After Selica left to look for the hall housing the other new Hameza residents, Ashlin lazily waited for Gallian to finish her bath before leaving with her to do some mundane shopping. Though it didn’t look much, Ashlin was actually ecstatic internally as this might be her first time to do some shopping without any guards looking over her shoulder.

When Gallian finally finished her bath, the two casually left the hotel as they start window shopping at the street vendors that has just opened. As the morning slowly wakes the sleepy district, shops has just begun the setup their wares in the street. The first thing the girls noted are the vast array of races walking freely alongside them. From elves, orcs, driders, and even faes fluttering above their heads, the streets of Cartazarin is far more magical than they’ve imagined it to be.

“So.” Ashlin, who has been quiet after leaving the hotel, but there’s something bugging her about her friend. “Are we not going to talk about your bioluminescent hair?”

”Please no,” Gallian instinctually holds her hair as her friend asks about it. “I told you, it’s normal on our planet. It’s just like having a different hair than the rest.” When Ashlin first saw Gallian’s aftershower hair she wasn’t sure if she was still dreaming from her slumber waiting for her or what. One would think that hair after taking a thorough shower like Gallian took would look damp and dull, but for some reason Gallian’s hair did not only look vibrant but it also glowed a crimson hue.

Ashlin’s surprise doubled when she realized that her glowing hair is even more vibrant in the darkness. ”I mean, I didn’t see your hair glowing like that during the test.” Ashlin commented. She’s been with Gallian and Selica through a horrendous time and one way for Ashlin to identify her friends in that damp depressing battlefield are their hair. Selica’s distinct mid-cut curly black hair and Gallian’s long flowing red mane image are embedded in her memory at this point. So it was a really big deal for her when she realized that her red headed friend’s hair can actually glow like a night light.

But Gallian simply shrugs and simply walks. “I don’t know, it’s probably magical or something. No one really bothered me about it back home so I just assumed it’s nothing special.” Gallian stops in front of a food stall. The stall’s merchant busily places smoked jerky meat in front of his stall as he fans a grill by the side.

“Oh what’s this?” Gallian curiously asks as she tries to pick the jerky off from the stall. ”Wormbait jerky. Good to energize your morning.” The merchant, who is a drider with a distinctive bowl hat over his head, immediately switches to business mode by flashing his multiple beady eyes and the biggest smile he could muster.

“W-wormbait?” Ashlin could visibly see Gallian reeling from disgust just hearing the word “worm”. Though contrary to his friend’s reaction, Wormbait meat is an actual delicacy to where Ashlin came from. Wormbait are rodents that bite minerals within the ravines as their main source of food. Since the clacking of their teeth is so noisy, giant worms would usually sense the vibration they make and eat them for an easy meal. Miners would often release a family of wormbaits in a newly discovered cavern to see if there are any giant worms living there.

“We’ll take two please.” Ashlin steps up in front of the still frozen Gallian to order for them. She tries to go for her pocket, but suddenly realizes something crucial. “Um, what currency do you take?” The drider tilts his head and laughs. “Oh you’re the new kids. I did see you leave the hotel. I usually take Yit in my store as it’s more universal. That’ll be 20 Yit darling.” Ashlin sighs a relief, of all the money she has, majority of them are converted to Yit. Ashlin reached for her pocket and handed two coins in the drider’s hands. “Here sir.” She then picks up the wormbait jerky and gives one to her friend. ”Thank you for your patronage!” The merchant waves three of his hands as the two girls leave his stall.

“Honestly Gallian.” Ashlin feels disappointed that her supposed rough friend is easily afraid of creepy crawlies. It’s actually a miracle she doesn’t reel back when she sees the spider-like frame of a drider walking beside her. “I thought you’re from the street? How are you freezing up from the mention of something like “worm”.”

“Hey! Worms are only for fishing baits okay?” Gallian immediately answers back as she tries to look at the wormbait jerky they bought. She smells it at first then tries to bite a small piece of it with her incisors. After a few chews her disgusted appearance lightens up. “Huh, they taste just like rats.” ”What? You reel back at worms but happily eat rats? I can’t even with you, girl.” Now Ashlin’s the one shaking at the mention of eating rats. Honestly, she thinks, they are practically night and day and if it weren’t for Selica’s persistence they wouldn’t be friends in the first place.

As the girls walk past the now-bustling marketplace, they finally get a chance to casually look at their surroundings. Lively markets full to the brim with barter and trade as different people coerce one another to get a great deal. Aside from the noisy market, the more laid back people are easing into the morning as they drink their morning brew and eat wormbait jerky as they watch the sun rise between the white peaks of the mountain.

