But Shannon just said, “There are.” She came close to Kyle’s face and stared hard at him. “This village is receptive to mages, but that doesn’t mean that all places are. There are plenty of teachings, religious beliefs, and other things in the world that motivate people to hate mages. In tough times, mages can even be imprisoned!”
“Imprisoned?!” Kyle echoed, shocked. “Just for using magic?”
“Yep. Cruel, isn’t it?” Shannon spoke casually, as if imprisonment were just a minor inconvenience, but it was pretty rare for the average person to be incarcerated even once in their lifetime. “Well, it’s not like that happens all that often nowadays.”
It suddenly occurred to Kyle that Shannon seemed to have been journeying for an astoundingly long time. In actuality, though, she was about the same age as Kyle; she could only have traveled so much.
“You’ve done and seen a lot of things, Ms. Shannon,” Kyle said. “I feel like the villagers could put on a huge festival for you and you’d still take it in stride.”
“Exactly! You’d understand if you traveled, Kyle. There are so many types of people in the world.” She beamed.
Kyle couldn’t imagine the world she spoke of, but it was true that Shannon was enjoying her time in the village. Caught up in the moment, he couldn’t help but smile with her. Then he realized: “Oh, we’re here.”
They had reached the heart of the village. In front of them stood a row of wooden structures—many of which were taverns, general stores, and street stalls—with a circular plaza spread out in the middle. Although it was still morning, plenty of people were walking around the streets.
“Looks like something interesting is going on,” Shannon said.
“Maybe folk crafts,” Kyle guessed. “I don’t know what else they have—probably nothing actually valuable.”
“That’s so cool. I’m excited!” Shannon burst out. “I hope there’s something I can get as a memento of the village.”
“A memento,” Kyle repeated slowly. “Right. You’ll be going off on your journey again soon.”
She had already been in the village for three days, and it wasn’t like she had planned to visit it in the first place, given that she had a goal in mind. He hadn’t asked her how long she meant to stay in case it made her decide to head out immediately. Still, he figured she had to be leaving soon.
“Do you buy a lot of things in the places you travel?” he asked.
“Yup. It’s fun to look at them and think back. They can even be useful sometimes.”
“That’s cool. But...don’t you have only one bag?”
“Yeah, but look here. I’m a mage.”
Kyle tilted his head curiously at Shannon’s words. Calmly, she held a hand out in front of her.
“For example,” she began—and then something strange happened.
“Wh... Uh, what’s going on?!” Kyle shouted. To his amazement, Shannon’s extended arm had disappeared from the elbow down to her hand.
Shannon chuckled. “Watch closely,” she emphasized.
Kyle stared hard at her arm. He could see ripples spreading from where her lower arm had disappeared, like the air was water that had been disturbed. “You’re...warping space?!” he realized.
“Well, something like that. When this sorcerous space here expands, I can put stuff in it that won’t fit in my bag.”
“Um... Huh? So this is magic too?” Kyle could kind of form a mental picture of items floating and wind being created, but a space created by magic? This was beyond the limits of his imagination.
“Yup, yup,” Shannon said. “I store a lot of things in here, so...I guess you could say it’s like a safe?”
“H-Ha...ha ha. That’s incredible magic,” Kyle said finally. A dry laugh was about all he could manage.
Shannon muttered, “Hmm, I’m pretty sure it’s over here...” She stuck out her tongue as she rummaged around with her arm in the sorcerous space. She looked as if she were searching for money that had fallen behind a shelf. Then, in triumph, she cried, “Aha, there it is!”
Shannon pulled something out of the warped space. It was a pendant, and she passed it to Kyle.
“Look at this,” she told him. “It’s pretty rare.”
The pendant was made of impressively old metal. It seemed like it had once been a shining gold, but now it was dull. Even though it was only about the size of a fingernail, Kyle could tell it was valuable.
“I got this a pretty long time ago in a kingdom to the south,” Shannon explained. “Guess I’ve got a lot of stuff like that tucked in here.”
