The rickshaw dropped them off outside the Golden Boar. The tavern was lively when they entered. Seeing a table for two on the far side of the room, Yukiko headed for it with Gregory trailing her.
“Bit pale for my taste, but cute…”
“Her boyfriend is a twig. Bet I could break him and have her…”
“I think she’s tainted, eurtik b…”
Snippets of conversation reached Gregory’s ears as he crossed the room, and his hands tightened as he continued walking. Yukiko’s pace never faltered, though her smile waned a little when she heard them.
“Idiots… pale of skin and hair? That has to be the new novice up at the academy that has all the clans clamoring for her. I wouldn’t…”
They reached the table and sat. It was only seconds before a man in an embroidered kimono came to their table. “Welcome to the Golden Boar. Can I get you something to drink, and perhaps something to eat?”
“I’d prefer for our drinks to compliment the meal,” Yukiko replied to him. “What do you have available?”
Seeing her medallion, the server bowed his head slightly. “Magi, we have pheasant over rice with infused herbs or bane boar grilled with chunks of spiker fruit and served with buttered noodles. The other options aren’t aether infused, if you’d like to hear them?”
“That’s fine. We need as much aether as we can get,” Yukiko said. “Greg, did you have a preference?”
“The boar sounds interesting.”
“Two of the boar, with whatever beverage will best suit the meal,” Yukiko told the server.
“Yes, mistress.”
The server walked away, and Gregory glanced around the room to see most of the patrons involved in their food or conversations. “What have you got planned after this, Yuki?”
“Originally, I was thinking of going back to the academy for more study or training, but since we’ve come to our agreement, I’m thinking of being as bold as my father.”
Gregory frowned, “Huh?”
“Visiting the clans that sent me messages and seeing what they have to say. I’ll accept any gift they wish to give and use that to help us gain better footing. I also need to stop at a courier to send messages to my parents.”
“Are all of them inside the academy walls?”
“Yes, which means a stop at a courier’s office before we go back,” Yukiko replied.
“Your wine,” the server said, coming back to the table with two glasses and a bottle. Opening the bottle at the table, he poured some for Yukiko and presented the glass to her.
Yukiko took the glass, swirled it around, sniffed it, sipped, then nodded. “Yes, this will do.”
The server poured for each of them and left with his head bowed. Gregory picked up his glass and sniffed at the wine. The scent was complex, and he was unfamiliar with most of the spices. Sipping it, he discovered that the predominant flavor was orange, reminding him of a dessert his mother had made for him once.
“Reminds me of oranges,” Gregory said after his sip.
“Mostly orange, as well as spices that mell…” Yukiko trailed off when she saw Gregory staring at her. “What?”
“Something you learned from your family?”
“Yes. You have to know what the wine is made of to better sell it.”
“You know so much more than I do,” Gregory smiled wryly. “I’m lucky you’re here to teach me.”
Yukiko looked down, a touch of pink showing on her cheeks. “I’m just as lucky that you enjoy my company. You heard them, didn’t you?”
Gregory’s smile slipped for a moment. “Idiots,” he said softly. “Your heritage doesn’t make you— only you can do that.”
Yukiko looked up to speak, but closed her mouth. A moment later, the server was beside the table with two plates. Placing one before each of them, he bowed his head. “Please enjoy.”
The scent hit Gregory’s nostrils like a punch. His mouth started watering and his stomach growled. Coughing, he pulled out the cutlery he had made sure to bring with him. “Let’s eat.”
Yukiko had almost the same reaction so she did not argue, pulling out her own set of cutlery. The two of them sat there in silence, the sounds of a busy tavern washing over them as they ate.
The spiker’s sweet-tart nature made the bane boar’s flavor more potent, but also helped mellow the influx of aether that rushed into them with each bite of boar meat. The buttered noodles helped to blunt it even more. Gregory was surprised to find that the butter sauce had the same tangy flavor of spiker fruit. The wine softened the tartness of the spiker, adding a bit more boldness to the boar.
Gregory and Yukiko lingered over their meal, enjoying the new flavors. Both of them sighed when it came to an end and, sharing a content smile, they just stared at each other for a moment.
“Would you care for orange tart or chocolate cake?” the server asked, breaking the moment.
“I’d like the chocolate. What about you Greg?”
“Orange tart, please.”
“And two of the bitter bean, please, with sugar and butter on the side,” Yukiko ordered.
“Right away,” the servant smiled as he took away their empty dishes.
“Bitter bean?” Gregory asked.
“It’s a popular drink in Buldoun. It will refresh you and leave you ready to do more work after the meal. It’s actually more prominent than tea in Buldoun.”
“How different is it there?” Gregory asked.
