better hurry up and put your stuff away. I just got the notice that they're setting the table. You can tell Fana that I'll be up shortly."

Ria bobbed a curtsy hurriedly and rushed up the stairs, slowing to take the last few steps in a more dignified manner.

The sight of the food spread out on the table brought her up short. Ria had never seen so much food in one place. Even her mom's Harvest Festival dinner that had to feed her father and two brothers couldn't compare.

Sauce-glazed ribs, a golden-browned cheese casserole, fresh greens, cooked greens, several kinds of roast meat, sausages, a large roast bird, dinner rolls dripping with butter, shuttles with different kinds of gravy, and each seat had a bowl of clear vegetable soup. Was all of that in the kitchen when she dropped by around mid-day?

"Don't just stand there gawking, girl. Go put your stuff away and take your seat at the table," Grandma Fana chided her.

"Haha, I think that's the expected reaction for any normal person to your ridiculous Grand Celebratory Feasts, mom," a clean-shaven Jarrel chuckled from where he was cleaning a pot in the kitchen.

"Woof!" Ranger greeted her from the corner of the room where he was lying on an old folded blanket, gnawing on a large bone.

That explained why he didn't contact her… How to feel about that, Ria wasn't sure. Whatever. She closed her mouth and hurried up the stairs.

Her delivered purchases had already been placed in her room, and to her surprise, her new family had already hung the large mirror for her. The washbasin now occupied a corner with her armor placed inside. Her miscellaneous purchases were in a sack hung on the pegs by the door. A quick look showed her play clothes folded neatly in the armoire drawers.

Everything accounted for, Ria put her enchanting supplies on the desk, hung up her cloak, belts, and satchels on the pegs, checked her hair in the mirror, and rushed back downstairs.

The individual plates had been served, and oddly, five were at the table. Ria's unasked question about who the fifth plate was for was answered when Grandpa Orlan and Oscar showed up with chilled mugs of beer.

Upon seeing Oscar, Ria quickly took the odd seat. Sitting next to Jarrel was one thing, but… well, sitting next to Oscar was still a little too intimidating for her. Jarrel and Grandma Fana also took their seats.

"Congratulations, shortie," Oscar said as he placed a chilled mug next to her plate, and one for Grandma Fana and himself as he took his seat.

"Make it last, girl. You're only getting one of those tonight. This isn't your usual watered-down tavern fare," Grandpa Orlan cautioned her good-naturedly as he placed mugs for himself and Jarrel.

Everyone seated, Grandma Fana spoke, “Thank you, Oscar, for joining us to celebrate Jarrel’s safe return and a granddaughter being added to our family.”

Oscar grinned and nodded. “Sure thing boss’-wife—I’m always game for your cooking!”

“Hahaha! That’s the spirit, boy.” Grandma Fana’s eyes lit up with amusement. “So, Ria, this is our way of welcoming you to our house.”

“That’s right, Ria. You are now a part of our family,” Grandpa Orlan echoed. “If you need something or want help with anything, just ask, okay?”

Ria nodded, the corners of her eyes were feeling a little moist. She never met her real grandparents, but if they were still alive, Ria hoped they would be like Grandpa Orlan and Grandma Fana.

Jarrel took his turn to speak up, “What everyone is saying, Ria, is that you don’t have to always do things on your own. Let us help you.”

“Yeah, and if it’s something you can’t tell old people, you can tell me,” Oscar said with a wink. Everyone looked at Oscar. “What?”

“Um, Oscar, what could she possibly tell you that she couldn’t tell me?” Jarrel asked dubiously.

Oscar made a serious expression. “If you don’t know, I probably can’t help you.”

Ria laughed. “I’ll take you up on that, Oscar.”

“Sure, count on me,” he agreed.

“Well… on that note, before the beer gets warm. Welcome home, Ria and Jarrel!” Grandpa Orlan toasted with his mug.

“ “ “Welcome home!” ” ” was the echoed toast.

Ria tasted the beer, conveniently hiding her moist eyes. The beer was more bitter than she was used to but had a mellow aftertaste. The bite from the alcohol wasn’t as strong as wine, but Grandpa Orlan was right, more than a single mug would be too much for her.

With a, “Thank you, everyone,” Ria blinked back her emotion and started on the food.

“Ria, I hear you began your day early and didn’t get back until just a little while ago,” Jarrel started. “How was your first day in Vorshan’s Hills? Anything interesting happen?”

“Lots.” Ria nodded and said proudly, “I made some friends, got offered a job, found out what mage order I want to join, did some shopping, and registered my workshop with the Enchanters Guild.”

Everyone was stunned at the news she just dropped.

Jarrel rubbed his forehead. “There’s so much that I want to ask, but you really joined the Enchanters Guild? Do you have anything you plan to sell?”

Ria puffed up. “Yep! I’m going to make scrolls. I’ve got lots of ideas. From fire-starting to vermin repelling and minor healing.”

“Well isn’t that exciting! Congratulations, girl!” Grandma Fana encouraged her.

Between mouthfuls of food, Oscar wondered, “Would mages buy minor spells like that?”

Grandpa Orlan grunted his agreement. “I can’t imagine your materials are cheap, and even if normal people can use them, you’re not going to get much more than 2 copper coins per scroll, Ria.”

Oh. He was right. Ria’s shoulders slumped a bit. “Well… those are mainly to practice my skills, but I was hoping to make back some of the money.”

Jarrel raised his eyebrow. “What would the non-practice ones be like?”

“Explosives, frost traps, and such, for military use, I guess,” Ria offered noncommittally.