It was a very humbling scene for Ashlin, one she could never hope to have witnessed if she had stayed in Maskanor. The ever droning noise of traffic has been a persistent hum in Ashlin’s ear. One she thought was just white noise, but now that she’s here and hears none of it, realizes how exhausted she was from hearing it. She has just been in Magecraft City for less than an hour and she already feels peace.

After going around a bit in the marketplace, the girls decided to sit at the nearby park and just experience the garden’s atmosphere.

However, their little respite was interrupted by Ashlin’s fans.

“Omg, it’s really her!” A young girl as they hurriedly meet Ashlin right before she enters the park. ”Ashlin Gollaza!” Another young girl flanked the duo, causing Gallian to reel back from the screeching fan girls. “Is it true that you were able to finish the test by using your family’s ancient technique?” ”Oh oh! Did you use the legendary Gollazan Storm Fist to kick those Silencers asses up?” Girl #1 immediately butts in. “The one your father used again The Carmalizer?”

“I…Um.” Ashlin was speechless. For once during her time in public she was caught off-guard by fans within the very walls of Magecraft City. It’s as she’s started to get boiled by her fans. Boil? Wait, what is that smell? Ashlin looks down and sees something smoking at one of the girl’s dresses. ”Wha-what?!!” The girl immediately panicked as both of them jumped straight to the fountain a few distance from the entrance.

“Finally some peace and quiet.” Gallian sighs as she flicks her finger, putting the fire out from her hands.

“Hey-!” ”Relax, I just saved you.” Gallian comments, “I saw the fountain before I even did it. The small fire wasn’t enough to ruin their clothes.” She then continues to walk towards a nearby bench.

“This reckless idiot.” Ashlin wanted to hit Gallian in response to what she did. She almost endangered kids…for her. Her friend did something ridiculously dangerous for her benefit. Ashlin knows far too well that if Gallian didn’t do that, more people would have crowded them.

“Ugh.” Ashlin scratches her head in frustration. She isn’t in her home city now and can’t let her moral high ground get the better of her. And though Gallian’s actions were dangerous, Ashlin rationalizes that it was somewhat the same outcome as her guards would have wanted.

Aside from the two girls who flanked Ashlin earlier, the park itself is quite quiet with only a few kids running around and their guardians merrily socializing at the side. Small flower gardens decorate the lush green grass with a vibrant selection. Trias Lilies, Meadow Roses, and even Cliffrune Irises, the one rose Ashlin is locally familiar with, are blooming beautifully to liven up the serene park.

And contrary to all the bright and sunny aesthetic surrounding them Gallian responds to it all by hunching over and walking like a gremlin trying to avoid the sunlight. Ashlin’s stares at Gallian as if she’s ashamed of herself for being here.

“What’s the matter with you?” Ashlin calls her friend out as they sit by the bench. Even if she did help her earlier, she wasn’t going to let it pass by without a bit of confrontation. Gallian continues to sit beside her and covers her face with a hood over her redhead. “You look and act like a convict who just escaped jail. Isn’t Dangal a port city? Surely your home city would be as bright as this place?”

Gallian finishes the last strips of her wormbait jerky. “There’s just something about this place that’s really not jiving with me, you know? My first guess is that everyone seems too cheery for my blood.”

”Gods, is everyone in your place a cutthroat or something?” Ashlin exasperates as she munches the final piece of her wormbait jerky.

“I’m just saying that it might take me a while to get used to this place.” Gallian explains herself.

Ashlin heavily sighs, “Fine I guess. But technically we wouldn’t be staying in this exact place, now are we?” she comments. “I wonder what our district will look like?” ”If the dungeon thing is any indication there would be thick walls everywhere.” Gallian imagines.

“I was thinking that it would at least have something like this.” Ashlin gestures at the park. “Some place peaceful, and probably a good area away from the stress that will be brought by the dungeon.”

“Usually places like that are in-house with a lot of drinks and intimacy inside.” Gallian rebukes Ashlin’s serene description.

“Can you not? It’s early morning Galli.” Ashlin side glanced at her friend’s boorish description. “Not everyone can relax in a bar or a brothel you know.”

“Yeah,” Gallian somberly answers. “Just like me.” She then quickly stands up. “We should get our little nerd something? Where’s that wormbait fellow?”

Ashlin notices Gallian’s remark, but she didn’t want to push it seeing as how quick she was in changing the subject. She’ll tell us in time just like her magic, she thinks. “I don’t know. He's probably sold out by now? Maybe we could get her a book or something?”

”A book? Here-!” Gallian was about to comment on how ridiculous it sounds. “Oh, right. On second thought yeah that could work.” Until she realizes where she is right now.

It was easy for Ashlin to see her friend still having difficulty adapting to her new place. She places her hand over Gallian’s shoulder and rubs it caringly. “Don’t worry, you’re not alone. we’ll get used to things together.” Ashlin tries to smother her friend just the way she doesn’t like it. Just to get back on what she did to the kids earlier.

