Good cooking really made the difference between a good day and a bad day, Samuel thought. He devoured the strips of bacon and fluffy eggs that Thomas had given him with a slightly indecent enthusiasm. He’d never been great with table manners, much to his mother’s chagrin, but what little he did have evaporated in the face of such delicious food.

There was even coffee, and it was the best part. He’d questioned Thomas on the source of their beans, and the young man told him that they were shipped from Milagre, but he didn’t know what the original source was. Samuel figured it out pretty quick, however. The taste was identical to the first cup of coffee that Seamus, his old chief, had made. Those beans had come from a faraway nation. Samuel searched his memory for the name and remembered that it was Adarba. The Mitene Union, he remembered. Perhaps it was worth his time to take a trip there.

After a filling breakfast, Samuel and Sera sat beside the fire, conversing for several long hours in the usual fashion. Despite how often they spoke in the past month, there were still many stories and details that Sera had yet to share with him. Samuel could feel his old curiosity coming back to life, that sense of silent wonder every time he was offered a new tale. It could have been his mother across the table, lulling him into comfort with whispered tales of other lives.

As the sun reached its peak and patrons began to fill the Inn after a hard day’s work at the fields, Sera excused herself and went upstairs for a nap. How she could sleep with the loud noise of chattering customers beneath her was a mystery to Samuel, but it was a skill she’d always had. Thomas ran out of time to chat, as he was kept busy serving drinks and cooking meals for the tired and hungry patrons.

Samuel moved to a table in the corner to stay out of Thomas’ way and watched the young man move about the inn with the speed and grace of long practice. Sera must have started him working at a young age, he thought. Remembering the Sera of his youth, it was difficult to see who was faster.

Eventually, after yet another delicious meal of chicken and greens for lunch, Samuel excused himself from the noisy taproom and wandered around the village. Several of the villagers, used to his presence by now and aware of who he was, waved cheerily as he passed, and occasionally beckoned him over for a conversation. One woman, a heavy basket of fruit balanced on her hip, offered him a fresh apple she’d just picked. It was juicy and sweet as he munched on it, idly wandering around.

He didn’t want to go to the hill again. He made a point of only visiting it once per day. He’d spent so much time training there that the hill would forever hold the sense of tedious practice, and that didn’t exactly let him relax. So instead, he took himself out to one of the many patches of soft grass on the outside of the village facing the forest and sat down with his papers.

The thick tome he’d purchased to write Tome of the Body was complete now. He had a few ideas for potential edits, but it was essentially complete. At some point, he wanted to bring it to Milagre, and try to get it published through the Mage’s Guild. He’d have to be a member for that, of course, so that most likely required admission into the college again. That was not a pleasant thought, so he moved on.

He let his mind relax, not focusing on any one thing but allowing his attention to brush against any random thought that fluttered by. This was the state of mind that had served him best when trying to learn anything new, or whenever he was faced with a complicated puzzle or problem. His brain worked best when it was relaxed, and his best ideas came when he wasn’t straining to summon them.

He thought of what he’d learned of magic so far. This brought to mind Arcana, of course, but it also reminded him of Astori and Grimr. Two very wise souls, even if one of them was mortal. He wondered idly if Astori had ever earned the rank of Archmage. If anyone deserved it, his old Transmutation teacher definitely did. The man had been a prodigious mage, but even more so, his gifts with teaching were near-legendary.

Astori had always found interesting and unique ways to test his students. Each student was tested in a different way, tailored to help that student grow faster. For Samuel, Astori had constantly challenged him to think in different ways, as well as explore every possible avenue of magic’s uses. He had found it frustrating and exhausting, but he couldn’t deny the effect that it had on his growth.

Grimr had been almost the polar opposite. As an Ancient, he had been incredibly powerful. Furthermore, his innate connection to the energy that coursed through the world meant that he could use amazing magicks the most prodigious mage would never achieve. He’d taught Samuel a great deal, but he hadn’t held the young mage’s hand, telling him answers at the right times.

Grimr had observed quietly and waited patiently after giving Samuel choice tidbits of information. He waited to see what the young mage would do with the knowledge. When he’d told Samuel that energy could be used to detect energy, he’d taken that information and created a new spell, the mana screen. In a way, it was just as exhausting as Astori’s lessons and just as lucrative.

Thinking of Grimr led him to turn his attention to the dark forest that stood on the horizon like a long dark blot of ink on fresh parchment. It was even more expansive than the first time Samuel had seen it, all those years ago before he knew who Shigeru, Grimr, and Arcana were. It was dark but didn’t seem nearly as hostile as before. Samuel knew that Shigeru and Grimr had worked together to make sure no bandits had taken root and that there was also a large population of druids that now called the trees home.

The druids were a kind, compassionate people who welcomed visitors, as long as the laws of nature were respected. They tended to the injured, offered shelter to travelers, and composed themselves with the grace and peace expected of the people of the forest. Samuel didn’t yet know if Grimr had descended from the mortal plane, but his influence was all too obvious. Looking at the old trees now, one could never imagine that the forest had once been destroyed by corruption.

The rest of his day passed in silent contemplation as he idly scribbled in his notebooks. He was running out of room in the book, and he didn’t have much unused paper left. Another week or so of these writing sessions would see him completely run out. The general store of Harlest had sold paper, but he’d cleared them out of stock and had run out once again. Now it seemed his only option to get more would be to travel to Milagre.