Yukiko went silent for a bit, thinking. “We never went far past the border. Buldoun and the empire are tentatively at peace, and have been since the last war fifteen years ago. We only visited Blum, a small city two dozen miles from the border.”
Gregory finished his wine while he listened to her relate the differences in architecture, clothing, and culture. Full-blooded eurtik were treated almost as badly as in the empire, but those of mixed blood were tolerated better.
Yukiko broke off her explanation when the server came back with their desserts and bitter bean drinks. Gregory took a sip of the drink at Yukiko’s urging and nearly gagged at the bitter taste.
Yukiko was giggling as she added two scoops of sugar and one of butter to hers. “That is why it’s called bitter bean.”
“Very apt,” Gregory said, copying her additions to the drink and taking a hesitant sip. “That’s much better.”
~*~*~
Instead of taking a rickshaw back, Gregory and Yukiko decided to jog to the academy. Halfway up, Yukiko asked Gregory to stop just outside of a plain-looking structure with a five-story tower. Following her in, he stepped into a large room with over a dozen desks scattered about, each one with a sign hanging over it. One side of the room had a long counter with stacks of paper on it.
“I need the paperwork to send two missives to Handa province,” Yukiko said without preamble upon reaching the central desk.
“Do you have them ready?” the man asked, not looking up from his paperwork.
“No. I’ll need paper and ink, as well.”
A frown flickered across the clerk’s face, then his expression was neutral again. “Use the counter over there.” He motioned to the counter with paper on it. “Fill out these two forms.” He took papers from stacks on his desk and thrust them at her without looking. “Once you have all that in order, see the Handa province desk.”
“Thank you,” Yukiko said, taking the forms and moving toward the counter.
“I need a form to send a letter to Alturis in Saito province,” Gregory told the man.
“Here is the form,” the man said, thrusting another paper at him. “Same instructions as the lady, but the Saito desk.”
“Thank you.”
“Sending a letter home?” Yukiko asked softly when he joined her.
“Figured I might as well let them know how I’m doing.”
Yukiko smiled, “Good.”
Gregory got the form filled out with minimal questions to Yukiko. Taking a blank sheet of paper from the pile on the counter, Gregory thought for a few minutes, then started writing.
Gunnar, how is the married life going? I’m sure if you aren’t married by the time this reaches you, you will be soon. Things are good here; I’ve made a friend, you’d all like her. Her name is Yukiko Warlin, and she’s the daughter of a merchant family. We’ve been helping each other study and train. The twins would like her, too— she’s soft spoken, but can be surprisingly aggressive when it comes to commerce.
The academy is different. We have classes, but we can drop them if we want. The only drawback is that we won’t qualify for some posts after our fourth year, depending on which class is dropped. I did drop out of history since it wasn’t teaching me anything. I’m using the time to learn more about trade. Ria and El would be shocked at how much I understand now.
Speaking of Ria, how is she? If she hasn’t started looking for someone, please help her. I know El will, but I’ll not even be able to get back for years, if at all, and as a magi, my lifespan is going to far exceed hers if I get through training.
I need to thank you both for the money. I used it to help get me here and purchase some much needed things. You didn’t have to do it, and I’ll find a way to pay you back.
Is my father okay? I know he was bound in servitude to the village, but is he still sober? Is the mine still doing well? I know it hasn’t been that long, maybe it will be by the time you read this, but please tell me what is going on there.
I’ll do my best to write you after the first tournament for novices. We have one midway through training and another at the end of the first year. I hope to hear back from you before then.
Your best friend still,
Greg.
He signed the letter and sat back to wait for the ink to dry. “I’m done, Yuki.”
“Fold it this way, then take it and the form to the right province desk,” Yukiko told him as she folded her letters.
“Meet you by the door?”
“Yes.”
Gregory approached the Saito province desk, giving the woman manning it a pleasant smile. “Excuse me, miss, I wish to send this letter.”
Taking the forms, the clerk frowned, “Alturis…? Oh, the fringe? Not many letters go that far out. It’ll take some time to reach that far. Cost is also higher since none of the regular couriers go that far.”
“How much?” Gregory asked.
“Three hundred vela, I’m afraid.”
Gregory blanched, but dug out what amounted to most of his coin. “Here you go.”
The clerk took the money and looked at him curiously, “What’s a fringer like you doing all the way here?”
“Novice magi.”
“Should have marked it on the form,” the clerk sighed. “See this box here?” She showed him the place he should have marked. “Check that next time, magi. Even novices pay less.” She handed him back half of his money. “There. This will go out in the next week, but as I said, it’ll take a while to get there.”
“Thank you,” Gregory said, bowing to her. “I understand and will remember.”
“Very good. Have a good day.”
Gregory nodded, heading for the door. He did not wait long before Yukiko approached him. “Back to jogging?”
“Back to jogging, and then to see the clans.”
