Mages of the North: The Adventure Begins

Chapter 18

As they reached the top of a large hill, Floris and Alvis finally saw their destination a short distance away. They were amazed by what they saw. Overlooking a vast body of water they could only assume was Misty Lake, was the town of Swamp Watch. From atop the hill, they could see strange large objects moving across the water with enormous white mechanisms that seemed to catch the wind, which pushed them forward. They came in a variety of different sizes, some far larger than the others.

"What in the world are those things out on the water?" Alvis asked curiously.

Floris thought for a moment and recalled something the trader told him once. He then looked at Alvis and responded, "I think they're called ships. I believe the trader told me about them one time before. If memory serves right, those big white...things are called sails. They catch the wind, which pushes the ship forward. I could be wrong, but I think that's what we're looking at."

Alvis glanced at Floris, then looked back at the ships, "I see. I wonder what the bigger ones are for. The smaller ships seem to be a lot faster, which I'd think would make them more practical for travel."

Floris shrugged his shoulders, "No idea. I'm sure they have their uses, though." He returned his attention to one of the larger ships, the largest he could find in the lake. As he studied it closer, he could see holes on the sides of the ships and lots of them. "How interesting. For something that floats, I wouldn't think that adding holes to it would be a very wise decision."

Alvis looked at Floris and motioned his head for them to continue walking, "Well, let's get down there. I want a closer look at them."

Floris nodded and followed Alvis to the entrance of the town.

As they entered the town, they were introduced to a world they weren't ready for. Within their first few moments, they saw more people than they thought was possible. The road went straight on, but smaller roads went in separate directions at the entrance of the town, making them confused on which direction they should go. The buildings were unlike anything they had imagined and were far taller than what they were used to back in their village.

Speechless and at a loss for words, the two boys stood in place as they tried to understand what they were seeing. It was almost too much for them to take in at once, and arguably a little scary as well. However, as they got passed their initial shock, the boys started walking down the main road, soaking in

every sight. It was exactly as the trader had told them when he came to the village. Buildings were made out of stone and towered overhead by multiple stories. Men, women, and children wore clothing of bright colors and different designs. The men wore funny looking objects on their heads but dressed in clothing similar to the man they met on the horse. The women wore strange clothing they had never seen before, and the children wore similar clothing to the adults depending if they were a boy or a girl.

As the two boys continued further down the street, they saw things that confused them even more. They entered an area where food was stocked up and displayed for some reason with men and women calling for people to come and buy their produce. More food was in this one area than either Floris or Alvis had ever seen in their lives and new food types they had never even heard of before were on display as well. Upon closer observation, Floris saw a woman hand what looked like some gold coins to one of the supposed merchants before collecting a sack and walking off. He tilted his head in confusion, then looked at Alvis and saw he was even more confused.

"What did we just watch? Did she literally just buy food?!" Alvis asked in disbelief.

Floris nodded, "It certainly looked that way."

"But...but...why not hunt for it or gather it? What's the point of buying something like food?!" Alvis asked.

Floris shrugged his shoulders and looked around a little more as he responded, "Who knows. We're in a different world now, Alvis. There's going to be plenty of things that we don't understand." He went silent for a moment, then pointed his finger at a building that said "Diner" on it, "Like that for example."

Alvis looked at the building, and through the windows, he could see a large number of people sitting and eating what was already cooked and prepared for them. His jaw dropped and he stared at the diner with a speechless and baffled expression, "What...but...why....HUH?! What am I seeing here?!"

Floris looked down and grabbed his chin as he thought back to something else the trader had told him in the past, "Hmm...I think what we're seeing is a building called a...a, uh...a restaurant? I think that's what the trader called it. Supposedly, it's a place people can go to to eat food that has been already prepared for them. But again, it costs money to eat at them."

Alvis slowly turned his head to look at Floris and stared at him blankly, "But...but...I don't understand it!"

Floris rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Neither do I. But as I said, that's something we're going to have to get used to for a while. Anyway, our destination lies on the other side of Misty Lake. Let's see if we can find a ship to take us there."

Alvis slowly nodded and followed closely behind Floris to the docks.