Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

Chapter 13: Treasures of Bicknor

For a large city in the east, Bicknor didn't seem that impressive.

Madeleine loved the train journey past. It grew steadily more green and luscious, with the farming fields stretching further than towards Danaway and ending in a straight line meeting with the sky. Animals grazed without a care in the world. The temperature was warmer, drier, and only held a hint of the chill of pending autumn. Seiren hopped off the train when it stopped, half-expecting to be mugged a second time, but she was only met by the locals there who tipped their caps at her and greeted her in their nasal accent.

Bicknor people sure are friendly.

It's almost creepy, actually.

It seemed genuine. People greeted each other as warmly as they would their loved ones, laughing and cracking jokes. Sellers in the marketplace advertised their goods, but also offered freebies to those who wanted a try. Seiren lingered, eyeing up the oranges on sale. They were rounder, juicier than the ones in Garlinge.

"You want a try, miss?" A young woman proffered a plate of sliced ones for her. "They're the best you'll find in this end of Karma, guaranteed! Freshly picked only this week!"

Seiren picked up a slice and squeezed it. Fresh juice dribbled out of its flesh and trickled down her wrist. She tore off the skin and ate the rest, closing her eyes in enjoyment as the citrusy taste exploded on her tongue. She licked her lips. The young woman was already bagging several oranges for her.

"How many?"

"Two... no. Ten."

"That will be two silvers, miss."

Your first salary and you spend it on... oranges?

Nice oranges, Madeleine.

"Hey, you're a state mage, right?"

Seiren turned, surprised. A middle-aged man with a balding head approached her, dressed in a simple tunic, trousers, and open-toed sandals. He rubbed his head sheepishly, holding out a piece of slate in his other hand.

"How did you know?" Seiren's black travel cloak was generic; she'd ensured her mage tattoo was hidden too.

"There's a lot of chalk on your fingers and we don't have any chalksmiths in this city so..."

Seiren shoved her hands back in her pockets, self-conscious.

"So I, uh, broke the light rune that's in my house yesterday. I still have lots of errands to do so I can't find my local state mage to fix it and my wife will kill me if I let the house sit in darkness again for another night. I was wondering if I can, like...?"

"Get a light rune off me?"

She'd heard of mages selling their runes as service for a small fee. Drawing runes was no problem; it was getting the mages with enough skills to infuse their magic and keep it stabilised for later activation by a non-magic-user that was the difficult part. Seiren took out her chalk and pondered. Light runes were simple enough to draw, and symmetry was the key or the rays of light wouldn't converge to create a bright enough light. The runes didn't even warrant locks on their design to stabilise them as the energy converted purely to light; Seiren added some anyway to prolong their duration, seeing as the man seemed accident-prone, and then added more locks to make the chalk resistant to smudging. She used a small bit of her reserve to infuse the rune, leaving it ready to be used at any point by anyone.

"Here."

The man seemed delighted. Seiren hadn't noticed but he had very shiny and prominent cheeks. He stared at it for a good few seconds before tucking it into his breast pocket and flinging an arm around Seiren in a crushing hug. She grunted. He was strong, making her shoulder joint pop, before pushing her back and grinning from ear to ear.