After Raine and Nikolay finished their first shifts at Tabitha's bar, they discussed their future plans in Aurelinne Village.
While it was true that they needed to collect all artifacts before the prophesied 'blood moon' occurred, Nikolay begrudgingly admitted that they had made up for lost time in the past few weeks.
"We can take a few days to figure out how to descend into Lake Litchmere," Nikolay had said, to Raine's surprise.
He attempted to tease Nikolay about it, but received a noncommital shrug in response. It seemed like something was bothering him, but Raine knew that asking about it wouldn't yield any results.
On the bright side, though, Raine was able to sleep in a comfortable bed for a whole eight hours without being interrupted. And on top of that, he woke up to find that Tabitha had brought up breakfast leftovers from the bar.
"Lucky you," Tabitha said. "You're getting rewarded for sleeping in."
Nikolay ate his portion before Raine woke up, leaving exactly half of the plate untouched. The gesture was touching, but Raine had a feeling that it was a product of Nikolay's meticulousness rather than compassion.
The plate was, unfortunately, regular-sized, which meant that it was hardly enough for two people. Beggars couldn't be choosers, he supposed. Raine polished off the plate's contents within minutes and walked over to brush his teeth.
Raine startled when Nikolay stood next to him in the bathroom.
"Huh? Didn't you brush your teeth before you ate breakfast?" Raine queried.
Nikolay casually took his toothbrush and squeezed toothpaste onto it. "The other day, you had a point about brushing your teeth after eating. So, I adjusted accordingly."
A wide grin slowly stretched across Raine's face. He leant onto Nikolay's shoulder dramatically, almost causing the other man to drop his toothbrush in surprise.
"Aww Kolya, you should've told me that you wanted to brush our teeth together," he teased. "I would've changed my own schedule if you asked."
"That is not why I'm brushing my teeth again," Nikolay groaned, despite a telltale pink blush appearing on his cheeks. "Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Sure, sure, I hear you," Raine said, very clearly not listening to Nikolay. "Totally believable. Yep."
Nikolay cleared his throat purposefully. "Ahem. On to more pressing matters. I'm going to help Tabitha with the inn during the day as well. She mentioned monetary pay for working extra hours, so we might as well earn enough for the rest of our journey. Once we accumulate a decent amount, we can start looking into the diving equipment for descending into the Temple of Time."
"Well, we can do both at the same time, can't we? I'll go looking for the equipment while you work."
Nikolay lowered his toothbrush and stared at Raine's reflection. "You don't really have to. We have enough time to take things one at a time. If you want, you can spend the day drawing in our room, or catch up on lost sleep from all our early starts."
"Yeah, but..." Raine spat out the toothpaste. "I'll feel bad for lazing around while you're doing all the work. Your plan only accounts for one person, you know."
A few back-and-forth mini arguments later, Raine left the tavern and headed towards the market.
Surely he would find somebody selling diving equipment at the market. It was a market by the side of a massive lake; there was no reason why a market stall owner wouldn't capitalise on their location.
And besides, he was still feeling hungry after the meagre breakfast he just had. He didn't want to complain about Tabitha's good will, but a single plate wasn't nearly enough to satiate two adults. Hopefully, Nikolay found a way to secure food on his own — Raine was certain that he wouldn't be back for a while, judging by the size of the market.
Raine could identify the market from a mile away. The sounds of the hustle and bustle gave its location away first: conversations of people haggling for produce, family members calling out to each other, little kids playing in the streets.
As he rounded a corner, Raine reached the edge of the market square. But even though it was merely the periphery of the commotion, there was still a substantial crowd of customers browsing the stalls. A bright kaleidoscope of colours assaulted his vision, both from the myriad of items on display and from the variety in clothing of all the visitors. It looked as though there were quite a few tourists mixed in among the locals, as they wore crisp, sharp suits that wouldn't normally be seen in everyday life.
A voice echoing from off the path drew Raine's attention.
"You. Come over here."
Raine stopped in his tracks and shot a questioning gaze towards a man in a hooded robe. Grey wisps, almost like small flames, hung around his head. Contrary to their appearance, however, the wisps didn't burn brightly like Tabitha or Nikolay's magic did. Instead, they appeared to suck away the surrounding light.
