Shawn jumped to pour the pitcher of water on his small nightstand over the fire.
“Oh, shoot. Please go out please go out please go out…” He managed to extinguish the small amount of flame, but it still left a large hole in the sheet and a plate sized burn mark around it. He breathed in and attempted to calm himself. Breathe, Shawn. It’s fine.
“Well, that’s what that one is, I guess.” On his paper he marked another note next to his sketch. Fire: gushes from hand in brief torrent. The morning was now mostly over, and was leading into early afternoon. He may as well get out to try and learn some things. Maybe he could find some wise wizard guy to teach him everything he knew. Shawn swept up his two runes and placed them back into his pouch. He left his room and bounded down the stairs, itching to get out and explore the city properly. The innkeeper made no move to stop or talk to him, so he left the inn easily. The merchants were back along the sides of the road, and more people were haggling over wares, buying food, or just generally enjoying themselves.
Shawn walked through the throngs, looking at the merchants’ stalls. One sold velvet hats, handkerchiefs, and other luxury items. Another sold produce, such as apples, lettuce, tomatoes, and pears. He was pleased to learn that those still existed here. Hearing a commotion up a side street, he followed it, coming up behind a gambling stall. It was a merchant stall of sorts, except for the darkening cloths that hung from the sides and the awning, creating a darkened room below. The surface of the stall itself was laid with green felt, and the dealer, (or so Shawn assumed), shuffled three cups around, each labeled with a rune. A man in an expensive looking tunic turned to Shawn and whispered, “Prosperity, Luck, and Fortune. Which one has the sovereign below it?” He pointed to each cup as he did. The dealer shuffled the cups manically, then slowed and pointed to the man to Shawn’s right.
“Which cup has the coin? Will Lady Luck, Fortune, or Prosperity be your mistress tonight?” The man turned to Shawn, excited.
“Which should I pick? Oh, I can’t choose. You do it. No- yes. Yes, you should do it.” The man sounded unsure, yet sincere.
“Well, if you really want me to.” Shawn rubbed his hands together and stared intently at the cups. He had quickly lost track of the sovereign and was running off pure guessing favor. “That one,” he said, pointing to the cup on the right. The one labeled Fortune.
The dealer flourished his fingers and slowly lifted the cup. Below lay the golden shine of the gold sovereign!
“My boy, you’ve won!” cried the well-dressed man. “Here, take some. Take half. It was your luck that earned me this, correct?” The pile of coins on the counter was their winnings, and Shawn took half of them, slipping the coins into his various pockets. Finally, he had some money to enjoy some of the festivities. Although he did want to know what they were for. He turned to the well dressed man again and asked him, “Why is this festival happening?”
The man’s comical face of shock nearly made Shawn burst out laughing. “You really mean to say you don’t know? It’s the prophecy. It’s said to be a holy day, but really it’s just another excuse for revelry. We all know how much the prince loves parties.”
“Sorry, but…the prophecy?”
“Yes, the prophecy!” He paused, clearly expecting a reaction, and continued after seeing the blank expression on Shawn’s face. “The grand foretelling? Of the savior of light? It’s said that a hero will be made known, and that they will possess a dark power of untold strength. Either they save us all or destroy us, but they will not fall. I personally don’t put a notch of faith into that sort of thing, but some do.”
Shawn was intrigued, leaning forward. “And when is this savior supposed to show up?”
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“Supposedly, tonight! That’s the meaning of the festival. Anyways, I’m going to try to keep your win alive. Thanks for the luck, my friend!”
Shawn strolled through the streets, coins jangling in his pockets. That brief interaction had given him some money to spend, so he was searching for anything that caught his eye. He was aware that he was unusually calm for having been pulled into this world no more than two days prior, but really he was just excited to explore this world. He’d played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons in high school.
No stall in particular caught his eye and he continued down the street. In the small courtyard at the end of the street, a stage had been erected, but there was a small crowd around it, and he couldn’t quite see what was going on. A long-bearded man stood on stage, a small table to his right. And on that table was…runes. All sizes, from domino sized tiles to symbols etched onto flat, round disks.
The man was mid-demonstration, and he picked up two tiles. “Behold. Light and Energy. Individually, they represent their own concepts. But together they form a greater whole.”
The man slowly pushed his palms together and a flash came from between them. Lifting his palms to the sky and thrusting them heavenward, a bolt of shining white light shot into the starry sky. It was incredible. The crowd applauded, and Shawn refocused himself on the man. The man went on to demonstrate Earth and Fire, which created lava in his hands, Water and Energy, which formed a swirling spout of water above the stage, and Fire and Darkness, which blazed with flame- but gave no light. Shawn raised his hand above the crowd, feeling like he was back in college.
The man looked slightly confused but said “Yes? You there, in the back.”
“Can anyone cast these runes?”
“No, of course not, sonny. These runes are only usable by trained masters, such as myself. No one else could even have a dream of success.”
For some odd reason, that left Shawn feeling slighted somehow. “I can cast runes myself.”
“Oh really, sonny. Well, why don’t you come on up and demonstrate for us?”
Shawn firmed his resolve and pushed through the crowd. He’d never had been one for countering authority figures, but this guy was clearly just being a dipwad. If Shawn could cast runes, then clearly the bar was low. Shawn stepped onto the stage, meeting the old man in the middle.
He gave a self-satisfied smile and said, “Well. Let’s see you cast one then.”
His tone of voice made Shawn want to punch him, but he resisted and simply retrieved his rune pouch from his pocket. He reached inside and pulled out the non-fire rune. Holding it in his right hand, he concentrated, but the man’s smirking face made it hard not to get angry. He focused his mind on the tile in his palm and visualized energy flowing through his hand into the rune, moving in a complete circuit. Then he pushed. Not physically, but almost spiritually. The same blue flames shot out of the rune, into the air.
Then banked sharply towards the old man, enveloping him in fire.
That’s not what I meant to do at all! Does it automatically target people that I find annoying or something? Suddenly, Shawn remembered the pig and realized: This man’s life could be in danger because of him. A returning rush of power flowed back into his hand, somehow feeling more than he had sent, but Shawn wasn’t focused on that right now. He closed his eyes and blocked out the screams of the man and the crowd. He saw, without seeing, the energy surrounding the man, and the energy in his hand. He saw how he had pushed out the energy in the first place through the rune, and now he pulled it apart. Not back into his hand, but scattering the fire spiritually. It took him a moment to get a “grip,” but his fear of hurting someone by accident empowered him. I cast you. Now I’m uncasting you. Dissipate!
Slowly, the crowd quieted. He cracked open his eyes and saw the man on his knees, still breathing, albeit shallowly. The returning power still filled his palm, and suddenly the runes on the table moved. Two runes flew into Shawn’s hand, quivering. He glanced at them and felt a shock when he realized that he understood what they were. By focusing on them like he would while casting, he could now “read” the runes. One said Earth, and the other said Energy. The runes that the man had been using not ten minutes ago.
“My…my ru-runes. This shouldn’t be…possible,” the wheezing man gasped out. “It’s not…possible to-to take another casters…runes…”
Shawn looked down at the first rune, still clutched in his hand and glowing the same shade as the flames. He focused on it, trying to read it. Somehow, his eyes were resisted for a moment until he understood what it meant.
Hunger.
