Spending several months in a new world with magic and monsters certainly lessened the blow of course, but funnily enough to Syron, he hadn’t quite felt he was in another world until this moment. Everything else that had happened to him was fanciful and exciting to be sure… but the town of Vanguard wasn’t his library or the training fort he visited twice. It wasn’t his room, dining hall, or hedge maze either. It was a whole town of thousands of people, living their lives with magic, hard work, and basically no understanding of electrical engineering. It was like visiting the biggest, baddest renaissance faire in the world, and then having the ‘actors’ also be able to punch through steel with magic clad hands and breathe fire like a dragon.

First thing first, of course. Syron visited a market stall that sold meat skewers. The proprietor looked over Syron before casually saying “Sorry kid. Money up front.”

Syron just smiled back at him. “Of course! But I’m just watching! I noticed you don’t have a fire going for a grill. Does that mean you use magic to cook? That’s amazing!”

The man smiled back and stuck his chest out slightly. “I’m a natural at heating. No need for a fire unless it’s a festival day!” He said as he lifted a skewer out of a small barrel next to him, the meat already stabbed and wrapped around the small wooden stick. He then lightly seasoned it with a few pinches from a pile of what might have been just salt and pepper mixed together. Then he focused on the meat with a face that could only be described as ‘constipated’. Syron held back his chuckle and just stared in wonder as the meat browned before his eyes in a matter of seconds. When it started to drip fat, the man stopped focusing his magic and held the skewer out to Syron.

“I changed my mind kid. This one’s on me. Tell any of your friends I gave you this though and I’ll tell the guards you stole it.” The man looked serious, but it was hard for Syron to feel any real threat from him. After all, Syron didn’t have friends to tell. Even if he did, he might actually own the guards. He wasn’t sure yet.

“Oh, well that’s terribly kind of you, but no need.” Syron looked around before he spotted a boy in clothes slightly more ragged than what his illusions portrayed. The kid was also staring greedily at the food stand, so Syron made a show of reaching into his empty pockets and pretended to hand the proprietor ‘money’. The man did show a slightly confused face before ‘pocketing’ the nothing that Syron handed over to him.

“You seem like a nice guy. Before I leave town for the day, I’ll be sure to do something good for you.” Syron said before he walked over to the child and held the meat skewer up in front of him.

“I just bought this. You can have it if you can answer a few questions for me.”

Honestly, the man would have probably been able to answer the questions just as well as the kid, but there is something about the kid that just calls out to me…

The kid took the skewer and started tearing into it without a word.

“Good, a deal is made. First things first… can you read that?” Syron pointed at the rule booklet rolled up and in the boy’s pocket. The boy smirked and nodded proudly while he devoured the food.

“Wonderful. What do you think about it?” Syron continued after making sure the boy definitely wasn’t just using it as horrible toilet paper. The kid might still use it for that… but at least there was a chance he wasn’t if he could read at least. Choking down the last few bites the boy then licked his fingers cleanish before wiping the spittle off on his shirt.

“Our teacher has been having us read it between classes so we can learn the game. If we don’t know the rules, we don’t get to play with everyone. Me and a few of the other kids were practicing putting a game on anyway because of the contest.” The boy said the last part with shining eyes. Clearly, being a ragamuffin didn’t dampen his spirit in any noticeable way.

“So you like the game? Also, what contest?”

“Eh… it seems like it might be fun to try… but most kids just want to win the contest. I like it, but only because I’m going to be a Warden when I get big enough. Then I won’t have to ‘play’ killing monsters like a baby.”

“Alright… so… the contest?” Syron was glad the kid seemed at least receptive to the idea of playing the game, but he already knew that the game was amazing. He didn’t need validation, he needed to know what his mother had done.

“Righto! Apparently some rich kid is paying to have these books spread around so he can use us like toys or somethin’. A few weeks from now, we’re all going to get together in that building they are making where the central fountain used to be and play together. Whoever the kid picks as the winner gets enough money to buy a full adventurer’s kit and a two-room apartment for a year. If I win, I’ll register at the guild the next day to hunt monsters.”

“So… it’s just a monetary reward for getting chosen by this lordling as the winner? Are there any other guidelines for winning?”

“Nope! But what have I got to lose? Thanks for the grub!” The kid did a half salute at Syron before turning tail and running away into the alleyway he was stooped in.

What an abrupt way to leave… well at least I finished asking questions for now. Though, c’mon Mother! What’s up with that pressure!? Just pick a winner!? No one is going to be happy with who I choose except the lucky person! Syron sighed to himself and turned on his heels as he stood.