Everyone stopped eating to stare at her.

Jarrel spoke up first, “You mean… like the one you demonstrated in Lord Vorshan’s office?”

Ria nodded. “Yes, but much stronger.”

“Seriously?” Jarrel had a worried look. “And what happens if you mess up?”

There was no way Ria could tell them that the house would probably be blown to pieces, and certainly not after they just gave her such a warm welcome. Instead, she committed to further expense.

“I-I will rent space in Master Rigure’s workshop to make those,” Ria stammered out.

“Setting aside the obvious danger to yourself, where would you even store such dangerous things? And are they even legal to sell?” Grandma Fana asked worriedly.

Ria hurried to explain, “Master Rigure said the guild will buy the good quality items that I make, and he has a void stone that can be used to safely disenchant any failures.”

She didn’t know if using the void stone would entail extra costs or if that was included in the workshop fee, but any failure that required use of a void stone would already be painfully expensive.

“If Master Rigure is involved, he probably wouldn’t let her get up to anything too dangerous,” Grandpa Orlan comforted Grandma Fana.

“I suppose,” Grandma Fana allowed, reluctantly.

“I’d like to believe that, as well,” Jarrel started. “But if you’ve seen the size of the lightning bolts that Ria can send at enemies using her wand…”

Ah! You’re not helping, Jarrel!

Grandma Fana and Grandpa Orlan looked really surprised.

“Woah, is the shortie like some genius mage already? Shouldn’t she be going to an academy, or something?” Oscar asked.

Jarrel nodded. “Yes. I think it’s best that Ria get formal instruction soon. Lord Vorshan has given her a task to complete—perhaps a test of some sort—and afterwards, he said he would find a master to teach her. He seemed open to sponsoring her to the Grand Academy.”

“Wow, that’s incredible news. I knew our Ria was talented, but to attend the Grand Academy!” Grandma Fana said excitedly.

Grandpa Orlan nodded seriously. “Auspicious news, indeed. We’ll need to start setting aside money for her tuition, in case she doesn’t get a scholarship.”

Ria was a bit shocked that they would pay for her tuition, but maybe Grandpa Orlan knew the answer to one of her worries.

“Um, how much is the tuition to the Grand Academy?” Ria asked.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, Ria. You should focus on your studies, and leave the money to us,” Grandma Fana chided her.

“Thank you, Grandma Fana. I’m grateful for your kindness,” Ria said sincerely then turned to Grandpa Orlan. “I’m curious though, how much does attending the Grand Academy cost? I’ve read that it’s really expensive, but I’ve never seen any actual numbers.”

“That’s because you’re not from Crysellia,” Grandpa Orlan replied with a smile. “Every parent and child with mage ambitions knows that the Grand Academy’s enrollment fee is 10 gold coins for each year of study.”

10 gold coins! Ugh. She had enough left for the first year, but… with all her recent purchases… and with the other costs, she was going to have to work hard to earn money whether she got the scholarship or not.

Often, in the stories that she read, the parents worked themselves to exhaustion just to get their child into the academy only to be surprised by the costs of supplies and the expense of living in the capital city.

“Haha, don’t make that face, Ria. We’ll be fine, but it’s not bad if you want to earn some extra money so you can enjoy your time in the capital,” Grandpa Orlan advised with a wink.

“Don’t encourage her, Orlan! She should focus on her studies!” Grandma Fana chided.

“But with everything that you are already doing for me, isn't there something I can do to help out?” Ria asked.

Grandpa Orlan gave Grandma Fana a look to forestall her complaint. “Just refilling the magic stones and helping out around the house from time to time is already plenty.”

“Okay,” Ria agreed. She felt bad about not doing more, but having more free time meant she could focus more on training and making money.

The conversation turned to reminiscing about Jarrel and his sister when they were growing up and how nice it was that the house would be lively again. Afterward, Jarrel told some stories about the journey through the highlands. Eventually, the conversation returned to Ria’s day, and thanks to the increasing effects of the beer, she embarrassed herself a little when she was asked about her new friends.

Ugh. She’ll never understand why adults like to drink the stuff so much.

Ria felt bad about excusing herself early from dinner, but she had another early day planned. Grandpa Orlan told her to have fun on her date with Leon, and Oscar gave her a thumbs-up. Sigh.

She gave everyone except Oscar a hug, which made him laugh. She did thank him for welcoming her and gave him an awkward co-worker handshake though. Ranger was already asleep on his new bed, so she left him alone.

Having escaped to her room, Ria thought about practicing her magic or trying again to solve the puzzle that was preventing her access to the contents of the magic bag containing the rest of Jeni’s inheritance. Having a usable magic bag would have saved her a lot of trouble when shopping.

The reality was that, unless she wanted to waste an anti-poison potion, her focus was… not good enough at the moment.

Ria wasn’t sure whether the magical puzzle was part of the bag’s function or a test placed by Jeni’s grandmother. When she sensed it, the inside was like a maze with rooms that had challenges requiring precise skills and energy control to solve. After two months of attempts, she could now complete several of the challenges, but many remained beyond her ability.

Taking the enchanting classes might give her some insights, though maybe she should just ask Master Rigure to take a look at the bag? That said, Ria had put enough effort into solving the puzzles that she really was loathe to have someone else solve it for her.

Sighing, Ria cast a small light spell so she could look at herself in the mirror before changing into her new nightgown. The plum dress really was stylish, and if not for her still childish face, it made her look like a little adult.

Her play clothes and armor certainly wouldn’t have any such appeal. Would tomorrow go as well, she wondered.