Elevation of Mana Chapter 53 Onwards

The sun set as I pulled close to the village, our neighbor, or formerly my neighbor, since I didn't really live in Elayatol anymore.  I'd spent the better part of the day in a solid jog and even if I was in way better shape in this world than I was in my last it was still a tiring run.

I was met at the edge, spotted by one of their lookouts.

“Who goes?” the man there inquired, trying to get a look at my face.

“Elian, son of Eduan,” I answered.

Soon I was showed to the elder, and the proper introductions were made.  I'd caught him right at the beginning of his dinner and he looked up at me curiously after I'd gone through the ritual.

“You're alone lad?  Has something happened?”  I was glad to see that he seemed concerned, like an uncle or family friend, which in many ways he was.  Then he saw the markings on my skin, the smallest flecks of paint from my own adulthood ritual.  “No, not lad, not anymore.  Come, we'll talk.”

He took me into what I supposed was his own hut and I told him most of what happened.  I explained that I'd had a fight with another of the boys from my village, that things had gotten far out of hand, and that I'd been exiled.  There was no need to lie, as he'd know the truth soon enough.

“I'm hoping you'll give me shelter for the night Elder,” I said, head bowed.

“Just the night?  I offered to let you join us once,” he questioned.

“That would be a bad idea.  This close to Elaya's territory and there would likely be problems with it.  I came to you because we've had good relations in the past, and I still haven't shared the secret of smelting copper with you yet.  I think my first act as an adult should be to keep that promise.”

His eyes twinkled.  I knew that was something he wanted, a secret that would catapult his own village's wealth.  Sadly there was a bit of hesitation.  “You didn't tell me why this fight broke out between you,”

“Rindal was doing something that would have endangered many of the boys' lives, even though he'd been told as much.  I tried to stop him, and talk to him, but he wouldn't listen.”

“Then the fire?” the elder asked.

“Partially my doing yes.  I can't say I blame Elaya too much, I'm not happy about it, but that is a lot of destruction.”

“I don't know that I'd have exiled you, but I'm satisfied with your explanations.  Similarly, you're right, staying here would be asking for trouble, though it pains me to admit it.  Tonight you may stay, and tomorrow after you teach us how to make copper, but the dawn after you should leave,” he decreed.

“I thank you for your generosity,” I replied truthfully.  He easily could have told me to beat feet.

“Now my friend, put down your burdens and join us for a meal, you look hungry, and surely you've at least one good story to tell, or game to teach us!” he enthused, dropping the older and wiser way of talking.

We talked well into the night, sharing stories of hunts and other fun anecdotes.  I even dredged up a couple of variants of checkers to play with them from my memories.  That night I slept in the hut with the elder and his family, separated from them by a bit, but clearly still welcome, it was nice.

The next day was a run up to the copper mine and a lengthy explanation of how to smelt copper.  They'd seen some of what we were doing, and may have eventually worked it out, but with my help the small group of men that came along well understood what to do by the end of the day.  We even made a small chunk of the stuff, which caused my host to smile a wickedly bright grin.

I didn't need a payment, but the other village refilled my supplies and sent a few of their hunters to the edge of their territory with me by way of payment, showing me the path I needed to take to head towards Atal.  For that I was grateful, as I really couldn't ask for much more.

Over the next week I bounced from village to village, heading east towards the coast.  Traveling merchants weren't uncommon, and while many of them wouldn't go alone, it wasn't impossible.  So long as I kept to the proscribed behaviors in each village, properly greeting the head, and offered a token for my night's keep I was unbothered.

Food was no issue at all.  It was impossible to spend as much time as I had around the gathering parties and not pick up at least the basics of where to find edible plants.  Though for the most part it meant that I was eating a very vegetarian diet if I wasn't in a village.  Yanking things from vines or trees with magic as I jogged along made for an easy enough trip.

I noticed a few changes as I moved east.  One was that the paths were far more clear, with even a few other travelers passing me on the way.  The other big change was that the villages got bigger and bigger, and tended to be near larger and larger rivers and creeks.

Nearly a month of travel and I knew that I was getting close.  There'd been a few delays here and there, villages that I'd had to go around and days when I'd gone slower than I'd like, but all in all, I wasn't doing too bad.

I strolled down to the entrance of the next habitation, and what a habitation it was, easily three times the size of Elayatol, maybe more.  There was a hustle and bustle here that most of the outlying villages lacked, with people constantly working.  There was also a daytime lookout, a luxury many smaller places couldn't afford.

“Another merchant?” the elder of this village asked, sitting back on a comfortable looking log.  It didn't escape me that her hair was nearly a quarter white, indicating a far higher age than most of the older elves around.

“A traveler elder, towards Atal,” I answered.

“Where from?” she inquired curiously, leaning forwards.

“Elayatol.”

“Oh, oh I see.  I've heard many interesting things about that place.  Your home has been sending out lots of pretty trinkets of late, and new tools too.  I don't suppose you have any you could part with?”

I gave her a good deal on one of the colored beads my aunt was making.  She probably wanted copper, but I was doing my best to hide that for now.  I'd even taken to keeping my spear in a thin leather cover  in towns, the shining red metal attracting attention I didn't want.

This particular village even had a hut for merchants and guests to stay in, a big expense, but when I saw how full it was I wasn't surprised.  I even saw a face I knew.

“Orran,” I said, approaching the first traveling trader I'd ever met.

“Elian?  What in the world are you doing here?” he asked, clearly surprised at my appearance so far from home.

“A long story, and one I don't care to share.  How goes the trading?”

Orran and I had done a fair amount of business over the years, him appearing with many of the odds and ends we wanted and my handing him off quite a bit of our product.  There were no few others that now came to Elayatol, but he was the first I'd known.

“Good good.  My friends and I got here just a bit ago.  Which way are  you headed?” he inquired.

“Towards Atal.  Come find me the next time you roll through town there and I think we might manage some good trade.”

“You're staying?  Ah, I'll not pry.  My companions and I are headed that way as well, if you want you can join us for the last leg of the trip.”

“I'd be honored, thank you Orran.”

Orran explained his business to me while we ate that evening.  He, and many of the other merchants that he knew, would travel out, getting rare goods from the most outlying areas when they could.  They would then head back to the large city that was Atal.  Before they got there though they would lose some of their load, replacing it with bulk foodstuffs, normally those were near worthless, but with the size of the larger city there was always someone buying food.

Atal was like a tree, the villages around it its roots.  It would suck up all the best goods, and excess food, and then they would be swapped for what others wanted before going out again.  The traders marched in and out in waves, getting things they knew the villages on their route would want, and bringing so much back.

Many of the travelers also had a base somewhere, either in one of the larger hub villages like this one, or in Atal itself.  They would grow their wealth, handing it off to families and then go off again.  This served as an outlet for wanderlust and a not unpopular way for young men to find wives.  Your parents or siblings in the city would keep your wealth while you ventured, looking for a woman to bring home.

We set out early the next morning, everyone in Orran's group carrying a sledge save myself.  Each and every one of them had loaded up on dried fruits and nuts, and by mid-day we saw it.

As we turned around a patch of trees the city itself came into view, for a city it was.  Atal couldn't possibly be called a village, and I couldn't even form a guess at the population.  It stretched along the coast and well inland, a low stone and mud wall covering the outskirts.  They'd also taken the time to clear out the area for visibility, no monster would sneak into here easily.

“Pretty isn't it?” Orran asked me.

“Wow,” was my only response.