Ash. The Legends of the Nameless World. Progression Gamelit Story by Kirill Klevanski (essential reading .txt) 📗

low on supplies. Their fifty gold coins worth of supplies had been spent on feeding thieves and street kids. Mary swore that she’d never let that happen again.

“All right, people,” she said when they found themselves among the three-story houses of the human quarter. “Blackbeard, you take Ash and go shopping, you know what we need,” she instructed and tossed him a heavy leather purse. Blackbeard caught it on the fly and put it in his shirt. Most people wore their purses on their belts, but this was quite risky as pickpockets would simply cut them off without you noticing and run away with your coin. So, it was better to hang it around your neck or hide it in some secret pocket.

“If you need us, we’ll be at the Bent Horseshoe.”

“Try not to drink all the ale this time, all right?” Blackbeard was a shrewd and efficient man, but he haggled like a miserly dwarf.

“We make no promises. But we’ll save you some bread.”

“Good luck!” Alice waved her hand and the four of them disappeared around the corner, leaving Blackbeard and Ash in the middle of the avenue. The shield bearer looked at the young mage, who was struggling to untangle his fingers.

“It could’ve been worse... I could’ve been stuck with Lari,” Blackbeard thought and turned to Ash. “Let’s go. It’s time to make the life of Zadastra’s merchants a living hell.”

“Think they can help me untangle my fingers?” Ash asked, still struggling. He was getting red in the face from all the tugging, but he wasn’t getting anywhere despite his best efforts.

Blackbeard chuckled and headed to the elven quarter as theirs was the closest. It was also the most expensive, but the coin was worth their quality goods.

Chapter 28

B y the time they had reached their destination, Ash had managed to fix his little problem. Had his fingers not been red and trembling, one wouldn’t be able to guess that anything had gone wrong. But what worried the young mage more than his pained knuckles was the presence of lovely ladies dressed in even lovelier skirts. He had an urge to take a peek under them, but taking into account that the hems reached the ground and that he was mounted on Guido’s back, such a task seemed impossible.

“Blackbeard, psst! Blackbeard, psst!” he uttered in what he thought was a whisper but was actually a loud shout.

“What is it?” the shield bearer turned. “I’m trying to find the shop we need...”

“Look, look!” Ash insisted and struck the cobblestone with his staff, making several ladies cry out in surprise and horror as they tried to tame their suddenly animated skirts. Despite their efforts, the colorful cloths rose to their hips, revealing slender legs and puffy undergarments.

Blackbeard, blushing a deep red, noisily swallowed a lump that had gotten stuck in his throat. He wanted to look away, he knew that he should, but he couldn’t. In all the thirteen kingdoms, there was no one who could come close to the charm of the elven ladies.

“You sure know some useful Words,” he drawled.

“I can make the tops move, too! Look!”

Blackbeard, eyes bulging, almost broke his horse’s neck in an attempt to turn it around and stop the mage. Luckily for the lovely ladies of Zadastra’s elven quarter, he managed to reach him in time and stop him from hitting the ground with his staff again.

“Do you want to get us both killed?!” he whined; wiping sweat off his forehead. “They’ll turn us into frogs!”

“Really? There are warlocks here then?” Ash whispered, leaning closer to Blackbeard and looking around as if seeking out conspirators.

Glad that Lari wasn’t here to stick a bread bun into his mouth, Blackbeard cursed so hard that he’d make even the seasoned sailors blush. “No! But the guards just might shoot us where we stand!”

The young mage cast a glance at the guards walking around the place and nodded, admitting that he was wrong. But by the Heavens, how badly he wanted to take a peek under the skirt of the lady standing by the temple’s door. Her white skin and rosy cheeks were simply driving him mad.

“A shame,” he sighed, pouting like a child who had his toy taken away. “First they ban me from the Crystal Forest, and now you threaten me with the guards.”

“Banned from the Crystal Forest, you say?” Blackbeard burst out laughing. “I like a good story, lad, but don’t be so obvious about your lies.”

“I’m not lying!”

“Of course, of course. Let’s go, greatest mage that the Continent has ever seen.”

“Damn right I am!”

Blackbeard didn’t say anything. He knew that the Crystal Forest, which was hidden deep among the mountain ranges, was a closed-off area. Those who could find their way to it and live to tell the tale would have songs sang about them and festivals held in their honor. Ash, who had no nickname nor any special achievements tied to his name, could never have gone there.

Behind one of the residential buildings, whose windows were lost in the dense, dark green canopy, was the door of the shop they needed. Grown from a magical oak tree, it attracted the attention of all the passersby. A sign with a scroll and a flask was swaying in the wind, as inviting as that hanging above an inn.

They dismounted and went inside. The bell above the door chimed merrily, and the red-eyed, albino crow perched in the far corner croaked in greeting. Behind the counter, heaving under the weight of many books, scrolls, vials, and flasks, was a tall, green-haired elf with eyes that spoke of hundreds of years of experience in his trade.

“Aheo,” Ash greeted, making the man wince.

“By the Forest, never speak our language again,” he said in a raspy voice. So much about the rumors that all elves spoke with