“This is awesome!” Kyle breathed. “But I doubt anything from this village can compare to something as amazing as this.”
“Really, don’t sweat it. As long as it’s interesting, I’ll buy it. I’ll take anything. Besides, Kyle, I’m looking forward to shopping with you!”
“O-Oh, really?” Kyle’s heart skipped a beat, and he began to feel a little nervous. He cleared his throat and collected himself. “W-Well then, why don’t we take a look around?”
“My pleasure, Sir Kyle,” Shannon chirped.
“I’ll lead the way!” he declared. “Well, now, around here—”
Grrrrrr! Kyle was interrupted by something that sounded akin to an earth tremor.
“Um... Ms. Shannon?” Kyle asked. The sound had come from her. He looked at her and saw that she seemed a little embarrassed.
“Ah, um...” She laughed nervously. “S-Sorry. Got hungry.”
“S-So that was your stomach...”
“Well, I didn’t eat much this morning. I was a bit busy.” Shannon put her hands together and hung her head, shamefaced.
“I guess it’s almost lunchtime.” Kyle pointed at a tavern ahead of them. “Why don’t we go to that tavern and get something to eat?”
“Ooh, sounds good! Let’s go!”
Thus, they headed into the tavern. It was still midmorning, so there weren’t too many customers. A number of people were, however, sitting at the bar, already dead-drunk.
“Whoa,” Shannon said. “They’re going at it so early in the morning.”
“That’s...” Kyle paused. “That’s Mr. Reginald and his guys.”
“You know them?”
“Yeah. They’re village guards. They must’ve come off the night shift,” Kyle explained.
Just then, the drunkards took notice of the two newcomers in their midst. Alcohol in hand, they made their way over to Kyle and Shannon.
“Hey, Kyle! Been a while!”
“Hello, Mr. Reginald,” Kyle said.
Reginald was muscular, bearded, and a bit wobbly on his feet. He turned his gaze to Shannon. “The witch, right? You’re the talk o’ the town. I can tell just by lookin’ at ya. Ain’t nobody in this town like you.” He plopped down in a seat next to her. “Want a drink? I can tell ya some stories.”
“M-Mr. Reginald, you’ve had too much to drink,” Kyle pointed out hesitantly.
“Hmm? I ain’t drunk—not yet, anyhow! We’re bored!” Reginald barked. He grabbed a wooden cup filled with a fresh serving of ale and held it out to Shannon. “Here, girlie, drink up!”
“Ooh, I haven’t had anything alcoholic to drink yet here in the village,” Shannon said. “I’ll just have the one cup. I have plans with Kyle after this.”
“Ah, good on ya for joining in. This town’s drinks are pretty good, ain’t they?”
Shannon took the cup and downed it in huge gulps. “Mmm! You’re right, it’s very good! A little tingly, and refreshing too.”
“Right? Figured someone who’s traveled a bunch would get it. Good! I like ya, girlie!” Reginald laughed, loud and happy.
Reginald, in his improved mood, bought them lunch, and Shannon and Kyle enjoyed chatting with him for a while. In contrast to his usual cranky behavior, he was mooning cheerfully over Shannon and keeping the conversation lively.
Kyle sipped at his water, watching them. Shannon’s conversational prowess was incredible. He struggled a little to get in on the conversation—Reginald and Shannon were both speaking like adults—but even so, Shannon posed questions to Kyle, smoothly inviting him into what quickly became a three-way chat. Kyle figured that she must have cultivated that skill over her long time traveling. Feeling a little bit inferior to her but respecting her all the same, he ate some snacks.
“Being on guard until morning sounds tough,” Shannon was saying.
“Nah, not really,” Reginald replied. “Our village doesn’t have any enemies, just some small monsters. It’s a boring job.”
“But still, Mr. Reginald, it’s thanks to you and your men that the villagers can live in peace.”
He laughed. “That’s nice of ya to say. Can mages fight?”