The Mage

The Shop

With the basic directions of a nearby guard, and a poorly drawn map, I came up to the shop that I was to be taking ownership of. Located outside of the main part of town; a nice private distance from all other structures and not too far away from the farm land. My heart thumping with excitement.

Till I saw it.

If depression were a structure it was this building.With paint on the walls that I would guess was at one time blue, was peeling back and chipping away. A shutter hung barley still on the hinges, its companion on the ground with the grass beginning to grow over it. A fenced in garden connected to the house had a bunch of junk thrown in it and was severely overgrown. Dandelions outlined the fence, vines crawled over the wood boards and small trees that looked to be early start maple trees were standing three feet tall. The neglect was a shock, heart breaking. Out of the way of everyday life of the fort's residents, it seemed tossed to the side and forgotten.

"You Olga's girl."

I jumped in my seat. I hadn't even seen the man standing in the doorway of the show. He seemingly looked human, he lacked the distantly aged look that some of the supernatural beings tended to get once they got up there in age. Humans didn't get that look with their significantly shorter life spans. A war was going on the top of his head that his hairline was really losing. His pudgier center signified he was not a soldier, or at least no longer in active duty. And his tapping foot suggested irritation that I could wager to guess was for some reason directed at me.

"I'm her apprentice, yes."

"Bout time ya got here. Names Nigel come on." turning on his heels and walked inside. "Come on. I don't have all day and I'm ready to be rid of this damned place." Nigel spit into the dirt, before walking inside. I nearly tripped stepping off the wagon, the dead grass giving a slight crunch beneath my feet.

The inside was just as sad as the outside, if not worse. The moment I took a breath and the dusty stale air hit my lungs, my throat started itching and I coughed, pulling off my green scarf from around my head to cover my nose and mouth. That didn't stop my eyes from tearing up. My stomach tightened in anxiety. This was not what I was promised.

The whole downstairs shop was covered in dust and grime. Oil lamps built into the walls, dusty and completely empty. A chair was knocked over on the ground with a large spider web woven within the legs of the chair. Shelves lined the room hanging by only a single screw or two with an added bonus of broken glass littering the floor below.

The back of the room was a built-in counter, lying beyond the counter were two wooden doors. Both with intricate floral designs hand carved into them. One of lilies and lavender, the other of roses and baby's breath. A stack of books rested on top of the counter directly under a leak coming from the ceiling. Every couple of seconds a single drop of disgusting water would fall from the ceiling and onto the books.Normally I would have rushed to move the books, But from the crinkle covers and the black spotting spreading amongst the pages that they had been there for quite some time and were beyond saving.

"Come on, come on, don't drag ass." Nigel grumbled, opening the door with the roses.

Screeeeeach.

Wincing at the hellacious squeal emitted from the poor doors hinges again following Nigel.

The door led to a narrow stairwell that with each step came a new note. By the time we reached the top an entire chorus had been performed.

The apartment was in slightly better shape than the shop. It had at least been maintained within the last few months, unlike downstairs. Mild dust and a few cobwebs and though small it was cozy. The stairs opened up into the kitchen which had a wood stove, a sink and a few cabinets painted a shade of sage green. A lounge area was on the other side of the room with several bookshelves and a comfortable looking brown couch with a knitted patchwork blanket draped across the back.