“Ugh puts your hand off me!” And just like clockwork, Gallian reacts disgustingly to Ashlin’s antics.

-

In their little book search for Selica, Both Ashlin and Gallian stumble through a special nook in the far edges of the marketplace. It is between the bakeshop and the fancy clothes store building where they find a peculiar alley full of merchants selling books of all kinds.

And when they meant all kinds of books, they meant everything.

”A Book on How to Cook Ice?” Ashlin could not even describe her emotions as she scans through these ridiculous titled books she’s found in the Mindslip Alley. “How...how?”

”Hehe, gotta buy it to find out.” The elvish merchant wears a brightly smiling mask as she coerces the young Ashlin to buy her books.

”The dervish tales of Isolia the Whimsical.” Gallian spells out the title of another book she’s seen in another store. This time the human merchant seems to have delivered said book to her upon requesting an “interesting book to gift”.

”Yes yes! The first book of 16th! Of course you would need to buy the entire anthology so your friend would not be hung up after finishing the first one!” The merchant quickly digs up 15 other books from his mountain of collections. “That would be 3000 Yit!”

”Woah there sir!” Gallian immediately drops the book and steps back. “I’m just looking for one book, that’s all. T-thank you anyways!”

“Found anything?” Ashlin too has stepped away from the elvish merchant and her ridiculous cookbooks. ”There’s way too many books in this place.” Gallian reconvened with Ashlin back in the middle of the alley as they’ve planned. “And to be honest I’m not sure what kind of book Selica would like.”

“I think the safest one we can find are magical books I guess.” Ashlin goes for the easiest suggestion. “We should ask around first. Places like this usually clump together specialist stores, right?” ”Probably.” Gallian nods and the girls carefully traversed through the messy alley littered with pages and leather covers. When they first saw this place, they thought it would only be a few scant stalls set up hiding from the sun, but as they walked closer and closer they realized that not only is the entire alley filled up with book merchants, but there are even floors above them that do the same. They called it the Mindslip Alley as anyone looking for a quick dose of knowledge can slip right through here and get a book in no time.

Though Ashlin has read her fair share of books for her studies and amusement, she was still caught off guard at the sheer magnitude of books present before her. Gallian on the other hand seems to not care much about books, but she did give her a small nugget of advice.

”Watch your step.” Gallian points down at the floor that is scattered with books everywhere. At first glance they looked like they were just haphazardly scattered and the merchants just forgot to collect them, but Ashlin immediately realizes that they are strategically placed in front of the stalls they belong to. “You step on one of those and the merchant’s going to haggle you to buy them for ruining their merchandise.” After that the girls deftly maneuvered over the scattered books on the ground.

The girls continue their search as they leave the general department on the ground floor and climb up stairs and see the more specialized books available. In the 2nd floor they notice a better assortment of history books mostly aiming from different worlds and other specifically talking about well known individuals.

”Hey Princess,” Gallian speaks up as she flips through a book named “History of the City of Briar.” “Since we’re not in mortal danger now, I have to ask: why did you leave your castle?”

”Castle huh?” Ashlin sifts through the books labeled historical fighting techniques while talking to Gallian. “Try a gilded cage. I was raised as a child for the sole purpose of taking over the family business.” She looks around and sees the other customers and merchants are not listening in. “If you know what I mean.”

Gallian sighs and walks closer to her friend to lessen any suspicion. “But I mean, that’s not really a tall order if everything else is given to you.”

“Really? Because from what I remember I had a strict schedule that required me to sleep at around 10PM until I was 10 years of age. Not to mention every action I do is monitored by two to three bodyguards to ensure no one can get close to me.” Ashlin casually drops her experience to her friend. “Didn’t feel too cushy if I may say so myself.”

”Ugh, fine. That did suck.” Gallian returns the book she’s reading and tries to look for more autobiographies instead. “But still I’m surprised you’ve got the balls to actually leave that all behind.”

“I...”Ashlin pauses for a bit as she was caught off guard by Gallian’s comment. It was a surprise. She actually didn’t know she had it in her to leave her home. She can’t really pinpoint when she decided to leave, but one thing did lead to another until her motivation truly snowballed to what is it today. “I know. Surprising isn’t it.” She simply kept her answer vague. She won’t let Gallian be the only cryptic person in this friendship.

After reading and unsuccessfully finding an appropriate gift for Selica in the history floor, the two girls went higher to the busiest floor in Mindslip Alley: the Magic Book Floor. Unlike the rest of the floors they’ve been in, the 3rd floor is jammed with people rifling and switching books in all corners of the floor. Add to that the noisy merchants busy advertising their latest wares and you have an extra stressful atmosphere.