"Yes, you. Come. I have a good deal for you."
"What is it?" Raine asked warily, walking over to the strange man.
He usually wasn't one to entertain weird people on the street, but since he had time, he might as well. Who knows, maybe this person owned diving equipment? His main reason for coming here was to investigate around for it, after all.
"You don't have magic?" he said to Raine.
Raine shook his head. There really wasn't any point in lying, considering that this man could clearly see no aura around him.
"They can change that. I know a contact person. Come with me and you can talk with them."
Okay. First of all, how dumb did this guy think he was? What kind of person willingly goes with a weird man to an unknown place? Even if this stranger was being truthful, Raine doubted that the method of acquiring magic wasn't going to be shady.
"No," Raine flatly said. "I don't want to have magic. Try somebody else."
This was a half-lie, but a harmless one.
The man looked surprised. "You don't? Are you a foreigner?"
"No."
This was a complete lie, but a harmless one.
"Then..."
Raine interrupted whatever plan of persuasion he was concocting. "I'm going. Leave me alone."
With every inch of confidence he could muster, Raine strode away from the situation. Luckily, he hadn't strayed too far from the crowd, and was easily able to rejoin the main path shortly thereafter.
It was a shame, though. If only Nikolay had been here. Then he would finally see that Raine could perfectly handle a situation on his own.
Was it normal to be thinking about someone this often? Ah, it was probably fine. Probably.
Quickly getting his mind back on track, Raine ducked underneath a temporary gazebo into another stall. The pop-up tables in front displayed a multitude of hot meals, all packaged in plastic takeaway containers. It was mostly rice, noodles, or bread mixed with assorted meats and sauces, but the sheer variety was impressive for such a small set-up.
At the back of the stall, sat on a chair and reading a dense book, was a familiar man.
Black turtleneck, silver jewellery, long coat... The outfit might've changed slightly, but the unique impression was unmistakable.
The only major difference between the Gremory in the bar last night and the Gremory in front of him was a pair of thick and scratched spectacles. The (admittedly) ugly tortoiseshell frame and terrible condition of the glasses stuck out like a sore thumb on its otherwise elegant model. He would've even gone as far as to say that it gave a completely new appearance to Gremory — instead of the attractive playboy that he saw in the bar, a quiet scholar sat reading in his stead.
Raine would've liked to have avoided talking to Gremory, particularly after their last meeting. Unfortunately, based on the fact that he was the only other person in the stall, it seemed like Gremory was the shop owner.
Taking in a deep breath, Raine steeled himself and walked over to the counter with his purchase, a small container of fried rice in his hand.
He stood in front of Gremory for a few seconds, before realising that said shopkeeper was too immersed in his book to notice him.
Raine meaningfully cleared his throat.
It did the trick, causing Gremory to emit a quiet sigh and snap his novel shut.
Gremory leant back and said, "Just those for tod-"
The instant his eyes locked onto Raine, Gremory startled and almost fell out of his chair. He managed to save himself by clutching onto the countertop, but his novel tragically fell flat on the floor, crinkling all of its pristine pages. The bookmark — a used envelope — fluttered downwards, swiftly joining the wreckage.
Most surprising of all was Gremory's reaction. Instead of bending down to pick up the book, he quickly tore off his half-broken glasses and shoved them into a nearby drawer. A smug grin fought its way onto Gremory's face, replacing the unfiltered shock a few moments ago.
Gremory casually leant on the counter. "Ah, it's the dashing waiter from Tabitha's bar. Couldn't resist finding me?"
Raine merely looked over the counter in concern. "Do you need a hand with that?"
"Uh..." Gremory hesitated, his demeanour wavering slightly. "I- I'd rather you help me on a date...?"
He received an unconvinced look from Raine.
"Okay, fine," Gremory sighed in resignation. "I guess there's no point trying to convince you."
Raine walked around the counter and picked up the book and envelope for Gremory. The envelope's front caught his eye, littered with water — possibly tears — stains and 'Dear Azhkil' written in beautiful calligraphy.
