Elevation of Mana Chapter 57 Setup

It took me nearly a week to get my house set up.  Now I was... well it was still sub-par, but I at least had things in working order.  There was a good set of stone tools, and the proper benches, and a slightly more comfortable setup for myself, with a better bed and some food packed away.

Each morning I'd been going out, gathering the materials that I needed and doing a few projects, but after that is where the real fun began.  I went out and just, watched people.  I wandered the city streets, committing the layout to memory and seeing what all was where.  I tried to work out living arrangements and sections.  I even attended a selling of new slaves once, to understand all of what went into it, even if I had no intent to buy or own one.

What I learned was significant, and in some ways rather surprising.  Food, one of the main imports of the city, was cheap as dirt, and plentiful as the same.  Large quantities were brought in whenever traders came from outside, but this was, from what I could tell, actually not the main source.

Today I wandered down to the shore to watch part of the gathering I wasn't as familiar with.  While the woods were taken by those like my mother many of the magic users down here were far more like me.  There were of course shore based groups doing things like digging clams or catching the many small crabs and the like roaming around, but there were also some out in the water.

With great interest I looked on as two men hauled in several woven traps, dumping the struggling contents out to pick though them.  Other than those there were larger stick based one near the tidal pools, with platforms that if I had to guess were always, or almost always manned.  Outside of the walls things like private property weren't really a thing, so a guard to dissuade others would be needed.

Several of the magic users here were either the physically enhanced types, diving deeper and throwing spears with superhuman power at the nearby fish.  Others were more like me, and were motioning to pull whole their surprised quarry from the waves.  This was all a bit new to me, since fish back home were mostly just speared, and much, much smaller.

Back in town I knew there were also people performing to make food.  They used a similar trick to what Isha did, and you could quite literally sing for your supper if you chose to aid them.  Unlike the larger scale gatherers though they focused on specialty foods, spices in ground form or sweet things like nectar and honey.  It made sense since those would sell for more per bit of effort.

While watching on I began to consider how I called the various types of magic.  In Atal there were many, many different opinions, but I wanted one of my own.  Video games and the few experiences I'd had with tabletops helped here, as obviously the magical energy should be called 'mana'.  The kind of magic that Isha and father used was also easy, as I'd seen magical performers called 'bards' many times over.

The question of what I should call my type of magic was up in the air though.  From a tabletop perspective I was clearly a mage, but what kind?  It should either be a wizard or a sorcerer.  Frankly I liked the latter for thematic use, but since I used knowledge and I wasn't generally a problem the former almost seemed to fit better.  Then again a lot of the tropes didn't apply, since a staff or wand would just be useless to me.  I could only shrug, putting it off for later.

I also wavered on the kind of magic my mother used.  My prime instinct was to call her a druid, though I wasn't sure if that fit well either.  Sure, she cared about nature, but some of the others like her I'd met in the city didn't seem to, instead growing plants because they wanted them to, not in any service to the world.  Druid would work for now though, at least in my own mind.

“Hey buddy,” a man called from nearby, getting my attention.

“Yes?” I asked, looking past him to the group of men he was with.  Several were looking at me doubtfully.  Many of those men were covered in odd looking tattoos, not something I'd seen before.

“You looking for work?  My team here brings in a good catch, and I can see you're no slouch.  We'd be happy to give you a trial run, if you're interested.”  I looked at him and saw the small aura leaking from his skin.  That was probably why he'd come over to talk to me, since he could see mine too.

“Thanks for the offer, but I'm just here to enjoy the sea for a bit,” I explained with a smile.

“Ah, it's beautiful eh?  Old mother ocean gives us our food, and so much of it.”  He gazed out at the waves sort of wistfully.  “Well, if you change your mind come and find me.  Like I said, we'd give you a chance.”

He and his buddies left, carrying small canoes.  They were simple things, but, as with most items elves made, very well built.  My new people were many things, but above all some were absolute perfectionists.  Those boats might not be complex, and might not do much good on longer trips, but they were very, very, well made.  It was an odd tendency, but one I rather liked.

There was one more thing I wanted for now though, and that was to have a chat with a certain kid.  It didn't take me long to work my way back to the city and begin striding through the streets.   I circled the red-light district several times, looking here and there for the kid without going too near.  I'd rather avoid the same issue I had last time.

Sadly my search in the areas around was fruitless, and with a bit of nervousness I walked to the street I'd first seen him on.  Predictably I soon began getting attention, though much less than last time.  Word had gotten around it seemed, and the girls who'd seen me before would of course remember my face, and that I'd not taken any of them up for their services.  Chien of course was standing lookout on the opposite side of the street I'd started on, eyes scanning.

“Hey kid,” I said as I approached.

“Oh, it's you.  Decide to take me up on my offer to introduce you to some of the ladies?” he said with a smile, leaning forward.

“Actually no, I'm here looking for you.”

“Woah there, first, I'm way too young, and second, I'm not into guys, so I'm afraid I'm not on offer here,” he said, waving his hands around.  “Though if you are more men I might know someone.”

“Not for that you little pervert, I need someone to do some work for me, and I get the feeling you know people and places,” I explained before he got me attention I surely didn't want.

“I have in fact done a little bit of messenger and pick up work for the girls at times.  Why I know them so well, and can get you the best deals...”

“Could you stop trying to be a half-sized pimp?”

“What's a pimp?”

“Not the point, the point is, that I need someone who knows the city better than I do, and I can pay,” I explained in as simple a way as possible.

“Well, if you're paying I'm sure I can work you into my busy schedule.  Why don't we discuss some terms over food?”  I smiled, sure the kid was going to try and milk me for whatever he could, but a street rat would be able to get me places I'd otherwise be turned away from, and paying was not something I would have any issues with for a long, long time.