”This doesn’t look good.” Ashlin quickly comments as she partially tries to cover her ear from all the noise. “Besides, does Selica really need another magical book? From the looks of things she seems to write her own anyways?”

”Probably not, but I also guess it’s the safest?” Gallian answers as she fully covers her ears.

“Let’s just take a quick look and if nothing catches our eyes lets just leave immediately. The girls nodded as they began their quest towards finding Selica’s souvenir. The noise is irritatingly too much for the girls, one would think that a place selling books would have customers have a decorum of silence when reading and transacting. But across all these noises, a familiar voice pierces through the crowd.

“T-thank you so much,” The voice is soft, a woman’s or rather a young girl’s. “But that’s not exactly what I’m looking for.” It was Mirna, the young cleric who saved their lives during the test.

”What are you talking about, mam?” Another voice speaks. Ashlin is unfamiliar with this one. “You were asking for shamanistic guide, right? This is the latest time for starters just like you, penned by the widely renowned Kanri the Spiritcaller.”

”Um, yes but this isn’t actually-” Mirna tries to step back but the merchant pushes more.

”Come on, just try it out. You’ll sure learn a thing or two from it.” The bright eyed human seems to not care for Mirna’s answer and is persistently pushing his luck to sell his book. Ashlin instinctually walks towards them. A hero, even one in training, must always answer a person in peril, especially if they knew them personally.

But before Ashlin could reach them, a cloaked figure got in-between Mirna and the merchant. The man is wearing a pair of wizard cloak and hat. Ashlin took one look at the cliched attire and instantly knew who it was.

”Bro, don’t be cringe.” Hog says to the merchant. “The girl already said no.” He raises his voice so that the other customers notice them.

The merchant too figured out his plan and skittered back to his stall before any commotion happened. ”Thanks.” Mirna meekly thanks Hog, who then turns around to her with a disappointed face.

“You need to be more firm with your stand Mirna. You’re not in your little convent now, these people will step all over you if you let them.” Hog lectures his young cleric friend.

“I-I know okay!” Mirna shuffles as she’s being scolded when she sees Ashlin walking towards them. “Ashlin, right? Surprise seeing you here!” She waves at her while ignoring Hog’s obviously angry presence.

”H-hey!” Ashlin feels awkward seeing as they were just arguing just a while ago. “What are you looking for here?”

”Oh just you know some books...” Mirna drones off but Hog quickly steps forward from behind her. ”We’re looking for some spirit books. Since that’s what Mirna’s meant to do here in Magecraft City.” He looks at Mirna, “Right?”

”Yes, yes.” She bows meekly. “I did promise I’ll lessen my clerical duties to pursue basic spirit-calling studies instead.”

Ashlin is astounded by Mirna’s plan. From what Ashlin has heard, mages who venture in Magecraft City do so to further enrich their studies of their craft. But Mirna over here is in fact starting from scratch and is simply using her talented clerical skills to get in. Though she doesn't see herself fit the ridiculous rumor of them being some prodigal young mages with immense talent, Ashlin can see the argument of the rumors being true for someone like Mirna.

“Well not exactly basic.” Hog counters her friend's statement. “We’re looking for anything related to spirit calling, whether it is shamanistic or medium-based is alright. Have you found any of that here, Ashlin?”

“Not really no, we just came here.” Ashlin points at Gallian behind her who is busy scouring and looking for books in the piles as well. “We’re looking for a souvenir to bring back to Selica.”

Oh a gift!” Mirna glows out and starts walking towards her right. She stops in front of a merchant manned by a dowry-masked elf and starts looking for a specific book. After a few moments she returns and lays a book on Ashlin’s hand. ”Scribing Tricks for the Bibliophile in You.” Is the title of the book.

“When I saw it, it reminded me about Selica and how much emphasis she makes in regards to writing on her own books.” Mirna explains.

“This...this is actually perfect!” Ashlin thinks. She has a nagging suspicion that Selica is the kind of curious mage who would put her finger in every conceivable magical practice laid out for her except her own, which is being a Book Savant. So giving her a book that directly helps her magical practice will surely leave an impression on her. “Hey Gallian! We found it-!”

Suddenly a buzzing static echoes through Ashlin’s head. ”All Hameza residents, please return to the Glintlade Hotel. The meeting is about to begin.” Ashlin shakes her head after the message. Who was that? Was that a telepathic message? ”Did you get it too?” Hog asks as he watches Ashlin shake her head.

“You did too, huh. So I guess it’s all for us.” To think they can all message us just like that without even meeting us personally, Magecraft City mages are truly something else. “Hey Gallian! Let’s go. Seems like the meeting is about to start.”