After one day of walking Sien and his master reached a village named Sahman. It was much bigger than the one Sien visited before coming home and bigger than the one Sam lived in. It could almost be considered a small town.

“Many mages tend to adventure since they can freely use their magic and make money out of it. There might be a chance we find one in this village.” Sam explained.

“But how do we find one in a village? There is no guild hall around here.”

“The guild found a way to reach their services in every village around the world. In the smallest villages, you can find a board with announcements to the villagers as well as tasks for the passing adventurers. And if there is an Inn. The guild makes a contract for that place to be the interest point for the adventurers. Just like this one.” They stopped in front of the two-story high building with a restaurant on the ground floor and the rooms to stay in on the first floor. 

Even though it was a village, many people dined in there. Many were villagers but some people stuck out especially the ones with weapons on them or bags beside their tables. Travelers and adventurers alike. The adventurers sat on one side of the tavern, close to the quest board. Sien and Sam sat near them to watch out for the mages. 

“So we are looking for an old man with a beard, pointy hat, and a big stick.” Sien looked around for the specific person he described.

“Some mages might look like that. But not all of them. Women also can be a mage. They don’t need to be old nor they don’t need to have a big staff to use magic. Do you see that guy with a sword whose handle is made of a wooden branch? It might be as well his wand.” Sam secretly pointed at the man closest to the board.

“Then why don’t we ask him if he is a mage?” Sien was about to approach the man with an unusual sword but Sam stopped him before he even left his chair.

“Better not do that.”

“Why not?”

“If he is not a mage he might lie a bit to try and make money out of us. And if he is a mage he might come with his own prices for the ‘helping hand’. That's just how most adventurers work…” 

“Oh… Then I have an idea!” Sien took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it with his claw. He ran to the board and placed the paper on the board, proudly looking at Sam with his chest pumped out.

“Looking for mage’s advice… for… ten silver coins… Sien. I think that is too much for simple advice. Maybe lower the price.”

“We have enough coins. And that price might attract the more experienced mage.”

“Ekhm… Excuse me. Before you hang anything on the board you need permission from the guild or the inn.” The waitress approached the board looking at Senzi’s paper.

“Apologies. I didn’t know it worked like that.” Sien lowered his head to apologize for the inconvenience he had caused.

“Nothing to worry about. I just wanted to let you know, not to scold y-” The waitress picked up the paper when suddenly someone grabbed it and began reading it while having an open book in the other hand.

An elf slightly taller than Sien with white-blond hair long enough to reach her chin. She was wearing a long white dress. The blue robe that was as long as her dress broke the dominating white color of her clothes. By her hip, she had a belt with two pouches attached to it and a smooth wand made of silver wood.

“Excuse me. Who made this quest? There is no address or information about the quest giver. Oh. My apologies. Did you want to read it?” The elf, confused by the waitress’s expression, gave back the piece of paper.

“We were the ones who made that quest.” Sam joined in the conversation.

“Oh. Is that right? What kind of advice did you want?” The mage asked, ignoring the waitress behind her as she explained that the quest wasn’t yet verified. The woman tapped the mage’s shoulder to get her attention. “Yes?” She asked as she turned around to face the waitress and ignored Sam’s explanation.

“Did she ignore me?” Asked Sam not understanding the elf’s behavior.

“I think she can focus on only one thing. Tap her on the shoulder.” As Sien instructed, Sam tapped the elf’s shoulder and she turned around to listen to what he was about to say while ignoring the waitress behind her.

“You’re right…”

Sam and Sien let the elf sort out things with the waitress. She proposed that the quest can be verified and ranked accordingly but the elf denied it and pointed out that it would be low rank so there is no need for that. The three of them sat by the table in the corner of the restaurant. 

“Before we pay you we’ll ask if you have any knowledge of that. If you have. Will pay after you tell us.” Sam negotiated.

“Sure. That’s reasonable. So what kind of advice do you want?”

“It’s not as much as advice but-”

“Do you know anything about runes?” Sien cut into Sam’s speech.

“Runes? Well, I do possess some information about them. But I didn’t study them very much. Just the basics. Well. A bit of basics.” The elf explained figuring out how much she really knows about the runes as she scratched her chin.

“Okay. How about we pay you a bit now for the information and the more you tell us the more we add?” Said Samuel as he placed a silver coin on the table.

“I’m fine with that.” The elf took that one coin and smiled at it. “So the runes are basically written spells that can be activated. But writing them isn’t enough. They need mana to be activated. So the mage only can use them or once the mana is infused into them, those runes can be used by everyone. The downside is that each rune is a one-time use.” 

“Can you give us an example of a rune?” Sam asked as he handed another coin.

“This is a rune that makes a small flame, to light a fire for example.” The elf showed a drawing she made on paper and placed a finger on it. Once she took it away the fire appeared.

Sien took out his hand above the table and tried to copy the symbol. The elf watched with eyes wide open as he made a rune in the air and a small flame appeared in his hand with a rune circle beneath it. Sam quickly extinguished the flame.