Reasons to leave the village kept popping up the longer he stayed in Harlest, but he was hesitant to leave Sera again. They had just been reunited, and he felt it a bad omen to consider leaving her again. What if she were to pass away while he was gone, and he couldn’t talk to her again? A silent but powerful war waged between the two desires in his mind. She was the one living mortal person he’d ever felt connected to. What would he be without her?

As the sun began to lower itself in the sky, he gathered up his papers and heaved himself to his feet. He brushed away the few blades of grass that clung to his blue robe and returned to the village. The streets were nearly empty now, as everyone had returned home for their evening meal and another normal night of rest. The overwhelming sense of ordinary life suffocated him slightly, and he feared the day when he’d grow accustomed to it.

Thankfully, it was still plenty lively in the Nook Inn. It had emptied out some since the lunch hour, but there were still plenty of folk there. Most were locals, enjoying ale while playing cards or dice, but there were a few outsiders mixed into the crowd. The people of Harlest always welcomed strangers warmly, and this inn was still the only one of its kind on the peninsula, so people from outside the village always stopped here for a night’s rest.

Thomas was wiping down a recently vacated table as Samuel walked in, and looked up briefly to nod his welcome. The boy looked tired after the day’s work, but he continued in his work without a sign of exhaustion. He directed Samuel towards the table by the fire, where Sera was sitting once again. A plate of food was sitting there waiting for him.

He waved briefly to show his thanks and joined Sera at the table. She was staring into the flames as he sat down and didn’t immediately speak to him. He looked down to his plate, realizing how hungry he was. Some kind of small game bird’s meat, with mashed potatoes and a leafy green salad. The dressing on the salad was tangy and creamy and went well with the bold spices on the bird.

Samuel spared one glance at Sera, then focused his attention on the food. It was excellent as always, and for a moment he ate, rather than looking around the room. It wasn’t until Sera looked away from the fire to stare at him that Samuel hesitated in his devouring of the fine food. There was something morose about Sera’s expression, he thought.

“I can tell,” she said softly. “I can tell that you do not like remaining in one place for long.”

Samuel had nothing to say to that. It was perfectly true, but he felt it would be tactless to admit it out loud. Sera was easily his favorite person ever, but the simple village life did not agree with him. He considered trying to deny it to spare her feelings but felt the deception wouldn’t work. Awkwardly, he set his fork down and shrugged slightly.

“You want to leave as soon as you can,” she said, nodding in confirmation of her own words. “If it weren’t for me, you would already be gone.”

Samuel opened his mouth at once to refute the suggestion that she was keeping him in Harlest against his will, but she held up a hand to forestall him. “I know that you also want to stay with me. But I know that one wish will overpower the other eventually.”

Again Samuel could not think of an appropriate response. Feeling that he ought to say something, he cleared his throat. “I’m not suffering. I’ve enjoyed the peace of this last month, and I’ve really enjoyed seeing you and learning about your life.”

“But you do want to travel again,” she insisted. “You want to see more strange things, and find more mysteries to study.”

He nodded slowly, almost hesitantly, as if afraid of offending her. She showed no sign of offense, however, and offered him a warm smile.

“I thought so,” she said. “And so, I will make your choice an easy one.”

“How do you mean?” He asked her. “Are you planning on throwing me out?”

“In a way,” she replied, that familiar mischievous twinkle entering her eye again. “I’m letting you go. You’ll go to the forest first, then find your way to Milagre. I don’t want to be responsible for you being unhappy, so I’m letting you go off again.”

“I need some way to pay you for the room and care,” he protested. “You know I can bring back coin this way.”

“I’ve already said you don’t need to repay me, Sam,” she said flatly, using her old nickname for him. “Seeing you alive and well after all these years is payment enough.”

Samuel focused on cleaning the rest of the food from his plate before replying. Pulling a stray bone from his mouth, he set it down and stood. Sera looked at him in confusion as he walked around the table, coming to a stop in front of her. He bent over and placed his lips on her forehead. She didn’t argue or refuse this uncharacteristic action.

“Nobody will understand me as you do, Sera,” he said softly, grinning at her. “You know me too well, even after a hundred years apart.”

“Oh please,” she snorted. “You’ve known gods and legendary heroes. I hardly compare.”

Samuel kissed her forehead again. “Yes, they do not compare. None of them are as stubborn as you.”

He left her alone to stare into the fire then and returned to his room upstairs to pack up his possessions. He passed Thomas as he did so, and he could tell by the expression on the boy’s face that he knew what they had discussed. Thomas didn’t seem to care either way as far as his departure was concerned, but was clearly troubled by his great-grandmothers’ melancholy about the subject.

It did not take Samuel long to pack up his belongings. This was due in equal parts to his limited possessions, and the spell he used to store everything he owned in a pocket formed in the air next to him. The spell was extremely handy because he no longer had to carry anything on him, and weight didn’t matter in the pocket. He could put anything he wanted there, and not have to worry about keeping it organized.

He tucked everything but his personal notebook away. The notebook itself went into a small satchel that hung on his shoulder. It would also hold his coin when he had some, and any other small item he would need at a moment’s notice. Finished with his packing, he slung the satchel over his shoulder and made his way down the stairs.