As he handed the items back to Gremory, he found it difficult to picture the smooth, flirtatious man back in the bar. The crooked glasses found their way back onto Gremory's face, which currently depicted despair at the state of his book.
Funnily enough, Raine preferred this awkward, unprepared version of Gremory over the immaculate flirt.
"You look curious about the name on the envelope," Gremory remarked. "Am I right?"
Raine couldn't lie, he was impressed. "Yeah. Who is it addressed to?"
"That's me. Azhkil is my real name."
"Why do you need a fake name?" Raine questioned. "Did something happen?"
"Did something happen?" Gremory repeated with a laugh. "Yes, and no. It's not unheard of to use multiple names in Kosira. For your information, fake names are pretty easy to spot — they mimic names from outside of Kosira, like Tabitha or Gremory."
"If they're easy to spot, doesn't that sort of... defeat the purpose?"
"Many people fabricate names for different purposes. I'd wager that almost everybody in Marque constantly switches names, given how cutthroat the business is there. Not many people take offence if you give them a fake name, apart from pricks in Veritas."
Raine thought back to Ascrythis' kindred hate for Veritas' government. "People really don't like the Veritas system."
"Hah, I think I probably have a different reason than the other people you've talked to. I was originally from Veritas. Actually, I was even one of those scholars with a stick up their ass for a while," Gremory scoffed. "But alas, I wasn't worthy enough. They fired me — or rather, exiled is a better word — for apparent 'misconduct'. In reality, though, it was purely because of my lack of magic. I was a sore sight for eyes among the distinguished scholars of Veritas, who were all praised for their academic and magic gifts."
Raine thought back to the shady man who had tried to lure him away earlier. It was obvious that magic was well-sought after, especially in Veritas. He couldn't lie, even he wished that he had magic.
"So you live in Aurelinne Village now," Raine said. "As a food vendor?"
"Trust me, I'd rather not be. I still have the heart of a scholar, even if I had my title and job stripped away from me. Instead of being surrounded by textbooks and measuring instruments, though, I find myself looking for the 'truth' in the people around me. Tabitha's bar is always a nice place for people watching," Gremory laughed softly. "But I might be biased, because I would've never met you otherwise."
He then motioned towards the food in Raine's hand. "You can have that for free. Take it as a token of goodwill."
"Oh..." Raine stared at the container, having momentarily forgotten it. "Thanks."
In a quiet stupor, he walked out of the stall, unsure of what to make of the situation.
—
Unfortunately, no matter how much he scoured the expansive market, Raine couldn't find any diving equipment. He searched high and low, but most of the stalls only sold small assorted items, clothing, or fresh produce from local farms or fisheries.
That didn't stop Raine from making the most of his trip, though, as he managed to find a few travelling supplies that needed to be stocked up. Their journey was far from over, considering that there was still one more Temple left, not to mention whatever came after that. Whether he liked it or not, they were going to camp out quite a few more times before...
Before whatever lay at the end of the road. Before he got to go home and return to his mediocre job. Because even if it was shitty and low-paying, at least he didn't need to worry about gods and prophecies way beyond his comprehension.
By the time Raine was fully satisfied with the amount that he had bought, the market stalls were being packed up. Even the sun was closing up shop, gradually pulling away the last of its golden-yellow rays from the land.
He made his way back down the way he had come, passing an increasing number of empty stalls. Before long, all the market's stall owners and customers had vacated the area. It was only Raine now, wandering the deserted dirt path.
As the surroundings darkened, once recognisable streets twisted into distorted, unfamiliar shapes. The houses all looked the exact same in the dark, large looming structures that taunted Raine as he hurried past them with his head down.
Was it left, or was it a right at this intersection? With each possible branching path, the chances of choosing the correct one grew exponentially less.
A distressingly familiar panic crept in.
He shook his head frantically, a futile attempt against his own mind. This was nothing like the Temple of Space. It wasn't a life-or-death situation, and there weren't any magic puzzles at play.
Worst-case scenario, he'd get kidnapped, or beaten up, or forced into some horrific trap using magic, or-
Thinking about everything that could go wrong was not a good idea, in retrospect.