The Sparkbringer

Chapter Two

   I pushed open the door and entered the next room. It was a long, rectangular structure with a fireplace in the middle. There were tables and chairs scattered around the room, and on the far end was a counter with a man standing behind it.
   A few of the tables were occupied by people, drinking from metal goblets and eating bread rolls. At the end closest to me, there was another man playing some sort of string instrument. On the long sides of the rectangle were rows and rows of doors, like the one I just exited, and my best guess as to what this building was was an inn.
   I slowly walked towards the front desk, or at least that’s what I would call it, and spoke to the man behind it.
   “Hello, uh,” I spoke to him, nervous. I wasn’t much of a people person. “Would you be able to tell me where I am?”
   I unfolded the map from my pocket and set it out on the counter.
   “Of course sir,” the man spoke cheerfully, and in a British accent. “You’re here, in Amber Meadows, Kingdom of Faircrest.”
   He pointed to a small town on the map, and then spoke again. “Must have been a long night for you to not know where you are.”
   “Uh, yeah, you could say that,” I folded the map back up and stuffed it in my pocket. “Thanks for your help, have a good day.”
   “Anytime stranger,” the man waved to me as I exited the inn.
   As I stepped outside, the bright sunlight stung my eyes for a moment. Once they adjusted, I surveyed the town from the entrance steps of the inn. The streets were dirt, and filled with people cheerily greeting each other.
   The houses scattered along the streets were wooden, and the roofs were made of long, woven grasses. Flowers and other decorative plants were woven in with the grasses and stuck in the frames of the houses. From what I could overhear, everyone spoke with the same accent as the man from the inn.
   I walked down the steps and into the street, wandering around in a slight daze. I looked around for something that could be useful, and my eyes settled on a blacksmith’s shop. I walked towards it, looking around nervously and feeling extremely out of place. A man who I assumed to be the blacksmith was busy sharpening a piece of metal, and as I got closer I noticed it was a sword.
   “Uh, hello sir,” I greeted him, failing to make eye contact. “If you aren’t too busy, I’d like to see what you have for sale.”
   “Why of course!” the man replied, setting the sword down and standing up to meet me. “What sort of thing are you looking for today?”
   “Um, well,” I began, pausing to think. “I need a full set of armour, and a weapon.”
   “Well you’ve come to just the right place,” he gestured for me to follow him inside. “I’ve got the finest weapons and armour, if you’ve got the coin that is.”
   I followed him inside, where I found many sets of armour on stands and racks of different weapons. By now, I was really starting to feel like I was in a video game.
   “Johnathan Strongarm, at your service,” the man outstretched his hand to me.
   “Clovis…” I paused, thinking before I used my last name in a completely different world. “Yeah, just Clovis.”
   Jonathan moved to shake my hand, but stopped midway and his eyes widened.
   “You’re marked?” he asked, shocked.
   “I’m what?” I replied, retracting my hand and furrowing my brow in confusion.
   “You bear the mark of a Hero,” he told me, gesturing to my right hand. “Look, on your palm.”
   I turned my hand to look at it. “You mean this weird shaped scar?”
   “The Hero mark, yes,” he nodded, growing more excited by the second. “The shape corresponds to your magic. We have been patiently awaiting your arrival, and are truly blessed to have a citizen of Annora chosen as a Hero.”
   “Uh, right,” I nodded slowly, realizing these people have no idea I’m not from their world.
   “Wait here, I’ll bring you my finest pieces, and don’t worry about the coin.”
   I watched as he scurried away into another room, then took another look at my palm. The small, lightning bolt shaped scar staring back at me. It occurred to me that it matched the mark on the back of the spellbook Lerus had given me, and I guessed the book contained some sort of lightning related magic. While I waited for the blacksmith to return, I opened the book and peered at the inside cover. Sure enough, it read “Lightning Magic”.
   The blacksmith returned, carrying pieces of an armour set in his arms.
   “Now, let’s see…”
   I set the book on the ground and moved to help him, but he shooed me away.
   “Empty your pockets, I need to make sure this fits you,” he requested.
   “Uh, ok, sure,” I shrugged, removing the map and bag of gold from my pockets and setting them on the floor with the book.
   He carried over the chestpiece first, instructing me to raise my arms. I complied, and he slipped the chestpiece over my head and arms. It slid down onto my torso, surprisingly lightweight for a large piece of metal. It was slightly elongated at the bottom, I assumed so that my hips were not exposed, and extra pieces at the shoulder to wrap around my arms. The next pieces to go on were the leg pieces, which wrapped around my whole leg from thigh to lower calf, where my leather boots began.
   “Won’t this restrict my movement?” I asked, shifting around to test the minimal movement I had.
   “Have you never worn armour before?” Jonathan raised an eyebrow as he finished fitting me into the leg pieces.
   “Uh, no, I can’t say I have.”
   “Well that explains it then! Don’t worry, the next part will take care of that for you.”
   I was skeptical, but just went along with it. The blacksmith waved his hand in front of me, and suddenly the armour took on a faint, dark blue glow. My eyes widened in surprise as the armour perfectly molded itself to my body, conforming around my joints and allowing me an amount of movement I didn’t think I would get.
   “There, I’ve bonded that set of armour to you,” he told me as I tested out my movements. “Now you’ll be able to take it off and put it on with ease. Go on, try it.”
   “How exactly do I do that?”
   “You have much to learn, young Hero,” the blacksmith sighed, slightly amused. “Raise your arms, focus your mind on your armour, and say ‘off’.”
   I raised my arms as he instructed. “Off.”
   The armour took up its blue glow again, and undid itself from my body, It floated into the air, and then gently set itself down on the floor. My jaw dropped in awe.
   “Holy crap, I just used magic!” I laughed in both disbelief and astonishment.
   “And to put it back on, do the same with the word ‘on’.”
   “On!” I called enthusiastically.
   The armour’s glow returned again as it raised itself off the floor and reattached itself to my body. I had a huge, goofy grin on my face, both terrified and ecstatic of my achievement.
   The blacksmith smiled and handed me a leather bag I could sling over my shoulder, which I did, and put my loose items in it for easier transport. He then grabbed a sword sheath off a rack and gestured for me to follow him back outside. I happily obliged, and when outside, he grabbed the sword he was working on when I arrived.
   “This sword is brand new,” Jonathan informed me, sheathing the sword and handing it to me. “It should serve you well in your endeavors.”
   I thanked him, taking the sword and attaching the sheath at my hip. He pointed out the capital city of the kingdom, Faircrest, on my map. He told me that I should go there, that I should seek out the Queen and inform her of my arrival, and that I’m here to help her in her efforts.
   I thanked the blacksmith one last time before setting out, taking to the streets and exploring various shops for supplies. After I was sufficiently prepared, with my shoulder bag weighing a ton, I set off southeast down the dirt path towards the capital.