“Show me your Identification.”
As I got closer to the gates, I could hear the guards as they were checking the people going in.
The merchants and nobles were asked for their identification, while the commoners were asked where they were from and what they intended to do at Sonia.
There hadn’t been a refusal of entry since I stood in line, so it would seem the rules weren’t too strict.
So when it came to my turn, I confidently walked up to the guards.
“Hmm…”
One of the guards gave me a stern look up and down.
“I’m afraid we can’t let you in, boy.”
“Can I ask why, sir? I haven’t even answered the questions yet.”
“Your attire is clearly suspicious. This design- I’ve never seen before and not to mention it’s pitch black! You do realize this kingdom follows the goddess of light, no?”
“I- I can explain. Back where I’m from, you wear black to-“
“No need to explain. Next!”
The guard’s eyes had already moved onto the next group behind me.
I quickly looked towards Faye, and as if to read my mind- a magic circle quickly appeared on a blank page.
The book glowed only in my eyes.
“Wait.”
A different man walked towards us, and he placed a hand on the guard’s shoulder.
“Let the boy through, I’ll let him borrow some clothes.”
“Yes, sir!”
The guard saluted, with no complaints. I could tell the man was of much higher status.
Only I could see that his eyes were glowing slightly purple.
“Follow me.”
The man turned around, and I quickly followed from behind.
We walked past the gates, and the other guards saluted as we walked.
Straight ahead, I could see the marketplace and the fountain.
However instead of going straight, the man turned to the right, towards a building by the inner wall.
He walked in through the front door, and I followed him inside.
“Wait here for a second.”
The man said as he walked into a room.
Looking around, I could tell this building was an office space for the guards.
I could see spare uniforms placed over the sofa, and guard caps on top of tables.
The man opened the door and came back out with a clean white shirt in his hands.
“Changing your top should do the trick. Here you go, lad.”
“Thank you, sir.”
I took the shirt from him, and quickly switched out from the black button up that I was wearing.
“It’s one of my son’s, so it may be a bit big but at least you don’t look like a Nyx believer, or worse- a demon worshiper.”
Nyx was the goddess of darkness.
Although she was also one of the goddesses, many believers of Theia disliked the believers of Nyx.
While demon worshippers were executed in most of the kingdoms.
“Thank you for your help.”
I knew it was mainly thanks to Faye’s spell, but I still felt grateful.
“You’re welcome. My name is Saul, I’m one of the many guards who guard the gate. If you ever need any help, you can come find me.”
From the way the other guards treated Saul on our way here, I could tell he wasn’t just a guard.
However, I felt it wasn’t right to pry.
“I will. My name is…”
As I was about to tell him my name from Earth, I hesitated.
I don’t know why but as I looked over at Faye, my mind was set.
“…Vyn. My name is Vyn.”
***
After parting ways with Saul I headed over to the marketplace.
I could see people shopping along the stalls and children running around the fountain.
The fountain was quite grand in size and in the middle was a statue of their goddess.
I walked along the sides of the market, looking over at what they were selling.
“Welcome! I have a special batch for today, these pendants are all made of iris cores which are said to have healing properties that’ll keep you in good health! Or these rings that are imbued with shield magic, these can save your life 3 times from any physical attacks. You can trust the quality as these were imbued by the best professors at the Acadia.”
Not only did the market sell food and clothes, but some special stalls even sold magic items and weapons.
In the story, I read that many mercenaries came to Sonia to find work and equipment.
As the merchant continued to talk about the abilities of each item, Faye floated over next to me.
“Now this item may seem like a normal bracelet but it’s got a powerful fire spell imbued that allows you to shoot fireballs at your opponent!”
Faye shook its head from side to side in disagreement.
“And this staff gives anyone the ability to use light magic-“
Faye shook its head from side to side in disagreement.
“And this sword has the ability to-“
Faye furiously shook its head side to side in disgust.
It would seem the merchant wasn’t being very honest about his products.
Or perhaps the mages who imbued their spells didn’t do what they promised.
“Excuse me, do you have anything that can heal an illness?”
As I stood thinking, a young boy came up to the stall next to me.
“Go on your way boy, I don’t have time for you.”
The merchant was worried he'd lose his customers because the boy was smelly and dressed in rags.
As the merchant turned his head towards another passing customer, the boy takes out a big pouch and places it over the counter.
“Sir, I have the money. Can I please buy something to heal an illness?”
The merchant hesitated for a moment, but quickly put on a business smile.
“Well of course! Give me one moment- aha here it is.”
He digged through his stash hidden underneath the booth, and pulled out a small bottle with green liquid.
“This is a potion I got from professor Gaubold from Acadia. He is one of the greatest professors specializing in potion magic. He told me just a few drops is all you need to heal any wound or illness.”
The merchant said as he handed over the potion to the boy and sneakily grabbed the pouch of coins.
“Thank you mister!”
The boy saaid with a smile of relief on his face.
I looked at the boy while also noticing that Faye was furiously shaking from side to side.
“Wait.”
I stopped the boy before he could run off, and crouched down to meet him at eye level.
“Can I ask you where you plan to use this potion?”
The boy looked at me with worried eyes, holding the potion with both arms.
He was afraid I would take the potion from him.
“Don’t worry, I won’t ever take the potion from you. I just want to make sure that- it's safe.”
After hesitating for a few moments, the boy spoke.
“I need to take it to my sister. She’s been heating up with a fever and it’s been… a month already.” He looked at the ground, with his eyes watering up.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help you. That potion… could we test it? To make sure that it’s safe. We can test it on me, and if it works you can give it to your sister.”
“…”
The merchant who was overhearing our conversation fell quiet, forgetting the customers who were walking by.
While the boy blinked his eyes in surprise and nodded softly.
After getting the boy’s approval, I looked at the ground around me and picked up any sharp rock I could find.
I grabbed it tightly with my right hand and quickly made a small cut on my left arm.
The blood slowly oozed out and a few drops fell to the ground.
“…!!”
Faye shivered while the boy was so shocked he was unable to let out a sound.
As my left arm dripped blood, I looked up at the boy and asked in a peaceful voice.
“Could I use the potion?”
The boy quickly handed over the small bottle, while his hands were shaking.
I opened the potion, and let a single drop fall into my cut.
Hssssss
“Mmh”
I let out a pained grunt, as the potion created a puff of smoke as it burned through the cut.
sss
As the burning came to a stop and the smoke cleared up, I could see my wound had been completely healed, leaving only a thin scar behind.
The boy looked at me with eyes of joy, and I could hear the merchant let out a sigh of relief from behind me.
Only Faye trembled in anger next to me.
Perhaps it was through Faye’s emotions, but I could also tell something was wrong.
The cut seemed to have been healed from the outside, but the potion also added something much worse to it.
It was something dark and evil.
However, I had no way to prove it. From the eyes of others my wound was completely healed.
I looked around us to see that there were a lot of people watching us.
I attracted more attention than I intended to.
Faye was now flapping its pages furiously, waiting for me to give an order.
An order which I imagine would result in revealing this evil to the world.
I shooked my head.
I had a feeling that revealing this evil was going to do more harm than good.
'I have to be careful, especially since I know professor Gaubold is involved.'
In the story, he was first introduced as a well known professor teaching at Acadia with a good reputation.
Later, you find out that he was a demon worshiper who gets in Ellan’s way more than once.
Demons.
They didn’t hold much importance in the first half of the story, but they were later revealed as the true enemy that Ellan had to fight.
If my actions now were to speed up their appearance, that would only be helping them.
I stood up, and looked at the boy.
“Let’s go to your sister together.”
The most I can do now is help this boy.
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