Not that I can think of a way to get the public excited about a game anyway…

“Hey kid! You can’t beg here! You need to come with us!” Two men standing directly in front of Syron with menacing looks on their faces said.

Ah… that’s why the boy disappeared so suddenly.

“No need for that officer. I haven’t begged for anything, so if that’s all I’ll be leaving.” Syron said as he moved to step past the guards. He hadn’t yet had enough time to explore the ‘building’ his mother was having built for him, so he didn’t want to be done with his visit yet. With a whisper in their ears, he called off the two women behind that guards that were about to pull their weapons on them.

“Like hell you will, you little $#!%” The guard closest to the passing Syron violently grabbed at Syron’s shoulder, causing the whole illusion to waver and disappear. Before vanishing completely, the Syron illusion stuck his tongue out at the baffled guard with a ‘mehhh!’ At the other end of the alleyway, Syron’s actual body slipped invisibly between two more guards that were posted on the other end to entrap him.

Eh? What’s with this hostility? They must really hate dirty looking kids hanging around the market stalls.

“Hey… did you see that? The brat just disappeared like water vapor!” One of the guards said as he tensed up and moved further into the alleyway, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

Alright… this is kind of exciting but I’m wondering what this is all about? I’ve only been in town for five minutes and I’ve talked to two people. And I’m not a brat! I’m a middle-aged man in here. The only thing childish about me is my sense of wonder! Rude people… I tell you.

After ranting to himself for a few moments, one of his knights started making their way down the alley towards him, so he whispered that he was ‘playing a game with the guards’ and ‘to meet him at the central plaza to see the new building, wherever that is’. She straightened her back and nodded seriously before returning to the other knights. Free from his tail, Syron allowed his image surrounding him to change to copy the outfit of a passing man in humble though well kempt clothing. Then he cleaned his hair up so it wasn’t quite as greasy or dirty.

Now I just look like a merchant’s kid. Let’s see what else I can learn!

Syron wandered off randomly into the town, enjoying analyzing the architecture and people watching. When he finally made it to the central plaza he realized he was starting to struggle to keep his illusions going, so he just let them fall away as he stepped in front of his new ‘gaming hall’. It wasn’t anything to look at, to be honest. It was still just a framework and a bit of the roof completed, so he wandered off again to find his knights.

“Hey, you there!” A team of six guards surrounded Syron with only thinly veiled hostility.

“The Mayor wants to speak with you. Come with us.” They rather forced the issue as the guards behind him started pushing him towards a building no more than fifty feet from the entrance to the gaming hall.

Okay, they are acting like they know who I am… because why else would this ‘Mayor’ want to speak with me… but if they do, why aren’t they more terrified of angering my Mother? Surely this is a rather tame kidnapping case here, since I don’t get a ‘choice’ in the matter, so why aren’t they afraid of death by nothingness? They must just lack people skills and are only coming across as gruff. Ha! Been there done that, guys!

“Oh I love meeting new people!” Syron said with his closest approximation to sounding actually enthusiastic. He had considered trying his illusion trick again where he replaced himself with an illusionary copy while he invisibly walked away… but the guards kept making contact with his back as they pushed him and the encirclement was too small to sneak past. Furthermore… he was kinda pooped out from creating too many illusions today. Keeping his Magic Soul cycling was proving to be quite a bit of trouble.

“Ah, my boot has come untied… sorry about that gentlemen!” Syron said as he stopped and kneeled down to tie his laces again. He forced himself to make his laces look untied, even though they weren’t, and carefully pretended to tie them up again. It required far more control than he cared to admit to make it look like he was physically interacting with an image, and his head started splitting in pain.

Poop! I guess my plan for creating a giant neon arrow to point at the house I was being taken to is out of the question. I suppose there is a lesson there somewhere about keeping some gas in the tank at all times… but I’ve grown so used to staying in the Keep that I haven’t ever needed to hold any back.

Standing with a grimace, Syron continued his forced march into the Mayor’s office building. At least, he assumed it was an office building, given its proximity to the center of town. It didn’t appear to be a residence, anyway, since it lacked any details that made it feel ‘homey’.

Syron resolved himself for whatever this ‘meeting’ was all about, as well as for whatever he had to do to safely extricate himself from the situation. To think he was happy with himself for separating from his knights and enjoy a little freedom. He was an adult on the inside, so surely he can walk around town a little without being kidnapped! For the second time in as many minutes, Syron felt there was a lesson he could learn from this. Internally berating himself wouldn’t do any good though, so he took a deep breath and stepped inside the building.

Come to think of it… why weren’t the knights in the town center where I told them I’d meet them?